[A Letter from the Shaykh to His Mother and Others]

I have examined several letters penned by the Shaykh himself, letters he dispatched (1) from Egypt to his mother, to his maternal brother Badr al-Din, and to others.

Among them is a letter to his mother, in which he writes:

From Aḥmad Ibn Taymiyya to the fortunate mother—may Allah gladden her eyes with His favors, shower her with His abundant generosity, and make her among the best of His female servants and attendants.

Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah. We praise before you Allah—there is no god but He—worthy of all praise and able to do all things. We ask Him to send blessings upon the Seal of the Prophets, the leader of the God-fearing, Muḥammad, His servant and messenger. May Allah bless him and his family and grant them perfect peace.

My letter to you ⦗91⦘ concerns the immense blessings, noble favors, and weighty bounties Allah has bestowed upon us; we thank Him for them and ask Him for yet more of His grace. Whenever Allah’s favors arrive, they only continue to grow and multiply (2), and His benefactions are beyond enumeration.

You know that our present residence in this land is only (3) for indispensable matters; if we were to neglect them, both our religious and worldly affairs would be ruined. By Allah, we have not chosen to be away from you. If birds could carry us, we would travel to you on their wings. Yet the absentee carries his excuse with him; and if you were to glimpse the hidden side of affairs, then—praise be to Allah—you would choose nothing at this moment but what we have chosen, and you would not