Abusaeid Abolkheyr(966-1046) (In Persian ابوسعید ابوالخیر هجری قمری 440-357) also known as Sheikh Abusaeid , was a famous Persian Sufi who contributed extensively to the evolution of Sufi thought.The majority of what is known from his life comes from the Persian book Asraar Al Tawhid اسرارالتوحید( The Mysteries of Unity) by Mohammad Ebn Monavvar one of his grandsons, written 130 years after his death.The book , which is one of the important early Sufi writings , presents a record of his life in the form of anecdotes from a variety of sources and contains a collection of his words.He was born in the village Mihne , part of the Persian province of Khorasan , today this village is located in Turkmenistan near Irani border.His father was a herbalist and physician with a fondness for Sufism.Abusaeid’s formal education was in Islamic scholarship and Arabic literature that he continued until the age 23 when he left them for Sufism.During his life his fame spread throughout the Islamic territories , even to Spain.He was the first one to widely use ordinary love poems for expressing mysticism , and as such he played a major role in founding the tradition of Persian Sufi poetry.He spent most of his life in Nishapur. Jump to: navigation, search Events April 14 or April 30 - Mieszko I, first duke of Poland, baptised a Christian Births Fujiwara no Michinaga, Japanese regent Deaths King Dubh I of Scotland Categories: 966 ... // Events First contact between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuks. ... Jump to: navigation, search Persian (فارسی / پارسی), (local name in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: ‘Fârsi’), ‘Pârsi’ (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, western Pakistan... The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Jump to: navigation, search Khorasan (also spelled Khurasan and Khorassan; خراسان in Persian) is an area, located in eastern and northeastern Iran. ... Official Government Links The following websites belong to the various branches of government, or are directly operated by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Official site of the Supreme Leader, (Qom office) Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Official website. ... Jump to: navigation, search Sufism (Arabic تصوف tasÌ£awwuf) is a school of esoteric philosophy in Islam, which is based on the pursuit of spiritual truth as a definite goal to attain. ... Jump to: navigation, search Arabic literature refers to all forms of literature written by Arabs or related to Arab culture. ... Jump to: navigation, search Islam â–¶(?) (Arabic: الإسلام al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, the worlds second-largest religion, and said by some to be the fastest growing religion in the world. ... Jump to: navigation, search Mysticism, from the Greek (mueo, to conceal), is the pursuit of achieving communion with, or conscious awareness of ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct, personal experience (intuition or insight) rather than rational thought; the belief in the existence of realities beyond perceptual... Jump to: navigation, search Persian (فارسی / پارسی), (local name in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: ‘Fârsi’), ‘Pârsi’ (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, western Pakistan... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... Location of Neyshapur Tomb of Omar Khayyám, Neishabur Tomb of Kamal-ol-Molk, Neishabur. ...

Mysticism

His mysticism falls under the category of Khorasani school of Sufism.He extracts the essence of the teachings of the past Sufis of this school (and to some extent other schools as well) and expresses them in a simpler and in a sense deeper form , without any use of philosophy.From past famous Sufis , he held a special reverance for Bayazid Bastami and Hallaj.His system is based on a few themes that appear frequently in his words , generally in the form of simple emotional poems.The main focus of his teachings is liberation from “I” , which he considers the one and only cause of separation from God and to which attributes all personal and social miseries.His biography mentions that he would never call himself "I" or "we" but “they” instead.This idea of selflessness appears as Fotovvat (a concept very near to chivalry) in his ethical teachings and as Malaamat , a kind of selflessness before Beloved which he considers a sign of the perfect love , in his strictly mystical teachings.Both of these concepts in a certain sense are spiritual forms of warrior ethics.Despite their simplicity he believed that full application of these teachings to ones life needs both divine grace and the guidance of a perfect Sufi and is impossible with mere personal efforts.His picture as portrayed in various Sufi writings is a particularly joyful one of continuous ecstasy.Other famous Sufis made frequent references to him , a notable example is the Persian Sufi poet Attar who mentions Abusaeid as his spiritual guide.Many miracles are attributed to him in Sufi writings. Jump to: navigation, search Mysticism, from the Greek (mueo, to conceal), is the pursuit of achieving communion with, or conscious awareness of ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct, personal experience (intuition or insight) rather than rational thought; the belief in the existence of realities beyond perceptual... Jump to: navigation, search Khorasan (also spelled Khurasan and Khorassan; خراسان in Persian) is an area, located in eastern and northeastern Iran. ... Jump to: navigation, search Sufism (Arabic تصوف tasÌ£awwuf) is a school of esoteric philosophy in Islam, which is based on the pursuit of spiritual truth as a definite goal to attain. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... The Bastami Complex in Bastam, Semnan Province of Iran, contains the shrine of Mohammad ibn Jafar Sadiq, the tomb of Bayazid, his monastary, the Iwan of Öljeitü, the tomb of Mahmud Ghazan, the Congregation Mosque, the tower of Kashaneh, and the Shahrukhiya seminary, bath, and Zurkhaneh, dating from before the... Jump to: navigation, search ... Jump to: navigation, search See also order of chivalry Woman under the Safeguard of Knighthood, allegorical Scene. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... Jump to: navigation, search Farid ad-Din Attar (farÄ«du-d-dÄ«n aṭṭār ; ca. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ...

A few sayings of Abusaeid quoted from his biography Asrar al Tawhid :

• The veil between man and God is not the world , is not the throne of God , it is the illusion of "I" , pass beyond yourself and you are there.
• Anywhere the illusion of “I” exists is hell , anywhere “I” is absent is heaven.
• If you are not going to sacrifice your self do not spend your time with the Sufi nonsense.
• Sufism is fixing the gaze at One and living towards One.
• The meaning of Sufism is to put down what is in your head and to spare what is in your hand and not to shake when calamities befal you.
• Holding a grudge is heresy and attributing things to any cause but God is idolatry and joyfulness is duty.

Poetry

Many short heartfelt Persian poems are attributed to him and he has been often considered a great poet.Though attribution of these poems has always been doubtful and due to recent researches , today it is generaly believed that he wrote only two poems in his life , and attribution of so many poems to him had been due to his great fondness for poetry.His love for poetry can be seen from the fact that he usualy used Persian love poetry written by non-Sufis in his prayers.Even his last words were a poem and according to his will in his funeral instead of Qur’anic verses , this poem was recited : The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al KarÄ«m or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ...

What sweeter than this in the world!

Friend met friend and the lover joined his beloved.

That was all sorrow , this is all joy

Those were all words , this is all reality.

An example of the poems attributed to him :

Love came and flew as blood in my veins

Emptied me of myself and filled me with beloved.

Each part of my being she conquered

Now a mere name is left to me and the rest is she.

Abusaeid and Islam

Abusaeid insists that his teachings and Sufism as a whole is the true meaning of Islam. He based his teachings on mystic interpretation of verses from Qur’an and some hadiths and was considered a learned Islamic scholar.Nevertheless his interpretations of Qur’an , were different from the mainstream Islamic thought of the time.Also at his time the Islamic legitimacy of Sufi dance was a matter of debate among the scholars and some attempted to arrange a trial of him and his followers in charge of innovation in Islam , dancing and use of sinful poetry in public preaches , but they failed to do so because of his popularity.Another important fact is that he never undertook the pilgrimage to Kaaba , called Haj , which according to all schools of Islamic jurisprudence is an obligation for all muslims.In his biography Asrar al Tawhid , it is quoted from him : “God knows – and this word is worth an hundred oaths – that everyone for whom God opened the way of pilgrimage to Kaaba , was already rejected by him from the path of truth.”To this day it has been one of the causes of criticizing him from a religious point of view.In general he was bold in expressing his mystic opinions as can be seen from his praise of Hallaj who was considered a heretic by most of the Sufis and all of the non-Sufi muslims of the time.Although the common opinion about Hallaj changed in time. Jump to: navigation, search Sufism (Arabic تصوف tasÌ£awwuf) is a school of esoteric philosophy in Islam, which is based on the pursuit of spiritual truth as a definite goal to attain. ... Jump to: navigation, search Islam â–¶(?) (Arabic: الإسلام al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, the worlds second-largest religion, and said by some to be the fastest growing religion in the world. ... The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al KarÄ«m or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Jump to: navigation, search Hadith (Arabic: , Arabic pl. ... Jump to: navigation, search Islam â–¶(?) (Arabic: الإسلام al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, the worlds second-largest religion, and said by some to be the fastest growing religion in the world. ... The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al KarÄ«m or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Kaaba (Kaabah), (Arabic: الكعبة) also Bait ul Ateeq (Arabic: البيت العتيق ) and Bait ul Haram (Arabic: البيت الحرام ), is a building located inside the mosque known as Masjid al Haram in Mecca (Makkah). ... The Hajj or Haj is the Pilgrimage to Mecca (or, Makkah) and is the fifth of the Five Pillars of Islam. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Kaaba (Kaabah), (Arabic: الكعبة) also Bait ul Ateeq (Arabic: البيت العتيق ) and Bait ul Haram (Arabic: البيت الحرام ), is a building located inside the mosque known as Masjid al Haram in Mecca (Makkah). ... Jump to: navigation, search ... Jump to: navigation, search ...

Abusaeid and Avicenna

There are evidences that there were correspondences between Abusaeid and Avicenna , the famous Persian physician and philosopher. In Abusaeid’s biography records of several meetings of them can be found.The first meeting is described as three days of private conversation , at the end of which Abusaeid says to his followers that everything that he can see (i.e in visions) , Avicena knows , and in turn Avicenna says that everything he knows Abusaeid can see. Jump to: navigation, search Avicenna was the greatest of the medieval Islamic physicians, whose work had a direct impact on the Renaissance. ... The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... This article needs cleanup. ... Jump to: navigation, search Avicenna was the greatest of the medieval Islamic physicians, whose work had a direct impact on the Renaissance. ...