Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi (), in full, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ya‘qub al-Bukhari al-Kalabadhi () (fl. late 10th century,
Bukhara
Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
) was a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Hanafi
The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
Maturidi
Maturidism () is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. It is one of the three creeds of Sunni Islam alongside Ash'arism and Atharism, and prevails in the Hanafi school of jurisprudence.
Al-Maturidi codified 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 ...
scholar and the author of the ''Kitab at-ta'arruf'', one of the most important works of
Sufism
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 ...
composed during the first 300 years of Islam.
Life
Very little is known about his life. His Arabic name (
Nisba) indicates that he lived in Kalabadh (a district of Bukhara) and was probably of Persian ancestry. Depending on the source, he died in 990, 994 or 995. His grave in Bukhara still receives many visitors.
Kalabadhi studied Sufism under Abu al-Husayn al-Farisi and
Fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.[Fiqh](_blank)
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...
under Muhammad ibn Fadl.
Works
Of his six or seven works, two in Arabic survive:
*''Bahr al-fawa´id fi ma´ani al-akhar''. Short moral commentaries on 222 of the
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 ...
.
*''Kitab at-ta'arruf'' (the English translation by
A. J. Arberry is called ''The Doctrine of the Sufis''.)
Al-Kalabadhi's fame rests on the ''Kitab at-ta'arruf''. The work itself consists of 75 relatively short chapters, but several long commentaries have been appended. The work was written primarily for two purposes: to advocate the Sahu ("sober") school of Sufi thought and to assure adherents of orthodox Islam that Sufism does not contradict their beliefs. The second point was of special importance, as Sufism was in danger of being declared a
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy.
Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
.
Not long before, in 922, the famous Sufi
al-Hallaj
Mansour al-Hallaj () or Mansour Hallaj () ( 26 March 922) (Islamic calendar, Hijri 309 AH) was a Persian people, Persian Hanbali school, HanbaliChristopher Melchert, "The Ḥanābila and the Early Sufis," ''Arabica'', T. 48, Fasc. 3 (2001), ...
had been publicly executed on allegations of heresy. This must have had a significant effect on al-Kalabadhi. He quotes al-Hallaj frequently in his works, but never by name. He is simply referred to as "one of the great Sufis".
The book is still understandable for modern readers and preserves many important quotes from the first three hundred years of Islam.
See also
*
List of Sufis
This list article contains names of notable people commonly considered as Sufis or otherwise associated with Sufism.
List of notable Sufis
A
* Abadir Umar ar-Rida
* Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili
* Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi
* Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani
* Al ...
*
List of Sufi saints
Sufi saints or wali (, plural ʾawliyāʾ أولياء) played an instrumental and foregrounding role in spreading Islam throughout the world. In the traditional Islamic view, a saint is portrayed as someone "marked by pecialdivine favor ... ...
Further reading
* Arthur J. Arberry (Trans.): ''The Doctrine of the Sufis''. University Press, Cambridge 1977,
* ''Kalabadhi''. In: Emery van Donzel (Ed.): ''
Encyclopaedia of Islam
The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is a reference work that facilitates the Islamic studies, academic study of Islam. It is published by Brill Publishers, Brill and provides information on various aspects of Islam and the Muslim world, Isl ...
''. Brill, Leiden 1978, .
* ''Kalabadhi''. In:
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and in ...
(Ed.): ''Encyclopedia of Religion, Bd. 8''. Macmillan, New York 1987, , S. 230–231.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr
Sunni Sufis
Hanafis
Maturidis
10th-century Iranian writers
10th-century scholars
10th-century Islam
10th-century Islamic religious leaders
Scholars of Sufism