السري بن المغلس السقطي
Sari al-Saqati (RH)
Sari ibn al-Mughallis al-Saqati
Also known as: al-Sari al-Saqati, Sirri Saqati, Sari as-Saqati
c. 155–253 AH · c. 772–867 CE
Sufism & Theology Sufism
Early Sufi master of Baghdad, student of Ma'ruf al-Karkhi and teacher and uncle of al-Junayd.
Sari al-Saqati was a trader in the market of Baghdad; his name comes from saqat, second-hand goods and small wares. He became a disciple of Ma'ruf al-Karkhi and is often linked with Bishr al-Hafi. It is told that when a fire swept the market and his own shop was spared, he said 'Praise be to God', and then spent thirty years repenting of having been glad at his own safety while others had lost everything.
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi calls him the first in Baghdad to speak of tawhid and the realities of the inner states. He taught a sober path of scrupulous piety, self-scrutiny and love of God, and his circle formed the next generation of Baghdad Sufis: his nephew al-Junayd, who said he had never seen anyone more devoted in worship, as well as Abu al-Husayn al-Nuri and Abu Sa'id al-Kharraz. His sayings are preserved in al-Qushayri's Risala and other early works. He died in Baghdad around 867, at a great age.
Life journey
- c. 772 CE Baghdad بغدادDied 867 CE · 253 AHTraded in second-hand goods in the Baghdad market; buried in the Shuniziyya cemetery, where al-Junayd was later buried beside him.
Students
- al-Junayd (RH) c. 830–910 CEAl-Junayd, Sari's nephew, was his closest disciple and took the Sufi path from him in Baghdad.
Places in their life
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Photo: Taisir Mahdi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources
- al-Qushayri, al-Risala (entry on al-Sari al-Saqati)
- al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad (entry on al-Sari ibn al-Mughallis)
- Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani, Hilyat al-Awliya' (entry on al-Sari al-Saqati)