بســـم اللــه الرحــمــن الـرحـــيــم

➡ CLASS 2 ⬅ EXPLANATION OF THE LĀMIYYAH OF IBN TAYMIYYAH https://t.me/madrasatuna LINE 1: Shaykhul Islām Aḥmad ibn 'Abdil-Ḥalīm ibn 'Abdis-Salām -may Allāh have mercy on him- begins: يَـا سَـائِـلِـي عَـنْ مَـذْهَـبِـي وَعَـقِـيـدَتِـي رُزِقَ الْـهُـدَى مَـنْ لِـلْـهِـدَايَـةِ يَـسْـأَلُ O one who asks about my doctrine and creed Bestowed with guidance is he who asks for guidance EXPLANATION: 1. In this line, the author clarifies the reason why he composed this poem; that is, someone asked him about his doctrine and creed, so he responded by writing this poem. And there are many examples where scholars have written books due to a request or a question that was posed to them. 2: The scholars utilise various writing styles when propagating knowledge; most of the time their works are written using the ordinary form of spoken/written language, without metrical structure (nathr), but sometimes they may express themselves using poetry (nadhm) - like in this case; their choice of writing style may be influenced by the subject matter, or the target audience. And even though Shaykhul Islām was proficient in the art of poetry, he has not written a great deal of poetry in comparison to some of his contemporaries. 3: Here, the terms 'madh-hab' and 'Aqeedah' mean the same thing, so 'madh-ab' here should not be confused with the 'madh-hab' commonly used to refer to the four major schools of thoughts with regards to Fiqh; namely, the Ḥanafī, Ḥanbalī, Mālikī and Shāf'ī madhāhib; this is not the meaning intended here. 'Madh-hab' here actually refers to 'Aqīdah (creed). 4: What is Aqīdah? Aqīdah refers to a matter of knowledge which a Muslim must believe in his heart with full faith and conviction, having no doubt whatsoever. 5: A Muslim must take his 'Aqīdah from the Qur'ān and Sunnah, based on the understanding of the Pious Predecessors (Salafuṣ Ṣāliḥ), otherwise he will be led astray. 6: The second half of this line has 2 possible meanings: The first: "Endowed with guidance is he who seeks guidance" One of the greatest means to attain guidance, after the Tawfīq of Allāh, is asking and referring back to the people of knowledge. You will find that when a person asks the people of knowledge with diligence and sincerity, Allāh grants him sucess in reaching the truth and guides him to the straight path by way of that. Allāh ﷻ said: (وَٱلَّذِینَ جَـٰهَدُوا۟ فِینَا لَنَهۡدِیَنَّهُمۡ سُبُلَنَاۚ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَمَعَ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِینَ) "As for those who struggle in Our cause, We will surely guide them along Our Way. And Allah is certainly with the good-doers." [Sūrat Al-'Ankabūt 69] The second possible meaning: "May guidance be granted to he who seeks it" This is a supplication which demonstrates the author's care and concern for the wellbeing of the questioner. And this is how the dā'ee should be towards those he is calling; he must want good for them and be merciful towards them; for, this will make them more accepting of what he is calling them to.