Sahl al-Tustari: Difference between revisions

Sahl al-Tustarī
Sahl al-Tustarī
Personal
Born	c. 818 CE (203 AH) in Shushtar, Iran
Died	c. 896 CE (283 AH) in Basra, Iraq
Religion	Islam
Era	Islamic golden age
Region	Ahwaz
Main interest(s)	Sufism, Islamic theology
Notable work(s)	Tafsir

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Sahl al-Tustarī (Arabic: سهل التستري) or Sahl Shushtarī (Persian: سهل شوشتری) according to Persian custom, born Abū Muḥammad Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh (c.818 CE (203 AH) – c.896 CE (283 AH)), was a Persian Sunni Muslim scholar and early classical Sufi mystic.^[1] He founded the Salimiyah Muslim theological school, which was named after his disciple Muhammad ibn Salim.^[2]

Tustari is most famous for his controversial claim that "I am the Proof of God for the created beings and I am a proof for the saints (awliya) of my time"^[1] and for his well-known Tafsir, a commentary on and interpretation of the Qur'an.

Biography

Sahl al-Tustari was born in the fortress town of Tustar (Arabic) or Shushtar (Persian) during the golden age of the Abbasid Caliphate, in Khūzestān Province in what is now southwestern Iran.^[1]

From an early age he led an ascetic life with frequent fasting and study of the Qur'an and Hadith, the oral traditions, of the Prophet Muhammad. He practised repentance (tawbah) and, above all, constant remembrance of God (dhikr). This eventually culminated in a direct and intimate rapport with God with whom he considered himself a special friend and one of the spiritual elect.^[1]

Tustari was under the direction of the Sufi saint Dhul-Nun al-Misri for a time, and Tustari in his turn was one of the Sufi mystic Mansur Al-Hallaj's early teachers.^[3]

Tustari was also near to the Islamic Scholars of Hadith when he met (Abu Dawood) he said "O Abu Dawud, I want something from you." He said, "What is it?" Sahl said, "On a condition that you say that you will fulfill it if possible." Abu Dawud replied in the affirmative. Sahl said, "Get out your tongue with which you narrated the hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him) so that I kiss it." Abu Dawud accept that and Sahl kissed his tongue.^[4] This shows the close proximate of early hadith scholars and early sufis.

In these early days when the Sufis were becoming established mostly in Baghdad (the capital of modern Iraq), the most notable Sufis of the time elsewhere were: Tustari in southwestern Iran, Al-Tirmidhi in Central Asia and the Malamatiyya or "People of Blame".^[5] Also the chief leader of the Hanabila, al-Barbahari, was a disciple of Tustari. ^[6]

An Islamic scholar who commented on and interpreted the Qur'an, Tustari maintained that the Qur'an "contained several levels of meaning", which included the outer or zahir and the inner or batin. Another key idea that he unravelled was the meaning of the Prophet Muhammad's saying "I am He and He is I, save that I am I, and He is He", explaining it "as a mystery of union and realization at the center of the Saint's personality, called the sirr ('the secret'), or the heart, where existence joins Being."^[7] Tustari also "was the first to put" the Sufi exercise of remembrance of God, Dhikr, "on a firm theoretical basis."^[8]

[Tustari] maintained that ultimately [...] it became clear to the recollector that the true agent of recollection was not the believer engaged in recollection but God Himself, who commemorated Himself in the heart of the believer. This realisation of God's control over the heart led the believer to the state of complete trust in the Divine.^[1]

Works

al-Tustari, Sahl ibn 'Abd Allah (December 2009). Meri, Yousef (ed.). Tafsir Al-Tustari: Great Commentaries of the Holy Qur'an. Translated by Keeler, Annabel; Keeler, Ali. Fons Vitae. ISBN 978-1-891785-19-1.

Sayings

"I am the Proof of God for the created beings and I am a proof for the saints (awliya) of my time"^[1]
Asked "What is food?" Tustari replied: "Food is contemplation of the Living One."^[9]
"Whoever wakes up worrying about what he will eat -- shun him!"^[10]
"If any one shuts his eye to God for a single moment, he will never be rightly guided all his life long"^[11]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Karamustafa, Ahmet T. (Professor) (2007). Sufism: The Formative Period. University of California Press. pp. 38–43. ISBN 978-0-520-25269-1.Co-publisher: Edinburgh University Press.
^ Staff. "Salimiyah (Muslim theological school)". Encyclopædia Britannica (online). Retrieved 2009-06-20.
^ Mason, Herbert W. (1995). Al-Hallaj. RoutledgeCurzon. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-7007-0311-1.
^ Okasha, Mohamed (3 September 2014). "Abu Dawud: The Faqih and Scholar of Hadith". The-faith.com. E-Da`wah Committee (EDC). Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
^ Cornell, Vincent J. (2006). Voices of Islam, Volume 1: Voices of Tradition. Praeger Publishers. pp. 254–255. ISBN 978-0-275-98732-9.
^ JSTOR: The Ḥanābila and the Early Sufis. Page 353
^ Glasse, Cyril (2008). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-7425-6296-7.
^ Hovannisian, Richard G.; Sabagh, Georges (1998). The Persian presence in the Islamic world. Cambridge University Press. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-521-59185-0.
^ Shah, Idries (1983). Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way. Octagon Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-900860-59-1. First published 1978. According to Idries Shah this refers to the fact that "Sufi learning comes through nutrition."
^ Jami, Al-Ghazzali and Hakim Sanai (1980). Four Sufi Classics: "Salaman and Absal", "Niche for Lights", "Way of the Seeker" and "Abode of Spring". Octagon Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-900860-69-0.
^ Nicholson, Reynold A. (2002). The Mystics of Islam. World Wisdom. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-941532-48-8.

References

Massignon, Louis; Mason, Herbert W (translator and editor) (1994). The passion of Al-Hallaj: mystic and martyr of Islam. Princeton University Press. pp. 35–37. ISBN 978-0-691-01919-2. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
Hovannisian, Richard G.; Sabagh, Georges (1998). The Persian presence in the Islamic world. Cambridge University Press. pp. 187–188. ISBN 978-0-521-59185-0.
Glasse, Cyril (2008). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. pp. 393–394. ISBN 978-0-7425-6296-7.

External links

Al-Tustari: A short bio by Shaykh Gibril Haddad

[AhmetTKaramustafa-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Karamustafa, Ahmet T. (Professor) (2007). Sufism: The Formative Period. University of California Press. pp. 38–43. ISBN 978-0-520-25269-1.Co-publisher: Edinburgh University Press.

[Britannica-2] Staff. "Salimiyah (Muslim theological school)". Encyclopædia Britannica (online). Retrieved 2009-06-20.

[HerbertMason-3] Mason, Herbert W. (1995). Al-Hallaj. RoutledgeCurzon. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-7007-0311-1.

[The-faith.com-4] Okasha, Mohamed (3 September 2014). "Abu Dawud: The Faqih and Scholar of Hadith". The-faith.com. E-Da`wah Committee (EDC). Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

[VoicesOfIslam-5] Cornell, Vincent J. (2006). Voices of Islam, Volume 1: Voices of Tradition. Praeger Publishers. pp. 254–255. ISBN 978-0-275-98732-9.

[6] JSTOR: The Ḥanābila and the Early Sufis. Page 353

[NewEncyclo-7] Glasse, Cyril (2008). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-7425-6296-7.

[Hovannisian-8] Hovannisian, Richard G.; Sabagh, Georges (1998). The Persian presence in the Islamic world. Cambridge University Press. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-521-59185-0.

[LHTL-9] Shah, Idries (1983). Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way. Octagon Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-900860-59-1. First published 1978. According to Idries Shah this refers to the fact that "Sufi learning comes through nutrition."

[FSC-10] Jami, Al-Ghazzali and Hakim Sanai (1980). Four Sufi Classics: "Salaman and Absal", "Niche for Lights", "Way of the Seeker" and "Abode of Spring". Octagon Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-900860-69-0.

[MysticsOfIslam-11] Nicholson, Reynold A. (2002). The Mystics of Islam. World Wisdom. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-941532-48-8.

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@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 | death_date             = c. 896 CE (283 AH) in [[Basra]], [[Iraq]]
 | ethnicity              = [[Persian peoples|Persian]]
-| region                 = [[ahwaz]]
+| region                 = [[Ahwaz]]
+| jurisprudence          =
 | main_interests         = [[Sufism]], [[Islamic theology]]
 | works                  = ''[[Tafsir]]''
 }}
-'''Sahl al-Tustarī''' ({{lang-ar|سهل التستري}}) or '''Sahl Shushtarī''' ({{lang-fa|سهل شوشتری}}) according to Persian custom, born Abū Muḥammad Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh (c.818 [[Common Era|CE]] (203 [[Islamic calendar|AH]]) – c.896 [[Common Era|CE]] (283 [[Islamic calendar|AH]])), was a Persian [[Islam|Muslim]] [[Scholarship|scholar]] and early classical [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[mysticism|mystic]].<ref name="AhmetTKaramustafa">{{cite book
+'''Sahl al-Tustarī''' ({{langx|ar|سهل التستري}}) or '''Sahl Shushtarī''' ({{langx|fa|سهل شوشتری}}) according to Persian custom, born Abū Muḥammad Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh (c.818 [[Common Era|CE]] (203 [[Islamic calendar|AH]]) – c.896 [[Common Era|CE]] (283 [[Islamic calendar|AH]])), was a Persian [[Sunni]] [[Islam|Muslim]] [[Scholarship|scholar]] and early classical [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[mysticism|mystic]].<ref name="AhmetTKaramustafa">{{cite book
 | last = Karamustafa
 | first = Ahmet T. (Professor)
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
 | title = Sufism: The Formative Period
 | publisher = University of California Press
@@ Line 23: / Line 24: @@
 | isbn = 978-0-520-25269-1}}Co-publisher: [[Edinburgh University Press]].</ref> He founded the Salimiyah Muslim theological school, which was named after his disciple Muhammad ibn Salim.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web
 | last = Staff
-| first =
 | title = Salimiyah (Muslim theological school)
 | publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica (online)
 | url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/519229/Salimiyah#ref=ref258061
-| accessdate = 2009-06-20}}</ref>
+| access-date = 2009-06-20}}</ref>
 Tustari is most famous for his controversial claim that "I am the Proof of God for the created beings and I am a proof for the saints ([[Wali|awliya]]) of my time"<ref name="AhmetTKaramustafa" /> and for his well-known [[Tafsir]], a commentary on and interpretation of the [[Qur'an]].
 ==Biography==
-Sahl al-Tustari was born in the fortress town of Tustar (Arabic) or [[Shushtar]] (Persian) in [[Khūzestān Province]] in what is now southwestern [[Iran]].<ref name="AhmetTKaramustafa" />
+Sahl al-Tustari was born in the fortress town of Tustar (Arabic) or [[Shushtar]] (Persian) during the [[Islamic Golden Age|golden age]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]], in [[Khūzestān Province]] in what is now southwestern [[Iran]].<ref name="AhmetTKaramustafa" />
 From an early age he led an ascetic life with frequent fasting and study of the Qur'an and [[Hadith]], the oral traditions, of the Prophet [[Muhammad]]. He practised repentance ([[Repentance in Islam|tawbah]]) and, above all, constant remembrance of God ([[dhikr]]). This eventually culminated in a direct and intimate rapport with God with whom he considered himself a special friend and one of the spiritual elect.<ref name="AhmetTKaramustafa" />
-Tustari was under the direction of the Sufi saint [[Dhul-Nun al-Misri]] for a time, and Tustari in his turn was one of the Sufi mystic and later martyr [[Mansur Al-Hallaj]]'s early teachers.<ref name="HerbertMason">{{cite book
+Tustari was under the direction of the Sufi saint [[Dhul-Nun al-Misri]] for a time, and Tustari in his turn was one of the Sufi mystic [[Mansur Al-Hallaj]]'s early teachers.<ref name="HerbertMason">{{cite book
 | last = Mason
 | first = Herbert W.
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
 | title = Al-Hallaj
 | publisher = [[Routledge]]Curzon
 | year = 1995
 | location =
+| page = [https://archive.org/details/alhallaj0000maso/page/83 83]
-| page = 83
-| isbn = 978-0-7007-0311-1}}</ref>
+| isbn = 978-0-7007-0311-1
+| url = https://archive.org/details/alhallaj0000maso/page/83
+}}</ref>
 Tustari was also near to the Islamic Scholars of Hadith when he met ([[Abu Dawood]]) he said "O Abu Dawud, I want something from you." He said, "What is it?" Sahl said, "On a condition that you say that you will fulfill it if possible." Abu Dawud replied in the affirmative. Sahl said, "Get out your tongue with which you narrated the hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him) so that I kiss it." Abu Dawud accept that and Sahl kissed his tongue.<ref name="The-faith.com">{{cite web
@@ Line 64: / Line 66: @@
 | last = Cornell
 | first = Vincent J.
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
 | title = Voices of Islam, Volume 1: Voices of Tradition
 | publisher = [[Greenwood Publishing Group|Praeger Publishers]]
@@ Line 70: / Line 72: @@
 | location =
 | pages = 254–255
+| isbn = 978-0-275-98732-9}}</ref> Also the chief leader of the Hanabila, [[Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Barbahari|al-Barbahari]], was a disciple of Tustari. <ref>JSTOR: The Ḥanābila and the Early Sufis. Page 353</ref>
-| isbn = 978-0-275-98732-9}}</ref>
 An Islamic scholar who commented on and interpreted the Qur'an, Tustari maintained that the Qur'an "contained several levels of meaning", which included the outer or [[Zahir (Islam)|zahir]] and the inner or batin. Another key idea that he unravelled was the meaning of the Prophet [[Muhammad]]'s saying "I am He and He is I, save that I am I, and He is He", explaining it "as a mystery of union and realization at the center of the Saint's personality, called the [[Lataif-e-sitta|sirr]] ('the secret'), or the heart, where existence joins Being."<ref name=NewEncyclo>{{cite book
 | last = Glasse
 | first = Cyril
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
 | title = The New Encyclopedia of Islam
 | publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
@@ Line 83: / Line 85: @@
 | isbn = 978-0-7425-6296-7}}</ref> Tustari also "was the first to put" the Sufi exercise of remembrance of God, [[Dhikr]], "on a firm theoretical basis."<ref name="Hovannisian">{{cite book
 | last =  Hovannisian, Richard G.
-| first =
+| author-link =
-| authorlink =
 |author2=Sabagh, Georges
  | title = The Persian presence in the Islamic world
@@ Line 94: / Line 95: @@
 {{quotation|[Tustari] maintained that ultimately [...] it became clear to the recollector that the true agent of recollection was not the believer engaged in recollection but God Himself, who commemorated Himself in the heart of the believer. This realisation of God's control over the heart led the believer to the state of complete trust in the Divine.<ref name="AhmetTKaramustafa" />}}
 ==Works==
@@ Line 99: / Line 101: @@
 | last1 = al-Tustari
 | first1 = Sahl ibn 'Abd Allah
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
-| last2 = Meri
+| editor-last1 = Meri
-| first2 = Yousef (editor)
+| editor-first1 = Yousef
-| last3 = Keeler
+| translator-last1 = Keeler
-| first3 = Annabel
+| translator-first1 = Annabel
-| last4 = Keeler
+| translator-last2 = Keeler
-| first4 = Ali (translators)
+| translator-first2 = Ali
 | title = Tafsir Al-Tustari: Great Commentaries of the Holy Qur'an
 | publisher = Fons Vitae
@@ Line 117: / Line 119: @@
 | last = Shah
 | first = Idries
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
 | title = [[Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way]]
 | publisher = [[Octagon Press]]
@@ Line 126: / Line 128: @@
 * "Whoever wakes up worrying about what he will eat -- shun him!"<ref name="FSC">{{cite book
 | last = Jami, Al-Ghazzali and Hakim Sanai
-| first =
+| author-link =
-| authorlink =
 | title = Four Sufi Classics: "Salaman and Absal", "Niche for Lights", "Way of the Seeker" and "Abode of Spring"
 | publisher = [[Octagon Press]]
@@ Line 137: / Line 138: @@
 | last = Nicholson
 | first = Reynold A.
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
 | title = The Mystics of Islam
 | publisher = [[World Wisdom]]
@@ Line 150: / Line 151: @@
 ==References==
 * {{cite book
-| last = Massignon
+| last1 = Massignon
-| first = Louis
+| first1 = Louis
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
 | first2 = Herbert W (translator and editor)
 | last2 = Mason
@@ Line 164: / Line 165: @@
 | last = Hovannisian
 | first = Richard G.
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
 |author2=Sabagh, Georges
  | title = The Persian presence in the Islamic world
@@ Line 175: / Line 176: @@
 | last = Glasse
 | first = Cyril
-| authorlink =
+| author-link =
 | title = The New Encyclopedia of Islam
 | publisher = [[Rowman & Littlefield]] Publishers, Inc
@@ Line 184: / Line 185: @@
 ==Further reading==
-* {{cite book|author=[[Gerhard Böwering]]|title=The Mystical Vision of Existence in Classical Islam: The Qur'anic Hermeneutics of the Sufi Sahl At-Tustari|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UabRPEv_Lq0C|year=1979|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-083705-6}}
+* {{cite book|author=Gerhard Böwering|author-link=Gerhard Böwering|title=The Mystical Vision of Existence in Classical Islam: The Qur'anic Hermeneutics of the Sufi Sahl At-Tustari|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UabRPEv_Lq0C|year=1979|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-083705-6}}
 ==External links==
 * [https://www.abc.se/~m9783/tust_e.htm Al-Tustari: A short bio by Shaykh Gibril Haddad]
+{{Sufi}}
 {{Authority control}}
@@ Line 195: / Line 197: @@
 [[Category:Iranian Sufis]]
 [[Category:People from Shushtar]]
-[[Category:818 births]]
+[[Category:810s births]]
 [[Category:896 deaths]]
 [[Category:9th-century Iranian people]]

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