Abu Ismaïl Abdullah al-Harawi al-Ansari or Abdullah Ansari of Herat (1006–1089) () also known as ''Pir-i Herat'' () "Sage of Herat", was a

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saint, who lived in

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

(modern-day

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

). Ansari was a commentator on the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

, scholar of the

Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...

school of thought (

madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...

), traditionalist, polemicist and spiritual master, known for his oratory and poetic talents in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and Persian.

Life

Ansari was born in the Kohandez, the old citadel of Herat, in 1006. His father, Abu Mansur Muhammad, was a shopkeeper who had spent several years of his youth at Balkh.S. de Laugier de Beaureceuil, "Abdullah Ansari" in Encylcoapedia Iranic

/ref> Ansari was a direct descendant of

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (, , died c. 674) — born Khalid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb ibn Tha'laba () in Yathrib — was from the tribe of Banu Najjar, and a close companion (Arabic: الصحابه, ''sahaba'') and the standard-bearer of the Prophets and mes ...

, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, being the eleventh in line from him. The lineage is described, and traced in the family history records, as follows; Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Pir-i-Herat Al Imam Al-Zahid Shaykh Al-Islam wa Al-Khorasan Al-Kubra Al-Muhaddith Al- Kabir Mufassir wa Al-Hafiz Al-Quran Khwaja Abu Isma’il ‘Abd-Allah Al-Kandari Al-Harawi Al-Ansari 1006-89 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Shaikh Khwaja Abu Mansur Muhammad Balkhi Al-Harawi Al-Ansari 966-1025 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Shaikh Khwaja Maaz Al-Harawi Al-Ansari 923-82 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Shaikh Khwaja Abu Maaz ‘Ali Al-Harawi Al-Ansari 881-948 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Shaikh Khwaja Muhammad Al-Harawi Al-Ansari 837-97 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Shaikh Khwaja Ahmad Al-Harawi Al-Ansari 792-861 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Shaikh Khwaja ‘Ali Al-Harawi Al-Ansari 756-830 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Shaikh Khwaja Ja’far Al-Harawi Al-Ansari 722-89 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Shaikh Khwaja Mansur Al-Harawi Al-Ansari 682-748 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Shaikh Khwaja Murabit Abu Mansur Samit Muhammad Ghazi Al-Tabi’i Al-Harawi Ummat-Ul-Ansari 634-97 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Al-Sahaba Shaikh Ayyub Al-Madani Al-Ansari Al-Khazraji Al-Najjari 609-64 ibn Za’im-i-Bani Najjar Al-Sahaba Al-Katib wa Al-Muhaddith Emir Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah Hafiz Al-Quran Hamil Liwa Al-Islam Al-Ustyriyi Mudif-un-Nabi Mihmandar-i-Rasul-Allah Waqif-i-Masjid Al-Nabawi Al-Tarid Al-Munafiqin Shaikh Abu Ayyub Khalid Ghazi Al-Shaheed Al-Madani Al-Ansari Al-Khazraji Al-Najjari In the reign of the third Rashid Caliph,

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

, Abu Mansoor al-Taabi'i took part in the conquest of Khorasan, and subsequently settled in Herat, his descendant Khwajah Abdullah Ansari died there in Dhū al-Ḥijjah 481/February-March 1089. Ansari was a disciple of Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani. He practised the

school of

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. The Shrine of Khwaja Abd Allah, built during the

Timurid dynasty The Timurid dynasty, self-designated as Gurkani (), was the ruling dynasty of the Timurid Empire (1370–1507). It was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim dynasty or Barlās clan of Turco-Mongol originB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of I ...

, is a popular pilgrimage site. He excelled in the knowledge of ''

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

'', history and ''ʻilm al-ansāb'' (

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

). He wrote several books on Islamic mysticism and philosophy, in Persian and

. Abdullah Ansari had 5 children in total: Khwaja Jabir, Khwaja Abdurrahman, Khwaja Hashim Buzurg, Qazi Mohd Yusuf and Qazi Mohd Naimat.

Descendants

The descendants of the sons of Abdullah Ansari had migrated to other regions in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, some remained in

. Some settlements of the descendants of Abdullah Ansari are in, Jais(Jayas),

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...

, Yusufpur, Mau, Saharanpur,

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, Kakori and the scholars at the famous university in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

, Firangi Mahal.

Sufism

He was one of the first Sufis to write in Persian, which he wrote in a local dialect, thus indicating that he wanted to spread his teachings to the general populace instead of just to the ''

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

'', who knew Arabic. Ansari's most famous work is "Munajat Namah" (literally 'Litanies or dialogues with God'), which is considered a masterpiece of

Persian literature Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...

. After his death, many of his sayings recorded in his written works and transmitted by his students were included in the 10-volume Tafsir of Maybudi, "Kashf al-Asrar" (The Unveiling of Secrets). This was among the earliest complete Sufi

Tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

( exegeses) of the Quran and has been published several times. The Hanbali jurist

ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ayyūb az-Zurʿī d-Dimashqī l-Ḥanbalī (29 January 1292–15 September 1350 CE / 691 AH–751 AH), commonly known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya ("The son of the principal of he scho ...

wrote a lengthy commentary on a treatise written by Ansari entitled ''Madarij al-Salikin''. He expressed his love and appreciation for Ansari in this commentary with his statement, "Certainly I love the Sheikh, but I love the truth more!". Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya refers to Ansari with the honorific title "''Sheikh al-Islam''" in his work ''Al-Wabil al-Sayyib min al-Kalim al-Tayyab''

Works

Arabic

* Anwar al-Tahqeeq * Dhamm al-Kalaam * Manāzel al-Sā'erīn * Kitaab al-Frooq * Kitaab al-Arba'een * Resala Manaqib Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (Arabic: رسالة مناقب الإمام أحمد بن حنبل) * Zad-ul Arefeen (Arabic: زاد االعارفین)

Persian

* Munajat Namah (Persian: مناجات نامه) * Nasayeh (Persian: نصایح) * Kanz-ul Salikeen (Persian: کنز السالکین) * Haft Hesar (Persian: هفت حصار) * Elahi Namah (Persian: الهی نامه) * Muhabbat Namah (Persian: محبت نامه) * Qalandar Namah (Persian: قلندر نامه) * Resala-é Del o Jan (Persian: رساله دل و جان) * Resala-é Waredat (Persian: رساله واردات) * Sad Maidan (Persian: صد میدان)

References

External links

The Invocations of Abdullah Al Ansari
(in English) at archive.org. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Khwaja Abdullah People from Herat Najjarite people Hanbalis Atharis Iranian Muslim mystics Sufi mystics 1006 births 1088 deaths 11th-century Persian-language poets 11th-century writers 11th-century Iranian people 11th-century jurists