Diwan al-Hallaj

Author's name: Al-Hussein Al-Hallaj

Al-Hallaj is Al-Husayn ibn Mansur, born in the village of Al-Tur, northeast of Medina al-Bayda, a city in the Fars province of Iran, around 242 AH/857 AD. His family left Al-Tur and moved with him to central Iraq. His father worked in ginning and weaving cotton, and it is likely that the nickname Al-Hallaj was given to him because of his father's trade. Al-Hallaj spent his childhood moving from one school to another in Wasit, receiving whatever knowledge he could. He then moved to Tustar, where he studied with Sahl ibn Abdullah Al-Tasanri. He then moved to Basra, where he established a close relationship with Amr ibn Uthman Al-Makki, the Sufi, who dressed him in the Sufi cloak. He then left Basra for Baghdad, where he met Sheikh Al-Junayd. He then went to Qala to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, where he spent a full year practicing the most strenuous Sufi exercises. He subjected his body to the most arduous forms of torture, consuming only bread and water as a food, and exposing his body to the scorching sun or to heavy rain. When Al Hallaj returned from a small number of visits, he appeared to people as a confident man. His followers increased and he chose Sufism as his philosophy. He had discovered the divine truth, which had become clear to him since its revelation to Moses, peace be upon him, on Mount Sinai, through Jesus, peace be upon him, and his death, and through the Quran and the unified Islamic creed. Everything that contradicts this truth is illusion and misguidance. However, this philosophy, which Al Hallaj expressed in practice, did not satisfy the jurist Muhammad ibn Dawud, as he saw it as contradicting the teachings of Islam, which recognizes only the wise revelation. He therefore brought Al Hallaj's case to court, requesting that he be tried before the people and the jurists. However, the Shafi'i judge, Abu al-Abbas ibn Surayj, who was well-versed in Sufi thought, refused to condemn him, saying, "He is a man whose condition is hidden from me and I have nothing to say about him." Believing that Sufism was not part of the core work of the Sharia courts, and given the rebellions embodied in the Zanj movement and the Qarmatians movement during that period, and given that Al-Hallaj's revolutionary tendencies were growing stronger with the escalation of injustices, the Abbasids feared Al-Hallaj and decided to get rid of him for fear of jeopardizing their personal interests and their political system. A trial was held for him, which sentenced him to death by beheading. However, Al-Hallaj's philosophy remains a shining page in human heritage, reflecting the virtues of that Arab Muslim philosopher whose struggle transcended sectarian and national boundaries. His tragedy remains a fresh resource for minds in all times and places, and a source of inspiration for all free people of the world. Within the folds of this book is his collection of poems, which was the first to be compiled by the French Orientalist Louis Massignon in Paris in 1955. This collection was followed by Al-Hallaj's stories and his Taseen.