The Biography of Imam ibn al-Qayyim
In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
This great Imam is well-known amongst both the early scholars and the later scholars as ibn Qayum alJawziyyah. Some shorten it and simply say ibn alQayyim. The biographical reference works are in agreement that the one who became famous with the title "Qayyim al-Jawziyyah" was his father: Shaykh Abu Bakr ibn Ayyub az-Zuri. He was the Qayyim, or director, of al-Madrasah al-Jawziyyah (the Jawzi school) in Damascus for a long period of time. Therefore, he was called "Qayyim al-Jawziyyah." Afterwards, his offspring and his grandchildren became famous with this ascription.
Qayyim, in the language, means someone who is in charge of directing and managing something. As for its definition according to its technical usage, it does not go beyond that. It has the same meaning as Nazir or Wasi so a person can be called the Nazir of a school, its Wasi, or its Qayyim. They all have the same meaning. It is sufficient source of his pride that he should be in charge of this school because of the great influence it had amongst all the schools of that time.
