Background
The name Bastami means "from the city of Bastam". Bayazid's grandfather was a Zoroastrian who converted to Islam. His grandfather had three sons, Adam, Tayfur and 'Ali. All of them were ascetics. Bayazid was born to Tayfur. Not much is known of his childhood, but Bayazid spent most of his time in isolation in his house and the mosque. Although he remained in isolation, he did not isolate himself from the Sufi realm. He welcomed people into his house to discuss Sufism. Bayazid also led a life of asceticism and renounced all worldly pleasures in order to be one with God. Ultimately, this led Bayazid to a state of "self anhiliation", which, according to Sufism, is the only state a person could be in order to attain union with God. Bayazid became known as the first "intoxicated" Sufi because of the openness of his expressions he felt towards God (shatahat). Bayazid is regarded as being one of the most influential mystics due to the fact of how controversial he was at the time.
Read more about this topic: Bayazid Bastami
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