Abul Hasan Hankari

Abul Hasan Hankari (Arabic: ا بوالحسن ہنکاری‎‎) Abu Al Hasan Ali Bin Mohammad Qureshi Hankari (born in 409 Hijri, in the town of Hankar), town of Mosul (city of northern Iraq, some 400 km north of Baghdad), died 1st Moharram 486 AH (1 February 1093 C.E), in Baghdad, (1077–1166 CE), was a Muslim mystic also renowned as one of the most influential Muslim scholar, philosopher, theologian and jurist of his time and Sufi based in Hankar.

He got education from his father. He was a man acquainted with the hidden secrets and was known for his Karamats. He would fast for 3 consecutive days and complete 2 whole Quran between Isha and Tahajjud. He devoutly stayed in worship day and night. He had the habit of practicing excessive religious exercises and recitals. He traveled across many countries to get religious knowledge. From Rome to Spain to Harmain, etc. he met numerous scholars and shaikhs from whom he began to receive instruction in Fiqh and muhaddiths from whom he memorized ahadith by heart. He even met Shaikh Abu al-Layla Misri and heard hadith from him. All Hafiz (memorizers of Quran), Muhaddiths (narrators of Hadiths), Qaries (reciters of Quran with correct accent and pronunciation) are given a chain of credible narrators linking to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He gained exoteric and esoteric education from the most prominent and influential scholars of his time. He even got spiritual beneficence from Bayazid Bastami. After sometime, he went back to his homeland. Hence, the people around him gave him a lot of respect and he gained fame. He earned the title of Shaikh-ul-Islam due to the unmatched religious knowledge and beneficence of the time. Countless seekers of Allah benefitted from him as he was an Arif Kamil. He was the Imam of Shariat and Tariqat of his time. He wore the khirqa of khilafat from Mohammad Yousaf Abu al-Farah Tartusi who was the Qutb of that time.

The period between the 11th and 14th centuries is considered to be the "Golden Age" of Arabic and Islamic philosophy by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he has an important role to play in it as he was one of those early Sufis who brought logic into the Islamic seminary.

Abul Hasan Hankari was the descendant of Mohammad's paternal uncle: Abul Hasan Hankari son of Shaikh Mohammad Jaffar son of Shaikh Mohammad Yousaf son of Shaikh Mohammad son of Shaikh Umar Sharif son of Shaikh Sharif Abdul Wahab son of Abu Sufyan Zaid son of Haris son of Abdul Muttalib son of Hashim. His descendants later spread to the State of Bahawalpur, Azalah, Jhang, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Lahore, etc.

Saintly Lineage

The spiritual heritage of Faqr was passed on to Abul Hasan Hankari though the silsila of Junaid al-Baghdadi which makes him a spiritual descendant of the Islamic prophet Mohammad in the following order:

1. Muhammad
2. 'Alī bin Abī Ṭālib
3. al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī
4. Habib al Ajami
5. Dawud Tai
6. Maruf Karkhi
7. Sirri Saqti
8. Junaid Baghdadi
9. Abu Bakr Shibli
10. Abdul Aziz bin Hars bin Asad Yemeni Tamimi
11. Abu Al Fazal Abdul Wahid Yemeni Tamimi
12. Mohammad Yousaf Abu al-Farah Tartusi
13. Abu-al-Hassan Ali Bin Mohammad Qureshi Hankari

The Murshid of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi spent 18 years at the service of Abul Hasan Hankari and led the silsila after him.

Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi was the khalifa-e-akbar (senior spiritual successor)
Tahir (son of Abul Hasan Hankari) was khalifa-e-asghar (junior spiritual successor)

Abul Hasan Hankari influenced a lot of scholars and Islamic scholars alike most of whom have a notable name in the history such as:

1. Hujjat-ul-Islam Imam Mohammad Ghazali Tusi (505 H/1111 CE);
2. Hafiz Darqatni;
3. Sartaj Nehyan Ibn Jani;
4. Sartaj Bilfar Badee
5. Qadwari Shaikh Al-Hanafia (428H);
6. Avicenna (427H);
7. Imam Behqi;
8. Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani (471H);
9. Shaikh Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani.

• "Ghazali, al-". The Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 December 2012. 
• "Avicenna (Persian philosopher and scientist) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
• Imam Bayhaqi
• Gibb, H.A.R.; Kramers, J.H.; Levi-Provencal, E.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1960]. Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition). Volume I (A-B). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 1130. ISBN 9004081143. 
• S.H. Nasr, "Iran" in History of Humanity: From the Seventh to the Sixteenth Century, edited by Sigfried J. de Laet, M. A. Al-Bakhit, International Commission for a History of the Scientific and Cultural Development of Mankind History of mankind, L. Bazin, S. M. Cissco. Published by Taylor & Francis US, 2000. pg 368

He died on 1st Moharram 486 H, 1 February 1093 CE during the Abbassid Caliphate. His shrine is the village of Hankar, Baghdad.