Abu’l-Fayd Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri radiyAllāhu ‘anh
by Seeker
Abu’l-Fayd Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri radiyAllāhu ‘anh
His name is Thawban b. Ibrahim. He was also called Abu’l-Fayd b. Ibrahim. His father was a Nubian.[1] He [Dhu’l-Nun] died in 245.[2] He excelled in this affair[3] and was unique in his age in respect of knowledge, pious scrupulosity, [spiritual] state, and good manners. Some people denounced him [as a heretic] to [the caliph] al-Mutawakkil[4] and the latter commanded that he be brought before him from Egypt. When [Dhu’l-Nun] appeared before him and admonished him, al-Mutawakkil began to cry and [ordered] that he be taken back to Egypt with honour. [Since then] each time someone mentioned pious people to al-Mutawakkil, he would cry and say: “Whenever one speaks of the pious, let them first mention Dhu’l-Nun!” He was a slim man with a light skin, whose beard was not white.
I heard Ahmad b. Muhammad say: I heard Sa’id b. ‘Uthman say: I heard that Dhu’l-Nun said: “Everything hinges on four things: the love of the Glorious One, the hatred of the insufficient[5], the observance of the revealed[6] and the fear of changing from one state to another.”[7]
I heard Muhammad b. al-Husayn – may God have mercy on him – say: I heard Sa’id b. Ahmad b. Ja’far say: I heard Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Sahl say: I heard Sa’id b. ‘Uthman say: I heard Dhu’l-Nun say: “One of the signs of the lover of God is his following in the footsteps of God’s beloved[8] – may God bless and greet him – in his character traits, his deeds, his precepts and his customs.”
Someone asked Dhu’l-Nun about ignoble people. He answered: “Those who neither know the way to God, nor try to know it.” I heard Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami – may God have mercy on him – say: I heard Abu Bakr b. Muhammad b. ‘Abdallah b. Shadhan say: I heard Yusuf b. al-Husayn say: “One day I was at Dhu’l-Nun’s teaching session. There came to him Salim al-Maghribi and asked him: ‘Abu’l-Fayd, what was the cause of your repentance?’[9] He answered: ‘It was something really wonderful that you cannot imitate.’ [Salim] said: ‘For the sake of God, tell me about it!’ Dhu’l-Nun said: ‘I wanted to go from [old] Cairo[10] to a village in the countryside. I fell asleep in the desert, and when I opened my eyes I saw a small blind fledgling that fell from its nest onto the ground. [Suddenly] the earth cleft and there appeared [from the crack] two food bowls, one silver and the other gold. In one there were sesame seeds, in the other water. The fledgling ate from one bowl and drank from the other. I cried out: “This is enough for me. I have repented!” And I was waiting at God’s door until He [agreed to] receive me.’”
I heard Muhammad b. al-Husayn say: I heard ‘Ali b. al-Hafiz say: I heard Ibn Rashiq say: I heard Abu Dujana say: I heard Dhu’l-Nun say: “Wisdom does not live in a stomach filled with food.” Someone asked Dhu’l-Nun about repentance. He answered: “The common people repent from [their] sins, whereas [God’s] elect people repent from neglectfulness.”
[1] That is, he came from Nubia, Upper Egypt.
[2] That is in 859 or 860 C.E.
[3] That is, in Sufism.
[4] A caliph of the ‘Abbasid dynasty from 232/847 to 247/861.
[5] According to some commentators, the insufficient here refers to “this life and its attractions’’.
[6] That is, the Divine Law.
[7] According to commentators, this means change from a virtuous state to a less perfect one.
[8] That is, the beloved Prophet Muhammad sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
[9] The Sufi path usually begins with repentance.
[10] At that time the city of Cairo did not yet exist. It was founded in 359/970 by the Fatimid ruler al-Mu’izz. In Dhu’l-Nun’s time the capital of Egypt was located at Fustat (old Cairo).
Islam 