Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi

Life

Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ali al-Tirmidhi was born in Termez into a scholarly family; his father was a hadith scholar and jurist. The sources disagree on his dates: researchers place his birth around 820–825 and his death anywhere between 869 and 932. His learning earned him the title al-Hakim, “the sage”. As a young man he studied hadith and Hanafi law, made the pilgrimage at 28 and, on his return, turned to Sufism, studying with masters such as Abu Turab al-Nakhshabi. He left a short autobiography, “The Beginning of Abu Abdallah's Path” — a rare document for its time.

Teachings and works

He wrote around eighty works. The best known, “The Seal of the Saints” (Khatm al-awliya), sets out his ideas on the ranks of sainthood and its relation to prophethood. These views angered jurists and officials, and he was forced to move for a time to Balkh and Nishapur. In “Nawadir al-usul” he explored the spiritual meaning of hadith. His thought influenced later Sufism, including Ibn Arabi, and many disciples in Termez carried his teaching forward.

The Termiz Ota complex

He is buried in Termez, where a complex of mausoleum, mosque and khanaqah grew up over his grave between the 11th and 15th centuries; the carved marble tombstone inside is a rare piece of Timurid craftsmanship. Standing on the bank of the Amu Darya beside the ruins of Old Termez, the complex was restored after independence. It is Termez's most important shrine, usually visited together with Old Termez, the Sultan Saodat ensemble and the Kyrk-Kyz fortress.