The story of the young Ibn Taymiyyah
The Young Ibn Taymiyyah
Ibn Abdul-Haadi, Shaikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah’s student wrote:
“And it so happened that a Shaikh from
Aleppo came to Damascus, saying, “I have heard that in this city there
is a boy who goes by the name of Ahmad the son of Taymiyyah and that he
is extremely quick in memorising. I have come perchance I may see him.”
So a tailor said to him, “This is his
route to school and he has not yet come, so sit with us. Anytime now he
will pass us on his way to the school.”
So the Aleppan Shaikh sat down for a
short while. Then two young boys walked by, so the tailor said to the
Shaikh, “The young boy carrying that large tablet – he is Ahmad ibn
Taymiyyah.“
So the Shaikh called him and he (Ibn
Taymiyyah) came to him. Then the Shaikh took the tablet and looked at
what was written therein. Then he said, “O my son! Wipe this out so that
I can dictate something to you which you can write.”
So Ibn Taymiyyah did so. Then the Shaikh dictated eleven or thirteen sayings of the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallaam) to him. Then the Shaikh said to him, “Read this.”
So Ibn Taymiyyah looked over it once
after he had written it and then gave the tablet back to the Shaikh. So
he said, “Read it to me.”
So he read it back to him in the best way possible. Then the Shaikh said to him, “O my son! Wipe this out.”
So he wiped it out and the Shaikh dictated a number of chains of narrations that he had chosen and said, “Read this.”
Ibn Taymiyyah looked at it and he did as
he had done the first time. So the Shaikh stood up, saying, “If this
young boy lives long he will have a great standing and rank – since the
like of this has not been seen before.”
Ibn Naasirud-Deen narrated the saying of
Abul-Muzaffar As-Sarmari, “And from the amazing matters regarding
memorisation in our time is the Shaikh of Islaam Abul-Abbaas Ahmad bin
Abdul-Haleem bin Taymiyyah. Since he would come across a book and would
look over it once only after which it would be inscribed in his mind. He
would be able to discuss it thereafter, narrating from it in his
written works with its precise wording and meaning.
And from the most amazing of what I have
heard about him is what some of his companions narrated to me. They
said that in the start of his affair when he was a young boy his father
wanted to take his sons for an outing to a garden. So he said to Ibn
Taymiyyah, “O Ahmad! Go out with your brothers and relax.”
So he exscused himself from that however
his father persisted. But the young Ibn Taymiyyah strongly declined,
saying, “I would like you to excuse me from going out.”
So his father let him stay and left with
his other sons. They spent their day in the garden and returned at the
end of the day whereupon his father said to him, “O Ahmad! You deserted
your brothers today! And you annoyed them because of your absence from
them. So what is this?”
So he replied, O father! Today I
memorised this book.” Alluding to a book with him. So his father
replied, “You memorised it?!” In denial, shocked and amazed at what his
son had just said. So he said to him, “Read it to me.”
So he did.
He had indeed memorised the entire book.
Then his father held him and kissed him between his eyes and said, “O
my son! Do not tell anyone about what you have done,” fearful lest the
the Evil Eye should fall upon him.”
Taken from Ibn Abdul-Haadi’s Al-‘Uqood Al-Durriyah min Manaaqib Shaikhil-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, p. 7
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