Ahmed Ibn Abu al-Hussain al-Nuri ( fa, ابو الحسین النوری) (died 908 AD), known also as Nuri, was a famous early Sufi saint. He was of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

origins, but born in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

in 840 CE where spent most of his life. He is the author of ''Maqamat al-qulub'' (''Stations of the Hearts''). He is famous for saying, "I love God and God loves me". He is one of the earliest Sufis who was clearly mystical as illustrated by his saying "Joining with the Truth is parting from everything else, as parting with everything else is joining with it" Nuri and several of his friends were accused of heresy and charged in 878 C.E. Nuri offered to be tried before his companions. The regent at the time was impressed by such magnanimity and investigated the case and found these Sufis to be good Muslims. Thus he set the accused free. Nuri, however, was exiled to

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...

in Syria, whence he returned some years later, much deteriorated physically.Carl W. Ernst, "Words of ectasy in Sufism", SUNY Press, 1985. pg 98 Poetry and statements from Nuri are narrated in popular Sufism. According to popular accounts, he gained the title "Nuri" because he "radiated light when talking". He was acquainted with

Junayd Baghdadi Junayd of Baghdad (; 830–910) was a Persian mystic and one of the most famous of the early Islamic saints. He is a central figure in the spiritual lineage of many Sufi orders. Junayd taught in Baghdad throughout his lifetime and was an impo ...

Notes

Bibliography

Christopher Melchert Christopher Melchert is an American professor and scholar of Islam, specialising in Islamic movements and institutions, especially during the ninth and tenth centuries. A prolific author, he is professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the ...

''The Transition from Ascetism to Mysticism at the Middle of the Ninth Century''
in: Studia Islamica 83 (1996), 51–70.

External links

Nuri Bibliography
Iraqi Sufis Iraqi Sufi saints 840s births 908 deaths {{Sufism-stub