Abu Muhammad Ruwaym bin Ahmad was an early Muslim jurist, ascetic, wali and reciter of the Qur'an. He was one of the second generation of practitioners of Sufism ( tasawwuf).[Lloyd Ridgeon, Morals and Mysticism in Persian Sufism: A History of Sufi-Futuwwat in Iran, pg. 32. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2010.][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.]
Life
Ruwaym was an early teacher of
Ibn Khafif, another famous mystic.
[Ignác Goldziher, The Zahiris, pg. 106. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1971.] Ruwaym has been described as both being on poor terms with Ibn Khafif's other teacher, Junayd of Baghdad,
[N. Hanif, Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis: Central Asia and Middle East, pg. 200. 1st ed. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons, 2002. ] and with being a "friendly rival" and associate of Junayd's.
[John Renard, The A to Z of Sufism, pg. xxvi. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.][Renard, pg. 205.] 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.
[Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, pg. 59. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011.]["Culture and Learning in Islam," taken from The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, vol. 5, pg. 438. Ed. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu. Beirut: UNESCO, 2003.] Ruwaym spent some time as the deputy of the chief judge of
Baghdad, his home town.
[Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Sufism: The Formative Period, pg. 22. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.]
Ruwaym died in the year 303 of the Islamic calendar,[Goldziher, pg. 105.] corresponding to the year 915 on the Gregorian calendar.[Carl W. Ernst, Words of Ecstasy in Sufism, pg. 29. Albany: SUNY Press, 1983. ][Jawid Ahmad Mojaddedi, The Biographical Tradition in Sufism: The Ṭabaqāt Genre from Al-Sulamī to Jāmī, pg. 95. Richmond: Curzon Press, 2001.][Karamustafa, pg. 21.][Franz Rosenthal, "Sweeter Than Hope": Complaint and Hope in Medieval Islam, pg. 56. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1983.]
Views
One of the first practitioners of
Sufism, Ruwaym viewed the practice as a resignation of the empirical self.
[Hanif, Introduction, pg. vii.] Tawhid, under Ruwaym's definition, was the annihilation of humanity and the overarching importance of the divine.
[ 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.][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.] Less emphasis was placed on absolute trust in God for all things, and more on stewardship and responsibility.[ His influence within Sufism was strong early on, with many of Baghdad's early Sufis having been disciples of his.][Karamustafa, pg. 58.] Ruwaym held a negative view of Mansur Al-Hallaj, initially believing in his miracles though later rejecting such claims.[Louis Massignon, The Passion of al-Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr of Islam. Trans. Herbert W. Mason. Pg. 148. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.]
In terms of Muslim Fiqh, Ruwaym was a , following the school of Dawud al-Zahiri.[Karamustafa, pg. 73.] 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.[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. ]
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.[Ernst, pg. 163.] 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.[Schimmel, pg. 235.][Ibn Abbad al-Rundi, Ibn ʻAbbād of Ronda: Letters on the Sūfī Path, pg. 130. Trns. John Renard. Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1986.]
Quotes
The following were recorded by Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi, translated by Arthur John Arberry:
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"Satisfaction is the anticipation of the decrees (of God) with joy." (Kalabadhi 93)
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"Poverty is the non-existence of every existent thing, and the abandonment of every lost thing." (Kalabadhi 86)
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"The meaning of repentance is, that thou shalt repent of repentance."
[See also Schimmel, pg. 110.] (Kalabadhi 83)
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The repentance of conversion is "that thou shouldst fear God because of the power He has over thee." (Kalabadhi 83)
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The repentance of repose is "that thou shouldst be ashamed before God because He is near thee." (Kalabadhi 83)
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"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.
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