The Lofty Virtues Of Ibn Taymiyyah

he was? He was never heard asking for a beautiful wife, or an enchanting slave girl, or a wellbuilt
house, or obedient slaves, or plush gardens, or a strong riding beast, or soft and elegant
clothing, or a position of leadership, nor did he ever hold back a dīnār or dirham, nor was he
ever seen striving to obtain something permissible and unnecessary. This was all despite the
fact that kings, governors, and well-known businessmen were all under his command,
submissive to his words, willing to come close to him as much as they were able, openly
praising of him, and each ready to take care of his financial needs.
So, where is he in comparison to some who ascribe themselves to knowledge while they are
not from its people - those who were fooled by Satan into submitting to him in word and
deed? Do you not see that they looked to their characteristics and his, their virtues and his,
their envy in competing over the dunyā and his complete disregard for them, their rush to
gather as much as they could of it and his rush to escape from it, their servitude to the rulers
and constant presence at their doors compared to the rulers’ submission to him, his lack of
intimidation by their authority and power, the ease with which he would speak the truth to
them, and the force with which he would address them? Indeed, by Allāh! However, they
shaved themselves - of their religion, not their hair, and the love of the dunyā overtook their
dreams, and they were robbed - of their intellect, not their possessions, to the point that they
would turn away from those who came to ask it of them, and would only befriend those who
would help them get more of it.
- His Poverty and Humility -
With his extreme abandonment and rejection of the dunyā and his possession only of the
small amount that he happened to come across of it, he (may Allāh be Pleased with him)
would never belittle the smallest things or be distracted by the most valuable things to give it
away in charity. He would always give charity to the point that if he could find nothing to
give, he would take off a portion of what he was wearing to give it to the poor. He would
sometimes take one or two loaves of bread from the already meager provision he had and
hide them under his sleeve, and when we went out with him to listen to Hadīth, he would
rush to give them to some poor person when he thought we weren’t watching. At other
times, if a poor person came to him and stood with him for some time, he would sit him
down and give him most of his food.
I was told by the righteous Shaykh Zayn ad-Dīn ‘Alī al-Wāsitī, who stayed with the Shaykh
for a long time: “We would usually get our food at the beginning of the day, and it would
consist of a piece of bread that weighed about half an Iraqi ratl. 37 So, he would break a piece
off with his hand, and we would eat from it together. He would raise his hands from the
bread before me, and would not remove the rest of the piece from in front of me until I was
full. I would not need any food until nighttime, and I saw that this was from the barakah of
the Shaykh. We would then stay until the last part of the night after he finished all of his daily
tasks of helping the people, and we would then be given supper. He would eat a few pieces
with me, and leave me to finish the rest. I would ask him to eat more and he would refuse,
to the point that I would be pained due to how little he would eat.
37 A ratl is a measuring unit that equals roughly one pound.
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