Junayd baghdadi biography of christopher
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This constant worry about others getting a hold of his ideas caused Junaid to become very protective of his writings.
3In Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifa al-Safwa 1(2):271, chapter on al-Junayd (#296). I examined my conscience and searched: Where did calamity befall me? 1426 AH.
One notable incident highlights Junayd al-Baghdādī’s exceptional insight from childhood.
His passing drew an immense outpouring of love and reverence, with an estimated sixty thousand people gathering to attend his funeral and pay tribute to the great master of taṣawwuf.
As he lay on his deathbed, Junayd al-Baghdādī gave an unusual instruction: he asked that all the written sayings attributed to him be buried.
About The Author
Imām Junayd al-Baghdādī, a prominent figure of the 3rd century Hijrī, is widely regarded as one of the foremost Ṣūfī mystics in Islamic history. As mentioned, Junaid has always been difficult to read for scholars because most of his writings have been lost to time. All of these stages help one to achieve fana.
Abū al-ʿAbbās ibn Surayj, one of his most notable disciples, famously remarked when asked about the source of his knowledge:
“This is by the blessing of my sittings with Junayd al-Baghdādī.”
Imām Junayd passed away in 297 AH in the city of Baghdād. Whoever struggles against these four, Allah will guide them to the ways of His good pleasure which lead to His Paradise, and whoever leaves jihad, then he leaves guidance in proportion to his leaving jihad.
Al-Junayd said: "[The verse means] Those who have striven against their desires and repented for our sake, we shall guide them to the ways of sincerity.
His basic ideas deal a progression that leads one to “annihilate” oneself so as to be in a closer union with the Divine. Put yourself at ease."
He replied: "O Abu Muhammad! He is widely revered as the uncontested master of the Ṣūfīs of Baghdād, and many prominent Ṣūfī orders—such as the Shādhilī and Rifāʿī—trace their chains of spiritual transmission (silsilah) back through him, affirming his profound influence on the development of Islamic mysticism.
Though much of his literary output was lost to the ravages of time, Rasā’il al-Junayd remains the most prominent among the thirty-one works attributed to him.
I stood among the people until they buried the dead man. This statement makes it seem like
Junaid was writing to a specific sect of the elite that he described earlier. Therefore, the most perfect of people are those of them who struggle the most for His sake, and the most obligatory of jihads (afrad al-jihad) are the jihad against the ego, the jihad against desires, the jihad against the devil, and the jihad against the lower world.
The elite that he refers to are the elect, or “a tightly-knit group of ‘brethren’ that Junaid designates by such phrases as ‘the choice of believers’ or ‘the pure ones.’ They play significant roles in the community of believers…”. The very next morning, Junayd began his teaching circles at the al-Manṣūr Mosque in Baghdād.
At the time, mosque study circles mainly focused on fiqh, ḥadīth, and ʿulūm al-Qur’ān (Qur’anic sciences).
Junaid divides up the state of fana into three parts: “1) the passing away from one’s attributes through the effort of constantly opposing one’s ego-self (nafs); 2) passing away from one’s sense of accomplishment, that is, passing away from ‘one’s share of the sweet deserts and pleasures of obedience’; and 3) passing away from the vision of the reality ‘of your ecstasies as the sign of the real overpowers you’”.