Sari al-Saqati

One of the foremost early Sufis of Baghdad; disciple of Ma'ruf al-Karkhi, and the maternal uncle and master of Junayd al-Baghdadi. Known for his asceticism, piety and decorum, he stands at the foundation of the Baghdad school of Sufism through his training of Junayd, called "sayyid al-ta'ifa".

He was born in 155 (772) in the Karkh quarter of Baghdad. He earned his living by continuing his father's trade in second-hand goods (saqati), whence his nisba. Early in life he travelled as far as Mecca to study hadith.

His master Ma'ruf al-Karkhi and Habib al-Ra'i influenced his turn to the Sufi path. As Hujwiri and Farid al-Din Attar relate, Ma'ruf al-Karkhi came to his shop with an orphan boy and asked him to clothe the child; Sari complied and, by the blessing of Ma'ruf's prayer, entered the path of asceticism. According to another account he gave Habib al-Ra'i 10 coins to be spent on the dervishes, and through al-Ra'i's prayer his heart grew cold to worldly concerns. He kept the company of the celebrated Sufis of the age, Ma'ruf al-Karkhi, al-Harith al-Muhasibi and Bishr al-Hafi.

On journeys from Baghdad to the northern regions he met many Sufis. At Abadan he undertook spiritual retreat in a lodge belonging to Sufis of the Basra school. On the advice of Ali al-Jurjani, whom he met on the road, he went to Syria, where he was influenced by Sufis who continued the path of Ibrahim b. Adham founded on chivalry (futuwwa) and sincerity. He resided for a time in Damascus, Ramla, Jerusalem and Tarsus. At about sixty he took part in the jihad against the Byzantines in that region, then settled in Baghdad in 218 (833) and lived there for the rest of his life.

He died in Baghdad in 251 (865). His grave lies in the Shuniziyya Cemetery of Baghdad, beside that of Junayd al-Baghdadi. His anecdotes, sayings and ideas were transmitted for the most part by Junayd.

His Circle of Influence — He was the leader of Sufis of Baghdad and Khurasan such as Junayd al-Baghdadi, Abu Sa'id al-Kharraz, Abu 'l-Husayn al-Nuri, Samnun b. Hamza and Ibn Masruq, and of Syrians such as Ali al-Ghada'iri and Isma'il b. Abdallah al-Shami, and one of the leading shaykhs of his day. Sulami says that most later Sufis followed Sari's way. Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani and Farid al-Din Attar present him as a Sufi of knowledge, wisdom, magnanimity, love, gnosis and compassion. By training Junayd, founder of the Baghdad school of Sufism, he left a lasting mark on the Sufis who came after him.

His Poetry and Sufi Line — Observance of the legal and outward rulings is fundamental to his Sufism. Knowledge is valuable only in so far as it leads to action; the light of gnosis a Sufi attains must not extinguish the light of piety in him. He holds esoteric knowledge that contradicts the outward meanings of the Qur'an and hadith to be void; inner gnosis is reached through abundant works and self-examination — a stance that shows the influence of al-Harith al-Muhasibi. He considers the study of hadith necessary before entering Sufism, and prayed that God would make Junayd "one who learns hadith first and Sufism after, not Sufism first and hadith after". Yet, like Bishr al-Hafi, he valued grasping the meaning of hadith over transmitting it, and so transmitted little. For him, resolve upon the Sunna is better than abundant works upon innovation. He taught that miracles are not to be relied upon, that they cause the veils of divine intimacy to be torn; if birds in a garden were to speak, "Peace be upon you, friend of God", and this brought ease to the saint's heart, that would be captivity to the miracle. Love holds a central place in his experience: "If the lover's face were struck with a sword he would not notice"; "O God, punish me with whatever You will, only do not punish me by placing a veil between us." He understands Sufism as attaining good character: performing the obligations, avoiding the forbidden, giving much in alms, being repentant and compassionate; not hurting people, and bearing their ill-treatment without rancour — the fruit of his malamati attitude. He scrupulously avoided anything of doubtful lawfulness, censured those who made religion a livelihood, counselled his disciples to seclusion, and advised those engaged in trade never to let their hearts leave God for an instant and to live by the work of their hands. So attentive was he to decorum that he would not lie on his back or stretch his feet toward the qibla; so wary of ostentation that he wished to die where no one knew him. He would say, "Would that I bore everyone's grief so that they might be at ease." In an anecdote related by Ibn al-Jawzi, after a fire in the market he learned that his own shop had not burned and said "praise be to God"; then, realising he had erred in not sharing the grief of those whose shops had burned, he sought God's forgiveness for thirty years.