Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (14/316)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

In Baghdad certain people dubbed him “al-Muṣṭalam,” while in Basra they called him “al-Muḥayyir.”

After he returned from that journey, rumors against him multiplied. He therefore set out and performed the pilgrimage a third time, remaining in Mecca for two years. When he came back he was no longer as he had first been: he purchased real estate in Baghdad, built a house, and began inviting people to a doctrine whose full import I could not grasp—only part of it. A dispute then arose between him and al-Shiblī and other Sufi masters, whereupon some said, “He is a sorcerer.” Others said, “He is mad,” while still others maintained, “He is a man of miraculous gifts,” until the sultan finally arrested him.

So ends the account related by his son.

Al-Sulamī said: He was called “al-Ḥallāj” because he once entered Wāsiṭ and visited a cotton-carder. He dispatched the man on an errand, but the carder excused himself, saying, “I am busy with my craft.” Ḥusayn replied, “Go—let me help you.” When the carder returned he found that all the cotton in his shop had been carded.

Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar ibn Ḥanẓalah al-Wāsiṭī the fish-seller related—on the authority of his father—that al-Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr entered Wāsiṭ, where a cotton-dealer greeted him. Ḥusayn asked the man to put his affairs in order, but the dealer was reluctant, so Ḥusayn said, “Go on; I will assist you.” The man went, and when he returned he saw that every last piece of cotton—twenty-four thousand ratls—had been carded and fluffed.

Others said that his nickname derived from his speaking about “secrets,” while yet another view was that his father had been a cotton-carder.

Abū Naṣr al-Sarrāj stated: Al-Ḥallāj kept company with ʿAmr ibn ʿUthmān and stole from him some books that contained material on Sufism, whereupon ʿAmr supplicated against him, saying, “O Allah, cut off his hands and his feet!”

Ibn al-Walīd said: The shaykhs found his speech burdensome and rebuked him because he obligated himself to practices that contravened the sharia and the way of the ascetics. He claimed to love Allah, yet his conduct belied that claim.

I (the author) say: There is no doubt that following the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—is the true mark of loving Allah, for the Exalted has said: “Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:31).

وَكَانَ بِبَغْدَادَ قَوْم يُسَمُّونه المُصْطَلم، وَبِالبَصْرَة المُحيّر، ثُمَّ كثرتِ الأَقَاويلُ عَلَيْهِ بَعْد رُجُوعه مِنْ هَذِهِ السَّفرَة، فَقَامَ وَحَجّ ثَالِثاً، وَجَاور سَنَتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ رَجَعَ وَتَغَيَّر عَمَّا كَانَ عَلَيْهِ فِي الأَوَّل، وَاقتنَى العَقَار بِبَغْدَادَ، وَبنَى دَاراً، وَدَعَا النَّاس إِلَى مَعْنَى لَمْ أَقف عَلَيْهِ، إِلاَّ عَلَى شطر مِنْهُ، ثُمَّ وَقَعَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الشِّبلِيِّ وَغَيْره مِنْ مَشَايِخ الصُّوْفِيَّة، فَقِيْلَ: هُوَ سَاحر. وَقِيْلَ: هُوَ مَجْنُوْنَ. وَقِيْلَ: هُوَ ذُو كَرَامَات، حَتَّى أَخذه السُّلْطَان. انْتَهَى كَلاَم وَلده. وَقَالَ السُّلَمِيُّ: إِنَّمَا قِيْلَ لَهُ: الحَلاَّج لأَنَّه دَخَلَ وَاسطاً إِلَى حلاَّج، وَبعثَه فِي شُغل، فَقَالَ: أَنَا مَشْغُوْل بِصَنْعَتِي. فَقَالَ: اذهبْ أَنْتَ حَتَّى أُعينك، فَلَمَّا رَجَعَ وَجد كُلَّ قُطْنٍ عِنْدَهُ محلوجاً. قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيْمُ بنُ عُمَرَ بنِ حَنْظَلَة الوَاسِطِيُّ السَّمَّاك، عَنْ أَبِيْهِ، قَالَ: دَخَلَ الحُسَيْنُ بنُ مَنْصُوْرٍ وَاسطاً، فَاسْتقبله قَطَّان، فَكلَّفه الحُسَيْنُ إِصْلاَح شغله وَالرَّجُلُ يتثَاقل فِيْهِ، فَقَالَ: اذهبْ فَإِنِّي أُعينك. فَذَهَبَ، فَلَمَّا رَجَعَ، رَأَى كُلَّ قُطْن عِنْدَهُ محلوجاً مندوَفاً، وَكَانَ أَرْبَعَةً وَعِشْرِيْنَ أَلْفَ رَطْل. وَقِيْلَ: بَلْ لتكلُّمه عَلَى الأَسرَار. وَقِيْلَ: كَانَ أَبُوْهُ حلاَّجاً. وَقَالَ أَبُو نَصْرٍ السَّرَّاج: صَحِبَ الحَلاَّجُ عَمْرو بنَ عُثْمَانَ، وَسرقَ مِنْهُ كتباً فِيْهَا شَيْءٌ مِنْ علم التصوُّف، فَدَعَا عَلَيْهِ عَمْرو: اللَّهُمَّ اقطَعْ يَدَيْهِ وَرِجْلَيْهِ. قَالَ ابْنُ الوَلِيْدِ: كَانَ المَشَايِخُ يَسْتَثقلُوْنَ كلامَه، وَينَالُوْنَ مِنْهُ لأَنَّه كَانَ يَأْخذ نَفْسَه بِأَشيَاء تُخَالف الشَّريعَة، وَطَرِيْقَة الزُّهَّاد، وَكَانَ يدَّعِي المحبَّة للهِ، وَيظهر مِنْهُ مَا يخَالف دعوَاهُ. قُلْتُ: وَلاَ ريبَ أنَّ اتِّبَاع الرَّسُول ﷺ علمٌ لمحبَّة الله لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُم تُحِبُّونَ اللهَ فَاتَّبِعُوْنِي يُحْبِبْكُم اللهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُم ذُنُوبكُم﴾ [آل عِمْرَان:٣١] .