He was the son of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir. His father was a pious man. But he himself was accused of engaging in philosophy and ʿilm al-nujūm (the science of astrology). Books on this subject were seen alongside him. He served as governor in many provinces. It is said about him and others like him: “Their ancestors were very good, but what bad children those ancestors left behind!”
One day his father saw him wearing a garment made of Bunāra cloth and said: “We heard al-Bukhārī and Muslim. We listened to their ḥadīths. Where is Imam al-Bukhārī, and where is this disbeliever? This is a very strange situation.”
Rukn al-Salām was a friend of Abū’l-Qāsim, the son of Abū’l-Faraj b. Jawzī. Abū’l-Qāsim was also a fāsiq (transgressor). The two would gather to drink wine and enjoy the company of beardless boys. May Allah curse them both.