The story of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah that occurred to him with the Shaykh of the Rifa'iyyah in his time.

The Shaykh : And what is your opinion about the story of Ibn Taymiyyah with the Rifa'iyyah al-Bata'ihiyyah; that great false messiah who used to spread his followers in the markets of Damascus, who used to shackle himself with chains, and who used to wrap himself in large, frightening snakes, and they would walk with them in the markets and go to the people? What is this? Miracles, our master al-Badawi or I don't know, al-Rifa'i, they misled the people, and the people stood up, and they no longer knew whether these people were right or wrong. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah challenged them and requested to meet their great Shaykh in the presence of the ruler of the country at that time, the Amir. The two groups gathered, Ibn Taymiyyah on one side and the Shaykh of the Rifa'iyyah and his group on the other. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said to the Amir: I am ready for this man to say: he enters the oven and does not burn. I am ready to enter the oven with him, and whoever burns is the one who is wrong, but with one condition; you order him to take off these clothes and enter a bath, and you dress him in clean clothes from your own, a shirt and so on, then let him enter the oven with me. He turned on his heels, when it became clear to Shaykh al-Islam... and his misleading of the people with chemical, material things; they used to wash their clothes with substances similar to the substances that are known today, known today meaning they have become widespread, although they were originally present from ancient times, which are fire-resistant, meaning there is no need for explanation. They were people who had stored this knowledge and were exploiting it for their personal and so-called religious benefit, and they used to control the weak-minded with these tricks. Ibn Taymiyyah intended to enter the fire himself. In reality, I have not done this, nor has anyone else; why? Because it requires strength of faith and composure, composure of the heart. This, my brother, you cannot judge that all people are equal in strength of faith like the teeth of a comb. No, they are not equal. From this you know the scientific and legal reality that faith increases and decreases.