Al-Fudayl ibn ʿIyād held a higher rank than these men. He was afflicted with difficulty passing urine, and the pain overwhelmed him until he said, “By my love for You, grant me relief!” His suffering was then relieved.

Although Ruwaym was one of al-Junayd’s companions, they did not regard him as belonging to this rank. Indeed, the Sufis say that he returned to worldly life and abandoned Sufism. It is even related that Jaʿfar al-Khuldī, al-Junayd’s companion, said: “Whoever wishes to keep a secret should do as Ruwaym did: he concealed his love of worldly life for forty years.” He was asked, “How could that be?” He replied: “Ismāʿīl ibn Ishāq, the judge, assumed the judgeship of Baghdad. A firm friendship existed between them, so he drew Ruwaym close to him and appointed him as his representative at his door. Ruwaym abandoned Sufi clothing and dressed in khazz cloth, fine linen, and dībaqī fabric. He ate delicacies and built houses. It turned out that he had concealed his love of worldly life only while it was beyond his reach; once he attained it, he revealed the love for it that he had concealed.”

Despite this, he—may Allah have mercy on him—was known for his acts of worship and was a jurist who followed the school of Dāwūd.