The Lofty Virtues Of Ibn Taymiyyah

opposed to the scholars of the dunyā who choose it, seek it, and chase after it. When they
chose its delights, they closed themselves off from the path of guidance, and as a result fell
into its opposite. They go about in a state of confusion, just like the one walking around in
the darkness, not knowing what they are eating or wearing. They do not even know what
they hope to achieve from their evil and humiliating aims. They compete for them, envy
each other because of them, fill their bodies with them, and push everything else out of their
hearts. They tend excessively to their outer appearances while their hearts are blackened and
corrupted. They are never satisfied until they become enemies to those who reject and hate
such a lifestyle.
When they saw this Imām as a scholar of the Hereafter - abandoning their habits of gathering
the goods of this world, avoiding the doubtful, and rejecting the unnecessary permissible
things - they came to see that his mannerisms exposed and embarrassed them. So, they
became extremely jealous that he displayed such spiritual characteristics while they had
nothing but devilish ones, and they conspired to ruin him wherever they could, forgetting
that they were foxes while he was a lion. So, Allāh protected him from them in more than
one instance, just as He always does with His beloved servants. He protected him for the
duration of his life, and spread his knowledge after his death to the ends of the Earth.
- His Zuhd -
As for his zuhd from the world and its delights, Allāh made this a constant theme in his life
from the time of his youth. A trustworthy friend narrated to me that his teacher who taught
Ibn Taymiyyah the Qur’ān said:
“His father said to me while he was still a young boy: “I would like for you to promise him
that if he doesn’t stop reciting and practicing Qur’ān, I will give him forty dirhams every
month.” So, he gave me the forty dirhams, and told me: “Give them to him. He is young, and
he might become happy and increase in his zeal to memorize and learn the Qur’ān, and tell
him that he will have the same every month.” So, Ibn Taymiyyah refused to accept it, saying:
“O teacher, I promised Allāh that I would not take any payment for the Qur’ān,” and he
never accepted them. I thought to myself that this would never occur except from a youth
who is preserved by Allāh.”
This teacher has spoken the truth, as the protection and attention of Allāh is what brought
him all the good in his life from beginning to end. Everyone who ever met him - especially
those who accompanied him for extended periods of time - agrees that they never saw
anyone equal to him in his zuhd of the dunyā, to the point that he became famous for this,
and this became known in the heart of everyone who heard of his characteristics, far and
near. In fact, if you were to ask an everyday person living here who wasn’t too close to the
Shaykh: ‘Who was the person who displayed the most zuhd of our times, and was the
strongest in rejecting the unnecessary things of this dunyā, and the keenest of them in seeking
the Hereafter?’ he would say: ‘I never heard of anyone like Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allāh have
Mercy on him)!’
He did not become famous for this except because of his dedication in doing so. How many
scholars have we seen who are as satisfied with what little portion of the dunyā they have like
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