Abu Bakr As-Shibli; Crown of Sufi Love

 

Abu Bakr As-Shibli; Crown of Sufi Love

Each group has a leader, and the leader of the Sufi group is Abu Bakr as-Syibli. – Junaid al-Baghdadi

If al-Junaid al-Baghdadi is nicknamed as Taj as-Shufiyyah (crown of the Sufis), then as-Syibli is Taj al-Hubb "crown of love".- Abdul Halim Mahmud 

The majority of Sufis travel the path of love. Through this method of love they travel their spiritual path. Rabiah al-Adawiyyah is a Sufi woman who is the most famous among the Sufis who travel the path of love compared to others. Besides Rabiah, another great Sufi who also traveled the path of love was Abu Bakar as-Syibli.

His full name is Abu Bakar Dulaf bin Ja'far bin Yunus As-Syibli was born in Samara' in the year 247 H or coincides with the year 861 AD. His parents were one of the officials in the government of Samara' since childhood he grew up in the palace environment with his children -officer's son.

As-Syibli met the great Sufi, Junaid al-Baghdadi and gained knowledge from him that later shaped his character and spiritual behavior. Not only met and studied with al-Junaid, as-Syibli, according to Fuat Sezgin also had time to meet with the Sufi martyr "al-Hallaj". He studied directly under the guidance of the great scholars of his time. At first he was interested in studying hadith, but then he actually studied Sufism more.

Testing the Science of As-Syibli

As a Sufi who is also an expert in jurisprudence, as-Syibli often gets "tests". As said by Sheikh Abdul Halim Mahmud in his book titled Taaju as-Shufiyyah Abu Bakar as-Syibli; Hayatuhu wa Arauhu which I quoted below:

One day as-Syibli met Sheikh Abu Imran. At that time Abu Imran was holding a study in his halaqa. When Abu Imran saw the presence of Abu Shibli in his assembly, he immediately stood up and went to as-Shibli and invited him to sit next to him. Seeing what Abu Imran did, some of Abu Imran's students wanted to test as-Sybli's knowledge by asking a number of difficult questions that if as-Sybli could not answer. The point is they want to kill the character of as-Syibli. Then they asked As-Shibli:

O Abu Bakar as-Sybli, what is your opinion about women who cannot distinguish between menstrual blood and istihadhah blood (blood of illness)?

Then as-Syibli answered the question by offering eighteen complete opinions. Then Sheikh Abu Imran stood up and kissed the head of as-Syibli while saying:

O Abu Bakr, of the eighteen opinions you mentioned, I only know twelve opinions. The other six opinions I had never heard of before.

The story about the test to measure the knowledge of al-Shibli did not just happen once. Sheikh Abdul Halim Mahmud also told another story where as-Syibli was tested for his scientific capacity by a scholar in his area as in the following story:

Ibn Bassyar, a prominent scholar in the area where As-Sybli lived, once forbade the local community to recite and listen to As-Sybli's speech. One time he came to see Abu Bakar as-Shibli to test his knowledge. After meeting as-Syibli, he asked him, "How much zakat is issued for five camels?"

As-Syibli remained silent and did not answer him. Ibn Basysyar seems to be more and more convinced of as-Shibli's inability as he continues to speak. Then as-Sybli said, "According to the Sharia obligation, zakat for five camels is one goat. But for people like me, the obligatory zakat is all (property) that I own."

Then Ibn Basyyar said to him, "Do you have an imam that you follow?" Who?

As-Shibli replied, "Yes. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq ra. where he removed all his possessions until Prophet Muhammad SAW asked Abu Bakar, "What do you have left for your family?" Abu Bakar replied, "Allah and His Messenger"

Hearing that answer, Ibn Basyyar returned to his house and no longer forbade others to meet and study with Abu Bakar as-Sybli.

Wallahu A'lam bis-Shawab