Appropriation of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya 15
histories, we trace in the following the idea of “minorness” in virtually
everything – apart from the amount of written output and spiritual
devotion^56 – when it comes to Ibn al-Qayyim, a pattern that resurfaces
on a regular basis. The pervasive perception of being second(ary) is fed
by several factors, such as Ibn al-Qayyim’s unabashed admiration for
Ibn Taymiyya, his apparently uncritical subordination to his ideas, his
personal modesty and humbleness, as well as his editorial and intellec-
tual curating of Ibn Taymiyya’s heritage.
After Ibn Taymiyya had returned from Egypt, Ibn al-Qayyim became
his most ardent follower and spent one and a half decades with him in
Damascus, leading to nearly two years in prison – physically apart, but
with a shared vision. Contrary to the custom of studying with several
different teachers, Ibn al-Qayyim was obviously overwhelmed by Ibn
Taymiyya,^57 so much so that he “dedicated the next fifteen years of his
life to study only with Ibn Taymiyyah, and he soon succeeded in estab-
lishing himself as the latter’s senior disciple.”^58 This strong intellectual
and emotional attachment seems to have tied Ibn al-Qayyim to his
hometown during the earlier period of his life.^59 Anjum points out that
the relationship even transcended Ibn al-Qayyim’s status as a master
student of Ibn Taymiyya and that especially the Madārij al-sālikīn, his
famous commentary on a Ḥanbalī Sufi manual, provides vivid insights
into this lasting, deeply felt affection, since it “also addresses the ques-
tion of the relationship of Ibn Qayyim al-Ǧawziyyah’s spiritual vision
to his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah.”^60 Therein, he expresses “exceeding rev-
erence and love for his teacher, Ibn Taymiyyah (...) perhaps more than
in any other work”,^61 so that Anjum suggests a comparison to “the
56 Krawietz, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyah, pp. 22–23.
57 For his other teachers, see Holtzman, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, pp. 206–207;
Abdul-Mawjûd, Salâhud-Dîn Ibn Alî: The Biography of Imâm ibn al-Qayyim,
translated by Abdul-Râfi Adewale Imâm, Riyadh 2006, pp. 43–51. Holtzman
struggles to extend the list, so that Ibn al-Qayyim meets the familiar pattern of
expectations.
58 Holtzman, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, p. 210.
59 Abdul-Mawjûd, Biography, pp. 63–67, apparently feels awkward that Ibn al-
Qayyim has not lived up to the widespread norm of searching for knowledge
in other locations (ṭalab al-ʿilm) and accordingly tries to appease his readers;
Krawietz, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyah, p. 23.
60 Anjum, Ovamir: Sufism without Mysticism. Ibn Qayyim al-Ǧawziyya’s Objec-
tives in Madāriǧ al-sālikīn, in: Bori and Holtzman, A Scholar in the Shadow,
pp. 161–188, here p. 162.
61 Anjum, Sufism without Mysticism, p. 163.
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