an electric bulb that lit the road before them. This was neither of their own making nor the result of any means they possessed; rather, Allah created a light that went on ahead of them until the two men parted, whereupon the light divided so that each of them was accompanied by it until he reached his home. Such is one of the divine honours (karamat) granted by Allah: He illuminates a servant’s way—literally, with all the tangible benefit that entails—for these two men, may Allah be pleased with them both, walked bathed in light while the markets around them were utterly dark and without a single lamp. Allah therefore provided them with this light.

There is likewise an intangible light that Allah casts into the believer’s heart as a special favour. You will find certain scholars upon whom Allah opens the doors of vast knowledge in every discipline, granting them deep understanding, strong memory and skill in debate. Among those scholars is Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him. Allah bestowed this man upon the Muslim community, and the ummah is still benefiting from his writings to this very day, even though he died in 728 AH—centuries ago. Allah granted him extraordinary knowledge, penetrating insight and unbeatable prowess in argument; no one was able to withstand him in debate. He himself said, “If anyone disputes with me upon falsehood and cites a Qurʾanic verse or a hadith as evidence, I will turn that very verse or hadith into proof against him, not for him.”

Such ability is part of Allah’s bounty: He enables a person to reach this level. Ibn Taymiyyah would converse with his opponents, debate them, and then say to them, “Look at the statement of so-and-so, one of your own leaders, in such-and-such a book,” even though the followers of that very leader—who were arguing against Shaykh al-Islam—knew nothing about those books, while he knew exactly what was in them. His debate over al-‘Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah with the Maliki judge is truly astonishing,