HALLAJ, AL-

born c. 858, , Tur, Iran died March 26, 922, Baghdad in full Abu al-Mughith al-Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj controversial writer and teacher of Islamic mysticism (Sufism). Because he represented in his person and works the experiences, causes, and aspirations of many Muslims, arousing admiration in some and repression on the part of others, the drama of his life and death has been considered a reference point in Isl amic history. Al-Hallaj was born in the southern Iranian community of Tur in the province of Fars. According to tradition, his grandfather was a Zoroastrian and a descendant of Abu Ayyub, a companion of Muhammad. At an early age al-Hallaj went to live in the city of Wasit, an important Iraqi centre for textiles, trade, and Arab culture. His father had become a Muslim and may have supported the family by carding wool. Al-Hallaj was attracted to an ascetic way of life at an early age. Not satisfied with merely having learned the Qur'an (the Islamic scripture) by heart, he was motivated to understand its deeper and inner meanings. During his adolescence (c. 874894), at a time when Islamic mysticism was in its formative period, he began to withdraw from the world and to seek the company of individuals who were able to instruct him in the Sufi way. His teachers, Sahl at-Tustari, 'Amr ibn 'Uthman al-Makki, and Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd, were highly respected among the masters of Sufism. Studying first under Sahl at-Tustari, who lived a quiet and solitary life in the city of Tustar in Khuzistan, al-Hallaj later became a disciple of al-Markki of Basra. During this period he married the daughter of the Sufi Abu Ya'qub al-Aqta'. He concluded his instruction in the mystical way under al-Junayd of Baghdad, a brilliant intellect, under whom al-Makki had likewise studied. During the next period of his life (c. 895910), al-Hallaj undertook extensive travels, preaching, teaching, and writing. He made a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he followed a strict discipline for a year. Returning to such regions as Fars, Khuzistan, and Khorasan, he preached and wrote about the way to an intimate relationship with God. In the course of his journeys he attracted many disciples, some of whom accompanied him on a second pilgrimage to Mecca. Afterward, he returned to his family in Baghdad and then set out by sea for a mission to a territory hitherto not penetrated by IslamIndia and Turkistan. Following a third pilgrimage to Mecca, he again returned to Baghdad (c. 908). The milieu in which al-Hallaj preached and wrote was filled with social, economic, political, and religious tensionsall factors that contributed to his later arrest. His thought and activity had been provocative and had been interpreted in various ways, some of which left him highly suspect in the eyes of civil and religious authorities. The Sufi movement, in general, had aroused considerable opposition, and its thought and practice had yet to be coordinated with developments in jurisprudence, theology, and philosophy. Al-Hallaj's propensity for travel and his willingness to share the profundity of his mystical experiences with all who would listen were considered breaches of discipline by his Sufi masters. His travel for missionary purposes was suggestive of the subversive activity of the Qarmatians, a 9th-century movement with Isma'ili affiliations that was founded by Hamdan Qarmat in Iraq, whose acts of terrorism and whose missionaries were undermining the authority of the central government. Through his wife's family, he was suspected of having connections with the destructive Zanj rebellion in southern Mesopotamia that was carried out by oppressed black slaves inspired and led by outside dissidents. The alleged involvement of al-Hallaj in an attempt at political and moral reform upon his return to Baghdad was an immediate factor in his arrest, and it did nothing to improve his image in the eyes of the political leaders. Al-Hallaj has been identified as an intoxicated Sufi in contradistinction to a sober one. The former are those who, in the moment of ecstasy, are so overcome by the presence of the divine that awareness of personal identity is lost and who experience a merging with ultimate reality. In that exalted state, the Sufi is given to using extravagant language. Not long before his arrest al-Hallaj is said to have uttered the statement Ana al-haqq (I am the Truthi.e., God), which provided cause for the accusation that he had claimed to be divine. Such a statement was highly inappropriate in the view of most Muslims. Furthermore, this was the kind of theosophical (divine wisdom) idea that was associated with the Qarmatians and the supporters of the Zanj slaves. There was no consensus about al-Hallaj, however. The long, drawn-out trial proceedings were marked by indecision. After his arrest in Sus and a lengthy period of confinement (c. 911922) in Baghdad, al-Hallaj was eventually crucified and brutally tortured to death. A large crowd witnessed his execution. He is remembered to have endured gruesome torture calmly and courageously and to have uttered words of forgiveness for his accusers. In a sense, the Islamic community (ummah) had put itself on trial, for al-Hallaj left behind revered writings and supporters who courageously affirmed his teachings and his experience. In subsequent Islamic history, therefore, the life and thought of al-Hallaj has been a subject seldom ignored. J.W. Fiegenbaum Additional reading Louis Massignon, The Passion of al-Hallaj, 4 vol. (1982), is the definitive work on al-Hallaj; it recounts his life and times, traces his influence on Islam, studies his thought, and includes a bibliography.