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Ibn Taymiyyah rendered in Islamic calligraphy. Photo outsourced from

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Ibn Taymiyyah

Ibn taymiyyah was born in September 26, 1328. He was Sunni Alim, philosopher, judge and controversial thinker and political figure.

Taymiyyah is popularly known for his diplomatic involvement with the llkhaned ruler Ghazan Khan and his involvement but the battle of Marj al-Suffal, which ended the Mongol invasion of the Levant.

He was a member of the Hanbali school; Taymiyyah’s iconoclastic views that condemned numerous folk practices associated with saint veneration and visitation of tomb shrines which made him unpopular with many scholars and rulers of his time and he was imprisoned several times.

Here are top 10 facts about Ibn Taymiyyah.

1. Ibn Taymiyyah education

Taymiyyah, with his father and three brothers, left Harren in 1269 and the family settled in Damascus, Syria, which the Mamluk Sultanate ruled.

Taymiyyah received his early education at Sukkariya Madrasa in Damascus, where his father served as the director. Taymiyyah was familiarized with the religious and secular science of his time.

From his father’s studies, he learned the religious science of Fiqh (Jurisprudence) and Usul al-Fiqh( principle of Jurisprudence).

Taymiyyah learned Hadith from more than two hundred scholars, four of whom were women. He became Muftiat at 17 and was later permitted to issue Fatwa by Al-Maqdisi, one of his teachers.

His secular studies led him to devote attention to the Arabic language and literature by studying Arabic grammar a Lexicography under Ali Ibn ‘Abd al-Qawl, al-Tufi. In 1282 Ibn Taymiyyah completed his studies at the age of 20.

2. Ibn Taymiyyah life as a scholar

Taymiyyah’s father died in 1284 and he took up the vacant position as the head Of Sukkariyya Madrasa and began teaching Hadith. In 1285, Taymiyyah began giving lessons as chair of the Hanbali Zawiya on Fridays at the Umayyad Mosque on the subjects of tafsir.

In November 1292, Taymiyyah performed Hajj and, four months after returning from Mecca, wrote his first book, Manasik al-Hajj (Rite of Pilgrimage), at 29.

Taymiyyah represents Hanbali school. The Hanbali school was seen as the most traditional school of the four legal systems because it was suspicious of the Hellenist disciplines of philosophy and speculative theology.

Throughout his life, he remained faithful to the Hanbali school, whose doctrines he had mastered but called Fo Ijtihad and discouraged taqlid.

3. Ibn Taymiyyah was put under house arrest in Alexandria

In 1309, after Taymiyyah was released from prison when the new Mamluk Sultan acceded to the throne, Baibars al-Jashnakir.

Baibars al Jasnakir’s reign was marked by economic and political unrest, which lasted a year. In August 1301, Taymiyyah was arrested for seven months in the sultan’s palace in Alexandria.

Taymiyyah was freed from house arrest after al- Nasir Muhammad retook the position of Sultan on four march 1310.

He then returned to Cairo a week later and was received by al-Nasir and al-Nair and al-Nasir would consult him on religious affairs and policies during the rest of his stay in Cairo.

4. Ibn Taymiyyah students

During his time as a scholar, Taymiyyah taught many students who became scholars in their rights.

Taymiyyah students came from different backgrounds and belonged to various schools. One of his famous students was Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya, who became a notable scholar in Islamic history and Ibn Kathir.

His other students include AL-Mizzi, Al-Dhahabi, Ibn Muflih, Ibn Abd al-Hadi, Al-Bazzar, Ibn Qadi al-Jabali, Muhammad Ibn al-Manji, and Ibn al-Wardi, amongst many others.

5. Ibn Taymiyyah works

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Taymiyyah left work ranges from 350 according to his student Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya to 500 according to his student al-Dhahabi.

Oliver Leaman says that Taymiyyah produced some 700 works in the Islamic science field. His scholarly output has been described as immense with a broad scope and its contents bear the marks of brilliant insights hostility jostled down.

Taymiyyah’s early works were primarily based on theology and the use of reason in interpreting scriptural evidence. His later works focused on the refutation of Greek logic, questioning those prevalent practices of the time and anti-Christian and anti-Shi’i polemics.

6. Ibn Taymiyyah Fatwa on divorce and imprisonment

In 1318, Taymiyyah wrote an essay that would cause ease with which a Muslim could divorce his wife. Many scholars of his time didn’t accept his fatwa on divorce, but modern Muslim nations state has come to adopt his ideas on the issue of divorce.

Due to his views and not bidding to sultan letter sent two years before forbidding him from the fatwa issue, a council hearing was held to deal with this matter.

After the hearing, Taymiyyah was imprisoned on August 26, 1320, in the Citadel of Damascus. He was released about five-month and 18 days later, on February 9, 1321, by order of the sultan Al-Nasir.

7. Ibn taymiyyah Risala on visiting tombs

Taymiyyah had written a Riasala called Ziyarat al-Qubur; it talked about the permissibly and validity of visiting tombs of prophets and saints.

It is believed that in the book, he condemned the cult of saints and declared that visiting Muhammad’s grave was a blameworthy religious innovation.

To condemn this, Taymiyyah was imprisoned in the Citadel of Damascus 16 years later, on 18 July 1326, aged 63, along with his student Ibn Qayyim.

The sultan also prohibited him from issuing any further fatwas. Ahmed Ibn al-Masqdisi, a Hanbali scholar, accused Taymiyyah of apostasy over the essay.

8. Ibn taymiyyah life in prison

Citadel of Damascus where Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned photo by Soleman aldbeat on

Taymiyyah spent many years in prison because of sharing his ideas that other people, scholars, and rulers disagreed with.

Taymiyyah referred to prison as a divine blessing. During his time in prison, he wrote that a scholar who forsakes what he knows of the book of God and follows the ruling of a ruler deserves to be punished in this world and the after.

9. Ibn Taymiyyah’s name is unusual

Taymiyyah’s name is derived from a female member of his family as opposed to a male member, which was the custom.

The title Taymiyyah comes from the mothers of his forefathers called Taymiyyah. She was an admonisher and he was ascribed to her.

Taymiyyah was a prominent woman famous for her scholarship and piety. Her name was taken up by many of her male descendants.

10. Ibn Taymiyyah death

Taymiyyah fell ill while in prison at the citadel of Damascus; on September 1328, he died. When news of his death reached the public, they showed support.

Authority permitted him to be visited and thousands of people showed their respect. The funeral prayer was held in the Citadel by scholar Muhammad Tamman and a second in the Umayyad Mosque and he was buried in Damascus.