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| caption =
| caption =
| birth_date = 796
| birth_date = 796
| birth_place = Upper Egypt
| birth_place = [[Akhmim]], Upper Egypt
| death_date = 245/859 or 248/862
| death_date = 245/859 or 248/862
| death_place = Giza
| death_place = Giza
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| education = Scholastic disciplines of alchemy, medicine, and Greek philosophy
| education = Scholastic disciplines of alchemy, medicine, and Greek philosophy
}}
}}
[[File:Dhulnun tomb.jpg|thumb]]

{{Sufism}}
{{Sufism}}


'''Dhūl-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ Thawbān b. Ibrāhīm al-Miṣrī''' ({{lang-ar|ذو النون المصري}}; d. Giza, in 245/859 or 248/862), often referred to as '''Dhūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī''' or '''Zūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī''' for short, was an early [[Egypt]]ian [[Muslim]] [[mysticism|mystic]] and [[ascetic]].<ref name="auto">Mojaddedi, Jawid, “Dhū l-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ al-Miṣrī”, in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE'', Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online.</ref> His surname "al Misri" means ''"The Egyptian"''. He was born in [[Upper Egypt]] in 796, Dhul-Nun is said to have made some study of the [[scholasticism|scholastic]] [[discipline (academia)|discipline]]s of [[alchemy]], [[medicine]], and [[Greek philosophy]] in his early life,<ref name="auto"/> before coming under the mentorship of the mystic Saʿdūn of Cairo, who is described in traditional accounts of Dhul-Nun's life as both "his teacher and spiritual director."<ref name="auto"/> Celebrated for his legendary wisdom both in his own life and by later Islamic thinkers,<ref>Mojaddedi, Jawid, “Dhū l-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ al-Miṣrī”, in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, SDSD'', Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online.</ref> Dhul-Nun has been venerated in traditional [[Sunni Islam]] as one of the greatest [[wali|saints]] of the early era of [[Sufism]].<ref name="auto"/>
'''Dhūl-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ Thawbān b. Ibrāhīm al-Miṣrī''' ({{lang-ar|ذو النون المصري}}; d. Giza, in 245/859 or 248/862), often referred to as '''Dhūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī''' or '''Zūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī''' for short, was an early [[Egypt]]ian [[Muslim]] [[mysticism|mystic]] and [[ascetic]].<ref name="auto">Mojaddedi, Jawid, "Dhū l-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ al-Miṣrī", in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE'', Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online.</ref> His surname "al Misri" means ''"The Egyptian"''. He was born in [[Akhmim]],<ref name="ie">{{cite web |title=ZÜNNÛN el-MISRÎ |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/zunnun-el-misri |website=TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi |access-date=10 July 2023 |language=tr}}</ref> [[Upper Egypt]] in 796 and is said to be of [[Nubian people|Nubian]]<ref name="rq">{{cite book |last1=Qušayrī |first1=ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Hawāzin ibn ʿAbd al-malik ibn Ṭalḥaẗ al-Naysābūrī al-Ṣūfī |last2=Knyš |first2=Aleksandr Dmitrievič |last3=Eissa |first3=Muhammad S. |title=Al-Qushayri's epistle on sufism: Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya fi ʿilm al-tasawwuf |date=2007 |publisher=Garnet Publishing |location=Reading |isbn=978-1859641859 |page=19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Vf0EQq5-1YC |access-date=10 July 2023}}</ref> descent. Dhul-Nun is said to have made some study of the [[scholasticism|scholastic]] [[discipline (academia)|discipline]]s of [[alchemy]], [[medicine]], and [[Greek philosophy]] in his early life,<ref name="auto"/> before coming under the mentorship of the mystic Saʿdūn of Cairo, who is described in traditional accounts of Dhul-Nun's life as both "his teacher and spiritual director."<ref name="auto"/> Celebrated for his legendary wisdom both in his own life and by later Islamic thinkers,<ref>Mojaddedi, Jawid, "Dhū l-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ al-Miṣrī", in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, SDSD'', Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online.</ref> Dhul-Nun has been venerated in traditional [[Sunni Islam]] as one of the greatest [[wali|saints]] of the early era of [[Sufism]].<ref name="auto"/>


==Name==
==Name==
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[[Rajneesh|Osho]] mentions him as "an Egyptian Sufi mystic, one of the greatest who has ever walked on the earth".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Journey to the Heart |last=Osho |date=December 1976 |publisher=Rebel Publishing House, India |isbn=3-89338-141-4}}</ref>
[[Rajneesh|Osho]] mentions him as "an Egyptian Sufi mystic, one of the greatest who has ever walked on the earth".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Journey to the Heart |last=Osho |date=December 1976 |publisher=Rebel Publishing House, India |isbn=3-89338-141-4}}</ref>


Contemporary Sufi [[Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee]] mentions an incident from the life of Dhul-nun in his work ''Catching the Thread''
Contemporary Sufi [[Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee]] mentions an incident from the life of Dhul-nun in his work ''Catching the Thread'':


<blockquote>A story from the life of the ninth-century Sufi, Dhu-l-Nun, the Egyptian, illustrates this:
<blockquote>A story from the life of the ninth-century Sufi, Dhu-l-Nun, the Egyptian, illustrates this:
I was wandering in the mountains when I observed a party of afflicted folk gathered together.
I was wandering in the mountains when I observed a party of afflicted folk gathered together.
“What befell you?” I asked.
"What befell you?" I asked.

“There is a devotee living in a cell here,” they
"There is a devotee living in a cell here," they
answered. “Once every year he comes out and
answered. "Once every year he comes out and
breathes on these people and they are all
breathes on these people and they are all
healed. Then he returns to his cell, and does not
healed. Then he returns to his cell, and does not
emerge again until the following year.”
emerge again until the following year."

I waited patiently until he came out. I beheld
I waited patiently until he came out. I beheld
a man pale of cheek, wasted and with sunken
a man pale of cheek, wasted and with sunken
Line 65: Line 67:
several times over the afflicted ones. All were
several times over the afflicted ones. All were
healed.
healed.

As he was about to retire to his cell, I seized
As he was about to retire to his cell, I seized
his skirt. “For the love of God,” I cried. “You
his skirt. "For the love of God," I cried. "You
have healed the outward sickness; pray heal the
have healed the outward sickness; pray heal the
inward sickness.”
inward sickness."

“Dhu-l-Nun,” he said, gazing at me, “take
"Dhu-l-Nun," he said, gazing at me, "take
your hand off me. The Friend is watching from
your hand off me. The Friend is watching from
the zenith of might and majesty. If He sees you
the zenith of might and majesty. If He sees you
clutching at another than He, He will abandon
clutching at another than He, He will abandon
you to that person, and that person to you, and
you to that person, and that person to you, and
you will perish each at the other’s hand.”
you will perish each at the other’s hand."
So saying, he withdrew into his cell.</blockquote>
So saying, he withdrew into his cell.</blockquote>


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{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==See also==
* [[List of Sufi saints]]
* [[List of Sufis]]


==External links==
==External links==
* [https://archive.org/details/SufiTeachingsOfDhulNunByRustom Sufi Teachings of Dhu'l-Nun al-Misri] at archive.org.
* [https://archive.org/details/SufiTeachingsOfDhulNunByRustom Sufi Teachings of Dhu'l-Nun al-Misri] at archive.org.
* [https://halaqa.home.blog/2023/07/09/biography-and-sayings-of-dhun-nun-al-misri/ Biography and Sayings of Dhun Nun al-Misri from the Risala Qushayriyya]
{{wikiquote}}
{{wikiquote}}


{{Sufi}}
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{{Portal bar|Islam|Biography|Egypt}}

⚫
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Sunni Sufis]]
[[Category:9th-century Egyptian people]]
[[Category:9th-century Egyptian people]]
[[Category:9th-century historians from the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:9th-century historians from the Abbasid Caliphate]]

Revision as of 08:08, 24 July 2024

Dhūl-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ Thawbān b. Ibrāhīm al-Miṣrī
Born796
Akhmim, Upper Egypt
Died245/859 or 248/862
Giza
Resting placeCairo's City of the Dead
Other namesDhūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī, Zūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī
EducationScholastic disciplines of alchemy, medicine, and Greek philosophy
Known forMuslim mystic and ascetic
Part of a series on Islam
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Tomb of Abdul Qadir Gilani, Baghdad, Iraq
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Dhūl-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ Thawbān b. Ibrāhīm al-Miṣrī (Template:Lang-ar; d. Giza, in 245/859 or 248/862), often referred to as Dhūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī or Zūl-Nūn al-Miṣrī for short, was an early Egyptian Muslim mystic and ascetic.[1] His surname "al Misri" means "The Egyptian". He was born in Akhmim,[2] Upper Egypt in 796 and is said to be of Nubian[3] descent. Dhul-Nun is said to have made some study of the scholastic disciplines of alchemy, medicine, and Greek philosophy in his early life,[1] before coming under the mentorship of the mystic Saʿdūn of Cairo, who is described in traditional accounts of Dhul-Nun's life as both "his teacher and spiritual director."[1] Celebrated for his legendary wisdom both in his own life and by later Islamic thinkers,[4] Dhul-Nun has been venerated in traditional Sunni Islam as one of the greatest saints of the early era of Sufism.[1]

Name

It has been speculated by scholars whether "Dhul-Nun" was an honorific (laqab) for the mystic rather than his name proper, which is sometimes believed to be Thawbān.[1] As "Dhul-Nun," literally meaning "the one of the fish [or whale]," is another name for the Hebrew prophet Jonah in Islamic tradition, it is sometimes believed that this title was given to Dhul-Nun in commemoration of Jonah.[1]

Life

Dhul-Nun is one of the most prominent saints of early Islamic tradition, appearing "in the earliest accounts of Ṣūfism as the leading figure of his generation."[1] Often depicted as the spiritual master of Sahl al-Tustari (c. 818–896), the traditional hagiographies relate that the latter refused to engage in mystical discourse until after Dhul-Nun's death, on account of his recognition of Dhul-Nun's elevated rank in wisdom and gnosis.[1]

Tomb of Dhul-Nun al-Misri (AD 796–859) in Cairo's City of the Dead.
Part of a series on
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Dhul-Nun al-Misri is considered among the most prominent saints of early Sufism and holds a position in the Sufi chronicles as high as Junayd Baghdadi (d. 910) and Bayazid Bastami (d. 874). He studied under various teachers and travelled extensively in Arabia and Syria. The Muslim scholar and Sufi Sahl al-Tustari was one of Dhul-Nun al-Misri's students.[5] In 829 he was arrested on a charge of heresy and sent to prison in Baghdad, but after examination he was released on the caliph's orders to return to Cairo, where he died in 859; his tombstone has been preserved.[6]

Dhul-Nun's name came about in relation to an incident on a sea voyage. He was falsely accused of stealing a jewel from a merchant. He cried out "O Creator, Thou knowest best", whereupon a large number of fish raised their heads above the waves, each bearing a jewel in its mouth.[7]

A legendary alchemist and thaumaturge, he is supposed to have known the secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. His sayings and poems, which are extremely dense and rich in mystical imagery, emphasize knowledge or gnosis (marifah) more than fear (makhafah) or love (mahabbah), the other two major paths of spiritual realization in Sufism. None of his written works have survived, but a vast collection of poems, sayings, and aphorisms attributed to him continues to live on in oral tradition.[8]

Osho mentions him as "an Egyptian Sufi mystic, one of the greatest who has ever walked on the earth".[9]

Contemporary Sufi Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee mentions an incident from the life of Dhul-nun in his work Catching the Thread:

A story from the life of the ninth-century Sufi, Dhu-l-Nun, the Egyptian, illustrates this:

I was wandering in the mountains when I observed a party of afflicted folk gathered together. "What befell you?" I asked.

"There is a devotee living in a cell here," they answered. "Once every year he comes out and breathes on these people and they are all healed. Then he returns to his cell, and does not emerge again until the following year."

I waited patiently until he came out. I beheld a man pale of cheek, wasted and with sunken eyes. The awe of him caused me to tremble. He looked on the multitude with compassion. Then he raised his eyes to heaven, and breathed several times over the afflicted ones. All were healed.

As he was about to retire to his cell, I seized his skirt. "For the love of God," I cried. "You have healed the outward sickness; pray heal the inward sickness."

"Dhu-l-Nun," he said, gazing at me, "take your hand off me. The Friend is watching from the zenith of might and majesty. If He sees you clutching at another than He, He will abandon you to that person, and that person to you, and you will perish each at the other’s hand."

So saying, he withdrew into his cell.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Mojaddedi, Jawid, "Dhū l-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ al-Miṣrī", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online.
  2. ^ "ZÜNNÛN el-MISRÎ". TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  3. ^ Qušayrī, ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Hawāzin ibn ʿAbd al-malik ibn Ṭalḥaẗ al-Naysābūrī al-Ṣūfī; Knyš, Aleksandr Dmitrievič; Eissa, Muhammad S. (2007). Al-Qushayri's epistle on sufism: Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya fi ʿilm al-tasawwuf. Reading: Garnet Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-1859641859. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  4. ^ Mojaddedi, Jawid, "Dhū l-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ al-Miṣrī", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, SDSD, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online.
  5. ^ Mason, Herbert W. (1995). Al-Hallaj. RoutledgeCurzon. pp. 83. ISBN 0-7007-0311-X.
  6. ^ Dho'l-Nun al-Mesri, from Muslim Saints and Mystics, trans. A.J. Arberry, London; Routledge & Kegan Paul 1983
  7. ^ "Man of the fish". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  8. ^ John Esposito, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Oxford University Press 2003
  9. ^ Osho (December 1976). Journey to the Heart. Rebel Publishing House, India. ISBN 3-89338-141-4.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Dhul-Nun al-Misri.
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