The highly distinguished scholar we are introducing today is known as Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyah, or Ibn Al-Qayyim for short. His real name is hardly ever used, even on the title pages of his books. In fact, his nickname is particularly significant. Al-Jawziyah is the name of a school specialized in Islamic studies, or by today’s standards, it would be a college or a university faculty. It was established in 652 A.H., corresponding to 1254 C.E., in Damascus by Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi. Hence, its name. It became highly distinguished, and run by a succession of distinguished scholars. In fact, Ibn Katheer, the well-known commentator on the Qur’an and historian, describes it as one of the best schools. Our scholar’s father was its manager for a long period, and the manager was given the title Al-Qayyim. Hence our scholar is known as Ibn Al-Qayyim, or Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyah. Before we speak about the scholar, it may be useful to mention that the school, located at the top of Al-Buzouriyah market place in Damascus, continued to function until 820 A.H., (1417 C.E.), when it was completely ruined by fire. However, Shams Al-Din Al-Nabulsi renovated it. As time passed, neighbors took several portions of its space, and it was turned into a court. It continued to function as such until 1327 A.H., (1909) when it was closed down for a while. It was reopened as a children’s school under the care of a charity known as Jamiyat Al-Is’af Al-Khayri, but it was burned down again in 1925. Later it was turned into a few shops with a small mosque on top of them.
Our scholar, Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr ibn Ayyoob ibn Saad was born in 691 A.H., corresponding to 1292 C.E., in a village called Zar’ in the Hawran County which is about 90 km to the southeast of Damascus. He then moved to Damascus with his family and studied under a number of the city’s top scholars. Under his father, who was highly praised by Imam Ibn Hajar, he studied the specialized discipline of inheritance, as his father was particularly competent in this discipline. He also studied the Hadith under several teachers, such as Al-Shihab Al-Nabulsi, Taqiy Al-Din Sulaiman and Abu Bakr ibn Abd Al-Da’im. Among his teachers of Hadith we also find the name of a woman scholar, Fatimah bint Jawhar, which goes to show that it was normal for women to achieve scholarly distinction and to have circles frequented by students of both sexes.
He also studied Arabic language and literature, achieving a high standard that is reflected in his superb style which combines simplicity with precision and lucidity. In Fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence, his teachers included Safiy Al-Din Al-Hindi, Ismaeel Al-Harrani and Imam Ibn Taimiyah. In fact the latter was his main and closest teacher. The two met on Ibn Taimiyah’s return to Damascus after his long stay in Egypt. That was in 712. Ibn Al-Qayyim was then a young man of 21, dedicated to scholarship, and he was Ibn Taimiyah’s closest associate until his death 16 years later, in 728. Thus, Ibn Al-Qayyim was able to absorb all Ibn Taimiyah’s scholarship, supported all his views, particularly on questions where Ibn Taimiyah used his independent scholarly discretion, or ijtihad. Ibn Al-Qayyim was able to elucidate these views, provide further supporting evidence, and show the flimsiness of counter arguments. Furthermore, Ibn Al-Qayyim was instrumental in spreading his teacher’s views and publicizing them further.
Perhaps the most important quality that Ibn Al-Qayyim learned from his teacher is the continued advocacy of holding fast to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and the need to understand them in the way they were understood by the Prophet’s companions and the two generations that succeeded them. He further advocated the need to purge Islam of the many practices that have crept into the life of Muslims while they had no basis in Islamic teachings. Thus all deviation from the Qur’an and the Sunnah should be rejected, even though it took the form of established practices among the Muslim community.
This stand brought Ibn Taimiyah, and also Ibn Al-Qayyim, much trouble. It was the cause of Ibn Taimiyah’s last imprisonment in the Qal’ah prison in Damascus. Ibn Al-Qayyim shared that last imprisonment with his teacher, and was not released until after Ibn Taimiyah’s death.
However, this stand in support of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, to the exclusion of all deviation, was instrumental in enabling the Muslim community to take a strong stand in facing its enemies, particularly the Tatars, at a time when the Muslim world suffered much internal upheaval in addition to several external threats. It also revived the strong role of scholars and their independence. Ibn Al-Qayyim achieved a position of distinction which enabled him to exercise independent scholarly discretion. Although, like Ibn Taimiyah, he practically belonged to the Hanbali school of Fiqh, he did not always conform to a particular school. He might support a view of any school, or adopt an independent view contrary to all schools. Again in this, he followed Ibn Taimiyah in reviving ijtihad.
Ibn Al-Qayyim had a large number of students, many of whom achieved positions of distinction as scholars in their own right. Among the best known of his students were Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali who has lavished praise on him, describing him in the following terms: “He was a devout scholar, spending much time in night worship, praying at length. I never saw his like, and never knew anyone with more knowledge, particularly in the Qur’an and the Hadith, and the true nature of belief.” Another well known scholar among his students was Ibn Katheer who says of him: “He was a man of good manners, very friendly, free of grudge and envy. He never spoke ill of anyone in his absence. I was often in his company and was among his dearest students.”
Many scholars praise him in clear terms, commending his strong stand in support of the Prophet’s Sunnah and in fighting deviation, or bid’at. Indeed, his scholarship continued to inspire students and scholars up to the present day. We will be discussing some of his many books, showing the diversity of his scholarship in our second article, God willing.
Arab News Islam 20 January 2003
