“Slam!” the door banged open, and Ali walked in red-faced.
Dad was replacing a fused bulb in the living room. He looked up and raised his brows: “Assalamu Alaikum, son. Is everything okay?”
Ali plopped down into a chair with a frown, shaking his head. “Ahsan gets on my nerves. I just don’t know how to deal with him. He keeps arguing with me about stuff he knows nothing about. He quotes incorrect information and insists that it is factual!”
Dad offered a sympathetic nod.
“I know I am supposed to be patient, but it is so annoying,” said Ali, his voice rather loud.
Dad smiled wryly and placed his hand on Ali’s arm. “I can see that you are trying to control your anger and frustration. That’s great, son.”
Ali thought for a while and then asked: “Dad, is it true that a man called Imam Ibn Taymiyah was very good at handling his opponents?”
Dad’s eyes lit up: “What do you know about him?”
“Oh, very little. Our teacher just mentioned the other day that he was a revivalist of the seventh century from Syria. He belonged to a highly intellectual family of scholars; also the Imam was highly respected even by his rivals,” Ali shared the information almost casually.
The spark in Dad’s eyes caught fire: “Ali, if you learn more about Shaikh Ibn Taymiyah, you will truly understand our rich heritage of true learning and scholarship. His real name was Ahmad. Allah (swt) gifted him with such exceptional memorization skills that, as a young lad, it took him one day to learn the entire Quran. He was a Hafiz and took active part in intellectual discussions of scholars much older than him.”
“Tell me: how did he tackle the bad guys?” Ali inquired earnestly.
Dad’s advice was thoughtful. “Ali, there is only one way to handle your own anger or frustration,” he said, “and that is to love Allah (swt) deeply. The Imam was a devoted worshipper. From Fajr till late into the night, he was either offering discourse to students, learning for his own enrichment or worshipping the Creator (swt). He never married in pursuit of his commitments to the Ummah. And his absolute love for Allah (swt) was the driving force.”
“I wish it were that simple for me, too,” sighed Ali.
“Whoever said that it was easy for the Imam?” Dad challenged. “However, he had no interest in worldly affairs. Once, a ruler of his times, who knew of Imam Ibn Taymiyah’s credentials and popularity among circles of learning, said to him:
‘I hope you are not dreaming of taking over my empire.’ The Imam replied: ‘Why would I do that? I swear upon Allah that the Tartars’ kingdom and your kingdom combined are not worth anything in my eyes.’
“During his lifetime, his opponents spared no opportunity to oppress him. The Imam just commented: ‘What can my enemies possibly do to me? My paradise is in my heart, and my garden is in my chest, inseparable from me. For me, prison is a place of solitude; execution is my opportunity for martyrdom, and exile from my town is only a chance to travel.’
Once, the Imam’s critic, Kamaluddin az-Zalmakani, stated: “I have never seen a more complete individual than him. Allah (swt) had made the knowledge of all sciences as easy for him as He (swt) had softened iron for Prophet Dawood (as). Whenever he was questioned about any science, he would answer in a manner that his audience would think that he had knowledge of this science only; no one else had mastered this knowledge like him.’ ”
“Wow! That is incredible. I can never imagine Ahsan talking about me like that to anyone,” Ali twitched his nose.
Dad laughed: “You never know. Some day, if you love Allah (swt) enough, He would grant you patience and the Taufiq to serve His Deen. Then Ahsan might have something very kind to say about you, too. Be hopeful and keep striving for it.”
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