# Why was Ibn Taymiyya put in prison?

*Why was Ibn Taymiyya jailed? Enemies, takfir and the fatwa on visiting the Prophet*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/j9nb1elq56y/s/1/
- Date: 2021-01-12 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Why Ibn Taymiyyah was in jail? | Mufti Abu Layth (0:00–8:17)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9NB1eLQ56Y&t=0s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/j9nb1elq56y/

**Topics:** Scholars and imams of the past; Sects, sectarianism and takfir; Apostasy and blasphemy

**Question as asked:** Why was Ibn Taymiyya in jail?

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Ibn Taymiyya made powerful enemies by declaring Muslims kafir, and Maliki judges finally jailed him over his fatwa, voiced by his student in Jerusalem, that one may not travel to visit the Prophet's grave. Mufti Abu Layth calls the view foolish but says no one should be punished for an opinion.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says Ibn Taymiyya was imprisoned over his fatwa that one may not travel to visit the Prophet, an opinion he calls foolish but says should not be punished, since people should not be persecuted over religious differences.

**Evidence, his words at 7:32:** “although i disagree with locking people up and stuff like that and i i do feel his opinion is dumb but i don't feel you can punish them over it” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9NB1eLQ56Y&t=452s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth reads a super chat asking why Ibn Taymiyya was in jail. He says Ibn Taymiyya had annoyed many people, some of them powerful, by declaring Muslims kafir and deviants, and adds that he does not agree with persecuting people over religious differences; he also says he feels Ibn Taymiyya may have suffered from mental health issues, turning bitter towards Muslims at times. He explains that Ibn Taymiyya shielded himself as a Hanbali, a small minority never more than about five percent, while most people and therefore the judges, who were as powerful as a council mayor, were Ash'ari or Sufi; he compares the charge used against him to the blasphemy card played by Khadim Hussain Rizvi [?]. He relates that his student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya [?], giving a passionate khutbah in Jerusalem, said one may travel only to the three mosques and refused to visit the sanctuary dedicated to Ibrahim, saying it was equally impermissible to travel to Madinah to visit the Prophet rather than the mosque; people were outraged, the student fled, and Maliki judges imprisoned Ibn Taymiyya for that fatwa, guilty by association. Mufti calls the opinion foolish but says it should not be punished, and adds that Ibn Taymiyya also had good opinions and should not be disregarded entirely.

## Sources and names cited

- Ibn Taymiyya
- Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya [?]
- Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
- Khadim Hussain Rizvi [?]
- Ibrahim (Abraham)
- report: do not travel except to three mosques
- takfir
- kufr (declaring people kafir)
- Hanbali school
- Ash'ari
- Maliki judges
- al-Masjid al-Aqsa (or the Dome of the Rock)
- khutbah

## Transcript (machine tier, 0:00–8:17)

[0:00] um right uh stefan had asked a question super chatty shook around much love for the super chat why was ibn tamiya in jail ibn tamiya was in jail because really he had um annoyed a lot of people some of whom were powerful now i'm not saying i agree that because i don't i i believe there should be religious freedoms you know you shouldn't you can't kind of persecute people over religious differences but because ibn taymiyah

[0:38] went around doing fear on people calling people car fails and all of this so you have to remember in that day and age go back 600 years you know if you think today people are narrow-minded can you imagine what they were thinking like 600 years ago and you know you're calling people cafe cafe cafes and and ibm tamiya like i said i've said before he suffered i feel from like mental health issues so he you know he was very he was obviously intelligent and sometimes he was on the ball but sometimes you'd kind of flip maybe he had like bipolar or something but he would flip and turn

[1:15] very bitter and nasty towards uh muslims for the most part call them kaffir deviants insult them do all this kind of stuff so you can imagine you would create a lot of enemies now you have to remember that most muslims now he was humbly he would shield himself by saying well this is my humbly belief i'm allowed to be humbly it's from imam ahmad so this would kind of protect him a bit but um you have to remember that humblings are a tiny fraction of this ummah you know they have always been a tiny fraction they've never really

[1:53] you know at most they would be lucky to have been probably five percent oh your humble is because most scholars never even recognize them as a math hub but okay later on they said all right fine they're a math hab but they've always been a tiny minority of this um so the majority why i'm saying that is so the majority of the people are going to be ashadi they might be sufi they might be stuff like this so if the majority of the people are like that then the people of power are going to be from those people so the judges the judges

[2:32] were incredibly powerful people back then they're not like judges today the judge back then was like pretty much like a mayor of a council today you know the mayor that would be involved in local political affairs they would be involved in these kind they weren't just like today a judge just presides over that particular you know genre of law that's it but in that day and age they were much more involved in the community so he was brought before several judges and uh on certain issues to do with akida belief

[3:10] but in the end they imprisoned him over a stunt that his student had pulled guilty by association and it was actually some of the maliki's that screwed him over in the end and i don't agree with them screwing him over even though they are fellow malikis but i'd be like come on maliki so there was a judge called and other people these are the maliki's who um who said that his behavior was tantam was a crime

[3:49] and what that was you see they used this same thing of like what um uh maulana khadim hussain rizvisa using blasphemy the famous you know the go-to card for ulama ah your blasphemer those who last for you are not nice

[4:19] so this so what had happened is josiah right who actually even these people are very intelligent so for intelligent people they do some you know some dumb stuff sometimes so this is an example of a of a dumb moment has goes on a visit to jerusalem so he goes there and whilst he's in bethel makthis he's in uh masjid al-aqsa or dome of the rock whichever one he's

[4:57] he's in the masjid he says so they start speaking oh no he's giving a speech so they ask him because he's a scholar they say you know can you give a khutbah so he gets passionate in his hotbar oh he's getting passionate yeah he's getting into it drums and then he says you know oh nobody should travel to any place you know you should not travel anywhere except to these three mosques and then he and then he in his passion he says you know here in jerusalem you have the so they have they claim that this is where abraham was and the rock is dedicated to

[5:36] um ibrahim al-islam khalil and so he says that this macam here this kind of religious sanctuary for abraham i've refused to visit it he says even though i'm right here i refuse to visit it why because that would be because it's equally impermissible to go to medina to visit the prophet you can only go to medina to visit the mosque and to visit the prophet is secondary like so it's since you're there you've kind of well you know now that you're here you can visit the prophet but you can't go

[6:16] there with the intention to visit the prophet so if i'm not going to do that then it would be hypocrisy to visit this place dedicated to abraham so this is what he said in his speech you know he got a bit carried away got excited you know blood's running and he's like oh he says this is haram as well so obviously people flipped people like what the hell is this guy on about they go what the hell is this guy this guy's disrespecting ibrahim al-islam he's disrespecting the prophet

[6:52] so ibn legged it from there anyway he got away they said forget him he's getting this from his teacher catch his teachers so this was the pretext or the excuse on you know based on which they imprisoned hypnotamia so they said because that was able to take me as fatwa that you can't go to visit the prophet that it's haram to visit the prophet you can only visit the prophet like coincidentally that now uh oh now that i'm here blimey i'm here now

[7:32] i haven't yet so this is what i mean he had his you know like kind of like dumb moments so that's what they locked him up over although i disagree with locking people up and stuff like that and i i do feel his opinion is dumb but i don't feel you can punish them over it it's enough of a punishment the fact that they have these dumb opinions that's like life has beat you to it they're already being punished the fact that they've got dumb opinions that said he did have other good opinions and other good things not to disregard him totally but

[8:11] this was the reason he was locked up cool moving

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment J9NB1eLQ56Y/s/1. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/j9nb1elq56y/s/1/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.