Part 1

Ibn Taymeeyah's Letters from Prison Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 Letter OneThe letter of Shaykh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah to his mother, ..................................... 8 Letter TwoThis is the first of two letters especially written for the benefit of his students and brothers in Damascus.................................................................................................................... 11 The letter of Shaykh ul Islam from his prison in Alexandria to his companions ......................... 15 Letter Seven: The letter of the Imaam of the Muttaqeen, Ibn Taymeeyah to the King of Cyprus19 Introduction All praises are due to Allaah. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for (His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allaah from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. W'hoever Allaah guides, no one can misguide. And whoever Allaah misguides, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allaah. And I bear witness that Muhammad (SAAS) is His servant and messenger. In their search for worthy examples, people tend to look to the past, hoping to resurrect the legacy of those great and honourable men who contributed greatly to the Ummah through their knowledge, wisdom, and courage. It is said that the people agonise when they find no one of significance to look up to. Fortuitously, society does not solely consist of the living, but also the dead. The greatest of the dead are still alive amongst us. One of those unique men in lslaamic heritage was the dignified Scholar and valiant Mujaahid: Ahmad bin 'Abdul-Haleem bin Taymeeyah. He was one of the most eloquent and truthful men in analysing the lslaamic mentality and methodology. Yet when we return to the lslaamic heritage, we should not be solely and sentimentally attached to the past, without it materializing and forming the basis and drive for our present and future. This is what we hope to achieve in this book. Much of the heritage of Shaykh ul-lslaam IbnTaymeeyah has been published; yet it is still worth appreciating the age in which he lived and some of the features that it enjoyed, and crucially, the reasons behind the sending of the letters that are the subject of this book. The letters are predominantly extracted from two books: Majmoo' ul-Fatawa, and al-'Uqood ud-Durreeyah, and, except the letter to the Christian king, are from his time in prison. Ibn Taymeeyah was born on 10th Rabi al-Awwal 661 AH (1263 CE) in the town of Harran in the province of Jazeerah 1. He was a descendent of a very well known and established family, characterized by excellent memories and beauty of expression. His father, the Shaykh 'AbdulHaleem was a scholar of hadith, and his grandfather was Majdudeen Abul-Barakat, the author 1 Situated north of Syria and Iraq today. of Muntaqa al-Akhbar 2. Says the grandson, "Our grandfather was phenomenal in memorizing hadith, narrating them and in knowing people's schools of thought." lbn Taymeeyah was born in an age of great cultural and political upheaval. It was only five years prior to his birth that Baghdad was ravaged and mercilessly destroyed by the Tatars, and his family had to flee to Damascus when he was young. The savagery of those invaders had undoubtedly given the boy a deep hatred of oppression, and further instilled in him courage to fight the enemy. The age of lbn Taymeeyah was also characterized by the rise of many disciplines. The underlying themes of these sciences, were their depth, breadth, and their authors' attempts to fuse the rising sciences together. Indeed, many of the books resembled encyclopaedias. lbn Taymeeyah had benefited from such an environment, but at the same time he did not content himself to that which he was taught. Instead, he was diligent in learning but maintained an independence of thought. This meant that he was not restricted to one teacher or school of thought, and thereby he gained from all, and produced novel ideas. This search for knowledge led him to be familiar with many of his age's cultures and creeds. He wrote extensively on beliefs, explaining the true one and rebuking those who disagreed; but tafseer (explanation of the Qur'aan) remained the subject that always captivated him. "I might read a hundred interpretations of one verse, but would still ask Allaah's guidance in its comprehension saying, 'Oh teacher of Aadam and lbraaheem teach me!' I would also go to the deserted masjids and ask Allah, 'Oh teacher of lbraaheem!