Explaining the virtue of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, his combat against religious innovations and their people, and his proof of the existence of epilepsy and its treatment.

The Shaykh : And Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah knew that he was doing this. Was Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, who is known in the Islamic world, especially in this time, as the only Shaykh whose books, which have been printed now, brought about this awakening that we glorify and elevate in status? The virtue, after Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Sunnah, returns to this man who revived the Sunnah by his call to follow the Book and the Sunnah, and his combat against all the misguided sects, whether related to beliefs or behavior, such as the Sufis. Perhaps you know that in Damascus, he was the only man who would stand up against the misguided sects from the Sufis, and especially from them the Rifa'iyyah, and more specifically the Bata'ihiyyah. These people would descend into the markets of Damascus wearing heavy chains and wrapped in large snakes, deluding people that they were among the close friends of Allah and that all these things did not affect them. He challenged them and said to them: "You are the very essence of falsehood." They claimed that fire would not burn them. Because his call and clarification that they were on clear misguidance caused them much distress, they complained to the governor of the city at that time. He held a session, and the Shaykh attended, along with the Shaykh of the Bata'ihiyyah. Shaykh al-Islam spoke with what is known of him regarding the recitation of verses, hadiths, and the sayings of the Salaf. Then he presented a proposal to the governor: "Order this Shaykh who pretends to enter the fire and not be burned to remove his clothes and enter the bathroom to bathe with vinegar—look at the knowledge of Ibn Taymiyyah—bathe with vinegar, because he knew that the trick of these people is that they dye their clothes with a substance that prevents the effect of fire, and they also anoint their bodies with such a substance. Deception and trickery do not pass him by. Therefore, he asked the governor of Damascus at that time to have this man remove his clothes, and for the governor to dress him after he washes his body with vinegar and puts on clean clothes. I will enter the fire with him, and whichever of us burns is the one who is in the wrong." When this Bata'ihi deceiver knew that Shaykh al-Islam had exposed his trick, he retreated on his heels and fled in disgrace before the Shaykh and the governor. This is a man in whom deception and trickery might pass, and who treats some epilepsy with some Qur'anic verses, and immediate healing appears through his hands. Then some people come and say: "This is not reasonable." It is not reasonable to say this about something for which there is no origin in the Qur'an, no detail in the Sunnah, and which was not practiced by some of the Imams. But the matter is not so, as you have heard. This is the height of denial, stubbornness, and lack of faith in what came from Allah and His Messenger and from the trustworthy scholar Imams. And with this, if Allah wills, the proof is established.