Name and Lineage:
Full Name: Dawud ibn Nasir
Title: al-Tai
Kunya: Abu Sulayman
Madhhab: Hanafi
Path: The Alia Path
Contemporaries:
He accompanied Abu Hanifa al-Nu‘man.
Residence:
Kufa
Life:
He was a divinely inspired scholar and one of the eminent masters of the Alia Path. He loved the Ahl al-Bayt and often recalled their virtues and miracles, encouraging his disciples to follow their example. He held gatherings of remembrance and knowledge attended by the righteous, scholars, and seekers of the path of truth. They drew from the ocean of his divine knowledge and listened to his illuminating words.
He met Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi in the later part of his life and found him capable of bearing the secrets of the path despite his young age and recent conversion to Islam through Imam Ali al-Ridha, the Alawi guide of that time. Despite Ma‘ruf’s youth, he was unmatched in insight, and many scholars of his time respected him. He inherited the prophetic ethics and Muhammadan lights from his forefathers and ancestors.
Miracles:
Among his miracles:
- He said: “A woman in my neighborhood died without significant obedience. I was told, ‘O Dawud, look into her grave.’ When I did, I saw great light, carpets, and high couches. I asked, ‘What earned this?’ I was told: ‘She found solace in her prostration, so We gave her companionship in her solitude.’”
- In another narration: Sheikh Dawud was eating bread when a Christian passed by. He gave him a piece, and the man took it home and ate it with his wife. God then blessed him, and Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi was conceived in his mother’s womb.
Passing:
He passed away in the year 165 AH while in prostration.
Sources:
- Ibn al-Mulaqqin – Tabaqat al-Awliya, pp. 200–203
- Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami – Tabaqat al-Sufiyya, p. 85
- Yusuf al-Nabhani – Jami‘ Karamat al-Awliya, Vol. 2, p. 6
- Murtada ibn Muhammad al-Nazmi al-Baghdadi – Tadhkirat al-Awliya, pp. 199–201
