Story About Shaikh-ul-Islam Imam Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah.

SHAIKH·UL·ISLAM IMAM AHMAD IBN TAYMIYYAH

Revivalist of Islam (661-728 A.H.)

We are a people who love goodness for everyone. We like to see Allah bringing you the best of this world and that of the hereafter. For the best way to worship Allah is by giving counsel and advice to his creatures. This was the purpose of all the Prophets and Messengers from Allah. And there is nothing better than advice in matters of the relation between man and his Creator. Man is certainly destined to meet with his Lord, and he is going to be questioned about his duties. All the Christians know that when he talked to the Tartars concerning the captives in their lands, Ghazan and Katloushah released them.

I talked to the king about those captives, and he allowed the release of the Muslims only and said to me, ‘We have some Christians that we captured in Jerusalem, these we are not going to release.'
I told him, 'But you release all the Jewish and Christian captives because they are under the protection of Islam. And we will leave no captive if he is a Muslim or Christian.' Thus, we caused the release of many Christians from captivity.

This ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ did only for the sake of Allah whose rewards everyone seek. "Besides, everyone knows about the Christian captives in our hands and how kindly and charitably we treat them in accordance with the teachings of the last of the Prophets, ‘Prophet Muhammad’ (peace be upon him). The above mentioned words are quotations from a letter written by ‘Ibn Taymiyyah,’ to King Sirjwan of Cyprus in which he tried to explain the basic views of the Islamic faith to a Christian ruler.

But who was ‘Ibn Taymiyyah?’

‘Ibn Taymiyyah,’ who is known by the title of Sheikh-ul-Islam (The eminent Scholar of Islam) is one of the leading thinkers of Islam and a revivalist of its pristine teachings at a time when the Muslim world was going through one of its darkest times, being under attack by the ruthless Mongol Tartars from the East (who destroyed everything and everyone who stood in their heavy flow from Central Asia) and the fierce Crusaders from the West. Hundreds of thousands of books were thrown by the Tartars into the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates until the waters of these rivers became black with the ink in those books. On the cultural scene many Muslim scholars were busy summarizing and explaining the works of their ancestors with hardly any worthwhile contribution.

In religion, again many unorthodox ideas had crept in from un-Islamic philosophies and foreign thoughts. The theologians were plagued by the ideas of the Mu'tazilites and other misguided sects. The jurists were at a standstill in the understanding and application of the legal spirit of Islam, blindly imitating the opinions of their predecessors. The masses were thus left in total darkness, misguided by agnostic Sufism and their practices, such as exaggeration in worshiping tombs of the pious and the Saints to the extent of almost worshipping them besides Allah. It was in those circumstances that ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ was born. ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ was born in 661 A.H. (1263 G.)in Harran (near Damascus). His family was a people of learning and teaching, both its male and female members being well known for their contribution to religious education. Since his childhood ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ was known for his great intelligence, strong memory and insatiable thirst for learning. No wonder then that he started research and writing at the age of nineteen. At the age of 21 his father died, and he replaced him in the post of teaching Fiqah (Islamic law or jurisprudence) and Tafseer (Quranic exegesis or commentaries).

When he announced in 696 A.H. his views on certain theological issues, some theologians (whose understanding was contaminated by foreign philosophical ideas) started annoying him. ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’s’ views on the divine attributes enraged some theologians who had him called to court in Egypt and imprisoned there.

It seems that his courage and frankness in attacking unconventional interpretations of Islamic teachings in areas of theology, jurisprudence and spirituality caused many problems for him. For ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ made it his job to correct the wrong views prevalent at his time despite the fierce resistance he met with from many religious scholars. He felt it’s his duty to unify the Muslims around orthodox and pristine Islamic teachings, of Ahl-ah-Sunnah-wal-Jama'ah by fighting against polytheists and innovations in religion (bid'ah) and purifying the religion from interpretations and practices alien to it, taking only the Qur'an and Sunnah or Prophetic traditions as the only reliable sources. ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ suffered a great deal because of this, but he never hesitated or faltered.

History tells us that the enemies of ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ not only caused the authorities to imprison him on many occasions but also they even tried to have him killed by reporting to Sultan-an-Nasser faking that ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ was using the masses love and admiration for him to usurp the throne. An-Nasser Lideeni-Liah ordered that he brought to him.



He told him, "I have been told

that people listen to you, and that you are seeking my kingdom.

‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ answered, "I do that? By Allah your kingdom and the kingdoms of all the Moguls are not worth a single penny to me."

The Sultan was impressed by our hero's answer and was convinced of the falsehood of the allegation. But intelligence, knowledge, courage and frankness were not the only things for which he known. He was also known for his otherworldliness and unlimited generous to the extent that he would give the clothes he had on to a needy person.

‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ was not only an active teacher, but he was also a creative writer of in-depth knowledge as well. So when he died in 728 A.H. (at the age of 67). He left scores of volumes of writings on various topics including comparative religion. One of his masterpieces is well known, namely "Fatawa·lbn-Taymiyyah”, (The religious Rulings and verdicts of ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’) which has been published in 36 volumes, several times.

’Ibn Taymiyyah’ is reported to have said, 'The (real) prisoner is the one whose heart has been kept away from remembering his Lord, and the (real) captive is the one who has been captivated by his whims and desires."

His disciple Ibn-ul·Oayyim, reports that he, i.e. ‘Ibn Taymiyyah’ used to say, when he was imprisoned in ‘AI-Qalah’ prison in Damascus, "What on earth can my enemies do to me? My Paradise is in my heart and accompanies me wherever I go. My imprisonment is (in fact) seclusion (which helps me worship Allah better) my killing is (in fact) martyrdom and my deportation from my country is (in fact) seeing the world.”

Prophets Methods of Correcting Mistakes - Paying attention to things that are inherent in human nature

An example of this is the jealousy of women, especially m the case of co-wives, some of whom may make mistakes that, if they were made by anyone else under normal circumstances, would be treated quite differently. The Prophet (SAW) used to pay special attention to the issue of jealousy among his wives and the mistakes that were made by them as a result, and the patience, justice and fairness with which he handled the matter are plain to see. An example of this is the report narrated by Bnkhan in his Saheeh from Anas (RA), who said: “The Prophet (SAW) was with one of his wives when another of the Mothers of the Believers (Prophet’s wives) sent a big vessel full of food to him. The wife in whose house the Prophet (SAW) was struck the hand of the servant, and the vessel fell and broke into two pieces. The Prophet (SAW) picked up the pieces and put them together, then he gathered up the food that had been in the vessel and said, ‘Your mother is jealous.’ Then he asked the servant to wait and gave him a whole vessel belonging to the wife in whose house he was, and kept the broken vessel in the house of the one who had broken it”158

According to a report narrated by an-Nasa’i (Kitab 'hhmt an-Ntsa j. Umm Salamah brought some food in a vessel belonging to her to the Messenger of Allah and his Companions, then ‘A’ishah came wrapped in a garment, carrying a stone, which she threw and broke the vessel. The Prophet (SAW) put the two halves back together and said, “Eat, your mother is jealous” he said it twice, then he took ‘A’ishah’s vessel 

and sent it to Uinm Salamah, and gave Umm Salamah’s vessel to ‘A’ishah.

According to a report narrated by ad-Darimi (Kitab al- Buyoo Bab man kasara shay’an fa 'alayhi mithluhu) from Anas he said: “One of the wives of prophet (SAW)sent him a vessel in which was some thareed (a dish of sopped bread, meat and broth), when he was in the house of one of his other wives who struck the vessel and broke it. The Prophet (0J started to pick up the thareed and put it back into the broken vessel, saying, ‘Eat, your mother is jealous...’ ”

Women's jealousy is an inherent part of their nature that may cause them to do bad things and prevent them from seeing the consequences. It is said that when a woman is jealous, she cannot sec the bottom of a valley from its top.

Conclusion

Following this exploration of the Sunnah and the methods which the Prophet (*SAW) used in dealing with people’s mistakes, we should conclude by mentioning the following points:

—            Correcting mistakes is obligatory and very important. It is part of an-naseehah (giving sincere advice) and forbidding what is evil, but it should be remembered that Islam is not only about forbidding what is evil; we are also commanded to enjoin what is good.

—            Education and training are not merely the matter of correcting mistakes. They also involve teaching and showing the basic principles of religion and the rules of skaree ‘ak, and using various methods to establish these concepts firmly in people’s minds and hearts, by example, exhorting them, telling stories, or by discussing incidents, etc. From this, it is elear that some parents and teachers are falling short by confining their efforts only to addressing mistakes without paying due attention to teaching the basics or dealing with mistakes before they happen by instilling that which will protect people from committing mistakes in the first place, or at least reduce their impact.

—            It is clear from the incidents and stories mentioned above that the Prophet (SAW) used different approaches in dealing with different mistakes. This is because circumstances and personalities vary. Whoever understands this and wants to follow suit must compare the situation he is dealing with to these examples to find the one that most closely resembles it, so that he can determine the most appropriate approach to use.

We ask Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, to guide us and protect us, to make us openers of the doors of good and closers of those of evil, and to guide others through us, for He is the All-Hearing, the Ever-Near, Who answers prayers. He is the Best of supporters and the Best of helpers, and He is the Guide to the Straight Path. May Allah bless the unlettered Prophet (SAW), all his family and Companions and Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

Prophets Methods of Correcting Mistakes - Denouncing only the mistake whilst accepting the rest

It may be the case that not all of what a person says or does is wrong, so it is wise to limit our denunciation only to that which is wrong, and not to generalize by condemning everything that is said or done as being wrong. This is indicated in the report narrated by Bukhari in his Saheeh from ar-Rubayyi‘ bint Mu‘awwadh ibn ‘Afra’, who said:

“The Prophet came and entered, and sat down on my bed the way you sat down. Some young girls of ours began beating on the daff (hand-drum) and singing songs eulogizing those of our forefathers who had been killed at Badr. Then one of them said, ‘Among us there is a Prophet who knows the future.’ The Prophet said; ‘Do not say that; say what you were saying before.’ ”110

According to a report narrated by At-Tirmidhi:

“...The Messenger of Allah said to her: ‘Do not say this; say what you were saying before.’”111

According to a report narrated by Ibn Majah, he (the Prophet) said:

“Do not say this, say; no one knows the future except Allah.”112

There is no doubt that this kind of treatment makes the person feel that the one who is striving to point out mistakes and correct them is fair and just, and this makes him more likely to accept his advice. This is in contrast to some of those who want to denounce errors, but get so angry with the mistake committed that they go to extremes in their denunciation and condemn everything done and said by the one who has made the mistake, good and bad alike. This makes the person reject what they say and refuse to follow their advice.

In some cases, the mistake is not m the words themselves, but in the occasion or context in which they are uttered. For example, when somebody dies, one person may say, “al~ Fatihah and everyone present will recite it. They believe that there is nothing wrong with this because what they are reciting is the Qur’an, not words of kufr. It has to be explained to them that what is wrong with this action is thinking that we should recite al~ Fatihah on such occasions as an act of worship without any shares‘ah evidence for doing so, which is the essence of bid'ah. This is what Ibn ‘Umar pointed out to a man who sneezed beside him and said, “al-Hamdu Lilian was-salam ‘ala Rasool Allah (praise be to Allah and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah).” Ibn ‘Umar said, “I could say, ‘al-Hamdu Lillah was- salam ‘ala Rasool Allah, but this is not how the Messenger of Allah taught us. He taught us to say, 1al-Hamdu Lillah 'ala kulli hal (Praise be to Allah whatever the circumstances may be).”113

The marriage of Ali and Fatimah

After the Prophet’s marriage to A’ishah, prominent companions of messenger came forward asking for the hand of his daughter, Fatimah in marriage. They had abstained from doing so while she and her sister had had the responsibility of his household.

 Abu Bakr and then Umar successively asked for Fatimah’s hand in marriage, but the messenger of ALLAH gently and graciously asked both of them to excuse him for not being able to grant their request. Umar then suggested Ali to come forward and win the honor of being the Prophet’s son-in-law.

Ali asked him, “do you think that the messenger of ALLAH will accepts ‘Ali’s’ proposal after he had refused the proposals of his two companions, Abu Bakr and Umar?”

In reply, Umar reminded him of his early acceptance of Islam, his family relationship with ALLAH’s messenger and his position in thee Prophet’s estimation. He continued to persuade Ali until he was convinced.

 Ali went to the messenger of ALLAH and bashfully sat close to him. Unable to state the purpose of his visit, he sat there for a long time without saying a word. He was reluctant to make his request, fearing that it might b rejected.

 The messenger of ALLAH looked at him gently, with a smiling face, and then asked, “what is the matter, so of Abu TAlib?”

 Ali replied in a very ylow voice and with extreme shyness, “I am asking for the hand of Fatimah, the daughter of ALLAH’s messenger, in marriage.”
The Prophet responded with a bright face saying, “welcome!”
Ali took his leave, unable to believe his ears.

 When some of those who knew of the matter asked him what had been the outcome, he told them, “I talked to the messenger of ALLAH about the messenger of ALLAH about the matter and he said, welcome!”

The following day, Ali went to the messenger of ALLAH and repeated the same request for confirmation. The messenger of ALLAH asked him, “do you have anything (to offer as the mahr)?”

Ali answered in the negative. The messenger of ALLAH asked him, “where is your khatami armoured plate that I gave you?” he replied that he still had it.

When he bought it, the messenger of ALLAH asked him to sell it so that he could use the money for Fatimah’s trousseau. Uthman bought the armor plate from him for four hundred and seventy dirham. Ali gave the money to the messenger of ALLAH.

 The messenger of ALLAH gave part of the money to bilal to buy some perfume and gave the rest to Umm Salamah to buy things that the bride might need. He look at Anas, his servant, and told him, “go and call Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Talhah, Zubayr and a number of the Ansar.”

 He then went in to inform his daughter that Ali had come forward to ask for her hand in marriage. Fatimah shyly kept silent, and that was the sign of acceptance. The messenger of ALLAH came out and found the elder companions present.

He then addressed them, saying “all praise is due to ALLAH, who is praised for His blessings, worshipped by His might and obeyed by His authority. He is the only protector against His own punishment, and the only one whose command I implemented in the heaven and in the earth. He created his creatures with his power and gave them glory through the adherence to his religion. He honored them with his messenger Muhammad (S.A.W.).” “indeed, ALLAH has made the marriage relationship the means of maintaining human progeny. He has made it an obligation and a comprehensive blessing.

He connects, through marriage, kinship, and makes joining the ties of kinship obligatory upon people, ALLAH says: ” {and it is he who has created human beings from water, and has appointed for them kindred by blood, and kindred by marriage. And you Lord is Ever All-Powerful to do what He wills. } [QUR’AN 25: 54] “AND FOR EVERY MATTER, THERE IS A Decree. ALLAH blots out what He wills and confirms what he wills. And with Him is the Mother of the Book” “indeed, ALLAH has commanded me to give Fatimah in marriage to Ali, and I take you as witnesses that I have done so based on his bridal gift of four hundred dirham, if Ali agrees to that. This is the established sunnah and an obligation.

May ALLAH join them together in peace, and make their children gateways of mercy, treasures of wisdom and sources of security for the Ummah.” “This is what I have to say, and I beseech ALLAH to forgive me and you.” The messenger of ALLAH then ordered that a try of dates be presented to the guests, and he told them to pass it around. Ali then joined them. The messenger of ALLAH smiled and told him, “Ali, ALLAH has commanded me to give Fatimah to you in marriage; and I have done so far a bridal gift of four hundred dirham.” Ali said, “I agree, messenger of ALLAH.”

 Then Ali prostrated in gratitude to ALLAH. When he raised his head, the messenger of ALLAH addressed him saying, “may ALLAH bless you bless your efforts. May he bring from you many lovely children.” The invocation was accepted, for it was the supplication of a Prophet, an invocation of the leader of the messengers. ALLAH indeed brought from them many lovely children.

 That was the marriage of Ali and Fatimah, which was witnessed by a group of eminent companions. Ali lived happily in his marriage with the daughter of greatest creature, Muhammad (S.A.W.).

Why do we search for skills?

Once I visited a deprived town to deliver a lecture, after which there came to me a teacher from outside the town.

He said, "I hope you can help us with finance to some students"

I said, "Strange! Aren't the schools government funded, and therefore free?"

He said, "Indeed they are, but we would like to fund their universities education.”

I said, "Well, the universities are also government funded. They even offer student grants."

He said, “Allow me to explain to you..."

I said, "Go ahead.”

He said, "Our students graduate from their secondary school with no less than 99%. They are so clever that if their intelligence was divided amongst the ummah, it would suffice!

But when a student becomes determined to travel outside his town to study Medicine, Engineering, Islamic Law, Computer Science or anything else, his father prevents him from going, saying, 'What you know is sufficient! Now, stay with me and be a shepherd.’

I screamed unexpectedly, "Be a shepherd?!"

He said, "Yes, a shepherd!"

And indeed, the poor boy stays with his father and becomes a shepherd, while all his abilities are wasted. Years go by and he remains a shepherd. He may even get married and have children whom he may treat exactly as he was treated by his father. Hence, all his children also become shepherds!

I asked, "So what's the solution?"

He said, "The solution is to convince the father to employ someone as a shepherd for a few hundred riyals, which we will pay, and allow his son to take full advantage of his skills and abilities. Of course, we will also continue to fund his son until he graduates.'

The teacher then lowered his head and said, "lt is inexcusable that such skills and talents in people are wasted when they long to utilise them. "

I contemplated upon what he had said and realized that we cannot reach the pinnacle except by taking advantage of the abilities we have and acquiring those that we do not.

Yes, I would challenge anyone to find a successful person, be a successful in academia, preaching, lecturing, business, medicine, engineering, or influencing others; or be a successful in family life, such as a successful father with his children, or a successful wife with her husband; or be a successful in their social life, such as a person who is successful with his neighbours and colleagues and I mean a truly successful person, Not one, ‘Who simply climbs upon others' shoulders! I would challenge anyone to find me any such highly successful person who does not practise certain interpersonal skills through which he has been able to achieve such success, whether they realise it or not.

Some people may exercise such interpersonal skills instinctively, while others may have to learn them in order to be successful, and these latter people are the types of successful personalities whose lives we would like to study and whose methods we would closely seek to follow in order to discover how they were successful, and to find out whether or not we can take their route to success.
 

A while ago, I listened to an interview with one of the most affluent people in the world, ‘Shaykh Sulayman al Rajihi’ and found him to be a mountain in terms of his manners and thoughts. This man owns billions, possesses immense real estate, has built hundreds of mosques, and has sponsored thousands of orphans. He is hugely successful. He spoke of his humble beginnings around fifty years ago, when he was a regular person who would only have enough money to feed himself for the day, and sometimes not even that.

He mentioned that he would sometimes seen people's houses to feed himself and continue working at night at a shop or money exchange. He discussed how he was once at the bottom of the mountain, and how he continued to climbed until he reached the summit.

I thought about the abilities and skills he possesses and realised that many of us are well capable of being like him, if Allah grants us the ability. If one learns these skills, exercises them, perseveres and remains steadfast, then yes, he can surely be like him.

Another reason for us to search for these skills is that some of us may have certain abilities, which we remain unaware of, or which nobody has assisted us in discovering, such as the skills of delivering a lecture, business insight, or possessing general knowledge.

One may discover these skills on his own, through a teacher's or a work colleague's help, or even through a sincere brother, however few they may be! However, these skills may remain buried inside the person until his personality becomes as stale as anyone else's, and this is when we all lose out on another leader, lecturer or scholar, or perhaps a successful husband, or a caring father.

Here we will mention certain skills which we would like to remind you of if you already possess them, or which we would like to train you in if you don't.

So come along!

A thought: When you climb a mountain, look to the top and not to the rocks that Scroll round you. Make sure of where you step as you climb and do not leap in case you lose your footing.