Sahl at-Tustarī

Muslim scholar and mystic

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July 13, 2026

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Sahl at-Tustari (died c. 896 CE) was a significant figure in early Islamic mysticism, known as Sufism. He was a master of the Iraqi school of mysticism, which emphasized self-control and psychological insight.12

At-Tustari developed theosophical speculations concerning human nature and the essence of the Prophet Muhammad. He is also associated with the Salimiyyah school of theologians, who believed that mystical union with God could be achieved through contemplation of one's own personality, based on the idea that God created humans in His image. This school utilized many Sufi terms and ideas in their doctrines. At-Tustari's teachings influenced later mystics, including al-Hallaj.13

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Sālimīyah
…the Muslim scholar and mystic Sahl at-Tustarī (d. ad 896). The school was named after one of his disciples, Muḥammad ibn Sālim (d. ad 909). Even though the Sālimīyah were not a Ṣūfī (mystic) group in the strict sense of the word, they utilized many Ṣūfī terms and ideas in…
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…the Muslim scholar and mystic Sahl at-Tustarī (d. ad 896). The school was named after one of his disciples, Muḥammad ibn Sālim (d. ad 909). Even though the Sālimīyah were not a Ṣūfī (mystic) group in the strict sense of the word, they utilized many Ṣūfī terms and ideas in…
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al-Ḥallāj
His teachers, Sahl at-Tustarī, ʿAmr ibn ʿUthmān al-Makkī, and Abū al-Qāsim al-Junayd, were highly respected among the masters of Ṣūfism. Studying first under Sahl at-Tustarī, who lived a quiet and solitary life in the city of Tustar in Khuzistan, al-Ḥallāj later became a disciple of al-Markkī of…
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His teachers, Sahl at-Tustarī, ʿAmr ibn ʿUthmān al-Makkī, and Abū al-Qāsim al-Junayd, were highly respected among the masters of Ṣūfism. Studying first under Sahl at-Tustarī, who lived a quiet and solitary life in the city of Tustar in Khuzistan, al-Ḥallāj later became a disciple of al-Markkī of…
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Muhammad
Status in the Qurʾān and in post-Qurʾānic Islam of Muhammad
…a speculative bent, such as Sahl al-Tustarī (died 896), describe him as the incarnation of a preexistent being of pure light, the “Muhammadan light” (al-nūr al-Muḥammadī). The Qurʾān also enjoins Muhammad to ask God for forgiveness of his sins (40:55, 47:19, 48:2), and one passage (80:1–10) bluntly reproaches him for…
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…a speculative bent, such as Sahl al-Tustarī (died 896), describe him as the incarnation of a preexistent being of pure light, the “Muhammadan light” (al-nūr al-Muḥammadī). The Qurʾān also enjoins Muhammad to ask God for forgiveness of his sins (40:55, 47:19, 48:2), and one passage (80:1–10) bluntly reproaches him for…
Read More