Muhammad bin Karram and the Karramiyyah

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

وصلى الله تعالى على نبيه الكريم

Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Karram as-Sijistani رحمة الله عليه (d. 255 H) was a great theologian and zahid (ascetic) of this Ummah. It is important to understand that Ibn Karram and his followers, the Karramiyyah, attributed themselves to Ahl us-Sunnati wal-Jama’ah and to the Hanafi madhhab. Ibn Karram was a disciple of the great saint Ahmad bin Harb رحمة الله عليه. Yahya bin Yahya at-Tamimi is reported to have said about him:

‌إِنْ ‌لَمْ ‌يَكُنْ ‌أَحْمَدُ ‌بنُ ‌حَرْبٍ ‌مِنَ ‌الأَبْدَالِ ‌فَلَا ‌أَدرِي ‌مَنْ ‌هُمْ

“If Ahmad bin Harb is not from the Abdal then I do not know who they are!” (Sir A’lam an-Nubala; v.11, p.34)

Ibn Karram was an apocalyptic preacher and emigrated with some of his close followers to Al-Quds (Jerusalem), where he passed away. However, it must be admitted that Ibn Karram was a controversial figure. He was accused of heresy by most of the Sunni theologians and scholars. Ibn Karram was from among the mutakallimin who mastered ilm al-kalam. He taught that Allah is a jism (body), but unlike the bodies of creation. He differed with the other mutakallimin in saying that Allah is a unique, eternal body without beginning Who was once devoid of a’rad اعراض (incidental attributes). For this reason he and his followers, the Karramiyyah, were considered heretical Mujassimah (those who believe God is corporeal, possessing a physical body). But the intent of the Karramiyyah with the term jism is that Allah is قائم بنفسه “established by Himself”. The Karramiyyah were also accused of the heresy of Irja for they said that faith is established on the tongue alone, and not from the heart or the actions of the limbs. The polemic against them was that according to their definition of faith a munafiq (hypocrite) would have to be considered a Believer. However, this was merely a semantical difference, because the Karramiyyah intended by this definition to define what a Believer is from the Earthly perspective, and not the reality of a Believer in the sight of Allah. The Karramis were concentrated in the land of Khorasan, at one time in history being strong in the towns of Nishapur, Ghazni and Ghor. But today this religious tendency has vanished. They were simply absorbed into the mainstream of Hanafi Maturidis of present day Afghanistan. The Karramiyyah were an apocalypticist and pietist movement within Sunni Islam. Their differences from the other schools of Sunni theology were relatively minor, which is why I don’t consider them a heretical movement. If it is accepted that they are not Sunni, it must still be acknowledged that they are closer to the mainstream Sunnis, including Atharis, Asharis and Maturidis, than to the truly non-Sunni factions like the Shi’ah, Mu’tazilah and Khawarij. Adh-Dhahabi said about Muhammad bin Karram:

‌مُحَمَّدُ ‌بنُ ‌كَرَّامٍ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ المُبْتَدِعُ

شَيْخُ الكَرَّامِيَّةِ كَانَ زَاهِداً عَابِداً رَبَّانِيّاً بَعِيْدَ الصِّيْتِ كَثِيْرَ الأَصْحَابِ

Muhammad bin Karram as-Sijistani, the innovator. Shaikh of the Karramiyyah, he was a zahid (ascetic), abid (worshiper), rabbani, notorious, with many followers.

(Sir A’lam an-Nubala; v.11, p.523, #146)

Despite his declaring Ibn Karram an innovator, adh-Dhahabi admitted that he was also a pious worshiper, known for his zuhd and closeness to Allah. Historically, the Karramiyyah were the ones who pioneered the institution of the Khanaqah within the Ummah, which became essential to Sufism.

Interestingly, Shaikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah رحمة الله عليه not only praises Ibn Karram, but says that he was a defender of the Sunni madhhab:

‌وقام ‌أيضا ‌أبو ‌عبدالله ‌محمد ‌بن ‌كرام ‌بسجستان ‌ونواحيها ‌ينصر ‌مذهب ‌أهل ‌السنة ‌والجماعة والمثبتة للصفات والقدر وحب الصحابة وغير ذلك ويرد على الجهمية والمعتزلة والرافضة وغيرهم

And likewise rose Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Karram in Sijistan and its vicinity, supporting the doctrine of ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, affirming the [divine] Attributes, Qadar, love of the Sahabah, etc. He refuted the Jahmiyyah, the Mu’tazilah, the Rafidah, and other than them.

(Sharh al-Isbahaniyah; p.378)