Surah al-Ikhlas and Allah’s Perfection: Ibn Taymiyah

In part of his discussion on surah al-Ikhlas, sheikh al-Islam ibn Taymiyah included the following words related to an overarching theme of the surah:

إن هذه السورة اشتملت على جميع أنواع التنزيه والتحميد على النفي والإثبات، ولهذا كانت تعدل ثلث القرآن. فالصمدية تثبت الكمال المنافي للنقائص. والأحدية تثبت الانفراد بذلك. ـ

This surah includes all forms of 1) declaring Allah far-removed from any imperfection and 2) praising Him by both negating negative qualities and affirming positive qualities.

It is in this vein that this surah is equal to one third of the Qur’an.

The quality of being al-Samad — free of any need while all creation is in need of Him — affirms His perfection and completeness while negating any shortcomings.

And the quality of being al-Ahad — One, Unique — affirms that He is singular and unique in that.

وكذلك إذا نزه نفسه عن أن يلد، فيخرج منه مادة الولد التي هي أشرف المواد، فلأن ينزه نفسه عن أن يخرج منه مادة غير الولد بطريق الأولى والأحرى. ـ

Likewise, when He declares Himself far-removed from having any offspring, such that He never emitted the material to make a child – which would be the best of materials -, then in doing so He is also declaring Himself all-the-more far-removed from emitting any other kinds of bodily substances that would not result in producing a child.

Annual Islamic Celebrations: Ibn Taymiyah

The following question and answer was included in the collection of sheikh al-Islam ibn Taymiyah‘s writings:

وسئل عمن يعمل كل سنة ختمة في ليلة مولد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم هل ذلك مستحب ؟ أم لا ؟ ـ

Question: He was asked about those who perform a particular action every year to mark the birth of the Prophet (ﷺ) – is this something encouraged or not?

فأجاب : الحمد لله : جمع الناس للطعام في العيدين وأيام التشريق سنة وهو من شعائر الإسلام التي سنها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم للمسلمين وإعانة الفقراء بالإطعام في شهر رمضان هو من سنن الإسلام . فقد قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ” { من فطر صائما فله مثل أجره } وإعطاء فقراء القراء ما يستعينون به على القرآن عمل صالح في كل وقت ومن أعانهم على ذلك كان شريكهم في الأجر . ـ

Response: All praise belongs to Allah. Bringing people together and feeding them for the two ‘Eids and on the days of Tashreeq is an established practice that is one of the hallmarks of Islam which the Prophet (ﷺ) established for the Muslims.

Likewise, helping the poor by feeding them during the month of Ramadan is also a well-known Islamic practice, for the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Whoever feeds a fasting person will have the same reward as him.”

How the Sahabah and Tabi’oon Learned Tafsir: ibn Taymiyah

In his famous primer of the foundations of tafsir, ibn Taymiyah wrote:

يجب أن يعلم أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بَيَّنَ لأصحابه معاني القرآن كما بين لهم ألفاظه، فقوله تعالى‏:‏{‏لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ‏ ‏‏‏} ‏[‏النحل‏:‏44‏]‏ يتناول هذا وهذا، وقد قال أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي‏:‏ حدثنا الذين كانوا يقرئوننا القرآن كعثمان بن عفان، وعبد اللّه بن مسعود وغيرهما أنهم كانوا إذا تعلموا من النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عشر آيات لم يجاوزوها حتى يتعلموا ما فيها من العلم والعمل، قالوا‏:‏ فتعلمنا القرآن والعلم والعمل جميعاً‏‏. ـ

You ought to know that the Prophet made the meanings of the Qur’an clear to his companions just as He made its wordings clear to them, for Allah’s statement:

‏لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ‏

… so that you could explain to the people what has been sent down to them … [16:44]

includes both of those things. And Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami said:

Those from whom we learned the Qur’an such as ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood and others told us that whenever they used to learn ten ayaat from the Prophet, they wouldn’t go beyond that until they had learned the knowledge and actions contained within those ayaat. They said, “We would learn the Qur’an, knowledge and actions all together.”

ولهذا كانوا يبقون مدة في حفظ السورة‏.‏ وقال أنس‏:‏ كان الرجل إذا قرأ البقرة وآل عمران جَلَّ في أعيننا‏.‏ وأقام ابن عمر على حفظ البقرة عدة سنين، قيل‏:‏ ثماني سنين، ذكره مالك‏‏. ـ

That is why it would take them a long time to memorize a surah. Anas said:

If a man memorized surah al-Baqarah and surah Aal ‘Imran, we would hold him in high esteem.

And ibn ‘Umar spent a number of years memorizing surah al-Baqarah. Some, including Maalik, said that he spent a total of eight years.

The Relationship Between Tafsir al-Baghawi and Tafsir al-Tha’labi: Ibn Taymiyah

In more than one place throughout his writings, including briefly in his primer on the fundamentals of tafsir, sheikh al-Islam ibn Taymiyah compares the tafsir works of al-Baghawi (died 516 AH) and al-Tha’labi (died 427 AH). This article will collect the more detailed of those statements in order to present a clearer picture of the relationship between the two works of Tafsir al-Baghawi and Tafsir al-Tha’labi.

Sheikh al-Islam ibn Taymiyah was once asked:

سؤال : أي التفاسير أقرب إلى الكتاب والسنة الزمخشري، أم القرطبي، أم البغوي، أم غير هؤلاء؟ ـ

Question: Which book of tafsir is closest to the Qur’an and Sunnah – al-Zamakhshari, al-Qurtubi, al-Baghawi, or something else?

جواب : أما التفاسير الثلاثة المسئول عنها فأسلمها من البدعة، والأحاديث الضعيفة البغوي، لكنه مختصر من تفسير الثعلبي، وحذف منه الأحاديث الموضوعة، والبدع التي فيه، وحذف أشياء غير ذلك . ـ

Response: As for the three books that were asked about, then the safest one from innovations and weak hadith narrations is al-Baghawi. And it is abridged from Tafsir al-Tha’labi, but al-Baghawi omitted the fabricated narrations and innovations it contained, and he also omitted some other things as well.

Will the Disbelievers’ Deeds be Reckoned?: Ibn Taymiyah

The following question was once posed to sheikh al-Islam ibn Taymiyah:

سُئِلَ عَنْ الْكُفّار: هل يحاسبون يوم القيامة أم لا؟ ـ

Someone asked: Will the disbelievers be taken to account on the Day of Resurrection or not?

فَأَجَابَ :هذه المسألة تنازع فيها المتأخرون من أصحاب أحمد وغيرهم، فممن قال: إنهم لا يحاسبون: أبو بكر عبد العزيز، وأبو الحسن التميمي، والقاضي أبو يعلى، وغيرهم. وممن قال: إنهم يحاسبون: أبو حفص البرمكي من أصحاب أحمد، وأبو سليمان الدمشقي، وأبو طالب المكي. ـ

I would respond: This topic has been an issue of debate among later scholars from the Hanbali school as well as others. Those who say that they will not be taken to account include Abu Bakr ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, Abu’l-Hasan al-Tamimi, and al-Qadhi Abu Ya’la, among others. Those who say that they will be taken to account include Abu Hafs al-Barmaki among the Hanbalis, Abu Sulayman al-Dimishqi, and Abu Talib al-Makki.

وفصل الخطاب: أن الحساب يراد به عرض أعمالهم عليهم وتوبيخهم عليها، ويراد بالحساب موازنة الحسنات بالسيئات. فإن أريد بالحساب المعنى الأول، فلا ريب أنهم يحاسبون بهذا الاعتبار. ـ

The crux of the issue is that the word “al-hisab” is used to refer to displaying their deeds to them and reprimanding them for them, and it is also used to refer to the weighing of good deeds and bad deeds.

Taking Lessons from the Previous Nations: Ibn Taymiyah

In part of his writing about the invasion of the Mongols, Ibn Taymiyah wrote the following:

وإنما قص الله علينا قصص من قبلنا من الأمم، لتكون عبرة لنا‏.‏ فنشبه حالنا بحالهم، ونقيس أواخر الأمم بأوائلها‏.‏ فيكون للمؤمن من المتأخرين شبه بما كان للمؤمن من المتقدمين‏.‏ ويكون للكافر والمنافق من المتأخرين شبه بما كان للكافر والمنافق من المتقدمين، كما قال ـ تعالى ـ لما قص قصة يوسف مفصلة، وأجمل قصص الأنبياء، ثم قال‏:‏ ‏{‏لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِّأُوْلِي الأَلْبَابِ مَا كَانَ حَدِيثًا يُفْتَرَى‏}‏‏[‏يوسف‏:‏ 111‏]‏ أى‏:‏ هذه القصص المذكورة فى الكتاب ليست بمنزلة ما يفترى من القصص المكذوبة، كنحو ما يذكر فى الحروب من السير المكذوبة‏.‏ ـ

The reason why Allah has told us the stories of the nations that came before us is so that they would serve as lessons for us, so that we could compare our situation to theirs and measure the later nations against the earlier ones. For the believer of later times resembles the believer of earlier times, and the disbeliever and munafiq of later times resembles the disbeliever and munafiq of earlier times. This is as Allah said after retelling the story of Yusuf in detail, and regarding all of the stories of the prophets more generally:

‏لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِّأُوْلِي الأَلْبَابِ مَا كَانَ حَدِيثًا يُفْتَرَى

There was certainly a lesson in their stories for those of understanding. It is not an invented tale. [12:111]

i.e. these stories mentioned in the Qur’an are not of the same level as those false stories that people create, such as those war stories from fake biographies.

Surah al-Anbiyaa’ is the Surah of Dhikr: Ibn Taymiyah

Sheikh al-Islam ibn Taymiyah once wrote:

سورة الأنبياء  سورة الذكر وسورة الأنبياء الذين عليهم نزل الذكر افتتحها بقوله : { ما يأتيهم من ذكر من ربهم محدث } الآية وقوله : { فاسألوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم لا تعلمون } وقوله : { لقد أنزلنا إليكم كتابا فيه ذكركم } وقوله : { هذا ذكر من معي وذكر من قبلي } وقوله : { وذكرا للمتقين } وقوله : { وهذا ذكر مبارك } وقوله : { ولقد كتبنا في الزبور من بعد الذكر } ـ

Surah al-Anbiyaa’ is the surah of dhikr – remembrance of Allah – and the surah of the Prophets to whom that dhikr was revealed. Allah begins the surah by saying:

مَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن ذِكْرٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِم مُّحْدَثٍ إِلَّا اسْتَمَعُوهُ وَهُمْ يَلْعَبُونَ

Whenever a new reminder comes to them from their Lord, they only listen to it while they are at play [21:2]

and He said:

فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

So ask the people of remembrance if you do not know [21:7]

and He said:

لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ

We have certainly sent down a Book to you which contains your reminder [21:10]

and He said:

The Contents of Surah Hud: Ibn Taymiyah

In one of his many writings, ibn Taymiyah briefly addressed the contents and themes of surah Hud by writing:

قد افتتح السورة فقال كتاب أحكمت آياته ثم فصلت من لدن حكيم خبير ألا تعبدوا إلا الله إنني لكم منه نذير وبشير فذكر أنه نذير وبشير نذير ينذر بالعذاب لأهل النار وبشير يبشر بالسعادة لأهل الحق

Allah began the surah by saying:

كِتَابٌ أُحْكِمَتْ آيَاتُهُ ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتْ مِن لَّدُنْ حَكِيمٍ خَبِيرٍ * أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّنِي لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ

A Book whose verses are perfected and then presented in detail from one who is Wise and All-Knowing. ‎‏* Do not worship any besides Allah. Indeed, I am a warner to you from Him and a bringer of good tidings [11:1-2]

So Allah mentions that the Prophet is a warner and a bringer of good tidings: a warner who warns of the punishment that the people of the Hellfire will receive and a bringer of good tidings who gives good tidings of ultimate joy for the people of the truth.

ثم ذكر حال الفريقين في السراء والضراء فقال ولئن أذقنا الإنسان منا رحمة ثم نزعناها منه إنه ليؤوس كفور ولئن أذقناه نعماء بعد ضراء مسته ليقولن ذهب السيئات عني إنه لفرح فخور إلا الذين صبروا وعملوا الصالحات أولئك لهم مغفرة وأجر كبير

He then mentioned the condition of both groups of people in times of prosperity and in times of adversity by saying:

وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً ثُمَّ نَزَعْنَاهَا مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ لَيَئُوسٌ كَفُورٌ * وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَاهُ نَعْمَاءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّاءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ السَّيِّئَاتُ عَنِّي ۚ إِنَّهُ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ * إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ

And if We give man a taste of mercy from Us and then We withdraw it from him, he is certainly despairing and ungrateful. * But if We give him a taste of favor after hardship has touched him, he will surely say, “Bad times have left me.” He is exultant and boastful – * Except for those who are patient and do righteous deeds; those ones will have forgiveness and great reward. [11:9-11]

ثم ذكر بعد هذا قصص الأنبياء وحال من اتبعهم ومن كذبهم كيف سعد هؤلاء في الدنيا والآخرة وشقي هؤلاء في الدنيا والآخرة فذكر ما جرى لهم إلى قوله ذلك من أنباء القرى نقصه عليك إلى قوله وذلك يوم مشهود

After that, He mentioned stories of the Prophets, the conditions of their followers and the conditions of their deniers, and then how their followers achieved joy in both this life and the next and how their deniers experienced sorrow in both this life and the next. So He mentioned what happened to them until His statement:

The Difference Between Humiliating Punishment and Great Punishment in the Qur’an: ibn Taymiyah

In one of his writings, ibn Taymiyah discusses a subtle difference between the use of the phrase “a humiliating punishment” [عَذَابُ مُهِين] and “a great punishment” [عَذَابُ عَظِيم] throughout the Qur’an, illustrating that “a humiliating punishment” is reserved for the disbelievers” while “a great punishment” could be applied to the disbelievers or believers:

قال إن الذين يؤذون الله ورسوله لعنهم الله في الدنيا والآخرة وأعد لهم عذابا مهينا ولم يجيء إعداد العذاب المهين في القرآن إلا في حق الكفار كقوله الذين يبخلون ويأمرون الناس بالبخل ويكتمون ما آتاهم الله من فضله وأعتدنا للكافرين عذابا مهينا وقوله وخذوا حذركم إن الله أعد للكافرين عذابا مهينا ـ

Allah said:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا ‎

Verily, those who affront Allah and His Messenger, Allah has cursed them in this world, and in the Hereafter, and has prepared a humiliating punishment for them. [33:57]

and preparing a humiliating punishment is only mentioned in the Qur’an in relation to the disbelievers. Take, for example, Allah’s statement:

الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبُخْلِ وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ ۗ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا

Those who are miserly and enjoin miserliness on other men and hide what Allah has bestowed upon them of His Bounties. And We have prepared a humiliating punishment for the disbelievers. [4:37]

and His statement:

وَخُذُوا حِذْرَكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا ‎

but take every precaution for yourselves. Verily, Allah has prepared a humiliating punishment for the disbelievers. [4:102]

وقوله فباؤوا بغضب على غضب وللكافرين عذاب مهين إنما نملي لهم ليزدادوا إثما ولهم عذاب مهين والذين كفروا وكذبوا بآياتنا فأولئك لهم عذاب مهين وإذا علم من آياتنا شيئا اتخذها هزوا أولئك لهم عذاب مهين وقد أنزلنا آيات بينات وللكافرين عذاب مهين اتخذا أيمانهم جنة فصدوا عن سبيل الله فلهم عذاب مهين ـ

And His statements:

فَبَاءُوا بِغَضَبٍ عَلَىٰ غَضَبٍ ۚ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ

So they have drawn on themselves wrath upon wrath. And for the disbelievers, there is a humiliating punishment. [2:90]

Prayer and Sacrifice: Ibn Taymiyah

In part of his commentary on surah al-Kawthar, ibn Taymiyah included the following beautiful points:

وقوله‏:‏ ‏{‏فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ‏}‏ ‏[‏الكوثر‏:‏ 2‏]‏، أمره الله أن يجمع بين هاتين العبادتين العظيمتين، وهما الصلاة والنسك الدالتان على القرب والتواضع والافتقار وحسن الظن، وقوة اليقين، وطمأنينة القلب إلى الله، وإلى عدته وأمره، وفضله، وخلفه، عكس حال أهل الكبر والنفرة وأهل الغني عن الله الذين لا حاجة في صلاتهم إلى ربهم يسألونه إياها، والذين لا ينحرون له خوفًا من الفقر، وتركًا لإعانة الفقراء وإعطائهم، وسوء الظن منهم بربهم؛ ولهذا جمع الله بينهما في قوله تعالى‏:‏ ‏{‏قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاَتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ‏}‏ ‏[‏الأنعام‏:‏ 162‏]‏،والنسك هي الذبيحة ابتغاء وجهه‏.‏ ـ

Allah’s statement:

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ

So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [108:2]

Allah commanded the Prophet to perform both of these great acts of worship, the salah and ritual sacrifice, both of which indicate drawing closer to Allah, humility towards Allah, need for Allah, good thoughts of Allah, utmost certainty in Allah, and a heart at peace with Allah, His promises, His commands, His bounty, and His creation. This is completely opposite to the state of the arrogant ones, the rejecters, those who do not consider themselves in need of Allah, who do not ask Allah for their needs in their prayers, those who do not sacrifice for Allah out of fear of poverty, those who do not help the poor or give to the needy, who have bad expectations of their Lord.

That is why Allah mentioned these two acts of worship together in His statement: