Early Sufi, Ash'ari and Athari Theology /Aqeedah


Development of Early Pure Sufi (Ascetic/Monk) ideas :



Ibrahim ibn Adham (161 H)

- royal blood from Balkh, Afghanistan
- used to wander Balkh to Basra to Mecca
- contempt of World, desires, learning of law (Fiqh) & all matters
- contemplation on God & Death




Daud ibn Nusayr (165 H)

- "Flee men you flee a lion"

- "Fast from the world, and let it's iftaar be at your death"

- associated with twelver shiaism
- disciple of 10th imam
- exiled to Northern Syria and Turkey along with followers



Al Fudayl ibn iyyad (187 H)

- from Khurasan (Samarkand)
- Robber turned monk by heavenly voice.
- passivity & quietism
- rebuked Haroon Ar Rasheed infront of him about his luxurious life



Saari As Saqati (256 H)

- first one recorded to have used Tawheed as "union of God and soul"

- student of Ma'ruf Al Karkhi (tomb in Baghdad)

- close friend of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (with disagreements)

Abu Sulaiman Damishqi (215 H)

- "Heart is the mirror of God"
- "Heart is darkend by the desires of the body"



Bishr Al Hafi (227 H)

- speaks of God as his Habeeb

- close friend of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (with disagreement)



Al Harith Al Muhaasibi (243H)

- made use of ilmul Kalaam to refute Mu'tazilites, and would live like an Ascetic

- contemporary, rival and close friend of Ahmad ibn Hanbal

- Ahmad didn't disagree with him on Aqeedah except in using ilum Al Kalam (rational interpretation of Quran)

- he is said to have left ilmul kalam, before his death.



Dhun Noon Al Misri (Egypt 245 H)

- first to formulate the states of Mysticism
- Haal (present state)
- Maqaam (achieved state)

- considered Heretic



Abu Yazid Al Bustami (261 H)

- "under my clothes is none but God"
- first to have openly claimed pantheistic views


Al Junayd Baghdadi (297 H)

- not considered Heretic
- said to discuss Tawheed behind shut doors with students (no confirmation about Mu'tazili Tawheed or Sufi Tawheed)
- Scholar of Theology, Fiqh and an early doctor
- revered by today's Sufis as greatest Sufi of Early times while being non controversial.
- known to live a very Ascetic and Monkish lifestyle.



Ash Shibli (334 H)

- student of Al Junayd
- more into Mystic interpretations than Junayd
- fully developed the idea of spiritual dialogue with God (while explaining ilhaam & istakhara)




Abu Mansur Al Hallaj (310 H, executed, Baghdad)

- student of Al Junayd
- "I am the Truth"
- "Under my clothes is none but God"
- executed by Abbasid Caliph for heresy




Abu Talib Al Makki (386 H)

- First proper textbook of Sufism that is read till today.
- Openly spoke about Tawheed as Unity/Union between Soul and God.
- faced charges of Heresy
- said to have repented and returned to orthodoxy before death.



Al Ghazzali (505 H)

- He first went to Sufi Circles in 488 H
- He studied Abu Talib, Al Muhaasibi, Al Junayd and Ash Shibli from Sufi teachers

- Al Ghazzali wrote first fully developed Refutation against Sufism while himself ascribing to Ash'ari School.



Imam Abu Al Hassan Al Ash'ari (260 H)

- Student of a Mu'tazili Abu Ali Al Jubbai'
- Repented from Mu'tazilism after a dream at the age of 40, and gave this speech at the Masjid of Basra :

"He who knows me, knows me; and he who knows me not, let him know that I am so and so, the son of so and so. I have maintained the creation of the Qur’an and that God will not be seen in the world to come with the eyes, and that the creatures create their actions. Lo, I repent that I have, been a Mu‘tazilite and turn to opposition to them."

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Presentation : Sirat Al Mustaqeem
Speaker : Saad ibn Sabah

00:00 Channel Intro

00:29 Introduction & Recap

01:01 Timeline of Development of Islamic Thoughts

7:12 Introduction to Kalaam

9:03 Quick Timeline of Early Ash'ari and Nizamiyya Madrasa

13:14 Quick Introduction to Imam Al Ghazali

14:10 Ibn Tumart, Ibn Hazm and Ibn Arabi

19:00 Early Sufis — Ibrahim ibn Adham

21:53 Daud ibn Nusayr

23:07 Al Fudayl ibn iyyad

24:10 Saari As Saqati

27:27 Al Muhaasibi

30:03 Bayazeed Bistami

31:35 Al Junayd Baghdadi

33:26 Al Hallaj

35:04 Al Ghazali's Four Phases of Studying Knowledge

39:59 Abu Hassan Al Ash'ari

42:31 Al Ash'ari's repentence from Mu'tazila

44:59 Al Ash'ari's public debate with Abu Ali Al Jubbai' Al Mu'tazili

49:52 Athari - A'shari Debate

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HASHTAGS:
#Aqeedah #Aqeedah #IslamicTheology
#AqeedaUrdu #Aqeedadevelopment
#Mutazila #Murjia #Jahmiyya #Aqeedahistory #Islamichistory #QuranisQalam #IslamicIdeology #AhmadibnHanbal #Urdutheology