Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (12/30)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

been, at the outset of his career, a man of devotion, piety, and spiritual discipline; yet he possessed no knowledge by which to steer his worship. Because of that, the door was opened for misguidance to creep in, just as some of the early Muslims said: “Whoever worships Allah without knowledge corrupts more than he rectifies.” (1)

Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah remarked, “When one of our scholars goes astray he resembles the Jews, and when one of our worshippers goes astray he resembles the Christians.” It was along this path that the doctrines of hulūl (indwelling) and ittihād (union) reached al-Ḥallāj, so that he became one of the people of dissolution and heresy. (2)

Several reports state that his circumstances kept shifting; he roamed many lands and resided in a number of cities, all the while presenting himself to people as a caller to Allah—exalted is He. It is reliably established that he travelled to India to learn magic, saying, “I will use it to invite people to Allah.”

The people of India addressed him as al-Mughīth (The Helper), (3) those of Turkistan (4) as al-Muqīt (The Sustainer), the folk of Khurasan as al-Mumayyiz (The Discerner), the Persians as Abū ʿAbd Allāh the Ascetic, and the people of Khuzistan as Abū ʿAbd Allāh the Ascetic, Hallāj al-Asrār (“the Carder of Secrets”). Some of the Baghdadis, when he stayed among them, called him al-Muṣṭalam, while the people of Basra named him al-Muḥabbir. (5)

It is said that the people of Ahwaz nicknamed him al-Hallāj because he would divulge what lay hidden in their hearts. Another account relates that a cotton-carder once asked him to run a certain errand; al-Ḥallāj replied, “I am busy with the carding,” (6) to which the man said, “Go ahead—I will card for you.” (7) He departed and soon returned to find everything in the storeroom already carded; it is said he merely pointed with a spindle and the seeds separated from the cotton. The authenticity of this story (8) is open to question. (9) Others say he was called al-Hallāj simply because his father had been a cotton-carder.

Many indications show that he embraced hulūl (indwelling) (10) early in his life, among them his own poetry (11), such as these lines:

Your spirit was blended with my spirit,
Just as ambergris is mixed with fragrant musk. (12)

(1) In the printed edition it reads: “In the beginning of his undertaking there was devotion, deification, and conduct, but he lacked knowledge and did not base his affairs and his condition on taqwa (piety) toward Allah and seeking His approval; hence, his corruptions outweighed his reforms.” (2) In the printed edition: “and deviation.” (3) In the printed edition: that is, he belongs to the men of al-Ghayth. (4) In the printed edition it reads “Sarkasan,” which is a scribal corruption. (5) In the printed edition it reads al-muhayyir; likewise in Tarikh Baghdad (vol. 8, p. 114) and al-Muntazam (vol. 6, p. 161) it appears as al-mukhayyir, while in one manuscript’s margin it is al-mujir, the most likely reading. (6) In the printed edition it appears between two asterisks. (7) In the printed edition it reads: “I will argue on your behalf.” (8) In the printed edition: “and its attribution to him.” (9) In the printed edition: “And even if such a thing occurred, the shayātīn (devils) assist their own and employ them.” (10) In the manuscript copies it reads sulūk (conduct); the established reading is that of the printed edition. (11) In the printed edition: “He even composed poetry on that.” (12) In the printed edition it reads al-fanq (with the letter n), a scribal error. The phrase fatq al-misk bi-ghayrihi denotes extracting the musk’s fragrance by introducing another substance; hence, one “fatqs” musk with amber. See al-Lisan s.v. “fatq.”

كان في ابتداء أمره فيه تعبُّد وتألُّه وسلوكٌ، ولكن لم يكن له عِلْم يَسْلُك به في عبادته، فدخل عليه الداخل بسبب ذلك كما قال بعض السَّلف: منْ عَبَد الله بغير عِلْم كان ما يفسده أكثر مما يصلحه (١) وعن سُفْيان بن عُيينة أنه قال: مَنْ فسد من علمائنا كان فيه شَبَه من اليهود، ومن فسد من عُبَّادنا كان فيه شبهٌ من النَّصارى. ولهذا دخل على الحلَّاج باب الحلول والاتحاد، فصار من أهل الانحلال والإلحاد (٢) . وقد ورد من غير وجه أنه تقلَّبت به الأحوال وتردَّد إلى البُلْدان، وأقام ببلدان شتى، وهو في ذلك كلِّه يُظهر للناس أنه من الدُّعاة إلى الله – Exalté soit-Il – . وصحَّ أنه دخل الهند ليتعلَّم السِّحْر وقال: أدعو به إلى الله. وكان أهل الهند يكاتبونه بالمغيث (٣) ، ويكاتبه أهل تُرْكِسْتَان (٤) بالمقيت، ويكاتبه أهل خُرَاسان بالمميز، وأهل فارس بأبي عبد الله الزَّاهد، وأهل خُوزستان بأبي عبد الله الزَّاهد حلَّاج الأسرار. وكان بعض البغاددة حين كان عندهم يقولون له: المصطلم. وأهل البصرة يقولون له: المحبر (٥) . ويقال: إنما سمَّاه الحلاج أهلُ الأهواز لأنه كان يكاشفهم عمَّا في ضمائرهم، وقيل: إنه قال لحلاج: اذهبْ لي في حاجة كذا وكذا، فقال: إني مشغول [بالحلج] (٦) ، فقال: اذهَبْ، أنا أسُدُّ عنلك (٧) ، فَذَهبَ ورجع سريعًا فإذا جميع ما في ذلك المخزن قد حلجه، يقال إنه أشار بالمرود. فانماز الحبُّ عن القُطْن، وفي صحَّة هذا (٨) نظر (٩) . وقيل: لأن أباه كان حَلَّاجًا. ومما يدُلُّ على أنه قد كان ذا حلول (١٠) في بَدْءِ أمره أشياءُ كثيرة، منها شِعْرُه (١١) ، فمن ذلك قوله: جُبلَتْ رُوحكَ في روحي كما … يُجْبلُ العَنْبَرُ بالمِسْكِ الفَتِق (١٢)

(١) في (ط) فإنه كان في ابتداء أمره فيه تعبد وتأله وسلوك، ولكن لم يكن له علم. ولا بنى أمره وحاله على تقوى من الله ورضوان. فلهذا كان ما يفسده أكثر مما يصلحه. (٢) في (ط) والانحراف. (٣) في (ط): أي أنه من رجال الغيث. (٤) في (ط) سركسان، وهو تحريف. (٥) في (ط) المحير، وكذلك في تاريخ بغداد (٨/ ١١٤) وفي المنتظم (٦/ ١٦١): المخير، وفي إحدى نسخه في الهامش: المجير، وهي الأشبه. (٦) ما بين حاصرتين من (ط). (٧) في (ط) أنا أحلج عنك. (٨) في (ط): ونسبته إليه. (٩) في (ط): وإن كان قد جرى مثل هذا، فالشياطين تعين أصحابها ويستخدمونهم. (١٠) في النسخ الخطية: سلوك، والمثبت من (ط). (١١) في (ط): منها شعر في ذلك. (١٢) في (ط) الفنق - بالنون - وهو تصحيف. وفَتقُ المسك بغيره: استخراج رائحته بشيء تدخله عليه، ومنه أن تفتق المسك بالعنبر. اللسان (فتق).