Abu Hayyan used to praise the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and he has a magnificent poem in his praise, in which he says:
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The Shaykh : Abu Hayyan used to praise the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and he has a magnificent poem in his praise, in which he says:
"Ibn Taymiyyah rose to defend our Shari'ah *** In the position of the Master of Taym when Mudar rebelled"
And the master of Taym is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), meaning that he stood in Islam, during the trial of Islam and the innovations, in the position of Abu Bakr on the day of apostasy. He praised him with a magnificent poem. When he arrived in Egypt, people came to the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah to benefit from his knowledge and to debate with him. Among them was Abu Hayyan, who debated with him on a grammatical issue, because Abu Hayyan was an ocean in grammar. He debated with him on a grammatical issue, and the Shaykh al-Islam said to him, "This is a mistake, a mistake; this is not from the speech of the Arabs." He said to him, "How so?" He said, "Yes, Sibawayhi, the imam of the grammarians, mentioned this in his book." The Shaykh al-Islam said to him: "And is Sibawayhi the prophet of grammarians whom we must follow? Sibawayhi made mistakes in his book in more than eighty places, which you do not know, nor does Sibawayhi." Glory be to Allah. Sibawayhi is to the grammarians what al-Bukhari is to the people of hadith. Abu Hayyan was astonished at how he could say such a thing. Then he left him and composed a poem denouncing him, may Allah protect us from that. Yesterday he was praising him, and now he is denouncing him. The important point is that I say: if Allah the Exalted grants a tangible light in miracles by which a person can see, as happened to these two Companions, then likewise Allah the Exalted grants a spiritual light that He casts into the heart of the believing servant. I ask Allah to make me and you among these people, and to cast into our hearts light and guidance, so that a person can speak about the Shari'ah of Allah as if the texts are before his eyes. This is among the blessings of Allah upon the servant. We ask Allah the Exalted to make us among His awliya (close friends of Allah) who are mindful of Him, His successful party, and His righteous servants.
"Ibn Taymiyyah rose to defend our Shari'ah *** In the position of the Master of Taym when Mudar rebelled"
And the master of Taym is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), meaning that he stood in Islam, during the trial of Islam and the innovations, in the position of Abu Bakr on the day of apostasy. He praised him with a magnificent poem. When he arrived in Egypt, people came to the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah to benefit from his knowledge and to debate with him. Among them was Abu Hayyan, who debated with him on a grammatical issue, because Abu Hayyan was an ocean in grammar. He debated with him on a grammatical issue, and the Shaykh al-Islam said to him, "This is a mistake, a mistake; this is not from the speech of the Arabs." He said to him, "How so?" He said, "Yes, Sibawayhi, the imam of the grammarians, mentioned this in his book." The Shaykh al-Islam said to him: "And is Sibawayhi the prophet of grammarians whom we must follow? Sibawayhi made mistakes in his book in more than eighty places, which you do not know, nor does Sibawayhi." Glory be to Allah. Sibawayhi is to the grammarians what al-Bukhari is to the people of hadith. Abu Hayyan was astonished at how he could say such a thing. Then he left him and composed a poem denouncing him, may Allah protect us from that. Yesterday he was praising him, and now he is denouncing him. The important point is that I say: if Allah the Exalted grants a tangible light in miracles by which a person can see, as happened to these two Companions, then likewise Allah the Exalted grants a spiritual light that He casts into the heart of the believing servant. I ask Allah to make me and you among these people, and to cast into our hearts light and guidance, so that a person can speak about the Shari'ah of Allah as if the texts are before his eyes. This is among the blessings of Allah upon the servant. We ask Allah the Exalted to make us among His awliya (close friends of Allah) who are mindful of Him, His successful party, and His righteous servants.