Bishr al Hafi
Encyclopedia
Bishr ibn Hareth, better known as Bishr the Barefoot, was a Muslim
saint
born near Merv
in 767 C.E. He was converted from a life of dissipation and then studied Muslim
tradition
in Baghdad
. Bishr then devoted his life to God
and became famous as one of the greatest saints in the area.
and settled at Baghdad
. The story of his conversion was narrated by Attar
in the Memorial of the Saints
. Attar narrated that Bishr had lived a life of dissipation, and one day, as he was staggering along the road drunk, he found a piece of paper on which was written, “In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” Bishr is said to have bought an attar of roses and perfumed the paper with it, and then deposited it reverently in his house. That night a venerable man had a dream in which he was bidden to tell Bishr:
The venerable man was perplexed by the dream, as he knew Bishr to be dissolute, so he went back to sleep. However, the man had the same dream two more times during that night and, after rising in the morning, went in search of Bishr to tell him of the dreams. The venerable man found Bishr at a drunken party but warned him that he had a message from God
and told Bishr of his dreams. Bishr immediately understood the man and told his companions:
Attar further narrated that from that day onwards, Bishr lived in so saintly a fashion that few equaled him in righteousness. One of Bishr's customs, Attar narrates, was to walk barefoot wherever he went and as such he earned the name "Bishr the Barefoot".
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
born near Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
in 767 C.E. He was converted from a life of dissipation and then studied Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. Bishr then devoted his life to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and became famous as one of the greatest saints in the area.
Biography
Bishr was born in MervMerv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
and settled at Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. The story of his conversion was narrated by Attar
Attar
Abū Hamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm , better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn and ‘Attār , was a Persian Muslim poet, theoretician of Sufism, and hagiographer from Nīshāpūr who had an abiding influence on Persian poetry and Sufism.-Biography:Information about Attar's life is rare...
in the Memorial of the Saints
Tadhkiratul Awliya
Tadhkiratul Awliya by Farid al-Din Attar of Nishapur is regarded as one of the most important works of Sufism. It is acclaimed as of the rare collection of the biographies of Muslim Sufi saints between the 6th and 13th century....
. Attar narrated that Bishr had lived a life of dissipation, and one day, as he was staggering along the road drunk, he found a piece of paper on which was written, “In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” Bishr is said to have bought an attar of roses and perfumed the paper with it, and then deposited it reverently in his house. That night a venerable man had a dream in which he was bidden to tell Bishr:
The venerable man was perplexed by the dream, as he knew Bishr to be dissolute, so he went back to sleep. However, the man had the same dream two more times during that night and, after rising in the morning, went in search of Bishr to tell him of the dreams. The venerable man found Bishr at a drunken party but warned him that he had a message from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and told Bishr of his dreams. Bishr immediately understood the man and told his companions:
Attar further narrated that from that day onwards, Bishr lived in so saintly a fashion that few equaled him in righteousness. One of Bishr's customs, Attar narrates, was to walk barefoot wherever he went and as such he earned the name "Bishr the Barefoot".