Abul Hasan Hakari (Arabic: ا بوالحسن ہنکاری)[1] Abu Al Hasan Ali Bin Mohammad Qureshi Hashmi Hakari Harithi (born in 409 Hijri (c.1018 CE), in the town of Hankar), town of Mosul (city of northern Iraq, some 400 km north of Baghdad), died 1st Moharram 486 AH (1 February 1093 CE), in Baghdad,[2] was a Muslimmystic[3] also renowned as one of the most influential Muslim scholar, philosopher, theologian and jurist of his time and Sufi based in Hankar.[4]
Biography
He was educated by his father. He was a man acquainted with the hidden secrets and was known for his Karamats. He would fast for 3 consecutive days and complete 2 whole Quran between Isha and Tahajjud. He devoutly stayed in worship day and night. He had the habit of practising excessive religious exercises and recitals. He travelled across many countries to get religious knowledge. From Rome to Spain to Harmain, etc. he met numerous scholars and shaikhs from whom he began to receive instruction in Fiqh and muhaddiths[broken anchor] from whom he memorised hadith by heart. He even met Shaikh Abu al-Layla Misri and heard hadith from him. All Hafiz e Quran (memorisers of Quran), Muhaddiths (narrators of Hadiths), Qaries (reciters of Quran with correct accent and pronunciation) are given a chain of incredible narrators linking to the Islamic prophetMuhammad.[5] He gained exoteric and esoteric education from the most prominent and influential scholars of his time. He even got spiritual beneficence from Bayazid Bastami. After sometime, he went back to his homeland. Hence, the people around him gave him a lot of respect and he gained fame. He earned the title of Shaikh-ul-Islam due to the unmatched religious knowledge and beneficence of the time. Countless seekers of Allah benefitted from him as he was an Arif Kamil. He was the Imam of Shariat and Tariqat of his time. He wore the khirqa of khilafat from Muhammad Yousaf Abu al-Farah Tartusi who was the Qutb of that time.[6]
The period between the 11th and 14th centuries is considered to be the "Golden Age" of Arabic and Islamic philosophy by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he has an important role to play in it as he was one of those early Sufis who brought logic into the Islamic seminary.[7][8]
The spiritual heritage of Faqr was passed on to Abul Hasan Hankari though the silsila of Junaid al-Baghdadi which makes him a spiritual descendant of the Islamic prophet Mohammad in the following order:[10][11]
Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi was the khalifa-e-akbar (senior spiritual successor)[13] while Tahir (son of Abul Hasan Hankari) was khalifa-e-asghar (junior spiritual successor).[14][15][16]
Influenced
Abul Hasan Hankari influenced a lot of scholars and Islamic scholars alike most of whom have a notable name in the history such as:
^"Names". Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
^The works of Shaykh Umar Eli of Somalia of al-Tariqat al-Qadiriyyah.
^W. Braune, Abd al-Kadir al-Djilani, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, ed. H.A.R Gibb, J.H.Kramers, E. Levi-Provencal, J. Schacht, (Brill, 1986), 69.
^Muhammad Riyaz Qadri, Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (2002). Mystical Discourses of Ghaus-e-Azam. Abbasi Publications. ISBN9789698510213.
^Gibb, H.A.R.; Kramers, J.H.; Levi-Provencal, E.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1960]. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. I (A-B) (New ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 1130. ISBN9004081143.
^S.H. Nasr, "Iran" in History of Humanity: From the Seventh to the Sixteenth Century, edited by Sigfried J. de Laet, M. A. Al-Bakhit, International Commission for a History of the Scientific and Cultural Development of Mankind History of mankind, L. Bazin, S. M. Cissco. Published by Taylor & Francis US, 2000. p. 368
