Bayazid Bastami (Persian ?????? ?????? ), also known as Abu Yazid Bistami or Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bustami, (804-874 or 877/8[1] CE) was a Persian[2] Sufi born in Bastam, Iran.
Intoxicated Sufi
An intoxicated Sufi is one that expresses their feelings openly without disregarding the social consequences in doing so. Bayazid was most famous for openly expressing himself. Unlike the sufi Junayd who was a sober sufi, meaning that he reserved his feelings within himself and not allowing for such expressions to be observed to the outside world. This was the acceptable comportment of a Sufi, however when Bayazid began to express himself openly, many shunned him. The people opposed to his openness accused Bayazid of being a heretic due to his bizarre sayings. Not only his sayings are controversial, but Bayazid also claimed to have traveled through the 7 heavens in his dream. This journey proclaimed by Bayazid is similar to the Mi’raj of the Prophet Muhammad (Sells, pg 213).
These sayings are some of Bayazid’s famous sayings that caused him to be labeled as an intoxicated Sufi.
“Glory be to me! How great is My majesty!”
“Thy obedience to me is greater than my obedience to Thee”
“I am the throne and the footstool”
“By my life, my grasp is firmer than His”
“I saw the Kaba walking round me”
“Moses desired to see God; I do not desire to see God;He desires to see me”
“I am I; there is no God but I; so worship me!”
The Mystery About Shrine of Bayazid Bostami in Bangladesh
Bayazid Bastami’s shrine in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Interestingly enough, there is a shrine in Chittagong, Bangladesh that local people believe to be Bastami’s tomb as well. This seems unlikely to be true, as Bastami was never known to have visited Bangladesh. However, Sufi teachers were greatly influential in the spread of Islam in Bengal and this might explain the belief. The Islamic scholars of Bangladesh usually regard the tomb at Chittagong attributed to him as a jawab, or imitation.
One explanation is the local legend that Bayazid did indeed visit Chattagong. At the time of his return, he found that his local followers did not want to leave. Overwhelmed by the love of his local followers, he pierced his finger and dropped a few drops of his blood on the ground and allowed his followers to build a shrine in his name where his blood drops fell.
This also explained by the traditional Sufi masters as a mash-had, or site of witnessing, where the spiritual presence of the saint has been witnessed, and is known to appear. This is explained through the Sufi concept of the power of the saint’s soul to travel and in its spiritual form, even after death, to appear to the living. The Quran mentions that some of those who have proven their sincerity have achieved a life beyond the grave (??????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ????? ????????? ???????????; Wala tahsabanna allatheena qutiloo fee sabeeli Allahi amwatan bal ahyaon AAinda rabbihim yurzaqoona; Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord; 3:169
Sayings
Some of his words quoted from Tadhkiratul Awliya ????? ??????? by Farid al-Din Attar:
I never saw any lamp shining more brilliantly than the lamp of silence.
I went to a wilderness, love had rained and had covered earth, as feet penetrate snow, I found my feet covered with love.
I stood with the pious and I didn’t find any progress with them. I stood with the warriors in the cause and I didn’t find a single step of progress with them. Then I said, ‘O Allah, what is the way to You?’ and Allah said, ‘Leave yourself and come.’
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