Dhūl-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ Thawbān b. Ibrāhīm al-Miṣrī ( ar, ذو النون المصري; d. Giza, in 245/859 or 248/862), often referred to as Dhūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī or Zūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī for short, was an early
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
ian
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
mystic 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 ...
.
[Mojaddedi, Jawid, “Dhū l-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ al-Miṣrī”, in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE'', Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online.] His surname "al Misri" means ''"The Egyptian"''. He was born in
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south.
In ancient E ...
in 796, Dhul-Nun is said to have made some study of the
scholastic discipline
Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...
s of
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim wo ...
,
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
, and
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empi ...
in his early life,
before coming under the mentorship of the mystic Saʿdūn of Cairo, who is described in traditional accounts of Dhul-Nun's life as both "his teacher and spiritual director."
Celebrated for his legendary wisdom both in his own life and by later Islamic thinkers, Dhul-Nun has been venerated in traditional
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...
as one of the greatest
saints
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...
of the early era of
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 ...
.
Name
It has been speculated by scholars whether "Dhul-Nun" was an
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...
(''laqab'') for the mystic rather than his name proper, which is sometimes believed to be Thawbān.
As "Dhul-Nun," literally meaning "the one of the fish
r whale" is another name for the
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...
Jonah
Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' Ben (Hebrew), son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria ...
in Islamic tradition, it is sometimes believed that this title was given to Dhul-Nun in commemoration of Jonah.
Life
Dhul-Nun is one of the most prominent saints of early Islamic tradition, appearing "in the earliest accounts of Ṣūfism as the leading figure of his generation."
Often depicted as the spiritual master of
Sahl al-Tustari (c. 818–896), the traditional hagiographies relate that the latter refused to engage in mystical discourse until after Dhul-Nun's death, on account of his recognition of Dhul-Nun's elevated rank in wisdom and
gnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it ...
.
Dhul-Nun al-Misri is considered among the most prominent saints of early
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 ...
and holds a position in the Sufi chronicles as high as
Junayd Baghdadi (d. 910) and
Bayazid Bastami
Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr bin ʿĪsā bin Surūshān al-Bisṭāmī (al-Basṭāmī) (d. 261/874–5 or 234/848–9), commonly known in the Iranian world as Bāyazīd Bisṭāmī ( fa, بایزید بسطامی), was a PersianWalbridge, John. " ...
(d. 874). He studied under various teachers and travelled extensively in
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Pl ...
and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. The Muslim scholar and Sufi
Sahl al-Tustari was one of Dhul-Nun al-Misri's students.
In 829 he was arrested on a charge of heresy and sent to prison 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 ...
, but after examination he was released on the
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
's orders to return to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...
, where he died in 859; his tombstone has been preserved.
Dhul-Nun's name came about in relation to an incident on a sea voyage. He was falsely accused of stealing a
jewel from a merchant. He cried out "O Creator, Thou knowest best", whereupon a large number of fish raised their heads above the waves, each bearing a jewel in its mouth.
A legendary
alchemist
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim ...
and thaumaturge, he is supposed to have known the secret of the
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1, ...
. His sayings and poems, which are extremely dense and rich in mystical imagery, emphasize knowledge or
gnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it ...
(''
marifah'') more than fear (''makhafah'') or love (''mahabbah''), the other two major paths of spiritual realization in Sufism. None of his written works have survived, but a vast collection of poems, sayings, and
aphorisms
An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tr ...
attributed to him continues to live on in oral tradition.
Osho mentions him as "an Egyptian Sufi mystic, one of the greatest who has ever walked on the earth".
Contemporary Sufi
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee mentions an incident from the life of Dhul-nun in his work ''Catching the Thread''
A story from the life of the ninth-century Sufi, Dhu-l-Nun, the Egyptian, illustrates this:
I was wandering in the mountains when I observed a party of afflicted folk gathered together.
“What befell you?” I asked.
“There is a devotee living in a cell here,” they
answered. “Once every year he comes out and
breathes on these people and they are all
healed. Then he returns to his cell, and does not
emerge again until the following year.”
I waited patiently until he came out. I beheld
a man pale of cheek, wasted and with sunken
eyes. The awe of him caused me to tremble. He
looked on the multitude with compassion. Then
he raised his eyes to heaven, and breathed
several times over the afflicted ones. All were
healed.
As he was about to retire to his cell, I seized
his skirt. “For the love of God,” I cried. “You
have healed the outward sickness; pray heal the
inward sickness.”
“Dhu-l-Nun,” he said, gazing at me, “take
your hand off me. The Friend is watching from
the zenith of might and majesty. If He sees you
clutching at another than He, He will abandon
you to that person, and that person to you, and
you will perish each at the other’s hand.”
So saying, he withdrew into his cell.
Notes
External links
Sufi Teachings of Dhu'l-Nun al-Misriat archive.org.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Misri, Dhul-Nun al-
9th-century Egyptian people
9th-century historians from the Abbasid Caliphate
Medieval Egyptian historians
Egyptian Sufi saints
Egyptian religious leaders
Alchemists of the medieval Islamic world
9th-century deaths