Al-Kutub al-Sittah

Madh'hab
Ibn Taymiyyah censured the scholars for blindly conforming to the precedence of early jurists without any resort to
the Qur'an and 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 the Qur'an and Sunnah
can lead to ignorance and stagnancy in Islamic Law. Ibn Taymiyyah likened the extremism of Taqlid (blind
conformity to juridical precedence or school of thought) to the practice of Jews and Christians who took their rabbis
and ecclesiastic as gods besides God.
Ibn Taymiyyah held that much of the Islamic scholarship of his time had declined into modes that were inherently
against the proper understanding of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. He strove to:
1.
1. revive the Islamic faith's understanding of true adherence to Tawhid,
2.
2. eradicate beliefs and customs that he held to be foreign to Islam, and
3.
3. to rejuvenate correct Islamic thought and its related sciences.
Ibn Taymiyyah believed that the first three generations of Islam (Arabic: Salaf) – Muhammad, his companions, and
the followers of the companions from the earliest generations 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 bid‘ah, or innovation, and to be forbidden. He also praised and wrote a commentary on some
of the speeches of Abdul-Qadir Gilani.
[14] 
He criticized the views and actions of the Rafaiyah.
Non-Muslims
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 Muslim 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 observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad 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."
[15]
Intercession
Opponents and critics of Ibn Taymiyyah claim that he rejected intercession completely as proved in Qur'an and 
Sunnah. However, his proponents argue citing evidence from his writings that the type of intercession Ibn 
Taymiyyah rejected was the type not sanctioned by the Qur'an or Sunnah and neither by the conduct of Salaf. In fact, 
Ibn Taymiya upheld that anyone who rejected the Intercession of Muhammad on the Day of Judgement had indeed 
disbelieved. He also affirmed that God 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 God chooses the 
intercessor, and chooses the people on whose behalf intercession is possible. Therefore, God should be asked when

Ibn Taymiyyah
114
intercession is sought.
Furthermore, Ibn Taymiyyah states that types of intercession that are legal are:
1.
1. Intercession through the Names and Attributes of God,
2.
2. Intercession through one's good deed,
3. Intercession 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, people ask others to make a supplication for them. Ibn Taymiyyah rejected the notion that saints and
prophets should be invoked for intercession while they have departed from this world.
Shrines
Ibn Taymiyyah opposed giving any undue religious honors to shrines (even that of Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque),
to approach or rival in any way the Islamic sanctity of the two most holy mosques within Islam, Mecca (Masjid
al-Haram) and Medina (Al-Masjid al-Nabawi).
[16]
Ibn Taymiyyah duly eulogized the Ghaznavid ruler, stating that:
He commanded that Ahlul Bidah be publicly cursed on the minbars, and as a result the Jahmiyyah, Rafida,
Hulooliyah, Mu'tazilah, and Qadariyah were all publicly cursed, along with the Asharites.
[17]
Ibahah
Muslim jurists have long held that the legal tradition initiated by the Qur'an includes a principle of permissibility, or
Ibahah (Arabic ﺔﺣﺎﺑﺇ), especially as applied to commercial transaction. "Nothing in them [voluntary transactions] is
forbidden," said Ibn Taymiyyah, "unless God and His Messenger have decreed them to be forbidden." The idea is
founded upon two verses in the Qur'an, 4:29 and 5:1.
Analogical reasoning
Later, Ibn Taymiyyah argued against the certainty of syllogistic arguments and in favour of analogy (Qiyas). His
argument is that concepts founded on induction are themselves not certain but only probable, and thus a syllogism
based on such concepts is no more certain than an argument based on analogy. He further claimed that induction
itself is founded on a process of analogy. His model of analogical reasoning was based on that of juridical
arguments.
[18][19] 
This model of analogy has been used in the recent work of John F. Sowa.
[19]
Ibn Arabi
Ibn Taymiyyah's views on Ibn Arabi, who (though a controversial figure) is often cited as the greatest master of the
Islamic gnostic tradition and one of the most influential Islamic thinkers ever, are well-documented. In his book
Friends of God and Friends of the Devil, Ibn Taymiyyah brands Ibn Arabi an unbeliever, citing passages from Ibn
Arabi's Fusus al-Hikam (Bezels of Wisdom), claiming that they show that Ibn Arabi was a supporter of Pharaoh. In
fact, the aforementioned passages are often misinterpreted or misunderstood, and Ibn Arabi makes abundantly clear
in numerous works (amongst them, his Book of the Fabulous Gryphon of the West) that he considered Pharaoh a
tyrant and an unbeliever. Ibn Taymiyyah's attacks on Ibn Arabi drew the ire of many Sufis and even led the famous
Sufi and Islamic scholar Ibn 'Ata Allah al-Iskandari to devote a significant portion of the last years of his life writing
refutations of Ibn Taymiyyah's attacks on Ibn Arabi.

Ibn Taymiyyah
115
Economic views
He elaborated a circumstantial analysis of the market mechanism, with a theoretical insight unusual in his time. His
discourses on the welfare advantages and disadvantages of market regulation and deregulation, have an almost
contemporary ring to them.
[20]
Ibn Taymiyyah commenting on the power of supply and demand:
"If desire for goods increases while its availability decreases, its price rises. On the other hand, if availability
of the good increases and the desire for it decreases, the price comes down."
[21]
Works
Ibn Taymiyyah left a considerable body of work (350 works listed by his student Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
[22] 
and
500 by his student al-Dhahabi
[23]
) that has been republished extensively in Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and India. Extant
books and essays written by ibn Taymiyyah include:
• A Great Compilation of Fatwa—(Majmu al-Fatwa al-Kubra) This was collected centuries after his death, and
contains several of the works mentioned below.
• Minhaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah—(The Pathway of as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah)—Volumes 1–4
• Al-Aqidah Al-Waasitiyyah—(The Creed to the People of Wāsiṭ)
• Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa al-naql (The rejection of the conflict between reason and revelation)—10 Volumes. Also
called Al-Muwāfaqa ("harmony").
• Majmoo' al-Fatawa—(Compilation of Fatawa) Volumes 1–36
• al-Aqeedah Al-Hamawiyyah—(The Creed to the People of Hama, Syria)
• al-Asma wa's-Sifaat—(Allah's Names and Attributes) Volumes 1–2
• 'al-Iman—(Faith)
• al-Jawab as Sahih li man Baddala Din al-Masih (Literally, "The Correct Response to those who have Corrupted
the Deen (Religion) of the Messiah"; A Muslim theologian's response to Christianity)—seven volumes, over a
thousand pages.
• as-Sarim al-Maslul ‘ala Shatim ar-Rasul—The Drawn Sword against those who insult the Messenger. Written in
response to an incident in which Ibn Taymiyyah heard a Christian insulting Muhammad. The book is well-known
because he wrote it entirely by memory, while in jail, and quoting more than hundreds of references.
[24]
•• Fatawa al-Kubra
•• Fatawa al-Misriyyah
• ar-Radd 'ala al-Mantiqiyyin (Refutation of Greek Logicians)
•• Naqd at-Ta'sis
• al-Uboodiyyah—(Subjection to God)
• Iqtida' as-Sirat al-Mustaqim'—(Following The Straight Path)
•• al-Siyasa al-shar'iyya
•• at-Tawassul wal-Waseela
• Sharh Futuh al-Ghayb—(Commentary on Revelations of the Unseen by Abdul-Qadir Gilani)
Some of his other works have been translated to English. They include:
• The Friends of Allah and the Friends of Shaytan
•• Kitab al Iman: The Book of Faith
•• Diseases of the Hearts and their Cures
•• The Relief from Distress
• Fundamentals of Enjoining Good & Forbidding Evil
•• The Concise Legacy
•• The Goodly Word

Ibn Taymiyyah
116
•• The Madinan Way
•• Ibn Taymiyya against the Greek logicians
•• Muslims Under Non-Muslim Rule
References
[1] "Ibn Taymiyyah: Profile and Biography" (http:/
 
/
 
atheism.
 
about.
 
com/
 
library/
 
FAQs/
 
islam/
 
blfaq_islam_taymiyyah.
 
htm).
Atheism.about.com. 2009-10-29. . Retrieved 2010-06-09.
[2] "Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din (661-728 AH)/ (1263–1328 CE)" (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
muslimphilosophy.
 
com/
 
ip/
 
rep/
 
H039.
 
htm).
Muslimphilosophy.com. . Retrieved 2010-06-09.
[3]
[3] Mountains of Knowledge, pg 222
[4]
[4] Mountains of Knowledge, pg 220
[5]
[5] see aqidatul-waasitiyyah daarussalaam publications
[6] "SCHOLARS BIOGRAPHIES \ 8th Century \ Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah" (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
fatwa-online.
 
com/
 
scholarsbiographies/
8thcentury/
 
ibntaymiyyah.
 
htm). Fatwa-online.com. . Retrieved 2010-06-09.
[7] Classical and Contemporary Muslim and Islamic Books in English (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
bysiness.
 
co.
 
uk/
 
ulemah/
 
bioibntaymiyah.
 
htm)
[8] Hoover, Jon (2007). Ibn Taymiyya's Theodicy of Perpetual Optimism (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
brill.
 
nl/
 
ibn-taymiyyas-theodicy-perpetual-optimism)
([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Leiden: Brill. pp. xii, 276. ISBN 9789004158474. .
[9] Janin, Hunt. Islamic law : the Sharia from Muhammad's time to the present by Hunt Janin and Andre Kahlmeyer , McFarland and Co.
Publishers, 2007 p.79
[10] "Taqi al-Deen Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya" (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
pwhce.
 
org/
 
taymiyyah.
 
html). Pwhce.org. . Retrieved 2010-06-09.
[11] Kepel, Gilles, The Prophet and the Pharaoh, (2003), p.194
[12] al-Turayri,, Shaykh Abd al-Wahhab. "The Mardin Conference – Understanding Ibn Taymiyyah’s Fatwa" (http:/
 
/
 
muslimmatters.
 
org/
 
2010/
06/
 
29/
 
the-mardin-conference-–-a-detailed-account/
 
). MuslimMatters. . Retrieved 29 May 2011.
[13] "A religious basis for violence misreads original principles" (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
thenational.
 
ae/
 
thenationalconversation/
 
comment/
a-religious-basis-for-violence-misreads-original-principles). thenational.ae. . Retrieved 2012-10-04.
[14] G. F. Haddad (1996-03-20). "IBN TAYMIYYA ON FUTOOH AL-GHAYB AND SUFISM" (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
abc.
 
se/
 
~m9783/
 
n/
 
itaysf_e.
html). . Retrieved 2011-03-24.
[15] Muhammad `Umar Memon, Ibn Taymiyya's Struggle against Popular Religion, with an annotated translation of Kitab Iqitada, the Hague,
(1976) p.78, 210
[16] "A Muslim Iconoclast (Ibn Taymiyyeh) on the 'Merits' of Jerusalem and Palestine", by Charles D. Matthews, Journal of the American
Oriental Society, volume 56 (1935), pp. 1–21. [Includes ah, Shaykh al-Jasim, pg. 155
[17]
[17] al-Jasim, pg. 155
[18] Ruth Mas (1998). "Qiyas: A Study in Islamic Logic" (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
colorado.
 
edu/
 
ReligiousStudies/
 
faculty/
 
mas/
 
LOGIC.
 
pdf). Folia
Orientalia 34: 113–128. ISSN 0015-5675. .
[19] John F. Sowa; Arun K. Majumdar (2003). "Analogical reasoning" (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
jfsowa.
 
com/
 
pubs/
 
analog.
 
htm). Conceptual Structures for
Knowledge Creation and Communication, Proceedings of ICCS 2003. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. ., pp. 16–36
[20] Baeck, Louis (1994). The Mediterranean tradition in economic thought. Routledge. p. 99. ISBN 0-415-09301-5.
[21] Hosseini, Hamid S. (2003). "Contributions of Medieval Muslim Scholars to the History of Economics and their Impact: A Refutation of the
Schumpeterian Great Gap". In Biddle, Jeff E.; Davis, Jon B.; Samuels, Warren J.. A Companion to the History of Economic Thought. Malden,
MA: Blackwell. pp. 28. doi:10.1002/9780470999059.ch3. ISBN 0-631-22573-0
[22] "Ibn Taimiyah" (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
usc.
 
edu/
 
dept/
 
MSA/
 
introduction/
 
wasiti/
 
taimiyah_3.
 
html#HEADING3). Usc.edu. . Retrieved 2010-06-09.
[23] M.M. Sharif, A History of Muslim Philosophy, Pakistan Philosophical Congress, p. 798
[24] "Ibn Taymiyyah wrote the entire book ‘as-Sarim al-Maslul’ from memory!" (http:/
 
/
 
iskandrani.
 
wordpress.
 
com/
 
2008/
 
02/
 
07/
ibn-taymiyyah-wrote-the-entire-book-as-sarim-al-maslul-from-memory/
 
). Iskandrani.wordpress.com. 2008-02-07. . Retrieved 2010-06-09.
Also:
• Kepel, Gilles – Muslim extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and pharaoh. With a new preface for 2003. Translated
from French by Jon Rothschild. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003. See p. 194–199.
• Little, Donald P. – "Did Ibn Taymiyya have a screw loose?", Studia Islamica, 1975, Number 41, pp. 93–111.
• Makdisi, G. – "Ibn Taymiyya: A Sufi of the Qadiriya Order", American Journal of Arabic Studies, 1973
• Sivan, Emmanuel – Radical Islam: Medieval theology and modern politics. Enlarged edition. New Haven &
London: Yale University Press, 1990. See p. 94–107.
• Michot, Yahya – Ibn Taymiyya: Muslims under non-Muslim Rule. Texts translated, annotated and presented in
relation to six modern readings of the Mardin fatwa. Foreword by James Piscatori. Oxford & London: Interface
Publications, 2006. ISBN 0-9554545-2-2.

Ibn Taymiyyah
117
External links
• French website devoted to Ibn Taymiyya (His life and his works) (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
ibn-taymiyya.
 
fr)
• Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (http:/
 
/
 
concise.
 
britannica.
 
com/
 
ebc/
 
article?eu=393043)
• Collection of internet articles/resources (http:/
 
/
 
abdurrahman.
 
org/
 
scholars/
 
IbnTaimiyyah.
 
html)
• The Life, Struggles, Works and Impact of Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
qsep.
 
com/
 
modules.
php?name=assunnah&
 
d_op=viewarticle&
 
aid=183)
• Refutation of Accusation Against Ibn Taymiyya by Abu Rumaysah (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
islamworld.
 
net/
 
docs/
 
tay.
htm)
• Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah's letters from prison (http:/
 
/
 
muslimways.
 
com/
 
library/
 
miscellaneous/
ibn-taymiyyah-s-letters-from-prison.
 
html)
• Between Shaykul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah and Contemporary Takfiris On The Issue of Rebellion Against Tyranny
and Injustice (http:/
 
/
 
muslimways.
 
com/
 
library/
 
guard-your-faith/
 
rebellion-against-tyranny-and-injustice.
 
html)
• Diagram of teachers and students of Ibn Taymiyah (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
happy-books.
 
co.
 
uk/
muhammad-ibn-abdullah-lineage-and-family-tree/
students-sheikhs-and-teachers-of-famous-muslim-imams-and-scholars-in-muslim-history.
 
php?id=618)
• Shia treatment on Ibn Taymiyyah (http:/
 
/
 
www.
 
answering-ansar.
 
org/
 
answers/
 
ibn_taimiyah/
 
en/
 
chap2.
 
php)

Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
118
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
Not to be confused with the other Islamic scholar Ibn al-Jawzi.
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
Born
AH 691 (AD 1292/3)
Damascus
Died
AH 751 (AD 1349/50)
Era
Ilkhanid/Mamluk
Region Syria
School Hanbali
Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr (also known as Ibn Qayyim ("The son of the principal") or Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
("Son of the principal of the (school of) Jawziyyah")) (1292-1350CE / 691 AH- 751 AH) was a Sunni Islamic jurist,
commentator on the Qur'an, astronomer, chemist, philosopher, psychologist, scientist and theologian. Although he is
sometimes referred to as "the scholar of the heart," given his extensive works pertaining to human behavior and
ethics, Ibn Qayyim's scholarship was focused on the sciences of Hadith and Fiqh.
Name
Full name:
Title
Honorific
Father
of
Son's
name
His name
Son
of
Father's
name
Son
of
Grandfather's
name
Country
Madhhab
Imam Shams-al-Din Abu
Abd-Allah Muhammad ibn
Abi
Bakr
ibn
Sa'd
al-Dimashqi al-Hanbali al-Zar'i Ibn
Qayyim
al-Jawziyyah
In correct order: Arabic: ﻢﻴﻘﻟﺍ ﻦﺑﺍ ﺔﻳﺯﻮﺠﻟﺍ ﻢﻴﻘﻟﺍ ﻦﺑﺍ، ﺏﻮﻳﺃ ﻦﺑ ﺮﻜﺑ ﻲﺑﺃ ﻦﺑ ﺪﻤﺤﻣ ﻦﻳﺪﻟﺍ ﺲﻤﺷ
He is Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr (ﺮﮑﺑ ﻲﺑﺃ ﻦﺑ ﺪﻤﺤﻣ), son of Ayyub, son of Sa'd al-Zar'i, al-Dimashqi (ﻲﻘﺸﻣﺪﻟﺍ),
patronymed as Abu Abdullah Shamsu-Deen (ﻦﯾﺪﻟﺍ ﺲﻤﺷ ﻪﻠﻟﺍ ﺪﺒﻋ ﻮﺑﺃ), and known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, named
after his father who was an attendant (qayyim) at a local school named Al-Jawziyyah.
Biography
Birth and education
Ibn Qayyim was born on the 7th of the Islamic month Safar in the year 691 A.H. (circa Feb. 4, 1292) in the village of
Izra' in Hauran, near Damascus, Syria. There is little known of his childhood except that he received a
comprehensive Islamic education from his father, centered around Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic theology, and
Ulum al-Hadith (lit. the science of Hadith) From an early age, he was interested in the field of Islamic sciences,
learning from the scholars of his time . He studied under his father who was a principal at of the Madrasah
al-Jawziyyah (lit. the Jawziyyah school) one of the few centres devoted to Hanbali school of thought in Damascus,
and thereafter pursued his quest for knowledge, studying the works and teachings of scholars known in his time.
The Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir described Ibn Qayyim's desire for knowledge in his famous work Al-Bidayah wa
al-Nihayah:
He acquired from such books what others could not acquire, and he developed a deep understanding of the
books of the Salaf (pious predecessors) and of the khalaf (those who came after the Salaf).
[1]

Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
119
Teachers
Ibn Qayyim's teachers included his father, Abu Bakr, Shihaab al-'Abir, Taqiyyud-Deen Sulaymaan, Safiyyud-Deen
al-Hindee, Ismaa'eel Ibn Muhammad al-Harraanee. However, the most notable of his teachers was Ibn Taymiyyah,
whom he accompanied and studied under for sixteen years.
In eulogizing Ibn Qayyim, Al-Hafidh Ibn Kathir stated:
He attained great proficiency in many branches of knowledge; particularly knowledge of tafsir, hadith, and
usool. When Shaykh Taqiyyud-Deen Ibn Taymiyyah returned from Egypt in the year 712H (c. 1312), he
stayed with the Shaykh until he died; learning a great deal of knowledge from him, along with the knowledge
that he had already occupied himself in attaining. So he became a single Scholar in many branches of
knowledge.
[2]
Manners and worship
Many of Ibn Qayyim's students and contemporaries have bore witness to his manners of worship. For instance,
Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab emphasized :
He was constant in worship and performing tahajjud (the night Prayer), reaching the limits in lengthening his
Salah (Prayer) and devotion. He was constantly in a state of dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and had an intense
love for Allah. He also had a deep love for turning to Allah in repentance, humbling himself to Him with a
deep sense of humility and helplessness. He would throw himself at the doors of Divine obedience and
servitude. Indeed, I have not seen the likes of him with regards to such matters.
[3]
Additionally, Ibn Kathir stated that Ibn Qayyim :
Was constant in humbly entreating and calling upon his Lord. He recited well and had fine manners. He had a
great deal of love and did not harbour any envy or malice towards anyone, nor did he seek to harm or find fault
with them. I was one of those who most often kept company with him and was one of the most beloved of
people to him. I do not know of anyone in the world in this time, who is a greater worshipper than he is. His
Salah used to be very lengthy, with prolonged Ruku' (bowing) and prostrations. His colleagues would criticise
him for this, yet he never retorted back, nor did he abandon this practice. May Allah bestow His Mercy upon
him.
[4]