Here’s the English translation:


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*Tazkira Sufiya-e-Kiram Series*

*4) Sayyid al-Ta'ifa Hazrat Junayd al-Baghdadi (215–298 AH)*


*Biography —*

His full name is Abul Qasim al-Junayd ibn Muhammad ibn al-Junayd al-Khazzaz al-Qawariri. His forefathers were residents of Nahavand. His parents took up residence in Baghdad, and Hazrat Junayd al-Baghdadi was born in this city in 215 AH. From childhood until the age of 20 he acquired religious sciences. After completing his education he inclined toward Tasawwuf. At that time Harith al-Muhasibi was also in Baghdad as Sheikh al-Mashayikh and the preeminent Sufi. Accordingly, Junayd kept his company and benefited from him for 10 years.


Junayd says: “One day my maternal uncle, Hazrat Sirri al-Saqati, asked me, ‘These days, in whose gathering do you sit?’ I mentioned the name of Hazrat Harith al-Muhasibi. He said, ‘Do acquire the science of Tasawwuf from him, but avoid his rational sciences and those theological debates he teaches his students in refutation of the Mu‘tazila. I pray to God that He make you a _muhaddith_ who is also acquainted with the science of Tasawwuf, not a Sufi who is ignorant even of the science of Hadith.’”


Junayd kept his uncle’s advice in mind all his life. Accordingly, he himself says: “I first acquired Hadith and Fiqh, and after that I kept the company of al-Muhasibi, and this is the secret of my success. Because the science of Tasawwuf must remain subordinate to the Qur’an and Sunnah. A person who has not memorized the Qur’an before Tasawwuf, who has not obtained certification in Hadith, has no right to guide others.”


This very distinction made Junayd _Sayyid al-Ta’ifa_ [Leader of the Group], and for this reason both Sufis and scholars accepted him as their leader. His learning and excellence can be gauged from the fact that one of his contemporaries, the Mu‘tazilite Abul Qasim al-Kalawi, said in a gathering: “I have seen in Baghdad a Sheikh of the Path whose like I have not seen anywhere. Literary men acquire knowledge of language from him, stylists learn the art of composition from him, philosophers benefit from his thoughts, poets acquire the beauties of the art of poetry from him, scholars take subtle points from him. And in addition to these things, his discourse is above the minds and knowledge of the listeners.” Junayd passed away in Baghdad in 298 AH.


Junayd says: “When I came of age in the house of my maternal uncle Hazrat Sirri al-Saqati, from that time words of Tasawwuf began to reach my ears. When I was 7 years old, one day some Sufis were sitting with my uncle discussing the subject of _shukr_. I was playing in the courtyard. My uncle called me over and asked, ‘Can you tell what it means to give thanks to God?’ I replied, ‘_Shukr_ means that a person should not disobey the God who bestows upon him every kind of blessing. The one who is disobedient is ungrateful.’ Hearing this answer, my uncle said, ‘Son, I pray that your tongue may become a blessing of God for you.’” In any case, Hazrat Sirri al-Saqati was Junayd’s first sheikh in Tasawwuf.[gratitude]

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