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The Removal of Blame from the Great Imams: an Annotated Translation of Ibn Taymiyyah's. Raf Al Maldm 'An Al-A 'Immat Al-A 'Lam

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The Removal of Blame from the Great Imams: an Annotated Translation of Ibn Taymiyyah's. Raf Al Maldm 'An Al-A 'Immat Al-A 'Lam Islamic Studies 46:3 (2007) pp. 317-380 The Removal of Blame from the Great Imams: An Annotated Translation of Ibn Taymiyyah's. Raf al Maldm 'anal-A 'immatal-A 'lam AHMAD IBN 'ABDAL-HALIM IBNTAYMIYYAH Tr. andAnn. ABDUL HAKIM AL-MATROUDI I INTRODUCTION Ahmad b. 'Abd al-Halim b. ?Abd al-Salam b. 'Abd Allah b. Abi '1-Qasimal Khidr b. Muhammad b. Taymiyyah1 (661-728/1263-1328) is arguably the most distinguished and influentialmedieval Hanbali jurist2and perhaps one of themost prolific among them.3He was born inHarran (presentday Turkey) and livedduring the era of thefirst Mamluks (648-784/1250-1382).However, he was forced to move from his native region and take up residence in Damascus due to theMongol onslaught from theEast.4 He lived in turbulent 1 For a discussion of the possible reasons forhim being given thename Taymivyah/ see,Abdul Hakim Ibrahim al-Matroudi, The Hanbali School of Law and Ibn Taymiyyah: Conflict or Conciliation (London: Routledge Curzon, 2006), 199-200 f. 2 'Abd al-Rahman b. Ahmad Ibn Rajab, al-Dhayl 'old Tabaqat al-Handbilah (Beirut:Dar al Ma'rifah, n.d.), 2:388-91; 'Umar b. 'Ali al-Bazzar, al-A'lam al-'Altyyab ft Manaqib Ibn Taymiyyah (Beriut: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1400 ah), 18-20, 40,77. 3 The total number of works written by Ibn Taymiyyah are not known exactly but there is agreement thathe was a prolific author. See, 'Abd al-Hayy b. Ahmad Ibn al-'Imad, Shadharat al Dhahab fi Akhbar Man Dhahab pamsacus-Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir, 1992), 8:147. See also, Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Dhahabi, Dhayl Ta'rikh alhtam (Riyadh:Dar al-Mughni, 1990) 326; Muhammad b. Ahmad Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi, al-Vqudal-Durriyyah minManaqibShaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (Riyadh:Maktabat al-Mua'yyad, n.d.), 64-66; al-Bazzax, al-A'lam, 25-28;Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah Ibn Rushayyiq, Asmd'Mu'allafat Shaykhalhlam Ibn Taymiyyah (Beirut:Dar al Kitab al-Jadid,1983), 8, (it is attributedmistakenly toMuhammad b. Abi Bakr Ibn al-Qayyim, d. 751/1350); Mar'i b. Yusuf al-Karmi, al-Kawakib al-Duriyyahfi Manaqib alMujtahid Ibn Taymiyyah (Beirut:Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 1986), 78; and cf. al-Matroudi,The Hanbali School of Law, 23-30. 4 Ibrahim b. Muhammad Ibn Muflih, al-Maqsad al-Arshadfi Dhikr Ashab al-Imdm Ahmad (Riyadh:Maktabat al-Rushd, 1410 ah), 1:133. This content downloaded on Mon, 28 Jan 2013 23:11:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 318 AHMAD IBN 'ABDAL-HALlM IBN TAYMIYYAH was timeswhen Muslim political fragmentation clearlyvisible. Moreover, legal fanaticismand doctrinal laxityprevailed inMuslim lands and he is historically as portrayed someone who sought to rectifyboth religious and political disparities and deviancies which led to open encounters with his contemporariesas well as to long spells in prison.5 a Ibn Taymiyyah is often seen through simplisticanti-rationalist prism, that is, as someonewith strictand literalinclinations towards Hadith which he over emphasised and preferred to acceptance of broader legal theories and principles. The present textwould sufficeto undermine that view. Raf al Malam 'anal-A'immat aUA'ldm is a short text inwhich the readerobserves Ibn Taymiyyah as a juristpar excellence.In this treatise,which has a balanced tone and is couched in erudite language,he proceeds to argue as towhy a mujtahid might depart from directly acting upon a hadith text and follow insteadhis methodological principles (usiil).This forms the basis of his delineating the reasons underlying the disagreementsfound among fyluslim jurists in general and theirholding differinglegal opinions and profferingdivergent arguments in supportof those opinions. It is interestingthat Ibn Taymiyyah turneddown the request of some of a his studentsto compose treatisein the Science of Jurisprudence(usiil alfiqh) which would contain all of his jurisprudentialopinions and preferences in order to be used as a basis for issuing legal verdicts (fatawa).He justifiedhis refusalby pointing out that rulingson jurisprudentialissues are based upon independentreasoning (ijtihad)and there is no harm for the subject of the law (mukallafi to imitate a mujtahid for thatpurpose.6 Thus, Ibn Taymiyyah did not see the existence of various jurisprudentialapproaches to be problematic; rather,he believed that the real problem lay in intolerance and fanaticism.In Raf al-Malam, Ibn Taymiyyah pleads for toleranceby identifyingthe different possible causes for jurisprudentialdisagreements (ikhtilafjand seeks to absolve themujtahid of any blame in committingan error and/or in departing froma hadith in his judgment. No doubt, Ibn Taymiyyah's espousal of thisposition was an outcome of various contributory factors.In what follows, I hope to give to the reader a glimpse of Ibn Taymiyyah's lifeand thoughtwhich would hopefully provide some insightinto the reasonsunderpinning this sensitivity.The first sectionof this Introductionwill focus on some of the statementsof his contemporaries as mentioned in the biographical sources, which reflect their opinions regardingIbn Taymiyyah's "natural and acquired attributes."The next section will present some of the unique featuresof Ibn Taymiyyah's scholarship,such 5 Sec, al-Matroudi,The Hanbali School ofLaw, 13-16. 6 Al-Bazzar, alA 'lam, 35-37. This content downloaded on Mon, 28 Jan 2013 23:11:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE REMOVALOF BLAMEFROM THE GREATIMAMS 319 as his distinguishedknowledge ofHadith and jurisprudenceand some of his opinions with regard to legal imitation (taqlid) and ijtihdd.The last sectionwill draw attention to some of the salientpoints inRaf al-Maldm in the hope of to sense context presenting the reader the and of this treatise before finally offeringa full translationof theoriginal Arabic text. The biographical sources extol the virtues of Ibn Taymiyyah and biographical works are repletewith praise by his contemporaries, especially his students,7 and also his successors.8 He was fortunate that his father Shihab al-Din ?Abd al-Halim b.Abd al-Salam (d. 682/1283) and his grandfatherMajd al-Din Abd al-Salam b. Abd Allah (d. 652/1254)?both distinguished legal to scholars in their times?greatly contributed his early learning. So thorough and intensewas his early trainingthat by the age of twentyor even earlier,he was issuing legal opinions within theHanbali School and according to the statementof the greatHanbali jurist,Muhammad b. Ahmad Ibn 'Abd al-Hadl (d. 744/1345), who was also Ibn Taymiyyah's student, the people of Damascus, where Ibn Taymiyyah lived,were dazzled by the intensityof his intelligenceand acumen.9 It isno wonder thatwhile he was stilla child,he was as a described "precocious genius."10 Ibn Taymiyyah had a phenomenal and prodigious memory and there would be very littlehe would read and fail to commit tomemory.11 Often he a would memorize large number of works in various branches of learning,12 and 'Umar b. 'All al-Bazzar (d. 749/1348) remarked that itwas rare to finda book which Ibn Taymiyyah did not know about.13His sharp and systematic memory enabled him to acquire knowledge of encyclopaedic proportions and Muhammad b.All al-Zamalkanl (727/1327)notes thatwhen Ibn Taymiyyah answer a one would question in of the traditional disciplines, the listener would think thathe did not know any other discipline due to the depth and nature a comprehensive of his answer.14 Even cursory reading of Ibn 7 His students include themost pre-eminentfigures such as Ibn Kathir, al-Dhahabi, IbnQayyim al-Jawziyyah, al-Bazzar and Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi. 8 Indeed, the sources also document themore controversial episodes of Ibn Taymiyyah's life especially his doctrinal conflicts and legal interpretationsthat have been discussed and treated elsewhere. See, Al-Matroudi, TheHanbali School ofLaw, 20-23 for an account of his admirers and detractors. 9 Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi, al-Vqiid, 3. 10 Al-Bazzar, al-A'ldm, 18-19 and al-Karmi, al-Kawdkib, 53. 11 See, Ibn al-'Imad, Shadhardta al-Dhahab, 8: 144. 12 See, Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi, al-'Uqud, 6 and al-Bazzar, al-A'ldm, 19. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid., 7. For furtherdetails of the testimonyof leading scholars regarding the breadth of his 22-31 and al knowledge, see, Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi, al-'Uqud, 3-26; al-Bazzar, al-A'ldm, al-Karmi, This content downloaded on Mon, 28 Jan 2013 23:11:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 320 AHMAD IBN *ABDAL-HALIM IBN TAYMIYYAH a Taymiyyah's works reveals thoroughnessand an encompassing attention to detail, possible only on the basis of extensive knowledge and sharp understanding of the various Islamic and non-traditional disciplines.15As a leading scholar repliedwhen asked about him, "I saw a man as though all the sciences [were laid] open beforehis eyes and he took as he wished.'916 Ibn Taymiyyah not only read theology,Arabic grammarand semanticsas well as exegesis (tafsir),but he also became proficient inAlgebra, logic,history and philosophy. As a result,he wrote polemical treatisesrefuting Aristotelian philosophy that had seeped into the academic life of his day.17Although it must be mentioned that thanks to his studies in logic, there are undeniable traces of its influence especially in his systematicpresentation of arguments and his use of explicit reasoning fromestablished premises. Aside from the tributes paid to Ibn Taymiyyah's intellectual and scholarly qualities, the biographical sources also mention the strengthand resolve of his character.Al-Bazzar, for example, describes Ibn Taymiyyah as "one of themost courageous people who he had not seen the likes of."18This courage is reflected in his long periods of detention in both Cairo and Damascus. Although Ibn Taymiyyah's detentionswere extremelydistressing for him, it is obvious that he was able to turn them to his advantage by concentratingon scholarlypursuits of teachingand writing.19This is perhaps Kawakib, 55-72, 80-82.
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