During the 10th and 11th centuries, Islamic mysticism faced sharp criticism from certain literalist and legalistic theological factions. Abū Nuʿaym compiled the Ḥilya as a scholarly defense, or , to vindicate Sufi thought. He sought to prove that true spiritual purification ( tazkiyat al-nafs ) is entirely compatible with orthodox Sunni jurisprudence and classical Hadith methodology.

Imam Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī was one of the most prominent ḥuffāẓ (Hadith memorizers) and traditionists of his era. He possessed exceptionally short and prestigious chains of transmission ( asānīd ), granting him unmatched academic authority throughout the Muslim world.