Sahl al-Tustarī | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | c. 818CE (203AH) inShushtar,Iran |
| Died | c. 896 CE (283 AH) inBasra,Iraq |
| Era | Islamic golden age |
| Region | Ahwaz |
| Main interest(s) | Sufism,Islamic theology |
| Notable work(s) | Tafsir |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Jurisprudence | proto-Hanbali |
Sahl al-Tustarī (Arabic:سهل التستري) orSahl Shushtarī (Persian:سهل شوشتری) according to Persian custom, born Abū Muḥammad Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh (c.818CE (203AH) – c.896CE (283AH)), was aPersianSunniMuslimproto-Hanbalischolar and early classicalSufimystic, belonging to theAhl al-Hadith tradition.[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-knownTafsir, a commentary on and interpretation of theQur'an.
Sahl al-Tustari was born in the fortress town ofShushtar (Tustar in Arabic) during thegolden age of theAbbasid Caliphate, inKhūzestān Province in what is now southwesternIran.[1]
From an early age he led an ascetic life with frequent fasting and study of the Qur'an andHadith, the oral traditions, of the ProphetMuhammad. 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 saintDhul-Nun al-Misri for a time, and Tustari in his turn was one of the Sufi mysticMansur Al-Hallaj's early teachers.[3]
Tustari also kept the company ofhadith scholars. It is reported that when he metAbu Dawud, he said, "O Abu Dawud, I want something from you." Abu Dawud responded, "What is it?" Sahl said, "On the condition that you will fulfill my request if it is possible." Abu Dawud replied in the affirmative. Sahl said, "Show me that tongue with which you narrate the hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him) so that I might kiss it." Abu Dawud assented, 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 inBaghdad (the capital of modernIraq), the most notable Sufis of the time elsewhere were: Tustari in southwestern Iran,Al-Tirmidhi in Central Asia and theMalamatiyya 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 orzahir and the inner or batin. Another key idea that he unravelled was the meaning of the ProphetMuhammad'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 thesirr ('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]
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