8/17/2019 Aḥmad b. Abī al-Ḥawārī

1/2

 A mad ḥ  b.  Abī  l- awārī  Ḥ 

(952 words) A mad ḥ  b.  Abī  l-   awārī  Ḥ   (d. 230/845 or 244/860) was an early ascetic and mystic from Syria, theprincipal disciple and loyal follower of the renowned Syrian mystic !" S#laym$n al%&$r$n' (d.

25/830). ltho#h his !ioraphers ha*e consistently associated him with Syria and &amasc#s, he was

a well%tra*elled person, who spent considera!le time in +ra and accompanied !" S#laym$n on his

pilrimaes to ra!ia-s holy cities.

 A madḥ  b. Abī  l%   awārī  Ḥ   !eloned to a Syrian family acclaimedfor its asceticism and rihteo#sness. is

father is descri!ed in the so#rces as a man of scr#p#lo#s piety (wara )ʿ  and di*ine nosis (ma rifa)ʿ .

is elder !rother 1# ammad distin#ished himself as an ascetic and a dilient collector andḥ

transmitter of prophetic tradition ( adīth);ḥ  he was a st#dent of the famo#s ascetic al%# aylḍ   b. +y$ (d.ʿ ḍ

8/803), of Samarand. A madḥ  b. Abī  l% aw$r'-s son !dall$h (d. 8/803) was also commended inḤ ʿ

the so#rces for his eceptional rihteo#sness and h#mility. inally, A madḥ  b. Abī  l% aw$r'-s wifeḤ

$!i a is presented in the so#rces as a chaste and world%reno#ncin woman, who married him not o#tʿ

of desire for men !#t in order to !ecome part of mad-s inner circle, which consisted of rihteo#sḥ

indi*id#als ( āli ūn)ṣ ḥ  lie him. 7efore acceptin $!i a-s offer of marriae,ʿ   A madḥ  b. Abī  l%   awārī  Ḥ   

so#ht the appro*al of his spirit#al preceptor, !" S#laym$n al%&$r$n', who had enerally disappro*ed

of marriae, *iewin it as a distraction from the worship of od, altho#h he made an eception in this

case. ccordin to some reports, $!i a and her h#s!and spent their entire married life in chastity,ʿ

ne*er cons#mmatin their marriae. rich widow, $!i a reportedly spent all of her fort#ne onʿ   A madḥ  

b. Abī  l%   awārī  Ḥ   and his fellow ascetics and mystics. 7eca#se of her eemplary piety and chastity she issometimes conf#sed with her namesae, the famo#s $!i a l% dawiyya of 7asra (d. 85/80).ʿ ʿ

9#rio#sly, after he had married $!i a,ʿ   A madḥ  b. Abī  l%   awārī  Ḥ   too, with her permission, three more

wi*es. :his fact did not diminish his stat#s in the eyes of later "f's. e recei*ed lowin praise fromṢ

al%;#nayd of 7ahdad (d. 2

8/17/2019 Aḥmad b. Abī al-Ḥawārī

2/2

capt#red in a story that depicts him as st#dyin reliio#s !oos for thirty years, only to throw them all

into the E#phrates (or in the sea, accordin to another *ersion). e eplained that he had already

arri*ed in the presence of his lord (wu ūl)ṣ  and co#ld now dispense with the secondary #idance fo#nd

in reliio#s science. :his est#re elicited mied reactions from his !ioraphers, some e*en #estionin

its leitimacy from the standpoint of the Shar' a. :his attit#de towards reliio#s scienceʿ   ( ilm)ʿ  was not

#n#s#al amon the ascetics and mystics of his ae, who resented its #nscr#p#lo#s appropriation !ysome *enal reliio#s scholars with a *iew to main it a so#rce (and occasionally e*en the so#rce) of

their income.

:hro#ho#t his life, A madḥ  b. Abī  l%   awārī  Ḥ   remained eceedinly loyal to his teacher, !" S#laym$n

al%&$r$n', whom he showed #n#estionin and occasionally self%denyin o!edience. e and his fellow

st#dents, s#ch as the Syrian mystic A madḥ  b. F imʿ ṣ   al%n $' (d. !etween 220/835 and 23