Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami

Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami
Sheik Ahmad Jami statue in Torbat-e Jam
Born	1048 Namagh, Torshiz, Persia, now Iran
Died	1141 (aged 93) Torbat-e Jam, Khorasan Province, Persia, now Iran
Occupation	Sufi writer
Genre	Shariah
Notable works	Seraj al Sāerin, Konuz al Hekma
Website
www.ahmad-e-jam.com

Ahmad Ibn Abolhasan Jāmi-e Nāmaghi-e Torshizi (Persian: احمد ابن ابوالحسن جامی نامقی ترشیزی‎‎) (born Namagh (now Kashmar), Persia, 1048 – died Torbat-e Jam, 1141) better known as Sheikh Ahhmad-e Jami or Sheikh Ahmad-i Jami or Sheikh Ahmad-e jam or Sheikh-e Jam or simply Ahmad-e Jam was a Persian Sufi, Sufi writer, mystic and poet . His mazar (tomb) is located in Torbat-e Jam.

He was born in 1048 (441 A.H.) in Namagh (now Kashmar) near Torshiz in Khorasan, and counted Jarir Ibn Abdullah, a companion (Sahaba) of Mohammad as one of his ancestors. His parents made their living by farming. Ahmad was tall of stature, strong and courageous; this and a reputation for gruffness led to sources referring to him as "the Colossal Elephant" (Zhandeh Pil). Medieval accounts describe him as having red hair, a wine-colored beard and dark-blue eyes.

Until the age of twenty-two (circa 1070 CE / 463 AH), Ahmad would attend drinking parties with a circle of profligate friends. Ahmad experienced a conversion to the religious life one night after witnessing the miraculous transformation of wine into grape juice. [The Colossal Elephant and his Spiritual Feats, Story 1, Story 74]. After this Ahmad withdrew from his circle of friends. He took up the life of a hermit and lived in seclusion for eighteen years, on the mountain of Nâmaq until about 1082 (475 A.H.), and then on the mountain of Bizd for the next six years until circa 1088 (481 A.H.). [The Colossal Elephant, Stories 9, 10 and 13]. At the age of forty he returned to society to guide the people and make wine-drinkers and sinners to repent. The earliest source about him, The Spiritual Feats of Sadid al-Din Muhammad al-Ghaznavi, gives him the honorific title "Shaykh al-Islam." According to Ghaznavi's Spiritual Feats, Ahmad-e Jâm was not at first appreciated by the people, but after several miraculous healings, his reputation spread and he attracted some followers (see Stories 13–15).