Name:
The great sheikh the eminent gnostic the possessor of exalted merit His name was Abu Bakr Dulaf ibn Hujdar and it is also said Ja‘far al Shibli
Birth:
He was born around the year 247 AH (c. 861 CE) He was originally from Khurasan but was born and raised in Baghdad though some say his birthplace was Samarra.
He served as governor of Damavand:
A district of Rasnaq al Ray in the mountainous regions He repented in the assembly of Khayr al Nassaj then went to the people of that land and said I was the governor of your town grant me your pardon.
He kept the company of:
Abu al Qasim al Junayd the master of the Sufi path as well as other righteous men of his time. He is the first to have called Sufism the science of the patched cloak ilm al khirq in contrast to the science of paper ilm al waraq meaning jurisprudence and the outward sciences.
His contemporaries:
He associated with al Junayd and his peers and among his own companions were al Husayn ibn Muhammad Abu al Hasan al Husri Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamdun al Farra Bandar ibn al Husayn and Abu Sahl al Sa‘luki.
Residence:
Baghdad
Life:
In the sciences of Sufism and realization he was like a deep sea and in hadith and jurisprudence he attained the heights of verification and the rank of ijtihad independent juristic reasoning.
In observing the insight of al Junayd he was clad in the armor of spiritual disciplines and he had words of wisdom that were held in high regard.
Al Junayd’s words about him:
Do not look upon Abu Bakr al Shibli with the eye by which you look upon one another for he is an eye from among the eyes of God. And he also said Every people has a crown and the crown of this people is al Shibli the one who drinks the nectar of gnosis.
He was renowned for:
His spiritual struggles in his early days. He would apply salt to his eyes to accustom himself to wakefulness at night and was extreme in his reverence for the noble Sharia.
From his sayings:
He said about Sufism: It is the refreshing of hearts the adorning of thoughts with the garments of loyalty cultivating generosity and a cheerful face in meeting others and it is to sit with God without worldly concerns.
Speaking of the mystical state of khatf sudden spiritual rapture al Shibli said Sufism is an encircling flash meaning the flash that draws one into the unity of witnessing for the Sufi is one who sees in both worlds with God none other than God. God is the One the Unique the All Powerful the All Dominating.
His intimate supplications to God:
Would seize his mind and senses keeping him from attending to the needs of his own self He also said You think me alive but I am dead And part of me from separation weeps over another part.
Al Shibli held that:
There is no pause for the seeker no knowledge for the gnostic no connection for knowledge no rest for the lover no claim for the truthful one no peace for the fearful one and no escape for creation from God.
From his miracles:
He said I once resolved to eat nothing but what was lawful so I wandered in the wilderness I saw a tree and as I reached to take from it the tree called to me Guard your covenant do not eat from me for I belong to a Jew.
He would be overtaken by spiritual ecstasy walah losing consciousness but would return to his senses at the times of prayer so as not to miss anything obligatory upon him When he finished his prayer the ecstasy would seize him again and he would lose awareness.
His passing:
He died in Dhu al Hijjah 334 AH (c. 946 CE) at the age of 87. His grave is in the district of al Imam al A‘zam visible and visited.
Sources:
- Ibn al Mulaqqin Tabaqat al Awliya p. 126
- Tadhkirat al Awliya Murtada ibn Muhammad Al Nazmi al Baghdadi pp. 173-176
- Abd al Ra’uf al Munawi al Kawakib al Durriyya vol 1 pp. 213-217
- Ibn al Mulaqqin Tabaqat al Awliya p. 204
- Abu Abd al Rahman al Sulami Tabaqat al Sufiyya p. 337
- Yusuf al Nabhani Jami Karamat al Awliya vol 2 p. 8
- Tadhkirat al Awliya Murtada ibn Muhammad Al Nazmi al Baghdadi pp. 183-186
