دار بيبليون
A Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Abu Yazid in Bistam/Lwiis Saliba’s Conference on Zoom Wednesday 30 March 2022
For a long time I have been dreaming of visiting the shrine of my Master Tayfûr Abu Yazid Al-Bistami, in Bistam/Iran, and here is the golden opportunity that presents itself after a long wait ().
I travelled by train from Mashhad, where Imam Reza’s shrine is located, on the morning of May 24, 2009, from 7:10 a.m. to reach Shahrud at 11:30 a.m. Bastam is about ten kilometres from Shahrud. Shahrud is the closest station to Bastam. I took the taxi to Bastam, and the driver showed me the shrine of Abu Yazid Al-Bistami, where he lived and where his grave is today. But what I read on the door was that it was the shrine of Imam Zadeh, that is, Muhammad, the son of Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq. I did not believe what the driver said after seeing the inscription, so he got out of the car and took me inside where he showed me the shrine of Abu Yazid Al-Bistami and his grave, inside the Imamzadeh shrine. I still remember to this day that first look I took at the mausoleum of Bayazid. There was a group of visitors and servants of the shrine gathered around, and what was written on it was: Here lies Mawlana Abu Yazid Al-Bistami. It is difficult to describe my feelings after reading the name and realising that I was standing in front of the place where Abu Yazid’s body lies. I rejoiced, my chest relaxed and I felt a wave of happiness sweep through my being. However, the driver could not wait, so I had to go with him to the hotel, drop my luggage, get my room, and take a short break, which I started with a bath and ablutions. Then I walked to the shrine, which was not far from the hotel.
It is difficult for me to describe my feeling in front of the mausoleum of my Master Tayfour, because it is a moment I have always dreamed of for many years! And here it is, after a long wait. I entered the mosque of Abu Yazid Al-Bistami, the mosque and the shrine belong to the Sunnis, while the outer courtyard and the shrine of Imam Zadeh are for the Shiites. I prayed in the Abu Yazid mosque, then sat down for a meditation session and meditated for about half an hour. I went out and was invited to enter the hermitage of Abu Yazid Al-Bistami, which is only open before the prayer. A wonderful little hermitage! So I went in and prayed. But there are many visitors, and I had to give way to others, because the hermitage can only accommodate a small number of visitors, not exceeding the number of fingers of one hand.
I left the shrine of Abu Yazid to visit the shrine of Abu al-Hasan al-Kharuqani, which is about half an hour away by taxi. Then I went back to him. I found a group of young Turkmen, members of a Sufi order, the Naqshbandi, who had entered Abu Yazid’s mosque and wanted to perform the Maghrebi prayer there. The mosque, as I have already said, belongs to the Sunnis, as does the mausoleum of Abu Yazid, and in it they perform their prayers. As for the outer courtyard and the shrine of Imam Muhammad bin Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq, they belong to the Shiites, and each one prays separately. The Sunnis do not join the Shiites in their prayers, nor do the latter do what the former do not do. I went out into the hall and the Shiites were preparing to perform the Maghreb prayer. This was a few minutes after the Sunni establishment of this prayer in the mosque. And as in the shrine of Imam al-Ridha in Mashhad, they spread the carpets and people flocked from all sides to pray, so I entered between the rows and joined the prayer with them. I had learned to establish the prayer with each group in its own way. After the collective prayer in the courtyard ended, I returned to the hermitage of Abu Yazid, where the Turkmen youth with whom I had shared the prayer inside the mosque were standing nearby. They looked at me with great displeasure and disappointment, having seen me praying with their Shia brothers. The joy they had shown a few minutes ago when I had shared their prayer had completely evaporated. Now they didn’t know which clan to put me in! I smiled at them and laughed under my breath, thinking to myself: if only they knew that I had nothing to do with these sectarian affiliations and differences! Then I walked back to the hotel.
The next day, May 25, 2009, I chose to fast on the second and last day of Bayazid. I went to the shrine with the intention of visiting the Bayazid hermitage again and spending as much time as possible there. So I entered it before the prayer. The hermitage consists of two rooms, both of which are mihrabs. The atmosphere is pleasant and cool, as the walls are thick and insulated. The refreshment touched the mind and soul, as if some of Abu Yazid’s blessings had descended on me. I was so moved that I was about to cry. I prayed two rak’a and then sat before the mihrab. I couldn’t stay long because some young men came into the hermitage wanting to pray, and the place was narrow, so I had to leave. Then I returned a second time and prayed two rak’a. Then I went out, because a woman was waiting for me to go in and pray.
And here I am for the third and last time today in the hermitage of Abu Yazid. I looked for the person in charge of the hermitage, he opened the door and said: You have only four minutes. I asked him insistently to extend it to ten minutes. We spoke by signs, he only knew Persian, so he agreed and closed the hermitage door on me. I prayed two rak’a, then knelt down and began a meditation session. It was a deep meditation that is difficult to describe. The inner room of the hermitage had a refreshing atmosphere, perhaps because of the thick walls. However, the most important thing was that it had retained many blessings from the time of Abu Yazid. Was it the same cell in which Tayfur Bistami lived?
Perhaps, but it had been renewed since his time. Meditation was ideal in this cell, as it kept the frequencies and vibrations. I closed my eyes and meditated. And then something happened to me which I could not understand or explain. I saw myself in a body other than my own and in other clothes, and this was during the time of Abu Yazid, as if I were Abu Yazid’s servant, or as if I were that boy who could not keep Abu Yazid’s secret. So Abu Yazid advised him to go and tell the camels in the desert what he saw and heard, and to refrain from revealing it to humans.
What does this contemplative vision mean? Does it explain part of the deep connection I feel with this place and its patron? Perhaps… Anyway, my contemplation did not last long, much to my regret, because the time allotted to me by the hermitage manager was not more than ten minutes, and during this meditation they told me, several times, that I had to leave. So I had to leave this beloved hermitage although I had not yet finished my meditation. So I went to the door with joy in my heart and soul. The feeling I had at that moment was that I had discovered something of my deep past and that I had explored some of the secrets of what I believe connects me to Abu Yazid. This impression made me feel deeply relieved. So I attended the congregational prayer at noon. The Shi’ites have a custom of praying the dawn and noon prayers together, and I returned to the hotel at about two in the afternoon to pack my bags.
Before I conclude my presentation on Bistam and its Patron Abu Yazid Al-Bistami, I would like to mention his pupil Abu Al-Hasan Ali bin Jaafar Al-Kharqani (351-425 AH / 963-1033 AD) ( ). His mausoleum is also in Bistam, about half an hour away by car, as I said. I had two consecutive visits to this place, the first one on 24 May 2009 and the second one the next day, just before going to Shahrud station, leaving Bistam. By the way, about these two visits, I quote from my travel diaries the following: “Some of those I met at the shrine of Abu Yazid told me about the shrine of Abu Al-Hasan Al-Kharqani, near the shrine of Al-Bistami, and suggested that I visit it by taxi. So that’s what I did. As the shrine is isolated and the road leading to it is also isolated, I was afraid that my driver and his companion would play some trick on me on the way. To avoid this ambiguous situation, I had to ask the hotel to call a taxi known to him, so that my journey with him would be his responsibility. And this is what I did the next day on my way back to Shahrud station in Tehran.
The Al-Kharqani shrine is in a beautiful, secluded spot on a hill. You walk up the stairs. At the entrance you are greeted by a memorial to this mystic, holding a book and sitting between two lions that accompanied him into this isolation, as it is told. He had no other companion. And in the place of the shrine, there is an icon of Al-Kharqani with these two lions.
The place is beautiful inside and out. I noticed that some women had set up a tent near the wall of this shrine to sleep in. They were praying when I passed by them. I would have liked to spend more time meditating and praying in this mausoleum. But the approaching darkness, and my fear of the darkness and what might be encountered there, prevented me from doing so. So I just prayed two rak’ahs in the shrine. I returned in the same taxi that had brought me, and the two men were waiting for me.
This short visit did not satisfy my desire and eagerness to know more about the man who loved Abu Yazid and was his disciple, even though they were not from the same period. So I returned to this shrine the next day. I stipulated that the driver who was going to take me to Shahrud station should first take me to the shrine of Kharqani. I was lucky, because on my second visit I met the same group of Turkmen with whom I had prayed in the Abu Yazid mosque! Again they prayed, and I prayed with them again. And they were happy about it. It was as if they had forgiven me for my “mistake” of the day before. And one of them started to recite some verses of the Koran in a melodious voice that contained a tinge of sadness. They sat around the grave of Al-Kharqani and I sat with them. It was a wonderful and unforgettable session. The recitation of the Qur’an, followed by the recitation of some supplications, evoked deep feelings in me. What I regretted, however, was that I did not stay long enough, as I had to leave for the train station.
What I regretted that day was not finding in the Abu Yazid shrine, nor in the Al-Kharqani shrine, at least a brief overview that tells a bit of the history of each of these two famous Sufi shrines!
I had one last, brief view of the shrine as I was taxiing to the station in Shahrud town. One last quick visit was as if the Patron of the shrine was inviting me to do so. The taxi driver begged me to take his wife with him to this city, and I agreed. Fortunately, his wife owned a small shop at the entrance of the Abu Yazid shrine. As soon as the driver stopped to take her with us, I seized this golden opportunity, got out of the taxi and ran to the shrine to say goodbye and thank his Patron for the unforgettable time I had spent there. It was a night journey by train from Shahrud to the capital, Tehran, with the blessing of Abu Yazid and his ‘subtle’ presence that filled the soul and consciousness with joy, happiness, understanding and certainty.
Finally, here is a poem that describes my pilgrimage and especially that crucial moment of this pilgrimage to the shrine of Abu Yazid al-Bistami:
Abu Yazid… O my beloved Master
At last, in your shrine, I met you.
Our meeting was a journey through time
Between now and this moment.
A reminiscence with closed eyes,
Took me back to the old days
Or perhaps even to our past days.
*******
Abu Yazid these walls and their evocations
Still keep your vibrations
This mihrab still speaks, to each visitor
Of your ancient presence
Between subtle and dense.
Your eternal presence, so dear to my heart!
*******
Abu Yazid:
These minutes of meditation
In your cell, deep inside,
were for me a blessed moment
Between eternity… and even infinity
And for the space, even of a moment
Made me fly out of time
In an ascent to you
A beginning of a journey that brought me back to the SELF
As if I were then your faithful servant
Who was amazed to experience this fervour.
How could he keep it a secret?
It was at your command that he went
Into the desert to tell the camels the key
Of what he learned from your own secrets.
***********
Abu Yazid, I have come to ask you
To accompany me?
This is an enterprise I would like to keep
For the rest of my days, looking for you
As if I were searching for myself!
In your sanctuary when I met you
A little of myself I found again!
********
Abu Yazid:
A pilgrimage to you was my route
The first day I went to the shrine
The second day, I saw the Patron of the shrine
But I did not contemplate the shrine…
So, will there come a day for good
When I will see neither the shrine nor its Patron?
Bistam/Iran on 25 May 2009.