Are most of Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah’s (may Allah have mercy on him) works impromptu and from memory?
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Question:
We say, Honorable Shaykh, may Allah reward you, regarding the book *Tawassul wa al-Wasilah*. Did Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) write it from memory while in prison? Or did the Shaykh write it outside of prison by referring to references and verifying the issues, given that one of the students of knowledge mentions that most of this Shaykh’s works are impromptu and from memory, not by referring to the sources and the books of the people of knowledge? So how accurate is this statement?
Answer:
If this is in the category of criticizing the Shaykh’s works, which is what it appears to be, then this man’s words do not harm the Shaykh. The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) was given by Allah knowledge and insight, a vast memory, and extensive reading. He was able to write from his memory and his knowledge. He wrote many things in sessions and in his answers, even though he did not have books at hand. Is it necessary for a person to have a book? Is it necessary that he does not write a single letter without a book? That is the incapable one, like us. As for the scholar, we are in need of... The Shaykh is distant in the etiquette of the sciences. He is not in need of referring to the books he has.
He quotes from them; he has them memorized and answers from them. His quotations have been checked and found to be exactly as in the originals. No incorrect quotation has ever been found. Let the one who finds an incorrect quotation bring it to us; I challenge him. This is a well-known and witnessed attribute of the Shaykh. It has amazed researchers and scholars have been astonished by the precision of his quotations and his placement of things in their proper places among the issues of knowledge and research. This is a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person) from Allah, which He granted to this man, the reformer, through whom Allah has benefited the Muslims, and his benefit continues to flow to the Muslims. This is from the grace of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. As for if this speaker intends to praise the Shaykh, meaning that he has a good memory and retention, then the Shaykh is worthy of that; he is worthy of praise. Yes.
We say, Honorable Shaykh, may Allah reward you, regarding the book *Tawassul wa al-Wasilah*. Did Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) write it from memory while in prison? Or did the Shaykh write it outside of prison by referring to references and verifying the issues, given that one of the students of knowledge mentions that most of this Shaykh’s works are impromptu and from memory, not by referring to the sources and the books of the people of knowledge? So how accurate is this statement?
Answer:
If this is in the category of criticizing the Shaykh’s works, which is what it appears to be, then this man’s words do not harm the Shaykh. The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) was given by Allah knowledge and insight, a vast memory, and extensive reading. He was able to write from his memory and his knowledge. He wrote many things in sessions and in his answers, even though he did not have books at hand. Is it necessary for a person to have a book? Is it necessary that he does not write a single letter without a book? That is the incapable one, like us. As for the scholar, we are in need of... The Shaykh is distant in the etiquette of the sciences. He is not in need of referring to the books he has.
He quotes from them; he has them memorized and answers from them. His quotations have been checked and found to be exactly as in the originals. No incorrect quotation has ever been found. Let the one who finds an incorrect quotation bring it to us; I challenge him. This is a well-known and witnessed attribute of the Shaykh. It has amazed researchers and scholars have been astonished by the precision of his quotations and his placement of things in their proper places among the issues of knowledge and research. This is a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person) from Allah, which He granted to this man, the reformer, through whom Allah has benefited the Muslims, and his benefit continues to flow to the Muslims. This is from the grace of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. As for if this speaker intends to praise the Shaykh, meaning that he has a good memory and retention, then the Shaykh is worthy of that; he is worthy of praise. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [1 /1350] هل أغلب مؤلفات الشيخ ابن تيمية رحمه الله ارتجالية ومن حفظه؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.