the crisis that beset Islam and its bout with innovations to the position Abū Bakr held on the day of sore trial, and he praised him in a flawless, lofty ode.

When Ibn Taymiyyah arrived in Egypt, people flocked to him to benefit from his knowledge and engage him in discussion. Among them was Abū Ḥayyān. Because Abū Ḥayyān was an all-embracing ocean of grammar, he raised a grammatical question. Shaykh al-Islām replied, “That is erroneous according to the speech of the Arabs.” Abū Ḥayyān countered, “How can that be, when Sībawayh—the imam of the grammarians—mentioned it in his Book?” Shaykh al-Islām retorted, “And since when is Sībawayh a ‘prophet of grammar’ whose every statement we are bound to follow? Sībawayh erred in his Book in more than eighty places—mistakes unknown to you or to Sībawayh himself. To the grammarians, Sībawayh is what al-Bukhārī is to the scholars of ḥadīth.” Abū Ḥayyān was astonished at such words; he left Ibn Taymiyyah’s presence and later composed a poem lampooning him—God protect us—though only yesterday he had composed verses extolling him.

The point I wish to stress is this: just as Allah Most High sometimes grants His servants a tangible, physical light through miraculous favors—as happened to those two Companions—He likewise bestows an intangible light that He casts into the heart of the believer. We ask Allah to cast such a light into our hearts and yours, a light by which a person can speak about Allah’s Law as though the scriptural texts were right before his eyes. This is one of Allah’s blessings upon His servant. We therefore ask Allah, exalted be He, to make us among His pious allies and righteous worshippers.

1509 – Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched ten men on a reconnaissance mission and placed ʿĀṣim ibn Thābit al-Anṣārī, may Allah be pleased with him, in command of them.