Methodology of Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—
The course Shaykh al-Islam set for himself may be summarized as follows:
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He presented the distinctive qualities and virtues that are exclusive to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), supporting them with clear, sound proofs that show no Companion could equal him.
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He cited the hadiths concerning the merit of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him) and demonstrated that those merits are shared by him and by other Companions as well.
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He, may Allah have mercy on him, pursued certain hadiths invoked by the people of caprice, showed that they are unfit for citation, and then offered his invaluable scholarly corrections, subjecting them to rigorous historical and hadith criticism.
The Verified Text
In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. My success is only through Allah ⦗36⦘.
Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm, son of Shaykh Majd al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Salām Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on them ⦗37⦘—was asked about a noble man who adheres to the sunnah yet at times feels uneasy about preferring Abū Bakr ⦗38⦘, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with them) and comes to imagine that ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) is superior to them. He cites as proof the Prophet’s words, “You are of me and I am of you” ⦗39⦘,
and also the Prophet’s words, “Your relationship to me is like that of Aaron to Moses” ⦗40⦘—and Aaron occupied an exalted rank with Moses; no one was dearer to him.