Ibn Abbad al-Rundi () (in full, Abu 'abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Abi Ishaq Ibrahim An-nafzi Al-himyari Ar-rundi) (1333–1390) was one of the leading

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

s of his time who was born in

Ronda Ronda () is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliffside location and a deep canyon that ca ...

. Attracted to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

by the famous

madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...

s, Ibn Abbad emigrated there at an early age. He spent most of his life in

, living in different cities (

Salé Salé (, ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Along with some smaller nearby towns, Rabat and Salé form together a single m ...

, Marrakesh, Fes...), and was buried in Bab al-Futuh (south-eastern gate) cemetery in

Fes Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to the 2024 census. Located to the nort ...

. Ibn Abbad has been suggested as a possible influence on St. John of the Cross in the work of Miguel Asín Palacios."Un precursor hispano musulman de San Juan de la Cruz", which was later reprinted in ''Huellas del Islam'' (1941), at 235-304. An English translation was made by Douglas and Yoder as ''Saint John of the Cross and Islam'' (New York: Vantage 1981).

References

Sources

Ibn Abbad of Ronda: Letters on the Sufi Path, transl. John Renard (New York 1986)

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100526023120/http://w3.horizons-maghrebins.univ-tlse2.fr/-No61-.html "Saint-Jean de la Croix, Ibn ‘Abbâd de Ronda et la survivance en Espagne de la mystique musulmane en langue castillane jusqu’à la fin du XVIe siècle"], a Horizons Maghrébins. L'héritage de l'Espagne des trois cultures, n° 61 (2010), pp.63-69, from Xavier Casassas Canals.
Ibn ‘Abbâd, modéle de la Shâdhiliyya
a (La Shâdhiliyya -- Une voie soufie dans le monde, éd. E. Geoffroy, Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose, 2004.), from Dr. Kenneth L. Honerkamp. 1333 births 1390 deaths 14th-century Arab people 14th-century Muslim theologians Sufis from al-Andalus People from Ronda Moroccan letter writers Moroccan Sufi writers People from Fez, Morocco 14th-century Moroccan writers {{Morocco-writer-stub