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

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

s of his time who was born in

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

. Attracted to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

by the famous madrasahs, Ibn Abbad emigrated there at an early age. He spent most of his life in

, living in different cities (

Salé Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) 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. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...

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

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

Influence

Ibn Abbad has been suggested as a key influence on and precursor to St. John of the Cross, in particular his account of the

dark night of the soul ''Dark Night of the Soul'' ( es, La noche oscura del alma) is a poem written by the 16th-century Spanish mystic and poet St. John of the Cross. The author himself did not give any title to his poem, on which he wrote two book-length commentari ...

, in the work of

Miguel Asín Palacios Miguel Asín Palacios (5 July 1871 – 12 August 1944) was a Spanish scholar of Islamic studies and the Arabic language, and a Roman Catholic priest. He is primarily known for suggesting Muslim sources for ideas and motifs present in Dante's Divin ...

."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 Arabs 14th-century Muslim theologians Sufis of Al-Andalus People from Ronda Moroccan letter writers Moroccan Sufi writers People from Fez, Morocco 14th-century Moroccan writers {{Morocco-writer-stub