Shaikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taimiyah Life and Achievements by Syed Abul Hassan Ali AL Nadwi

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Shaikh-ul-Islam
Ibn Taimiyah
Life and Achievements
SAYYED ABUL HASAN 'ALI NADWI
UK ISLAMIC ACADEMY
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Shaikh-ul-Islam
Ibn Taimiyah
Life and Achievements
In Ibn Taimiyah (661-728 A.H.) we see a devout doctor of religion versed in all categories of philosophy and dialectics, a man of vast learning acquainted with the original Scriptures of many religions and their subsequent amendments and accretions, not least Christianity and Judaism as also with the heretical and mystical teachings of sects which claimed to belong to the fold of Islam. Here was a man who had learned the lesson of unalloyed Tawhid directly from the Qur'an and the Sunnah and was capable of rejecting all those practices which ran counter to the true concept of the Oneness of God. A theologian, a Traditionist and legist combined, he was adept when it came to the Arabic language and the secular sciences. With an eidetic memory, he could argue across a vast range of subject matter, embarrassing his adversaries with his huge storehouse of learning.
In this short but succinct volume, more than a cursory glimpse of the full range of Ibn Taimiyah's achievements are documented, blended with a colourful and insightful biography, from his early childhood to his death 67 years later in prison, Sayyed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi's account of Shaikh-ul- Islam Ibn Taimiyah leaves one thirsting for more.
ISBN 1-872531-72-5
UK ISLAMIC ACADEMY
9 781872 531724">
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بسم الله الرحم الحمر
Contents
Foreword..
Chapter I: The Muslim World in the Seventh Century..
Political and Social Conditions 8; The Memluks of Egypt 9; System of Government 11; Moral and Social Conditions 12; Intellectual Atmosphere 15
Chapter II: Early Life
Ibn Taimiyah's Birth and Childhood 18; In Damascus 19; Prodigious Memory 19; Ibn Taimiyah's Education 20; The Gifted Teacher 24
Chapter III: Trials and Tribulations...
Tartar Attack on Damascus 27; Defeat of Qalawoon 28; Ibn Taimiyah Meets Ghazan 28; Punitive Expedition to the Hills 32; The Second Tartar Invasion 32; Encounter with the Tartar Army 34; Struggle against Innovations and Abuses 35; Jihad against the Heretics 37; Contention of the Rafa'iyah Mendicants 39; Opposition to Ibn Taimiyah 39; Contradiction of the Unity of Being 40; Ibn Taimiyah in Egypt 41; Ibn Taimiyah Arrested and Released 41; Sinners and Criminals Redeemed 42; Moral Excellence 43; Teaching and Preaching in
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Shaikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taimiyah - Life and Achievements
discussed the nature and attributes of the Supreme Being. Islam had not left man groping in the dark of uncertainty insofar as the postulates of faith were concerned; instead, it expounded these matters in a lucid and easy manner making them intelligible to all. For every ethical theory shaping the behaviour of an individual or the culture of a society must be rooted in the philosophical concept of the relationship between man and Ultimate Reality; it had of necessity to be set forth quite clearly by Islam so that no further speculative effort was needed in that direction. The Prophets alone, declared Islam, were the fount of knowledge with regard to the realities beyond the ken of human perception and the unverifiable, incomprehensible Ultimate Being; therefore, their teachings constituted the last word on a subject which could not be adequately comprehended by man's intellect alone. Philosophy had, for that reason, no right, no locus standi, to intrude in a matter whereby it did not even possess the rudimentary knowledge, the basic premises, from which it could infer the logical conclusions drawn by it. However, even though the questions which philosophy sought to discuss did not simply admit any analysis or speculation, and then the philosophers were, themselves, incapable of undertaking such a task, nonetheless philosophy considered it prudent to meddle with them, trying to explain, elucidate and deliver its verdict on them. The constant aim of its endeavour was to trace every question down to its source and discover the general principles underlying every metaphysical phenomenon as if they were organic matter capable of analysis in a laboratory.
Dialectics came into being in an attempt to answer the questions raised by philosophy. But it soon absorbed the spirit of its adversary and, itself, turned into a theological philosophy, discussing those very same questions, and employing the same claims of reasoning to ascertain the nature and attributes of the Divine Being. In effect, dialectics, too, turned a deaf ear to the