Al-Muḥāsibī () (781–857 CE) was a Muslim
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
,
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
,
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
ascetic
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
. He is considered to be the founder of the Baghdad School of Islamic philosophy which combined
Kalam
''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...
and
Sufism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
, and a teacher of the Sufi masters
Junayd al-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 ...
and
Sirri Saqti.
His full name is Abu Abdullah Harith bin Asad bin Abdullah al-Anizi al-Basri, and he hailed from the Arab
Anazzah
Anizah or Anazah ( ar, عنزة, ʻanizah, Najdi pronunciation: ) is an Arabian tribe in the Arabian Peninsula, Upper Mesopotamia, and the Levant.
Genealogy and origins
Anizah's existence as an autonomous tribal group, like many prominent m ...
tribe. He was born in
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
in about 781. ''Muhasibi'' means self-inspection or audit. He was a founder of what later became the mainstream Sufi doctrine, and influenced many subsequent theologians, such as
al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
.
The author of approximately 200 works, he wrote about theology and ''Tasawwuf'' (Sufism), among them ''Kitab al-Khalwa'' and ''Kitab al-Ri`aya li-huquq Allah'' ("Obeying God's Permits").
Life
His parents left Basra for Baghdad shortly after his birth, perhaps inclined to the economic opportunities in the new capital. His father became wealthy, though al-Muhasibi refused it due to his fathers belief in the createdness of the Quran. Despite the affluent lifestyle available to him, he retained an ascetic quality influenced by
al-Hasan al-Basri
Abu Sa'id ibn Abi al-Hasan Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as Hasan of Basra (Arabic: الحسن البصري, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī''; 642 - 15 October 728) for short, or as Hasan al-Basri, was an early ...
. The Sufis of his time had taken on certain practices, such as wearing woolen clothing, reciting the Qur'an at night, and limited the kind and quantity of food eaten. He saw that Sufi practices can help control the passions, but can also result in other problems like hypocrisy and pride. When outward piety becomes a part of one's image, it can mask hidden problems with the ego. Both the inner and outward states must be rectified. Constant self-examination in anticipation of the
Day of Judgement
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
was his proposed method for developing an awareness of the inner self and purifying the heart.
Al-Muhasibi was a student of
al-Shafi'i
Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī ( ar, أَبُو عَبْدِ ٱللهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ, 767–19 January 820 CE) was an Arab Muslim theologian, writer, and schola ...
before he moved to Egypt. Al-Muhasibi later joined a group of scholars of theology, led by
Abdullah ibn Kullāb (died 855) and al-Karibisi. They criticized the
Jahmis
Jahmī ( ar, جهمي) was a pejorative term used by early Islamic scholars to refer to the followers of Jahm ibn Safwan (d. 128/746). The four schools of jurisprudence (''fiqh'') reject the Jahmi belief and the fourth Imam, Ahmad ibn Hanbal was ...
,
Mu'tazilis
Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islamic ...
, and the
Anthropomorphists
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
. The Mu'tazilis argued that the Qur'an was created, while Ibn Kullab argued against the createdness of the Qur'an by introducing a distinction between the speech of God and its realization: God is eternally speaking, but he can only be addressing Himself to somebody, if this addressee exists.
In 848 (or possibly 851), the caliph
al-Mutawakkil
Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was t ...
ended the
Mihna
The Mihna ( ar, محنة خلق القرآن, ''Miḥnat k͟halaq al-Qurʾān'' "ordeal egardingthe createdness of the Qur'an") refers to the period of religious persecution instituted by the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun in 833 CE in which reli ...
(a period of religious and ideological persecution) and two years later, banned the Mu'tazilites' theology.
In his book, the ''al-Khalwa'', on a discourse on fear and hope:
:Know that the first thing that corrects you and helps you correct others is renouncing this world. For renunciation is attained by realisation, and consideration is attained by reflection. For if you think of this world, you will not find it worth sacrificing your soul and faith for it. But you will find your soul worthier of honour by ridiculing this world. This world is abhorred of God almighty and the messengers. It is an abode of affliction and a station of foolishness. Be on your guard from it.
[Translated in Suleiman Ali Mourad, ''Early Islam between myth and history'' (Brill, 2006), 128; from ''Khalwa'', 24.]
See also
*
List of Sufis
References
Further reading
*
External links
Mu'atabah an-Nafs by Harith al-Muhasibial-Ri'ayah Li'Huquq-il-lah by Harith al-Muhasibi*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhasibi
Shafi'is
Kullabis
Sunni Sufis
Sunni imams
Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
9th-century Muslim theologians
Sufi teachers
Writers from Baghdad
8th-century Arab people
9th-century Arab people
781 births
857 deaths