A statement on the Shaykh al-Islam’s mastery of grammar and all the sciences.
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The Shaykh : In this research that the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) conducted, there is evidence that the man was deeply versed in all the sciences (may Allah have mercy on him), and he was indeed so. Whoever reads his books knows that the man was deeply versed in the sciences. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) discussed in his book *Bada'i al-Fawa'id*—a valuable book suitable for a student of knowledge, consisting of four volumes in two parts—*Bada'i al-Fawa'id*—a discussion on the secret in the praise and eulogy of the letters. There are three letters, but the order among them differs, so the meaning differs greatly. He elaborated on this and lengthened it, then he said: "And our Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him)—meaning Ibn Taymiyyah—when he spoke on this, he brought forth the marvel of marvels". But as it was said:
"The lightning flashed in Najd, so I said to it: *** Leave me alone, for I am occupied with something else from you"
With what? With what is more important than confronting the philosophers, the logicians, the theologians, and others. He was going to research issues of grammar. Abu Hayyan, the author of *al-Bahr al-Muhit*, loved him intensely and mentioned in it a great, magnificent poem, until he exaggerated in his praise and said:
"Ibn Taymiyyah rose to defend our Shari'ah *** In the position of the Master of Taym when Mudar rebelled"
Whom does he mean? Abu Bakr. The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah preserve him) preserved the Islamic community, just as Abu Bakr preserved the Islamic community on the day of the apostasy. It is a famous poem. When the Shaykh al-Islam arrived in Egypt, out of the love he had, the man came to the Shaykh al-Islam to greet him and honor him, and they debated with him on an issue of grammar. Abu Hayyan is one of the scholars of grammar who is respected and whose opinion is followed; he is not insignificant. So Abu Hayyan argued against him with the book, the book known as *al-Kitab*, which, when mentioned generally, is for all grammarians the book of Sibawayh. The *al* is for the mental covenant that does not escape from minds. He said: Sibawayh mentioned in the book such and such, contrary to the statement of the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. So Ibn Taymiyyah said to him: "Sibawayh is not the Prophet of grammar such that we must take his word, and he has erred in this book in more than eighty places, which neither you nor he knows". We have finished. Yes, after that, something happened between them, so he replaced the first poem of praise and eulogy with a poem of satire, and may Allah protect us. May Allah forgive them all. My intention with this is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) gave the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) knowledge, about which our Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Mutaww, one of the students of our great Shaykh, from whom we took our first knowledge at his hands (may Allah have mercy on him)—I mean al-Mutaww—said (may Allah have mercy on him) about the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: "The man was made soft for him—meaning knowledge—just as iron was made soft for Dawud". And this is true. The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) has a great deal of knowledge. We ask Allah for success. And our Shaykh, I mean Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Mutaww, also said: "This man considers what Allah gave him of knowledge to be among the miracles". Because it is beyond human capacity. I mean, if you read, subhan Allah, sometimes he recites to you from memory, reciting to you twenty books. He said this is in such and such book, and such and such, and such and such, from the books of the philosophers and logicians. It is something amazing, my brother; one is bewildered. Subhan Allah. Yes, the important thing is that the statement we see as the stronger position is that two or more agents come upon one object, what? And there is no harm in that, so take it, you will find it comfortable. Yes.
The student: Do you see a verse, O Shaykh, in this?
"The lightning flashed in Najd, so I said to it: *** Leave me alone, for I am occupied with something else from you"
With what? With what is more important than confronting the philosophers, the logicians, the theologians, and others. He was going to research issues of grammar. Abu Hayyan, the author of *al-Bahr al-Muhit*, loved him intensely and mentioned in it a great, magnificent poem, until he exaggerated in his praise and said:
"Ibn Taymiyyah rose to defend our Shari'ah *** In the position of the Master of Taym when Mudar rebelled"
Whom does he mean? Abu Bakr. The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah preserve him) preserved the Islamic community, just as Abu Bakr preserved the Islamic community on the day of the apostasy. It is a famous poem. When the Shaykh al-Islam arrived in Egypt, out of the love he had, the man came to the Shaykh al-Islam to greet him and honor him, and they debated with him on an issue of grammar. Abu Hayyan is one of the scholars of grammar who is respected and whose opinion is followed; he is not insignificant. So Abu Hayyan argued against him with the book, the book known as *al-Kitab*, which, when mentioned generally, is for all grammarians the book of Sibawayh. The *al* is for the mental covenant that does not escape from minds. He said: Sibawayh mentioned in the book such and such, contrary to the statement of the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. So Ibn Taymiyyah said to him: "Sibawayh is not the Prophet of grammar such that we must take his word, and he has erred in this book in more than eighty places, which neither you nor he knows". We have finished. Yes, after that, something happened between them, so he replaced the first poem of praise and eulogy with a poem of satire, and may Allah protect us. May Allah forgive them all. My intention with this is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) gave the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) knowledge, about which our Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Mutaww, one of the students of our great Shaykh, from whom we took our first knowledge at his hands (may Allah have mercy on him)—I mean al-Mutaww—said (may Allah have mercy on him) about the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: "The man was made soft for him—meaning knowledge—just as iron was made soft for Dawud". And this is true. The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) has a great deal of knowledge. We ask Allah for success. And our Shaykh, I mean Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Mutaww, also said: "This man considers what Allah gave him of knowledge to be among the miracles". Because it is beyond human capacity. I mean, if you read, subhan Allah, sometimes he recites to you from memory, reciting to you twenty books. He said this is in such and such book, and such and such, and such and such, from the books of the philosophers and logicians. It is something amazing, my brother; one is bewildered. Subhan Allah. Yes, the important thing is that the statement we see as the stronger position is that two or more agents come upon one object, what? And there is no harm in that, so take it, you will find it comfortable. Yes.
The student: Do you see a verse, O Shaykh, in this?