Khwaja Abdullah al-Ansari al-Harawi

A great Sufi poet of Khurasan, Qur'an commentator and hadith scholar; a strict adherent of the Hanbali school. His full name is Abu Isma'il 'Abd Allah b. Muhammad b. 'Ali al-Ansari al-Harawi. He is known by such titles as Pir-i Harat, pir-i tariqat, shaykh al-islam, shaykh al-Khurasan, shaykh al-shuyukh.

He was born on 2 Sha'ban 396 (4 May 1006) in Kuhandiz, the old citadel of Herat. His lineage goes back to Matt, son of the Companion Abu Ayyub al-Ansari; Matt had taken part in a campaign to Khurasan in 31 (652) and settled in Herat. His father Abu Mansur Muhammad b. 'Ali, though a tradesman, attended the gatherings of scholars and was an ascetic with ties to the Sufis; in the end he gave up everything and went to Balkh, where his guide Sharif Hamza 'Aqili lived, and remained there until his death in 430 (1039).

He began his schooling at the Malini madrasa and had started writing down hadith by the age of nine. He says he studied hadith with 300 scholars, but that his master in this science was Abu'l-Fadl al-Jarudi. At fourteen he knew enough to preach; it is reported that during his madrasa years he memorised 70,000 verses of Arabic poetry. In 417 (1026) he went to Nishapur and attended the lessons of various scholars, but he did not meet Abu Ishaq al-Isfara'ini, Rukn al-Islam al-Juwayni or Isma'il al-Sabuni because they were Ash'aris, and for the same reason did not attend the circle of 'Abd al-Karim al-Qushayri. Back in Herat he began to frequent the lodge of the famous Sufi Shaykh 'Amu, who kept a hospice for travellers and the poor; 'Amu treated him like a father and supported him materially. According to Jami he learned the manners and rules of Sufism from him. He studied hadith and exegesis with the well-known preacher Yahya b. 'Ammar al-Shaybani, who on his deathbed willed that al-Ansari should preach in his place. After meeting his teacher Abu 'Abd Allah al-Taqi al-Sijistani he became a rigid and uncompromising adherent of the Hanbali school.

In 423 (1032) he set out on pilgrimage but, the roads being unsafe, turned back from Baghdad. The following year he set out again; in Nishapur he met Abu Sa'id-i Abi'l-Khayr. The most important event of this journey was his meeting with Abu'l-Hasan al-Kharaqani, whom he called "my guide on the Sufi path." Again because of unsafe roads he turned back from Rayy. In 425 (1033) he went to Nubadhan, where during forty days he expounded, in gatherings attended by scholars, the Sufi understanding he had learned from Kharaqani; of the many gifts offered him he took only an old prayer rug back to Herat.

His life was spent in struggle with his opponents. In 430 (1039) Mu'tazili and Ash'ari scholars denounced him to the Ghaznavid Sultan Mas'ud as one of the Mujassima, but he convinced the ruler. When he criticised the Mu'tazila and the Ash'aris in his Qur'an commentary he was arrested in 438 (1046) and imprisoned at Bushanj. After Nizam al-Mulk became vizier (456/1064) the Shafi'is and Hanafis complained of him; by Nizam al-Mulk's order he was exiled to Balkh (458/1066) and returned at the end of the same year. In 459 (1067), in a debate held in Nizam al-Mulk's presence, he proved himself in the right. According to a report recorded in various sources, his opponents even placed a small copper idol under his prayer rug to incriminate him; when the inquiry showed it to be a plot, his standing rose. In 462 (1070) Caliph al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah sent him precious gifts, and in 476 (1083) conferred on him the titles "shaykh al-islam" and "shaykh al-shuyukh." Although he partly lost his sight in 473 (1080), he continued his work with the help of his students. In 478 (1085), after he fiercely attacked a theologian and his disciples burned that scholar's house, he was held responsible and expelled from Herat; he was driven out of Bushanj as well, stayed for a time in Balkh, and in Marw al-Rudh was received by the hadith scholar al-Farra' al-Baghawi. In 480 (1087) he was allowed to return to Herat and managed to bring his unfinished commentary up to verse 67 of Surat Sad.

He died on 22 Dhu'l-Hijja 481 (8 March 1089) and was buried at Gazurgah, 5 km from Herat.

His Circle of Influence — Among those who transmitted hadith from him were Mu'taman b. Ahmad al-Saji, Muhammad b. Tahir al-Maqdisi and his disciple Abu'l-Waqt 'Abd al-Awwal al-Sijzi, who did not leave his side for twenty years; when his sight weakened, students such as Abu'l-Fath 'Abd al-Malik al-Karukhi and Muhammad al-Saydalani assisted him. His intimate prayers (munajat) became a model for later Sufi literature; Sana'i, 'Attar, Rumi and Jami were influenced by them, and their influence is also seen on Turkish poets. Rashid al-Din Maybudi commented on the summary compilation of his exegesis lectures; the basic ideas of the Kashf al-asrar are understood to be al-Ansari's. He was among the first to apply rhymed prose (saj'), already established in Arabic literature, to Persian literature. Although Sufi histories ascribe to him an order called the Harawiyya or Ansariyya, no such order ever took shape.

His Poetry and Sufi Line — He came under the influence of ecstatic, fervent Sufis such as Abu Sa'id-i Abi'l-Khayr and Kharaqani; like them he composed poetry and took part in sama'. He adopted the view of Bayazid al-Bistami, al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi and Dhu'l-Nun al-Misri, who gave great weight to annihilation (fana'); in the Tabaqat al-sufiyya he speaks respectfully of all Sufis, al-Hallaj included. His being a Hanbali and Salafi, according to the source, has to do with his opposition to theology, theologians and allegorical interpretation. He knew Arabic and Persian equally well. Jami says he had more than 6000 Arabic poems, and Katib Çelebi records three Persian divans; but very few of these have survived, and his quatrains scattered in various works were later collected.

His Works — Trusting his memory, he preferred to teach orally; most of his works came into being as others recorded what he said. The main Sufi works are: Tabaqat al-sufiyya (al-Sulami's Arabic work rendered into Persian in his gatherings and noted down by his disciples); Sad Maydan (100 Sufi stations); the Manazil al-sa'irin, which he composed in 475 (1082) by expanding it; 'Ilal al-maqamat; the Munajat; Mukhtasar fi adab al-sufiyya; Kanz al-salikin. On theology he wrote Dhamm al-kalam wa-ahlih and Kitab al-Arba'in fi dala'il al-tawhid. His commentary, compiled by his students, has not survived.

His Tomb and Complex — His tomb at Gazurgah was built in Seljuq times; under the Ghurids, in the reign of Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, Amir 'Izz al-Din had a madrasa built beside it. The magnificent present tomb was built by Shahrukh in 829 (1426). The graves of his two sons 'Abd al-Hadi and Jabir are in the same place.