← Explore on the interactive map

Abdullah Ansari

Type Figure Region Herat Time 1006–1089 Also known as Abdullah Ansari of Herat、Khwaja Abdullah Ansari、Pir-i Herat、Abu Ismail al-Harawi、خواجه عبدالله انصاری

Herati Sufi master and scholar (1006–1089), called Pir-i Herat, whose Persian works such as the Munajat Namah popularized Sufi thought in Khurasan.

Timeline

  1. 1006–1025Herat · HeratBorn into a merchant family in Herat, he could recite the Quran at six; after his father left for Balkh when he was nine, he was raised by local masters. Showing remarkable memory and literary talent early, he was steeped in religious and Sufi traditions in Ghaznavid-ruled Herat.
  2. 1025–1050Herat · HeratHe taught in Herat, renowned for combining Hanbali jurisprudence with Sufi practice. In the 1040s, as the Ghaznavids lost Khurasan and Seljuk power advanced east, he held to traditionalist positions, opposed the spread of Ash'arite doctrine, and spread the faith among the people through Persian works such as the Munajat Namah.
  3. 1050–1089Gazur Gah · HeratIn his later years he completed major works including the Manazil al-Sa'irin (Stations of the Wayfarers) and the Tabaqat al-Sufiyya, and continued commenting on the Quran. He died in Herat in 1089 and was buried at Gazur Gah, which became a Sufi shrine of Khurasan, influencing later scholars such as Ibn Qayyim.

Sources