These, then, are among the virtuous deeds of Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him (1).

He said, “This is a summary of what he, may Allah have mercy on him, told me.”

On one occasion I was sitting with the Chief Judge Sadr al-Din, the Hanafi qadi. Smiling, he asked me, “Do you love Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah?”

I replied, “Yes.”

He said, “By Allah, you love something excellent indeed!” He then recounted to me something very close to what Ibn al-Qalansi had narrated, though Ibn al-Qalansi’s version is clearer and more complete.

***

Shaykh al-Islam’s Pardon of Those Who Wronged Him

I heard Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, relate that the Sultan—when the two of them were seated by the lattice window (2)—produced (3) legal opinions issued by some of those present that called for his execution, and then asked me (4) for a ruling on executing some of them.

He continued: “I understood what he was after—that he harbored intense resentment toward them because they had deposed him and sworn allegiance to al-Malik al-Muzaffar Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Shashankir. So I set about praising them, commending them, and thanking them, saying that if these men were to disappear, it would not…”