Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat al-Auliya'

428 Pages·2000·1.34 MB·English

by  Farid Al-Din Attar

Muslim Saints
and Mystics
Episodes from the
Tadhkirat al-Auliya’
(Memorial of the Saints)
by Farid al-Din Attar
Translated by A.J.Arberry
J
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Contents
Introduction
Hasan of Basra
Malek Ibn Dinar
Habib al-Ajami
Rabe‘a al-Adawiya
Al-Fozail Ibn Iyaz
Ebrahim Ibn Adham
Beshr Ibn al-Hareth
Dho ‘l-Nun al-Mesri
Abu Yazid al-Bestami
Abd Allah Ibn al-Mobarak
Sofyan al-Thauri
Shaqiq of Balkh
Dawud al-Ta’i
Al-Mohasebi
Ahmad Ibn Harb
Hatem al-Asamm
iv contents
Sahl Ibn Abd Allah al-Tostari
Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi
Sari al-Saqati
Ahmad Ibn Khazruya
Yahya Ibn Mo‘adh
Shah Ibn Shoja‘
Yusof Ibn al-Hosain
Abu Hafs al-Haddad
Abo’l-Qasem al-Jonaid
Amr Ibn ‘Othman
Abu Sa‘id al-Kharraz
Abu ‘l-Hosain al-Nuri
Abu Othman al-Hiri
Ibn Ata
Somnun
al-Termedhi
Khair al-Nassaj
Abu Bakr al-Kattani
contents v
Ibn Khafif
Al-Hallaj
Ebrahim al-Khauwas
Al-Shebli
Bibliography

Introduction
Farid al-Din Attar, author of the book here pre-
sented in an abridged translation, is to be
accounted amongst the greatest poets of Persia;
his dimensions as a literary genius increase with
the further investigation of his writings, which
are still far from completely explored, though
welcome progress has been made of late in their
publication. The existence of a number of
remarkable studies of Attar, listed in the
Bibliography below, absolves the present writer
from the necessity of going into lengthy detail
about the keenly disputed details of his life and
works. Here it will suffice to state that he
appears to have died between a.d. 1220 and
1230 at an advanced age, possibly at the hands
of the Mongol invaders of Persia; the traditional
account that he was born in 1119 and murdered
precisely in 1230 is now generally rejected. Of
the very numerous epics and idylls ascribed to
Attar perhaps nine may be recognized as authen-
tic Of these the most famous is the Manteq al-
tair, that subtle and charming allegory of the
soul’s progress towards God, familiar, (though
still not familiar enough) to English readers
viii introduction
through Edward FitzGerald’s summary Bird-
Parliament.
The origins of Sufism
Sufism is the name given to the mystical move-
ment within Islam; a Sufi is a Muslim who dedi-
cates himself to the quest after mystical union
(or, better said, reunion) with his Creator The
name is Arabic in origin, being derived from the
word sufmeaning “wool”; the Sufis were distin-
guishable from their fellows by wearing a habit
of coarse woollen cloth, in time when silks and
brocades had become the fashion of the wealthy
and mundane-minded, symbolic of their renunci-
ation of worldly values and their abhorrence for
physical comforts.
Mystical awareness was certainly present in
the Prophet Mohammad’s attitude to Allah, and
“mystical” is an entirely appropriate adjective to
describe his many experiences of supernatural
Presence making contact through him with a
message to mankind. The Koran, the book of
Allah’s revelations to Mohammad, contains
numerous passages of a mystical character
which the Sufis seized upon eagerly to buttress
their own claims to personal trafficking with
God.
introduction ix
And when My servants question thee
concerning Me—I am near to answer
the call of the caller, when he calls
to Me; so let them respond to Me,
and let them believe in Me: haply so
they will go aright.
Sura 2: I82
We indeed created man; and We know
what his soul whispers within him,
and We are nearer to him than the jugular
vein.
Sura 50: 5I
All that dwells upon the earth is perishing,
yet still
abides the Face of thy Lord, majestic,
splendid.
Sura 55: 26
One pregnant context was taken to refer to a
pre-eternal covenant between God and man, the
re-enactment of which became the earnest aspi-
ration of the enthusiastic Sufi.
And when thy Lord took from the Children
of Adam,
x introduction
from their loins, their seed, and made them
testify
touching themselves, “Am I not your Lord?”
They said, “Yes, we testify.”
Sura 7: 171
The ascetic outlook and practice, an indispens-
able preparation to mystical communion, char-
acterized the life not only of Mohammad himself
but of many of his earliest followers. Even when
the rapid spread of Islam and the astonishing
military conquests of neighbouring ancient king-
doms brought undreamed-of riches to the public
exchequer, not a few of the leading men in the
new commonwealth withstood all temptation to
abandon the austere life of the desert, and their
example was admired and emulated by multi-
tudes of humbler rank. Nevertheless with the
passage of time, and as Islam became increasing-
ly secularized consequent upon further victories
and rapidly augmenting complications of state-
craft, the original ascetic impulse tended to be
overwhelmed in the flood of worldly preoccupa-
tion.
Towards the end of the eighth century a.d.
pious Muslims who remained faithful, through
all trials and temptations, to the high ideals of