Ibn Taymiyah On Priorities

Ibn Taymiyah & Wine Drinking Tatars – إعلام الموقعين

Ibn Al-Qayyim narrates that he heard his teacher Ibn Taymiyah say:

وسمعت شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية قدس الله روحه ونور ضريحه يقول مررت أنا وبعض أصحابي في زمن التتار بقوم منهم يشربون الخمر فأنكر عليهم من كان معي فأنكرت عليه وقلت له إنما حرم الله الخمر لأنها تصد عن ذكر الله وعن الصلاة وهؤلاء يصدهم الخمر عن قتل النفوس وسبئ الذرية وأخذ الأموال فدعهم

“In the time of the Tatars, me and some of my companions walked past a group of Tatars who were drinking Wine.
One of my companions rebuked them and in return, I rebuked my companion!
I [Ibn Taymiyah] said to [my companion]: “God banned Wine because it prevents people from remembering God and Prayer.
But in the case of these people, Wine prevents them from killing people, taking their children as prisoners and taking their wealth.
So leave them.”

[“I’laam al-Muwaqi’iin”, 3/5].

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If stopping an evil results in a bigger evil – DON’T STOP IT.

The scholars of usul al-Fiqh (اصوليين) are like the strategists of the Ummah.

Or like the General of the Army, standing on top of a hill – getting a panoramic birds-eye view of everything that is going on.

As for the laymen (عوام), they are like the foot soldiers on the ground with a tunnel-vision.

They see parts of the puzzle, they don’t see the full picture.

So they should follow orders from the generals who warn them against dangers and they should not make their own decisions.

Disasters happen when foot soldiers act like generals.

#StayInYourLane