Gardens of Purification

by Ibn Taymiyyah, ابن تيمية

Paths to Asceticism, Purifying the Self, Conditioning the Heart, Symptoms and Remedies, Beauty of Patience, Pardoning and Avoidance.

Genres: Islam

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1328

About the author

Taqī ad-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Abd al-Halim ibn Abd al-Salam al-Numayri al-Ḥarrānī (Arabic: تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم بن عبد السلام النميري الحراني‎, January 22, 1263 - September 26, 1328), known simply Ibn Taymiyyah (ابن تيمية), was an Islamic jurist scholar, muhaddith, theologian, judge, philosopher, and whom many considered as the renewer of the Islamic 7th century. He is known for his diplomatic involvement with the Ilkhanid ruler Ghazan Khan and for his involvement at the Battle of Marj al-Saffar which ended the Mongol invasions of the Levant. A member of the Hanbali school, Ibn Taymiyyah's iconoclastic views on widely accepted Sunni doctrines of his time such as the veneration of saints and the visitation to their tomb-shrines made him unpopular with many scholars and rulers of the time, under whose orders he was imprisoned several times.

A polarising figure in his own times and in the centuries that followed, Ibn Taymiyyah has become one of the most influential medieval writers in contemporary Islam, where his particular interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and his rejection of some aspects of classical Islamic tradition are believed to have had considerable influence on contemporary ultra-conservative ideologies such as Salafism, and Jihadism. Particular aspects of his teachings had a profound influence on Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of the Hanbali reform movement practiced in Saudi Arabia, and on other later Wahabi scholars. Moreover, Ibn Taymiyyah's controversial fatwa allowing jihad against other Muslims is referenced by al-Qaeda and other jihadi groups. Their reading of Ibn Taymiyyah's thought has been challenged by recent scholarship.

Reviews

[eny · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This is the condition of the people of innovation, for indeed they worship something other than Allāh and they innovate acts of worship alleging that they are worshiping Allāh through it. Thus they are only following their whims for indeed one of them follows the fancy of his self, its tastes, passions and whims without knowledge, guidance or an illuminating book. For if they followed knowledge and the Illuminating Book, they would not worship but Allāh through what He wills and not through fabrications and innovations.”

this book does an amazing work at clarifying and deconstructing some of the innovations that have been introduced within the practice of tazkiyya al-nafs, mainly by sufis and their followers. a very good source to refer to if you want to learn the true essence of self-purification, that follows the correct guidelines according to the Book of Allāh ‎ﷻ and the sunnah of our beloved Prophet ﷺ

[Hassan Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is speaking more about how Sufi ideology is wrong in different aspects. It criticized some Sufis while agreeing with the others if they lived according to Qur’an and sound sayings of the Prophet. The Title is not what the book is about although it does cover a little about self purification.

May be that is what his intention was to write about how others thought purification is but they are wrong. Nevertheless, it would be good for an anti Sufi reader. His claims are legit in many cases in refuting them.

One of the best Books I have read regarding purification is Hamza Yusuf’s Purification is the heart.

[Raudh Zilal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting lessons on the teachings of Islam, powerful messages on the importance of patience and contentment