Amir b. 'Abd al-Qays al-'Anbari (ascetic of Basra)

Amir b. 'Abd al-Qays al-'Anbari was a Basran ascetic (tabili). ¹

His way of life attracted the attention of Humran b. Aban, the agent of 'Uthman, who denounced him to the caliph. He was interrogated and exiled to Damascus, where he died, probably during the caliphate of Mu'awiya. The events fall between 29 and 35/650-6. ¹

His austerity seems to have consisted in abstinence, and he despised women. The measures taken against him may have been dictated by a wish to prevent the advocacy of celibacy at a time when Islam needed fighting men. Ibn Qutayba, by contrast, says his puritanism was suspected of Kharijism. ¹

He is remembered not only as an eloquent man whose sayings were preserved, but also by Sufism, which counts him among the principal zuhhad and attributes to him a number of sayings. ²