He was an ocean of munificence, a valiant champion, a scholar—the erudite Imām and the conclusive proof for the jurists(1).
He bestowed immense wealth and overwhelmed each passing guest with lavish favors.
A benefactor who satisfied every petitioner, who cut off the stubborn malady and lifted every distress;
foremost in seminaries and assemblies stood Ahmad, praised whether he refuted or expounded.
Whenever thorny questions of legal verdict confounded the scholars and lay shrouded in obscurity(2),
they would turn to Taqī al-Dīn; he made plain whatever in them had been concealed(3) and set it before the beholder’s eye.
Thus their faint “Suhā” became visible through his disclosure—bright as the sun in a cloudless sky.
The discerning saw the truth in what he said, and truth is never hidden from those endowed with sight.
They imprisoned him, pretending it was to shield his dignity lest he be seen in an unbecoming state; by that very act he attained the stations of the martyrs.
To the believers who visited him at dawn he showed the meekness of the broken-hearted and the majesty of caliphs(4).
Among the ḥadīth scholars he displayed dazzling excellence and merits surpassing those of the ancients.
How humble, how grateful, how constant in remembering Allah morning and evening!
How ascetic, how laudatory, how freely he poured the counsel of the sincere upon the Muslims!
The finest qualities were his, and the praise of his liberality among people was the finest praise.
His generosity kept seeking out every needy petitioner so that he might honor him with a gift.