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Taqī -ad-Dīn Abu 'l- Abbās Ahmad ibn Abd al - alīm ibn Abd as -Salām Ibn Taymiya al -
arrānī ( ϲϧ΍ήΤϟ΍ ΔϴϤϴΗ ϦΑ΍ Ϳ΍ ΪΒϋ ϦΑ ϡϼδϟ΍ ΪΒϋ ϦΑ ΪϤΣ΃ αΎΒόϟ΍ ϮΑ΃ ϦϳΪϟ΍ ϲϘΗ ), (January 22, 1263 ± 1328) was a
famous Muslim scholar born in Harran, located in what is now Turkey, close to the Syrian
border. Because of the Mongol invasion, ibn Taymiyyah's family moved to Damascus in
1268 , which was then ruled by the Mamluks of Egypt. I t was here that his father delivered
sermons from the pulpit of the Umayyad Mosque, and ibn Taymiyyah followed in his
footsteps by studying with the great scholars of his time, among them a woman scholar by
the name Zaynab bint Makki from whom he learned H adith.
Ibn Taymiyyah was an industrious student and acquainted himself with the secular and
religious sciences of his time. He devoted special attention to Arabic literature and gained
mastery over grammar and lexicography as well as studying mathematics and calligraphy.
He also acquired an extensive knowledge of the Islamic disciplines of the Qur'an and the
Hadith. He also studied theology (kalam), philosophy, and Sufism which he later rejected. He
also refuted the Shia Raafidah as well as the Christians. His student Ibn ul -Qayyim al
Jawziyyah authored the famous poem "O Christ -Worshipper" which unapologetically
examined the dogma of the Trinty propounded by many Christian sects. Ibn-tayimmiah
confronted challenges on all fronts to defend the pure Deen brought by Prophet Mu hammad
which may be cited as:
1) Spread of heretical beliefs and sorcery amongst the Muslims due to the efforts of the
people of innovation and desires from amongst the Shiites, the Rafidah, the Sufis
and the Baatinis
2) The spread of rigid blind -following of Madhh abs causing deep sectarian divides
3) The invasions of the crusaders from the west.
4) The treachery of the Fatimites in their alliance with the crusaders against the Islamic
state.
5) Corruption of kings and rulers, and their distance from Islam
6) The Tartar oppress ion from the east, and their senseless massacres and
destruction..

Ibn Taymiyya was a staunch defender of Sunni Islam based on strict adherence to the
Qur'an and authentic sunna (practices) of the Prophet Muhammad. He believed that these
two sources contain all the religious and spiritual guidance necessary for our salvation in the
hereafter. Thus he rejected the arguments and ideas of both philosophers and Sufis
regarding religious knowledge, spiritual experiences and ritual practices. He believed that
logic is not a reliable means of attaining religious truth and that the intellect must be
subservient to revealed truth. His challenge to the leading scholars of the day was to return
to an understanding of Islam in practice and in faith, based solely on the Qur'an and sunna.
Ibn Taymiyya placed primary importance on revelation as the only reliable source of
knowledge about God and about a person's religious duties towards him. The human
intellect ('aql) and its powers of reason must be subservient to revelat ion. According to Ibn
Taymiyya, the only proper use of 'aql was to understand Islam in the way the Prophet and
his companions did, and then to defend it against deviant sects. When discussing the nature
of God, he argued, one must accept the descriptions f ound in the Qur'an and sunna and
apply the orthodox view of not asking how (bi -la kayf) particular attributes exist in God. This
means that one believes in all of the attributes of God mentioned in the Qur'an and sunna
without investigating the nature of t hese, because the human mind is incapable of
understanding the eternal God. For example, one accepts that God is mounted upon a
throne above the heavens without questioning how this is possible. This same attitude is
held for all of God's attributes such a s his sight, his hearing or his hand.

This view is very much opposed to the philosophical view of God as First Cause and as
being devoid of attributes. Thus the philosophical argument that the oneness of God
precludes a multiplicity of attributes was not acceptable to Ibn Taymiyya, because God says
that he is one and that he has various attributes. This denial of the attributes of God based
on rationalism wa s adopted by the Mu'tazila ( Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila), of whom Ibn
Taymiyya was especially critical. Even the more orthodox views of the Ash'aris, who
accepted seven attributes basic to God, were criticized by Ibn Taymiyya. However, he did
not go so far as to declare these two groups heretical, for they deviated only in their
interpretation of God's natu re. But he did not spare the label of apostate for those
philosophers such as al -Farabi and Ibn Sina who, in addition to the denial of God's
attributes, also denied the createdness of the world and believed in the emanation of the
universe from God.

Ibn Taymiyya attacked the idea of emanation not only in its philosophical but also in its
mystical context, as adopted by the Sufis . He felt that the beliefs and practices of the Sufis
were far more dangerous than were the ideas of the philosophers. The latter were a small
elite group that had little direct effect on the masses. The Sufis, however, were widespread
and had a large popular following. However, Ibn Taymiyya saw a link between the ideas of
the philosophers and those of the Sufis, even though apparent ly they had little in common.

The main tenet of Sufi thought as propounded by Ibn al -'Arabi is the concept of the oneness
of existence (wahdat al -wujud). Through this belief, Sufis think they are able to effect a
merging of their souls with God's essence. That is, when God reveals his truth to an
individual, that person realizes that there is no difference between God and the self. Ibn
Taymiyya saw a link between the Sufi belief of wahdat al -wujud and the philosophical
concept of emanation. Although the ph ilosopher would deny that a human soul could flow
into, and thus be, the First Cause, the mystical experience of the Sufis took them beyond the
realm of intellectual discourse. According to the mystic, a merging occurred but could not be
expressed in rational terms. For Ibn Taymiyya, both the philosopher and the mystic were
deluded, the former by reliance on a limited human intellect and the latter by excessive
emotions.

Ibn Taymiyya's argument against the Sufis is on two levels. First, there is the theological
position that God has attributes and that one of these attributes is God as creator. Ibn
Taymiyya believed that the Qur'an firmly establishes that God is the one who created,
originated and gave form to the universe. Thus there exists a distinction between God the
creator and the created beings. This is an absolute distinction with no possibility of merging.
He then went on to say that those who strip God of his attributes and den y that he is the
creator are just one step away from falling into the belief of wahdat al -wujud. This is the
basis for the second part of his argument. Ibn Taymiyya believed that a Sufi is simply
someone who is overcome by an outburst of emotion. For examp le, someone may deny
God's attributes but could then be overwhelmed by a feeling of love for God. However, the
basis of that person's knowledge is not the authentic information from the Qur'an, and so
their weak intellectual foundation collapses with the o nslaught of emotion. For according to
Ibn Taymiyya, sense perception and emotions cannot be trusted, and the likelihood of being
led astray by them is compounded when one has a basis of knowledge which is itself errant
and deviant. One holds a proper belie f in God and maintains a proper relationship with him,
Ibn Taymiyya argued, by establishing a foundation of knowledge based on the Qur'an and
authentic sunna. Ibn Taymiyah was praised by the Sufi Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn
Qawwam, who said: "Our Sufism becam e sound only at the hands of Ibn Taymi yah."
Ibn Taymiyyah strongly opposed borrowing from Christianity or other non -Muslim religions.
In his text On the Necessity of the Straight Path (kitab iqtida al -sirat al-mustaqim) he
preached that the beginning of M uslim life was the point at which `a perfect dissimilarity with
the non-Muslims has been achieved.` To this end he opposed the celebration of the Prophet
Muhammad's birthday or the construction of mosques around the tombs of Sufi "saints"
saying: `Many of them [the Muslims] do not even know of the Christian origins of these
practices. Accursed be Christianity and its adherents!` Ibn Taymiya argued that salaf
affirmed that belief in Tawheed entails believing in Allah's Lordship that He alone is the
Rabb, and secondly one must worship Him and Him alone. Belief that Allah alone is worthy
of worship is central to Islam and it is crucial reason why pagans of Muhammad's time
rejected him even though they believed Allah as Rabb and affirmed His existence. However,
they opposed Muhammad when it came to the second point, and that is to worship Allah
alone, and repudiate completely worship, supplication, seeking assistance, and deification of
any other object.

Since he was a strong proponent of Tawhid, ibn Taymiyyah op posed giving any undue
religious honors to shrines (even that of Jerusalem, Al -Aqsa), to approach or rival in any way
the Islamic sanctity of the two most holy mosques within Islam, Mecca (Masjid al Haram )
and Medina (Masjid al -Nabawi.) , Ibn Taymiya uphel d that anyone who rejected the
Intercession of Prophet Muhammad on the day of Judgment had indeed disbelieved. He also
affirmed that Allah will allow the martyrs, scholars, memorizers of Qur'an, and angels to
intercede on behalf of the believers on the Day of Judgement. However, what he
condemned was asking them while they are no longer alive for their intercession since two
conditions of Intercession are that (1) Allah chooses the intercessor, and (2) chooses the
people on whose behalf intercession is poss ible. Therefore, Allah should be asked when
intercession is sought. Ibn Taymiyyah states that types of intercession that are legal are: (1)
Intercession through the Names and Attributes of Allah, (2) intercession through one's good
deed, and (3) intercessi on through requesting the righteous people who are alive for dua. He
further explains that on the day of Judgement, Muhammad and everyone else will be alive
and therefore, their intercession can be sought just like in this world, we ask each other to
make dua for the other. Ibn Taymiyyah rejected the notion that saints and prophets should
be invoked for intercession while they have departed from this world. He argues that Allah is
the Most Merciful, and seeking intercession and intermediaries towards forgiv eness implies
that a saint or a prophet is more merciful and understanding than Allah.

He also came into conflict with many of his fellow Sunni scholars because of his rejection of
the rigidity of the schools of jurisprudence in Islam. He believed that the four accepted
schools of jurisprudence had become stagnant and sectarian, and also that they were being
improperly influenced by aspects of Greek logic and thought as well as Sufi mysticism. Ibn
Taymiyyah also censured the scholars for blindly conforming to the precedence of early
jurists without any resort to Qur'an & Sunnah. He contended that although juridical
precedence has its place, blindly giving it authority without contextualization, sensitivity to
societal changes, and evaluative mindset in light of Qur'an & Sunnah can lead to ignorance
and stagnancy in Islamic Law. Ibn Taimiya likened the extremism of Taqleed (blind
conformity to juridical precedence or school of thought) to the practice of Jews who took their
rabbis as gods besides Allah. Ibn Taimiyyah was not a dhahiri (those who take the
apparent/literal meaning in matters of jurisprudence thus rejecting analogical reasoning,
purpose, and wisdom behind the rulings as a source of understanding and deducing Islamic
Law). Ibn Taimiyyah referred to all four major school of thoughts but presented the opinion
which he thought was the strongest given the evidence.

Ibn Taymiyyah believed Shia Islam to be a heresy and developed a formal refutation of
Shi'ism that is popular with modern day Sunni opponent s. He sanctioned violence against
Shia and has been said to "set the tone" for much later conflict between the two
movements.He also rejected the Shi'ite dogma of the Imamate on the grounds that there is
no mention of Imamate in the Quran or in the establi shed Sunnah of the Prophet.

Due to Ibn Taymiya's outspokenness, he was imprisoned several times for conflicting with
the 'ijma of jurists and theologians of his day. Ibn Taymiyyah was first arrested after he took
a stance against a Christian who cursed the Prophet (salallahu alaihe wa -sallam) and
violated his honor. Ibn Taymiyyah's enemies accused him with disturbing the peace, and
complained to the sultan. In 1306 Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned in the citadel of Cairo for
eighteen months on the charge of anthropomorphism. He was incarcerated again in 1308 for
several months. Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned on orders from Cairo in the citadel of
Damascus for supporting a doctrine that wou ld curtail the ease with which a Muslim man
could traditionally divorce his wife.
He led the resistance of the Mongol invasion of Damascus in 1300. What has been called
Ibn Taymiyyah¶s most famous fatwa was issued against the Mongols (or Tartars), in the
Mamluk's war. Ibn Taymiyyah declaring jihad upon the Mongols not only permissible, but
obligatory, based this ruling on the grounds that the Mongols could not be true Muslims
despite the fact that they had converted to Sunni Islam because they ruled using ' man-made
laws' (their traditional Yassa code) rather than Islamic law or Shari'ah, and thus were living in
a state of jahiliyya, or pre -Islamic pagan ignorance. His presence in the battlefield had a
great influence in defeating the Tartars and conquering S haqaab, and this was the last ever
battle between the Tartars and Muslims.

Ibn Taymiyyah believed that the first three generations of Islam (Salaf) ±
[[Muhammad](peace be upon him)], his companions, and the followers of the companions
from the earliest gen erations of Muslims ± were the best role models for Islamic life. Their
practice, together with the Qur'an, constituted a seemingly infallible guide to life. Any
deviation from their practice was viewed as bidah, or innovation, and to be forbidden.

May Allah be pleased with the life of this great man & guide us in following the path laid by
our beloved Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) ! (Aameen)