Ja'far Al-Dulaf ibn Yunus Jahdar al-Shibli was born in 247 Al-Hijri in Samarra, but he grew up in the city of Baghdad. The name "Al-Shibli" originates from the town his family hailed from, a Khorasani village known as Shiblah. Al-Shibli was from a very aristocratic and noble family; his father worked as the chamberlain for the Abbasid Caliph while his uncle was the head Emir of Alexandria. Al-Shibli was known for his strange habits, this included using salt as kohl so he would not be able to fall asleep easily.
Al-Shibli became one of the disciples under Junayd of Baghdad. Junayd respected Al-Shibli a lot. It is said that, Junayd said, "Do not look at Al-Shibli with the eye by which you look at others, for every people has a crown and the crown of these people is him." Al-Shibli was so famous for his asceticism that he overtook Junayd in being known as one of the greatest Zuhaad of the era. Al-Shibli also had a firm concept of Tawheed, seen in his words, "Majestic is the One known before the limits and before the letters." He eventually became an adherent of the teachings of Imam Malik ibn Anas, hence becoming a follower of the Maliki school of thought. His education in order to gain knowledge lasted a total of twenty years, according to contemporaries such as Ahmad ibn 'Ata.
Al-Shibli was a great memorizer and reciter of the Holy Qur'an. It is known that he had performed at least 13,000 full recitations of the Qur'anic verses in a mosque, yet had only reached a fourth of the Qur'an itself. He did this for three to four years! Even one of his servants told him that she had counted six months in which he had never slept at all! According to another ascetic, Abu Sahl al-Sa'luqi, Abu Bakr al-Shibli loved Allah for His trials, while the rest of humanity loved Allah for His blessings upon them.
One of Al-Shibli's lesser known sayings was, "This side is guarded by me," when speaking about the East side of Baghdad. After Al-Shibli's passing, that specific portion of Baghdad in the East was occupied by a group of Shi'ite invaders, known as the Daylamites, and eventually would be known as the Buwayhids.
Al-Shibli passed away in the year 335 (or 334) Al-Hijri. Al-Shibli was at least eighty five years old at the time of his passing, and some say eighty seven. He was buried in the cemetery of Al-Khayzaraan in Baghdad. As expected, there were ignorants who built a small mausoleum over his grave, and they worshipped there. Indeed, the graves of many great Zuhaad were not safe from being turned into places of shirk and polytheism. His grave is currently stated to be a "pilgrimage spot" of sorts, alongside other mausoleums nearby in the cemetery.
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The Early Zuhaad
Non-FictionA collection of short biographies of early Muslim ascetics, such as Al-Hasan of Basra, Junayd of Baghdad, and Bishr ibn al-Harith al-Hafi. All of these ascetics are firm followers of the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
