Bayazid Bastami: Freed from Worldly Desires, In Search of Perfection

Bayazid Bastami was an Iranian mystic of the 9th  century CE. He was born in 804 CE in the Bastam of Shahrud city of Iran. He is known to Sufis asSultan-ul-Arifin(“King of the Mystics”). Sufism is a school of thought which is characterized by detachment from the world in order to reach righteousness. Bayazid earned the respect of many Iranian thinkers, including those who have had nothing to do with mysticism.

Detachment from the World and Moving Towards Perfection

Bayazid’s lifetime coincided with that of Ahmad ibn Khidrawiyya and Abu Turab al-Nakhshabi, who are known to be among the initiators of Sufism. On the other hand, Dhul-Nun al-Misri sent letters to Bayazid regularly and kept in touch with him by sending his followers (murid) to meet with him every now and then.

Isa ibn Adam, also known as Abu Musa Khadem, was one of Bayazid’s most famous followers who is said to have spread many of Bayazid’s speeches. Others who looked up to Bayazid were Abu Musa Dubaili and Saeed Manjurani. Bayazid Bastami’s disciples are known as “Teyfuriyya” or “Bastamiyya”; as mentioned earlier. Teyfuriyya is considered to be the oldest Sufi sect that does not subscribe to the concept of annihilation of self. Instead, it suggests that reaching the state of “perfection” requires the aspirant to be free from selfishness and worldly desires.

Works

Bayazid Bastami refused to write any book. However, his followers collected some of his writings and speeches. Junayd Baghdadi had heard a lot about Bayazid from his family, so he collected Bayazid’s writings as well as some anecdotes attributed to him, and translated them from Farsi into Arabic. Then, it was Abu Nasr al-Sarraj who completed Junayd’s work. Abu Nasr al-Sarraj not only collected Bayazid’s most famous speeches but also added Junayd’s as well as his own commentaries on Bayazid’s words. “Al-Nur min Kalimat”, “Risala Ahkam al-Qadha wa al-Qadar”, “Masael al-Rahban”, and “Bostan al-Arifin” are some of the books compiled from Bayazid Bastami’s sayings and writings. Indeed, Bayazid’s writings and speeches protected the Iranian culture from foreign intrusion.

Demise

According to historical references, Bayazid Bastami passed away in 874 CE. He was buried in his hometown, Bastam, near Shahrud.