1 What Ibn Ḫallikan has to say on Šeiḫ ‘Adi:
“The Šeiḫ ‘Adi Ibn Masafir Al-Hakkari was an ascetic, celebrated for the holiness of his life, and the founder of a religious order called after him Al-‘Adawiah. His reputation spread to distant countries, and the number of his followers increased to a great multitude. Their belief in his sanctity was so excessive that, in saying their prayers, they took him for their ḳibla; and imagined that in the next life they would have in him their most precious treasure and their best support. Before this, he had as a disciple a great number of eminent šeiḫs and men remarkable for their holiness. He then retired from the world and fixed his residence among the mountains of the Hakkari, near Mosul, where he built a cell (or a monastery) and gained the favor of the people in that country to a degree unexampled in the history of the anchorites. It is said that the place of his birth was a village called Bait Far, situated in the province of Baalbek, and that the house in which he was born is still visited (as a place of sanctity). He died A. H. 557 (A. D. 1162), or as some say A. H. 555, in the town where he resided (in the Hakkari region). He was interred in the monastery that he had erected. His tomb is much frequented, being considered by his followers one of the most sacred spots to which a pilgrimage can be made. His descendants continue to wear the same distinctive attire as he did and to walk in his footsteps. The confidence placed in their merits is equal to that formerly shown to their ancestor, and like him they are treated with profound respect. Abu Ibarakat ibn Al-Mustawfi notices the Šeiḫ ‘Adi in his history of Arbela, and places him in the list of those persons who visited that city. Muzaffar Ad-Din, the sovereign of Arbela, said that when a boy he saw the Šeiḫ ‘Adi at Mosul. According to him, he was a man of medium size and tawny complexion; he related also many circumstances indicative of his great sanctity. The šeiḫ died at the age of ninety years.”[107]
2 What Mohammed-Amin-Al-‘Omari has to say on Šeiḫ ‘Adi:
“They say that the šeiḫ ‘Adi was one of the inhabitants of Ba‘albek; that he transported himself to Mosul, and from thence to Jabal Laš, a dependency of this city (Mosul), where he resided until his death. They also say that he was from Ḥawran, and that his lineage goes back as far as Marwan bn al-Ḥakam, also that he is Šaraf ad Din Abou´l Faḍail ‘Adi bn Masafir bn Isma‘il bn Mousa bn Marwan bn al Ḥasan bn Marwan bn Mohammed bn Marwan bn al Ḥakam, who died in the year 558. His grave, which is well known, is the object of pious pilgrimages.”
“God tried him by a calamity, to wit, the appearance of a sect of apostates, called the Yezidis, because they claim to be descended from Yezid. They adore the sun and render worship to the devil. The following are some of the precepts of their faith that I found in a small tract made by one of the inhabitants of Aleppo, who knows their religion:
I. Adultery becomes lawful when committed by (mutual) consent.
II. They pretend that when the day of judgment comes, the šeiḫ ‘Adi will put them into a wooden basin which he will place on his head in order to cause them to enter into Paradise while uttering these contemptuous words: ‘I do this (or, I make them do this) by compelling God or in spite of him.’
III. The visit which they pay to the tomb of Šeiḫ ‘Adi is for them a pilgrimage which the devotees accomplished no matter how far distant the country is that they inhabit, and without being concerned about the expenses that the journey carries with it.”[108]
3 What Yasin Al-Hatib-al-Omari-Al-Mausili has to say on Šeiḫ ‘Adi:
“In this year 557 died the saint and the pious devotee ‘Adi bn Musafir, who performed miracles. His death took place in the city Hakkariya, one of the dependencies of Mosul. His origin is from Ba‘albek, which he left in order to come to Mosul, that he might consecrate himself to God. He passed a solitary life on the mountains and in caverns where lions and other wild beasts visited him often.”