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al-Muḥāsibī () was an
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, ...
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 considered to be the founder of the Baghdad School of Islamic philosophy, and a teacher of the
Sufi 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 ...
masters Junayd al-Baghdadi and Sirri Saqti. His full name is Abu Abdullah Harith bin Asad bin Abdullah al-Anizi al-Basri hailed from the Arab Anazzah 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 han ...
in about 781. ''Muhasibi'' means self-inspection/audit. It was his characteristic property. He was a founder of 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 poly ...
. 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. Despite the affluent lifestyle available to him, he retained an ascetic quality from
Al-Hasan al-Basri Abu Sa'id ibn Abi al-Hasan Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as Hasan of Basra (Arabic: الحسن البصري, romanized: ''Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī''; 642 - 15 October 728) for short, or as Hasan al-Basri, was an early Muslim preacher, ascetic ...
. The Sufis of his time has taken on certain practices, such as wearing woolen clothing, reciting the Qur'an at night, and limiting 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 ( muhasabah) in anticipation of the Day of Judgement was his proposed method for developing awareness of the inner self and purifying the heart. Al-Muhasibi later joined a group of scholars of theology, led by Abdullah ibn Kullāb (died 855). They criticized the Jahmis, Mu'tazilis, and Anthropomorphists. 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 (kalam Allah) and its realization: God is eternally speaking (mutakallim), but he can only be mukallim, 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 ...
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 relig ...
, and, two years later, banned the Mu'tazilites' theology. In ''al-Khalwa'', in 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

* Ibn Kullab * Junayd of Baghdad * List of Sufis


References


Further reading

*


External links


Mu'atabah an-Nafs by Harith al-Muhasibi

Al-Ri'ayah Li'Huquq-il-lah by Harith al-Muhasibi
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harith Al-Muhasibi Shafi'is Kullabis Sunni Sufis Sunni imams Sunni Muslim scholars 9th-century Muslim theologians Sufi teachers Writers from Baghdad 8th-century Arabs 9th-century Arabs 781 births 857 deaths