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Arab rioters for Saddam in Gaza City.

The Religious and Moral Doctrine of Jihaad
by Shaykh ul-Islaam Taqi-ud-Deen Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah

Taymiyyah has considerable influence amoung the Islamists and is quoted extensively. He was born in January 1263 CE and died in September 1328 CE. Following are some quotes that are representative of the Islamist style of argumentation.

The penalties that the Sharee'ah has introduced for those who disobey Allah and His Messengers are of two kinds:

1) The punishment of those who are under the sway [of the Imam], both individuals and collectivities, as has been mentioned before [in the chapter on criminal law], and;

2) The punishment of recalcitrant groups, such as those that can only be brought under the sway of the Imam by a decisive fight.

That then is the jihad against the unbelievers (kufaar), the enemies of Allah and His Messenger. For whoever has heard the summons of the Messenger of Allah, (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), and has not responded to it, must be fought, "until there is no persecution and the religion is Allah’s entirely." [Qur'an., 2:193, 8:39]

When Allah sent His Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) and ordered him to summon the people to His religion, He did not permit him to kill or fight anyone for that reason before the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) emigrated to Medina.

Thereafter, He gave him and the Muslims permission with the words:

"Leave is given to those who are fought because they were wronged - surely Allah is able to help them - who were expelled from their habitations without right, except that they say ‘Our Lord is Allah.’ Had Allah not driven back the people, some by the means of others, there would had been destroyed cloisters and churches, oratories and masjids, wherein Allah’s name is much mentioned. Assuredly Allah will help him who helps Him - surely Allah is all-strong, all-mighty - who, if We establish them in the land, perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and bid to honour, and forbid dishonour; and unto Allah belongs the issue of all affairs." [Qur'an., 22:39-41]

"Prescribed for you is fighting, though it be hateful to you. Yet it may happen that you will hate a thing which is better for you; and it may happen that you love a thing which is worse for you. Allah knows and you know not." [Qur'an., 2:216]

"Say: ‘If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your clan, your possessions that you have gained, commerce you fear may slacken, dwellings you love - if these are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and to struggle in His way, then wait till Allah brings His command; Allah guides not the people of the ungodly.’" [Qur'an., 9:24]

"The believers are those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then have not doubted, and have struggled with their possessions and their selves in the way of Allah; those - they are the truthful ones." [Qur'an., 49:15]

"Then, when a clear sura is sent down, and therein fighting is mentioned, thou seest those in whose heart is sickness looking at thee as one who swoons of death; but better for them would be obedience and words honourable. Then when the matter is resolved, if they were true to Allah, it would be better for them." [Qur'an., 47:20-21]

"O believers, shall I direct you to a commerce that shall deliver you from a painful chastisement? You shall believe in Allah and His Messenger, and struggle in the way of Allah with your possessions and your selves. That is better for you, did you but know. He will forgive you your sins and admit you into gardens underneath which rivers flow, and to dwelling places goodly in Gardens of Eden; that is the mighty triumph; and other things you love, help from Allah and a nigh victory. Give thou good tidings to the believers." [Qur'an., 61:10-13]

"Do you reckon the giving of water to pilgrims and the inhabiting of the Holy Masjid as the same as one who believes in Allah and the Last Day and struggles in the way of Allah? Not equal are they in Allah’s sight; and Allah guides not the people of the evildoers. Those who believe, and have emigrated, and have struggled in the way of Allah with their possessions and their selves are mightier in rank with Allah; and those - they are the triumphant; their Lord gives them good tidings of mercy from Him and good pleasure; for them await gardens wherein is lasting bliss, therein to dwell forever and ever; surely with Allah is a mighty wage." [Qur'an., 9:19-21]

"O believers, whosoever of you turns from his religion, Allah will assuredly bring a people He loves, and who love Him, humble towards the believers, disdainful towards the unbelievers, men who struggle in the path of Allah, not fearing the reproach of any reproacher. That is Allah’s bounty; He gives it unto whom He will." [Qur'an., 5:54]

"That is because they are smitten neither by thirst, nor fatigue, nor emptiness in the way of Allah, neither tread they any tread enraging the unbelievers, nor gain any gain from any enemy, but a righteous deed is thereby written to their account; Allah leaves not to waste the wage of the good-doers. Nor do they expend any sum, small or great, nor do they traverse any valley, but it is written to their account, that Allah may recompense them the best of what they were doing."
[Qur'an., 9:120-121]

The command to participate in jihad and the mention of its merits occur innumerable times in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

Therefore it is the best voluntary [religious] act that man can perform. All scholars agree that it is better than the hajj (greater pilgrimage) and the 'umrah (lesser pilgrimage), than voluntary salaat and voluntary fasting, as the Qur'an and the Sunnah indicate.

The Prophet, (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) has said:
 

And he (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) has said:
 

Al-Bukhaari has transmitted that he (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) has said:
 

And, as related by Muslim, he (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) has said:
 

It is related in the Sunan that:
 

He (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) has said,
 

Al-Tirmidhi has said about this tradition that it is good (hasan). In the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal we find:
 

In the Saheeh of al-Bukhaari as well as the Saheeh of Muslim we find:
 

In the Sunan we find that Muhammed, (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) has said:
 

This is a vast subject, unequalled by other subjects as far as the reward and merit of human deeds is concerned. This is evident upon closer examination. The [first] reason is that the benefit of jihad is general, extending not only to the person who participates in it but also to others, both in a religious and a temporal sense.

[Secondly,] jihad implies all kinds of worship, both in its inner and outer forms. More than any other act it implies love and devotion for Allah, Who is exalted, trust in Him, the surrender of one’s life and property to Him, patience, asceticism, remembrance of Allah and all kinds of other acts [of worship]. And the individual or community that participates in it, finds itself between two blissful outcomes: either victory and triumph or martyrdom and Paradise.

[Thirdly,] all creatures must live and die. Now, it is in jihad that one can live and die in ultimate happiness, both in this world and in the Hereafter. Abandoning it means losing entirely or partially both kinds of happiness. There are people who want to perform religious and temporal deeds full of hardship in spite of their lack of benefit, whereas actually jihad is religiously and temporally more beneficial than any other deed full of hardship. Other people [participate in it] out of a desire to make things easy for themselves when death meets them, for the death of a martyr is easier than any other form of death.

In fact, it is the best of all manners of dying.

Since lawful warfare is essentially jihad and since its aim is that the religion is Allah’s entirely [2:189, 8:39] and Allah’s word is uppermost [9:40], therefore, according to all Muslims, those who stand in the way of this aim must be fought.

As for those who cannot offer resistance or cannot fight, such as women, children, monks, old people, the blind, handicapped and their likes, they shall not be killed, unless they actually fight with words [e.g. by propaganda] and acts [e.g. by spying or otherwise assisting in the warfare].

Some [jurists] are of the opinion that all of them may be killed, on the mere ground that they are unbelievers, but they make an exception for women and children since they constitute property for Muslims.

However, the first opinion is the correct one, because we may only fight those who fight us when we want to make Allah’s religion victorious. Allah, Who is exalted, has said in this respect:
 

In the Sunan it is reported from the Messenger of Allah, (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam):
 

It is also reported in the Sunan that he used to say:
 

This means that, although there is evil and abomination in killing, there is greater evil and abomination in the persecution of the unbelievers. Now, the unbelief of those who do not hinder the Muslims from establishing Allah’s religion, is only prejudicial to themselves.

In the same vein, the jurists have said that the one who propagates innovations (bid'ah) that are contrary to the Qur'an and the Sunna must be punished much more severely than the person [who holds such beliefs but] remains silent.

"A mistake that is kept secret," says a Tradition, "only harms the person who has committed it, but if it becomes public and is not denounced, it harms the community."

The Sharee'ah enjoins fighting the unbelievers, but not the killing of those who have been captured. If a male unbeliever is taken captive during warfare or otherwise, e.g. as a result of a shipwreck, or because he lost his way, or as a result of a ruse, then the head of state (imaam) may do whatever he deems appropriate: killing him, enslaving him, releasing him or setting him free for a ransom consisting in either property or people. This is the view of most jurists and it is supported by the Qur'an and the Sunna. There are, however, some jurists who hold that the options of releasing them or setting them free for a ransom have been abrogated. As for the People of the Book and the Zoroastrians (Majoos), they are to be fought until they become Muslims or pay the tribute (jizya) out of hand and have been humbled. With regard to the others, the jurists differ as to the lawfulness of taking tribute from them. Most of them regard it as unlawful of taking tribute from them. Most of them regard it as unlawful to accept it from [heathen] Arabs.

If a rebellious group, although belonging to Islam, refuses to comply with clear and universally accepted commands, all Muslims agree that jihad must be waged against them, in order that the religion will be Allah’s entirely. Thus Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq and other Sahaabah, (radiallaahu 'anhum), have fought those who refused to pay zakaat. Initially some of the Sahaabah hesitated in fighting them, but eventually they all agreed. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab said to Abu Bakr, (radiallaahu 'anhumaa):
 

There are various authentic Traditions according to which the Prophet, (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), has ordered to fight the Khawaarij. In the Saheeh of al-Bukhaari as well as the Saheeh of Muslim it is reported on the authority of 'Alee ibn Abee Taalib, (radiallaahu 'anhu), that he said:
 

Muslim has reported that 'Alee, (radiallaahu 'anhu), said:
 

In another version of this Tradition, transmitted on the authority of Abu Sa'eed from the Prophet, (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), we find the following words:
 

There is unanimity about the authenticity of this tradition.

In another Tradition reported by Muslim it is said:
 

These were the people that were killed by the Ameer ul Mu'mineen (Commander of the Faithful) 'Alee, when the breach between the people of Iraq and the people of Syria took place. They were called hurooriyya. The Prophet, (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), has made it clear that both parties into which the community had fallen apart, belonged to his community and that the partisans of 'Alee were closer to the truth. He incited to fight only those heretics that had abandoned Islam and had left the community and that had permitted the taking of the lives and properties of the other Muslims. It has been established on the authority of the Qur'an, the Sunna, and the Ijmaa (Consensus) of the Community, that those who depart from the law of Islam must be fought, even if they pronounce the two professions of faith.

The jurists disagree about the permissibility to fight rebellious groups that abandon an established supererogatory act of worship (sunna raatiba), such as the two [extra] rak'as of dawn prayer. There is, however, unanimity that it is allowed to fight people for [not observing] unambiguous and generally recognized obligations and prohibitions, until they undertake to perform the explicitly prescribed prayers, to pay zakaat, to fast during the month of Ramadaan, to make the pilgrimage to Makkah and to avoid what is prohibited, such a marrying women in spite of legal impediments, eating impure things, acting unlawfully against the lives and properties of Muslims and the like. It is obligatory to take the initiative in fighting those people, as soon as the Prophet’s (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) summons with the reasons for which they are fought has reached them.

But if they first attack the Muslims, then fighting them is even more urgent, as we have mentioned when dealing with the fighting against rebellious and aggressive bandits.

The most serious type of obligatory jihad is the one against the unbelievers and against those who refuse to abide by certain prescriptions of the Sharee'ah, like those who refuse to pay zakaat, the Khawaarij and the like. This jihad is obligatory if it is carried out on our initiative and also if it is waged as defence. If we take the initiative, it is a collective duty (Fard Kifayah), [which means that] if it is fulfilled by a sufficient number [of Muslims], the obligation lapses for all others and the merit goes to those who have fulfilled it, just as Allah, He is exalted, has said:
 

But if the enemy wants to attack the Muslims, then repelling them becomes a duty for all those under attack and for the others to help them. Allah, He is exalted, has said:
 

In the same vein the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) has ordered Muslims to help fellow Muslims.

The assistance, which is obligatory both for the regular professional army and for others, must be given, according to everybody’s possibilities, either in person, by fighting on foot or on horseback, or through financial contributions, be they small or large. When the Muslim were attacked by the enemy in the year of the Trench, Allah did not permit anybody to abandon jihad, although He did allow them not to take part in jihad [after the siege was lifted] in order to pursue the enemy. At that occasion He divided them into two categories, those who sat at home and those who marched out, and He criticized those who were asking the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam) for leave [not to take part in jihad]:
 

So the latter [form of jihad] consists in defense of the religion, of things that are inviolable, and of lives. Therefore it is fighting out of necessity. The former [type of jihad], however, is voluntary fighting in order to propagate the religion, to make it triumph and to intimidate the enemy, such as was the case with the expedition to Tabook and the like.

Now, this form of punishment [i.e. jihad] must be administered to rebellious people. As for inhabitants of the territory of Islam who are not rebellious [but refuse to carry out religious duties], they must be forced to carry out their obligations such as the five fundamental duties of Islam and others like the delivering of trusts to their owners and the preserving of covenants in social relations.

Transl. R.P.

Ibn Taymiyyah, an Apologist' View

Note that this is the origin of the evil Islamism of today. The failures of Islam's leaders was blamed on the "heretical" beliefs of their own people and the Christians and Jews that lived among them. Thus began the mistake that plunged Western Christianity into centuries of darkness. Islam hasn't recovered to this day. Jihad would replace the Five Pillars as the center of Islam.

This proves once again why separation of religion and state is the best way.

by Aisha Bint Muhammad

The entire world of Islam was trembling with fright as an imminent target of Tartar oppression. Iraq, Iran, and Khurasan continued to be despotically ruled by the Tartars. Egypt, Sudan, Syria, and Hijaz were ruled by the Memluk turks.

Simultaneously, a large Christian evangelical movement was mounting to censure Islam. The crusaders were incessantly attacking Palestine and the European Christians residing in Syria and Cyprus had become emboldened to criticize the prophethood of Rasoolullah (saws), compose works on the alleged truthfulness of Christianity, and to invite theological debate.

As the external pressures mounted upon, several internal problems plagued the Muslims. A so-called Muslim sect known as the Batinites was conspiring with the enemies of Islam to destroy the Muslims. They sought to propagate their creed which was based on Magian doctrine and Platonic concepts and spread misguidance among the Muslims. It was also at this time that a sufi sect, called the Rafaa'iyah, with its neo-platonic gnosticism and Hindu pantheistic ideas, had introduced the concepts of divination, and the use of charms and spells into Islam.

In addition, other concepts alien to Islam had been injected into the Muslim society by influence of the dhimmis living in the Muslims lands. By this means, the practices of worshipping, supplicating to, or excessively praising saints were also introduced to the Muslims. Even as the ignorant masses fell deeper into the pits of misguidance, some scholars, themselves, had become entangled in the web of theological rhetoric and philosophical jargon, thereby allowing heretical beliefs to creep into the Islamic creed.

In the midst of this degradation, the other scholars of Islam were stagnant. An attitude had arisen among them that nothing could be added to the corpus juris of the shari'ah already formulated by the scholars of old and that any deviation from the corpus of one's own juristic school was a grievous sin. So it was that the scholars sought to prove the validity of their own juristic school's claims rather than subordinate their interpretation to the supremacy of the Quran and Sunnah. The door of ijtihad was closed and with it any of the inherent dynamism and flexibility in the shari'ah that would have checked the problems of a rapidly changing and deteriorating society.

Such was the situation of the Muslim Ummah in the seventh century after Hijrah. From among this ummah came a man who would change the time he lived in with his exceptional knowledge, devotion, courage. He was a mujtahid and a mujahid and he fought all of the enemies of Islam, internal and external, being opposed all the way, and persevering even in the face of insurmountable obstacle.

He was a great scholar, son of a great scholar, who was the son of a great scholar. Taqi al-Din abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Halim, commonly known as Ibn Taymiyyah, had a family history which was just as illustrious as his own life. His grandfather, Abd-ul-Barakaat Majd ud-Din (d. 652 AH) was a renowned teacher of the Hanbali school. His father, Shahab ud-Din 'Abdul Halim (d. 682 AH) was the pulpiter of the great Ummayyad mosque and a professor of Hadith in Damascus.

Ibn Taymiyyah was born on Monday, the 10th of Rabi'-ul-Awwal 661 AH in the city of Harran, Syria. At the age of seven, his family moved to Damascus, fleeing from the Tartar invasion.

He studied with over 200 sheikhs, among them his own father and four women. Ibn Taymiyyah was the model student due not only to his zeal for learning but also to his amazing mental capacity and particularly his prodigious memory. An eye-witness account of his amazing memory was preserved in the writings of a scholar:

"Once a scholar of Haleb who came to Damascus heard of a prodigious child, Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah, renowned for his marvelous retentive power. Coming to a tailor's shop near Ahmad's house he sat down there to wit for the child. After a short while, the tailor pointed out the boy sought by him. He summoned the boy and asked him to wipe off his table so that he could write on it. The boy handed over the clean tablet to the scholar who wrote 11 or 13 ahadith on it and then asked the boy to read them carefully once. Now, the scholar took back the tablet and asked the boy to repeat what he had read. The boy repeated them all without a single mistake. The scholar got the table wiped off again and wrote thereon a few transmitting chains of the ahadith. The boy went through these and again repeated the whole thing. Astonished at the feat of the boy's memory he remarked: 'If Allah wills him to live, he would be a genius without a peer in the whole world.' " [1]

From his childhood, he was never interested in games or sports, and the pursuit of knowledge consumed his life. He mastered all of the religious and secular sciences of his time giving special attention to Arabic literature, grammar, and lexicography. He also learned the laws of shari'ah, Jurisprudence, Hadith and Quranic sciences, and studied the Hanbali system of law under his own father. Besides this he also learned calligraphy and mathematics. A close examination of his work suggests that he followed none but the early pious Muslims (salaf al-salihoon) and it is for this reason that his movement is often called the salafi movement. He was the champion opponent against all of the different innovations that had infiltrated the deen in his time.

He had a particular fancy for the tafseer (explanation) of the Quran. Ibn Taymiyyah, himself, explains the way he used to persist in pondering each verse:

"Sometimes I have gone through as many as hundred commentaries of a single verse of the Quran. After I have dipped into these pages, I have supplicated Allah to enlighten me about the true content and significance of the verse. I pray to Allah thus on these occasions: 'Thou art the Exalted Teacher of Adam and Ibrahim. Favor me Thou with the essence of this verse.' " [2]

Among the other tasks that Ibn Taymiyyah took upon himself was the response to the contemporary Ash'arite school of dialectics that was them predominant in Syria and Egypt and which was in opposition to the Hanbalite position. He learned and mastered the study of dialectics, logic, and philosophy and to such a degree that he so forcefully argued against the Greek philosophers that no philosopher of note came forward to rebut his criticism.

Ibn Taymiyyah always tried to prevent, by force if necessary, all accretions and innovations in religion. He taken upon himself the responsibility of acting as a public censor who would purge the deen of any heretical ideas. He formed a society for this purpose and even accompanied some expeditions to fight the guilty heretical sects that has conspired with the crusaders and Tartars.

His jihad was not only an ideological one, but he also personally participated in the battles against the Tartar army. In 699 AH, when the Egyptians army was unsuccessful in holding of the Tartar army from Damascus, almost all of the inhabitants of the city had fled and so the few remaining patricians of the city, among them Ibn Taymiyyah, decided to meet the Tartar king and ask for the peace of the city. While the others trembled in his presence and would dare not speak out, Ibn Taymiyyah was uninhibited and strongly defended truth and justice. One of his companions in the delegation recounts Ibn Taymiyyah's courage:

"I was with the Sheikh on this occasion. He set forth in his address to the King the Quranic verses and ahadith enjoining fairness and just conduct. His voice gradually rising, he was drawing nearer to the king until his knees were about to touch those of Ghazan who was attentively listening to the Sheikh but didn't appear to be displeased with him. He was straining his ears as if struck with awe. At last he asked, 'Who is he? I have never seen a man like him -- so brave and courageous; none has made a dent in my heart as he!' the Sheikh was then introduced to the King. The Sheikh said to the King: 'You claim to be a Muslim. I have been told that you have with you a Qadi and an Imam, a Sheikh and a mu`adhdhin; yet you have deemed it proper to march upon Muslims. Your forefathers were heathens, but they always abstained from breaking the promise once made by them. They redeemed the pledges they made, but you violate the word of honor given by you. You trample underfoot your solemn declarations in order to lay a hand on the servants of Allah!' " [3]

His companion adds that despite Ibn Taymiyyah's remonstrance in a strong language, the King bade him good-bye with the highest mark of respect. he ever set free, on Ibn Taymiyyah's recommendation, a good number of prisoners. Ibn Taymiyyah often used to say: 'Only he fears who has a sickness of heart.' [4]

Then in 702 AH, he participated in the battle of Shaqaab and helped defeat the Tartars

Naturally, Ibn Taymiyyah began to be recognized as one of the leading scholars of Syria and his popularity was increasing but some of the scholars became envious of him and resented his trying to enforce the shari'ah. Ibn Kathir explains:

"A group of the theologians was jealous of Sheikh Taqi ud-Din Ibn Taymiyyah because of his position in the court of the governor and also for his acting as a public censor who had taken upon himself the responsibility of enforcing what was lawful and preventing what was prohibited. They were envious of his growing popularity and of the love and respect accorded to him as well as of his learning and zeal for religion." [5]

As a result of this and strong opposition by some of the scholars to his views, Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned several times yet he never wavered in his belief and was unmatched in his generosity in forgiveness. In 705 AH, he was summoned to Egypt where he was interrogated in reference to his belief about the nature of Allah's attributes. Qadi Ibn Mukhluk Maaliki, one of Ibn Taymiyyah's fiercest opponents, was appointed as the judge in his case. He was imprisoned along with his brothers, Sharaf ud- Din 'Abdullah and Zaid ud-Din 'Abdur-Rahman. [6] Many had pleaded incessantly for his release until, after a year had passed, he was offered to be set free if he renounced his creed. The offer was made to him as many as six times, but he always refused, saying, "The prison is dearer to me than what I am asked to affirm." [7]

In prison he found his fellow prisoners emmersed in a life of sin and he raised his voice against these abuses such that not long after his arrival, he changed the whole atmosphere of the prison. A number of the prisoners became his devoted disciples who, on being released, opted to stay with their beloved teacher than to return to their families. [8]

Perhaps nothing is as much of an indication of Ibn Taymiyyah's moral excellence as is his show of mercy and forgiveness to those who inflicted so much harm on him. In a letter he sent to Syria soon after his release, he says:

"...I do not want that anyone should be avenged for my suffering or for leveling false allegations against me, for I have already forgiven everyone of them. I desire the well-being of every Muslim -- the same as I desire for myself. All those persons who discredited me or deposed false evidence against me or caused trouble to me are not the least accountable so far as I am concerned; no responsibility lies upon them on my score." [9]

This was only the first of the many times he was imprisoned and in every cases he forgave the perpetrators of the injustice against him and was patient with his fate. Still, some were not satisfied, and continued to put forth allegations against him. One of his rulings stated that no journey to a shrine, even if it be to the grave of Rasoolullah (saw) could be undertaken as an act of devotion under the shari'ah. His enemies used this seventeen year old statement to discredit him among the ignorant ones. The order for his arrest came on the 7th of Sha'ban, 726 AH, and when news of this came to Ibn Taymiyyah, he said, "I was looking forward to it. It has a lot of goodness and grace for me." [10]

While in prison he completed 80 recitals of the Quran and wrote several books and treatises. When the authorities confiscated paper and writing materials from him he wrote with charcoal on any loose sheets of paper he could find. He completed a 40 volume tafseer called al-Bahr al-Muheet. He wrote in total over 500 books according to Imam adh- Dhahabi, most of them in prison. While his enemies succeed in containing his person, they couldn't contain his mind, wisdom, and scholarship and while they considered that they were harming him, he had a different perception. He writes in a letter:

"Thanks to Allah that we are now engaged in a fight in the way of Allah. The battle we are fighting here is not a bit lower in order than our previous warfare against Ghazan, the heretics of the hills and the propagators of pantheistic monism. This is undoubtedly a blessing of Allah on us, although most of the people are unaware of it." [11]

And so he died as he lived, in a constant struggle for the sake for Allah (swt). Zaid ud-Din 'Abdur-Rahman relates that after completing eighty recitals of the Quran, Ibn Taymiyyah started if again with him. However, when he reached the closing verses of Surat al-Qamar: "Lo! The righteous will dwell among gardens and rivers firmly established in the favor of a Mighty King." [54:54- 55] he expressed his desire to continue the recital with 'Abdullah ibn Muhib and his brother, 'Abdullah az-Zara'ee. [12] He was not able to complete this recitation.

Ibn Taymiyyah dies on the 22nd of Dhul Qa'dah, 728 AH. It is estimated that a train of 60,000 to 100,000 people, of which at least 15.000 were women, joined the funeral procession. [13]

Ibn Taymiyyah revived an otherwise dying society. He was the torch of tawheed, a fortress of courage, an encyclopedia of knowledge and a patient servant of Allah (swt). He surpassed all of the scholars of his time and even his enemies bore witness to this fact. His knowledge and works continued to have a marked affect on history and he is, without doubt, one of the greatest scholars of Islamic history. Perhaps the greatest tribute to Ibn Taymiyyah's status in the annals of knowledge is a statement of one of his bitterest enemies, Allaama Kamal ud-Din al-Zamalkaani:

"Allah has made knowledge of all the sciences as easy for Ibn Taymiyyah as iron had been softened for Prophet Dawud. Whenever he was asked any question, he answered in a way that the audience thought him to have spent his whole life in acquiring knowledge of that very branch of knowledge alone and acknowledged as the greatest authority on the subject. Scholars subscribing to different juristic schools attended his discourses and each one of them learnt something that he had not known earlier. It never happened that he debated any point and was put to shame. Whatever be the subject matter about which he spoke, whether religious or discursive, he surpassed all the authorities on that particular subject. In penmanship, too, he was equally elegant." [14]

REFERENCES:

[1] Abu Zahra, p. 56 (cited from al-'Uqood ud- Durriyah, pg. 21) [2] al-'Uqood ud-Durriyah, p. 24 [3] al-Kawaakib ud-Durriyah, p. 25 [4] Nadwi, Saviors of Islamic Spirit, p. 31 [5] Ibn Kathir, p. 37 [6] Ibn Kathir, Vol. XIV, p. 38 [7] Ibn Kathir, Vol. XIV, p. 42 [8] al-Kawaakib ud-Durriyah, p. 181 [9] Abu Zahra, p.62 [10] Nadwi, Saviors of Islamic Spirit, p. 55 [11] Abu Zahra [12] Nadwi, Saviors of Islamic Spirit, p. 59 [13] Ibn Kathir, Vol. XIV, p. 136-139 [14] al-Kawaakib ud-Durriyah, p. 5

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