Abū Yazīd of Bistām a turning-point in Islamic mysticism

7/28/2019 Ab Yazd of Bistm a turning-point in Islamic mysticism

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A B U Y A Z i D O F B IS T A MA T U R N I N G - P O I N T I N IS L A M I C M Y S T I C I S M

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OxfordI n h i s l i tt l e b o o k o n .S fifis m P r o f e s s o r A . J . A r b e r r y d e c l i n e d t o d i s c u sst h e v a r i o u s i n f l u e n c e s t h a t m a y o r m a y n o t h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h em a k i n g o f .S fifism ( a n d r i g h t l y s o in s o s m a l l a b o o k ) . " N o t i m e w i l l . . .b e w a s t e d [ h e w r o t e ] u p o n r e v i e w i n g o r r e s t a t in g t h e a r g u m e n t , i n p r o g r e s sf o r m o r e t h a n a c e n t u r y , t h a t t h e .S a fi s o w e d m u c h o r l i tt l e o f w h a t t h e yd i d o r s a i d t o C h r i s t i a n , J e w i s h , G n o s t i c , N e o p l a t o n i c , H e r m e t i c , Z o r o -a s t r i a n o r B u d d h i s t e x a m p l e . "1 T h e p r e s e n c e o r a b s e n c e o f s u c h i n -f lu e n c e s i s, h o w e v e r , o f c a r d i n a l i m p o r t a n c e i n a n y s t u d y o f t h e h i s t o r yo f m y s t i c is m S a t l e a s t i f w e a c c e p t t h e v i e w t h a t a l l p r e a t e r n a t u r a l m a n i -f e s t a t i o n s , a l l s o - c a l l e d " m y s t i c a l " e x p e r i e n c e s , a r e n o t r e d u c i b l e t o o n ep a t t e r n . T h i s i s n o t t h e p l a c e t o d i s c u ss t h e v a r i e ti e s o f m y s t i c a l e x -p e r ie n c e w h i c h h a s b e e n d o n e e l se w h e r e p b u t n o m e a n i n g f u l d i s cu s s io no f A b O Y a z i d o f B ist.~ m 's r e l a t i o n t o I n d i a n t h o u g h t i s p o s si b l e u n le s sw e m a k e c l e a r a t t h e o u t s e t w h a t w e c o n s i d e r t o b e t h e e s s e n t i a l d i f f e r -e n c e s b e t w e e n t h e m y s t i c i s m o f t h e advaita o r n o n - d u a l i s t V e d a n t a i nI n d i a o n t h e o n e h a n d a n d t h a t t y p e o f C h r i s t i a n m y s t i c i s m w h i c h s oc l e a r ly i n f l u e n c e d e a r l y I s la m i c m y s t i c i s m a s r e p r e s e n t e d b y s u c h f ig u r esa s R a b i ' a a n d M u h . a s ib i o n t h e o t h e r . T h i s d i s t i n c t i o n c a n b e t r a c e d i na l l t h e g r e a t r e li g i o n s a n d c u t s c l e a r a c ro s s p u r e l y d o g m a t i c d i f f e re n c e s .

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e Advaita i n i t s e x t r e m e f o r m t h e r e i s o n e a b s o l u t eB e i n g , B r a h m a n , o n e w i t h o u t a s e c o n d , a n d a p a r t f r o m t h i s a b s o l u t eB e i n g n o t h i n g c a n b e s a id t o h a v e a n y r e a l e x is t e n c e a t a ll . T h i s b e i n gs o , t h e h u m a n s o u l th e e x i s te n c e o f w h i c h w e a r e b o u n d t o c o n c e d e ,m u s t b e i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h e A b s o l u t e . T h i s ru l e s o u t t h e unio mysticao f th e C h r i s t i an s , t h e u n i o n o f t h e s o u l w i t h G o d i n l o v e , f o r w h e r e t h e r eis o n l y " O n e " u n i o n h a s n o m e a n i n g : w e c a n o n l y s p e a k o f " u n i t y " .1 A. J. Arberry, Sufism, An Account of the Mystics of Islam (London, Allen andUnw in, 1950), p. 11.2 This is now recognized by P rofessor Arberry: see his Revelation and Reason inIslam (London, 1957), p. 90.In my Mystic&m, Sacred and Profane (Oxford, 1957).


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AB U YAZi D OF B IS .TAM 287T h e r e i s wa.hdat b u t n o taw.hid. I d o n o t p r o p o s e t o d i s c u s s h e r e t h ev a l id i t y o f e i t h e r o f t h es e a s s e rt io n s , b u t w o u l d m e r e l y p o i n t o u t t h a ts o m e m y s t ic s c la i m t o h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d " u n i o n " , o t h e r s " u n i t y " .

In h i s My s t ics o f Is lam N i c h o l s o n s a w t h a t A b Q Y a z i d 's d o c t r i n e o fl and , t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e e m p i r ic a l s e lf i n G o d o r t h e A b s o l u t e , m i g h tw e l l b e t r a c e a b l e t o a n I n d i a n o r i g i n , a n d h e d i d n o t f a i l t o o b s e r v e t h a ti ts fi rs t g r e a t e x p o n e n t w a s A b ~ Y a z i d a n d t h a t h e m a y w e l l h a v e r e c e iv e dt h e i d e a f r o m h i s t e a c h e r , A b ~ ' A l i o f S in d . a T h i s i d e a w a s t a k e n u p a n dd e f e n d e d w i t h p a s s i o n b y M a x H o r t e n , 5 w h o a l so e m p h a s i z e d t h e f a c tt h a t A b f i Y a z i d 's t e a c h e r w a s p re c i se l y a m a n o f S in d . H o r t e n c o n s i d e r e dt h a t A b Q Y a z i d w a s d e c i si v e ly i n f l u e n c e d b y B u d d h i s m 6 a n d t h a t i n h i mN e o - P l a t o n i c a n d I n d i a n , w h e t h e r B u d d h i s t o r B r a h m a n i c a l , i n f l u e n c e sm e t . M a s s i g n o n t o o , i n h i s Essai sur les origines du lexique technique dela myst ique musulmane, t r i e d t o s h o w t h a t I s l a m i c m y s t i c i s m m i g h t h a v eb e e n i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e c l as s ic a l Y o g a o f P a t a fi ja l i. 7 H e w e n t s o f a r a st o d r a w u p a l is t o f t e c h n i c a l t e r m s u s e d i n M u s l i m a n d I n d i a n s o u r c e sw h i c h w e r e a ll e g e d t o c o r r e s p o n d . I n a c t u a l f a c t t h e r e is r a r e l y a n yc o r r e s p o n d a n c e b e t w e e n t h e A r a b i c a n d S a n s k r i t m e m b e r s .

T h e p r i n c i p a l d e f e c t o f t h e s e a n d e a r l i e r a t t e m p t s t o t r a c e a n I n d i a ni n f l u e n c e o n I s l a m i s t h a t t h e y t e n d t o b e c o n t e n t w i t h g e n e r a l i z a t i o n sw h i c h a r e a t t h e m o s t o n l y p a r ti a l ly c o n v i n c in g . T h e o n l y w a y t h a t w ec a n p r o v e t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r m y s t i c a l d o c t r i n e i s d e p e n d e n t o n a n o t h e ris to s h o w t h a t t h e l a te r o f t h e tw o h a s t a k e n o v e r n o t o n l y i d ea s b u ta l so s i m i le s a n d , b e s t o f a ll , w h o l e p h r a s e s f r o m t h e e a r l ie r , a n d t h a tt h e s e s i m i l e s a n d p h r a s e s d o n o t o c c u r e l s e w h e r e .

N o w , o f th e i n fl u en c e s o t h e r t h a n I n d i a n w h i c h c a n a l m o s t c e r ta i n l yb e t r a c e d i n .S flfism , t h e C h r i s t ia n , M a n i c h a e a n , a n d N e o - P l a t o n i c w o u l ds e em t o b e t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t . I n h e r b o o k Early Mys t ic i sm in theNear and Middle Eas t , 8 D r . M a r g a r e t S m i t h m a d e a c o n v i n c i n g c a set h a t M u s l i m m y s t ic i s m is l it tl e m o r e t h a n a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f i ts C h r i s t i anp r e d e c e s s o r i n th e la n d s i n w h i ch I s la m w a s t r iu m p h a n t . I d o n o t t h i n kt h a t h e r b r o a d c o n c l u s i o n s c a n w e l l b e d i s p u t e d , b u t I t h i n k i t n e c e s s a r yt o m o d i f y h e r g e n e r a l t h es i s t o s o m e e x t e n t : f o r i t s e e m s p la i n t h a tC h r i s t i a n i n f l u e n c e e x e r t e d i t se l f n o t t h r o u g h l i t e r a r y so u r c e s o r t h r o u g ht h e p o le m i c s o f s u c h m e n a s S t. J o h n D a m a s c e n e , b u t t h r o u g h o r a l4 R . A . N i c h o ls o n , The Mystics of Islam ( L o n d o n , 1 9 1 4 ), p . 1 7 .5 S e e e spe c i a l l y Festgabe Jaeobi (B onn , 1926) , pp . 397 -405 ; a l so Indische Strrmungenin der islamischen Mystik, I (He i d e l be rg , 1927) , pp . 17 -25 .6 Festgabe,p. 399.7 R e p r i n t e d P a r is , V r i n , 1 9 54 , p p . 8 1 - 9 8.8 L o n d o n , T h e S h e l d o n P r e ss , 19 31 .


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288 R .c . ZAEHN~Rc h a n n el s , t h a t i s, th e d a y t o d a y c o n t a c t o f th e C h r i st i an p o p u l a t i o nw i t h i t s c o n q u e r o r s . T i m e a n d a g a i n w e f i n d .S Ofi w r i t er s q u o t i n g a sa c t u a l t r a d i t io n s o f t h e P r o p h e t o r a s w o r d s o f a , "w i se m a n " p a s s a g e st h a t a c t u a l l y d e r i v e f r o m t h e G o s p e l s .

T h i s is q u i t e n a t u r a l . E v e n t o - d a y i t w o u l d n e v e r o c c u r t o a p i o u sM u s l i m t o t u r n t o t h e O l d o r N e w T e s t a m e n t s f o r s p i r i t u a l g u i d a n c e .H o w m u c h m o r e t r u e m u s t t h is h a v e b e e n i n t h e e a r ly c e n tu r ie s o f Is l amwh e n t h e Q u r '~ m wa s s t il l a r e c e n t r e v e l a t i o n - t h e f i n a l r e v e l a t i o n s e n td o w n a s G o d ' s e t e rn a l W o r d t o m a n , t h e W o r d t h a t c o r r e c t e d e a rl ie rr e v e la t io n s w h i c h i n d e e d h a d n o t d i ff e re d f r o m i t i n a n y w a y b u t w h i c hh a d b e e n f a l s i f i e d b y t h e f o l l o w e r s o f M o s e s a n d J e s u s r e s p e c t i v e l y .I t w a s n o t , t h e n , b y t h e r e a d i n g o f t h e s a c r e d b o o k s o f t h e o l d e r f a i th st h a t t h e M u s l i m s c a m e t o h a v e k n o w l e d g e o f t h e s a y in g s o f Je s u s, i tw a s b y p e r s o n a l c o n t a c t w i t h C h r i s t ia n s a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y , p e r h a p s , w i t hC h r i s t i a n m o n k s w h o m i n s o m e c a s e s t h e S .fffis s e e m c o n s c i o u s l y t o h a v ei m i t a t e d . I t w o u l d b e e a s y t o q u o t e a n u m b e r o f p a s s ag e s t h a t a r ed e r i v e d f r o m t h e G o s p e l s a n d w h i c h h a v e b e c o m e e m b e d d e d i n .SQ fil i t e r a t u r e . M u .h ~ts ib i, f o r e x a m p l e , q u o t e s t h e p a r a b l e o f t h e s o we r w i t h -o u t h a v i n g a n y i d e a o f i ts o r i g i n :9 Gh a z ~ tl i h a s t h e p a r a b l e o f t h e t a r e s TMa n d t h e s i m i le o f th e w h i t e d s e p u l c h r e :11 Q u s h a y r i a n d o t h e r s q u o t e at r a d i t i o n t h a t o n e s h o u l d l o v e o n e ' s n e i g h b o u r a s o n e s e l f , 12 an d so on .F u r t h e r G h a z~ tl i q u o t e s C h r i s t 's s a y i n g " I w a s s i ck a n d y e v i si t ed m en o t " a n d H i s e x p l a n a t i o n o f i t t h a t i n a s m u c h a s t h e g u il ty m a n d i d n o tv i s i t t h e l e a st o f h i s b r e t h r e n i t w a s t a n t a m o u n t t o n o t v i s i ti n g H i m , a sp r o o f o f h is o w n d o c t r i n e t h a t G o d is i m m a n e n t i n a ll h u m a n s o ul s.A g a i n G h a z ~ l i is q u i te u n a w a r e o f th e o r i g i n o f th e s e w o r d s a n d q u o t e st h e m a s b e in g a d d r e s s e d b y G o d t o M o s e s . lz

T h e p r e s e n ce o f s u c h u n m i s t a k e a b l y C h r i s ti a n l o g i a o f t e n q u o t e d a l -m o s t w o r d f o r w o r d y e t w i t h o u t a n y k n o w l e d g e o f th e i r o ri g in , s h ow st h a t C h r i s t ia n i d e a s s e e p e d i n t o I s l a m t h r o u g h o r a l c h a n n e l s t h r o u g hw h i c h , i t a p p e a r s , t h e m a i n i d e a s o f C h r i s ti a n m y s t i c i s m m a d e t h e m s e l v e sf e l t - a b o v e a l l t h e d o c t r i n e t h a t i t is p o s s i b l e f o r t h e h u m a n s o u l t o b eu n i t e d w i th G o d t h r o u g h l o v e . M a s s i g n o n , i n h i s l a t e r w o r k , s ee m s t oh a v e v e e r e d r o u n d t o t h e o p i n i o n t h a t a ll l a t e r .S Ofi i d e a s a r e p r e s e n ta t l ea s t i n g e r m i n th e Q u r 'f in . T h i s is n o t o n l y t o s t r e t c h t h e m e a n i n g

K i t f l b a l . R i ' a y a l i- .huqg tq A l l ah , ed. M argaret Sm ith (London, Luzac, 194 0), p. 2.lo K f m i y a - y i S a ' a d a t (Tehran, 1319 A. H . [solar]), vol. II, p. 739.n I b i d .12 Ri sala (Cairo, 1367/1947), p. 74.l a K i m i y a , vo l. II, p. 952.


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ABU Y A Z ID OF BIS.T.~M 28 9o f th e Q u r ' ~ n u n b e a r a b l y , i t is a l so t o f ly i n t h e f a c e o f t h e M u s l i m d o g m ao f t h e a b s o l u t e t r a n s c e n d a n c e o f G o d - H i s t o t a l u n li k e n e ss t o a l lc r e a t u r e s - a n a c c e p t e d d o c t r i n e w h i c h G h a z~ tl i c o v e r s p ag e s i n r e f u t i n gb e f o r e h e c o n s i d e rs t h a t h e c a n d i sc u s s t h e lo v e o f G o d a t a l l. T h u s ,t h e r e s e e m s t o b e n o d e n y i n g t h a t a l o n g w i t h t h e s a y in g s o f Je s u s t h ee s se n ti a l C h r i s t ia n d o c t r i n e o f th e l o v e o f G o d f o r m a n a n d m a n f o rG o d c a p t u r e d M u h a m m a d a n m y s ti ci sm a t a v e ry e a rl y s ta g e: a n d t h ep r o o f t h a t C h r i s t i a n i n f l u e n c e i s a c t u a l l y a t w o r k m u s t a l w a y s b e th ea c t u a l r e p r o d u c t i o n o f p h ra s e s a n d i d ea s w h i c h w e c a n i m m e d i a t e l y tr a c et o t h e G o s p e l s b u t w h i c h t h e . S0 fis, w h o d i d n o t r e a d t h e G o s p e l s , c o u l dn o t .

T h e s a m e i s t r u e o f N e o - P l a t o n i s m , a l a t e a r r i v a l i n t h e S u nn i-.S ~ffif ie l d . N e o - P l a t o n i s m m a k e s i ts w a y i n t o . Sfifis m v i a Gh a z ~ l i w h o w a s ap h i l o s o p h e r b e f o r e h e b e c a m e a .S Q fi . T h e r e i s l i tt le t r a c e o f it i n t h eI.hyd, o r e v e n i n t h e K~miyd-yi Sa'ddat, t h e P e r s i a n a b b r e v i a t e d v e r s i o no f t h e I .hyd w h i c h h e w r o t e i n l a t e r fi fe . I t o n l y b e c o m e s u n m i s t a k e a b l ya p p a r e n t i n t h e Risdlat a l -Ladunniyya, w h i c h m u s t b e a v e r y l a te w o r k .N e o - P l a t o n i s m i n M u s l i m d r e ss is a l w a y s e a s y t o r e c o g n i ze . T h e k e yc o n c e p t i o n s a r e, o f c o u rs e , th e U n i v e r s al M i n d a n d t h e U n i v e r s a l S o u l,t h e 'aql a l -kul l i a n d t h e nafs al-kulliyya. B o t h t h e se a p p e a r i n t h e Risd la tal-Ladunniyya, i n w h i c h G h a z a l i m a k e s a f i r s t a t t e m p t t o m a r r y t h et r a d i t i o n a l . Sfifism o f J u n a y d w i t h N e o - P l a t o n i c p h i l o s o p h y . T h u s ,C h r i s t i a n a n d N e o - P l a t o n i c i n fl u e n c e s i n .S fifism c a n b e t ra c e d p r i m a r i l yb y s p o t t in g a l m o s t d i r ec t q u o t a t i o n a n d s e c o n d l y b y t h e e x a c t c o r r es -p o n d a n c e o f t e c h n i c a l t e r m s . T h e r e i s, h o w e v e r , a d is t i n c t d i f fe r e n c ei n t h e w a y i n w h i c h t h e t w o i n f lu e n c e s m a d e t h e m s e l v e s f e lt . C h r i s t i a ni d ea s w e r e p a s s e d o n b y w o r d o f m o u t h ; N e o - P l a t o n i c id e a s c a m e i n t o.Sflfism via t h e p h i l o s o p h e r s , t h a t i s t o s a y , a s f a r a s . Sflfis m p r o p e r i sc o n c e r n e d , via G h a z ~ l i w h o , h o w e v e r , b o r r o w s f r o m b o t h F gtrftb i a n dAv i c e n n a . T h e g o l d e n a g e o f .S ftfis m , t h a t i s , t h e a g e o f M u . h g s i b i,D h f l ' l- N f m , A b f i Y a z i d , a n d J u n a y d , w a s n e v e r a f f e ct e d b y N e o - P l a t o n -i s m . .S ~fis m b e f o r e Gh a z f t l i h a d n o m e t a p h y s i c s : i t wa s a s p i r i t u a laskes is d e s i g n e d t o b r i n g t h e s o u l i n t o d i r e c t c o m m u n i o n w i t h G o d .

I n d i a n i n f l u e n c e o n .S f~ fism i s n o t n e a r l y s o a p p a r e n t a s t h e He l l e n i s t i co r I ra n i a n . I s la m w a s t h e h e ir to b o t h B y z a n t i n e a n d I r a n i a n c u l t u r e ;b u t e v e n a f t e r i t s i n r o a d s i n t o I n d i a i t n e v e r s u c c e e d e d i n a b s o r b i n gH i n d u i s m . T h e r e w e r e , o f c o u r s e, t ra n s l a ti o n s o f p o p u l a r H i n d u c la ss ic sl i k e t h e Pafzcatantra, w h i c h w a s f i r s t t r a n s l a t e d i n t o P a h l a v i u n d e rK h u s r a w I . H i n d u i s m i t se lf , h o w e v e r , w a s d i sm i s s e d b y th e M u s l i mi n v a d e r s a s b e i n g m e r e i d o l - w o r sh i p , a n d H i n d u s , f f a n y o n e , w e r e re g a r d -


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290 R .C . ZAEHNERe d a s b e in g a m o s t le g i t im a t e o b j e c t o f t h e h o l y w a r . T h e e x t e r n a l s o ft h e i r r e li g io n s o m a n i f e s tl y r e p r e s e n t e d e v e r y t h in g t h a t w a s a b h o r r e n t t ot h e P r o p h e t t h a t i t n e v e r s e e m s t o h a v e o c c u r r e d t o a n y M u s l i m s c h o l a re x c e p t B i r Q n i t h a t t h e i r r e l i g i o n m i g h t h a v e b e e n w o r t h i n v e s t i g a t i n g .E v e n S h a h r i s tf m i , u s u a l l y a g o o d s o u r c e , s e e m s t o b e w o e f u l l y m i s -i n f o r m e d i n h is t r e a t m e n t o f B r a h m a n i s m . I f, t h e n , w e w i s h t o t r a ce t h ei n f i l t r a t i o n o f H i n d u i d e a s i n t o . S f l f l s m , i t w i l l n o t b e t h r o u g h l i t e r a r ys o u r c e s ; f o r e v e n B i r f i n i d i d n o t h a v e a c c e s s t o t h e V e d a s , w h i c h f o r mt h e c a n o n o f t h e H i n d u s a c r e d l it e r a tu r e , n o r t o t h e U p a n i .s a d s , w h i c hc o n s t i t u t e t h e v e d d n t a o r " e n d o f t h e V e d a s " a n d a r e t he f o u n d a t i o n o nw h i c h a ll s u b s e q u e n t e s o te r ic H i n d u i s m i s b u il t. H e 0 n l y a p p e a r s t o h a v eh a d a c c e s s t o t h e P u r ~ .n a s a n d a v e r s i o n o f t h e B h a g a v a d - g i t f t w h i c hd i ff e re d v e r y c o n s id e r a b l y f r o m t h e G i t ~ a s H i n d u t r a d i ti o n k n o w s i tt o - d a y . M o r e o v e r , a s f a r a s m y li m i t e d k n o w l e d g e g o e s , B i rO n i w a s n o tr e a d b y t h e .S Q fis n o r d o e s h e h i m s e l f a n y w h e r e s u g g e s t t h a t .S fifis m w a si n f lu e n c e d b y w r i t t e n I n d i a n s o u r c e s , a l t h o u g h h e f r e q u e n t l y n o t ic e s t h ec l o se s i m i l a r it y e x i s t in g b e t w e e n .S ff fi a n d H i n d u e s o t e r ic d o c t r i n e .

T h u s , j u s t a s C h r i s t ia n i n f lu e n c e p e r c o l a te d i n t o I s l a m b y w o r d o fm o u t h , s o , w e m u s t a s s u m e , d i d I n d i a n i n fl u en c e , i f i n d e e d i t p e r c o l a t e da t a l l .

N o w , w h e n w e c o m e t o s t u d y t h e s o - c a l l e d sha th , i yyd t o r " e c s t a t i cu t t e r a n c e s " o f A b f i Y a z i d o f B is.t[tm , w e f i n d p a r a l l e li s m s t o I n d i a ns o u r c e s s o c l o s e t h a t i t w o u l d s e e m a l m o s t c e r t a i n t h a t h e m u s t h a v eh e a r d t h e s e s o u r c e s r e p e a t e d t o h i m . M o r e o v e r , A b Q Y a z i d w a s an a t i v e o f B is t. ~m i n K h u r~ ts ~m a n d t h e r e f o r e , l i v i n g i n t h i s p a r t o f I r a n ,h e w a s m o r e l i k e l y t o b e a f f e c t e d b y I n d i a n ( a n d m o r e p a r t i c u l a r l yB u d d h i s t ) i d e a s t h a n w e r e h is c o n t e m p o r a r i e s i n C lr~ q. P r i m a f a c i e , t h e n ,t h e r e is n o t h i n g u n l i k el y in A b O Y a z i d ' s h a v i n g b e e n i n c o n t a c t w i t hI n d i a n f a q ? r s . B u t t h e r e i s m o r e t h a n t h is .

O f o u r s o u r c e s o n A b O Y a z i d t h e m o s t r e l ia b l e is s ti ll t h e e a r l ie s t ,A b f l N a . s r a l - S a r r ~ j , w h o h a s b e e n s o a d m i r a b l y e d i t e d b y N i c h o l s o n .S a r r ~ t j h a s a w h o l e c h a p t e r d e v o t e d t o shat . .h iyydt o r " e c s t a t i c u t t e r a n c e s " .T h e s e u t t e r a n c e s , w h i c h , a m o n g t h e e a r l ie r . SO fis, a r e a s s o c i a t e d p r i m a r i l yw i t h A b O Y a z i d , w e r e a g r a v e e m b a r a s s m e n t to t h o s e .S fifis w h o t r i e dt o d e f e n d t h e i r o r t h o d o x y ; a n d i t i s s i g n i fi c a n t t h a t i t i s o n l y S a r r ~ j w h op r e s e r v e s t h e m a m o n g t h e e a r l i e st s o u r c e s , 14 a n d h e q u o t e s J u n a y d ' s*a Th e recently published AI-N~ r rain Kalim at A bf T. yfgtr, ed. A. Badawi (Cairo,1949,) wh ich contains a mass o f sayings attributed to Abfi Yazid and which appearsto b e the principal source o f 'At.t.~tr'sarticle on him in the Tadhkirat al-Awliya, is laterthan Sarr~j and far more uncri tical . The a uthor o f this work, as Badawi has po inted


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ABI~I YAZ[D OF BIS.TAM 291in te rp re ta ti on of the mor e out rag eou s o f his sayings. CAt.t.ftr, of course,follows Sarr~j and gives an elaborate account of the so-called m i ' r d j ofAbfl Yazid (his ascent in to hea ven); but by 'At.t.~r's time these "ecstaticutterances" had become part and parcel of S.gfism, and no one amongthe .SOfts attempted to deny them.

Aga in it is only Sarr~j who tells us who Ab~ Yazid's s h a y k h or u s t d d h ,his spiritual director, was. Sulami, who is usually meticulous in tellingus wi th w ha t oth er S.Ctfis a pa rt ic ul ar .Sfffi assoc iate d, is mut e as far asAbfi Yazid is conce rned, whereas the K i t d b a l - n f t r assigns 313 mastersto him, whic h seems excessive. Sarrgj, however, tells us that his u s t d d hwas one AbO 'AII al-Sindi,15 who is otherwise un kn own . The fact thatAbfi 'Ali was a ma n of Sind 1~ woul d indic ate that he was either a co nvertfrom Hin dui sm or the son of a convert (Ab~ Yazid was himself thegran dson of a Zoroastr ian), and the following passage seems to confirmthis:Abfi Yazid sa id: "I used to keep company with Abf~ CAli al-Sindi and I usedto show him how to perform the obligatory duties of Islam (fard.) and inexc han ge he would give me instruction in the Divine Unity ( t a w . h i d ) a n d inthe ultimate truths (.ha qa 'iq). "'17Now, this passage is obviously imp ort ant ; for i t means that Ab ~ Yazid'steacher must have been a newcomer to Islam; otherwise he would nothave needed instruc tion in the performanc e of his routi ne religious

out (op . c i t ., p. 40), was probably one Sahlaji (or Sahlagi) who is mentioned in amanuscript at Aries as being the author of a Kitab al-Nftr ]7 kal imat a l-Bis t .ami.'At.t.~r, moreover (op. cir., I, p. 140, 12), quotes Sahlagi by name in the followingcontext: "'I sa of Bist.~m says, 'I was associated with the Shaykh for thirteen years,yet I never heard him say a word. He used to lean his head on his knees, and whenhe raised it, he would sigh and would then return to his former condition.' We aretold that Sahlagi said that this was due to a 'sta te of contraction'. If, on the otherhand, he was in a 'state of expansion' (elation), all would derive great benefit fromhim." This passage is nearly, but not quite, a literal translation of the descriptionof the same episode in the text edited by Badawi (19. 141). It seems then likely thatthe latter book is indeed the work of Sahlagi. In any case the author of the Badawitext was alive in A.H. 419/A.D. 1028 (p. 138) and also claims to have been presentwhen Abfi Sa'id ibn Abi'l-Khayr visited Abfi Yazid's tomb at Bis~m. Abfi Sa'id 'sdates are given in the Asrgw al-Tawhid (Tehran, 1332 solar) as A.H. 357-440/A.D.967-1048 (pp. 15 and 356). Sahlagi would, then, appear to be a contemporary ofAbfi Nu'aym (mentioned on p. 134) and Qushayri among the earlier authors ofstandard works on .Sftfism.15 See above, p. 287.16 Arberry thinks that "Sindi" might refer to a village, Sind, in Khurftsfin. Thisdoes not seem likely.lr Sarrftj,ed. Nicholson, p. 177.


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2 9 2 R . C . Z A E m ~ Rd u t ie s , x s Y e t , n o v i c e t h o u g h h e w a s , h e w a s y e t i n a p o s i t i o n t o b e A b Y a z i d ' s t e a c h e r i n t h e " u l t im a t e t r u t h s " a n d t h e D i v i n e U n i t y . H e w a s ,t h e n , a c o n v e r t , a n d h i s o w n d o c t r i n e w a s t h a t o f T a w . h f d w h i c h , a s w es h a l l s e e, m e a n s h e r e n o t o n l y t h e p o s s i b i li t y o f th e u n i o n o f t h e s o u lw i t h G o d b u t t h e a c t u a l i d e n t it y o f t h e s o u l w i t h G o d ( a c o n c e p t w h i c hG h a z ~ l i w a s l a t e r t o c a l l itti.hdd . 19 I n c o n f i r m a t i o n o f th i s th e r e a r e t w of u r t h e r p a s s a g e s i n S a rr ~ j w h i c h t e n d t o c o n f i r m t h i s v i e w . F o r t h eM u s l i m s I n d i a w a s , o f c o u r s e , t h e c l a s s ic a l c o u n t r y o f m a g i c , a n d .H all~ j,w h o p r o b a b l y w e n t t h e re t o s t u d y e s o t e r ic H i n d u i s m , w a s a l le g e d b y hi se n e m i e s t o h a v e g o n e t h e re t o s t u d y m a g i c . S i m i la r ly w e f in d A b f i Y a z i dr e b u k i n g h i s m a s t e r f o r t u r n i n g w a t e r in t o j e w e l s , a p r o c e s s w h i c h ,a c c o r d i n g t o A b Q Y a z i d , o n l y s h o w e d t h a t h e h a d b e c o m e d i s t ra c t e df r o m G o d . ~~ T h i s is t h e t y p i c a l Y o g a a t t it u d e t o w a r d s m i r a c u l o u sp o w e r s ( s i d d h i s ) a n d i s t r a c e a b l e t o t h e Y o g a s f t t r a s o f P a t a f i j a l i .

T h u s t h e e v i d e n c e o f S a rr a j w h i c h w a s c o n v e n i e n t ly f o r g o t t e n b ys u b s e q u e n t w r i te r s s h o w s t h a t A b O Y a z i d ' s s p i r it u a l g u i d e w a s a H i n d uc o n v e r t to I s l a m w h o s e c a r d i n a l d o c t ri n e w a s t a w . h i d o r " u n i o n " , t h ee x a c t m e a n i n g o f w h i c h w e w i l l h a v e t o d i s c u s s la t e r .

W h a t o f t h e i n te r n a l e v id e n c e? H e r e a g a i n w e m u s t r el y p r i n c ip a l l yo n S arr~ tj w h o p r e s e r v e s th e m o r e e x t r a o r d i n a r y s a y i n g s o f A b Q Y a z i di n w h a t w a s p r o b a b l y t h ei r o r i g in a l f o r m . O n e v e r y i m p o r t a n t s a y in g ,h o w e v e r , i s n o t p r e s e r v e d b y h i m b u t b y B i r ~ m i , a n d t h i s r e - a p p e a r sv e r b a t i m ( o n e w o r d o n l y b e i n g d i f f e re n t ) i n t h e r e c e n t l y p u b l i s h e d A l - N f t rm i n k a l i m d t A b ~ . T a y f f t r .

L e t u s t a k e t h e m o s t r e m a r k a b l e a s w e ll as t h e m o s t p u z z l i n g o f th e s es a y i n g s f ir s t. I n t r a n s l a t i o n i t r u n s a s f o l l o w s :A b f i Y a z i d i s r e p o r t e d t o h a v e s a i d : " O n c e H e r a i s e d m e u p a n d p l a c e d m eb e f o r e H i m a n d s a id t o m e : ' O A b f i Y a z i d , v e ri ly m y c r e a t io n (khalq~) l ongst o se e t h e e. ' A n d I s a id : ' A d o r n m e w i th T h y U n i t y a n d c l o t h e m e i n T h i n eI -hess (and ' i yya ) a n d r a is e m e u p i n T h y O n e n e ss , s o t h a t w h e n T h y c r e a t io ns e es m e , t h e y m a y s a y : " W e h a v e s ee n T h e e (i.e . G o d ) a n d T h o u a r t T h a t . " ' Y e tI (Abf i Yazid) wi l l not be there a t a l l . '1T h e i d e a , o f c o u r s e , i s c le a r : i t i s t h a t o f f a n d , t h e a n n i h i l a t i o n o r e x -t i n c ti o n o f t h e h u m a n p e r s o n a l i t y in t h e D i v i n e u n i ty . I t is th e d o c t r i n es u p p o s e d t o h a v e b e e n o ri g i n a te d b y A b O Y a z i d h i m s e lf . B u t w h a t isis Cf. Ho rten, Festgabe Jacobi, p. 405.z, See especially Mishka t a l -Anwar in AI-Jaw~hir a l -Ghaw ali, ed. Cairo (1353/1934),p. 123.=0 San'~j, op. cir., p. 325.~1 Sarr~tj,op. cir., p. 382.


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ABU Y A Z ID OF BIS.T.~M 293t h e m e a n i n g o f " W e h a v e se e n T h e e a n d T h o u a r t T h a t " ? W h a t c a n" T h o u a r t T h a t " h a v e p o ss i b ly m e a n t t o a M u s l i m ? N o t h i n g , a p p a r e n t l y ,f o r ' A .tt.a r t r a n s l a t e s t h e p a s s a g e i n t o P e r s i a n a n d p a r a p h r a s e s i t a sf o l lo w s : " A d o r n m e w i t h T h y U n i t y s o t h a t w h e n c r e a t i o n s e es m e a n dl o o k s u p o n T h y h a n d i w o r k , t h e y m a y s ee t h e C r e a t o r (.sdniC). '22 CA.tt.ftr,t h e n , s e e m s t o h a v e r e n d e r e d t h e s e n s e a l l r i g h t , b u t h e a v o i d s t h e e n i g -m a t i c " T h o u a r t T h a t " . S o , f o r t h a t m a t t e r , d o e s N i c h o l s o n , f o r h et r a n s l a te s : " a n d t h a t o n l y T h o u m a y s t b e t h e r e , n o t I " . 2z T h i s d o e s ,I t h i n k , p r o v e t h a t th e p h r a s e " T h o u a r t T h a t " s o u n d s s o u tt e r ly s tr a n g et o e v e n t h e b e s t I s l a m i c s c h o l a r t h a t r a t h e r t h a n t r a n s l a t e i t i n a ll i tss t a r k s i m p l i c it y h e s h o u l d p r e f e r t o c o m m i t so e l e m e n t a r y a m i s t a k e a st o t r a n s l a t e d h d k a a s " t h e r e " . M a s s i g n o n 24 d o e s n o t m a k e t h is m i s ta k e ,b u t h e o f f er s n o e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e o f f e n d in g p h r a s e .

R e m e m b e r i n g t h a t A b ~ Y a z i d ' s s p i ri tu a l d i re c t o r, A b f l 'A l i a l- S in d i,w a s a l m o s t c e r ta i n l y a H i n d u c o n v e r t a n d b e a r i n g i n m i n d t h e fa c t t h a tA b f l Y a z i d c o n s i d e r e d t h a t h e h a d l e a r n t th e " u l t i m a t e t r u t h s " f r o mh i m , i t i s q u i t e p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e s o l u t i o n t o t h e p r o b l e m w i l l b e f o u n di n th e s a c r e d l i t e r a t u r e o f t h e H i n d u s . I n f a c t i t i s : f o r t h e p h r a s e t a k f m ua n t a d h d k a , " T h o u a r t T h a t " a p p e a r s t o b e a l it e ra l tr a n s l a t io n o f t h eS a n s k r i t t a t t v a m a s i , w h i c h n o t o n l y h a s m e a n i n g i n t h a t la n g u a g e b u ti s a l s o p e r h a p s t h e m o s t c e l e b r a t e d o f a l l t h e s o - c a l l e d m a h d v d k y d n i o r" g r e a t s a y i n g s " o f t h e U p a n i .s a ds . I t w o u l d h a v e b e e n f a m i l i a r t o a n yH i n d u i n t h e n i n th c e n t u r y a s i t is t o a n y e d u c a t e d H i n d u t o - d a y . I t ist h e c l as s ic f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e a d v a i t a o r n o n - d u a l i s t i c V e d a n t a , a n d i to c c u r s a s a r e f r a i n i n t h e C h g n d o g y a U p a n i . s a d 6 . 8 - 1 6 . T h i s s e q u e n c eis v e r y f a m o u s a n d t h e d o c tr in e p r o p o u n d e d t h r o u g h o u t is t h a t t heh u m a n s o u l o r d t m a n i s i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h e g r o u n d o f a l l e x i s te n c e , t h eA b s o l u t e o r B r a h m a n . T h i s t e a c h i n g i s i l l u s t r a t e d b y a s e r i e s o f s i m i l e s,t h e f i rs t o f w h i c h r u n s a s f o l lo w s :A s b e e s p r e p a r e h o n e y b y c o l l ec t in g t h e p o l l e n (rasa) of d i f f eren t tr ees and byreduc ing tha t po l l en t o a un i ty , and as ( t he d i f f e ren t po l l ens ) a r e no t ab l e t od i sc r imina t e , ( say ing) " I am the po l l en o f t h is t r ee" , o r " I am the po l l en o ftha t t r ee" , even so a l l c r ea tu res he re when they r each Rea l i t y , do no t knowt h a t t h e y h a v e r e a c h e d R e a l i ty . W h a t e v e r t h e y m a y b e i n t h is w o r l d , w h e t h e rt i ge r , l i on , wol f , boa r , worm, f l y , gna t , o r mosqui to , t ha t Rea l i t y do t hey

2~ Fa rid al-Din 'At~tr, Tadhkirat al-Awliya, ed. Nicholson (London/Leyden, Luzac/Brill, 1905), p. 174.33 P. 102 in his "Abs tract of Contents".~4 Essai, p. 278. Arberry (Sufism, p. 55, and Revelation and Reason, p. 95) renderstakfma in a future sense.


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2 9 4 R . C . Z ~ H Y E Rbeco m e. Th at which i s the f ines t essence - th i s whole wor ld ha s i t as it s soul.Th a t is Rea li ty . Th a t i s t he ~ t m a n ( sou l) . Th a t a r t T hou . 25T h e U p a n i s . a d t h e n d e v e l o p s f u r t h e r s i m i l e s i l l u s t r a t i n g t h e f a c t t h a t a l lt h in g s a r e o n e a n d t h a t t h e e t e r n a l s o u l o f m a n i s o n e t h i n g w i t h t h eu l t im a t e g r o u n d o f r e al it y . E a c h s im i le e n d s w i t h th e p h r a s e " T h o u a r tT h a t " , m e a n i n g t h a t t h e " d e e p g r o u n d " o f e a c h h u m a n s o u l is i d e n ti c a lw i t h t h e fi rs t p r i n c i p l e o f t h e U n i v e r s e . O n l y if w e k n o w t h is d o e s A b ~Y a z i d ' s t a k f m u a n t a d h a k a m a k e a n y se ns e. H e a s k s G o d t o sh o w h i mt o t h e w o r l d " a d o r n e d i n H i s u n i t y " , a n d w h e n G o d ' s c r e a tu r e s s ee h i ms o a d o r n e d , t h e y s e e h i m n o t a s A b ~ Y a z i d , t h e m a n o f B is.t~ tm , b u t a st h e " f in e s t e s s e n ce " o f A b ~ Y a z i d , t h a t i s, as G o d , t h e g r o u n d o f th eu n i v e r s e; s o th e y e x c l a im : " W e h a v e s e e n T h e e , a n d T h a t a r t T h o u . "T h e y r ec o g n i z e A be t Y a z i d a s G o d . T h i s, o f c o u r s e, w a s th e m o s ta p p a l l i n g b l a s p h e m y to t h e M u s l i m , b u t t o a H i n d u i t s o u n d s p e r f e c t lyn a t u r a l : i t w a s ( a n d i s ) t h e v e r y e s s e n c e o f t h e V e d a n t a . T h e o c c u r r e n c eo f t hi s p h r a s e i n o n e o f th e s h a t. h , y y d t o f A b Q Y a z i d c o u p l e d w i t h t h ef a c t t h a t h i s s p i r i tu a l d i r e c t o r w a s , in a l l p r o b a b i l i t y , a c o n v e r t f r o mH i n d u i s m , s e em s to m e t o a m o u n t t o p r o o f th a t i t w a s A b f i Y a z i d o fB i st .g m w h o w a s u l t i m a t e l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f V e d ~ n t i ni d e a s i n t o I s l a m .

T h e r e s e m b l a n c e s o f o th e r s h a t . h i y y d t q u o t e d b y S a r r ~ t j t o U p a n i . s a d i cp a s s a g e s a r e l e s s s t r i k i n g , a n d t h e r e i s n o n e e d t o i n s i s t o n t h e m u n d u l y .T h e r e i s , h o w e v e r , a p a s s a g e i n B i r O n i w h i c h i s e q u a l l y s t r i k i n g a n d o nw h i c h w e s h a l l h a v e t o i n si st . H o w e v e r , l e t u s t a k e t h e p a s s a g e s f r o mS a r r a j fi rs t. T h e s e c o n d o f th e s e r u n s a s f o l lo w s :A s s o o n a s I r e a c h e d H i s u n it y , I b e c a m e a b i r d w h o s e b o d y w a s o f o ne n e s sand who se wings were o f eve rl a st ingness , and I went on f ly ing i n t he a tm osph ereof re la t ivi ty ( k a y f i y y a ) fo r t en yea r s un t i l I en t e r ed i n to an a tmosphere ami l l ion t imes as la rge ; a nd I wen t on f l y ing un t i l I r eached t he ex panse o fe terni ty an d in i t I saw the t ree o f oneness . Th en [says Sarr~t j] he d escr ibed theso i l i n which i t g rew, it s roo t and branch , i ts shoo t s a nd f ru it s , and t hen h e sa id ," And I knew tha t a l l t h i s was dece i t ( k h a d ' a ) . TMI t w o u l d b e i d le t o p r e t e n d t h a t t h e r e i s a n y e x a c t p a r a l le l t o t h i s r e m a r k -a b l e p a s s a g e i n t h e U p a n i s .a d s , b u t w e a r e , p e r h a p s , j u s t if i e d i n i n s is t in go n t h e s i m il e o f t h e tr e e, w h i c h a p p e a r s b o t h i n th e U p a n i s a d s a n d t h eB h a g a v a d - g it fi , a n d e v e n m o r e o n t h e u s e o f t h e w o r d k h a d ' a , " d e c e i t " .T h e s i m i le o f t h e c o s m i c tr e e a p p e a r s b o t h i n th e K a .t h a a n d t h e S v e t~ -g v a t a r a U p a n i .s a d s , a n d th e K a t .h a v e r s i o n r e a p p e a r s i n a m o d i f i e d v e r s i o n25 Ch~ ndog ya Upa ni.sad, 6.9.1-4.2~ Sarr~j,op. cit . , p. 384.


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ABO YAZID OF BIS.TAM 295i n t h e G i t f t 1 5 .1 - 3 . T h e K a . t h a s p e a k s o f t h i s e t e r n a l f ig - t r e e i n t h ef o l lo w i n g t e r m s :Thi s e t e rna l f ig - t ree has i t s roo t s abo ve , i t s b r anches be low. Thi s i s t he pu re ,t h is is Brahm an, t h is is ca l led t he imm or t a l . A l l the w or lds re s t upon i t andno one goes bey ond i t. 2rT h e G i tf i e l a b o r a t e s o n t h is t h e m e a n d s p e a k s o f t h e b r a n c h e s o f t h e t re ea s g r o w i n g t h r o u g h t h e s o - c a l l e d gun.as, " q u a l i t i e s " o r " m o d e s " o fe x i s t e n c e ( S k t . gun.a = A r . k ay f i y y a? ) , a n d o f t h e r o o t s a s s t r e t c h i n gd o w n i n t o t h e w o r l d o f m a n . 2s T h i s t r e e - a n d h e r e t h e G i f ft is a t v a r i a n c ew i t h th e K a . t h a - m u s t b e c u t d o w n w i t h th e w e a p o n o f d e t a c h m e n t .T h e r e w o u l d b e n o p o i n t i n m a i n t a i n i n g t h a t t h e t re e o f A b f i Y a z i di s i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h e e t e r n a l f i g - tr e e o f e it h e r t h e K a . t h a U p a n i . s a d o r w i t ht h a t o f th e G i tf t. I n t h e G i f f t t h is t r e e i s b o t h i n e t e r n i t y a n d i n t h ep h e n o m e n a l w o r l d , a n d t h is t o o is t r u e o f A b f l Y a z i d ' s shajarat al -a.hadiyya w h i c h t u r n s o u t i n t h e e n d t o b e k had ' a o r " d e c e i t " . T h e r ei s a f u r t h e r r e s e m b l a n c e i n t h a t A b f i Y a z i d d e s c r i b e d h i m s e l f a s fl y in gt h r o u g h t h e a t m o s p h e r e o f k ay f i y y a , l i t . " q u a l i t y " , w h e r e a s t h e G i t f ts p e a k s o f th e t r e e a s b e i n g gu.na-prav.rddhd, " g r o w i n g o u t o f th e gun.as o rq u a l i t ie s " . T h e n c e A b ~ Y a z i d f li es t o t h e mayddn a l -aza l i yya , " t h e e x -p a n s e o f e t e r n i t y " , a n d i n b o t h t h e K a t . h a a n d t h e G i ff t w e f i n d t h a t t h et r e e i s d e s c r i b e d a s sandtana a n d av y ay a , " e t e r n a l " o r " i m p e r i s h a b l e " .F i n a l l y w h e n h e s u r v e y s t h e t r e e i t se l f A b f l Y a z i d r e a li z e s t h a t i t is k had ' ao r " d e c e i t " ; a n d i t i s b e c a u s e , i n t h e G i t a , t h e t r e e d o e s n o t r e p r e s e n tt h e u l t im a t e r e a l i ty t h a t i t m u s t b e c u t d o w n " w i t h t h e w e a p o n o f de -t a c h m e n t " . B o t h i n t h e G i t fi a n d t h e K a . t h a t h e b a s i c i d e a o f t h e tr e e ,w h i c h h a s i t s r o o t s a b o v e a n d i t s b r a n c h e s b e n e a t h , i s t h a t t h e o n er e a li ty , B r a h m a n , is t h e r o o t , a n d t h e p h e n o m e n a l w o r l d i s i ts b r a n c h e s ;a n d i n t h e c la s s ic a l V e d ~ n t a , t h o u g h n o t e a r l ie r t h a n t h e S v e f f t g v a t a r aU p a n i . s a d , t h e p h e n o m e n a l w o r l d i s c a l l e d m d y d . I n f a c t i f y o u t r y t ot r a n s l a t e m d y d i n t o A r a b i c , t h e n e a r e s t e q u i v a l e n t y o u w i tl f i n d is k had ' a .F o r k had ' a L a n e g i v es " a s i n g l e a c t o f d e c e it , d e l u s io n , g u i le , c i r c u m -v e n t i o n , o r o u t w i t t i n g " , a n d f o r rndyd M o n i e r - W i l l i a m s g i v e s inter alia" i l l u s i o n , t r i c k , a rt i fi c e , d e c e i t , d e c e p t i o n , f r a u d , j u g g l e r y " . K h a d ' a is ,t h e n , a n e x a c t t r a n s l a t i o n o f m d y d . I n S a n s k r i t t h e s e n t e n c e " A n d Ik n e w t h i s w a s a l l a f r a u d (m dy d = khadCa) ' , i . e . " I k n e w t h a t t h i s ( t h ep h e n o m e n a l w o r l d ) w a s m d y d o r a n i l l u s i o n " , i s i m m e d i a t e l y c o m p r e -27 Kat.haUp., 6.1.28 Bh ag Gitf i, 15.3. This seem s to contradict w 1, in which the ro ots a re describedas being above as in the K atha.


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296 R.c. ZAEHNERhensible as being a statement of the Vedfintin position. To a Muslimof Ab~ Yazid's time it can have had little meaning.Yet impressive though these parallelisms with the Kat.ha Upani.sadand the Bhagavad-gith may be as corroborative evidence, there are twopassages in another Upanis.ad, the Svetggvatara, which are even closerto the particular S h a t . . h of Abfi Yazid which we are discussing. Thefirst (3.9) speaks of Puru.sa (the Primal Person, here used in the sense ofGod) in the following terms:There is nothing beyond Him, nothing more minute than He or greater thanHe. Firmly established in heaven he stands like a tree, the One. This wholeworld is filled by Him who is Puru~a. ~9The metaphor of the tree certainly derives from the Ka.tha passage wehave just quoted. Here it is roo ted in heaven (as the Absolute), yet fillsor pervades the phenomenal world. In the second passage fro m the sameUpani.sad (4.6-10) the similarity to Abg Yazid's "ecstatic utterance" iseven more striking:Two birds, closely linked companions, cling to the same tree. One of themeats its sweet fruit, while the other looks on without eating. (7) On the sametree a person, sunken and deluded, grieves at his impotence; when he sees theother, the Lord contented, and his greatness, his grief departs. (8) All the godsare seated in highest heaven on that syllable of the sacred hymn ( . r e ) . Whatuse can the sacred hymn be to him who does not know that? They who knowthat (the highest secret doctrine) are here assembled. (9) From that (Brahman?)the master of delusion ( r n ~ y i ) emits this whole (world) - metres, sacrifices,ceremonies, ordinances, the past, the future, and what the Vedas proclaim.In it, by delusion ( r n ~ y a y ~ ) the other (the individual soul) is confined. (10) Nowone should know that the phenomenal world ( p r a k r t i r n ) is delusion and thatthe Great Lord is the master of delusion.Now, according to the commentaries, both ancient and modern, of thetwo birds the one that "eats sweet fruit" is the individual soul while stillin bondage to "the world", whereas the other is the soul which has cutitself free from the wor ld and realized itself as the Absolute. Thiscont ras t is made clear in w 7. The simile of the bird is striking since itreappears in Abfl Yazid. The stanza o f the "two birds" (w 6) is takenfrom the Rig-Veda (I, 164.20) and is interpreted in a wholly new mannerby the Upani.sad. Moreover , it calls to mind, as Aliette Silburn has29 Mas'fldi,~ M u t 'f tj a l - d h a h a b , ed. Barbier de Meynard, IV, p. 65, knows this simile,but attributes it to Plato: "Plato said, 'Man is a heavenly plant as is shown by thefact that he resembles an inverted tree with its roots in heaven and its branches onearth.'" A l - i n s a n "man" would be a literal translation of Slit. p u r u ~ a , the originalmeaning of which is "a male person"!


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ABU YAZiD OF BIS.T.~M 297pointed out in her edition of the Svetfi~vatara, ~~ another Rig-Vedicpassage (X, 114.4):eka.h suparna.h sa samudram ~ vivega: That one bird entered the atmosphere:sa idarh vigvain bhuvana/n vi cas.te. 31 (thence) it scans this whole world.This exactly corres ponds to Abfl Yazid 's idea of himself as a "bird whosebody was of oneness" which reaches an atmosphere ( h a w d = Skt. s a m u -d r a m , glossed a n t a r i k . s a m ) a million times as large as the atmosphere ofrelativity (lit. "quality", k a y f i y y a ) . It is not by any means certain whetherwe are justified in regarding k a y f i y y a as being an Arabic rendering ofSkt. gun. a, since a more natural translation might be .s/fa. The idea ofGod being concealed by his own gu .nas or qualities does, however, alsoappear in the Svefftgvatara Upani.sad itself (1.3):t e dhyana-yoganugata apa~yan deva t - Those who have practised the y o g a ofma-gaktiht sarva-gun.air nighd.ham, meditation have witnessed God's ownpower concealed in all "qualities".This is perhaps the earliest appearance of g a k t i , God's creative powerwhich originates the phenomenal world either as p r a k . r t i or p r a d h d n a(corresponding approximately to primal matter) or as m d y d , the famous"illusory" creation of the a d v a i t a Vedfinta - a term which is first used inthis sense in this same Svefftgvatara Upani.sad (4.9-10 see above).

Thus we see that this particular shat..h of Ab~ Yazid can be derivedentirely fro m the ~vetggvatara, from the Rig-Vedic passages on which,according to Aliette Silburn, it draws, and from the Kat.ha Upani.sadon which it depends for the simile of the tree. Let us list the corres-pondances:

ABU YAZIDI became a b i rd whose body was ofo n en e ss . . . . . .and I went on flying in the a t m o s -p h e r e of relat iv i ty (qual i ty) until I en-tered an a t m o s p h e r e a million timesas large, and I went on flying until Ireached the expanse of e tern i ty , and

BRAHMANICALSOURCES(RV.X, 114.4) That o n e b i r d e n t e r e d thea t m o s p h e r e (of) (SvUp. 1.3) God's ownpower concealed in all qual i t ies (whichis) (Kat.hUp. 6.1) the e terna l f ig - t reewith its roots above and its branchesbelow (cf. SvUp. 3.9 and 4.6-7):(RV. ibid.) (thence the one bird) scansin it I saw the t ree of oneness . . . . . . th i s who le worm (which is prak.rti):and I knew that al l th is was dece i t . (~vUp. 4.10) and prak.r t i is decei t .

It may well be objected that in this case we have reconstructed AbfiYazid' s saying from a variety of Indi an sources. This is true, but theao Paris, Maisonneuve, 1948, p. 14.31 samu dram antarik.sam (Says.ha).


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298 R .c . ZAEHNERm a i n s ou r c e r e m a i ns t he ~ve t a gva t a r a U pa n i. sa d , i n w h i c h a l one a r e t obe f ou nd t he s i m i le o f t he b i r d , t he t r e e , t he i de a o f G od ' s qu a l it ie s , a ndt h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e w h o l e p h e n o m e n a l w o r l d i s m d y d . T he s i m i l eo f t he t r e e i t s e lf i s d r a w n f r om t he K a . tha , w he r e a s t he r e l e va n t R i g - V e d i cpa s s a ge be l ongs t o t he s a m e w or l d o f ide a s in w h i c h t he S ve t a gva t a r aw a s de ve l ope d . T he e xa c t ne ss o f the pa r a l le l s s o r e c ons t r uc t e d i s a r r e s t-i n g, p a r t i c u la r l y i f w e r e m e m b e r t h a t A b f l Y a z i d ' s u t t e r a n c e w o u l d b et he r e s u l t o f ve r ba l t r a n s m i s s i on i n w h i c h t he d i f f e r e n t t he m e s , a l la p p a r e n t l y d e r iv i n g f r o m d i f fe r e n t t ex t s a s so c i a te d w i t h t h e S v e t ~ v a t a r a ,w e r e c om bi ne d . T he f a c t t ha t t he S ve t ggva t a r a i s a s e c ta r i a n S a i v it eU pa n i . s a d w i l l be s e e n t o be s i gn i f i c a n t w he n w e c om e t o d i s c us s A bQY a z i d ' s c l a s si c d i c t um , a n d h f t w a , " I a m H e " .

T h e r e w o u l d s e e m l i t t l e p o i n t i n t r y i n g t o e l u c i d a t e t h e t h i r d o f t h esha t . . h i yyd t r e p o r t e d b y S a r r a j , n o r w o u l d e v e n a t r a n s l a t i o n s e r v e a n yus e f u l pu r pos e s i nc e e ve n i n t he o r i g i na l i t i s i nc om pr e he ns i b l e a nd w a sp r o b a b l y i n t e n d e d t o b e so . I n i t A b f i Y a z i d e m b a r k s o n w h a t is u s u a l l yc a l l e d t he v i a n e g a t i v a , t h e w a y o f d e t a c h m e n t f r o m a ll th i n g s a n d t h e no f d e t a c h i n g o n e s e l f e v e n f r o m d e t a c h m e n t ( t ec h n i c a ll y c a l le d f a n d ' a na l - f a n d ) , t he f i na l s t a ge o f w h i c h A bf i Y a z i d de s c r i be s a s a l - t a w . h i d f f ' l -g h a y b f t b a t a l - k h a l q C an a l-C d r if fl 2 " u n i t y c o n s is t in g i n t h e d i s a p p e a r a n c eo f a ll c r e a t io n f r o m t h e s i g h t o f t h e m y s t i c " . T h i s t o o c o r r e s p o n d s t ot he u l t i m a t e s t a t e o f t he V e da n t i n i n w h i c h the s e l f i s r e a l iz e d a s t heA b s o l u t e a n d a l l c o n t i n g e n t b e i n g i s f o r g o t t e n s i n c e , f r o m t h e p o i n t o fv i e w o f t he A bs o l u t e , i t doe s no t e x i s t a t a l l. T he r e i s i de n t i t y o f i de ab u t n o t i d e n t i t y o f t e r m i n o l o g y .33

A g a i n , l e t u s c o n s i d e r t h e m o s t f a m o u s o f a l l A b ~ Y a z i d ' s s a y i n g s ,su b .h d n T , m d a ' z . a m a sh a 'n ~ , " G l o r y b e t o m e , h o w g r e a t is m y g l o r y " .Sa r ra j f l a i nc i de n t a l l y , quo t e s on l y s u b . h d n f w i t h o u t t h e s e c o n d s e n t e n c e ,a n d t h i s is e xa c t l y pa r a l l e l e d i n o ne o f t he l a t e r U pa n i . sa ds , w he r e w ef i n d th e p h r a s e m a h y a m e v a n a m o n a m a h . , w h i c h m e a n s p r e c is e ly " G l o r yb e t o m e " ? 5 A g a i n i n S a n s k r i t th e p h r a s e d o e s n o t s h o c k s i n ce , f o r t h eV e d a n t a , m a n ' s e t e r n a l s o u l , h i s d t m a n , i s i d e n t i c a l w i t h B r a h m a n , t h eA b s o l u t e , a n d t h e r e fo r e t o s a y " G l o r y b e t o m e " i s a n y t h i n g b u t b i as -3~ See Sarrftj, o p . t i t . , p. 387.3a I see no reason to suppose that this shat.h of Abfi Yazid's marks a transition from"negative" Buddhism to "positive" Brahmanism, as Horten ( I n d i s c h e S t r 6 m u n g e n ,p. 21) seems to have supposed. There is plenty of "negativism" in the Upani.sads(see Hume's transla tion, index under "negatives"). The consta nt use of l a y s a in thisshat.h may possibly reflect the n e t i n e t i which figures so largely in the B.rhad~ranyaka.34 O p. c i t . , p. 390.3~ See F. O. Schrader, T h e M i n o r U p a n i.s ad s (Madras, 1912), vol. I, p. 257.


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ABU YAZiD OF BIST.i,M 299phemous. This is far from the case in Islam, Christianity, a nd evenNeo-Pla tonism. In this instance the complete verbal identity wouldseem to prove our case.

Of all the parallelisms between Aba Yazid and the religious classicsof Brahmanism perhaps the most striking of all is a saying of the saintpreserved no t by Sarrfij, but by Birfmi. It reads as follows:I sloughed off my self as a snake sloughs off its skin: then I looked into myessence ( d h d t i ) and lo, I was He. a~This saying also appears in the A l - n f t r r a in k a l i m d t A b i . T ay f fl r - but witha significant variant. For "I looked into my essence" this text reads"I looked into myself" ( n a f s O . 37 I find it hard to believe that the twoversions do not represent the two meanings of the Sanskrit word d t m a n ,which is used either as a simple reflexive pronoun or else as the technicalterm for the "essence" of the human soul, which is at the same timeidentical with Brahman ( w a - i d h d a n d h f ~ w a , "and lo, I was He", as AbfiYazid puts it). This, however, is not mere speculation, for once againwe have an almost exact parallel in one of the Upani.sads, this time theB.rhadfiran.yaka. There we read (4.4.7 an d 12):As the sloughed off skin of a snake lies on an ant-hill, dead, cast off, so does thisbody lie. But this incorporeal, immortal spirit is Brahman indeed, is lightindeed . . . If a man should know himself (or the essence of all things - d t m d -h a m ) and say "I am He", what could he possibly wish for or desire that wouldmake him cling to the body?Here again the resemblance is too close to be fortuitous: there is thesame simile of the snake sloughing off its skin and the same conclusionframed in the same words ("I am He", a y a m a s m i , a n d h f~ w a ) and ex-pressing in the shortest possible compass the basic doctrine of theVed~mta, viz., the identity o f the individual hu ma n sou l with the Absolute.It is perhaps worth noting in this connexion that the formula "I am He"( s o ' h a m ) became the slogan and the credo of the Saivite Hindus, 38 andit is therefore probable that Abfl Yazid's spiritual director was a convertfrom this sect.

To sum up: There seem to be enough close verbal correspondencesbetween the s h a t . . h i y y d t of Abfl Yazid and the Hindu religious classicsto make it as certain as such things can be that Abfi Yazid received oral3~ Birfini, India, ed. Sachau, p. 43: translation, pp. 8%88.37 Badawi,op. cit., p. 77.38 Cf. particularly the concluding verses of the Maitreya Upani.sad (Schrader, Ol). cit.,p. 119 ff with the recurring s o ' s m y a h a m .


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300 R .c . ZAEHNERi ns t r uc t i on f r om h i s m a s t e r , A b~ ' A I I a l - S i nd i , i n t he ba s i c doc t r i ne s o fthe V ed an ta a s expres sed in the U pani . s ads . Th i s i s imp l i c i t i n Sa rr~t j'ss t a t e m e n t t ha t a l - S i nd i t a ugh t A bf a Y a z i d tawh. fd a n d t h e .haqd ' iq i nr e t u r n f o r i n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e c o r r e c t p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e e x t e rn a l s o fI s la m . T h i s s e em s t o b e c o n c l u s i v e ly c o n f i r m e d b y t h e a p p e a r a n c e i nS arr~ tj o f th e f o r m u l a " T h o u a r t T h a t " , w h i c h c a n o n l y d e ri v e f r o m t h eC h ~ m d o g y a U p a n i .s a d a n d b y t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e s i m i le o f t h e s n a k es l o u g h i n g o f f i ts s k in i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h th e f o r m u l a " I a m H e " , a n dt h i s a ga i n i s d i r e c t l y t r a c e a b l e t o t he B . r ha d~ra . nya ka . T h i s w ou l d s e e mt o c ons t i t u t e a s u f fi c ie n t p r oo f t ha t A be t Y a z i d , a l be i t unw i t t i ng l y , w a sr e s pons i b l e f o r i n t r od uc i n g i n t o .S fa fism a m o n i s t i c t ype o f m ys t i c i s m ,w h i c h i s q u it e a t v a r i an c e w i t h t h e m y s t i c i s m o f lo v e w h i c h h a d p r e c e d e di t ; a n d t h is m y s t i c i sm h e t o o k o v e r, p r o b a b l y w i t h o u t k n o w i n g i t, f r o mI n d i a . O u r c a s e m u s t re s t p r i m a r i l y u p o n t h e s e p a s sa g e s a l o n e . T h eo t h e r p a s s a g e s q u o t e d s e rv e a s c o r r o b o r a t i v e e v i de n c e o n l y : i n t h e m s e l v e st h e y w o u l d o n l y h a v e e st a b li s h e d a p r o b a b i l i ty , n o t a p r o o f . T h e f a c tt h a t sub .hdn f a ppe a r s t o be a d i r e c t t r a n s l a t i o n o f a S a n s k r i t ph r a s e i n am i no r U pa n i . s a d i s l e s s i m pr e s s i ve be c a us e t he U pa n i s . a d i n que s t i on i sn o t " c a n o n i c a l " , w h e r e a s b o t h t h e B . rh a d ~ ra n .y a k a a n d t h e C h a n d o g y aa r e un i ve r s a l ly a dm i t t e d a s ha v i n g s c r ip t u r a l a u t ho r i t y . S i m i l a r l y t hee q u a t i o n k h a d ' a = m ~ y d , t h o u g h s t r i k i n g , c a n n o t b e r e g a r d e d a s m o r et h a n c o r r o b o r a t i o n o f o u r t w o b a s i c t e x t s .

I f t h e a r g u m e n t s a d v a n c e d i n t h is a r t ic l e a re a c c e p t e d , it m e a n s t h a tV e d~ tn tin i de a s c a m e i n t o I s l a m t h r o ug h A bf i Y a z i d o f B is t.~ tm . W h e t h e ro r n o t t h e y w e r e i n d e p e n d e n t l y i n t r o d u c e d b y .H alla j h a l f a c e n t u r y l a te r ,c a n n o t b e d i s c u s s e d h e r e. I n a n y c a s e i t i s i m m a t e r i a l : f o r , f r o m t h ep o i n t o f v i ew o f t h e h i s t o r y o f .S fifism , A b f i Y a z i d i s t h e m o r e i m p o r t a n tc h a r a c t e r , f o r h e w a s r e g a r d e d a s a s a i n t e v e n b y t h e m o s t o r t h o d o x. S ~ i s. W ha t he s a i d c ou l d no t s o e a s il y be d i s m i s s e d a s he r e ti c a l , a n ds o i t i s t h a t e v e n J u n a y d o f B a g h d a d w h o m o r t h o d o x .S O fis r e g a r d e d a st h e i r m o d e l , d i d n o t a t t e m p t t o d e n o u n c e A b f~ Y a z i d ' s w i ld l y h e r e ti c a lu t t e r a n c e s ; h e m e r e l y t r i e d t o e x p l a i n t h e m a w a y . M o n i s m , t h e n , w a sn o t a n a t u r a l g r o w t h i n I s l a m : i t w a s i m p o r t e d i n t h e n i n t h c e n t u r yf r o m I n d i a , e x p o u n d e d b y a l o v ea b le a n d s a in t ly m a n w h o h i m s e l f h a dn o i d e a o f w h a t h e w a s d o i n g , a n d w h o w a s n o n e t h e l e s s to l e a v e h i si m p r i n t o n t h e w h o l e s u b s e q u e n t d e v e l o p m e n t o f .S Qfism w h i c h w a s s o o n ,u n d e r h i s i n f l u e n c e , t o a d o p t a n e v e r m o r e u n c o m p r o m i s i n g m o n i s m .T h e b e l ie f t h a t t h e s o u l i s a c tu a l l y i d e n t ic a l w i t h G o d w a s l a t er t o b e c o m et he " ve r i t y o f ve r i ti e s " o f e s o t e r ic . SO fis m . I t w a s a doc t r i ne t ha t G ha z ~d iw a s t o c om ba t i n a l l h i s w or ks w r i t t e n f o r a w i de pub l i c , bu t i t w a s


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ABU YAZiD OF BISTAM 301" t r u t h " t h a t h e h i m s e l f a c c e p t e d i n h is h e a r t o f h e a r t s a s t h e MishkdtaLAnwdr c l e a rl y s h o w s . I t w a s a " t r u t h " t h a t A b f i Y a z i d , t h e p e a s a n t o fB i s t . a m , s e e m s t o h a v e l e a r n t f r o m a n I n d i a n s a g e a n d p a s s e d o n t o ab a f f l e d I s la m .

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Abū Yazīd of Bistām a turning-point in Islamic mysticism