The Shaykh’s mention of the Shaykh al-Islam receiving knowledge at the beginning of his studies.

The Shaykh : It is apparent that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) did not receive knowledge immediately upon beginning his pursuit of knowledge. This is a natural matter, as *Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din* contains what it contains of weak and fabricated hadiths. He studied this book, and he had a remarkable, indeed very remarkable, memory, so the memorized content of this book became firmly established in his memory. Then, when asked about an issue, he would elaborate in his answer by citing verses and hadiths. Over time, he began to purify his knowledge, whether in terms of narration or understanding. We find in some of his books traces of his early studies, when he was still in the process of seeking knowledge. It appears that this addition in this hadith was received by him from *Ihya'* or from other books like *Ihya'* that contain hadiths of every kind. As it was said about *Ihya'*, we say, a fortiori, about the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: he did not fabricate it, but Allah (Mighty and Majestic) bestowed upon the Shaykh al-Islam correct knowledge thereafter, until he became a reference in that, particularly in the science of hadith, to the extent that al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi exaggerated and said: "Every hadith that Ibn Taymiyyah does not know is not a hadith". We believe there is some rhetoric in this, but when scholars want to display the rank of a scholar in a certain science, especially if he is wronged, like the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah whose rights were suppressed, they say such things: "Every hadith that Ibn Taymiyyah does not know is not a hadith". Thus, the sufficiency mentioned in these two hadiths is what is sufficient for a person, neither less than his need nor more. This is the middle, and the best of things are their middles.