Hussein ibn Mansur al- Hallaj , 857-922, Arabic-speaking Persian Muslim mystic and poet popularly known among Muslims as "the martyr of mystical love." Born a Sunni, he traveled in Persia, India, and Turkistan, and experimented with a number of religious philosophies, including Sufism, Manichaeism, and Buddhism. An ecstatic mystic, his notorious description of his union with God, ana al-haqq [Arab.,= I am the Truth], led to charges of heresy. His involvement in political intrigues lead to his arrest in 913 by the authorities in Abbasid Baghdad. Though released shortly thereafter, his enemies...
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