Bishr al Hafifi

Bishr al Hafifi (767 - 842) was a Persian Sufi ascetic. Al Hafifi means "the barefooted". Apparently Bishr took his appellation seriously. He was born near Merv (Marw) in Iran, and was originally part of a bandit gang. However, he converted to Sufism, vowed to lead an exemplary, ascetic life and did so. Sometimes he was near starvation. He lived near Baghdad which is in modern Iraq.