Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Bāyazīd al-Besṭāmī
References
Britannica AI Icon

Bāyazīd al-Besṭāmī

Ṣūfī mystic
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

Bāyazīd al-Besṭāmī was a Persian mystic and a prominent figure in the development of Sufism. He is known for his doctrine of the annihilation of the self, known as fanāʾ. His teachings, characterized by symbolic language, foreshadowed the terminology used by later mystical poets.1

Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, evolved through stages of asceticism, divine love, and the formation of fraternal orders. Early Sufis reacted against worldliness, focusing on piety and meditation on the Quran. The concept of disinterested love for Allah, without hope for paradise or fear of hell, was introduced by Rābiʿah al-ʿAdawiyyah. Figures like al-Besṭāmī and al-Junayd pursued the experience of unity with God, attracting disciples to their spiritual paths.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
2 Britannica Sources
  1. Sufism - Classical mysticism
  2. Islamic world - Cultural flowering in Iraq

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.