Encyclopedia of Islam

Bistami, Abu Yazid al-

 

(Bayazid)

 

(d. ca. 

875)  early Persian Sufi known for his ecstatic sayings 

and mystical experiences

Little is known about Abu Yazid al-Bistami’s life 

except for the statements attributed to him by Sufi 

tradition that reflect his intense religious experi-

ences of passing away (fana) in God and mystical 

flight. He is thought to have come from a Zoroas-

trian family living in the El Burz mountain area 

south of the Caspian Sea in Persia (today’s i

ran

). 

He led an ascetic lifestyle, seeking detachment 

from the world. Later, when he had ecstatic expe-

riences of union with God, he would make state-

ments such as “Glory be to me,” as if God were 

speaking through him. This, of course, roused 

the anger of conservative religious authorities, 

who considered such statements to be 

blasphemy

.

However, Sufi scholars defended Abu Yazid by 

attesting to his good standing as an observant 

Muslim and by explaining that statements made 

while in a mystical state differ from those made 

while engaged in ordinary conversation, arguing 

that he may simply have been quoting God rather 

than speaking as God. Abu Yazid also spoke of 

becoming a bird and flying through the realms of 

the universe to the divine throne, like the n

ight

J

oUrney

 

and

 a

scent

 that m

Uhammad

 was reported 

to have made. According to one account, when he 

reached God, he heard his voice and melted like 

lead, sensing that he was so close to him that he 

“was nearer to him than the spirit is to the body” 

(Sells, 244). Because of such utterances, he was 

classed as one of the first “intoxicated” Sufis, in 

contrast to “sober” ones whose experiences were 

more attuned to maintaining a distance between 

the self and God. Reports of Abu Yazid’s sayings 

spread through Persia to i

raq

, Central Asia, and 

t

Urkey

. They were recorded in writing by the 

10th century, when he had become so venerated 

as a 

saint

 that learned scholars visited his tomb 

to gain his blessing (

baraka

). The Mongol ruler of 

Persia further embellished his shrine in the early 

14th century. Abu Yazid was also memorialized by 

having been included in the teaching lineages of 

prominent Sufi brotherhoods.

See also 

asceticism

; 

baqa

 

and

 

fana

; t

ariqa

.