Shaykh ul Islam Ibn Taymiyah RA

This article is in refutation of extreme Sufis who are against Shaykh Ul Islam Ibn e Tamiyah RA and they say that May Allah Forbid Ibn e tamiyah ra was deviant and Kafir.

Shaykh Saalih al Munajjid said:
“Shaykh Ibn Naasir al-Deen al-Dimashqi wrote a book called al-Radd al-Waafir ‘ala man za’ama anna man sammaa Ibn Taymiyah Shaykh al-Islam kaafir, in which he refuted one of the fanatical Hanafis who claimed that it was not permissible to call Ibn Taymiyah “Shaykh al-Islam”, and that the one who did that was a kaafir. In it he mentioned eighty five imams, all of whom described Ibn Taymiyah as Shaykh al-Islam, and he quoted their words from their books to that effect.”[Islamqa fatwa no. 96323]

These are Names of Muhadditheen who consider Ibn e Tamiyah RA to be Shaykh Ul Islam quoted by Imam Ibn Nasir Ud Din Ad Damashqi in his book and online link of book is

http://arabic.islamicweb.com/books/taimiya.asp?book=366

ابن عبد الدائم
ابن عبد الهادي
الذهبي
ابن المهندس
الخزرجي البياني
ابن بردس
ابن النقيب القرماني
ابن المنصفي الحريري
ابن رافع
ابن الصيرفي
ابن نجيح
ابن المحب الصامت
ابن طولوبغا
ابن سوار السبكي
ابن جيش الرقي المؤذن
ابن الحريري
ابن شكر
ابن اليونانية البعلبكي
ابن حمزة الحسيني
الزملكاني
ابن دقيق العيد
ابن المنجا التنوخي
اليونيني
ابن سعد
ابن السند
ابو حيان الأندلسي
ابن قيم الجوزية
البقاعي الشافعي
ابن شيخ الحزاميين الواسطي
الحسباني
أبو العباس ابن حجي
ابن رجب الوالد
ابن بكار النابلسي
ابن كرامة
ابن فضل الله العمري
الزرعي
ابن المحب السعدي
ابن القلانسي
ابن جماعة
ابن يونس البعلبكي
ابن ألمي التركي
الحسن بن حبيب
المجاور
ابن شيخ السلامية
العلائي
الدهلي
الياسوفي
عبد الله بن المحب
الجزري
الاسكندري
ابن طولوبغا السيفي
ابن الفخر
ابن رجب
الحافظ العراقي
ابن عبد الحق البغدادي
ابن السلار
ابن اللخام البعلي
الزبيدي
الكندي
شيخ الحديث بحلب عمر ابن حبيب
أبي رسلان البلقيني
ابن نجيح
ابن شقير
القباني
البزار
الملحي
ابن يونس المراغي
البرزالي
قرأ سنقر
إبن السراج القونوي
المنبجي
مضى عالم الدنيا الذي عز فقده واضرم نارا في الجوانح بعده
السرمري
ابن السراج
أبو بكر بن عمار الصالحي
ابن ترجم الكناني الرحبي
(end)

<– image –> https://systemoflife.com/images/life{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20is{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20a{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20fading{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20shadow{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20by{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20ibn{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20al{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20qayyim{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20systemoflife.jpg
<– image_desc –> life is a fading shadow by ibn al qayyim systemoflife

1. Ibn e Katheer ra on his Teacher Ibn e Tamiyah ra
Ibn e katheer said in al bidaya wal nihaya vol 18 page 53

وكان للشيخ تقي الدين من الفقهاء جماعة يحسدونه لتقدمه عند الدولة وانفراده بالأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر وطاعة الناس له ومحبتهم له وكثرة أتباعه وقيامه في الحق وعلمه وعمله

“Some jurists were jealous of Shaykh Taqi Ud Din Ibn Taymiyyah because he had contacts in the Government, and because he single-handedly took care of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, and because people listened to what he had to say, and because they loved him, and because of the great number of his followers, and because he stood for the truth, and because of his knowledge and action.

Similarly he mentioned

وفي يوم الاثنين ثامن رجب حضر القضاة والعلماء، وفيهم الشيخ تقي الدين بن تيمية عند نائب السلطنة بالقصر، وقرئت عقيدة الشيخ تقي الدين الواسطية، وحصل بحث في أماكن منها، وأخرت مواضع إلى المجلس الثاني.

فاجتمعوا يوم الجمعة بعد الصلاة ثاني عشر الشهر المذكور وحضر الشيخ صفي الدين الهندي، وتكلم مع الشيخ تقي الدين كلاما كثيرا، ولكن ساقيته لاطمت بحرا، ثم اصطلحوا على أن يكون الشيخ كمال الدين بن الزملكاني هو الذي يحاققه من غير مسامحة، فتناظرا في ذلك، وشكر الناس من فضائل الشيخ كمال الدين بن الزملكاني وجودة ذهنه وحسن بحثه حيث قاوم ابن تيمية في البحث، وتكلم معه.

ثم انفصل الحال على قبول العقيد

In short it says that when the scholars sat to argue with him(shaykh Ibn e Tamiyah ra) with regards to his Aqueedah al-Waasitiyyah the argument ended with them accepting all that was contained in the book as in vol. 14 of ‘al-Bidaayah’ under the heading ‘Aqd al-Majaalis ath-Thalaatha and Vol 18 Page 53 of مركز الجوث والدراسات العربية والاسلامية بدار هجر ’ with the tahqeeq of Dr Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsin Al Turki (end)

Ibn e Katheer Made the Whole Chapterأول المجالس الثلاثة لشيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية(The first three councils to Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah)

Ibn Kathir said Regarding Funeral prayer Of Ibn e Tamiyah RA

Ahmad bin Hambal said: “Tell the innovators that between us and them are the funerals,” and there is no doubt that the funeral of al-Imam Ahmad was vast and great due to how populated his city was, and how the people gathered for him and respected him, and the government loved him. Shaykh Taqi ad-Din died in the land of Damascus, and its population was nowhere near that of Baghdad in size. However, they gathered for his funeral in such numbers that if the ruler had forced them to all go out, they would not have been out in the numbers that were seen that day, and this is all for a man who died in a citadel imprisoned by the ruler.” [al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah’ (14/130)]

2. Hafidh Ad Dahabee Ra on his Teacher Ibn e Tamiyah ra
AL HAFIZ DAHABEE SAID

Al shaykh Al Imam AL hafiz AL naqid(faqeeh) AL MUJTAHID AL MUFASSIR al bare`e Shaykh ul ISLAM,

Tadhkaratul Huffaz 4/1496 no: 1175

He also said

هو شيخنا ، وشيخ الإسلام ، وفريد العصر ، علماً ، ومعرفة ، وشجاعة ، وذكاء ، وتنويراً إلهيّاً ً، وكرماً ، ونصحاً للأمَّة ، وأمراً بالمعروف ، ونهياً عن المنكر ، سمع الحديث ، وأكثر بنفسه من طلبه وكتابته ، وخرج ، ونظر في الرجال ، والطبقات ، وحصَّل ما لم يحصله غيره .

برَع في تفسير القرآن ، وغاص في دقيق معانيه ، بطبع سيَّال ، وخاطر إلى مواقع الإِشكال ميَّال ، واستنبط منه أشياء لم يسبق إليها ، وبرع في الحديث ، وحفِظه ، فقلَّ من يحفظ ما يحفظه من الحديث ، معزوّاً إلى أصوله وصحابته ، مع شدة استحضاره له وقت إقامة الدليل ، وفاق الناس في معرفة الفقه ، واختلاف المذاهب ، وفتاوى الصحابة والتابعين ، بحيث إنه إذا أفتى لم يلتزم بمذهب ، بل يقوم بما دليله عنده ، وأتقن العربيَّة أصولاً وفروعاً ، وتعليلاً واختلافاً ، ونظر في العقليات ، وعرف أقوال المتكلمين ، وَرَدَّ عليهم ، وَنبَّه على خطئهم ، وحذَّر منهم ، ونصر السنَّة بأوضح حجج وأبهر براهين ، وأُوذي في ذات اللّه من المخالفين ، وأُخيف في نصر السنَّة المحضة ، حتى أعلى الله مناره ، وجمع قلوب أهل التقوى على محبته والدعاء له ، وَكَبَتَ أعداءه ، وهدى به رجالاً من أهل الملل والنحل ، وجبل قلوب الملوك والأمراء على الانقياد له غالباً ، وعلى طاعته ، أحيى به الشام ، بل والإسلام ، بعد أن كاد ينثلم بتثبيت أولى الأمر لما أقبل حزب التتر والبغي في خيلائهم ، فظُنت بالله الظنون ، وزلزل المؤمنون ، واشْرَأَب النفاق وأبدى صفحته .

ومحاسنه كثيرة ، وهو أكبر من أن ينبه على سيرته مثلي ، فلو حلفت بين الركن والمقام لحلفت : إني ما رأيت بعيني مثله ، وأنه ما رأى مثل نفسه .

He is our Shaykh, the Shaykh of Islam, unrivalled in our time in terms of knowledge, courage, intelligence, spiritual enlightenment, generosity, sincerity towards the ummah, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and learning hadeeth – he put a great deal of effort into seeking it and writing it down, and he examined the different categories of narrators and acquired knowledge that no one else acquired.

He excelled in Qur’aanic commentary (tafseer) and delved deeply into its subtle meanings. He derived meanings from it that no one else managed to do before him. He also excelled in hadeeth and in the memorization thereof; very few have memorized as much hadeeth as he memorized. He attributed ahaadeeth to their proper sources and narrators, and he was able to quote readily whatever he needed to establish proof. He surpassed all people in knowledge of fiqh and the views of different madhhabs, and the fatwas of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een, so much so that when he issued a fatwa he did not adhere to the view of a madhhab, rather he based his fatwa on whichever view was supported by the stronger evidence. He excelled in knowledge of Arabic language, and studied issues on the basis of rationality and reason. He studied the views of the philosophers and refuted their arguments and pointed out their mistakes and warned against them. He supported the Sunnah with the strongest evidence and proofs. He was harmed for the sake of Allaah by his opponents and persecuted for his support of the pure Sunnah, until Allaah caused him to prevail and caused the pious to unite in loving him and praying for him, and suppressed his enemies and guided men of other groups and sects through him. Allaah made kings and commanders inclined to follow him and obey him,and he revived Syria – and indeed Islam – through his efforts, when it was almost defeated, by urging the rulers to resist the Tatars,when people were harbouring doubts about Allaah and the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking (cf. al-Ahzaab 33:10-11), and hypocrisy grew strong.

His good qualities are many, and he is too great for a man like me to talk about his life. If I were to swear an oath between the Corner and the Maqaam I would swear that I have never seen anyone like him, and that he has never seen anyone like himself.

Dhayl Tabaqaat al-Hanaabilah by Ibn Rajab Hanblee (4/390).

Note that these Extreme sufis quote fabricated saying of Dahabee against Ibn e Tamiyah RA and it is famous among sufis by the name of An Naseeha Ad Dahabiyah.

Reply 1http://islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=743&pageID=365& )

Reply 2

How can Imam ad-Dhahabi write Naseeha ad-Dhahabiya when he wrote a following Marsiya after the death of Ibn Taymiyah, He said:
يا موت خذ من أردت أو فدع … محوت رسم العلوم والورع
أخذت شيخ الإسلام وانفصمت … عرى التقى واشتفى أولوا البدع
غيبت بحراً مفسراً جبلاً … حبراً تقياً مجانب الشبع
فإن يحدث فمسلم ثقة … وإن يناظر فصاحب اللمع
وإن يخض نحو سيبويه يفه … بكل معنى في الفن مخترع
وصار عالي الإسناد حافظه … كشعبة أو سعيد الضبعي
والفقه فيه فكان مجتهداً … وذا جهاد عار من الجزع
وجوده الحاتمي مشتهر … وزهده القادري في الطبع
أسكنه الله في الجنان ولا … زال علياً في أجمل الخلع
مع مالك والإمام أحمد والـ … ـنعمان والشافعي والنخعي
مضى ابن تيمية وموعده … مع خصمه يوم نفخة الفزع
O death, you can take and leave anyone now, when you have taken away the sign of knowledge and piety.
You have taken away Shaykh al Islam due to which the wall of piety broken and people of innovation felt calm.
The ocean, the mufassir, the mountain is now absent. He was Hibr, muttaqi, who wouldn’t eat much.
If he would narrate a hadith, it was accepted as he was trustworthy, If he would debate, he would shine.
If He would talk about the Nahw of Sibawayh (The Grammarian), He would
He was Aali al Isnad and its Hafidh like Sho`ba and Saeed al Dab`ee.
He was Mujtahid in Fiqh, He was Mujahid and Patient.
His sakhawat was famous like Hatim,
May Allah grant him Jannah and May he live in the best place in the best clothes.
WITH Malik, Imam Ahmad, Nu`man, ash-Shafiee and an-Nakhi`ee. [al Uqood ad-Durriyah page 383, Radd Al Wafir page 73, Ghayat al Amani 2/288]

Reply no: 3

And in Naseeha ad-Dhahbiya, He bashed the companions of Ibn Taymiyah very badly but it is known that ad-Dhahabi praised Ibn Abdul Hadi, al Mizzi and other close companions of Ibn Taymiyah. For example:

ad-Dhahabi said regarding Ibn Abdul Hadi as Ibn Hajr said:
وَقَالَ الذَّهَبِيّ فِي مُعْجَمه الْمُخْتَص الْفَقِيه البارع الْمُقْرِئ المجود الْمُحدث الْحَافِظ النَّحْوِيّ
لحاذق ذُو الْفُنُون كتب عني واستفدت مِنْهُ
ad-Dhahabi said in “Mujam al Mukhtas”: He was the Faqeeh, the brilliant, al Muqri, The Muhaddith, The Hafidh, The Grammarian, The Proficient in the Sciences, I benefited from his books.

and He said:
مَا اجْتمعت بِهِ قطّ إِلَّا واستفدت مِنْهُ وَكثر التأسف عَلَيْهِ لما مَاتَ وَحضر جنَازَته من لَا يُحْصى كَثْرَة
Whenever I met him i Benefited from him.. When he died countless people visited his funereal. [ad-Durar al Kaminah 5/62] see Reply 4, 5 and 6 here

http://www.asharis.com/creed/articles/cumrj-regarding-ibntaymiyyah-and-the-naseehah-dhahabiyyah-ascribed-to-imaam-adh-dhahabee—part-1.cfm )
http://www.asharis.com/creed/articles/tbvah-regarding-ibntaymiyyah-and-the-naseehah-dhahabiyyah-ascribed-to-imaam-adh-dhahabee—part-2.cfm

http://www.asharis.com/creed/articles/fvqga-regarding-ibn-taymiyyah-and-the-naseehah-dhahabiyyah-ascribed-to-imaam-adh-dhahabee—part-3.cfm

http://www.asharis.com/creed/articles/zkjoo-regarding-ibn-taymiyyah-and-the-naseehah-dhahabiyyah-ascribed-to-imaam-adh-dhahabee—part-4.cfm

3. Al-Haafidh ibn Daqeeq al-Eid RA on Ibne Tamiya RA
وقد اجتمع به الشيخ تقي الدين بن تيمية، فقال له تقي الدين بن دقيق
العيد لما رأى تلك العلوم منه: ما أظن بقي يخلق مثلك
When Ibn Tamiyah met him, and when Taqi ud din bin Daqiq al Eid saw the knowledge he had. He said to him: I do not think that there remained the likes of you.” [ ‘al-Bidaayah wan Nihaayah’ (14/42) of ibn Katheer and ‘Dhail `alaa Tabaqaat al-Hanabilaa’ (2/392) of ibn Rajab.]

4. Hafidh Jalal ud din Suyuti ra on Shaykh ul Islam Ibn e Tamiyah ra
ابن تيمية ، الشيخ ، الإمام ، العلامة ، الحافظ ، الناقد ، الفقيه ، المجتهد ، المفسر البارع ، شيخ الإسلام ، علَم الزهاد ، نادرة العصر ، تقي الدين أبو العباس أحمد المفتي شهاب الدين عبد الحليم بن الإمام المجتهد شيخ الإسلام مجد الدين عبد السلام بن عبد الله بن أبي القاسم الحراني

أحد الأعلام ، ولد في ربيع الأول سنة إحدى وستين وستمائة ، وسمع ابن أبي اليسر ، وابن عبد الدائم ، وعدّة
وعني بالحديث ، وخرَّج ، وانتقى ، وبرع في الرجال ، وعلل الحديث ، وفقهه ، وفي علوم الإسلام ، وعلم الكلام ، وغير ذلك
وكان من بحور العلم ، ومن الأذكياء المعدودين ، والزهاد ، والأفراد ، ألَّف ثلاثمائة مجلدة ، وامتحن وأوذي مراراً
مات في العشرين من ذي القعدة سنة ثمان وعشرين وسبعمائة
Ibn Taymiyah, the Shaykh, the imam, the ‘allaamah (great scholar), the hafiz, the critic, the faqeeh, the mujtahid, the brilliant mufassir, the Shaykh of Islam, the leader of ascetics, the unrivalled in our time, Taqiy al-Deen Abu’l-Abbaas Ahmad al-Mufti Shihaab al-Deen ‘Abd al-Haleem, the son of the imam and mujtahid Shaykh al-Islam Majd al-Deen ‘Abd al-Salaam ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Abi’l-Qaasim al-Haraani. One of the prominent figures, he was born in Rabee’ al-Awwal 661 AH, and he learned from Ibn Abi’l-Yasar, Ibn ‘Abd al-Daa’im, and some others. He took an interest in hadeeth, and narrated and selected (sound ahaadeeth); he excelled in the study of narrators’ biographies, defects in ahaadeeth, fiqh, the sciences of Islam, ‘ilm al-kalaam and other fields. He was a man of vast learning, one of the few brilliant scholars, ascetics and unique individuals. He wrote three hundred books, and he was tested and persecuted many times. He died in the latter part of Dhu’l-Qa’dah 628 AH. [Tabaqaat al-Huffadh no:1142(taken from Islam QA)]

5. Hafidh Ibn e Hajar Asqalani RA on Ibn e Tamiyah RA
Shaykh Ibn Naasir al-Deen al-Dimashqi wrote a book called al-Radd al-Waafir ‘ala man za’ama anna man sammaa Ibn Taymiyah Shaykh al-Islam kaafir, in which he refuted one of the fanatical Hanafis who claimed that it was not permissible to call Ibn Taymiyah “Shaykh al-Islam”, and that the one who did that was a kaafir. In it he mentioned eighty five imams, all of whom described Ibn Taymiyah as Shaykh al-Islam, and he quoted their words from their books to that effect. When al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) read this book – al-Radd al-Waafir – he wrote an introduction to it, in which he said:
الحمد لله ، وسلام على عباده الذين اصطفى .
وقفتُ على هذا التأليف النافع ، والمجموع الذي هو للمقاصد التي جمع لأجلها جامع ، فتحققت سعة اطلاع الإمام الذي صنفه ، وتضلعه من العلوم النافعة بما عظمه بين العلماء وشرَّفه ، وشهرة إمامة الشيخ تقي الدين أشهر من الشمس ، وتلقيبه بـ ” شيخ الإسلام ” في عصره باق إلى الآن على الألسنة الزكية ، ويستمر غداً كما كان بالأمس ، ولا ينكر ذلك إلا من جهل مقداره ، أو تجنب الإنصاف ، فما أغلط من تعاطى ذلك وأكثر عثاره ، فالله تعالى هو المسؤول أن يقينا شرور أنفسنا ، وحصائد ألسنتنا بمنِّه وفضله ، ولو لم يكن من الدليل على إمامة هذا الرجل إلا ما نبَّه عليه الحافظ الشهير علم الدين البرزالي في ” تاريخه ” : أنه لم يوجد في الإسلام من اجتمع في جنازته لما مات ما اجتمع في جنازة الشيخ تقي الدين ، وأشار إلى أن جنازة الإمام أحمد كانت حافلة جدّاً شهدها مئات ألوف ، ولكن لو كان بدمشق من الخلائق نظير من كان ببغداد أو أضعاف ذلك : لما تأخر أحد منهم عن شهود جنازته ، وأيضاً فجميع من كان ببغداد إلا الأقل كانوا يعتقدون إمامة الإمام أحمد ، وكان أمير بغداد وخليفة ذلك الوقت إذا ذاك في غاية المحبة له والتعظيم ، بخلاف ابن تيمية فكان أمير البلد حين مات غائباً ، وكان أكثر مَن بالبلد مِن الفقهاء قد تعصبوا عليه حتى مات محبوساً بالقلعة ، ومع هذا فلم يتخلف منهم عن حضور جنازته والترحم عليه والتأسف عليه إلا ثلاثة أنفس ، تأخروا خشية على أنفسهم من العامة .
ومع حضور هذا الجمع العظيم : فلم يكن لذلك باعث إلا اعتقاد إمامته وبركته ، لا بجمع سلطان ، ولا غيره ، وقد صح عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال : ( أنتم شهداء الله في الأرض ) – رواه البخاري ومسلم – .
ولقد قام على الشيخ تقي الدين جماعة من العلماء مراراً ، بسبب أشياء أنكروها عليه من الأصول والفروع ، وعقدت له بسبب ذلك عدة مجالس بالقاهرة ، وبدمشق ، ولا يحفظ عن أحد منهم أنه أفتى بزندقته ، ولا حكم بسفك دمه مع شدة المتعصبين عليه حينئذ من أهل الدولة ، حتى حبس بالقاهرة ، ثم بالإسكندرية ، ومع ذلك فكلهم معترف بسعة علمه ، وكثرة ورعه ، وزهده ، ووصفه بالسخاء ، والشجاعة ، وغير ذلك من قيامه في نصر الإسلام ، والدعوة إلى الله تعالى في السر والعلانية ، فكيف لا يُنكر على مَن أطلق ” أنه كافر ” ، بل من أطلق على من سماه شيخ الإسلام : الكفر ، وليس في تسميته بذلك ما يقتضي ذلك ؛ فإنه شيخ في الإسلام بلا ريب ، والمسائل التي أنكرت عليه ما كان يقولها بالتشهي ، ولا يصر على القول بها بعد قيام الدليل عليه عناداً ، وهذه تصانيفه طافحة بالرد على من يقول بالتجسيم ، والتبري منه ، ومع ذلك فهو بشر يخطئ ويصيب ، فالذي أصاب فيه – وهو الأكثر – يستفاد منه ، ويترحم عليه بسببه ، والذي أخطأ فيه لا يقلد فيه ، بل هو معذور ؛ لأن أئمة عصره شهدوا له بأن أدوات الاجتهاد اجتمعت فيه ، حتى كان أشد المتعصبين عليه ، والقائمين في إيصال الشر إليه ، وهو الشيخ كمال الدين الزملكاني ، يشهد له بذلك ، وكذلك الشيخ صدر الدين بن الوكيل ، الذي لم يثبت لمناظرته غيره .
ومن أعجب العجب أن هذا الرجل كان أعظم الناس قياماً على أهل البدع من الروافض ، والحلولية ، والاتحادية ، وتصانيفه في ذلك كثيرة شهيرة ، وفتاويه فيهم لا تدخل تحت الحصر ، فيا قرة أعينهم إذا سمعوا بكفره ، ويا سرورهم إذا رأوا من يكفر من لا يكفره ، فالواجب على من تلبّس بالعلم وكان له عقل أن يتأمل كلام الرجل من تصانيفه المشتهرة ، أو من ألسنة من يوثق به من أهل النقل ، فيفرد من ذلك ما يُنكر ، فيحذِّر منه على قصد النصح ، ويثني عليه بفضائله فيما أصاب من ذلك ، كدأب غيره من العلماء ، ولو لم يكن للشيخ تقي الدين من المناقب إلا تلميذه الشهير الشيخ شمس الدين بن قيم الجوزية صاحب التصانيف النافعة السائرة التي انتفع بها الموافق والمخالف : لكان غاية في الدلالة على عظم منزلته ، فكيف وقد شهد له بالتقدم في العلوم ، والتميز في المنطوق والمفهوم أئمة عصره من الشافعية وغيرهم ، فضلاً عن الحنابلة ، فالذي يطلق عليه مع هذه الأشياء الكفر ، أو على من سمَّاه ” شيخ الإسلام ” : لا يلتفت إليه ، ولا يعوَّل في هذا المقام عليه ، بل يجب ردعه عن ذلك إلى أن يراجع الحق ، ويذعن للصواب ، والله يقول الحق ، وهو يهدي السبيل ، وحسبنا الله ، ونعم الوكيل .
صفة خطه أدام الله بقاءه.
Praise be to Allaah, and peace be upon His slaves whom He has chosen.

I came across this beneficial book and I realized what deep knowledge the imam who wrote it has, and how prominent he is in many branches of knowledge, to such an extent that he became greatly respected and honoured by the scholars. The fame and position of Shaykh Taqiy al-Deen as an imam is brighter than the sun, and his title as the Shaykh al-Islam of his own era has lasted until today and will continue tomorrow. Nobody rejects that except one who is ignorant of his position, or is unfair. How wrong is the one who thinks that way and how mistaken he is. Allaah is the One Whom we ask to protect us from the evil of our own souls and of our tongues by His blessing and grace. If there were not other evidence of the greatness of this man apart from that which was pointed out by al-Haafiz al-Shaheer ‘Ilm al-Deen al-Barzaali in his Tareekh, (where he says): There was no one in the history of Islam for whose funeral people gathered as they did for the funeral of Shaykh Taqiy al-Deen. He pointed out that the funeral of Imam Ahmad was attended by hundreds of thousands, but if the population of Damascus was like that of Baghdad, or many times greater, no one would have stayed away from his funeral. Moreover, all of those who were in Baghdad, except a very few, believed in the leadership of Imam Ahmad. The ruler and caliph of Baghdad at that time had a great deal of love and respect for him. This is unlike the case of Ibn Taymiyah, for the ruler of the city when he died was absent, and most of the fuqaha’ in the city had ganged up against him, and he died imprisoned in the citadel. But despite that none of them stayed away from his funeral or failed to pray for mercy for him and mourn for him, except three individuals, who stayed away for fear of the anger of the masses.

Although these huge numbers attended his funeral, there was no motive for that except their belief that he was a great imam and their desire to seek blessing from attending his funeral. They did not gather on the orders of the authorities or for any other reason. It is narrated in a saheeh report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You are the witnesses of Allaah on earth” – narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.

A number of scholars opposed Shaykh Taqiy al-Deen many times, because of reasons for which they criticized him that had to do with fundamental and minor issues. Many hearings were held against him in Cairo and Damascus, but there is no report that any of them said he was a heretic and there was no ruling that he should be executed, even though there were many people in government at that time who were strongly opposed to him, and he was imprisoned in Cairo, then in Alexandria. Despite that, they all recognized his vast knowledge and his deep piety and asceticism, and they described him as generous and courageous, as well as supporting Islam and calling people to Allaah in secret and openly. Why shouldn’t we denounce the one who says that he was a kaafir or that the one who calls him Shaykh al-Islam is a kaafir, when there is nothing to imply kufr in calling him that? He was undoubtedly a Shaykh of Islam, and the issues for which he was opposed were not things that he said on the basis of whims and desires, and he did not persist in saying them after proof was established against him out of stubbornness. His books are filled with refutations of those who promoted anthropomorphism and his disavowal thereof. But nevertheless he was a human being who made mistakes and got things right. That in which he was correct – which was most of it – may be benefited from, and we may pray for mercy for him because of that, and that which he got wrong should not be followed, but he may be excused for it, because the imams of his era bore witness that he was fully qualified to engage in ijtihaad; even the one who was most strongly opposed to him and strove to harm him, namely Shaykh Kamaal al-Deen al-Zamalkaani, bore witness to that, as did Shaykh Sadr al-Deen ibn al-Wakeel, who was the only one who was able to hold a debate with Ibn Taymiyah.

It is most amazing that this man was the staunchest opponent of the innovators such as the Raafidis, Huloolis and Ittihaadis, whose writings on that are many and well known, whose fatwas concerning them are too numerous to count. How happy they would be to realize that there are people who accuse him of kufr and say that the one who does not regard him as a kaafir is a kaafir. The one who claims to have knowledge, if he has any reason or sense, should ponder the man’s words in his famous books, or hear them from honest and trustworthy narrators, so that he will put aside what he finds objectionable and warn others by way of sincerity, and praise him for the matters he got right, as the attitude of other scholars should be. If there was no good quality in him except the fact that his student was Shaykh Shams al-Deen ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, the author of so many beneficial books, from which everyone has benefited, both those who agree with him and those who oppose him, that would be sufficient indication of his great status, so how about when his prominence in various fields of knowledge and his distinction in the study of the texts was affirmed by the prominent Shaafa’is of his time and others, in addition to the Hanbalis? No attention should be paid to the one who calls him a kaafir despite all these achievements, or who describes the one who calls him “Shaykh al-Islam” as a kaafir, and he should be ignored with regard to this matter; indeed he should be rebuked for saying that, until he comes back to the truth. Allaah speaks the truth and He guides to the right way; Allaah is sufficient for us and He is the best disposer of affairs.(end)

Al-Radd al-Waafir by Imam Ibn Naasir al-Deen al-Dimashqi (p. 145, 146), al-Haafiz al-Sakhaawi – the student of Ibn Hajar – quoted the words of his Shaykh in his book al-Jawaahir wa’l-Durar (2/734-736).

al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar wrote a lengthy biography of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on them both) in his book al-Durar al-Kaaminah, at the beginning of which he said:

” .. وتحول به أبوه من حران سنة 67 ، فسمع من ابن عبد الدائم والقاسم الأربلي والمسلم ابن علان وابن أبي عمر والفخر في آخرين ، وقرأ بنفسه ونسخ سنن أبي داود وحصل الأجزاء ونظر في الرجال والعلل ، وتفقه وتمهر ، وتميز وتقدم ، وصنف ودرس وأفتى ، وفاق الأقران ، وصار عجباً في سرعة الاستحضار وقوة الجنان والتوسع في المنقول والمعقول والإطالة على مذاهب السلف والخلف .. ”

His father took him with him from Harraan in 667 AH, and he learned from Ibn ‘Abd al-Daa’im, al-Qaasim al-Arbili, Muslim ibn ‘Allaan, Ibn Abi ‘Umar and al-Fakhr, among others. He read by himself and copied Sunan Abi Dawood, and he studied al-rijaal (narrators of hadeeth) and al-‘ilal (faults in hadeeth). He acquired deep knowledge, and he distinguished himself and went ahead of others. He wrote books, taught and issued fatwas, and he surpassed his peers. He had an amazing ability to recollect quickly; he was courageous; he had a deep knowledge of textual and rational matters; and he was able to discuss matters in detail on the basis of the views of earlier and later scholars. End quote.

Al-Durar al-Kaaminah fi A’yaan al-Mi’ah al-Thaaminah (1/168).

Hafidh Ibn Hajar Quotes

” وقرأت بخط الحافظ صلاح الدين العلائي ، في ثبت شيخ شيوخنا الحافظ بهاء الدين عبد الله بن محمد بن خليل ، ما نصه : وسمع بهاء الدين المذكور على الشيخين شيخنا وسيدنا وإمامنا فيما بيننا وبين الله تعالى ، شيخ التحقيق ، السالك بمن اتبعه أحسن طريق ، ذي الفضائل المتكاثرة ، والحجج القاهرة ، التي أقرت الأمم كافة أن هممها عن حصرها قاصرة ، ومتعنا الله بعلومه الفاخرة ونفعنا به في الدنيا والآخرة ، وهو الشيخ الإمام العالم الرباني والحبر البحر القطب النوراني ، إمام الأئمة ، بركة الأمة ، علامة العلماء ، وارث الأنبياء ، آخر المجتهدين ، أوحد علماء الدين ، شيخ الإسلام ، حجة الأعلام ، قدوة الأنام ، برهان المتعلمين ، قامع المبتدعين ، سيف المناظرين ، بحر العلوم ، كنز المستفيدين ، ترجمان القرآن ، أعجوبة الزمان ، فريد العصر والأوان ، تقي الدين ، إمام المسلمين ، حجة الله على العالمين ، اللاحق بالصالحين ، والمشبه بالماضين ، مفتي الفرق ، ناصر الحق ، علامة الهدى ، عمدة الحفاظ ، فارس المعاني والألفاظ ، ركن الشريعة ، ذو الفنون البديعة ، أبو العباس ابن تيمية !! ”

I read in the handwriting of al-Haafiz Salaah al-Deen al-‘Alaa’i, when he wrote the biography of the Shaykh of our shaykhs, al-Haafiz Baha’ al-Deen ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Muhammad ibn Khaleel, the following: This Baha’ al-Deen learned from the two Shaykhs, our Shaykh, master and leader in the way of Allaah, the prominent Shaykh, the one who leads his followers to the best way, the one who has numerous virtues and the strongest evidence, which all the nations affirm that they are unable to list all this evidence; may Allaah enable us to learn from his great knowledge and benefit us by means of his knowledge in this world and in the Hereafter. He is the Shaykh, imam, scholar, teacher and bright star, the imam of imams, the blessing of the ummah, the leader of scholars, the example for people to follow, the light for the learners, the suppressor of innovators, the sea of knowledge, the treasure of those who seek benefit, the interpreter of the Qur’aan, the wonder of our age, the unrivalled one of our era, Taqiy al-Deen, the imam of the Muslims, the proof of Allaah against the world, the one who will join the righteous, the follower of the predecessors, the supporter of the truth, the sign of guidance, the prominent hafiz, the most eloquent of speech, the pillar of sharee’ah, the possessor of brilliant knowledge, Abu’l-‘Abbaas Ibn Taymiyah.

Al-Durar al-Kaaminah (186-187).

Note:Although the texts that we have quoted or referred to, which contain the words of al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) or which were quoted by al-Haafiz from others, speak of respect for Shaykh al-Islam and highlight his status in the field of religious knowledge, that does not mean that al-Haafiz did not differ with Shaykh al-Islam at all in some fields of knowledge, or that he never criticized him, because it usually happens that scholars refute one another, without that necessarily meaning that the one who refutes another does not respect or appreciate the status of the latter, let alone accuse him of innovation or misguidance. Long ago, Imam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) spoke his famous words: “Anyone’s opinion may be accepted or rejected, except the occupant of this grave” or words to that effect – meaning the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

source: http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/96323

Ibn Hajar also says in his endorsement of the same book (also mentioned by as-Sakhaawee Dawl al-Laamee (8/104), who described it as: “Defending ibn Taymiyyah to the utmost.”

“No one says about ibn Taymiyyah that he is a kaafir except two types of people: either one whois himself a kaafir, or one who is ignorant of him… and all the different groups of the people of his time praised his knowledge, Deen and zuhd.”

6. Al-Haafidh Abu al-Yu’maree ibn Sayyid an-Naas RA on Ibn e Tamiyah RA
He said as quoted by Ibn e Hajar asqalani ra

وقال شيخ شيوخنا الحافظ أبو الفتح اليعمري في ترجمة ابن تيمية حذاني يعني المزي على رؤية الشيخ الإمام شيخ الإسلام تقي الدين فألفيته ممن أدرك من العلوم حظا وكان يستوعب السنن والآثار حفظا إن تكلم في التفسير فهو حامل رايته، أو أفتى في الفقه فهو مدرك غايته، أو ذكر في الحديث فهو صاحب علمه وذو روايته، أو حاضر بالملل والنحل لم ير أوسع من نحلته في ذلك ولا أرفع من درايته، برز في كل فن على أبناء جنسه، ولم تر عين من رآه مثله ولا رأت عينه مثل نفسه كان يتكلم في التفسير فيحضر مجلسه الجم الغفير، ويردون من بحره العذب النمير، يرتعون من ربع فضله في روضة وغدير، إلى أن دب إليه من أهل بلده داء الحسد، وألب أهل النظر منهم على ما ينتقد عليه من أمور المعتقد، فحفظوا عنه في ذلك كلاما، أوسعوه بسببه ملاما، وفوقوا التقديعة سهاما، وزعموا أنه خالف طريقهم، وفرق فريقهم، فنازعهم ونازعوه وقاطع بعضهم وقاطعوه، ثم نازع طائفة أخرى ينتسبون من الفقر إلى طريقة، ويزعمون أنهم على أدق باطن منها وأجلى حقيقة، فكشف تلك الطرائق، وذكر على ما زعم بوائق، فآضت إلى الطائفة الأولى من منازعيه، واستغاثت بذوي الضغن عليه من مقاطعيه، فوصلوا بالأمراء أمره، وأعمل كل منهم في كفره وفكره، فرتبوا محاضر، وألبوا الرويبضة للسعي بها بين الأكابر، وسعوا في نقله إلى حضرة المملكة بالديار المصرية فنقل، وأودع السجن ساعة حضوره واعتقل، وعقدوا لإراقة دمه مجالس، وحشدوا لذلك قوما من عمار الزوايا وسكان المدارس، ما بين مجامل في المنازعة، ومخاتل بالمخادعة، ومجاهر بالتكفير مبادي بالمقاطعة، يسومونه ريب المنون، وربك يعلم ما تكن صدورهم وما يعلنون، وليس المجاهر بكفره، بأسوأ حالا من المجامل، وقد دبت إليه عقارب مكره، فرد الله كل كيد في نحره، ونجاه على يد من اصطفاه والله غالب على أمره، ثم لم يخل بعد ذلك من فتنة بعد فتنة، ولم ينتقل طول عمره من محنة إلى محنة، إلى أن فوض أمره إلى بعض القضاة فتقلد ما تقلد من اعتقاله، ولم يزل بمحبسه ذلك إلى حين ذهابه إلى رحمة الله وانتقاله، وإلى الله ترجع الأمور، وهو مطلع على خائنة الأعين وما تخفي الصدور، وكان يومه مشهودا ضاقت بجنازته الطريق، وانتابها المسلمون من كل فج عميق، يتقربون بمشهده يوم يقوم الإشهاد، ويتمسكون بسريره حتى كسروا تلك الأعواد

“The shaykh of our shaykhs, al-Haafidh Abu al-Yu’maree (ibn Sayyid an-Naas) said in his biography of ibn Taymiyyah: ‘al-Mizzi encouraged me to speak my opinion on Shaykh al-Islaam Taqi ad-Deen. I found him to be fortunate in the sciences that he had. He used to fully understand and implement the Sunan and Aathaar (narrations), memorising them. Should he speak about tafseer then he would carry its flag, and should he pass a fatwa in fiqh then he knew its (or his) limits, and should he speak about a hadeeth then he was the companion of its knowledge and owner of its narrations. Should he give a lecture on Religions and Sects then none was seen who was more comprehensive or meticulous than he. He surpassed in every science over the sons of his like. And you would not see one like him, and his own eye did not see one like himself. He used to speak on tafseer and a large number of people would attend his gatherings, and an agreeable number would return (having drank) from his sweet, rich ocean. Until the sickness of envy crept (into the hearts) of the people of his city. And the people of Nadhr gathered together and picked out anything that could be disapproved of in his beliefs, and they memorised certain statements with respect to this. And they undermined him due to this. They laid traps for him by which they could declare him to be an innovator. They thought that he had left their way, and split off from their sect. So they argued with him, and he with them, and some of them cut relations with him, and he with them. Then he argued with another group who were attributed to the Fuqaraa who thought that they were upon the minute details of the inner reality and upon its truth. And he exposed these Orders. This reached the first group and they sought help from those who cut relations with him and harboured malice towards him. They took the matter to the rulers, each of them having decided that he was a disbeliever and they prepared a meeting, inspiring the ignorant people to spread the word amongst the great scholars. They took steps to transfer the matter to the king of Egypt. And he was arrested and put in prison. Gatherings were convened to discuss the spilling of his blood. They called up for this purpose the people from the small mosques and students, those people that would argue to make others happy, and those that would argue to show their cleverness, and those that announced takfeer and called for disassociation. Your Lord knows what is in their hearts and what they proclaim. And the one who announced his kufr was no better than the one who argued to make others happy. The sting of their plots crept up on him, and Allaah made futile every plot, and rescued him at the hands of those that He chose. Then he continuously moved from one trial to another, in all his life he did not move from trouble except into trouble. And then there followed what followed in the matter of his arrest. He stayed in prison until he died, and to Allaah all matters return. And on the day of his funeral the streets were crowded, and the Muslims came from every roadway…'”[also quoted by Imam Muree bin Yusaf al Karmi (d 1033 h) in ash-Shahadatul Zakaiyah fe Thana Al Aimma al Ibn Tamiyah page 26-28](translation taken from http://www.sahihalbukhari.com/sps/sp.cfm?subsecID=NDV07&articleID=NDV070021&articlePages=2 )

7. Hafidh Al Mizzi RA student of an-Nawawi
Hafidh Al Mizzi was great muhaddith and author of great book Tahdeeb Al Kamal (book of asma al rijaal), He was student of Imam an-Nawawi and He praised Ibn Taymiyyah.

ad-Dahabi said in Tarjuma of an-Nawawi:
وحدث عنه ابن أبي الفتح والمزي وابن العطار.
Ibn abi al Fath, al Mizzi and Ibn al Attar narrated from him (an-Nawawi).
Tadhkirah tul Huffadh 4/174

Mulla Ali al qari said:
قال المزي تلميذ النووي
The student of an-Nawawi, al Mizzi said.
[Mirqaat al Mafateeh kitab al Ilm, under hadeeth no. 218 vol 1 page 478]

and This Hafidh al Mizzi said regarding Ibn Taymiyyah
مَا رَأَيْت مثله وَلَا رأى هُوَ مثل نَفسه وَمَا رَأَيْت أحدا أعلم بِكِتَاب الله وَسنة رَسُول الله صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم وَلَا أتبع لَهما مِنْهُ
“I have not seen the likes of him, and his own eye had not seen the likes of himself. And I have not seen one who was more knowledgeable than him of the Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, nor one who followed them more closely.” [Radd al Wafir 1/28-129] 8. al-Haafiz ‘Imaad al-Deen al-Waasiti RA on Ibn e Tamiyah RA
والله ، ثم والله ، لم يُرَ تحت أديم السماء مثل شيخكم ابن تيمية ، علماً ، وعملاً ، وحالاً ، وخلُقاً ، واتِّباعاً ، وكرماً ، وحلْماً ، وقياماً في حق الله تعالى عند انتهاك حرماته ، أصدق النَّاس عقداً ، وأصحهم علماً وعزماً ، وأنفذهم وأعلاهم في انتصار الحق وقيامه همةً ، وأسخاهم كفّاً ، وأكملهم اتباعاً لسنَّة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلّم ، ما رأينا في عصرنا هذا مَن تستجلي النبوة المحمدية وسننها من أقواله وأفعاله إلا هذا الرجل يشهد القلب الصحيح أن هذا هو الاتباع حقيقة

By Allaah, there was never seen under the canopy of heaven anyone like your Shaykh Ibn Taymiyah in knowledge, righteous deeds, attitude, manner, adherence to the Sunnah, generosity, forbearance and carrying out duties to Allaah when His sacred limits were transgressed; he was the most sincere of people, the most sound in knowledge, the most effective, the most serious in supporting the truth, the most generous, the most perfect in following the Sunnah of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). We have never seen anyone in our own time who demonstrates the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his Sunnahs in word and deed like this man; a sound heart will bear witness that this is following the Sunnah in the true sense of the word.

Al-‘Uqood al-Durriyyah (p. 311).

9. Ibn Abdul Hadi RA on Ibn e Tamiyah RA
هو الشيخ الرباني إمام الأئمة ومفتي الأمة وبحر العلوم سيد الحفاظ وفارس المعاني والألفاظ فريد العصر وحيد الدهر شيخ الاسلام بركة الانام علامة الزمان وترجمان القرآن علم الزهاد وأوحد العباد قامع المبتدعين وآخر المجتهدين تقي الدين أبو العباس أحمد ابن الشيخ الامام العلامة شهاب الدين أبي المحاسن عبد الحليم ابن الشيخ الامام العلامة شيخ الاسلام مجد الدين أبي البركات عبد السلام ابن أبي محمد عبد الله ابن أبي القاسم الخضر بن محمد بن الخضر بن علي بن عبد الله ابن تيمية الحراني

He is Shaykh of Rabbani, Imam of Imams,Mufti of Imams, Ocean of sciences, Leader of Huffadh,Faris Al Maani AlFadh ,Unique, Haiiyyad al dahar, Shaykh Al Islam, Barakah of Islam, Allamah of Era, Tarjumaan Al Quran, leader of ascetics, Last of the Mujtahideen Taqyi ud Din Abu Al Abbas Ahmad bin Al Shaykh Al Imam Al Allamah Shahab ud Din Abi Al Mahaasin Abdul Haleem bin Shaykh Al Imam Shaykh Al Islam Mujaddid of Din Abu Al Barakaat Abdus Salam bin Abi Muhammad Abdullah Bin Abi Al Qasim Al Khider bin Muhammad bin Khidar bin Ali bin Abdullah Bin Tamiyah AL Harani
Al Radd Al Wafir Page 30 source: http://arabic.islamicweb.com/books/taimiya.asp?book=366&id=29

10. Hafidh Al Bazzar RA on Ibn e Tamiyah RA
Hafidh Bazzar is the author of the book in praise of Ibn Tamiyah RA الأعلام العلية في مناقب الإمام ابن تيمية
Thee Looffttyy Viirrttueess ooffIbn Taymiiyyah
(The Lofty Virtues of Ibn Taymiyah)

“When I learned of the death of the scholar and educator of this Ummah – the Imam, the mujtahid, the defender of the pure Shari’ah and Prophetic Sunnah, Shaykh al-Islam Taqi ad-Din Abi al-‘Abbas Ahmad bin ‘Abd al-Halim bin ‘Abd as-Salam bin Taymiyyah (may Allah sanctify his soul and brighten his grave)5 – 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 his 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.[Lofty Virtues of Ibn e Tamiyah Page 6 of English Translation]

جمع الله له ما خرق بمثله العادة ووفقه في جميع أمره لإعلام السعادة وجعل مآثره لإمامته من اكبر شهادة حتى اتفق كل ذي عقل سليم انه ممن عني نبينا بقوله أن الله يبعث على رأس كل مئة سنة من يجدد لهذه الأمة أمر دينها فلقد أحيا الله به ما كان قد درس من شرائع الدين وجعله حجة على أهل عصره أجمعين والحمد لله رب العالمين
Allah tasked him with what would normally destroy anyone else, led him to joy and happiness in all aspects of his life, and made the effects of his leadership from the clearest of signs to all, to the point that everyone with a bit of intelligence agreed that he is from those that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was referring to when he said: “Indeed, Allah sends at the beginning of every century he who will revive for this Ummah the affair of its religion,”as Allah has revived through him the laws of this Religion that had[Lofty Virtues of Ibn e Tamiyah Page 7 of English Translation]

He also said

أما معرفته بصحيح المنقول وسقيمه فإنه في ذلك من الجبال التي لا ترتقي ذروتها ولا ينال سنامها قل أن ذكر له قول إلا وقد أحاط علمه بمبتكره وذاكره وناقله واثره أو راو إلا وقد عرف حاله من جرح وتعديل بإجمال وتفصيل، حكى من يوثق بنقله انه كان يوما بمجلس ومحدث يقرأ عليه بعض الكتب الحديثية وكان سريع القراءة فعارضه الشيخ في اسم رجل في سند الحديث قد ذكره القاريء بسرعة فذكر الشيخ أن اسمه فلان بخلاف ما قرأ فاعتبروه فوجدوه كما قال الشيخ فانظر إلى هذا الإدراك السريع والتنبيه الدقيق العجيب ولا يقدر على مثله إلا من اشتدت معرفته وقوي ضبطه وأما ما وهبه الله تعالى ومنحه به من استنباط المعاني من الألفاظ النبوية والأخبار المروية وإبراز الدلائل منها على المسائل وتبين مفهوم اللفظ ومنطوقه وإيضاح المخصص للعام والمقيد للمطلق.
As for his knowledge of both authentic and weak narrations, he was like a mountain in this that nobody could climb. It was very rare that a narration would be mentioned to himwithout him knowing who said it, who narrated it, who transmitted it, or who recorded it, in addition to knowing the condition of each narrator in light of the sciences of jarh and ta’dil One person who witnessed this describes that he was one day in a class in which a Muhaddith
was reading to him from a book of Hadith. He was reading very fast, and the Shaykh corrected him in the name of a man in the isnad of a hadith that the reader had sped by, mentioning that his name was such and such as opposed to what was read by the Muhaddith.They looked into it and found that it was exactly as the Shaykh said. So, look at this swift comprehension and detailed, precise knowledge that nobody can compare to unless they are granted extreme precision! This is clear as day when looking at the ability Allah granted him to take the Prophetic narrations and extract concepts and proofs for various issues from them, clarify the intended meanings of their words, explain which narrations specify and restrict the general rulings,
Lofty Virtues of Ibn e Tamiyah page 11 of english translation
He said Regarding Funeral Prayer

واتفق جماعة من حضر حينئذ وشاهد الناس والمصلين عليه على انهم يزيدون على خمسمائة ألف. وقال العارفون بالنقل والتاريخ لم يسمع بجنازة بمثل هذا الجمع إلا جنازة الامام احمد بن حنبل رضي الله عنه
A group of those who were present that day agreed that upon seeing the number of people who prayed over him that day, they easily exceeded 500,000. The experts in history say that they never heard of a funeral prayer that was as big as this except that of al-Imam Ahmad bin Hambal (may Allah be Pleased with him)[Lofty Virtues of Ibn e Tamiyah Page 33 of English Translation]

11.Ibn al Hureree Ra on Ibn e Tamiyah RA
إن لم يكن ابن تيمية شيخ الإسلام فمن وقال مرة لبعض أصحابه أتحب الشيخ تقي الدين قال نعم
“if ibn Taymiyyah was not Shaykh al-Islaam than who is? and once some of his companions asked do you love sayokh Taqi ud din Ibn Tamiya he said Yes
Radd Al Wafir Page 53 54 source: http://arabic.islamicweb.com/books/taimiya.asp?book=366&id=52

12. Mullah Ali Qari Defending Shaykh Ibn e Tamiyah
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami [one of the greatest Shaafa’i fuqaha’, who died in 974 AH and who is someone other than Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallaani, the author of Fath al-Baari, who died in 852 AH] criticized the two Shaykhs of Islam, Ibn Taymiyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim, a great deal and accused them of describing Allaah in physical terms, likening Him to His creation, and other abhorrent beliefs. But he was refuted by many, who explained the falseness of what he said and demonstrated that the two imams were innocent of any belief that goes against the Qur’aan and Sunnah. One of these scholars was:

Mulla ‘Ali Qaari (may Allaah have mercy on him), who said, after quoting Ibn Hajar’s accusations against them and his criticism of their ‘aqeedah:

أقول : صانهما الله عن هذه السمة الشنيعة والنسبة الفظيعة ، ومن طالع شرح منازل السائرين لنديم الباري الشيخ عبد الله الأنصاري الحنبلي – قدس الله تعالى سره الجلي – وهو شيخ الإسلام عند الصوفية حال الإطلاق بالاتفاق ، تبين له أنهما كانا من أهل السنة والجماعة ، بل ومن أولياء هذه الأمة ، ومما ذكر في الشرح المذكور ما نصه على وفق المسطور هو قوله على بعض صباة المنازل ، وهذا الكلام من شيخ الإسلام يبين مرتبته من السنة ، ومقداره في العلم ، وأنه بريء مما رماه أعداؤه الجهمية من التشبيه والتمثيل على عاداتهم في رمي أهل الحديث والسنة بذلك ، كرمي الرافضة لهم بأنهم نواصب ، والنواصب بأنهم روافض ، والمعتزلة بأنهم نوائب حشوية ، وذلك ميراث من أعداء رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – في رميه ورمي أصحابه ، بأنهم صراة قد ابتدعوا دينا محدثا ، وهذا ميراث لأهل الحديث والميمنة من نبيهم بتلقيب أهل الباطل لهم بالألقاب المذمومة ، وقدس الله روح الشافعي حيث يقول ، وقد نسب إليه الرفض :
إن كان رفضا حب آل محمد فليشهد الثقلان أني رافضي
ورضي الله عن شيخنا أبي عبد الله بن تيمية حيث يقول :
إن كان نصبا حب صحب محمد فليشهد الثقلان أني ناصبي
وعفا الله عن الثالث حيث يقول :
فإن كان تجسيما ثبوت صفاته وتنزيهها عن كل تأويل مفتر
فإني بحمد الله ربي مجسم هلموا شهودا واملئوا كل محضر
I say: Allaah protected them – i.e., Ibn al-Qayyim and his Shaykh Ibn Taymiyah – from this abhorrent accusation. The one who studies Sharh Manaazil al-Saa’ireen by Nadeem al-Baari al-Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah al-Ansaari, who is the Shaykh of Islam according to the Sufis, will clearly see that they were among Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah and are indeed among the awliya’ (close friends of Allaah) of this ummah. Among what he said in the book mentioned was the following:

“These words of Shaykh al-Islam highlight his position as a prominent scholar of Ahl al-Sunnah, and his status among scholars, and it demonstrates that he is innocent of what his Jahami enemies accused him of, that he likened Allaah to His creation, as they usually accused the scholars of hadeeth and Sunnah, just as the Raafidis accuse them of being Naasibis, and the Naasibis accuse them of being Raafidis,, and the Mu’tazilah accuse them of being anthropomorphists. That is a legacy of the enemies of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who accused him and his companions of having invented a new religion. And this is a legacy of the scholars of hadeeth and Sunnah from their Prophet, that the people of falsehood give them offensive labels.

May Allaah sanctify the soul of al-Shaafa’i, who said when he was accused of being a Raafidi:

If being a Raafidi means loving the family of Muhammad, then let the two races (of mankind and jinn) bear witness that I am a Raafidi.

May Allaah be pleased with our Shaykh Abu’l-‘Abbaas ibn Taymiyah when he said:

If being a Naasibi means loving the family of Muhammad, then let the two races (of mankind and jinn) bear witness that I am a Naasibi.

May Allaah forgive the third – Ibn al-Qayyim – when he said:

If being an anthropomorphist means affirming the divine attributes and regarding them as being above the interpretation of a liar,

Then praise be to Allaah, I am an anthropomorphist; bring your witnesses.” [Mirqaah al-Mafaateeh by al-Mulla ‘Ali Qaari (8/146, 147). (from islam qa)]

13. Numan Alousi ra Defending Ibn e Tamiyah ra
Ibn Hajar makki Criticized Shaykh Ibn e Tamiyah, then in reply Shaykh Nu’maan Khayr al-Deen ibn al-Aloosi (may Allaah have mercy on him) in his beneficial book Jala’ al-‘Aynayn fi Muhaakamah al-Ahmadayn, said on page 189

“إن هذا الكلام العاطل على حلى التحقيق؛ يتلو عنده كل عقل سليم: سبحانك هذا بهتان عظيم، لأن عقيدة هذا الشيخ الجليل مشهورة لدى كل قبيل ، ومسطورة في تأليفاته الشهيرة ، وتصنيفاته وفتاويه الوفيرة، وهو الذي رد أصحابها من أهل الزيغ والضلال كالمجسمة وغلاة الصوفية والفلاسفة الجهال….”
In short it says (roughly translated)
This is Bohtaan al adheem (Great Lie,Slander,Accusation) because the Creed of the Honorable Shaykh is popular.. He refuted the people of deviation and misguidance, Mujassamah and Extreme sufis and Philosophers (end)
14. Mahmoud AL Alousi RA Defending Ibn e Tamiyah RA
Mahmoud Al Alousi is author of Rooh Al Maani (Commentary of Quran) he said in Tafsir of the verse “Seek Wasilah to Him” (Maidah: 35):
وقد شنع التاج السبكي ـ كما هو عادته ـ على المجد، فقال: ويحسن التوسل والاستغاثة بالنبـي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى ربه ولم ينكر ذلك أحد من السلف والخلف حتى جاء ابن تيمية فأنكر ذلك وعدل عن الصراط المستقيم وابتدع ما لم يقله عالم وصار بين الأنام مثلة انتهى.
وأنت تعلم أن الأدعية المأثورة عن أهل البيت الطاهرين وغيرهم من الأئمة ليس فيها التوسل بالذات المكرمة صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولو فرضنا وجود ما ظاهره ذلك فمؤل بتقدير مضاف كما سمعت؛ أو نحو ذلك ـ كما تسمع إن شاء الله تعالى ـ ومن ادعى النص فعليه البيان، وما رواه أبو داود في «سننه» وغيره من ” أن رجلاً قال لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إنا نستشفع بك إلى الله تعالى ونستشفع بالله تعالى عليك، فسبح رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى رؤي ذلك في وجوه أصحابه، فقال: ويحك أتدري ما الله تعالى؟ إن الله تعالى لا يشفع به على أحد من خلقه شأن الله تعالى أعظم من ذلك ”
And Taj As-Subki insulted Al-Majd , as he us used to and said : “And Tawassul is recommended, and likewise Istighathah with the Prophet (saw) to the Lord, and none of the Salaf or Khalaf denied this until Ibn Taymiyah came, and he denied this, and deviated from the right path and innovated….”

(Al-Alusi answered 🙂 “And you know that Du’a reported in narrations from pure Ahlul Bayt (household of the Prophet (saw)) and others from Imams, there is not in them Tawassul with his noble essence (Dhat)…the one who claims a text, then he should present it”

 

As for what Abu Dawud reported in his “Sunnan” and others “That a man said to the Prophet (saw) : “We seek your Shafa’ah (intercession) to Allah and seek Allah’s Shafa’ah (intercession) to you” and the Prophet (saw) glorified Allah until it was seen in the faces of his Sahabah (that the Prophet (saw) was angry), and he said “May calamity be on you, do you know who Allah is? Allah’s intercession is not sought to anybody from His creation, the status of Allah is greater than that” then it is not a proof for our topic, as he denied his saying “seek Allah’s Shafa’ah (intercession) to you” and did not deny his saying: “We seek your Shafa’ah (intercession) to Allah”, because the meaning of Istishfa’ (seeking intercession) is seeking Du’a from him, and it does not mean swearing with it upon Allah.(end)
Source: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=52&tSoraNo=5&tAyahNo=35&tDisplay=yes&Page=3&Size=1&LanguageId=1

Mahmoud Al Alousi said

شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية

Shaykh ul Islam Ibn e Tamiyah[in commentary of surah luqman ayah 6]

15. Salahuddin as-Safdi on Ibn Tamiya

Shaykh Salahuddin as-safdi was student of Qadhi Taqi ud din as-Subki, people quote Taqi ud din-as-Subki against Shaykh ul Islam Ibn Tamiya but ket us see what the student of Qadhi Taqi ud din as-Subki say about him.

He said:

“Allama Taqi ud din Ibn Tamiya Ahmad bin Abdul haleem bin AbdusSalam bin Abdullah bin abi al-Qasim al-Harrani. Ibn Tamiya Shaykh al-Imam al-Alim al-Allama al-Mufassir alFaqeeh alMujtahid alHafid alMuhaddith Shaykh ul Islam..”[alwafi bi alwafayat by Imam Safadi under the tarjuma of Shaykh Ibn Tamiya]

 

Scan: http://ia600205.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/15/items/wafi_wafiat/wafiw07_jp2.zip&file=wafiw07_jp2/wafiw07_0010.jp2&scale=4&rotate=0

as-Safadi also states

ثلاثة ليس لهم رابع *** فلا تكن من ذاك في شكِّ
وكلُّهم منتسبٌ للتُّقى *** يقصُر عنهم وصفُ من يحكي
فإن تشأْ قلت ابن تيمية *** وابن دقيق العيد والسبكي
“There are three personalities (in our times); there is no forth one to compare them; and don’t doubt about this fact (I am going to state): All of three are known for their deep piety: If you wish (to know), you should say, they are: Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Daqeeq al-Id, and al-Subki.” (Safadi in mukhtasar al-wafi bi al-wafayat in the biography of Ibn Tamiya).

16-17: Qadhi al Qadha Baha ud din Muhammad bin Abdul Barr al-Subki and Taqi ud din as-Subki on Ibn Taymiyah

Some Qalandariyah and Hadariyah the sufis came and Baha ud din as-Subki ordered regarding them, and prayed two rakah and said

رحم الله ابن تيمية كان يكره هؤلاء الطوائف على بدعهم
Rahimullah Ibn Tamiyah he hated such sects of innovators.

He was told regarding what people say regarding Ibn Tamiyah. He replied
والله يا فلان ما يبغض ابن تيمية إلا جاهل أو صاحب هوى فالجاهل لا يدري ما يقول وصاحب الهوى يصده هواه عن الحق بعد معرفته به
By Allāh, no one hates Ibn Taymiyyah except for an ignoramus or the person of desires which have diverted him from the truth after he came to know it.[al-Radd al-Wāfir (p. 95), Shahadah az-Zakiyah pages 57-58]

Qadi as-Subki himself praised Shaykh ul Islam Ibn Tmaiyah, Ias it is mentioned in shahadah az-Zakiyah

وكتب الذهبي إلى السبكي يعاتبه بسبب كلام وقع منه في حق ابن تيمية فأجابه.

ومن جملة الجواب :

وأما قول سيدي في الشيخ تقي الدين فالمملوك يتحقق كبير قدره وزخارة بحره وتوسعه في العلوم النقلية والعقلية وفرط ذكائه واجتهاده وبلوغه في كل من ذلك المبلغ الذي يتجاوز الوصف والمملوك يقول ذلك دائماً وقدره في نفسي أكبر من ذلك وأجل مع ما جمعه الله له من الزهادة والورع والديانة ونصرة الحق والقيام فيه لا لغرض سواه وجريه على سنن السلف وأخذه من ذلك بالمأخذ الأوفى و غرابة مثله في هذا الزمان بل من أزما
Dhahabee wrote to him, censuring him for what he had written, and his erroneous claims, to which as-Subkee replied saying,

“As for what you say with regard to ash-Shaykh Taqi ad-Deen ibn tamiyah, then I am convinced of the great scope, the ocean-like fullness and vastness of his knowledge of the transmitted and intellectual sciences, his extreme intelligence, his ijtihaad and his attainments in that which surpass description. And I have always held to this opinion. Personally, his status in my eyes is greater and more esteemed, for the asceticism, piety, religiosity, his helping the truth and standing firm on it for the sake of Allaah alone, his adherence to the path of the salaf and his abundant taking from it, and his strangeness in this time, nay any time.”[‘ad-Durar al-Kaamina’ of ibn Hajr under the biography of ibn Taymiyyah (1/159) and ‘Dhail Tabaqaat al-Hanaabilah’ (2/392) of ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee.](translation taken from brother Abu Rumaisa’s article)

18. Imam al Ayni al Hanafi

He not even defended and praised ibn Taymiyah rather wrote a full Sharah on the book of Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah “العلم الهيب في شرح الكلم الطيب”

in which he said on page 32, that This book is authored by
الامام العالم العلامة الاوحد الرحلة الفهامة شيخ الاسلام والمسلمين: تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم بن تيمية الحرانى تغمده الله برحمته واسكنه بحبوح جنته وحين وقع نظرهم عليه انكبوا بالالتفات اليه

http://ia600604.us.archive.org/29/items/abu_yaala_alam_ayni/alam_ayni.pdf

19. Shaykh Abdullah bin Hamid ash-Shafiee,

The Shafiee Imam who never met Ibn Taymiyah but still Loved him just because of reading his books/fatawa.

His Name was Shaykh Abdullah bin Hamid ash-Shafiee, according to Mahmud Shukri al Alusi he was among the great Shafiee scholar of his time.

Shaykh Abdullah bin Hamid ash-Shafiee wrote a letter to one of the students of Ibn Taymiyah in which he stated:
ولا أزال أتعلل بعد وفاة الشيخ الإمام إمام الدنيا رضي الله تعالى عنه بالاسترواح إلى أخبار تلامذته وإخوانه، وأقاربه وعشيرته، والخصيصين به، لما في نفسي من المحبة الضرورية التي لا يدفعها شيء، على الخصوص لما اطلعت على مباحثه واستدلالاته التي تزلزل أركان المبطلين، ولا يثبت في ميدانها سفسطة المتفلسفين، ولا يقف في حلباتها أقدام المبتدعين من المتكلمين.
After the death of Shaykh, The Imam of the world May Allah be pleased with him I started to know about the news of his students, friends, relatives, family and the specials who were close to him. That is because I love him.. specially after I came to know about his debates and deduction of rulings which shook the followers of falsehood. And the philosophers could not prove anything against him by their deceptive arguments, neither the innovators among the Mutakallimeen stood against him.

Then he said:
إلى أن قدر الله سبحانه وقوع تصنيف الشيخ الإمام إمام الدنيا في يدي قبيل واقعته الأخيرة بقليل، فوجدت فيه ما بهرني في موافقة فطرتي، لما فيه من عزو الحق إلى أئمة السنة وسلف الأمة مع مطابقة المعقول والمنقول.
Then I found a book written by the Shaykh the Imam of the world due to qadr of Allah, I felt so good that it was agreement with fitrah, Truth was attributed to the scholars of sunnah and salaf and it was also with aqal and naql.

Then He said:
ولما عزمت على المهاجرة إلى لقيه وصلني خبر اعتقاله، وأصابني لذلك المقيم المقعد، ولما حججت سنة ثمان وعشرين وسبعمائة صممت العزم على السفر إلى دمشق لأتوصل إلى ملاقاته ببذل ما أمكن من النفس والمال للتفريج عنه، فوافاني خبر وفاته رحمه الله تعالى مع الرجوع إلى العراق قبيل وصولي إلى الكوفة، فوجدت عليه ما لا يجده الأخ على شقيقه
I made a decision to meet him then i heard a news of his imprisonment, which struck me, when i went for hajj in 728 h I decided to meet him in Damascus and I will try to free him, Then I received a news of his death May Allah have mercy on him when I was going back to Iraq before entering into Kufa. [Uqud ad-Durriyah page 518, Ghayat al Amani 1/500-503]

See also articles on Defense of Ibn Tamiyah

http://www.allaahuakbar.net/scholars/ibn_taymiyyah/shaykh_al-islaam.htm )
http://www.thenoblequran.com/sps/sp.cfm?subsecID=NDV07&articleID=NDV070021&pfriend=

<– img –> https://systemoflife.com/images/life{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20is{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20a{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20fading{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20shadow{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20by{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20ibn{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20al{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20qayyim{ecb01613692258d40e800a99e4d746e5d13d05ec98d2e9f5c1cfefb6e9fee158}20systemoflife.jpg
<– img_desc –> Life is a fading shadow by ibn al qayyim systemoflife