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One of the founding figures of early Sufism; he is called sayyid al-tâ'ifa, the master of the group.
His full name was Abu'l-Qâsim al-Junayd b. Muhammad al-Khazzâz al-Qawârîrî. He was born at Baghdad. His family came from Nihâwand and was engaged in the glassware trade, whence the relative name al-Qawârîrî; the epithet al-Khazzâz came from his own occupation in the silk trade.
He studied jurisprudence under Abû Thawr and took lessons in hadith.
His chief teachers in Sufism were his maternal uncle al-Sarî al-Saqatî and Abû Hamza al-Baghdâdî.
He is the figure who fixed the fundamental concepts and principles of Sufism. He held to the line of sahw (sobriety) rather than sukr (intoxication), and joined mystical experience to a strict adherence to the sacred law. His views on tawhîd, on fanâ (the passing away of the self) and on the mîthâq (the primordial covenant) profoundly influenced later Sufism.
He died in 297 (909). It is recorded that close to sixty thousand people attended his funeral.
His Circle of Influence — He was called sayyid al-tâ'ifa and tâwûs al-'ulamâ'; men of letters sought to profit from his speech, philosophers from his thought, and theologians from his learning. Among those he formed are named Abû Muhammad al-Jurayrî, Abû Bakr al-Shiblî, Ismâ'îl b. Nujayd, 'Alî b. Bundâr al-Sayrafî and Abû 'Amr al-Zajjâjî. He has been remembered with reverence in almost all the orders, and influenced such figures as al-Ghazâlî and Ibn al-'Arabî.
His Works — The texts of his that have come down are the al-Rasâ'il, made up of his letters and treatises; the copies are in the Süleymaniye Library. Süleyman Ateş published them under the title Cüneyd-i Bağdâdî: His Life, Works and Letters (Istanbul 1970).
His Tomb and Complex — He was buried in the Shûnîziyya cemetery at Baghdad, near his uncle al-Sarî al-Saqatî.
Differing Scholarly Views
The year of his death is disputed: besides the year 297, the years 296 and 298 are also reported.
His relation to al-Hallâj. Because of his adherence to the sacred law he kept his distance from al-Hallâj; by contrast he chose the way of interpreting the sayings of Bâyazîd al-Bistâmî. The atlas conveys this choice as the source records it and passes no judgement upon the parties (rule #9, principles 3 and 5).
The question of his veiled language. In his letters he used a deliberately obscure language; the source records that even Ibn al-'Arabî found difficulty in understanding him, and that one reason for this was the insufficiency of words before the intensity of the states he underwent.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Süleyman Uludağ · vol. 8, pp. 119-121, entry “CÜNEYD-i BAĞDÂDΔ
The sources for this record are listed below (Mandatory Sources).
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Permanent ID: EA-Z-000275 · this address reaches the same record even if its name changes; use it when citing.
External records: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam article