Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Karram al-Sijistani () was an

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

, hellfire preacher, hadith narrator, and a literalist

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

who founded the

Karramiyya Karramiyya () was a Hanafi- Mujassim- Murji'ah sect in Islam which flourished in the central and eastern parts of the Islamic worlds, and especially in the Iranian regions, from the 9th century until the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. The ...

sect. His views were considered

heretical 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 Christianity, Judai ...

, schismatic, and abominable by the majority 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 ...

scholars. He was accused of holding the doctrine of

anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

, and that his chief theological doctrine was that God is a substance (jawhar) and that he had a body (jism); for which reason his followers were commonly called the "Mujassima" (corporealists) and "Mushabbiha" (anthropomorphists). Some sources reported that he was of

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

descent, and his lineage belongs to the Bani Nizar, or Bani Turab (the people or sons of Turab), and according to some, to the Arab tribe of the Banu Nadhir. It has been said that

Ibn Taymiyya Ibn Taymiyya (; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-959 was a Sunni Muslim schola ...

(d. 728/1328) took inspiration from him.

Name

His name was Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Karram ibn 'Arraf (or 'Iraq) ibn Khuraya (or Khizana or Hizaba) ibn al-Bara' al-Sijistani al-Nisapuri.

Biography

He was born in

Zaranj Zaranj ( Persian/Pashto/) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkargah and Kandahar to the east, Farah to the north an ...

in Sijistan, in around 190/806. He traveled to

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

and studied with Ahmad b. Harb, Ibrahim b. Yusuf, 'Ali b. Hujr in

Marw Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium BC until the ...

, and 'Abd Allah b. Malik 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 ...

. Then he moved to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and stayed there five years. Then he returned back to his home country Sijistan, and went to Nisapur and studied with Ahmed Bin Harb before the local governor Tahir b. 'Abd Allah (230–48/844–62) expelled him, because his teachings caused unrest and strife within society. Then he went to the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

and returned to Nisapur to preach to the masses. His preaching attracted large crowds. In his speeches, he was opposed and attacked both Sunni and

Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

theology. For this reason, the Tahirid governor Muhammad b. Tahir b. 'Abd Allah jailed him for eight years. After his release from the jail in 251/865, he traveled to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...

in ''al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya'' (The Beginning and the End) and Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Maqdisi (c. 945–991) in ''Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim'' (The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions), both of them confirmed that Ibn Karram preached his controversial views while sitting near the "column of the cradle of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, where many people used to meet him." Due to his views about iman (belief), his books were burned and he was expelled from Jerusalem by the governor to

Ramla Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs. The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph S ...

Books

There are several books attributed to Ibn Karram, such as ''Kitab al-Tawhid'' (Book of the Unification), and ''Kitab 'Azab al-Qabr'' (Book of the Torment of the Grave), but none of them remain today. However, his beliefs are mentioned in a number of

tabaqat Tabaqat ( ''ṭabaqāt'') is a genre of Islamic biographical literature that is organized according to the century in which the notable individuals (such as scholars, poets, etc.) lived. Each century or generation is known as a ''ṭabaqah'', the ...

works (biographical dictionaries) and heresiographical works, including ''Maqalat al-Islamiyyin'' (The Ideas of the Muslims) by

Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (; 874–936 CE) was an Arab Muslim theologian known for being the eponymous founder of the Ash'ari school of kalam in Sunnism. Al-Ash'ari was notable for taking an intermediary position between the two diametrically ...

(d. 324/936), ''

Al-Farq bayn al-Firaq Al-Farq bayn al-Firaq is a book by the Shafi'i scholar Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (d. 1037 CE) outlining the doctrinal positions of various sects and schisms in Islam. Written as an explanation of the hadith regarding the division of the Muslim umma ...

'' (The Difference between the Sects) by

'Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi Abū Manṣūr ʿAbd al-Qāhir ibn Ṭāhir bin Muḥammad bin ʿAbd Allāh al-Tamīmī al-Shāfiʿī al-Baghdādī (), more commonly known as Abd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī () or simply Abū Manṣūr al-Baghdādī () was an Arab Sunni scholar fr ...

(d. 429/1037), ''al-Tabsir fi al-Din'' by Abu al-Muzaffar al-Isfarayini (d. 471/1078), Kitab ''

al-Milal wa al-Nihal ''Kitāb al–Milal wa al-Nihal'' (Arabic: كتاب الملل والنحل, ''The Book of Sects and Creeds''), written by the Islamic scholar Muhammad al-Shahrastani (d. 1153 CE), is a non-polemical study of religious communities and philosop ...

'' (The Book of Religions and Creeds) by Abu al-Fath al-Shahristani (d. 548/1153), and ''I'tiqadat Firaq al-Muslimin wa al-Mushrikin'' by

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī () or Fakhruddin Razi () (1149 or 1150 – 1209), often known by the sobriquet Sultan of the Theologians, was an influential Iranian and Muslim polymath, scientist and one of the pioneers of inductive logic. He wrote var ...

(d. 606/1210).

Theological views

According to heresiographical works, Ibn Karram is considered one of the

Murji'a Murji'ah (, English: "Those Who Postpone"), also known as Murji'as or Murji'ites (singular Murji'), were an early Islamic sect. The Murji'ah school of theology prioritized the importance of one's professed faith over the acts, deeds, or rituals th ...

who held that iman (faith or belief) to be only acknowledgment with the tongue, without the need for recognition by the heart, and confirmation by acts. He used to say: "Allah is a body unlike bodies" and "Allah is firmly seated on the throne and He is in person on the upper side of it." He and his adherents accepted the materialistic pictures of God found in 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 ...

and tried to understand them in human terms. The followers of Ibn Karram were unsure "whether Allah is as big as his throne, whether it is equal to his breadth."

gave an exhaustive description of their doctrines in

al-Farq bayn al-Firaq Al-Farq bayn al-Firaq is a book by the Shafi'i scholar Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (d. 1037 CE) outlining the doctrinal positions of various sects and schisms in Islam. Written as an explanation of the hadith regarding the division of the Muslim umma ...

. In his book, which is entitled 'Azab al-Qabr (The Punishment of the Grave), he described God as He is high above, localized on the Throne, and that God touches His Throne and that the Throne is a place for Him, and that He is sitting on it. He wrote also that God is a Unit of essence and a Unit of substance, had a body with flesh, blood, and limbs, and had direction and so could move from one point to another. He affirmed the beatific vision (seeing God in the hereafter) without securing the doctrine against its potential spatial implications.

Scholarly views on him

Although he claimed to be a follower of

Abu Hanifa Abu Hanifa (; September 699 CE – 767 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, ascetic,Pakatchi, Ahmad and Umar, Suheyl, "Abū Ḥanīfa", in: ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'', Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary. and epony ...

, his theological views were criticized by the

Hanafis 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 ...

, such as

Abu Bakr al-Samarqandi Abu Bakr Muhammad b. al-Yamān al-Samarqandi () was a Sunni-Hanafi scholar from Samarqand, who combined jurisprudence and theology. He paved the way for his compatriot Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 333/944). He opposed the emerging Karramiyya, an a ...

(d. 268/881–2),

al-Hakim al-Samarqandi Al-Hakim Abu al-Qasim Ishaq al-Samarqandi (), was a Sunni-Hanafi scholar, qadi (judge), and sage from Transoxania who studied Sufism in Balkh with Abu Bakr al-Warraq. Some sources describe him as a student of al-Maturidi (d. 333/944-45) in fiq ...

(d. 342/953),

Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi () (c.1030-c.1100), who was given the honorific title of ''Sadr al-Islam'', was a prominent Central Asian Hanafi-Maturidi scholar and a qadi (judge) in Samarqand in the late eleventh century. He was a teacher to several well ...

(d. 482/1089),

Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi (; ; c.1027 – c.1115 A.D.) was a Central Asian Hanafi scholar who is considered to be the most important theologian in the Maturidi school of Sunni Islam after Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, provided a fairly detailed ac ...

(d. 508/1114), and al-Saffar al-Bukhari (d. 534/1139). He was accused of being a fabricator 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 ...

by several scholars, including

Ibn Hibban Muḥammad ibn Hibbān al-Bustī () (c. 270–354/884–965) was a Muslim Arab scholar, polymath and a prominent Shafi'i traditionist, ḥadith critic, evaluator of rijal, compiler and interpreter of hadith. He was a prolific writer and well-ve ...

(d. 354/ 965),

al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Atharism, Athari ...

(d. 748/1348),

(d. 774/1373), and

Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (; 18 February 1372 – 2 February 1449), or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, ...

(d. 852/1449), all of them confirmed that the reporting of Ibn Karram is unreliable, because he is a fabricator. Salah al-Din al-Safadi (d. 764/1363) in his work, entitled: ''Al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat'' (), described him as a deviant and misguided anthropomorphist, and he said that Ibn Karram was praised by

Ibn Khuzayma Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzaymah al-Nishapuri (Arabic:محمد بن إسحق بن خزيمع النيسابوري) (Persian: محمد بن اسحاق بن خزیمه نیشاپوری) (838-924 AH) was a prominent Persian Muslim ''muhaddith'' sch ...

(d. 311/923) and met him more than once.

(d. 728/1328) in his book ''Sharh al-'Aqida al-Asfahaniyya'' () defended him, as he stated in his own words:

Death

He died in Bayt al-Maqdis (

) in

Safar Safar (), also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Most of the Islamic months were named according to ancient Sabean/Sabaic weather conditions; however, since the calendar is lunar, the months shift ...

in the year 255 AH/869 CE, and was buried at Bab Ariha (Gate of

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

Notes

References

External links

MUHAMMED b. KERRÂM
—

İslâm Ansiklopedisi The (İA) () is a Turkish academic encyclopedia for Islamic studies published by Presidency of Religious Affairs. History The decision to begin the encyclopedia project was made at the 1st Turkish Publications Congress in Ankara on 2–5 Ma ...

{{Authority control Anthropomorphism in Islamic theology Hellfire preachers Medieval Islamic philosophers 9th-century Muslim theologians Muslim ascetics Sufi mystics People from Sistan 806 births 868 deaths 869 deaths 9th-century Arab people 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate Scholars from the Abbasid Caliphate Iranian Muslim mystics