Abū Turāb al-Nakhshabī, ʿAskar b. Ḥuṣayn (or ʿAskar b. Muḥammad b. Ḥuṣayn) (d. 245/859) was one of the most important Sufi shaykhs of Khurāsān in the 3rd/9th century. His nisba indicates that he came from Nakhshab (Nasaf). He was celebrated for his knowledge (ʿilm), spiritual chivalry (futuwwa), trust in God (tawakkul), asceticism (zuhd) and pious awe (waraʿ). It is said that such was his trust in God that he crossed the desert without taking any provisions. Ibn al-Jallāʾ relates, ‘I have met 600 Sufi shaykhs, of whom four outshone the rest, with Abū…