The historical context -- Shibli in the sources -- Sarraj's Book of illuminations -- Kalabadhi's Book of understanding -- Sulami's generations of the sufis -- Abu Nuʻaym's Ornament of God's friends -- Qushayri's treatise -- Hujwiri's Revealing the veiled -- Ansari's Generations of the sufis -- Ruzbihan's Explanation of ecstatic sayings -- Ha??ar's Memoirs of God's friends -- Jami's Breaths of intimacy -- Two non-sufi historians: Khatib al-Baghdadi and al-Dhahabi -- Shibli and the sources: conclusions -- Themes and relationships -- Narrative structures and styles -- The nature of Shibli's sayings -- Shibli and Junayd -- Shibli and Hallaj -- The question of Shibli's insanity -- Shibli's poetry -- Shibli and the Qurʼan
