Last Days of Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah

Last Days of Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (d.728 Hijri/1328 C.E)

Zain-ud-din Abdur-Rahman relates that after completing 80 recitals of the Qur’aan, Ibn Taymiyyah started it all over again with him. However, when he reached the closing verses of Surah Al-Qamar – “Lo! The righteous will dwell among gardens and rivers firmly established in the favour of a Mighty King” – he expressed his desire to continue the recital further with Abdullah ibn Muhib and his brother Abdullah az-Zara’ee. These brothers were both pious and pure of heart, and their recital pleased Ibn Taymiyyah very much. He did not, however, complete this recital of the Qur’aan before the knell summoning him to heaven was sounded.

The Shaikh had been indisposed for a few days when the Governor of Damascus called upon him. At his request to pardon him for the inconvenience caused on his account, Ibn Taymiyyah replied: “I have already forgiven you and all those persons who have been hostile to me. They knew not that I was in the right. I bear no malice nor have I any grievance against the King for putting me in jail at the instance of the theologians. He did not do it of his own accord and is free from all responsibility in this regard. I have pardoned every man in this affair except those who are enemies of God and His Prophet.”

Ibn Taymiyyah was taken ill 22 days before his death. His health gradually deteriorated till the journey’s end drew near on the night of the 22nd of Dhul-Qa’da, 728 A.H., when he quit the world aged 67 years.

“Everyone that is thereon will pass away there remained but the countenance of thy Lord of Might and Glory”. (ar-Rahman 55:26-27)

The crier of the Citadel Mosque announced Ibn Taymiyyah’s death from the minaret. In turn, this was repeated by the guards in the turrets and before long the news has spread like wildfire throughout the whole city. The gates of the fort were thrown open to allow wave after wave of teeming crowds to come and pay their last homage to their departed teacher. With tears brimming in their eyes, many of them kissed the forehead that frequently remained prostrated before the Lord.

The bier was brought to the Ummayad Mosque for the funeral service. The thronging crowd which was getting stronger every moment was so great that the soldiers has to force their way through, carrying the bier with great difficulty. With this vast multitude jostling and pushing to get near the bier many lost their shoes. At last the procession reached Suq al-Khalil where another funeral service was led by Ibn Taymiyyah’s younger brother Zain-ud-din Abdur-Rahman. After the service, Ibn Taymiyyah was laid to rest in Maqbarat-us-Sufiyah (1) by the side of his brother, Sharaf-ud-din Abdullah. It is estimated that some 60,000 to 100,000 persons of which at least 15,000 were women joined the funeral procession. (2)

In several Islamic countries lying to the south and east of Syria funeral services were held in absentia for Ibn Taymiyyah. Ibn Rajab, a chronicler who write Tabalaqat-ul-Hanabilah, says that funeral services were also held in several nearer and far-off lands like Yemen and China. “The funeral service of an expositor of the Qur’aan will now be held,” was the announcement made after Friday Prayuers in a far-off city according to travellers returning from China.

by Shaykh Sayyed Abu’l Hasan Ali an-Nadwi
from Sheikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah’s Life and Achievements
Published by UK Islamic Academy
Source: http://sajidahmedumar.blogspot.com/2010/12/last-days-of-shaykh-al-islaam-ibn.html

Imam ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisee (d.620H) on "Belief (Creed) in Allah's Names and Attributes"

He (Allaah) is described by what He has attributed to Himself in His Magnificent Book and upon the tongue of His honorable Prophet.We are obligated to believe in and to welcome with submission and acceptance everything that is mentioned in the Qur'aan and that is authentically reported on the Prophet (Peace by upon him) concerning Allah's Attributes.And we must abandon opposing it (which is done) by-

• Radd (rejection), 
• Ta'weel (distortive interpretation; hidden meaning), 
• Tashbeeh (comparison), and 
• Tamtheel (representation). 

As for what appears unclear from that, then we are obligated to affirm its wording and not oppose its (literal) meaning. We are to return the precise knowledge of it to the One who stated it and we entrust it upon the one who transmitted it, following the example of the ones who are deeply endowed with knowledge, those whom Allaah has praised in His manifest Book, saying:

"And those who are firmly grounded with knowledge say: 'We believe in it (the Qur'aan); the whole of it (clear and unclear verses) is from our Lord'"

[Surah Aali-Imraan (3):7]

And He says, disprasing the one who seeks the Ta'weel (hidden meaning) of the unclear verses of His revelation.

"As for those in whose hearts there is deviation, they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking fitnah (mischief) and seeking for its ta'weel (hidden meanings), but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allaah."

[Surah Aali-Imraan (3):7]

Thus Allaah has placed the aspect of seeking after the hidden meanings (ta'weel) as a sign of deviation. And He has placed a barrier between them and that which they aspire and He cuts off their ambitions from what they seek after, by saying: 

"But no one knows its hidden meanings except Allaah."

[Surah Aali-Imraan (3):7]

Concerning the ahadeeth: "Verily, Allaah descends to the lowest heaven" and "Verily, Allaah will be seen on the Day of Judgement" and what is similar to these ahaadeeth, Imam Abu 'Abdillaah Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullaah) said: 

"We believe in them and we attest to their verity, without saying how and without ascribing a (fixed) meaning for them. Nor do we reject any part from them. We know that whatever the Messenger came with is the truth. We do not reject what Allaah's Messenger came with, nor do we describe Allaah with more than He has described Himself, without limits.

Allaah says: 'There is nothing whatsoever like Him (in comparison). And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.' We say as He said. We describe Him with what He has described Himself and we do not transgress that. The description of those who (attempt to) describe Him, cannot grasp Him. We do not reject any of His Attributes due to a discomfort (that we may perceive towards it). We do not transgress the Qur'aan and the Hadeeth. And we have no knowledge of how to understand them, except through the affirmations of the Messenger and the confirmation of the Qur'aan."

Imam Abu 'Abdillaah Muhammad ibn Idrees Ash-Shaafi'ee, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"I believe in Allaah and in what has been reported concerning Allaah, upon what was intended by Allaah. And I believe in the Messenger of Allaah and in what has been reported concerning the Messenger of Allaah, upon what was intended by the Messenger of Allaah."

This is the way that the scholars of the past and present have followed, may Allaah be pleased with them. They all unanimously agreed on acknowledging, accepting, and affirming what has been mentioned in the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (Peace be upon him) concerning the Attributes, without turning towards the use of ta'weel.

pg. 5-6, Lum'at-ul-'Itiqaad [Sufficiency in Creed] - by Imam ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisee (d.620H)
Download the Book "Sufficiency in Creed" here.

“Draw Muhammad Day” re-visited using the Islamic Principles during Times of Fitan

“Draw Muhammad Day” re-visited using the Islamic Principles during Times of Fitan

(Principles have been explained by Shaikh Salih ibn Abdul-Aziz Aal-Shaikh in the book “Islamic Principles for the Muslim’s Attitude during Times of Fitan” – Translated by Shawana A. Aziz. Download the book… here)

Last year, most of the Facebook users might have come across about “Draw Muhammad Day“ event to defame the honor of our beloved Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). This event was planned and propagated by some of the evil-minded non-Muslims, that they all would have a contest on 20^th of May, 2010, whereby they would depict and draw the images of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). The news of this contest/event caught limelight in the news channels and other broadcasts media all over the globe.

Our [Muslims] love for the Prophet (Peace and Mercy of Allah be upon him) is one of their exploitation factor and we should not be surprised to see similar Fitan (pl. of Fitnah) in the future. This planned event was another disguised Fitnah (Trial and Tribulation) that would not have turned out to be so blown-out of proportion as it is being recalled today; if only some of the principles set forth by the scholars of Islam were studied, understood and adhered to by the common Muslim masses. Eventually, the page was removed by Facebook and the disrupters of Peace were not successful in carrying out the defaming contest on 20^th May.

Going forward from here, we will try to assess the actions on part of the Muslims, should all of them had adhered to some (if not all) of Islamic Principles during the time of Fitan (Trials and Tribulation); in this case the Fitnah is “Inciting Disruption of Peace using the defaming ‘Draw Muhammad Day’ contest”.

The First Principle
‘When Fitan emerge and situations change, then one should act with kindness, wisdom and deliberation/tolerance and without haste.’

Contrary to the first principle, the popularity of a small page on Facebook (that had no importance at all) was spread like wildfire. Muslims made a big deal out of it and gave them the importance and popularity they needed to spread their word. Should they have left them alone by being tolerant, people would not have noticed if such an event was ever planned or even took place.

The Second Principle
‘If Fitan emerge or the situations change, then do not give a judgment about anything related to the Fitan or concerning the change in the situation except after fully grasping/understanding it.’

This principle tells us not to give our judgment until we understand the whole issue. Instead, most of the people started reacting of spreading the information of the subject, and some of them even went a step ahead by giving verdicts and using abusive languages (thus not following the desirable etiquettes of a Muslim).

The Fourth Principle

‘The Muslims must stick to the Jama'ah (i.e., the Imams and scholars) of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah and abide by their sayings’

The fourth principle should have been very clear to us, which talks about sticking to the wisdom and decision of the Scholars. An incident such as “Draw Muhammad Day” is not something new to us. It has happened in the past, the well-known ‘Danish Cartoons’ Fitnah. The topnotch scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’ah have already presented their Islamic Rulings (Fatawas) and have very well written advices on how we Muslims should behave/react, when such Fitan arise.

A simple Islamic website like “Islam QA” should have been sufficient for the Web-Savvy Facebook Muslim masses to have known how to search on the fundamentals of approaching these issues (Fitan).

The Fifth Principle

‘A Muslim should weigh the banners that are raised during Fitan – whether state banners or banners of the callers – in the scale of the Sharee'ah – the scale of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah’

One should weigh the banners using the scale of the Sharee’ah during the Times of Fitan. We saw Pages, Groups and Messages on Boycott Facebook, and un-Islamic comments were seen in large numbers (as a response to the “Draw Muhammad Day” page).
We should not forget Facebook and similar Social Networking Tools have also been beneficial to so many Muslims, where they have come to learn a lot of authentic Islamic Knowledge via these tools. If one was to blame a tool for evil, one must not forget the very same tool has also been used to for doing good. Banning the tool will not change people’s hearts and their actions. 

Moreover, if the Government decided to ban Facebook, it should have been that nation’s decision until the issue is resolved (in this case removing of the page from Facebook). Individual efforts to boycott Facebook are nothing but futile attempts.

Furthermore, we forgot how patient and humble our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) was in reaction to people who tortured & abused him in Makkah.

The Seventh Principle

‘Allah has ordered us to align ourselves with the believers, especially the scholars’

This principle tells us what Allah (Glorified be He) has ordered us to do, i.e. “To align ourselves with the believers (especially the scholars)”.

If every Muslim follows this principle in his/her daily life, then the outcome surely should be beneficial for that Muslim as well as others in his contact. The scholars are the best amongst us and a source of knowledge and wisdom. They can surely assist us in matters pertaining to our lives and our belief. If majority of us follow this principle, then all the previously drafted outcomes of adhering to the respective principles would have easily been upheld.

The Eighth Principle

‘Disassociation from the disbelievers’

The eighth principle, in my opinion, was sufficient for all of us so to have avoided the wildfire propagation of this Fitnah. We should have disassociated ourselves from the ideologies & the subsequently based actions of these factions of non-Muslims; who, in the name of freedom of speech, were carrying out defaming attacks on the character of our beloved Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon him). If all of us had followed this principle and had not visited and made this page so popular in the first place, then these fanatics would not have got the hype they needed to spread their lowly call and their so called “Freedom of Speech”.

Using only Six of the Nine principles of Fitan, I have tried to highlight the beneficial use of their application. A detailed study and propagation of these principles will help the Muslim masses understand and tackle any sort of Fitan (Trial and Tribulation), Insha-Allah (God-Willing), thus achieving peace and harmony in our lives and that of others.

For detailed study on the course, I would suggest you to go through the book by Shaikh Salih ibn Abdul-Aziz Aal-Shaikh titled “Islamic Principles for the Muslim’s Attitude during Times of Fitan” – Translated by Shawana A. Aziz. (Download the book… here)

Types of Martyrs in Islam

Q. Does a person who died of cancer as a result of smoking attain the status of a martyr?

A. Praise be to Allaah.


It is proven in the saheeh Sunnah that there are various kinds of martyrs who will attain the status of martyrdom in the Hereafter; this is by the grace and mercy of Allah.


It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“The martyrs are five: the one who dies of the plague, the one who dies of a stomach disease, the one who drowns, the one who is crushed beneath a falling wall, and the martyr who is killed for the sake of Allaah.”


Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:


Ibn al-Teen said: All of these are deaths which involve hardship. Allah has bestowed His grace upon the ummah of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) by making them means of erasing their sins and increasing their rewards, and enabling them to attain the status of martyrdom.


Fath al-Baari, 6/44


If a person dies of cancer, some of the scholars are of the view that he is included among the types of martyr mentioned in the hadeeth, on the basis that the word mabtoon (the one who dies of a disease in the abdomen) is general and includes everyone who dies of a disease in his abdomen and that this does not apply to any one specific disease.


Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:


The word mabtoon means the one with a disease in the abdomen, which is diarrhoea. Al-Qaadi said: And it was said that he is the one who suffers from dropsy or oedema and swelling of the abdomen. And it was said that it refers to the one who suffers some disease in his abdomen. And it was said that it refers to anyone who dies from a disease in the abdomen in general. End quote from Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi.


But it should be noted that this suggestion is connected to two conditions:


(i) that the site of the cancer be in the abdomen so that he may truly be said to be mabtoon.


Shaykh ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-‘Abbaad (may Allah preserve him) was asked:


Does a person who dies of cancer come under the heading of mabtoon?


He replied:


No, because cancer is not always in the stomach; it may be somewhere other than the stomach.


Sharh Sunan Abi Dawood (tape no. 230)


As the site of your friend’s cancer was in the throat, he is not included among any of the groups who are regarded as martyrs.


(ii) that the disease should not have been caused by smoking, taking drugs or drinking alcohol, or other haraam things, unless he has repented sincerely from that and has given up consuming those haraam things.


This condition is general and applies to all those mentioned in the hadeeth. If a woman is pregnant as the result of zina and dies in labour, she is not regarded as one of the martyrs. If a person who drowned had boarded the boat or ship in order to commit sin or some immoral activity, and dies as a result of drowning, he is not one of the martyrs. A person who is killed by a falling wall when he is committing zina or drinking alcohol is not one of the martyrs. In the answer to question no. 45669, we have quoted the Standing Committee as saying that a person who dies as the result of a car accident when he was inside the car comes under the same heading as one who was killed by a falling wall, so he is a martyr, by Allah’s leave. But this cannot be applied to those foolish young men to whom this happens when they are racing in their cars, or to those who compete in difficult circumstances in the mountains or in the snow (“extreme sports”).


In the answer to question no. 22140, we quoted Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah as saying that if a person drowns after boarding a ship for sinful purposes, he is not a martyr.


And elsewhere he said:


Whoever wants to follow a path where the possibilities of being safe or being killed are equal has to refrain from following it; if he does not refrain, then he is aiding in his own destruction so he is not a martyr.


Al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 5/381


Al-Suyooti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:


Al-Qurtubi said: This and the previous one -- i.e., those who are killed by a falling wall or drowning -- if they did not take risks and did not fail to take precautions, (then they are martyrs). But if they did not take precautions and died as a result of that, then they are sinners.


Al-Deebaaj ‘ala Muslim (4/508)


In al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (26/273, 274) it says:


An exception is made in the case of one who travels for the purpose of sin and dies away from home. Another exception is made in the case of one who drowns but was sinning by boarding the ship when he knew that it was most likely not to be safe for him to do so, or he boarded it for the purpose of committing sin. Another exception is made in the case of a woman who is pregnant as a result of zina and dies in childbirth.
End quote.


If the person who is slain in battle was fighting for the sake of tribalism or to show off, he does not attain the virtue or status of martyrdom, and it is more likely that such people will not attain that great reward.


Summary:

Cancer in and of itself does not mean that the person who dies of it is one of the types of martyrs, unless the disease was in his abdomen. That is not what is stated in the hadeeth; rather it is the ijtihaad (opinion) of some scholars with regard to the meaning of mabtoon. If a person’s disease was caused by smoking and the like, and he dies of it before repenting, then he is not a martyr, even if the disease was in his abdomen. But if the disease in his abdomen was not the result of a haraam action, we hope that he will attain the status of the martyrs in the Hereafter, in sha Allah.

And Allaah knows best.

Islam QA
Ref: http://islamqa.com/en/ref/145203/