Section One
Introducing the Treatise, Describing the Manuscript Copies, and My Editorial Contribution
First: Introducing the Treatise
A. Title of the Treatise
The title recorded on the first page of the two extant manuscript copies is: “A Principle on Patience.”
Yet the tract “Titles of the Works of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah,” compiled by Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allah b. Aḥmad, better known as Ibn Rushayq al-Maghribī (d. 74 AH), and likewise Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī’s al-ʿUqūd al-Durriyyah, list it under the title: “A Principle on Patience and Gratitude, approximately sixty folios.” 1
This wording shows that the treatise before us is part of a larger work that covers both patience and gratitude. The point is confirmed by its introduction and conclusion, in which the author speaks of gratitude, stating in the introduction: “When a servant considers the entire religion, he will find that, in its entirety, it returns to patience and gratitude,” and declaring at the end: “The second foundation is gratitude, which is to act in obedience to Allah, Exalted is He.”
I have, however, not come across the remainder of this work.
B. Verifying the Attribution of the Treatise to the Author
Several indications confirm that the treatise is correctly attributed to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, among them:
- The scribe’s note on the opening page reads: “A Principle on Patience by Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah.”
- What is found in the tract “Titles of the Works of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah,” authored by