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A Sufi of the Prophet's lineage (sayyid), shaykh of Ibrahim Zahid Gilani, founder of the Zahidiyya; his chain of transmission reaches back to the Suhrawardi tradition. There is no separate TDV article on him; what follows is the information given about him in the articles on Ibrahim Zahid Gilani and on the Safawiyya.
According to the source he lived in the district of Lahijan in Gilan. He lived by the labour of his own hands and accepted help from no one.
His chain of initiation reaches Abu'l-Najib al-Suhrawardi through Shihab al-Din Mahmud, Rukn al-Din al-Sujasi and Qutb al-Din al-Abhari.
Ibrahim Zahid, who had taken initiation from Sa'di-i Shirazi, a deputy of Abu'l-Najib al-Suhrawardi, went from Shiraz to Gilan on his shaykh's advice and took initiation from him; he worked with him in the fields and took what they produced to the market to sell. It is recorded that Ibrahim Zahid did not approve of dervishes rising to the sama' in ecstasy and would not join them in it; for this his shaykh made him suffer, yet he went to his house and laid his face upon his threshold. Thereupon Jamal al-Din al-Tabrizi gave him his licence, saying "Praise be to God, you have achieved this too."
The source does not give the date of his death. After his death Ibrahim Zahid did not begin guiding at once but continued his spiritual struggle.
His Circle of Influence — The chain of the Safawiyya, which arose from Safi al-Din Ardabili, deputy and son-in-law of his deputy Ibrahim Zahid Gilani, reaches Qutb al-Din al-Abhari through Ibrahim Zahid Gilani and Jamal al-Din al-Tabrizi.
Differing Scholarly Views
The record of the chain — The article on Ibrahim Zahid Gilani records that the chain reaches Abu'l-Najib al-Suhrawardi through Jamal al-Din al-Tabrizi, and that it also joins the Suhrawardiyya through Sa'di-i Shirazi. Taj al-Din Ali b. Abdullah al-Ardabili, apparently one of Ibrahim Zahid's disciples, instead carries the chain to Ahmad al-Ghazali through Shams-i Tabrizi, Rukn al-Din al-Sujasi and Qutb al-Din al-Abhari. The author of the article regards it as a remote possibility that the free-spirited Shams-i Tabrizi and Ibrahim Zahid, who followed the path of asceticism and piety, belonged to the same shaykh. The atlas makes no choice between the two records; it reports the author's assessment as the view of the source.
His location and grave — His nisba is al-Tabrizi and the atlas record is tied to Tabriz; but the source mentions him as living in the district of Lahijan in Gilan and says nothing of where his grave is. The place the atlas points to is not confirmed by this source.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) · vol. 21, pp. 359-360, entry “İbrâhim Zâhid-i Geylânî”
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Reşat Öngören · vol. 35, pp. 460-462, entry “SAFEVİYYE”
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Permanent ID: EA-Z-000864 · this address reaches the same record even if its name changes; use it when citing.