Sufis, Shaykhs, Saints & Scholars

Short Biographies   [1]

'Look into the heart of a Sufi,
If you want to see the Reality,
You would find there nothing but,
The true reflection of the Almighty.'

- 250 HIJRI | 251 - 500 HIJRI | 501 - 750 HIJRI | 751 - 1000 HIJRI | 1001 - 1250 HIJRI | 1251 + HIJRI

SUFIS & SHAYKHS [2]  d. 251 - 500 Hijri

SARI AL-SAQATI   [d.253 H - 867 CE]
ABU YAZID AL-BISTAMI  [d.261 H - 874 CE]
SAHL AL-TUSTARI  [d.283 H - 896 CE]
JUNAYD, AL-BAGHDADI  [d.297 H - 910 CE]
IBN MANSUR AL HALLAJ  [d.309 H - 922 CE]
ABU JA'FAR AL-TAHAWI  [d.321 H - 933 CE]
ABU AL-HASAN AL-ASH'ARI [d.324 H - 935 CE]
ABU MANSUR AL-MATURIDI [d.333 H - 945 CE]
ABU BAKR ASH-SHIBLI  [d.334 H - 946 CE]
ABU 'ALI AL-DAQQAQ  [d.412 H - 1021 CE]
ABUL HASAN AL-KHARQANI [d.425 H - 1033 CE]
ABD 'AL-QAHIR AL-BAGHDADI [d.429 H - 1038 CE]
ABU SA'ID ABU'L KHAYR  [d.440 H - 1049 CE]
ABU AL-FARMADHI AT-TUSI [d.447 H - 1055 CE] 
ABU AL-QASIM AL-QUSHAYRI  [d.464 H - 1072 CE]
'ALI UTHMAN AL-HUJWIRI  [d.469 H - 1077 CE]
IBN AL-JUWAYNI [d.478 H - 1085 CE]
'AL-HARAWI AL-ANSARI  [d.481 H - 1088 CE]

SUFIS & SHAYKHS [4]  d. 751 - 1000 Hijri

SHAYKH AKHI SIRAJ AL-DIN CHISTI [d.758 H - 1357 CE]
TAJ AL-DIN AL-SUBKI [d.771 H - 1369 CE]
IBN KATHIR [d.774 H - 1373 CE]
MAKHDOOM JAHANIAN JAHAN GASHT [d.785 H - 1384 CE]
SHAH BAHA'AL-DIN NAQSHBAND  [d.791 H - 1388 CE]
HAFIZ AL SHIRAZI [d.791 H - 1389 CE]
SHAYKH ALA AL-HAQ WADEEN CHISTI [d.800 H - 1398 CE]
MAKHDOOM ASHRAF JAHANGIR SEMNANI [d.807 H - 1405 CE]
IBN KHALDUN [d.808 H - 1406 CE]
GESU DERAZ BANDA NAWAZ [d.825 H - 1422 CE]
IMAM IBN HAJAR AL-ASQALANI [d.852 H - 1448 CE]
IMAM MUHAMMAD AL JAZULI [d.870 H - 1465 CE]
ABD'AL RAZZAQ, NUR 'AL-AYN  [d.871 H - 1467 CE]
ABD 'AR-RAHMAN JAMI  [d.897 H - 1492 CE]
SHAMS AL-DIN AL SAKHAWI [d.902 H - 1497 CE]
JALAL AL-DIN AL-SUYUTI [d.911 H - 1505 CE]
'ABD 'AL WAHHAB AL-SHARANI [d.973 H - 1566 CE]
IBN HAJAR AL-HAYTAMI  [d.974 H - 1567 CE]
SHAH WAJIH AL-DIN ALVI GUJERATI [d.998 H - 1590 CE]

SUFIS & SHAYKHS [5]  d. 1001 - 1250 Hijri

SUFIS & SHAYKHS [6]  d. 1251 Hijri -

MAWLANA FAZL-E-HAQ KHAYRABADI [d. 1278 H - 1861 CE]
AHMAD ZAYNI DAHLAN AL-MAKKI [d. 1304 H - 1886 CE]
HAJI IMDADULLAH MUHAJIR MAKKI [d.1317 H - 1899 CE]
AL HAAJ WARIS ALI SHAH  [d.1323 H - 1905 CE]
MIAN MUHAMMAD BAKSH AL-QADIRI [d.1324 H - 1907 CE]
A'LA HADRAT IMAM AHMAD RIDA KHAN  [d.1340 H - 1921 CE]
ALIM-E-RABBANI SAYYAD AHMAD ASHRAF [d. 1347 - 1930 CE]
A'LA HADRAT 'ASHRAFI MIYA'  [d.1354 H - 1936 CE]
PIR MEHR ALI SHAH GOLRAWI  [d.1356 H - 1937 CE]
'HUJJAT AL ISLAM' HAMID RIDA KHAN [d.1362 H - 1945 CE]
SADR'AL AFAZIL NAIM AL-DIN MURADABADI  [d. 1367 H - 1948 CE]
PIR SAYYAD JAMA'AT ALI SHAH [d.1370 H - 1951 CE ]
SHAH ABD'AL ALEEM SIDDIQI [d.1373 H - 1954 CE]
MUHADDITH AL A'ZAM-E-HIND [d.1381 H - 1961 CE]
MUHADDITH AL AZAM PAKISTAN [d.1381 H - 1962 CE]
MUFTI AHMED YAAR KHAN NA'IMI [d. 1391 H - 1971 CE]
KHAWAJA QAMAR AL-DIN SIYALVI [d.1401 H - 1981 CE]
'MUFTI AL-A'ZAM' MUSTAFA RIDA KHAN [d.1402 H - 1981 CE]
SAYYAD AHMAD SA'EED KAZMI [d.1406 H - 1986 CE]
SARKAR-E-KALAN SAYYAD MUKHTAR ASHRAF [d. 1417 H - 1996 CE]
PIR KARAM SHAH AL-AZHARI [d. 1418 H - 1998 CE]

More shaykhs & scholars will be added at regular intervals

MAIN PAGE: SUFIS & SHAYKHS [1] 

[1]  |   [2]  |  [3]  |  [4]  |  [5]  |  [6]



SUFI STORIES | SUFI QUOTES | SUFI POETRY

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Imam Hasan al-Basri [d.110H/728CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan Yasar Abu Sa'id al-Basri (d.110H), al-Faqih, the great Imam of Basra, leader of the ascetics and scholars of his time. The son of a freedwoman of Umm Salma's (the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's wife) and a freedman of Zayd ibn Thabit's (Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's stepson). Umm Salma Radi Allahu ta'ala anha nursed him. His mother took him as a child to Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu who supplicated for him with the words: "O Allah! Make him wise in the Religion and beloved to people." As a man he became known for his strict and encompassing embodiment of the Sunnah of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, famous for his immense knowledge, austerity and asceticism, fearless remonstrances of the authorities, and power of attraction both in discourse and appearance. One of the early formal Sufis in both the general and the literal sense, he wore all his life a cloak of wool (suf).

Imam Hasan al-Basri Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was a major religious figure of the Umayyd period. Produced writings & sermons that were extremely influential in all areas of Islamic piety [taqwa'], from theology ['aqa'id] to Qur'anic Exegesis [tafsir]. Often critical of or opposed to Umayyad rulers, but did not approve of rebellion against tyrannical rule. His sermons contain some of the earliest & best examples of 'Arabic prose style.

Imam Hasan al Basri Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu was considered by the Salaf to be one of the "Substitute-Saints" (al-Abdal). Hadrat Anas (narrated that the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam said: "The earth will never lack forty men similar to the Friend of the Merciful [Hadrat Ibrahim (alaihi asalam)], and through them people receive rain and are given help. None of them dies except Allah substitutes another in his place." Hadrat Qatada Radi Allahu anhu said: "We do not doubt that al-Hasan is one of them." [Narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Awsat]

Further recommended reading : http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/hasan_al_basri.htm

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Al-Imam Muhammad al-Baqir [d. 114AH/732C.E] alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan 

"Al-Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has disclosed secrets of Ilm and Hikmah and unfolded the principles of spiritual and religious guidance. Nobody can deny his character, his God-given knowledge, his divinely-gifted Hikmah, and his obligation and gratitude towards the spreading of knowledge. He was a sacred and highly talented spiritual leader and for this reason, he was popularly titled al-Baqir, which means the expounder of knowledge. Kind in heart, spotless in character, saved by soul, and noble by nature, the Imam devoted all his time to Allah's Ibadah. It is beyond the power of a man to count the deep impression of knowledge and guidance left by the Imam on the hearts of the faithful. His saying in devotion and abstinence, in knowledge and wisdom and in religious exercise and submission to Allah are so great in number that the volume of this book is quite insufficient to cover them all.”

Source: by M. Jamaal al-Din Abdul-Wahid al-Hanafi

1. There were good and bad men of authority amongst Banu Umayya. Amongst the excellent men are Hadrat Umar bin al-Khattab, Hadrat Uthman bin al-Affan, Umar bin Abdul-Aziz, etc. (May Allah be pleased with them and bestow them peace).
   
   
   
2. The Shi'ah who deserted Imam Zaid (in the same way their deserted his grandfather, Imam El-Husain bin Ali bin Abu Talib, Radi Allahu Anhu are now known as Rawafid, meaning Deserters and comprise 95% of the Shi'ah population today. This term, Rawafid, was titled to them by the Ahlul-Bayt.
   
   
   
   

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Nu'man ibn Thabit - 'Imam al A'zam' Abu Hanifah [d.150H/767CE] alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan 

Better known as 'Imam-e-'Adham' (The Greatest Imam), or by his kunyah 'Abu Hanifah' radi Allahu anhu, Nu'man ibn Thabit was born in the city of Kufa (modern day Iraq) in the year 80H (689 CE). Born into a family of tradesmen, the Imam's family were of Persian origin as well as descending from the Noble Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's Companion Salman al-Farsi radi Allahu anhu.' Imam Abu Hanifah's father, Thabit,' had met in Kufa Imam 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib radi Allahu ta'ala anhu who made du'a for him and his progeny, and some say that Abu Hanifah radi Allahu anhu was a result of this du'a.

Imam Abu Hanifah radi Allahu anhu acquired knowledge from over four thousand people. His teachers included many prestigious men of the time whose sanad went back to a number of Companions radi Allahu ta'ala anhum He himself was blessed with the meeting of the Companions: Anas ibn Malik, Abdullah ibn Afwa and Sahl ibn Sa'ad radi Allahu anhum, thus gaining him the rank of being a Tabi'i (Successor to the Companions).

Amongst Imam Abu Hanifah's shayukh was Hammad ibn Sulayman radi Allahu anhu, he joined his circle at the age of 22, having already become a well-known debater and studied with this shaykh until the latter's death, whereupon he took over his majlis (circle) at the age of forty. Shu'ba, a leading muhaddith who knew-by-heart two thousand traditions was also a teacher of Imam Abu Hanifah radi Allahu anhu. Shu'ba was greatly attached to Imam Abu Hanifah radi Allahu anhu saying: "Just as I know that the sun is bright, I know that learning and Abu Hanifah radi Allahu anhu are doubles of each other."

The Imam's quest for knowledge inevitably took him to the Holy Sanctuaries, at a time when Makkah was a busy center for learning. A number of acknowledged masters of hadith, who had had access to the Prophet's Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam Companions radi Allahu ta'ala anhum had established their own schools there. Of these was 'Ata bin Rabah's (rahm) school. 'Ata was a famous Tabi'i who had associated with most of the Companions radi Allahu ta'ala anhum) and acquired from this association a status of authority. He himself claimed to have met two hundred men who had associated with the Noble Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam. The leading Companions radi Allahu ta'ala anhum all acknowledged his learning. Abdullah ibn 'Umar radi Allahu anhu, son of the Caliph 'Umar radi Allahu anhu often used to say: "Why do people come to me when 'Ata ibn Abi Rabah is there for them to go to?" Of the other Muhaddithin of Makkah whose classes the Imam attended was 'Ikrimah. He was the slave and pupil of Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, who educated him with great care and attention, making him so proficient that he, during his own lifetime gave Imam Abu Hanifah the authority to exercise personal judgement and rulings. "Imam Abu Hanifah radi Allahu anhu was the first to analyze Islamic jurisprudence, divide it into subjects, distinguish its issues and determine the range and criteria for analytical reasoning (qiyas)."

Imam as-Shafi'i rahmatullahi alayh is recorded to have stated:"All men of fiqh are Abu Hanifah's children" and "I would not have acquired anything of knowledge had it not been for my teacher. All men of knowledge are children of the ulema of Iraq, who were the disciples of the ulema of Kufa, and they were the disciples of Abu Hanifah." The Hanafi madhhab, entitled after the Imam, spread far-and-wide during the time of the Ottoman Empire.? Today, more than half of the Muslims on the earth perform their `ibabadah according to the Hanafi madhhab. The Hanafi school has decided court cases in the majority of Islamic lands for the greater part of Islamic history, including the 'Abbasid and Ottoman periods.

Further recommended reading :
http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/hanifa.htm

 IMAM MALIK | IMAM SHAFI'I | IMAM HANBAL

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Sufyan ibn Sa'id ibn Masruq Abu 'Abd Allah al-Thawri al-Mudari al-Kufi [d.161H/778CE]  'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

Sufyan al-Thawri al-Mudari al-Kufi [97-161], the Godfearing, wise, grief-stricken, Mujtahid Imam, "Commander of the Believers in Hadith" – the highest level in hadith Mastership –, "Shaykh al-Islam, the Imam of hadith Masters, the leader of the practicing Ulema in his time, the author of the Jami' " (SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DHAHABI). His father was a junior Tabi'i Muhaddith and he thus began his scholarly career at home. Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i recited when he saw Sufyan coming: (And We gave him wisdom when a child) (19:12). His Shuyukh number 600. Ibn al-Jawzi claimed that his students number over 20,000 but al-Dhahabi said: "This is preposterous, they hardly reached 1,000. I know none of the hadith Masters from whom more narrated than Imam Malik, and those number 1,400 – including the liars and the unknown!"

Among the praises related about him:

By Gibril F. Haddad

The TASAWWUF of Sufyan at-Thawri

If it were not for Abu Hashim al-Sufi (d. 115) I would have never perceived the presence of the subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self... Among the best of people is the Sufi learned in jurisprudence.¹

 

Ibn al-Jawzi also narrates the following:

Abu Hashim al-Zahid said: "Allah has stamped alienation upon the world in order that the friendly company of the muridin (seekers) consist solely in being with Him and not with the world, and in order that those who obey Him come to Him by means of avoiding the world. The People of Knowledge of Allah (ahl al-ma'rifa billah) are strangers in the world and long for the hereafter."²

 

Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani's
The Repudiation of "Salafi" Innovations (Kazi, 1996) p. 277.

Blessings and Peace on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions

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Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Adham ibn Mansour ibn Yazeed ibn Jabir Al-Ajly Al-Tamimi [d.164H/782CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

Imam Junayd al Baghdadi Radi Allahu anhu said of him, "Ibrahim is the key to the sciences" and he is held in great respect, by all who have knowledge, for his exemplary life and his incisive wisdom with respect to the states of man. Ibrahim ibn Adham also associated with Sufyan ath-Thawri Radi Allahu anhu.

Ibrahim ibn Adham said:

A man approached Ibrahim ibn Adham Radi Allahu anhu and said, "Who are the best of men?" He reflected and said, "The poor who when they are refused, are grateful, and when they are given something they prefer others to themselves."

Many stories were spread about his mysticism ;

It is said that he once passed by a sad man and told him, "I want to ask you about three things, so answer me. Does anything in this universe happen against the will of Allah?"

The man denied and Ibrahim said, "Does your daily bread decrease from what Allah has decided for you?"


The man again denied and Ibrahim said, "Will your life end even one second earlier than Allah has decided for you?"


And again, the man denied. So Ibrahim said, "So why is the sadness?"

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Dawud al-Tai alayhir rahman narrated hadith from a number of the Tabi'in and took fiqh from Imam Abu Hanifa alayhir rahman who predicted that he would devote himself entirely to worship. Ibn Zyad al-Lului reported, [Abu al-Hudhayl] 'Zufar [ibn al-Hudhayl al-Anbari] [110-158] and Dawud al-Tai al-Kufi at first were colleagues, then Dawud left fiqh for asceticism while Zufar joined between the two.

Ibn al-Jawzi in 'Sifat al-Safwa' from which is quoted all the following material narrates that Abu Hanifa said to Dawud: 'Abu Sulayman! As for the instrument, we have mastered it.' Dawud said:What is left? Abu Hanifa said: 'What is left is to put it to practice!' Dawud said: 'When I heard this,my soul stirred me to seclusion and solitariness, but I told her: Sit with them for a year and do not raise a peep during that time.' During that year, he said, 'A question would come up which made me crave to answer more than someone parched craves water, but I would not answer.' After one year, he went into seclusion.

Among Dawuds sayings:

'To a student who wished to learn archery:

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abi Dawud said he heard Shiduyah ask Dawud: 'What do you think of a man who enters upon those ['Abbasi] princes and commands them good and forbids them from evil?' Dawud said: 'I fear he will be lashed' He said: 'What if he endures it?' Dawud: 'I fear the sword for him.' He said: 'What if he endures it?' Dawud: 'I fear for him the deeply-hidden disease 'vain glory (al-.ujb).'

Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Sayrafi said that Dawud only came out of his house upon hearing the iqama then, when the Imam gave salam, jumped up and re-entered his house. His daily diet was bread, salt, and water. One time he ate dates out of craving, after which he swore never to touch dates again. One time his maidservant cooked him a dish but he said: 'Take it to So-and-so's orphans. If I eat it, it will end up in the refuse, but if they eat it, it will be stored up in the Divine presence.'

At a funeral one day, Dawud was heard to say:

Visitors once said to one another, upon seeing him sitting on the dusty ground: 'This is an ascetic (zahid).. He said:

When Sufyan al-Thawri visited him with Abu Khalid al-Ahmar the latter was miffed that Dawud did not so much as look at Sufyan, but Sufyan told him: 'He is unconcerned by affection; did you not see his eyes? They see other than what we fiddle with.'

To another visitor who offered to have the cobwebs in his ceiling swept Dawud said:

Dawud inherited from his parents or his freedwoman twenty pieces of gold which sufficed him for twenty years, after which he would sell the wood of his roof for sustenance until he lived in the last sheltered corner of his house.

Hammad [ibn Salama] and/or Abu Yusuf said to him: 'Dawud! You are satisfied with so little of this world!' He replied:

To al-Harith ibn Idris who asked him for counsel Dawud replied: 'The soldiers of death await you.'

Dawud's frequent prayer:

Then he would repeat a verse of the Qur'an over and over. His neighbour, overhearing, said: 'It would seem to me as if all the pleasures of this world were summed up in that verse.' Abu Nuaym [al-Fad'l ibn Dukayn] said he saw an ant crawl on Dawud's face lengthwise and widthwise while Dawud did not even feel it because of his anxiety and sorrow.

Abu Dawud al-T'ayalisi said he was present at Dawud's deathbed and he never witnessed a harder agony. Hafs ibn Umar al-Jufi said the reason for his final illness was that Dawud read a verse that mentioned hellfire that affected him deeply. He repeated it all night long until morning then gave up the ghost, his head resting on a clay brick.

Ibn al-Jawzi said the report that Dawud al-Tai was a silk-maker, is probably about Dawud ibn Abi al-Hind al-Basri rather than al-Tai, who did not have a profession. That report states that for forty years, he left his house with his luncheon which he gave away as alms, then he would go home and eat dinner with his family and they never knew that he was fasting.

source :dawud al-tai pdf

Malik ibn Anas [d.179H/795CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

Malik ibn Anas Rahmatullahi alaih stated "whoever studies Jurisprudence (tafaqaha) and didn't study Sufism [tasawwafa] will be corrupted; and whoever studied Sufism and didn't study Jurisprudence will become a heretic; and whoever combined both will be reach the Truth." [the scholar 'Ali al-Adawi , vol. 2, p 195.)

Further recommended reading :
http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/malik.htm

 IMAM ABU HANIFAH | IMAM SHAFI'I | IMAM HANBAL

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'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak [d.181H/797CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

He was the client of the Banu Tamim, then the Banu Hanifa. His kunya was Abu 'Abdu'r-Rahman. He listened to Ibn Abi Layla, Hisham ibn 'Urwa, al-A'mash, Sulayman at-Tamimi, Humayd at-Tawil, Yahya ibn Sa'id, Ibn 'Awn, Musa ibn 'Uqba, the two Sufyans, al-Awza'i, Ibn Abi Dhib, Malik, Ma'mar, Shu'ba, and Haywa ibn Shurayh, and he studied with Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala', al-Layth and others. Ibn Mahdi, 'Abdu'r-Razzaq, Yahya ibn al-Qattan, Ibn Wahb and others related from him.

Qadi Abu'l-Fadl said that as-Sadafi mentioned, "When Ibn al-Mubarak came of age, his father sent him 50,000 to use for commerce. He sought after knowledge until he had spent the money. When it was gone, his father met him and said, 'What have you bought?' He brought out his books for him and said, 'This is my trade.' His father went into the house and gave him 30,000 dirhams more and said, 'Take this and follow your trade with them,' and he spent them." Ibn al-Mubarak said, "I studied adab for thirty years and I studied knowledge for twenty years."

Ibn Hanbal said, "In the time of Ibn al-Mubarak, there was no one who sought after knowledge more than him. He went to the Yemen, Egypt, Syria, the Hijaz, Basra and Kufa, and whoever related knowledge and was worthy of it. He wrote from young men and old men. He omitted what was rare. He gave hadiths from books." Ibn Waddah said, "Ibn al-Mubarak related about 25,000 hadiths. He was asked, 'Up until when did you study knowledge?' He said, 'I hope that you will find me doing that until I die."

When Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna was told that Ibn al-Mubarak had died, he said, "May Allah have mercy on him. He was a man of fiqh, knowledge, worship, asceticism, and generosity. He was courageous and a poet." He also said, "No one has come to us like Ibn al-Mubarak and Ibn Abi Ziyada." Muhammad ibn al-Mu'tamir said, "When ath-Thawri died, I asked my father, 'Who is the faqih of the Arabs?" He replied, "Ibn al-Mubarak." Al-Awza'i said to Abu 'Uthman al-Kalbi about him, "If I had seen him, I would have been delighted." An-Nasa'i said, "There was not known in the time of Ibn al-Mubarak anyone more glorious or excellent than him nor anyone who had more virtues than he possessed." Salam ibn Muti' said, "No one like him came in the east afterwards. I prefer Ibn al-Mubarak to ath-Thawri." Ibn Waddah said, "I listened to a group of the people of knowledge relate, 'Knowledge, taqwa, hadith, recognition of the men, poetry, generosity, worship and scrupulousness were comibined in Ibn al-Mubarak.

from Qadi 'Iyad's 'Tartib al-Madarik'
Thanks to Aisha Bewley's homepage

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Qadi Abu Yusuf was a descendent of the Ansar and Sahaba Hadrat Sa'd b. Sibat. Born in Kufa in 113 or 117 H and passed away on the 5th of Rabi' al-Awwal 182 H. Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaibani was born in 135 H and passed away in 189 H. He attended for about 2 yrs the lectures of Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu, and upon the latter's death, he completed his education under Abu Yusuf. He also studied for 3 yrs the Muwatta of Imam Malik Radi Allahu anhu under the great Imam himself, in Medina.


Qadi Abu Yusuf as long as Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu lived, he regularly attended his court. Imam Abu Hanifah acknowledged his mastery in Fiqh. Returning once from a visit to Abu Yusuf during the latter's sickness, Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu said to his companions:

Abu Yusuf attended the lectures of many other doctors. He heard Traditions from A'mash, Hisham b. 'Urwah, Sulaiman Taimi, Abu Ishaq Shaibani, Yahya b. Sa'id al-Ansari and others, learned maghazi (military history) and siyar (biography) from Muhammad b. Ishaq and knowledge of Fiqh from Muhammad b. Abi Laila. Allah endowed him with so much intelligence and such a good memory that he learned all these disciplines simultaneously! Other Imams in other sciences ackowledged his quick intelligence and penertration.


Although he is known mostly in Fiqh, he was unrivalled in other sciences.The historian Ibn Khallikan quotes Hilal b. Yahya as having said: "Abu Yusuf was a hafiz of tafsir (exegesis), maghazi and ayyam al-'Arab (history of Arabia), Fiqh was one of his minor accomplishments."

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Hadrat Shaykh Maroof al-Karkhi [d.200H/815CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

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Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-'Abbas, al-Imam al-Shafi'i [d.204H/819CE] alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-'Abbas, al-Imam al-Shafi'i, Abu 'Abd Allah al-Shafi'i al-Hijazi al-Qurashi al-Hashimi al-Muttalibi (d. 204), the offspring of the Blessed House of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam, the peerless one of the great mujtahid imams and jurisprudent par excellence, the scrupulously pious ascetic and Friend of Allah, he laid down the foundations of fiqh in his Risala, which he said he revised and re-read four hundred times, then said: "Only Allah’s Book is perfect and free from error."

He is the cousin of the Beloved Prophet Allah’s blessings and peace upon him descending from al-Muttalib who is the brother of Hashim, 'Abd al-Muttalib’s father. Imam al-Shafi'i Rahmatullahi alaih stated "I accompanied the Sufi people and I received from them three knowledges: ... how to speak; .. how to treat people withleniency and a soft heart... and they... guided me in the ways of Sufism." [Kashf al-Khafa, 'Ajluni, vol. 1, p 341.]

Further recommended reading :
http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/shafii.htm

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Bishr ibn al-Harith al-Hafi [d.226H/840CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l -ridwan

Bishr ibn al-Harith al-Hafi Radi Allahu anhu was born in 150 Hijri or 767 C.E. in the city of Merv in Egypt. He was one of the early Sufi Masters and a teacher of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal Radi Allahu anhu. Imam Ahmad was the founder of the Hanbali school of Islamic thought. His title was Al-Hafi (The Barefoot). One legend explains the reason for his title that he lead a corrupt life, and then made his repentance on the hand of Imam Moosa Kazim. At that time he was barefoot. There are other legends about his title too. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal Radi Allahu anhu, in order to attain this marifa, although he was at a high degree in knowledge and ijtihad, ran to be in the service of Hadrat Bishr al-Hafi Radi Allahu anhu. When he was asked why he kept close to Bishr al-Hafi, he answered, 'He knows Allah better than I do.'

Some quotes of Bishr al-Hafi : 

Regarding renunciation (zuhd) he said :  "Renunciation is a king who dwells only in a free and empty heart."

Regarding sadness (huzn), Bishr al-Hafi says: 'Sadness or sorrow is like a ruler. When it settles in a place, it does not allow others to reside there.'


Regarding Imam al Azam Abu Hanifa Radi Allahu anhu he said: "None criticizes Abu Hanifa except an envier or an ignoramus".

Regarding tawakkal [trust in Allah] Bishr al-Hafi said: "One of them may say: 'I have put all my trust in Allah [tawakkaltu 'ala 'llah],' although he is actually telling a lie. For, by Allah, if he had really put all his trust in Allah, he would be perfectly content with the way Allah treats him."

Bishr al-Hafi Radi Allahu anhu passed away in 840 C.E. or 227? Hijri and is burried in Baghdad, Iraq

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Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal [d.241H/855CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Saffarini al-Hanbali [d.241H] relates in his Ghidha' al-albab li-sharh manzumat al-adab from Ibrahim ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qalanasi that Imam Ahmad said about the Sufis: "I don't know people better than them." Someone said to him: "They listen to music and they reach states of ecstasy." He said: "Do you prevent them from enjoying an hour with Allah?" [1]

Imam Ahmad's admiration of Sufis is borne out by the reports of his awe before Harith al-Muhasibi, although he expressed caution about the difficulty of the Sufi path for those unprepared to follow it, as it may not be for all people to follow the way of those about whom Allah instructed His Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam:

"And keep yourself content with those who call their Lord early morning and evening, seeking His Countenance..." (18:28).

SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DHAHABI says of him: "The true Shaykh of Islam and leader of the Muslims in his time, the hadith master and proof of the Religion. He took hadith from Hushaym, Ibrahim ibn Sa'd, Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna, 'Abbad ibn 'Abbad, Yahya ibn Abi Za'ida, and their layer. From him narrated al-Bukhari [two hadiths in the Sahih], Muslim [22], Abu Dawud [254], Abu Zur'a, Mutayyan, 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, and a huge array of scholars. His father was a soldier u one of those who called to Islam u and he died young." Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi continues:

'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad said: "I heard Abu Zur'a [al-Razi] say: 'Your father had memorized a million hadiths, which I rehearsed with him according to topic.'"

Hanbal said: "I heard Abu 'Abd Allah say: 'I memorized everything which I heard from Hushaym when he was alive.'"

Ibrahim al-Harbi said: "I held Ahmad as one for whom Allah had gathered up the combined knowledge of the first and the last."

Harmala said: "I heard al-Shafi'i say: 'I left Baghdad and did not leave behind me anyone more virtuous (afdal), more learned (a'lam), more knowledgeable (afqah) than Ahmad ibn Hanbal.'"

'Ali ibn al-Madini said: "Truly, Allah reinforced this Religion with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq the day of the Great Apostasy (al-Ridda), and He reinforced it with Ahmad ibn Hanbal the day of the Inquisition (al-Mihna)."

Abu 'Ubayd said: "The Science at its peak is in the custody of four men, of whom Ahmad ibn Hanbal is the most knowledgeable."

Ibn Ma'in said, as related by 'Abbas [al-Duri]: "They meant for me to be like Ahmad, but û by Allah! û I shall never in my life compare to him."

Muhammad ibn Hammad al-Taharani said: "I heard Abu Thawr say: 'Ahmad is more learned û or knowledgeable û than al-Thawri.'"

Al-Dhahabi concludes: "Al-Bayhaqi wrote Abu 'Abd Allah's biography (si'ra) in one volume, so did Ibn al-Jawzi, and also Shaykh al-Islam ['Abd Allah al-Harawi] al-Ansari in a brief volume. He passed on to Allah’s good pleasure on the day of Jum'a, the twelfth of Rabi' al-Awwal in the year 241, at the age of seventy-seven. I have two of his short-chained narrations ('awaih), and a licence (ijaza) for the entire Musnad." Al-Dhahabi's chapter on Imam Ahmad in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' counts no less than 113 pages.

One of the misunderstandings prevalent among the "Salafis" who misrepresent Imam Ahmad's school today is his position regarding kalam or dialectic theology. It is known that he was uncompromisingly opposed to kalam as a method, even if used as a means to defend the truth, preferring to stick to the plain narration of textual proofs and abandoning all recourse to dialectical or rational ones. Ibn al-Jawzi relates his saying: "Do not sit with the people of kalam, even if they defend the Sunna." This attitude is at the root of his disavowal of al-Muhasibi. It also explains the disaffection of later Hanbalis towards ABU AL-HASAN AL-ASH'ARI and his school, despite his subsequent standing as the Imam of Sunni Muslims par excellence. The reasons for this rift are now obsolete although the rift has amplified beyond all recognizable shape, as it is evident, in retrospect, that opposition to Ash'aris, for various reasons, came out of a major misunderstanding of their actual contributions within the Community, whether as individuals or as a whole.

Further recommended reading :
http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/hanbal.htm


IMAM ABU HANIFA | IMAM MALIK | IMAM SHAFI'I

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• Kitab al-ri'aya li huquq Allah (Book of observance of the rights of Allah); Shaykh al-Islam al-'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam wrote an abridgment of it.²
  
  
• Kitab al-tawahhum (Book of imagination), a description of the Day of Judgment;
  
  
• Kitab al-khalwa (Book of seclusion);
  
  
• Risalat al-mustarshidin (Treatise for those who ask for guidance);
  
  
• Kitab al-ri'aya li-huquq Allah (Book of the observance of the rights of Allah);
  
  
• Kitab fahm al-Qur'an (Book of the understanding of Qur'an);
  
  
• Kitab mahiyyat al-'aql wa ma`nahu wa ikhtilaf al-nas fihi (Book of the nature and meaning of the mind and the differences among people concerning it);
  
  
• al-Masa'il fi a'mal al-qulub wa al-jawarih wa al-'aql (The questions concerning the works of the hearts, the limbs, and the mind);
  
  
• Kitab al-'azama (The book of magnificence);
  
  
• al-Wasaya wa al-nasa'ih al-diniyya wa al-nafahat al-qudsiyya li naf'i jami' al-bariyya (The spiritual legacies and counsels and the sanctified gifts for the benefit of all creatures).

¹ 'Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, Kitab Usul al-Din p. 308-309; Taj al-Din Subki, Tabaqat al-shafi'iyya 2:275; Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya 1:(#9)26-27.

Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani's
The Repudiation of "Salafi" Innovations (Kazi, 1996) p. 281-282.

Blessings and Peace on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions

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Dhul-Nun al-Misri [d.244H/859CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

Famous Egyptian Sufi [full name Dhul Nun Abu Fayd Thawban ibn Ibrahim al-Misri]. Born in Akhmim, upper Egypt [796 CE]; died in Djiza near Cairo. Considered among the most prominent figures of early Sufism & holds a position in the Sufi chronicles as high as JUNAYD, AL-BAGHDADI [d.910] & ABU YAZID AL-BISTAMI [d.874] Allah be pleased with all. A legendary alchemist and thaumaturage, he is supposed to have known the secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. 

He studied under various teachers and travelled extensively in Arabia and Syria. Wisdom sayings & poems, which are extremely dense & rich in sufi imagery, emphasize knowledge or gnosis [m'arifah] more than fear [makhafah] or love [mahabbah], the other two major paths of spiritual realization in Sufism. No written work has survived, but a vast collection of poems, sayings & aphorisms attributed to him continues to live on in oral tradition.



A number of early Sufis such as RABI'AH AL-ADAWIYAH evinced a sophistication of aesthetic expression and theoretical speculation that laid a solid foundation for later work by Sufi mystics. Pivotal figures such as Dhul Nun al-Misri were poetic stylists and theoreticians. He was master of the epigram and an accomplished poetic stylist in Arabic. The full force of his literary talent comes to light , however in his prayers.

The child of Nubian parents , Dhul-Nun was born in Upper Egypt at the end of the eight century. While many of the factual details of his life are often indistinguishable from pious fiction , a reliable kernel of historical data emerges. Although he lived in Cairo, Dhul-Nun traveled extensively, and during one of his sojourns in Baghdad, he ran afoul of the caliph al-Mutawakkil (r.847-861). The confrontation was sparked by his refusal to accept Mu'tazili doctrine of the createdness of the Qur'an. For his act of defiance, Dhul-Nun was imprisoned; during his heresy trial, however, he so affected the caliph with his apologia for the Sufi life that al-Mutawakkil released him unharmed.

The preserved sayings of Dhul-Nun attest to the profundity of his mystical insight and to the skill with which he developed terminology and structures to analyze the mystical life. He excelled at elucidating the nuances of the various stages (maqamat) and states (ahwal) encountered by the mystic along the Sufi path. To him is attributed the first construction of a coherent theory of ma'rifah , spiritual gnosis, which he contrasts with 'ilm, the more traditional path of discursive reason.

A pivotal aspect of Dhul-Nun's mysticism is the coincidentia oppositorum, the "conjunction of opposites ." the God who pours out his love upon the faithful Sufi wayfarer is, in Dhul-Nun's view, the same God who afflicts his lover with pain and torment. God is, at one and the same time, al-Muhyi "the giver of life," and al-mumit , "the one who kills." Legend has it that at his death the following words were found inscribed on his forehead;

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