“If I had to swear standing between the corner of the Ka'bah and the spot of Ibrāhīm, I would swear that I have not laid my two eyes on anyone like him, nor has he seen anyone as knowledgeable as himself.”
Allāh sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the pure, easy religion and the comprehensive, inclusive Sharī’ah that brings the human being to the level of perfection, and brings him to the Pleasure of Allāh, and raises his status.- al-Hāfidh adh-Dhahabī
And with the help of Allāh, the Prophet (peace be upon him) sought to lead his nation toParadise , the abode of peace and security. So, he spent nearly 23 years calling to the message of Islām that Allāh had tasked him with. He faced the horrors he faced for the sake of relaying his message – the message of Islām – in order to leave his nation on the clear path.
If we look to the purpose of the message of Islām, we find that it can be summed up in the purifying and nourishing of the soul, and this takes place by knowing and worshipping Allāh, as well as strengthening the ties of brotherhood to spread justice between the slaves of Allāh. The means of doing so is by implementing the teachings of our truthful Messenger (peace be upon him), which he gathered for us in the treasures and jewels of his Sunnah, his deep words, and what we call Islāmic law (Sharī’ah, or Fiqh).
And the Companions (may Allāh be Pleased with them) exerted their efforts (ijtihād) in deriving rulings in regards to certain matters after the death of our noble Prophet (peace be upon him). Some of them were correct, and others did not arrive at the correct rulings. These attempts at ijtihād went on, and differing opinions were derived in the name of raising the word of truth and arriving at the highest possible level of perfection (and for Allāh is all perfection). So, the madhāhib were many, and the goal was one.
The result of all this was the authoring of the thousands of books and collections that now fill Islāmic libraries, the raising of the word of truth, and the empowering of the Ummah by its sticking to the religion of truth, Islām. Because of this, all of the powers of the world gathered against the Muslims in order to weaken them. So, the scholars of Islām rose to the occasion and defended Allāh’s Religion.
From these scholars who raised the banner of truth and the honor of defending Islām was Shaykh al-Islām Taqī ad-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah, with the many brave stances he took in his time, and with the countless books and fatāwā of his that now fill the Islāmic library. In order to better know this brave, pious imām known as Ibn Taymiyyah, we present to the reader this biography that was written by the pen of a scholar who saw, lived with, and befriended Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah - and he is none other than al-Imām al-Bazzār – and he called this book ‘al-A’lām al-‘Aliyyah fī Manāqib Ibn Taymiyyah,’ and he is the most qualified to write about him.
The author said:
“...When I learned of the death of the scholar and educator of this Ummah - the Imām, the mujtahid, the defender of the pure Sharī’ah and Prophetic Sunnah, Shaykh al-Islām Taqī ad-Dīn Abī al-‘Abbās Ahmad bin ‘Abd al-Halīm bin ‘Abd as-Salām bin Taymiyyah (may Allāh sanctify his soul and brighten his grave) - some of the scholars and those who loved good for the Muslims said to me: “You saw and befriended the Shaykh, and you came to know him and his characteristics. If only you could write a few words regarding what you saw in order to benefit whoever of this Ummah comes across them, since mercy descends when we remember the righteous people.”
So, I responded: “I only accompanied him for a few days, and I only know few of this many virtues.” However, I saw that they intended good and that what they were requesting of me was a right and obligation upon me, as the scholar should be keen to spread and distribute what he thinks will be of value to the Muslims. So, I produced a small effort describing his virtues which will give the intelligent reader an idea of the honor and excellence of this man. I divided it into sections in order that it be a guide to those who reflect, and I included all that I could remember under each one...”
(Coming soon, in Sha' Allah)

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