Ibn Taymiya
Encyclopedia
Taqi ad-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263–1328 CE), full name: Taqī ad-Dīn Abu 'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd as-Salām Ibn Taymiya al-Ḥarrānī , was an Islamic scholar
(alim), theologian
and logician
born in Harran
, located in what is now Turkey
, close to the Syria
n border. He lived during the troubled times of the Mongol invasions
. He was a member of the school founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal
and sought the return of Islam
to earlier interpretations of the Qur'an
and the Sunnah
. He, like Ahmad ibn Hanbal, is referred to as "Sheikh ul-Islam
," in the Hanbali school, a title of superior authority on Islamic knowledge.
Ibn Taymiyya was born in 1263 at Harran into a well-known family of theologians and died in Damascus
, Syria, outside of the Muslim
cemetery. His grandfather, Abu al-Barkat Majd ad-deen ibn Taymiyyah al-Hanbali (d. 1255) was a reputable teacher of the Hanbali
school of law. Likewise, the scholarly achievements of ibn Taymiyyah's father, Shihab al-deen 'Abd al-Haleem ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1284) were well known. Because of the Mongol
invasion, ibn Taymiyyah's family moved to Damascus in 1268 , which was then ruled by the Mamluk
s of Egypt
. It 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 scholars of his time. Although some claim that he was of Kurdish origin there seems to be no evidence indicating such claim.
Ibn Taymiyyah acquainted himself with the secular and religious sciences of his time. He devoted attention to Arabic literature
and lexicography
as well as studying mathematics and calligraphy
.
As for the religious sciences, he studied jurisprudence
from his father and became a representative of the Hanbali school of thought. Though he remained faithful throughout his life to that school, whose doctrines he had mastered, he also acquired a knowledge of the Islamic disciplines of the Qur'an and the Hadith. He also studied theology
(kalam
), philosophy, and Sufism
. He was known for his refutations of the excesses of many Sufis, the Shia and the Christian
s. His student Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya wrote the famous poem "O Christ-Worshipper" which examined the dogma of the Trinity
propounded by many Christian sects
.
His troubles with government began when he went with a delegation of ulama to talk to Ghazan Khan, the Khan
of the Mongol Ilkhans
in Iran
, to stop his attack on the Muslims. It is reported that none of the ulama dared to say anything to the Khan except Ibn Taymiyyah who said:
Ibn Taymiya was imprisoned several times for conflicting with the ijma
of jurists and theologians of his day. He spent his last fifteen years in Damascus. The most famous of his students, Ibn Qayyim, was to share in Ibn Taymiyyah's renewed persecutions. From August 1320 to February 1321 Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned on orders from Cairo
in the citadel of Damascus for supporting a doctrine that would curtail the ease with which a Muslim man could divorce his wife.
, 728 AH
(27 September 1328). Al-Bazzar says, 'Once the people had heard of his death, not a single person in Damascus who was able to attend the prayer and wanted to, remained until he appeared and took time out for it. As a result, the markets in Damascus were closed and all transactions of livelihood were stopped. Governors, heads, scholars, jurists came out. They say that none of the majority of the people failed to turn up, according to my knowledge - except three individuals; they were well known for their enmity for Ibn Taymiyyah and thus, hid away from the people out of fear for their lives."
towards understanding the Asma Wa Sifat (Divine Names and Attributes of God) as that was not the precedence established by the salaf
. He argued that the companions and the early generations didn't resort to philosophical explanations towards understanding the Divine Names and Attributes. He further argued that had salaf found any benefit in resorting to kalam they would have done it and encouraged it. Therefore, Ibn Taymiyyah was accused by his opponents that he was anthropomorphic
in his stance towards Names and Attributes of God
.
In fact, in his book Kitabul Wasitiyyah, Ibn Taymiyyah refutes the stance of the Mushabbihah (those who liken the creation with God: anthropomorphism) and those who deny, negate, and resort to allegorical/metaphorical interpretations of the Divine Names and Attributes. He contends that the methodology of the salaf is to take the middle path between the extremes of anthropomorphism and negation/distortion. He further states that salaf affirmed all the Names and Attributes of God without tashbih
(establishing likeness), takyeef (speculating as to "how" they are manifested in the divine), ta'teel (negating/denying their apparent meaning, and without ta'weel (giving it secondary/symbolic meaning which is different from the apparent meaning).
:
was issued against the Mongols (or Tatars
), in the Mamluk's war. Ibn Taymiyyah declared that jihad upon the Mongols was not only permissible, but obligatory
. He 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 Sharia, and thus were living in a state of jahiliyyah
, or pre-Islamic
pagan ignorance
.
Apart from that, he led the resistance of the Mongol invasion of Damascus in 1300. In the years that followed, Ibn Taymiyyah was engaged in intensive polemic activity against:
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.
In 2010 a group of Islamic Scholars in Mardin
argued that Ibn Taymiyya's fatwa was misprinted into an order to "fight" the ruler who is not applying Islamic law, but rather it means to "treat". They have based their understanding on the original manuscript in the Zaheer Libray, and the transmission by Ibn Taymiyya's student Ibn Muflih
.
. 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 rabbi
s 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:
Ibn Taymiyyah believed that the first three generations of Islam – 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.
Ibn Taymiyyah considered himself a follower of the Qadiriyya
. He also praised and wrote a commentary on some of the speeches of Abdul-Qadir Gilani. He criticized the views and actions of the Rafaiyah.
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 mosque
s 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!"
had indeed disbelieved. He also affirmed that God will allow the martyrs, scholars, memorizers of Qur'an, and angel
s 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 intercession is sought.
Furthermore, Ibn Taymiyyah states that types of intercession that are legal are:
), to approach or rival in any way the Islamic sanctity of the two most holy mosque
s within Islam, Mecca
(Masjid al-Haram
) and Medina
(Al-Masjid al-Nabawi
).
Ibn Taymiyyah was also a staunch critic of veneration of tombs and treating them as place of worship. Ibn Taymiyyah argued that belief in Tawhid
entails believing in God's Lordship that He alone is the Rabb
, and secondly one must worship Him and Him alone. pagan
s of Muhammad
's time rejected him even though they believed God as Rabb and affirmed His existence. However, they opposed Muhammad when it came to the second point, and that is to worship God alone.
Ibn Taymiyyah further explains that worship (also known as ibadah
) has a broad scope in Islam for it requires complete servitude to God. Therefore, worship in Islam includes conventional acts of worship such as praying five times a day and fasting
along with Dua
(supplication), istigatha(seeking protection or refuge), Ist'ana(seeking help), and Istia'dha(seeking benefits). Apparently, he condemned those who excessively venerated graves and saints supplicating to them.
had grown concerned over the increasing amount of innovation (commonly known as bid‘ah) in the Islamic creed, and he consequently censured those who he believed were promulgating heretical doctrines or beliefs that contravened orthodox Sunni
principles.
Ibn Taymiyyah duly eulogized the Ghaznavid ruler, stating that:
currents of thought in Islam, such as Wahhabism and Salafi
sm. Wahhabism is criticized for being a conservative enough view that some may use it to encourage religious terrorism
and the extreme formality of Islam.
(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.
This model of analogy has been used in the recent work of John F. Sowa
.
Ibn Taymiyyah commenting on the power of supply and demand
:
, Arabia, and India
. His work extended his religious and political involvements. Extant books and essays written by ibn Taymiyyah include:
Some of his other works have been translated to English
. They include:
Ulama
-In Islam:* Ulema, also transliterated "ulama", a community of legal scholars of Islam and its laws . See:**Nahdlatul Ulama **Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama **Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal**Jamiat ul-Ulama -Other:...
(alim), theologian
Islamic theology
Islamic theology is a branch of Islamic studies regarding the beliefs associated with the Islamic faith. Any religious belief system, or creed, can be considered an example of aqidah. However, this term has taken a significant technical usage in Islamic history and theology, denoting those...
and logician
Logic in Islamic philosophy
Logic played an important role in Islamic philosophy .Islamic Logic or mantiq is similar science to what is called Traditional Logic in Western Sciences.- External links :*Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: , Routledge, 1998...
born in Harran
Harran
Harran was a major ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia whose site is near the modern village of Altınbaşak, Turkey, 24 miles southeast of Şanlıurfa...
, located in what is now Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, close to the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n border. He lived during the troubled times of the Mongol invasions
Mongol Conquests
Mongol invasions progressed throughout the 13th century, resulting in the vast Mongol Empire which covered much of Asia and Eastern Europe by 1300....
. He was a member of the school founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal Abu `Abd Allah al-Shaybani was an important Muslim scholar and theologian. He is considered the founder of the Hanbali school of fiqh...
and sought the return of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
to earlier interpretations of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and the Sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
. He, like Ahmad ibn Hanbal, is referred to as "Sheikh ul-Islam
Sheikh ul-Islam
Shaykh al-Islām is a title of superior authority in the issues of Islam....
," in the Hanbali school, a title of superior authority on Islamic knowledge.
Biography
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria, outside of the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
cemetery. His grandfather, Abu al-Barkat Majd ad-deen ibn Taymiyyah al-Hanbali (d. 1255) was a reputable teacher of the Hanbali
Hanbali
The Hanbali school is one the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. The jurisprudence school traces back to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal but was institutionalized by his students. Hanbali jurisprudence is considered very strict and conservative, especially regarding questions of dogma...
school of law. Likewise, the scholarly achievements of ibn Taymiyyah's father, Shihab al-deen 'Abd al-Haleem ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1284) were well known. Because of the Mongol
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
invasion, ibn Taymiyyah's family moved to Damascus in 1268 , which was then ruled by the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. It was here that his father delivered sermons from the pulpit of the Umayyad Mosque
Umayyad Mosque
The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus or formerly the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist , is located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world...
, and ibn Taymiyyah followed in his footsteps by studying with the scholars of his time. Although some claim that he was of Kurdish origin there seems to be no evidence indicating such claim.
Ibn Taymiyyah acquainted himself with the secular and religious sciences of his time. He devoted attention to Arabic literature
Arabic literature
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
and lexicography
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
as well as studying mathematics and calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy, colloquially known as Perso-Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking, in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. This art form is based on the Arabic script, which for a long time was used by all...
.
As for the religious sciences, he studied jurisprudence
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
from his father and became a representative of the Hanbali school of thought. Though he remained faithful throughout his life to that school, whose doctrines he had mastered, he also acquired a knowledge of the Islamic disciplines of the Qur'an and the Hadith. He also studied theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
(kalam
Kalam
ʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...
), philosophy, and Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
. He was known for his refutations of the excesses of many Sufis, the Shia and the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s. His student Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya wrote the famous poem "O Christ-Worshipper" which examined the dogma of the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
propounded by many Christian sects
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
.
His troubles with government began when he went with a delegation of ulama to talk to Ghazan Khan, the Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
of the Mongol Ilkhans
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, to stop his attack on the Muslims. It is reported that none of the ulama dared to say anything to the Khan except Ibn Taymiyyah who said:
"You claim that you are Muslim and you have with you Mu'adhdhinsMuezzinA muezzin , or muzim, is the chosen person at a mosque who leads the call to prayer at Friday services and the five daily times for prayer from one of the mosque's minarets; in most modern mosques, electronic amplification aids the muezzin in his task.The professional muezzin is chosen for his...
, MuftiMuftiA mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
s, ImamImamAn imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
s and ShaykhSheikhNot to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
s but you invaded us and reached our country for what? While your father and your grandfather, HulaguHulagu KhanHulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü, Hulegu , was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia...
were non-believers, they did not attack and they kept their promise. But you promised and broke your promise."
Ibn Taymiya was imprisoned several times for conflicting with the ijma
Ijma
Ijmāʿ is an Arabic term referring to the consensus of the Muslim community. Various schools of thought within Islamic jurisprudence may define this consensus as that of the first generation of Muslims only; the consensus of the first three generations of Muslims; the consensus of the jurists...
of jurists and theologians of his day. He spent his last fifteen years in Damascus. The most famous of his students, Ibn Qayyim, was to share in Ibn Taymiyyah's renewed persecutions. From August 1320 to February 1321 Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned on orders from Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in the citadel of Damascus for supporting a doctrine that would curtail the ease with which a Muslim man could divorce his wife.
Death
When he was ultimately banned from having any books, papers and pens during the latter stage of his final imprisonment, Ibn Taymiyyah devoted all of his time to worship and reciting the Qur'an. Ibn Taymiyyah died in prison on 22 Dhu al-Qi'dahDhu al-Qi'dah
Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu'l-Qadah, or Dhu al-Qi'dah is the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months in Islam during which warfare is prohibited, hence the name ‘Master of Truce’.- Timing :...
, 728 AH
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
(27 September 1328). Al-Bazzar says, 'Once the people had heard of his death, not a single person in Damascus who was able to attend the prayer and wanted to, remained until he appeared and took time out for it. As a result, the markets in Damascus were closed and all transactions of livelihood were stopped. Governors, heads, scholars, jurists came out. They say that none of the majority of the people failed to turn up, according to my knowledge - except three individuals; they were well known for their enmity for Ibn Taymiyyah and thus, hid away from the people out of fear for their lives."
God's attributes
Ibn Taymiyyah rejected the recourse to kalamKalam
ʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...
towards understanding the Asma Wa Sifat (Divine Names and Attributes of God) as that was not the precedence established by the salaf
Salaf
A Salaf is an early Muslim of the first three generations of proponents of the religion.-First generation:* See: List of SahabaThe Salaf are the first generation of Muslims, which included Muhammad's companions and followers at the time....
. He argued that the companions and the early generations didn't resort to philosophical explanations towards understanding the Divine Names and Attributes. He further argued that had salaf found any benefit in resorting to kalam they would have done it and encouraged it. Therefore, Ibn Taymiyyah was accused by his opponents that he was anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
in his stance towards Names and Attributes of God
God in Islam
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...
.
In fact, in his book Kitabul Wasitiyyah, Ibn Taymiyyah refutes the stance of the Mushabbihah (those who liken the creation with God: anthropomorphism) and those who deny, negate, and resort to allegorical/metaphorical interpretations of the Divine Names and Attributes. He contends that the methodology of the salaf is to take the middle path between the extremes of anthropomorphism and negation/distortion. He further states that salaf affirmed all the Names and Attributes of God without tashbih
Tashbih
Tashbih is an Islamic religious concept meaning closeness. In Islamic theology, two opposite terms are attributed to Allah: tashbih and tanzih . The latter means 'distance, transcendence'....
(establishing likeness), takyeef (speculating as to "how" they are manifested in the divine), ta'teel (negating/denying their apparent meaning, and without ta'weel (giving it secondary/symbolic meaning which is different from the apparent meaning).
Jihad
Ibn Taymiyyah is known for his devotion to jihadJihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
:
Mongol invasion and other struggles
What has been called Ibn Taymiyyah's "most famous" fatwāFatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
was issued against the Mongols (or Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
), in the Mamluk's war. Ibn Taymiyyah declared that jihad upon the Mongols was not only permissible, but obligatory
Fard
also is an Islamic term which denotes a religious duty. The word is also used in Persian, Turkish, and Urdu in the same meaning....
. He 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
Yassa
Yassa was a secret written code of law created by Genghis Khan. It was the principal law under the Mongol Empire even though no copies were made available...
) rather than Islamic law or Sharia, and thus were living in a state of jahiliyyah
Jahiliyyah
Jahiliyyah is an Islamic concept of "ignorance of divine guidance" or "the state of ignorance of the guidance from God" or "Days of Ignorance" referring to the condition in which Arabs found themselves in pre-Islamic Arabia, i.e. prior to the revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad...
, or pre-Islamic
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.-Studies:...
pagan ignorance
Arabian mythology
Arabian mythology comprises the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs. Prior to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods, or simply tribal gods and other assorted deities which represented the polytheistic culture of pre-Islamic Arabia...
.
Apart from that, he led the resistance of the Mongol invasion of Damascus in 1300. In the years that followed, Ibn Taymiyyah was engaged in intensive polemic activity against:
- the Kasrawan Shi'aShi'a Islam in LebanonShi'a Islam constitutes between 40% to 47% of Lebanon's population, forming the fastest growing population in Lebanon. Most of its adherents live in the northern and western area of the Beqaa Valley, southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs...
in LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, - the Rifa'iRifa'iThe Rifa'i order is an eminent Sufi order founded by Ahmed ar-Rifa'i and developed in the Lower Iraq marshlands between Wasit and Basra. The Rifa'iyya had its greatest following until the 15th century C.E. when it was overtaken by the Qadiri order. Presently the order is said to maintain...
SufiSufismSufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
order, - the ittihadiyah school, a school that grew out of the teaching of Ibn ArabiIbn ArabiIbn ʿArabī was an Andalusian Moorish Sufi mystic and philosopher. His full name was Abū 'Abdillāh Muḥammad ibn 'Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn `Arabī .-Biography:...
, whose views were widely denounced as hereticalHeresy in IslamHeresy in Islam concerns the relationship that larger Islamic bodies have with smaller or newer Muslim sects that dissent from a previous religious or social orthodoxy.-Sunni- Shi'a relations:...
.
In 1306 Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned in the citadel of Cairo
Cairo Citadel
The Saladin Citadel of Cairo is a medieval Islamic fortification in Cairo, Egypt. The location, on Mokattam hill near the center of Cairo, was once famous for its fresh breeze and grand views of the city...
for eighteen months on the charge of anthropomorphism. He was incarcerated again in 1308 for several months.
In 2010 a group of Islamic Scholars in Mardin
Mardin
Mardin is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for its Arabic-like architecture, and for its strategic location on a rocky mountain overlooking the plains of northern Syria.-History:...
argued that Ibn Taymiyya's fatwa was misprinted into an order to "fight" the ruler who is not applying Islamic law, but rather it means to "treat". They have based their understanding on the original manuscript in the Zaheer Libray, and the transmission by Ibn Taymiyya's student Ibn Muflih
Ibn Muflih
Shams al-Din b. Muflih was one of the leading authorities in Hanbali Law who received his tutelage amongst several prominent Hanbali figures, including Ibn Taymiyah. He gave particular attention to the juristic preferences of Ibn Taymiyah, and included them in his voluminous and renowned...
.
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 LawSharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. Ibn Taymiyyah likened the extremism of Taqlid
Taqlid
Taqlid or taklid is an Arabic term in Islamic legal terminology connoting "imitation", that is; following the decisions of a religious authority without necessarily examining the scriptural basis or reasoning of that decision, such as accepting and following the verdict of scholars of...
(blind conformity to juridical precedence or school of thought) to the practice of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Christians who took their rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s 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:
- revive the Islamic faith's understanding of true adherence to Tawhid,
- eradicate beliefs and customs that he held to be foreign to Islam, and
- to rejuvenate correct Islamic thought and its related sciences.
Ibn Taymiyyah believed that the first three generations of Islam – Muhammad, his companions
Sahabah
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
, 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.
Ibn Taymiyyah considered himself a follower of the Qadiriyya
Qadiriyya
The Qadiriyya , are members of the Qadiri Sufi order...
. He also praised and wrote a commentary on some of the speeches of Abdul-Qadir Gilani. He criticized the views and actions of the Rafaiyah.
Non-Muslims
Ibn Taymiyyah strongly opposed borrowing from ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
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
Mawlid
Mawlid or sometimes ميلاد , mīlād is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal,...
of the Islamic prophet
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
Muhammad or the construction of mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s 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!"
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 JudgementLast Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
had indeed disbelieved. He also affirmed that God will allow the martyrs, scholars, memorizers of Qur'an, and angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s 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
Tawassul
Tawassul is the Islamic understanding of intercession. It is a religious practice in which a Muslim seeks nearness to Allah. A rough translation would be: "To draw near to what one seeks after and to approach that which one desires." The exact definition and method of tawassul is a matter of...
are that God chooses the intercessor, and chooses the people on whose behalf intercession is possible. Therefore, God should be asked when intercession is sought.
Furthermore, Ibn Taymiyyah states that types of intercession that are legal are:
- Intercession through the Names and Attributes of God,
- Intercession through one's good deed,
- 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 saintSaintA saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s and prophetProphetIn religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s should be invoked for intercession while they have departed from this world.
His Position in eyes of Ah'lul Sunnah wa al Jamaa
He is considered to be one of the leading scholars of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa and has been accepted as Sheikh-ul-Islam by all major sunni schools.Shrines
Ibn Taymiyyah opposed giving any undue religious honors to shrines (even that of Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa MosqueAl-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque also known as al-Aqsa, is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem...
), to approach or rival in any way the Islamic sanctity of the two most holy mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s within Islam, Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
(Masjid al-Haram
Masjid al-Haram
Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām is the largest mosque in the world. Located in the city of Mecca, it surrounds the Kaaba, the place which Muslims worldwide turn towards while performing daily prayers and is Islam's holiest place...
) and Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
(Al-Masjid al-Nabawi
Al-Masjid al-Nabawi
Al-Masjid al-Nabawi , often called the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque situated in the city of Medina. As the final resting place of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, it is considered the second holiest site in Islam by Muslims and is one of the largest mosques in the world...
).
Ibn Taymiyyah was also a staunch critic of veneration of tombs and treating them as place of worship. Ibn Taymiyyah argued that belief in Tawhid
Tawhid
Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God is one and unique ....
entails believing in God's Lordship that He alone is the Rabb
Rabb
Rabb is an Arabic word meaning Lord, Sustainer, Cherisher, Master, which in Islamic context refers to Allah. In the Qur'an, Rabb is one of the usual Names of God....
, and secondly one must worship Him and Him alone. pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
s of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's time rejected him even though they believed God as Rabb and affirmed His existence. However, they opposed Muhammad when it came to the second point, and that is to worship God alone.
Ibn Taymiyyah further explains that worship (also known as ibadah
Ibadah
The Arabic word ibadah or ibada, usually translated "worship", is connected with related words literally meaning "slavery", and has connotations of obedience, submission, and humility. In terms of Islam, ibadah is the ultimate obedience, the ultimate submission, and the ultimate humility to Allah ...
) has a broad scope in Islam for it requires complete servitude to God. Therefore, worship in Islam includes conventional acts of worship such as praying five times a day and fasting
Sawm
Sawm is an Arabic word for fasting regulated by Islamic jurisprudence. In the terminology of Islamic law, Sawm means to abstain from eating, drinking , having sex and anything against Islamic law...
along with Dua
Dua
In the terminology of Islam, Duʿāʾ Plural: Dow'āt literally meaning invocation, is an act of supplication. The term is derived from an Arabic word meaning to 'call out' or to 'summon', and Muslims regard this as a profound act of worship. This is when Muslim people from all over connect with God...
(supplication), istigatha(seeking protection or refuge), Ist'ana(seeking help), and Istia'dha(seeking benefits). Apparently, he condemned those who excessively venerated graves and saints supplicating to them.
On governance and Islamic history
Ibn Taymiyyah eulogized various Islamic rulers throughout history, notably, Abu Mansur Sabuktigin, the pious 10th century Ghaznavid ruler. Sebük TiginSebük Tigin
Abu Mansur Sabuktigin , also spelled as Sabuktagin, Sabuktakin, Sebüktegin and Sebük Tigin, is generally regarded by historians as the founder of the Ghaznavid Empire...
had grown concerned over the increasing amount of innovation (commonly known as bid‘ah) in the Islamic creed, and he consequently censured those who he believed were promulgating heretical doctrines or beliefs that contravened orthodox Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
principles.
Ibn Taymiyyah duly eulogized the Ghaznavid ruler, stating that:
Islamic fundamentalism
Ibn Taymiyyah has been influential on subsequent and fundamentalistIslamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
currents of thought in Islam, such as Wahhabism and Salafi
Salafi
A Salafi come from Sunni Islam is a follower of an Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples...
sm. Wahhabism is criticized for being a conservative enough view that some may use it to encourage religious terrorism
Religious terrorism
Religious terrorism is terrorism by those whose motivations and aims have a predominant religious character or influence.In the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as the divine right of kings and with the rise of nationalism, terrorism more often involved anarchism, nihilism and...
and the extreme formality of Islam.
Ibahah
Muslim jurists have long held that the legal tradition initiated by the Qur'an includes a principle of permissibility, or Ibahah (Arabic إباحة), 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, and .Analogical reasoning
Later, Ibn Taymiyyah argued against the certainty of syllogistic arguments and in favour of analogyAnalogy
Analogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject to another particular subject , and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process...
(Qiyas
Qiyas
In Islamic jurisprudence, qiyās is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the Hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Qur'an, in order to apply a known injunction to a new circumstance and create a new injunction...
). 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.
This model of analogy has been used in the recent work of John F. Sowa
John F. Sowa
John Florian Sowa is the computer scientist who invented conceptual graphs, a graphic notation for logic and natural language, based on the structures in semantic networks and on the existential graphs of Charles S. Peirce. He is currently developing high-level "ontologies" for artificial...
.
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.Ibn Taymiyyah commenting on the power of supply and demand
Supply and demand
Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers will equal the quantity supplied by producers , resulting in an...
:
Works
Ibn Taymiyyah left a considerable body of work (350 works listed by his student Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya and 500 by other student al-Dhahabi) that has been republished extensively in Syria, EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Arabia, and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. His work extended his religious and political involvements. Extant books and essays written by ibn Taymiyyah include:
- A Great Compilation of FatwaA Great Compilation of FatwaThe Great Compilation of Fatwa is a collection of religious tracts written by the 13th century Sunni Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyyah.-Description:...
—(Majmu al-Fatwa al-Kubra) This was collected centuries after his death, and contains several of the works mentioned below. - Minhaj as-Sunnah an-NabawiyyahMinhaj as-Sunnah an-NabawiyyahMinhaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah is a four/ or eight/ or nine volumes work by Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiya.It is a critique of Shia Islam.-References:...
—(The Pathway of as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah)—Volumes 1–4 - Majmoo' al-Fatawa—(Compilation of Fatawa) Volumes 1–36
- al-Aqeedah Al-Hamawiyyah—(The Creed to the People of Hamawiyyah)
- Al-Aqidah Al-Waasitiyyah—(The Creed to the People of Waasittiyah)
- 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 DeenDīnis an Arabic word commonly associated with Islam, but also used in Arab Christian worship. The term is sometimes translated as "religion", but as used in the Qur'an, it refers both to the path along which righteous Muslims travel in order to comply with divine law, or Shari'a, and to the divine...
(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.
- Fatawa al-Kubra
- Fatawa al-Misriyyah
- ar-Radd 'ala al-Mantiqiyyin (Refutation of GreekGreeksThe Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
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
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. They include:
- The Friends of Allah and the Friends of ShaytanDevil (Islam)In Islam, the Devil is known as or . According to the Qurʾān, God created Iblis out of "smokeless fire or from the pure flame of fire" and created man out of clay...
- 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
- The Madinan Way
- Ibn Taymiyya against the Greek logicians
- Muslims Under Non-Muslim Rule
External links
- Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
- Collection of internet articles/resources
- The Life, Struggles, Works and Impact of Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
- Refutation of Accusation Against Ibn Taymiyya by Abu Rumaysah
- Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah's letters from prison
- Between Shaykul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah and Contemporary Takfiris On The Issue of Rebellion Against Tyranny and Injustice
- Diagram of teachers and students of Ibn Taymiyah