Dawud al-Ta'i

Ta'i studied hadith and fiqh for many years with Imam Azam Abu Hanifa in Kufa, and being one of his favorite students, he reached a high level in science and fiqh. He also had an effective speaking ability. He was probably being a bit offensive too. As a matter of fact, when he hit someone with his stick, his teacher Abu Hanifa had to scold him: "Abu Suleiman, your hand and tongue are growing long!" Dawud al-Tai was highly affected by this warning and did not speak in the last year of his studentship; he neither asked nor answered any questions.^[2][3] Although al-Tai was "the most fluent speaker of his time and the one who knew Arabic best", and "one of the leading imams in fiqh and opinion", he threw his books into the Euphrates River for some reasons that are shown differently in the sources and retreated to zuhd and worship.^[2][4] He completely distanced himself from the public and worldly affairs, locked himself in his house, and joined the congregation only at prayer times.^[5]

Among the people he met were Fudayl b. Iyaz, Jafar al-Sadiq and Ibrahim ibn Adham. He also met the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid according to Imam Abu Yusuf. According to Fariduddin Attar, Fudayl b. Iyaz was proud to have had the honor of meeting him twice. One of his contemporaries in describing his greatness said, "If Dawud al-Tai had lived in the Age of Bliss [the Holy Prophet's time], the Qur'an would certainly have mentioned his zuhd and taqwa."^[6]

Maruf Karkhi, his best-known disciple, introduces his master by saying, “I have never seen anyone who does not value the world as much as Tai.” The fact that he used the expression "May your death be your celebration" while wishing someone well and that he saw death as salvation from the prison of this world reflects the characteristic feature of the life of asceticism at that time. This optimistic understanding about death turned into Shab-i Arus (Wedding Night) in later periods. Dawud al-Tai, who bequeathed his grave to be built in a deserted place and thus wanted the seclusion in the world to continue there, used to attach great importance to worship, but said that one should not see one's worship as perfect and should not trust their worship. According to him, the worship of a person who does not have generosity and muruwa is incomplete. As a matter of fact, after he turned to Sufism, he spent the money left by his father with his friends.^[6]

Al-Tai died while reading the Qur'an in his house, which was in ruins. In the sources, it is narrated that he fell ill and died due to the strong influence of a verse about hell that he recited one night until the morning.^[6]

Discover more about Biography related topics

Hadith

Hadith

Ḥadīth or Athar refers to what most Muslims and the mainstream schools of Islamic thought, believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators. In other words, the ḥadīth are transmitted reports attributed to what Muhammad said and did.

Fiqh

Fiqh

Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is often described as the human understanding and practices of the sharia, that is human understanding of the divine Islamic law as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah. Fiqh expands and develops Shariah through interpretation (ijtihad) of the Quran and Sunnah by Islamic jurists (ulama) and is implemented by the rulings (fatwa) of jurists on questions presented to them. Thus, whereas sharia is considered immutable and infallible by Muslims, fiqh is considered fallible and changeable. Fiqh deals with the observance of rituals, morals and social legislation in Islam as well as economic and political system. In the modern era, there are four prominent schools (madh'hab) of fiqh within Sunni practice, plus two within Shi'a practice. A person trained in fiqh is known as a faqīh.

Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad

Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad

Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʻIyāḍ was an Islamic Sunni Scholar.

Ibrahim ibn Adham

Ibrahim ibn Adham

Ibrahim ibn Adham also called Ibrahim Balkhi ; c. 718 – c. 782 / AH c. 100 – c. 165 is one of the most prominent of the early ascetic Sufi saints.

Harun al-Rashid

Harun al-Rashid

Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi or Harun ibn al-Mahdi, famously known as Harun al-Rashid, was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 until his death in March 809. His reign is traditionally regarded to be the beginning of the Islamic Golden Age. His epithet "al-Rashid" translates to "the Orthodox", "the Just", "the Upright", or "the Rightly-Guided".

Abu Yusuf

Abu Yusuf

Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim al-Ansari, better known as Abu Yusuf (d.798) was a student of jurist Abu Hanifa (d.767) who helped spread the influence of the Hanafi school of Islamic law through his writings and the government positions that he held.

Taqwa

Taqwa

Taqwa is an Islamic term for being conscious and cognizant of God, of truth, "piety, fear of God." It is often found in the Quran. Those who practice taqwa — in the words of Ibn Abbas, "believers who avoid Shirk with Allah and who work in His obedience" — are called muttaqin.