al-Harawi, Abu al-Hasan

Abu al-Hasan al-Harawi (542–611 AH / 1147–1215 CE) was an ascetic traveler and author of Herati origin who was born in Mosul and settled in Aleppo, known for his pilgrimage guide al-Isharat ila Ma'rifat al-Ziyarat Tarikh Arbil+1.

Life and travels

Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Abi Bakr ibn Ali al-Harawi was born in Mosul in 542 AH to a family originally from Herat Tarikh Arbil. In his early life, he worked as a woodturner before dedicating himself to extensive wandering across the Islamic world, Byzantine territories, and the Mediterranean Tarikh Arbil+1. His travels earned him the enduring epithet al-Sa'ih ("the Traveler") Shadharat al-Dhahab fi Ak…+1. During his journeys, he visited Erbil, where he eulogized its judge, and heard hadith in Mecca from Abd al-Mun'im ibn Abd Allah al-Furawi Tarikh Arbil+1. Later scholars who received written transmission licenses (ijaza) from him included Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri and Ibn al-Sabuni, who both received authorizations sent from Aleppo in Jumada al-Ula 608 AH al-Takmila li-Wafayat al-…+1.

He presented an anthology of sermons titled al-Khutab al-Harawiyya to the Abbasid caliph al-Nasir li-Din Allah, who awarded him a decree granting nominal authority over market inspection (hisba) throughout the realms, though al-Harawi never assumed administrative office Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. In his later years, he settled in Aleppo under the patronage of the Ayyubid ruler al-Malik al-Zahir Ghazi, who held him in high esteem and visited him annually Tarikh Arbil. Al-Zahir established a Shafi'i madrasa and a Sufi hospice (ribat) for him outside Aleppo's walls, where al-Harawi taught Takmilat Ikmal al-Ikmal -…+1.

Standing and reception

Al-Harawi became famous for inscribing his name and sayings on the walls of nearly every shrine, city gate, and notable monument he visited, a habit so pervasive that his handwriting became proverbial in contemporary Arabic literature; the poet Ibn Shams al-Khilafa composed verses comparing ubiquitous begging letters to al-Harawi's script across land and mountain Wafayat al-Ayan+1.

Biographers described him as intelligent, eloquent, and pleasant company, while noting his unusual pursuits Tarikh Arbil+1. Ibn Wasil and al-Dhahabi reported that he possessed expertise in sleight of hand (sha'badha) and natural magic or talismans (simiya), which had aided his advancement in the court of al-Zahir Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. Beyond his guide to sacred sites, al-Isharat ila Ma'rifat al-Ziyarat, he composed al-Tadhkira al-Harawiyya fi al-Hiyal al-Harbiyya, a specialized treatise devoted to military stratagems Hadiyat al-Arifin Asma al…+1.

Death

Al-Harawi died in old age during the middle ten days of Ramadan 611 AH (January 1215 CE) in Aleppo Takmilat Ikmal al-Ikmal -…+1. He was buried beneath a domed mausoleum at his madrasa outside the city Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.