Part 2

It was amazing when he mentioned an issue over which there was a difference of opinion and when he gave evidence and decided the strongest opinion - he could perform ytihad due to his fulfilling its conditions. I have not seen one who was quicker than he at recalling a verse which pertained to the issue that he derived from it, nor a man who was stronger in recalling texts and referring them to their sources. The Sunnah was in front of his eyes and upon the tip of his tongue with eloquent phrases and an open eye.

He was a sign from the signs of Allah in ¢afsir and expounding upon it. With regards to the foundation of the religion and knowledge of the differing opinions [on an issue], he was unequalled - this along-

side his generosity, courage and lack of attention to the joys of the soul.

Quite possibly his legal rulings in the various sciences reached three hundred volumes, indeed more and he was always saying the truth for the sake of Allah, not cating for the blame that came to him.

Whosoever associates with him and knows him well aceuses me of falling short with regards to him. Whosoever opposes him and differs with him accuses me of exaggeration, and I have been wronged by both parties - his companions and his opponents.

He was white skinned with black hair and a black beard with a few grey hairs. His hair reached his earlobes and his eyes were eloquent tongues. He had broad shoulders and a loud, clear voice with a fast recitation. He was quick to anger but overcame it with patience and forbearance.

J have not seen his like for supplications [to Allah], his seeking succour with Him and his abundant concern for others. However I do not believe him to be infallible, rather I differ with him on both fundamental and subsidiary matters, for he - despite his vast learning, extreme courage, fluid mind and regard for the sanctity of the religion - was a man from amongst men. He could be overcome with sharpness and anger in discussion, and attack his opponents [verbally] hence planting enmity in their souls towards him.

If only he were gentle to his opponents then there would have been a word of agreement over him - for indeed their great scholars bowed to his learning, acknowledged his ability, lack of mistakes and

Lbn Taymiyyah

conceded that he was an ocean having no limits and a treasure having no equivalent...

He used to preserve the prayers and fasts, glorifying the laws outwardly and inwardly. He did not give legal rulings out of poor understanding for he was extremely intelligent, nor out of lack of knowledge for he was an overflowing ocean. Neither did he play with the religion but derived evidence from the Quran, Sunnah and Qiyds (analogy), he proved [his stances] and argued following the footsteps of the Imams who preceded him, so he has a reward if he erred and two rewards if he was correct.

He fell ill in the castle [wherein he was imprisoned] with a serious disease until he died on the night of Monday 20° Dhi-/-Qa‘dab, and they prayed over him in the Magid of Damascus. Afterwards many talked about the number that attended his funeral prayer, and the least number given was fifty thousand.”

The Shaykh of our Shaykhs, al-Hafiz Abt al-Yu'mari {ibn Sayyid an-Nas] said in his biography of ibn Taymiyyah, ‘al-Mizzi encouraged me to express my opinion on Shaykh al-Islam Tagi ad-Din. I found him to be from those who had acquired a fortune of knowledge in the sciences that he had. He used to completely memorise and implement the Sunan and Abthar (narrations). Should he speak about fafsir, he would carry its flag, and should he pass a legal ruling in igh, he knew its limits. Should he speak about a hadith, he was the seat of its knowledge and fully

® Tbn Haj, [under the biography of ibn Taymiyyah].

The acclaim of Taqi ad-Din is more renown then that of the Sun and titling him Shaykb al-Islam of his era remains until our time upon the virtuous tongues. It will continue tomorrow just as it was yesterday. No one refutes this but a person who is ignorant of his prestige or one who turns away from justice...

..those of his stances that were rejected from him were not said by him due to mere whims and desires and neither did he obstinately and deliberately persist in them after the evidence was established against him. Here are his works overflowing with refutations of those who held to éajsim (anthropomorphism), yet despite this he is a man who makes mistakes and is also correct. So that which he is correct in - and that is the majority - is to benefited from and Allah’s Mercy should be sought for him due to it, and that which he is incorrect in should not be blindly followed. Indeed he is excused for his mistakes because he is one of the Jmdms of his time and it has been testified that he fulfilled the conditions of ytthad...

From the astonishing qualities of this man was that he was the severest of people against the People of

'* Tid,

bn Taymiyyah

Innovation, the Rawafidah, the Hululiyyab and the Ittithadiyyab. His works on this are many and famous and his fatawd on them cannot be counted, so how the eyes of these innovators must have found joy when they heard those who declared him to be a kafir And how delighted they must have been when they saw those who did not declare him to be a &afir in turn being labeled afin It is obligatory upon the one who has donned the robe of knowledge and possesses intelligence that he consider the words of a man based upon his well-known books or from the tongues of those who are trusted to accurately convey his words. Then he should isolate from all of this what is rejected and warn against it with the intention of giving sincere advice and to praise him for his excellent qualities and for what he was correct in, as is the way of the scholars.

If there were no virtues of Shaykh Taqi ad-Din except for his famous student Shaykh Shams ad-Din ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, writer of many works, from which both his opponents and supporters benefited, then this would be a sufficient indication of his [ibn Taymiyyah’s] great position. And how could it be otherwise when the Shafit Jwdms and others, not to speak of the Hanbalis, of his time testified to his prominence in the [Islamic] sciences...'*

The least he would do when he heard something was to memotise it and then busy himself with learning it. He was intelligent and had much committed to memoty, he became an /mam in tafsir and every-

'’ From Ibn Hajr’s endorsement of Radd al. Wafir contained at the end of the book.

thing linked to it and knowledgeable in igh. Indeed it was said that he was more knowledgeable of the Jfigh of the madbhabs than the followers of those very same madhhabs in his time and other than his time. He was a scholar in Usa/ and the branches of the religion, in grammar, the language and other textual and intellectual sciences... no scholar of a science would speak to him except that he thought that that science was the specialty of ibn Taymiyyah. As for hadith then he was the carrier of its flag, a Hafiz, able to distinguish the weak from the strong, fully acquainted with the narrators....'°

He also said,

He was, may Allah have mercy upon him, from the greatest of scholars but also from those who err and are correct. However his errors with respect to his correct rulings were like a drop in a huge ocean and they are forgiven him as is authentically reported by Al-Bukhari,

When a ruler makes a ruling, and he is correct then he has two rewards, and if he has erred then he has one reward.

I have not seen the likes of him and his own eye had not seen the likes of himself. I have not seen one who was more knowledgeable than he of the Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger, nor one who followed them more closely.”

Tbn Kathir, [14/118-119].

" Bahjatul Baitar, Hayat Shaykh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah [p. 21].

Lbn Taymiyyab

He is the Jmdm, the legal Jurist, the Mujtahid, the Scholar of Hadith, the Hafiz, the Explainer of the Qur’an, the Ascetic, Taqi ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Shaykh al-Islam, the most knowledgeable of the knowledgeable. It is not possible to exaggerate his renown when he is mentioned and his fame does not fequire us to write a lengthy tract on him. He, may Allah have mercy upon him, was unique in his time with respect to understanding the Qur’dn and knowledge of the realities of faith...,’°

His Sayings

Shaykh al-Islam was famous for stating profound statements, below is a selection of some of them.

= Every punishment from Him is pure justice and every blessing from Him is pure grace.”

" Whoever desires everlasting bliss, let him adhere firmly to the threshold of servitude”

= The Lord loves to be loved.”!

* Guidance is not attained except with knowledge and cor-

ibn Rajab, [2/387-392]. " Maimit Fatawa (10/85) *" ibn al-Qayyim, Madarj [1/531]

*| Maja‘ Fatawa [1/54]

rect direction is not attained except with patience.”

In this world there is a paradise, whoever does not enter it will not enter the Paradise of the Hereafter.”

The one who is [truly] imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from Allah and the captivated one is the one whose desires have enslaved him.*

This whole religion revolves around knowing the truth and acting by it, and action must be accompanied by patience.?°

Worship is founded upon the Legal Law and following it, not upon ones base desires and innovation.”

If you do not taste the sweetness of an action in your heart, suspect it, for the Lord, Exalted is He, is the Appreciative.””

The more the servant loves his Master, the less will he love other objects and they will dectease in number. The less the servant loves his Master, the more will he love

2 Majmua' Fatawa [10/40]

3 ibn al-Qayyim, a/-Wabil [p. 69]

* Tbn al-Qayyim, a/-Wabil {p. 69}.

5 Majma\ Fatawa (10/38]

2% Majo‘ Fatéwa [1/80]

”” ibn al-Qayyim, al-Madanj [2/68]

Lbn Taymiyyab

other objects and they will increase in number.”*

Perpetually is the servant either the recipient of a blessing from Allah, in which case he is need of gratitude; or he is the perpetrator of a sin, in which case he is in need of repentance; he is always moving from one blessing to another and is always in need of repentance.”