Abul Hasan Hankari

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Abul Hasan Ali bin Mohammad Qureshi Hashmi Hankari, known as Abul Hasan Hankari, was a Sunni Muslim mystic, scholar, theologian, and jurist. He was born in 1018 CE (409 AH) in Hankar, a village near Mosul in northern Iraq, and died on February 1, 1093 CE (1 Muharram 486 AH) in Baghdad.

A respected teacher of the Islamic sciences, he studied with many scholars and travelled widely—even from Rome to Spain and the Hejaz—to gain knowledge. He was famed for deep spiritual practice, including long prayers, fasting, and constant worship, and was believed to perform miracles. He earned the title Shaikh-ul-Islam for his immense learning and piety and received spiritual guidance from Bayazid Bastami.

Hankari helped bring logic into Islamic education and is considered an important early figure in the Sufi lineage connected to Junaid al-Baghdadi. After his death, his mantle passed to Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi, who led the spiritual chain, with his son Tahir serving as a junior successor. His followers spread to various regions, including South Asia. His shrine is in Hankar, Baghdad.