Ruwaym

Abu Muhammad Ruwaym bin Ahmad was an early Muslim jurist, ascetic, saint and reciter of the Qur'an. He was one of the second generation of practitioners of Sufism (tasawwuf).[1][2]

Ruwaym
Personal
Born
Baghdad
Died915
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceZahiri
CreedAthari
MovementSufism
TariqaMalamatiyya
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced

Life

Ruwaym was an early teacher of Ibn Khafif, another famous mystic.[3] Ruwaym has been described as both being on poor terms with Ibn Khafif's other teacher, Junayd of Baghdad,[4] and with being a "friendly rival" and associate of Junayd's.[5][6] In addition to his students, Ruwaym was a devoted family man, an attachment to the material world which put him in contrast to many other Sufi mystics at his time.[7][8] Ruwaym spent some time as the deputy of the chief judge of Baghdad, his home town.[9]

Ruwaym died in the year 303 of the Islamic calendar,[10] corresponding to the year 915 on the Gregorian calendar.[11][12][13][14]

Views

One of the first practitioners of Sufism, Ruwaym viewed the practice as a resignation of the empirical self.[15] Tawhid, under Ruwaym's definition, was the annihilation of humanity and the overarching importance of the divine.[11] In fact, Ruwaym's humility was to the extent that shame was a virtue as no matter where a person went God is near, and a human being should be ashamed in such a situation.[16] Less emphasis was placed on absolute trust in God for all things, and more on stewardship and responsibility.[6] His influence within Sufism was strong early on, with many of Baghdad's early Sufis having been disciples of his.[17] Ruwaym held a negative view of Mansur Al-Hallaj, initially believing in his miracles though later rejecting such claims.[18]

In terms of Muslim jurisprudence, Ruwaym was a Zahirite, following the school of Dawud al-Zahiri.[3][19] He was one of the school's important early jurists, being remembered by later adherent Ibn Hazm as one of the top leaders of the school.[20]

Works

Although Ruwaym was a Sufi, he was also critical of other practitioners due to perceived errors. His book Errors of the Ecstatics was a compilation of what he viewed as such errors.[21] He also warned Muslims from the mainstream against arguing with Sufis about metaphysical matters of which the mainstream had little knowledge, viewing that such a person would lose faith and that such matters should be left to experts in Sufism.[22][23]

Quotes

The following were recorded by Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi, translated by Arthur John Arberry:

  • "Satisfaction is the anticipation of the decrees (of God) with joy." (Kalabadhi 93)
  • "Poverty is the non-existence of every existent thing, and the abandonment of every lost thing." (Kalabadhi 86)
  • "The meaning of repentance is, that thou shalt repent of repentance."[24] (Kalabadhi 83)
  • The repentance of conversion is "that thou shouldst fear God because of the power He has over thee." (Kalabadhi 83)
  • The repentance of repose is "that thou shouldst be ashamed before God because He is near thee." (Kalabadhi 83)
  • "Sincerity is lifting one's regard from the deed." (Kalabadhi 90)

Commenting on the meaning of intimacy, Ruwaym observed: (Kalabadhi 99)

Thy beauty is my heart's delight,
And holds my mind unceasingly:
Thy love hath set me in Thy sight,
Estranged from all humanity.
Thy recollection comes to me
With friendly tidings from the Friend:
"Behold, as He hath promised thee
Thou shalt attain and gain thy end."
Wherever Thou mayst chance to light,
O Thou who are my soul's intent!
Thou comest clearly to my sight,
And in my heart art immanent.

Citations
  1. Lloyd Ridgeon, Morals and Mysticism in Persian Sufism: A History of Sufi-Futuwwat in Iran, pg. 32. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2010.
  2. Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, translated by William McGuckin de Slane. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. Sold by Institut de France and Royal Library of Belgium. Vol. 3, pg. 209.
  3. Ignác Goldziher, The Zahiris, pg. 106. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1971.
  4. N. Hanif, Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis: Central Asia and Middle East, pg. 200. 1st ed. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons, 2002. ISBN 8176252662
  5. John Renard, The A to Z of Sufism, pg. xxvi. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.
  6. Renard, pg. 205.
  7. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, pg. 59. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011.
  8. "Culture and Learning in Islam," taken from The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, vol. 5, pg. 438. Ed. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu. Beirut: UNESCO, 2003.
  9. Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Sufism: The Formative Period, pg. 22. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.
  10. Goldziher, pg. 105.
  11. Carl W. Ernst, Words of Ecstasy in Sufism, pg. 29. Albany: SUNY Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87395-917-5
  12. Jawid Ahmad Mojaddedi, The Biographical Tradition in Sufism: The Ṭabaqāt Genre from Al-Sulamī to Jāmī, pg. 95. Richmond: Curzon Press, 2001.
  13. Karamustafa, pg. 21.
  14. Franz Rosenthal, "Sweeter Than Hope": Complaint and Hope in Medieval Islam, pg. 56. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1983.
  15. Hanif, Introduction, pg. vii.
  16. Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi, The Doctrine of Sufis: Translated from the Arabic of Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi, pg. 83. Trns. Arthur John Arberry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
  17. Karamustafa, pg. 58.
  18. Louis Massignon, The Passion of al-Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr of Islam. Trans. Herbert W. Mason. Pg. 148. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.
  19. Karamustafa, pg. 73.
  20. Samir Kaddouri, "Refutations of Ibn Hazm by Maliki Authors from al-Andalus and North Africa." Taken from Ibn Hazm of Cordoba: The Life and Works of a Controversial Thinker, pg. 541. Eds. Camilla Adang, Maribel Fierro and Sabine Schmidtke. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2013. ISBN 9789004243101
  21. Ernst, pg. 163.
  22. Schimmel, pg. 235.
  23. Ibn Abbad al-Rundi, Ibn ʻAbbād of Ronda: Letters on the Sūfī Path, pg. 130. Trns. John Renard. Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1986.
  24. See also Schimmel, pg. 110.
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