title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Condemning formal logic as "laughable and boring", Ibn Taymiyya writes: "The validity of the form of the syllogism is irrefutable, but it does not lead to knowledge of things in the external world... Even if the syllogism yields certitude, it cannot alone lead to certainty about things existing in the external world... It must be maintained that the numerous figures they have elaborated and the conditions they have stipulated for their validity are useless, tedious, and prolix. These resemble the flesh of a camel found of the summit of a mountain, the mountain is not easy to climb, nor the flesh plump enough to make it worth the hauling"


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah had mastered the grammar of Arabic and one of the books which he studied was the book of Arabic grammar called Al-Kitab, by Sibawayh. In later life he met the Quranic exegete and grammarian Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati to whom he expressed that, "Sibawayh was not the prophet of syntax, nor was he infallible. He committed eighty mistakes in his book which are not intelligible to you." Ibn Taymiyyah is thought to have severely criticized Sibawayh but the actual substance of those criticisms is not known because the book within which he wrote the criticisms, "al-Bahr", has been lost. He stated that when there is an explanation of an Ayah of the Qur'an or a Hadith, from the prophet himself, the use of philology or a grammatical explanation becomes obsolete. He also said one should refer only to the understanding of the Salaf (first three generations of Muslims) when interpreting a word within the scriptural sources. However he did not discount the contributions of the grammarians completely. Ibn Taymiyyah stated that the Arabic nouns within the scriptural sources have been divided by the fuqaha (Islamic jurists) into three categories; those that are defined by the shari'a, those defined by philology (lugha) and finally those that are defined by social custom (`urf). For him each of these categories of nouns had to be used in their own appropriate manner.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah censured the scholars for blindly conforming ("Taqlid") to the precedence of early jurists without any resort to the "Qur'an" and "Sunnah". He contended that although juridical precedence has its place, blindly giving it authority without contextualization, sensitivity to societal changes, and evaluative mindset in light of the "Qur'an" and "Sunnah" can lead to ignorance and stagnancy in Islamic Law. Ibn Taymiyyah likened the extremism of "Taqlid" (blind conformity to juridical precedence or school of thought) to the practice of Jews and Christians who took their rabbis and ecclesiastics as gods besides God. In arguing against "taqlid", he stated that the "Salaf," who to better understand and live according to the commands of God, had to make "ijtihad" using the scriptural sources. The same approach, in his view, was needed in modern times. Ibn Taymiyya considered his attachment to the Ḥanbalī school as a scholarly choice based on his "Ijtihad" (independent legal reasoning), rather than on imitation ("taqlīd"). Based on the principles and legal methodology of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyya issued fatwas as per scriptural evidence, rather than juristic opinion ("ra'y"). He insisted that the dominant opinion of Hanbali school transmitted through Ahmad's reports is not necessarily the correct view in "sharia" and often critiqued the rulings of prominent Hanbali "Fuqaha".


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah believed that the best role models for Islamic life were the first three generations of Islam (Salaf); which constitute Muhammad's companions, referred to in Arabic as Sahaba (first generation), followed by the generation of Muslims born after the death of Muhammad known as the Tabi'un (second generation) which is then followed lastly by the next generation after the Tabi'un known as Tabi' al-Tabi'in (third generation). Ibn Taymiyyah gave precedence to the ideas of the Sahaba and early generations, over the founders of the Islamic schools of jurisprudence. For Ibn Taymiyyah it was the "Qur'an", the sayings and practices of Muhammad and the ideas of the early generations of Muslims that constituted the best understanding of Islam. Any deviation from their practice was viewed as "bid'ah", or innovation, and to be forbidden. He also praised and wrote a commentary on some speeches of Abdul-Qadir Gilani.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya asserted that every individual is permitted to employ "Ijtihad" partially as per his potential; despite the fact that scholars, jurists, etc. had superior knowledge and understanding of the law than the laity. Ibn Taymiyya writes:""Ijtihād" is not one whole that cannot be subject to division and partition. A man could be a "mujtahid" in one discipline or one field (bāb) or an individual legal question, without being a mujtahid in all other disciplines, or books, or questions. Everyone can practice "ijtihād" according to his abilities. When one observes a legal question that has been subject to a dispute among the scholars, and then one finds revealed texts in support of one of the opinions, with no known counter-evidence ("mu‘āriḍ"), then there are two choices... The second option is to follow the opinion that he, in his own judgment, finds preponderant by the indicants from the revealed texts. He is then in agreement with the founder of a different school, yet for him the revealed texts remain uncorrupted, as they are not contradicted by his actions. And this is the right thing to do."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Conscious of the limitations of the human mind, Ibn Taymiyya does not reject "taqlid" completely; since most people are not capable to be a legal expert who can derive law from its sources. Ibn Taymiyya asserted throughout his legal writings that "God does not burden men with more than they are capable of undertaking." Even "Fuqaha" are allowed to attach themselves to a "mad'hab" (law school) so long as they prefer the evidences. However, Ibn Taymiyya denounced all manifestations of "Madh'hab" fanaticism and was careful to emphasize that school affiliations are not obligatory. He argued that opinions of any jurist, including the school founders were not proofs, and decried the prevalent legal approach; wherein the "Fuqaha" confined themselves to the opinions within their legal school without seeking the Scriptures. Consequently, Ibn Taymiyya stripped Sunni legal conformism of any definitive, static religious authority. In his treatise ""Removal of Blame from the Great Imams"", Ibn Taymiyya explained the reasons for difference of opinions between jurists of various schools of law and justified the necessity for tolerance between the scholars of the "madh'habs" and their eponyms; reminding that every "Mujtahid" is rewarded twice if his "Ijtihad" is correct and rewarded once if his "Ijtihad" is faulty. Hence, a jurist acting in good faith should not incur blame for reaching the wrong conclusions. Thus, the Islamic scholarly system championed by Ibn Taymiyya subjected all Islamic jurists just to the authority of the revealed texts and not to the views of "madh'habs", or jurists or any similar affiliations. Thus, Ibn Taymiyya envisioned a world in which individuals stand before the Divine revelation, with the intellectual freedom to discern the universal rulings of God's law to the best of their abilities.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Even though jurists may err in their "fatwas"; Ibn Taymiyya asserted that they should never be deterred from pursuing "ijtihād". His outlook which was incompatible with a stagnated juristic system; propelled Ibn Taymiyya to advance legal pluralism; that defended the freedom of multiple juristic interpretations. According to Ibn Taymiyya, on legal issues which are subject to "Ikhtilaf" (scholarly disagreement); every Muslim is allowed to formulate and express his own opinion:"In these general matters [i.e., not a specific trial case] no judge, whoever he may be—even if he was one of the Companions—can impose his view on another person who does not share his opinion... In these matters, judgment is reserved for God and His messenger.. But, as long as the judgment of God is concealed, each of them is allowed to hold his opinion—the one saying ‘this is my opinion’ while the other says ‘this is my opinion.’ They are not allowed to prevent each other from expressing his opinion, except through the vehicles of knowledge, proof ("ḥujja") and evidence ("bayān"), so that each speaks on the basis of the knowledge that he has."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya believed that Islamic policy and management was based on , and that the goal of "al-siyasa" (politics, the political) should be to protect "al-din" (religion) and to manage "al-dunya" (worldly life and affairs). Religion and the State should be inextricably linked, in his view, as the state was indispensable in providing justice to the people, enforcing Islamic law by enjoining good and forbidding evil, unifying the people and preparing a society conducive to the worship of God. He believed that "enjoining good and forbidding wrong" was the duty of every state functionary with charge over other Muslims, from the caliph to "the schoolmaster in charge of assessing children's handwriting exercises." Apart from his theological discourse that centered around Divine Attributes and God's Nature, Ibn Taymiyya also expanded "Tawhid" (Islamic montheism) doctrine to stress the significance of socio-political affairs. Ibn Taymiyya believed that monotheism in Islam affirmed God as the "sole creator, ruler, and judge of the world" and hence; Muslims are duty-bound to submit to Divine Commandments as revealed through "Sharia" (Islamic law) through both private and collective enforcement of religious rituals and morality.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah supported giving broad powers to the state. In "Al-siyasa al-Sharʿiyah", he focused on duties of individuals and punishments rather than rules and procedural limits of authorities. Suspected highway robbers who would not reveal their accomplices or the location of their loot, for example should be held in detention and lashed for indefinite periods. He also allowed the lashing of imprisoned debtors, and "trials of suspicion" ("daʿsawī al-tuḥam") where defendants could be convicted without witnesses or documentary proof.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Henri Laoust said that Ibn Taymiyyah never propagated the idea of a single caliphate but believed the Muslim ummah or community would form into a confederation of states. Laoust further stated that Ibn Taymiyyah called for obedience only to God, and the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and he did not put a limit on the number of leaders a Muslim community could have. However Mona Hassan, in her recent study of the political thoughts of Ibn Taymiyyah, questions this and says Laoust has wrongly claimed that Ibn Taymiyyah thought of the caliphate as a redundant idea. Hassan has shown that Ibn Taymiyyah considered the Caliphate that was under the Rashidun Caliphs; Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, as the moral and legal ideal. The Caliphate in his view could not be ceded "in favour of secular kingship (mulk).


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah was noted for his emphasis on the importance of jihad and for the "careful and lengthy attention" he gave "to the questions of martyrdom" in jihad, such as benefits and blessings to be had for martyrs in the afterlife. Alongside his disciple Ibn Kathir, Ibn Taymiyya is widely regarded as one of the most influential classical theoreticians of armed Jihad. Ibn Taymiyya believed that martyrdom in Jihad grants eternal rewards and blessings. He wrote that, "It is in jihad that one can live and die in ultimate happiness, both in this world and in the Hereafter. Abandoning it means losing entirely or partially both kinds of happiness."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: It comprehends all sorts of worship, whether inward or outward, including love for Allah, being sincere to Him, relying on Him, relinquishing one's soul and property for His sake, being patient and austere, and keeping remembrance of Almighty Allah. It includes what is done by physical power, what is done by the heart, what is done by the tongue through calling to the way of Allah by means of authoritative proofs and providing opinions, and what is done through management, industry, and wealth.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: He gave a broad definition of what constituted "aggression" against Muslims and what actions by non-believers made jihad against them permissible. He declared


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: It is allowed to fight people for (not observing) unambiguous and generally recognized obligations and prohibitions, until they undertake to perform the explicitly prescribed prayers, to pay zakat, to fast during the month of Ramadan, to make the pilgrimage to Mecca and to avoid what is prohibited, such as marrying women in spite of legal impediments, eating impure things, acting unlawfully against the lives and properties of Muslims and the like. It is obligatory to take the initiative in fighting those people, as soon as the prophet's summons with the reasons for which they are fought has reached them. But if they first attack the Muslims then fighting them is even more urgent, as we have mentioned when dealing with the fighting against rebellious and aggressive bandits.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: In the modern context, his rulings have been used by some Islamist groups to declare jihad against various governments.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya was a major proponent of a form of Martyrdom operations during Jihad known as <nowiki>"</nowiki>"inghimas"<nowiki>"</nowiki> (plunging into the enemy). Although suicide is considered sinful in traditional Islamic law, Ibn Taymiyya distinguished between "inghimas" and suicide, asserting that the former is Martyrdom. Ibn Taymiyya sanctioned the act of plunging into the armies of non-Muslims even if the Muslim fighter or fighters are certain that they will be killed; as long as it benefited Islam for the purpose of Jihad. Ibn Taymiyya argued that "inghimas" were sanctioned in three battlefield scenarios:


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya praised "inghimas" as a part of the religious command to wage Jihad and attain "Shuhada" (martyrdom) in battlefield. Furthermore, he asserted that the practice was mainstream during the era of Muhammad and the companions. In support of his stances, Ibn Taymiyya refers to the Qurʾānic story of the People of the Ditch; writing


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Apart from "Inghimasi", Ibn Taymiyya also issued legal verdicts sanctioning the killing of Muslim civilians who are employed as "human shields" by the enemy armies, a tactic frequently used by the Mongols, but only if the Muslim army had no other choice. In Ibn Taymiyya's view, Muslims killed in such operations are to be honoured as "shuhada" (martyrs) and such tactics are justifiable since the benefits exceed its detriments. In the modern-era, various Jihadist ideologues have exploited Ibn Taymiyya's "fatwas" for "inghimasi" operations to justify Suicide Bombings as martyrdom. In retaliation to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, Al-Qaeda conducted the 2008 Danish Embassy suicide bombing in Islamabad, based on Ibn Taymiyya's works. Directly quoting from Ibn Taymiyya's extracts, Islamic State (IS) would launch large-scale "inghimasi" operations as a novel terror tactic of suicide bombings during its 2014 insurgency across Iraq and Syria. Scholars like Rebecca Molfoy have disputed this view, asserting that Ibn Taymiyya did not legalise mass-murder of non-combatants, but sanctioned "inghimasi" only in battlefield, when outnumbered and when it was beneficial to Islam. According to Molfoy, unlike suicide bombings which necessitate taking one's own life, Ibn Taymiyya held that it was possible to come out alive after "Inghimasi" operations, even while glorifying martyrdom.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Even though Ibn Taymiyyah has been called a theologian, he claimed to reject ʿ"Ilm al-Kalam", known as Islamic theology, as well as some aspects of Sufism and Peripatetic philosophy, as an innovation ("Bid'ah"). Despite this, Ibn Taymiyyah's works contained numerous arguments that openly refer to rational arguments (kalam) for their validity and therefore he is included by some scholars as amongst the Mutakallimin.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: On the other hand, Ibn Taymiyya has also been regarded by various scholars as "a literalist and reactionary" and as the "thirteenth-century scourge of reason", who saw it as his mission to purify Islam of all inauthentic outgrowths and return to the purity of Muhammad's time. Islam, in the eyes of Ibn Taymiyya, was to adhere strictly to the "Qur’an", "Hadith", and the practices and interpretations of the "salaf" – a view Ibn Taymiyya called "madhhab al-salaf" or ‘the doctrine of the predecessors’. Any idea not found in these fundamental sources was "bid‘a", reprehensible innovations to pristine Islam. He engaged in fierce debates against Ash'arite scholars and denounced the rationalist Qur'anic commentary of Ash'arite theologian Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, as a heresy that altered the meaning of Scriptures. According to Ibn Taymiyya, philosophically minded Ash‘ari theologians like Al-Razi were "innovators who prefer the pseudo -philosophical approach of recent ages", rather than the approach of the Salaf.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah opposed giving any undue religious honors to mosques (even that of Jerusalem, the Masjid Al-Aqsa), to approach or rival in any way the Islamic sanctity of the two most holy mosques within Islam, Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca) and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (in Madina). As for the practice of making journey for the sole purpose of visiting a mosque, Ibn Taymiyyah stated in his books; "Majmuʿat al-Rasaʾil al-Kubra", "Minhaj al-Sunna" and "Majmuʿat Fatawa", that, "Journey must not be made except to three mosques; Masjid al-Haram, Masjid al-Nabawi and Masjid Al-Aqsa". Regarding this Serajul Haque says that, "In the opinion of Ibn Taymiyyah only these three mosques have been accepted by the Prophet as the object of journeys, on account of their excellence over all other mosques and places of prayer. Ibn Taymiyyah uses a saying (hadith) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Bukhari and Muslim to justify his view that it is not permitted to journey exclusively to any mosque other than the sacred mosques in Mecca, Medina, or Jerusalem.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Although it is sometimes supposed that Ibn Taymiyyah rejected the very idea of saints, which had become a cardinal Sunni belief in the medieval period, scholarship has shown that this is not true. Nevertheless, it's important to note that the term saint (wali) in Islam is not equal to the Catholic definition of it. Saint in islamic theology designates righteous people from the past, who became well-known for their piety. There is, though, no process of canonization or veneration of icons, which is strongly condemned in Islam as violations of the basic monotheism. Indeed, while Ibn Taymiyyah did indeed reject widely-established orthodox "practices" associated with the veneration of saints in Islam at his time, like the visitation to their graves and the seeking of their intercession, he never rejected the actual existence of saints as such. On the contrary, he explicitly states: "The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, by the acceptance of all Muslim scholars. And the Qur'an has pointed to it in different places, and the sayings of Muhammad have mentioned it, and whoever denies the miraculous power of saints are only people who are innovators and their followers." In this particular respect, he differed little from all his contemporaries; for just as practically all of the era's scholars believed that "the lives of saints and their miracles were incontestable", so also did Ibn Taymiyyah.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah's most categorical declaration of accepting the existence of saints and their miracles appears in his famous creed "'Aqīda al-Wāsitīya", in which he states: "Among the fundamentals of the belief of the People of the Sunna is belief in the miracles of the saints ("karāmāt al-awliyā") and the supernatural acts which God achieves through them in all varieties of knowledge, illuminations ("mukāshafāt"), power, and impressions as it is handed down about the ancient nations in the chapter of the Cave and in other Quranic chapters and is known of the early men among this Community of Believers among the Companions and Followers and the rest of the generations of this Community of Believers. It [the blessing of having saints and saintly miracles] will be with them until the Day of Resurrection."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah considered the visitation of the tombs of prophets and saints as impermissible, a blameworthy innovation and comparable to worshiping something besides God ("shirk"). His pilgrimage ("Hajj") to the city of Mecca in 1293 motivated Ibn Taymiyya to compile the treatise "Manasik al-Hajj" wherein he harshly attacked the practice of travelling to visit Muhammad's grave as a "bid'ah" (religious innovation). In Ibn Taymiyya's view, if early Muslims did not visit Muhammad's grave, and especially if Muhammad forbade the visiting of his grave as a religious ritual; then doing so would be an innovation as per Islamic teachings. According to Ibn Taymiyya, all religious journeys with the purpose of visiting other than the three mosques of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are prohibited. This includes even Muhammad's grave in Medina. Although a person staying in Medina may visit Muhammad's grave, Ibn Taymiyya argues, this cannot be its purpose.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Nevertheless, Ibn Taymiyya did not condemn "ziyara" in its entirety and affirms a form of ziyāra that aligned with his reading of the salaf; which did not place the dead between the believer and God. Ibn Taymiyya categorised unlawful grave-visits into three distinct types. One category was the practice in which a person travels to a grave, invokes God directly yet includes the name of saint in that supplication directed to God as part of "Tawassul". Ibn Taymiyya dismisses this as unlawful innovation but does not label it as "shirk" (polytheism). The second category of unlawful "ziyāra" involves visiting graves with the purpose of seeking the intercession ("Shafa'a") of the dead with God. Ibn Taymiyya strongly condemned this as "shirk" and compared it to the Meccan opponents of the Muhammad, writing:"If he says, “I ask him so that he may intercede with God for me, because he is closer to God than me. And I seek a means to God through him, just as a means to the ruler is sought through his special counsel and helpers’ – this is from the actions of the mushrikūn and Christians, for they claim to take priests and rabbis as intercessors, who intercede for them in their requests, and God informs us of the mushrikūn that they said, "We do not worship them except that they bring us closer to God." (Q 39:3)


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: The type of grave-visits which Ibn Taymiyya considered as the most heinous form of "shirk" and condemned most harshly were the ones involving direct supplication to the dead. Excommunicating those who practised this as apostates and calling for their execution, Ibn Taymiyya writes:"As for the one who comes to a grave of a prophet or a righteous person and asks his need from him such as asking him to end his illness…or fulfil his debt, or take vengeance from his enemy, or to heal him, his family or his beast and what is like this, from those matters that none but God, the Mighty and Majestic has power over, then this is clear shirk ("shirk sarīḥ"), it is obligatory that his repentance be sought, or he is (to be) killed."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya's views on "Ziyara" would be vigorously rejected by those Sunni scholars who opposed his views both during his life and after his death. The Shafi'i scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani stated that ""This is one of the ugliest positions that has been reported of Ibn Taymiyya"" and also added that travelling to visit the tomb of Muhammad was ""one of the best of actions and the noblest of pious deeds with which one draws near to God, and its legitimacy is a matter of consensus."" The Hanafi hadith scholar Ali al-Qari stated that, ""Amongst the Hanbalis, Ibn Taymiyya has gone to an extreme by prohibiting travelling to visit the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace"" Qastallani stated that ""The Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya has abominable and odd statements on this issue to the effect that travelling to visit the Prophet is prohibited and is not a pious deed."" Other scholars in opposition to Ibn Taymiyyah's views include Ghazali, Nawawi, Munawi and Qadi Ayyad who stated that visiting Muhammad was ""a sunna of the Muslims on which there was consensus, and a good and desirable deed.""


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya became the most influential stalwart of a critical trend of Islamic thought which rejected ideas associated with saint-cults, beliefs in intercession, the sanctity of saints’ relics, veneration of graves, etc. He is widely regarded as one of the most astute and formidable opponents of beliefs and practices associated with saint veneration in Islamic scholarship. Scholars like Yahya Michot draw an anology of Ibn Taymiyya's views with Protestant attacks on Catholic "idolatry". German scholar of Islam compared the treatises of Ibn Taymiyya to that of the 16th century European Protestant theologian John Calvin. Ibn Taymiyyah had advocated an extensive theological doctrine that aimed to upheld "Tawhid" by prohibiting bid’a (innovations). Various beliefs and acts Ibn Taymiyyah considered as religious innovations and/or "shirk" included setting up intermediaries between God and creation, seeking intercession from anything other than God, visiting shrines, metaphorical interpretations of the Qur’an, veneration of creation, ruling by non-Islamic laws, denying Divine Attributes, etc. One of the core teachings espoused by Ibn Taymiyyah was that the original polytheists during "Jahiliyya" (pre-Islamic era) had not associated their deities with God in all aspects. Rather, they acknowledged God as their Supreme Lord and Creator but associated their deities with God in terms of love and veneration.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah believed that seeking the assistance of God through intercession is allowed, as long as the other person is still alive. However, he believed that those who seek assistance from the graves of the Prophet or saints, are "mushrikin" (polytheists), someone who is engaged in shirk. Ibn Taymiyya's vehement denunciation of intercession, saint-veneration, cult of saints, etc. were based on his conception of worship ("‘Ibāda"), which included a broad range of religious practices. According to Ibn Taymiyya, Worship includes acts such as sacrificial offerings, fasting, praying, supplications ("du‘ā’"), etc. The practice of supplication ("du‘ā’") was significant; since both Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim labelled "du‘ā’" to be the "essence of worship" ("mukhkh al-‘ibāda"). Declaring "Takfir" (Excommunication) upon those people who adhered to these practices, Ibn Taymiyya states:"Requesting healing from illness, or the wellbeing of the family, or deliverance from adversity in this world and the hereafter, or victory over one’s enemy, or guidance of the heart, or forgiveness of sins, or entry into heaven or deliverance from hell… it is only permissible to request this from God alone. It is not permissible to say to a King, prophet or shaykh – living or dead – ‘forgive my sins’… and other things like that. Whoever asks this from a created being is a mushrik with his Lord."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: This view was also vigorously rejected by his Sunni opponents who dominated the contemporary religious scholarship. For example, the chief judge of Damascus, Taqi al-Din al-Subki stated that, ""It is proper to entreat and ask for the help and intercession of the Prophet ﷺ with God. No one from amongst the salaf and khalaf denied this, until Ibn Taymiyya came along and disapproved of this, and deviated from the straight path, and invented a position that no scholar has said before, and he became a deterrent example for Muslims"". Similarly, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami rejected Ibn Taymiyya's view on intercession and held that he had broken with the established consensus of Sunni scholars, as did many other scholars such as Zurqani and Khalil ibn Ishaq.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: On the other hand, Ibn Taymiyya firmly upheld his views -which he regarded as the orthodox Sunni position- as religiously indisputable and quoted a scholarly consensus ("Ijma") in support of his beliefs:"Whoever seeks aid from the one who is deceased or absent human being, such that he calls upon him during difficulues and times of hardship and asks to fulfill his needs by saying 'Oh my master so and so' seeking help and aid in removing hardship, or he says when the enemy attacks him: 'Oh my master so and so', appealing to him or he says this when he is sick, poor, and needing other things – such a person is misguided, ignorant, mushrik and disobedient to God by the consensus of Muslims; for they agree that the dead is not called upon and nothing is required of him, whether he is a prophet, a sheikh, or otherwise"


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: The mutakallimun are scholars who engage in ilm al-Kalam (speculative theology) and they were criticised by Ibn Taymiyyah for their use of rationalist theology and philosophy. Ibn Taymiyya was heavily hostile to "Kalam" and believed it to be amongst the most severe religious innovations that emerged after the first three generations. He asserted that the method of "kalam" was used by the Mu`tazilites, Jahmites and Ash`ari's. Ibn Taymiyyah considered the use of philosophical proofs and kalam to be redundant because he saw the Qur'an and the Sunna as superior rational proofs. Ibn Taymiyyah argued that these explanations were not grounded in scriptural evidence such as the philosophical explanation of the divine attributes of God or the proof of God using the cosmological argument. He said that the call to Islam was not made using such methods by the Qur'an or Muhammad and that these theories have only caused errors and corruption. The mutakallimun called their use of rationalist theology "Usul al-Din" "(principles of religion)" but Ibn Taymiyyah said that the use of rationalist theology has nothing to do with the true usul al-din which comes from God and to state otherwise is to say that Muhammad neglected an important aspect of Islam. Ibn Taymiyyah says that the "usul al-din" of the mutakallimun, deserve to be named "usul din al-shaytan" (principles of Satanic religion).


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya condemned many aspects of the evolving jurisprudential sciences as "educated conjectures"; particularly the impact of "Kalam" theology on "'ilm al-Ikhtilaf" (science of scholarly differences) as well as on Usul al-Fiqh (principles of juriamsprudence). For Ibn Taymiyya, "Shari'a" (Islamic law) is characterised by certainty and stability. In cases of absence of clear Scriptural texts; "Ijtihad" is to be exercised based on Scriptures rather than "Taqlid" (blind following) to past juristic opinions. Ibn Taymiyya attributed the flood of numerous juristic opinions, prevalence of controversial views and their resultant instability on the approach of speculative theologians who regarded "Fiqh" (jurisprudence) as a science of "conjectures". Blaming the jurists of speculative principles, especially those of the Hanafite school for the decline of "Fiqh" sciences; Ibn Taymiyya writes:"[they] do not provide for God any definite rule. In fact, they go so far as making a category of distinctions between a master-jurist ("mujtahid") who is correct and one who is wrong. Rather the legal rule ("hukm") for every person is whatever his intellectual exertion leads him to... [the theologians] excluded positive law ("fiqh"), which all the [religious] sciences, from the discourse of science itself; on the basis of what they observed in terms of following authority (taqlid) and conjectural propositions.. jurists who rely on sharia texts ("ahl al-nusus") [instead of speculation] are far move capable of giving [correct] juridicial responses and are more beneficial to Muslims than the people of opinion ("Ahl al-Ra'y") . . . This is because to solve real-life activities, Muslims need to know the source texts ("nusus")"


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah was a major proponent of the doctrines of the early generations ("Salaf al-Salih"), which he held to be pristine Islam and advocated the re-generation of their beliefs and practices. He was a zealous opponent of Ash'arite "Kalam", condemning it as a philosophical outgrowth that corrupted the purity of early Islamic tenets. Ibn Taymiyya challenged Ash'arite theologian Ghazali's epistimolegical discourse which emphasized linguistic and figurative ("majaz") analysis, instead advocating Scriptural literalism based on contextual intrapolation. Ibn Taymiyya categorised Ash'arites alongside heterodox sects like Kharijites, Mu'tazilites, Jahmites, Shi'ites, etc. that separated from Sunni orthodoxy. In spite of his exclusivist positions, Ibn Taymiyya held that all those sects are not to be excommunicated, except for Jahmites and extreme Shi'ites. Ibn Taymiyyah's attempts to focus attention onto Qur'anic rationality was taken up by his student Ibn Qayyim, to the exception of his other followers. This focus on traditionlist rationlism was also taken up by Musa Bigiev.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Despite his critical stance, one of Ibn Taymiyyah's last direct students, Ibn Qadi al-Jabal (d. 1370), says that "Ibn Taymiyya used to praise the expansiveness of al-Ash'ari’s knowledge and would quote the latter’s works by memory in public lessons ("al-majalis al-a'mma"), in particular "al-Iba'na"", that he talked highly of later Ash'ari scholars like Al-Baqillani and Al-Juwayni and as for Al-Ghazali, having studied his books with Ibn Taymiyyah, he says that "Ibn Taymiyyah told those present how impressed he was by al-Ghazali’s eloquence and the extent of his knowledge."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Some scholars argue that Ibn Taymiyyah belonged to the Qadiriyya tariqa (order) of Sufism and claimed to inherit the khirqa (spiritual mantle) of the founder of the Qadiriyya order 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Among his explicit positive references to Sufism and the Qadiriyya tariqa in particular, Ibn Taymiyyah referred to Jilani as "Shaykhuna" (our Shaykh) and "Sayyidi" (my master). He spoke highly of a great many other Sufi Shaykhs also such as Abu Yazid al-Bistami and al-Junayd, and went to great lengths to state that Sufism is not a heretical innovation (bid'ah). However, authors like Fritz Meier and Thomas Michel contend that such reports and traditions attributed to Ibn Taymiyya does not prove that he was a member formally affiliated to any Sufi "Tariqa".


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Gibril Haddad, a contemporary Naqshbandi Sufi scholar and critic of Ibn Taymiyyah's doctrinal positions, argues that "insofar as the goal of "tasawwuf" is the purification of the heart by progress through states ("ahwal") and stations ("maqamat"), Ibn Taymiyya in "al-Tuhfat al-'Iraqiyya" (al-Zarqa’ Jordan 1978, p. 18) imitated Imam al-Ghazali's "fatwa" in "al-Munqidh min al-Dalal" in considering "tasawwuf" obligatory upon every Muslim, naming it "a'mal al-qulub"." Scholar Arjan Post, in the introduction to the edition and English translation of "Risālat al-sulūk" (Epistle on the Spiritual Way) by al-Baʿlabakkī (d. 734/1333), a Lebanon-born Hanbali Sufi and direct student of Ibn Taymiyyah, talks of a "Sufi circle" among his students, notably through ʿImād al-Dīn Aḥmad al-Wāsiṭī, who "fulfilled the role of Sufi shaykh in the Taymiyyan circle until he passed away in 711/1311", and who was appreciated by other famous direct or indirect students of Ibn Taymiyyah who became famous scholars, notably Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya, Ibn Rajab and Al-Dhahabi. Although Ibn Taymiyyah was critical of some of the developments within Sufism, he never rejected the practice outright, and actually enumerated a list of early Sufis whom he considered to be among the greatest Islamic saints. In this list, he included Bayazid Bastami, Junayd of Baghdad, Abdul-Qadir Gilani, Hasan of Basra, Ibrahim ibn Adham, Maruf Karkhi, Sirri Saqti, and several other venerable personages who have always been venerated in mainstream Sunni Islam as being among the greatest saints of all.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: An alternate view shared by many scholars and critics assert that Ibn Taymiyyah totally rejected Sufism, both exclusively, as well as the general concept of Sufism. Scholars and researchers who propound this view argue that the notion of Ibn Taymiyyah's alleged support towards Sufism were based on misinterpretations of his "Fatwas" (legal verdicts). The words of Ibn Taymiyyah in praise of 'Abd al-Qadir Gilani were simply respect of the latter in the scope of scholarly position, not the mystical cult of personality or saint-veneration towards Gilani practiced by the Qadiryya order, which in effect also includes the view of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's hostile view towards "Tariqa" orders. This view of Ibn Taymiyyah's total rejection of Sufism and "Tariqa" concept of Mysticism were also supported by the Puritans during the era of Ottoman Empire. According to Hamud at Tuwaijir, a Hadith scholar, this view alone caused Ibn Taymiyyah, and by extension, Ibn al Qayyim, and his spiritual successor, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, being reviled so much by some of the communities that supported Sufism, such as Tablighi Jamaat.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: In particular, Ibn Taymiyyah rejected two views associated with some extreme Sufis. He rejected the veneration of saints who promulgated Ibn Arabi's doctrines of wahdat al-wajud. Firstly, he rejected monism which he believed was similar to the pantheistic belief that God "encompasses all things". Secondly, he asserted that the view that spiritual enlightenment is of a greater importance than obeying the sharia was a failure to properly follow the example of Muhammad. On Ibn 'Arabi, and Sufism in general, Henri Laoust says that Ibn Taymiyyah never condemned Sufism in and of itself, but only that which he considered to be inadmissible deviations in doctrine, ritual or morals, such as monism, antinomianism or esotericism. However, scholar Jamileh Kadivar has reported that Ibn Taymiyyah issued blatant takfir (excommunication from Islam) on Ibn 'Arabi. This view was also supported by the official scholars committee from Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, who issued a formal Fatwa (legal verdict) maintaining that Ibn Taymiyyah rejected any form of Sufism, whether they are structural, such as "Tariqa" order, or non-structural, individual practice of Sufism. The "fatwa" also covered the speculation of him belonging to the Qadiriyya order; stating that it was a fabrication.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Furthermore, there had also been numerous incidents wherein Ibn Taymiyya physically confronted Sufis. In 1301, Ibn Taymiyya had accompanied the Mamluk army in its campaigns against the Shia inhabitants of Kasrawan town. After expelling the non-Sunni inhabitants of the town, Ibn Taymiyya returned to Syria to attack the Sufi Ahmadiyya Rifawiyyan order of Damascus; accusing them of "Mongol sympathies". After 1305, there would be a dramatic escalation in confrontations between Ibn Taymiyya and popular folk expressions of religion associated with Sufism. In one such incident, Taymiyyah would personally lead stonemasons and demolish a structure in the Naranja Mosque to physically prevent Sufi veneration of a popular religious site. Disparaging the various mystical and devotional exercises of the practitioners of esoteric Sufism, Ibn Taymiyya argued that such rituals only enable Satan to possess their empty minds and corrupt their souls.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya vehemently denounced the doctrines of the Sufi masters Muhyiddun Ibn ‘Arabī (d. 1240), Al-Qunawi, Ibn Sab'in, etc. who had advocated the concept of "waḥdat al-wujūd" (Unity of Existence). Ibn Taymiyya believed that the emergence of Sufi pantheist doctrines heralded the coming of "Masih ad-Dajjal" (Anti-christ), blaming it as the main reason for the Tatar invasions and the ensuing dismantlement of Sharia (Islamic law). Condemning Ibn 'Arabi and his followers as a greater danger than the Mongol invasions itself, Ibn Taymiyya writes:"Opposing (by word or deed) these (proponents of "waḥdat al-wujūd") is the greatest of religious obligations, for they have corrupted intellects and creeds of the people, including Shaykhs, scholars and rulers…their harm is greater in religion than harm of the one who corrupts the worldly affairs of the Muslims but leaves their religion untouched, such as the bandit of the Mongols who take away people’s wealth but leave alone their religion."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya was also known for his critique of influential Asharite theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111 C.E/ 505 A.H), whom he accused of being deviated from authentic Sunnism, over his choice of embracing the Sufi path. On Ghazali's forsaking of "Kalam", Esotericism, Philosophy, etc. and eventual embracal of the Sufi path, Ibn Taymiyya writes:"he [Ghazali] soon discovered by means of his intelligence and devout inquiry, that the method of the theologians and philosophers was incoherent. .. so he began search for the exposition [of this faith]. Then he discovered in the discourses of Sufi shaykhs that which was nearer to the truth and more reasonable than what the theologians and philosophers had to offer... But, he did not gain access to the prophetic heritage, namely the sciences and spiritual states possessed by the elect of the community. Nor did he attain the proper knowledge and devotion achieved by the earliest generations and the forerunners [of the community]. [Both these groups] attained so much by way of cognitive discoveries and practical modes of service to God which those others [i.e. theologians, philosophers and Sufis] never attained. Hence, he [al-Ghazali] began to believe that the exposition of his concise faith could be obtained only through the [Sufi] way, since he knew no other path. [This happened] because the special path of the elevated prophetic example remained closed to him."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah was a proponent of the doctrine of "Takfir" (excommunication) on many Muslims across various Islamic sects such as the Mu'tazilites, the Shi'i Muslims, Sufi mystics like Ibn 'Arabi, etc. ; declaring them as apostates based on his religious interpretations. In particular, Ibn Taymiyyah was extremely critical of Shi'ism and considered its adherents to be religiously bankrupt, among the most morally depraved people and the root cause of many ills plaguing the Muslim World. His severe critique of Twelver Shia in his book, "Minhaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah," was written in response to the book "Minhaj al-karama fi ma'rifat al-imama", by the Shia theologian Al-Hilli. Much of his criticisms tended to emphasise the similarities between Shi'ites, Christians and Jews. Ibn Taymiyyah also wrote comprehensive refutations of the Twelver doctrine of Imamah and much of his works serve as an influential source for Sunni anti-Shi'te polemics to this day.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Among other things, he accused Shia (who he often referred to as "rafidha" or rejectionists) of helping non-Muslim enemies against Muslims


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Many of the "rafidha" (rejectionists) would favor the infidels within his heart more than he would favor the Muslims. That is why when the infidel Turks emerged from the east and fought the Muslims and spilled their blood, in the lands of Khurasan and in Iraq and Sham and in the Peninsula and elsewhere, the rafidha were there to aid them in killing Muslims. And the Baghdad vizier known as Al-’Alqami; it was he and others like him who greatly aided them against the Muslims, as well as those who were in Al-Sham’s Aleppo and other rafidha who were the fiercest collaborators in fighting Muslims. The same goes for the Christians (the Crusaders) in Al-Sham where the rafidha were their greatest helpers. And should the Jews get a state in Iraq or elsewhere, the rafidha will be their greatest helpers, for they are always supportive of the infidels whether they are idolaters or Jews or Christians...


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Regarding the Shia mourning for Husayn on Ashura, Ibn Taymiyyah considered Husayn's martyrdom as a divinely bestowed honour—not a major tragedy. He also argued that such mourning was never instructed by Muhammad and that the Islamic response to recent (let alone ancient) loss is not extravagant mourning but to endure the loss with patience and trust in God. However, he also believed those who celebrated on Ashura were anti-Shia zealots (""an-Nāṣibiyyah"") or ignorant people.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Fathi Shaqaqi, the Sunni Islamist inspired by the Islamic revolution of Iran who founded the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, said that Ibn Taymiyyah didn't consider Twelver Shi'as, that is the majority of the Shi'as, to be heretics, but mainly sects like the Ismailis, also precising that the geopolitical context of the day played a role in his thinking, and that, among Sunni scholars, ""fatwas" such as his were not disseminated, despite the fact that the Shi‘a had by then been in existence for some 600 years."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, one of the most influential modern jihadi ideologues, bases himself on Ibn Taymiyyah to say that the laypeople among the Shi'as are not to be considered disbelievers. Ibn Taymiyya's relentless polemics against Shiism consolidated the orthodox Sunni anti-Shia stances and has influenced numerous Sunni scholars, intellectuals and Islamist ideologues.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah wrote polemics against Christians. His work Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ li-man baddala dīn al-Masīh is a detailed refutation of Christian Doctrine. He also held extreme anti-Christian views and enmity. He also discounts the Christians' role in early Islamic history and views interfaith commonality as a luxury, giving an ideological justification to declare unrestricted war on Christians and Jews. Meanwhile, in what a number of modern scholars have seen as the golden age of Christian Arabic literature, Arab speaking Christian scholars wrote extensive theological treaties in Arabic in which they not only responded to the polemics of their Muslim advertiser but they also provided systematic, summary discussions of Christian faith and practice.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah issued a "fatwa" prohibited Muslims to participate and greeting Christians on their religious events and celebrations or to imitate them, he said in "Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (2/488)": "It is not permissible for the Muslims to imitate them [ Christians ] in any way that is unique to their festivals, whether it be food, clothes, bathing, lighting fires or refraining from usual work or worship, and so on. And it is not permissible to give a feast or to exchange gifts or to sell things that help them to celebrate their festivals, or to let children and others play the games that are played on their festivals, or to adorn oneself or put up decorations".


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: An example of Ibn Taymiyyah use of his interpretation was in defense of the (temporary) closing of all Christian churches in 1299 in the Mamluk Sultanate. The closing was in violation of a 600-year-old covenant with Christian "dhimmis" known as the Pact of Umar. But as Ibn Taymiyyah pointed out, while venerable, the pact was written 60 years or so after the time of the companions and so had no legal effect. Ibn Taymiyyah also suggested that Jews and Christians should be confined to their own specific regions.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya dismissed the Druze as non-Muslims, and his fatwa cited that Druzes: "Are not at the level of ′Ahl al-Kitāb (People of the Book) nor mushrikin (polytheists). Rather, they are from the most deviant kuffār (Infidel) ... Their women can be taken as slaves and their property can be seized ... they are to be killed whenever they are found and cursed as they described ... It is obligatory to kill their scholars and religious figures so that they do not misguide others", which in that setting would have legitimized violence against them as apostates. Ibn Taymiyyah believed that Druze have a high level of infidelity, besides being apostates. Thus, they are not trustworthy and should not be forgiven. He teaches also that Muslims cannot accept Druze penitence nor keep them alive, and Druze property should be confiscated, and their women enslaved. Mamluk and Ottoman sultans have often relied on Ibn Taymiyya religious ruling to justify their persecution of Druze, and calling for jihad against the Druze.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah pointed out that Alawites were not Shi'ites and a heretics outside Islam, arguably being the most virulent anti-Alawite in his fatwas where he cited that Alawites "are more infidel than Jews or Christians, even more infidel than many polytheists. They have done greater harm to the community of Muhammad than have the warring infidels such as the Franks, the Turks, and others. To ignorant Muslims they pretend to be Shi’is, though in reality they do not believe in God or his prophet or his book…Whenever possible, they spill the blood of Muslims…They are always the worst enemies of the Muslims…war and punishment in accordance with Islamic law against them are among the greatest of pious deeds and the most important obligations".


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah strongly opposed borrowing from Christianity or other non-Muslim religions. In his text "On the Necessity of the Straight Path" ("kitab iqtida al-sirat al-mustaqim") he preached that the beginning of Muslim life was the point at which "a perfect dissimilarity with the non-Muslims has been achieved." To this end he opposed the celebration of the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or the construction of mosques around the tombs of Muslim saints saying: "Many of them (the Muslims) do not even know of the Christian origins of these practices."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: He elaborated a circumstantial analysis of market mechanism, with a theoretical insight unusual in his time. Regarding the power of supply and demand, Ibn Taymiyyah said, "If desire for goods increases while its availability decreases, its price rises. On the other hand, if availability of the good increases and the desire for it decreases, the price comes down." His discourses on the welfare advantages and disadvantages of market regulation and deregulation, have an almost contemporary ring to them.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: However, he also advocated a policy of "fair prices" and "fair profits", with the implication that anything higher would be impious. Such forms of price fixing was detrimental to entrepreneurship.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: He argued that there was an alternate view to the view held by philosophers, like Ibn Sina, who claimed the universe was eternal in its entirety, and Islamic scholars, like Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, who claimed that the universe was created from nothing by God. In his Sharh Hadith Imran ibn Hasan, Ibn Taymiyya distinguishes between species and elements, asserting that the former are eternal with God. He states: "If it is supposed that the species [of things done] has been with Him from eternity, neither revelation nor reason denies this 'withness' (ma^iyya). On the contrary, it is part of His perfection." In fact, Ibn Taymiyya draws this assertion from his belief that God perpetually creates, i.e. in preeternity. John Hoover, in his Perpetual Creativity In The Perfection Of God: Ibn Taymiyya's Hadith Commentary On God's Creation Of This World, elaborates, "Following in the footsteps of Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd, Ibn Taymiyya then roots God's perpetual creativity in a Neoplatonic concept of God's perfection. Power and creativity are necessary concomitants of God's perfection. If God's creativity were not perpetual, God would have been devoid of His creativity, as well as other attributes of perfection, in pre-eternity."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya's appeals to the precedence of the "Qur’an" and the "Sunna" over the authority of the "madh'hab" system has inspired a wide range of Islamic reform movements over the last few centuries, and especially the "Salafiyya" reform movement that differ from other Sunnis who adhere to the four legal schools of "Fiqh" (jurisprudence). These include the 17th century Kadizadeli movement, 18th century Wahhabi movement as well as the Islamic reformist movement of Ibn al-Amīr Al-San’ani (d. 1768) and Muḥammad al-Shawkānī (d. 1834) in Yemen. In the nineteenth century, Taymiyyan tradition would expand across the Islamic World; influencing the "Ahl-i Hadith" movement in South Asia and the "Salafiyya" movement in Iraq, Syria and Egypt.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya adamantly insisted that his theological doctrines constituted the original creed of the "Salaf", as well as that of Abul Hasan al-Ash'ari; the eponym of the Ash'arite school. He also believed that "Sharia" (Islamic law) was best preserved through the teachings and practices of the "Salaf", the earliest three generations of Muslims. Modern Islamic revivalist movements salute Ibn Taymiyya as "the architect of Salafism", which symbolises the concept of reviving the traditions and values of the Golden Age of the prophet. For "Salafiyya" movements across the Islamic World, Ibn Taymiyya is their exemplar scholar who revived the methodology of the Salaf, and also a social reformer who defiantly stood against foreign occupation. Today, Salafi Muslims constitute the most avid readers and promoters of the works of Ibn Taymiyya.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Various concepts within modern Islamist movements can be attributed to Ibn Taymiyyah. Ibn Taymiyya is highly revered in contemporary militant Islamist and Jihadist circles for his 1303 Fatwa of "Takfir" (excommunication) against Mongol Ilkhanate rulers (who were recent converts to Islam) and his assertion that it became obligatory for "true Muslims" to wage "Jihad" against the apostate Mongol leaders and Muslim citizens who accepted the Yassa code. Influenced by Ibn Taymiyya, Sayyid Qutb would take up Ibn Taymiyya's anti-Mongol "fatwa" and apply it on contemporary regimes across the Islamic World. Ibn Taymiyya's other major theological mission was to re-assert the primacy of armed jihad in Islamic faith, which played a major role in shaping future militant interpretations of Islam. Along with total, literal adherence to Sharia, he held that waging martial jihad was an Islamic religious obligation for all Muslims, when under foreign invasion. These ideas would be readily embraced in the 20th century by various militant Islamist movements and underpinned the theological justification for militancy of groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, etc. Scholars like Yahya Michot have noted that Ibn Taymiyyah "has thus become a sort of forefather of al-Qaeda."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: One of main arguments put forth by Ibn Taymiyya was his categorising the world into distinct territories: the domain of Islam (dar al-Islam), where the rule is of Islam and sharia law is enforced; the domain of unbelief (dar-al-kufr) ruled by unbelievers; and the domain of war (dar al-harb) which is territory under the rule of unbelievers who are involved in an active or potential conflict with the domain of Islam. (Ibn Taymiyyah included a fourth. When the Mongols, whom he considered unbelievers, took control of the city of Mardin the population included many Muslims. Believing Mardin was neither the domain of Islam, as Islam was not legally applied with an armed forces consisting of Muslims, nor the domain of war because the inhabitants were Muslim, Ibn Taymiyyah created a new "composite" category, known as "dar al-`ahd".) A second concept is making a declaration of apostasy (takfir) against a Muslim who does not obey Islam. But at the same time Ibn Taymiyyah maintained that no one can question anothers faith and curse them as based on one's own desire, because faith is defined by God and the prophet. He said, rather than cursing or condemning them, an approach should be taken where they are educated about the religion.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Another concept attributed to Ibn Taymiyyah is, "the duty to oppose and kill Muslim rulers who do not implement the revealed law (shari'a). Based on this doctrine, Ibn Taymiyya excommunicated the Ilkhanid state for not ruling by "Sharia" (Islamic law); despite officially professing Islam. Ibn Taymiyya issued various "fatwas" obliging all Muslims to fight the Mongols; declaring them as "mushrikun" (polytheists) similar to the people from the age of "Jahiliyya" (pre-Islamic ignorance). Thus, he is widely regarded as the "spiritual forefather" of the Salafi-Jihadist thought. 20th century Islamist ideologues like Muhammad Rashid Rida, Sayyid Qutb, Abd al Salam Faraj, Usama bin Laden, etc. drew upon these revolutionary ideas to justify armed Jihad against the contemporary nation-states. Ibn Taymiyyah's fatwa on Alawites as "more infidel than Christians and Jews" has been recited by Muslim Brotherhood affiliated scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah's role in the Islamist movements of the twentieth and twenty first century have also been noted by the previous Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the United States Department of State, Daniel Benjamin, who labels the chapter on the history of modern Islamic movements in his book "The Age of Sacred Terror", as "Ibn Taymiyya and His children". Yossef Rapoport, a reader in Islamic history at Queen Mary, however, says this is not a probable narrative. Ibn Taymiyya's intellectual tradition and ideas such as his emphasis on the revival of pristine ideals and practices of early generations also made an intense impact on the leading ideologue of revolutionary Islamism in South Asia, Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi (1903–1979 C.E/ 1321–1399 A.H). Contemporary Salafi-Jihadist ideologues advocate Ibn Taymiyya's vision of militant Jihad which is simultaneously apocalyptic as well as expansionist.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: One of Ibn Taymiyyah's most famous fatwas are regarding the Mongols who had conquered and destroyed the Abbasid caliphate in 1258 and had then converted to Islam. Once they were in control the town of Mardin, they behaved unjustly with their subjects so the people of Mardin asked Ibn Taymiyyah for a legal verdict regarding the classification of the territory under which they live. He categorized the territory as "dar al-`ahd" which in some ways is similar to dar al-kufr (domain of unbelievers). Included in his verdict was declaring the Mongol ruler Ghazan and other Mongols who did not accept shari'a in full, as unbelievers. He was also asked whether Muslims living in Mardin had to emigrate ("Hijrah") to Islamic territories on account of implementation of man-made laws. Ibn Taymiyya responded in a detailed "fatwa":


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: According to Nettler and Kéchichian, Ibn Taymiyyah affirmed that Jihad against the Mongols, "was not only permissible but obligatory because the latter ruled not according to Sharīʿah but through their traditional, and therefore manmade, Yassa code. This essentially meant that Mongols were living in a state of "jāhilīyah "(ignorance)." The authors further state that his two famous students, Ibn Qayyim and Ibn Kathir, agreed with this ruling. He called for a defensive jihad to mobilise the people to kill the Mongol rulers and any one who supported them, Muslim or non-Muslim. Ibn Taymiyyah when talking about those who support the Mongols said, "Everyone who is with them (Mongols) in the state over which they rule has to be regarded as belonging to the most evil class of men. He is either an atheist (zindīq) or a hypocrite who does not believe in the essence of the religion of Islam. This means that he (only) outwardly pretends to be Muslim or he belongs to the worst class of all people who are the people of the bida` (heretical innovations)." Yahya Mochet says that, Ibn Taymiyyah's call to war was not simply to cause a "rebellion against the political power in place" but to repel an "external enemy".


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: In another series of fatwas, Ibn Taymiyya reiterated the religious obligation of Muslims to fight the Ilkhanids on account of their negligance of Islamic laws. He also took issue with their non-religious approach to dealing with various communities such as Christians, Jews, Budhhists, etc. and employing a large chunk of their armies with non-Muslims. Citing these and various other reasons, Ibn Taymiyya pronounced:


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: In 2010, a group of Islamic Scholars at the Mardin conference argued that Ibn Taymiyyah's famous fatwa about the residents of Mardin when it was under the control of the Mongols was misprinted into an order to "fight" the people living under their territory, whereas the actual statement is, "The Muslims living therein should be treated according to their rights as Muslims, while the non-Muslims living there outside of the authority of Islamic Law should be treated according to their rights." They have based their understanding on the original manuscript in the Al-Zahiriyah Library, and the transmission by Ibn Taymiyyah's student Ibn Muflih. The participants of the Mardin conference also rejected the categorization of the world into different domains of war and peace, stating that the division was a result of the circumstances at the time. The participants further stated that the division has become irrelevant with the existence of nation states.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyya is widely regarded as an anti-rationalist "hater of logic" and a strict literalist who was responsible for the demise of rationalist tendencies within the classical Sunni tradition. Through his polemical treatises such as al-"Radd ‘ala al-mantiqiyyın" (Refutation of the Rationalists); Ibn Taymiyya zealously denounced syllogism, which provided the rational foundations for both "Kalam" (speculative theology) and "Falsafa".


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Scholars like Ignac Goldziher described Ibn Taymiyya as a "Hanbalite zealot" who harshly denounced various practices as "bid'ah" (religious innovations) and rejected all forms of philosophical influences, speculative theology, Sufism and pantheistic doctrines like "Wahdat al-Wujud". According to Lebanese philosopher Majid Fakhry,"Ibn Taymiyah protests against the abuses of philosophy and theology and advocates a return to the orthodox ways of the ancients ("al-salaf")... in his religious zeal he is determined to abolish centuries of religious truth as they had been long before they became troubled by theological and philosophical controversies."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Others such as the French scholar Henri Laoust (1905-1983) have argued that such portrayals of Ibn Taymiyyah are flawed inasmuch as they are often borne of a limited reading of the theologian's substantial corpus of works, many of which have not yet been translated from the original Arabic According to Laoust, Ibn Taymiyyah wanted to reform the practice of medieval Sufism as part of his wider aim to reform Sunni Islam (of which Sufism was a major aspect at the time) by divesting both these traditions of what he perceived as heretical innovations within them.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Jamaat-e Islami leader Abdul Haq Ansari contends the ubiquitous notion that Ibn Taymiyyah rejected Sufism outright as erroneous. While "the popular image of Ibn Taymiyyah [is] ... that he [criticized] Sufism indiscriminately ... [was] deadly against the Sufis, and ... [saw] no place for Sufism in Islam," it is historically known, according to the same scholar, that Ibn Taymiyyah actually considered "Tasawwuf" to be a significant discipline of Islam. "Far from saying [Sufism] has no place in Islam", Ibn Taymiyya was on the whole "sympathetic" towards what everyone at the time considered an important aspect of Islamic life. Various scholars have also asserted that Ibn Taymiyyah had a deep reverence and appreciation for the works of such major Sufi "Awliyaa" (saints) such as Junayd, Sahl al-Tustari, Abu Talib al-Makki, Bayazid Bastami, etc. , and was part of the "Qadiriyya" Sufi order himself. Saudi scholar Hatem al-Awni has criticised Ibn Taymiyya over his sectarian discourse against Ash'arite and Maturidite schools as well as his creedal beliefs like three-fold classification of "Tawhid" (monotheism).


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: According to James Pavlin, Professor of theology at Rutgers University: "Ibn Taymiyya remains one of the most controversial Islamic thinkers today because of his supposed influence on many fundamentalist movements. The common understanding of his ideas have been filtered through the bits and pieces of his statements that have been misappropriated by alleged supporters and avowed critics alike."


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn Taymiyyah left a considerable body of work, ranging from 350 according to his student Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya to 500 according to his student al-Dhahabi. Oliver Leaman says that Ibn Taymiyyah produced some 700 works in the field of Islamic sciences. His scholarly output has been described as immense with a wide scope and its contents "bear the marks of brilliant insights hastily jotted down". It is the case however, that his works are not yet fully understood but efforts are being made, at least in the western languages to gain an adequate understanding of his writings. In his early life, his work was mostly based on theology and the use of reason in interpretation of scriptural evidences, with later works focusing on; refutation of Greek logic, questioning the prevalent practices of the time, and anti-Christian and anti-Shi'i polemics. Ibn Taymiyyah's total works have not all survived and his extant works of thirty five volumes, are incomplete. The ascendancy of scholastic interest in Ibn Taymiyya’s medieval treatises would recommence through the gradual efforts by 18 century Islamic reform movements. Arab Salafi theologians of Syria, Iraq and Egypt of the late 19 and early 20 centuries would edit, publish and mass-circulate many of his censured manuscripts amongst the Muslim public; making Ibn Taymiyya the most-read classical Islamic theologian in the world. As his scholarly impact gets increased; dissensions and altercations over Ibn Taymiyya's viewpoints continue to escalate.


title: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Many of Ibn Taymiyyah's books are thought to be lost. Their existence is known through various reports written by scholars throughout history as well as some treatises written by Ibn Taymiyyah. One particularly notable lost work is "al-Bahr al-Muhit", Forty volumes tafsir of the Qur'an (written in the prison of Damascus) that Ibn Hajar al`Asqalani mentions the existence of this work in his book, al-Durar al-Kamina.


title: William Levy (actor)

text: Levy was born in Cojimar, Cuba. His maternal grandfather was Jewish (the origin of his surname, "Levy"), although he grew up in a non-religious household. He was raised by his single mother, Barbara Levy. His family, including his brother Jonathan Gutierrez Levy and sister Barbara Gutierrez Levy, emigrated to Miami, Florida when he was 14. He attended Barbara Goleman Senior high school, located in the suburb of Miami Lakes. After attending high school, he studied business administration on a baseball scholarship at St. Thomas University for two years. He later went to Los Angeles to study acting, and continued his acting studies in Miami and Mexico City.


title: William Levy (actor)

text: Levy worked as a model for the Next Models agency, and was featured in two reality shows broadcast by Telemundo: "Isla de la Tentación" and "Protagonistas de Novela 2". In 2005 he performed at the Centro de Bellas Artes in San Juan, Puerto Rico, starring in the play "La Nena Tiene Tumbao".


title: William Levy (actor)

text: His debut on the Spanish-language channel Univision was in the Venevision International production of "Olvidarte Jamás". He later appeared in "Mi Vida Eres Tu" and "Acorralada". In 2008, he appeared in his first film, "Retazos de Vida", directed by Viviana Cordero. He was invited by television producer Carla Estrada to star in "Pasión", his breakthrough in Mexican telenovelas. Televisa cast him as the lead in "Cuidado con el Angel" with actress and ex-RBD singer Maite Perroni. The show was first broadcast in Mexico in June 2008, and began airing in the United States in September 2008 on Univision. It averaged 5 million viewers per evening.


title: William Levy (actor)

text: Levy starred alongside Jacqueline Bracamontes on "Sortilegio" in 2009 "Sortilegio" aired on Univision, and the finale drew 6.6 million viewers, beating ABC and CBS for viewers in that time slot. In November 2009, the actor lent his voice to the Spanish version of the animated movie "Planet 51". The movie opened on November 27 in Mexico and won an award for best animated Spanish-language film of 2009 (Premios Goya). From November 2009 to February 2010, Levy toured several Mexican cities with the play "Un Amante a la Medida", which toured in the United States in June 2010.


title: William Levy (actor)

text: Levy participated in the Mexican telenovela "Triunfo del Amor", a remake of the Venezuelan classic "Cristal", again with Maite Perroni. The telenovela aired on October 25, 2010, in El Canal de las Estrellas. Pedro Torres, executive producer of Mujeres Asesinas, confirmed Levy's role in the third season of the popular Mexican series. Levy starred as Jennifer Lopez's love interest in the music video "I'm Into You", from her album "Love?". It aired on NBC's Today on May 2, 2011. Levy appeared on the cover of "People en Español" for its special issue on the sexiest men of the year for 2011.


title: William Levy (actor)

text: In January 2012, it was announced that Levy would appear in two episodes of the VH1 television series "Single Ladies", with Denise Vasi. He was a participant in the 14th season of "Dancing with the Stars", with two-time mirror ball champion Cheryl Burke as his dance-pro partner; they finished in third place. In December 2012 Levy was cast as Captain Damian Fabre for the remake of "La Tormenta" titled "La Tempestad" which aired in 2013. Levy starred in "Addicted" an erotic drama based on the novel of the same name by Zane. Variety named Levy one of the Top 10 Latino Actors and Actresses in Hollywood.


title: William Levy (actor)

text: Levy co-starred in Tyler Perry's film "The Single Moms Club" (2014). Levy was cast in the lead role as Warrior in the Brent Ryan Green film "The Veil" (2017). In 2018, he began his role as Mateo Ferrera in the Fox musical drama series "Star".


title: William Levy (actor)

text: Levy is a naturalized United States citizen. He has been in an on-off relationship with Mexican-American actress Elizabeth Gutiérrez since 2003, and they have two children together, a son, Christopher Alexander, in 2006, and a daughter, Kailey Alexandra, on March 6, 2010. On July 11, 2009, Levy converted to Catholicism.


title: William Levy (actor)

text: He was born as William Gutiérrez Levy. He got the idea for his name change from a friend of his parents who tried helping the family get out of Cuba while William's mother was still pregnant, as he told "Entertainment Tonight". Levy is his mother's Jewish last name.


title: William Levy (actor)

text: In May 2012, while competing on "Dancing with the Stars", nude photos of Levy leaked. Levy responded by saying "I'm used to that already. [The photos] have been out already all over the world. I was a model when I did these things, so as a model there's nothing wrong [with] doing those kind[s] of things. You gotta work. You gotta make money".


title: William Levy (actor)

text: Levy is a philanthropist and donates his time to fix houses for low-income families in Mexico as part of the "Alianzas que Construyen" Televisa Foundation.


title: William Levy (actor)

text: Levy was announced to be a contestant on ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" partnering with two-time champion Cheryl Burke for season 14.


title: Berlin (band)

text: Berlin is an American new wave band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. The band gained commercial success in the 1980s with singles including "The Metro", "Sex (I'm A...)", "No More Words" and the chart-topping "Take My Breath Away" from the 1986 film "Top Gun", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. The group disbanded right after reaching global success. The best-known lineup consisted of singer Terri Nunn, bass guitarist and vocalist John Crawford, keyboardist David Diamond, guitarist Ric Olsen, keyboardist Matt Reid, and drummer Rob Brill.


title: Berlin (band)

text: The genesis of Berlin was the rock band "the Toys", formed in 1976 in Orange County, California, by John Crawford (bass guitar), Dan Van Patten (drums), Chris Ruiz-Velasco (guitar), and Tyson A.Cobb (vocals). After a few shows, the band changed its name to Berlin and stayed together for about three years but ultimately, discharging Cobb as lead singer in the process. After a brief time where Toni Childs was lead singer, Terri Nunn joined the band after answering an ad through the Musicians Contact Service in Hollywood in 1979. Despite its name, Berlin did not have any known major connections with the sometime capital of Germany; the name was chosen to make them seem European and exotic. Terri Nunn explained in a 2003 interview, "...Berlin started that way [electronic], and in a sense helped to bring that to America. 'Cause when we started, it was going on in Europe, but it wasn't really happening here yet." The band was inspired by the keyboard-oriented groups Kraftwerk, Devo, Sparks and The Screamers.


title: Berlin (band)

text: The band's first single, "A Matter of Time", was released in 1979 on Renegade Records and they appeared on television for the first time on the short-lived "Hollywood Heartbeat" hosted by former Fleetwood Mac guitarist, Bob Welch. Nunn left the group later that year to pursue an acting career forcing the band to replace her with Virginia Macolino. The band released the 1980 album "Information", with Macolino as lead vocalist, but the band struggled to sign with a mainstream label without Nunn. As band manager, Perry Watts-Russell explained, "Unfortunately, the record labels that had shown interest in December 1979, when Terri was the singer, were no longer keen to sign the band. So, by later that year, Berlin had effectively broken up, and John had formed and was the lead singer in another group, Fahrenheit, with Dan Van Patten. But he had some songs that he thought were better suited to Terri's voice, and he asked me if I thought she might be interested in singing them. We asked and she was."


title: Berlin (band)

text: Terri Nunn rejoined the band as singer in 1980, and they signed to independent label Enigma Records on which they released a double A-sided single, "Tell Me Why" / "The Metro". The single was intended as a one-off, since Crawford was by then focusing on his new band Fahrenheit and regarded Berlin as a "just for fun" side project. However, the single was a success, helping to finance the EP album, "Pleasure Victim", which was recorded on a $2,900 budget. The EP included their first significant hit: the controversial synth-driven "Sex (I'm A...)" (1982), which was banned by some radio stations due to its graphic lyrics. The song was intentionally written and composed to get airplay on Los Angeles area radio station KROQ, which specialized in playing music that was not heard on other stations, and of which members of the group were fans. Due to the attention brought on by the single, wider release offers were made by larger record labels for "Pleasure Victim". Geffen Records' offer was accepted and the label re-released "Pleasure Victim" worldwide in early 1983. The label also re-released "The Metro", which then became another hit. The band appeared at the 1983 US Festival.


title: Berlin (band)

text: In 1984, the band released their next album, "Love Life", and the single "No More Words", whose subsequent video saw Terri Nunn and bandmates re-enact a Bonnie and Clyde-style car chase and shoot-out, became their first top-40 hit. "Take My Breath Away" (for the movie "Top Gun soundtrack"), co-written and produced by Giorgio Moroder, became their best-selling single in 1986 and a huge international hit, but also their last big hit.


title: Berlin (band)

text: Aside from Nunn, members of the band were founding member John Crawford (primary songwriter, bass guitar and synthesizer), and David Diamond (synthesizer & guitar). Ric Olsen (lead guitar) was brought in during the final recording of "Pleasure Victim". Other members added were Matt Reid (synthesizer), Rob Brill (drums: 1983–1987) and Rod Learned (drums: 1979–1983). Berlin's breakout EP, 1982's "Pleasure Victim", featured Nunn, Crawford, and Diamond, as well as guitarist Olsen, drummer, synthesist and producer Dan Van Patten and guitarist Chris Ruiz-Velasco. (These last two were founding members, along with Crawford and original male vocalist Tyson A. Cobb.) Before "Pleasure Victim" was completed, Van Patten and Ruiz-Velasco parted ways with Nunn, Crawford, and Diamond. Ric Olsen was brought in to complete tracks on "Pleasure Victim".


title: Berlin (band)

text: Berlin officially disbanded in 1987, partly due to the lack of success of their album "Count Three & Pray" and because of personal disagreements over the single "Take My Breath Away". Nunn viewed it as a fresh new song that allowed the band to perform globally, while others disliked it as it had not been written or composed by any of them. Later, after the release of the 1991 solo album "Moment of Truth", Nunn retained the legal rights to usage of the band's name after legal wranglings with the founding member of the group, John Crawford. Nunn recreated Berlin, with a new lineup of musicians, in 1997. In 1999, Berlin opened for the Go-Go's on their West Coast reunion tour.


title: Berlin (band)

text: In 2000–2001, Berlin contributed to several artist tribute albums. The only track to make it on to a full Berlin release is a cover of Marilyn Manson's "The Dope Show", which is included on Berlin's "4play" album as well as the Marilyn Manson tribute album "Anonymous Messiah" (2001, Vitamin Records). Other tributes include material by Madonna, Blondie and Depeche Mode.


title: Berlin (band)

text: In 2004, Berlin was featured on the VH1 show, "Bands Reunited" where the roughly pre-"Love Life" era lineup of the band (John Crawford, Terri Nunn, David Diamond, Ric Olsen, Matt Reid and Rod Learned) agreed to reunite as a band and as friends. They played one show at The Roxy in California to a sold-out crowd.


title: Berlin (band)

text: The band, featuring Nunn supported by other members who were not part of the classic line-up, toured with rock band INXS during the summer of 2011. Gerald Casale of Devo created a video for Berlin which was scheduled to debut at a late November 2011 performance. Nunn herself was scheduled both to debut a radio show on KCSN-FM, and to record a new album, in 2012.


title: Berlin (band)

text: In July 2013, it was announced that a new album called "Animal" would be released on September 17, from which a single "It's The Way" would also be issued.


title: Berlin (band)

text: In an August 9, 2016, interview with "The Washington Times", Nunn announced the original members (Crawford, Nunn and Diamond) had been writing new material, and planning a tour and new album for 2017.


title: Berlin (band)

text: On the 80s Cruise 2018, Ric Olsen, David Diamond and John Crawford performed with the Nunn-fronted version of Berlin. Rather than replacing any of the existing members, Diamond and Crawford are merging with Nunn's current Berlin incarnation to form a six-person line-up. They performed two new songs from their forthcoming album. They jokingly announced the album's title would be "Woke", a suggestion from VJ Mark Goodman during a Q & A session on the cruise, and that the album would be released in July 2018. Although an official name has not been determined, the new album was scheduled for release later that year.


title: Berlin (band)

text: In May 2019, Terri Nunn announced that she and co-founders John Crawford and David Diamond would be reuniting for a new album, "Transcendance", to be released on August 2, 2019.


title: Berlin (band)

text: Berlin was among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire. The accuracy of this report was disputed by Vinny Vero, a music producer who works for the reissue label Cherry Red. Vero observed that Berlin's album masters were “safe and sound” while working on reissues of another Geffen recording artist. Later the same year, Universal located two session reels containing 11 unique or early versions of songs recorded in 1983 between "Pleasure Victim" and "Love Life", as well as an unreleased outtake from "Love Life".


title: Berlin (band)

text: On November 27, 2020, Berlin released their ninth album, "Strings Attached", which includes re-recordings of previous songs backed by a full orchestra.


title: Berlin (band)

text: On December 31, 2020, Terri Nunn performed as a solo act at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago New Year's Eve Party along with Vanilla Ice. Soon thereafter, Nunn expressed deep regret for participating in the event, stating not only that she did not intend it to be an endorsement or support of any political party, but also that she was unaware of the laxness of COVID laws in the State of Florida and was astonished to find that masks and social distancing were not required at the event, as she had been led to believe otherwise.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Athlete's foot, known medically as tinea pedis, is a common skin infection of the feet caused by a fungus. Signs and symptoms often include itching, scaling, cracking and redness. In rare cases the skin may blister. Athlete's foot fungus may infect any part of the foot, but most often grows between the toes. The next most common area is the bottom of the foot. The same fungus may also affect the nails or the hands. It is a member of the group of diseases known as "tinea".


title: Athlete's foot

text: Athlete's foot is caused by a number of different fungi, including species of "Trichophyton", "Epidermophyton", and "Microsporum". The condition is typically acquired by coming into contact with infected skin, or fungus in the environment. Common places where the fungi can survive are around swimming pools and in locker rooms. They may also be spread from other animals. Usually diagnosis is made based on signs and symptoms; however, it can be confirmed either by culture or seeing hyphae using a microscope.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Athlete's foot is not limited to just athletes: it can be caused by going barefoot in public showers, letting toenails grow too long, wearing shoes that are too tight, and not changing socks daily. It can be treated with topical antifungal medications such as clotrimazole or, for persistent infections, using oral antifungal medications such as terbinafine. Topical creams are typically recommended to be used for four weeks. Keeping infected feet dry and wearing sandals also assists with treatment.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Athlete's foot was first medically described in 1908. Globally, athlete's foot affects about 15% of the population. Males are more often affected than females. It occurs most frequently in older children or younger adults. Historically it is believed to have been a rare condition that became more frequent in the 20th century due to the greater use of shoes, health clubs, war, and travel.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Athlete's foot is divided into four categories or presentations: chronic interdigital, plantar (chronic scaly; aka "moccasin foot"), acute ulcerative, and vesiculobullous. "Interdigital" means between the toes. "Plantar" here refers to the sole of the foot. The ulcerative condition includes macerated lesions with scaly borders. Maceration is the softening and breaking down of skin due to extensive exposure to moisture. A vesiculobullous disease is a type of mucocutaneous disease characterized by vesicles and bullae (blisters). Both vesicles and bullae are fluid-filled lesions, and they are distinguished by size (vesicles being less than 5–10 mm and bulla being larger than 5–10 mm, depending upon what definition is used).


title: Athlete's foot

text: Athlete's foot occurs most often between the toes (interdigital), with the space between the fourth and fifth digits (the little toe and the fore toe) most commonly affected. Cases of interdigital athlete's foot caused by "Trichophyton rubrum" may be symptomless, it may itch, or the skin between the toes may appear red or ulcerative (scaly, flaky, with soft and white if skin has been kept wet), with or without itching. An acute ulcerative variant of interdigital athlete's foot caused by "T. mentagrophytes" is characterized by pain, maceration of the skin, erosions and fissuring of the skin, crusting, and an odor due to secondary bacterial infection.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Plantar athlete's foot (moccasin foot) is also caused by "T. rubrum" which typically causes asymptomatic, slightly erythematous plaques (areas of redness of the skin) to form on the plantar surface (sole) of the foot that are often covered by fine, powdery hyperkeratotic scales.


title: Athlete's foot

text: The vesiculobullous type of athlete's foot is less common and is usually caused by "T. mentagrophytes" and is characterized by a sudden outbreak of itchy blisters and vesicles on an erythematous base, usually appearing on the sole of the foot. This subtype of athlete's foot is often complicated by secondary bacterial infection by "Streptococcus pyogenes" or "Staphylococcus aureus".


title: Athlete's foot

text: As the disease progresses, the skin may crack, leading to bacterial skin infection and inflammation of the lymphatic vessels. If allowed to grow for too long, athlete's foot fungus may spread to infect the toenails, feeding on the keratin in them, a condition called onychomycosis.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Because athlete's foot may itch, it may also elicit the scratch reflex, causing the host to scratch the infected area before they realize it. Scratching can further damage the skin and worsen the condition by allowing the fungus to more easily spread and thrive. The itching sensation associated with athlete's foot can be so severe that it may cause hosts to scratch vigorously enough to inflict excoriations (open wounds), which are susceptible to bacterial infection. Further scratching may remove scabs, inhibiting the healing process. Scratching infected areas may also spread the fungus to the fingers and under the fingernails. If not washed away soon enough, it can infect the fingers and fingernails, growing in the skin and in the nails (not just underneath). After scratching, it can be spread to wherever the person touches, including other parts of the body and to one's environment. Scratching also causes infected skin scales to fall off into one's environment, leading to further possible spread. When athlete's foot fungus or infested skin particles spread to one's environment (such as to clothes, shoes, bathroom, etc.) whether through scratching, falling, or rubbing off, not only can they infect other people, they can also reinfect (or further infect) the host they came from. For example, infected feet infest one's socks and shoes which further expose the feet to the fungus and its spores when worn again.


title: Athlete's foot

text: The ease with which the fungus spreads to other areas of the body (on one's fingers) poses another complication. When the fungus is spread to other parts of the body, it can easily be spread back to the feet after the feet have been treated. And because the condition is called something else in each place it takes hold (e.g., tinea corporis (ringworm) or tinea cruris (jock itch)), persons infected may not be aware it is the same disease.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Some individuals may experience an allergic response to the fungus called an id reaction in which blisters or vesicles can appear in areas such as the hands, chest, and arms. Treatment of the underlying infection typically results in the disappearance of the id reaction.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Athlete's foot is a form of dermatophytosis (fungal infection of the skin), caused by dermatophytes, fungi (most of which are mold) which inhabit dead layers of skin and digest keratin. Dermatophytes are anthropophilic, meaning these parasitic fungi prefer human hosts. Athlete's foot is most commonly caused by the molds known as "Trichophyton rubrum" and "T. mentagrophytes", but may also be caused by "Epidermophyton floccosum". Most cases of athlete's foot in the general population are caused by "T. rubrum"; however, the majority of athlete's foot cases in athletes are caused by "T. mentagrophytes".


title: Athlete's foot

text: According to the UK's National Health Service, "Athlete's foot is very contagious and can be spread through direct and indirect contact." The disease may spread to others directly when they touch the infection. People can contract the disease indirectly by coming into contact with contaminated items (clothes, towels, etc.) or surfaces (such as bathroom, shower, or locker room floors). The fungi that cause athlete's foot can easily spread to one's environment. Fungi rub off of fingers and bare feet, but also travel on the dead skin cells that continually fall off the body. Athlete's foot fungi and infested skin particles and flakes may spread to socks, shoes, clothes, to other people, pets (via petting), bed sheets, bathtubs, showers, sinks, counters, towels, rugs, floors, and carpets.


title: Athlete's foot

text: When the fungus has spread to pets, it can subsequently spread to the hands and fingers of people who pet them. If a pet frequently gnaws upon itself, it might not be fleas it is reacting to, it may be the insatiable itch of tinea.


title: Athlete's foot

text: One way to contract athlete's foot is to get a fungal infection somewhere else on the body first. The fungi causing athlete's foot may spread from other areas of the body to the feet, usually by touching or scratching the affected area, thereby getting the fungus on the fingers, and then touching or scratching the feet. While the fungus remains the same, the name of the condition changes based on where on the body the infection is located. For example, the infection is known as tinea corporis ("ringworm") when the torso or limbs are affected or tinea cruris (jock itch or dhobi itch) when the groin is affected. Clothes (or shoes), body heat, and sweat can keep the skin warm and moist, just the environment the fungus needs to thrive.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Besides being exposed to any of the modes of transmission presented above, there are additional risk factors that increase one's chance of contracting athlete's foot. Persons who have had athlete's foot before are more likely to become infected than those who have not. Adults are more likely to catch athlete's foot than children. Men have a higher chance of getting athlete's foot than women. People with diabetes or weakened immune systems are more susceptible to the disease. HIV/AIDS hampers the immune system and increases the risk of acquiring athlete's foot. Hyperhidrosis (abnormally increased sweating) increases the risk of infection and makes treatment more difficult.


title: Athlete's foot

text: When visiting a doctor, the basic diagnosis procedure applies. This includes checking the patient's medical history and medical record for risk factors, a medical interview during which the doctor asks questions (such as about itching and scratching), and a physical examination. Athlete's foot can usually be diagnosed by visual inspection of the skin and by identifying less obvious symptoms such as itching of the affected area.


title: Athlete's foot

text: If the diagnosis is uncertain, direct microscopy of a potassium hydroxide preparation of a skin scraping (known as a KOH test) can confirm the diagnosis of athlete's foot and help rule out other possible causes, such as candidiasis, pitted keratolysis, erythrasma, contact dermatitis, eczema, or psoriasis. Dermatophytes known to cause athlete's foot will demonstrate multiple septate branching hyphae on microscopy.


title: Athlete's foot

text: A Wood's lamp (black light), although useful in diagnosing fungal infections of the scalp (tinea capitis), is not usually helpful in diagnosing athlete's foot, since the common dermatophytes that cause this disease do not fluoresce under ultraviolet light.


title: Athlete's foot

text: There are several preventive foot hygiene measures that can prevent athlete's foot and reduce recurrence. Some of these include: keeping the feet dry; clipping toenails short; using a separate nail clipper for infected toenails; using socks made from well-ventilated cotton or synthetic moisture wicking materials (to soak moisture away from the skin to help keep it dry); avoiding tight-fitting footwear; changing socks frequently; and wearing sandals while walking through communal areas such as gym showers and locker rooms.


title: Athlete's foot

text: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Nails should be clipped short and kept clean. Nails can house and spread the infection." Recurrence of athlete's foot can be prevented with the use of antifungal powder on the feet.


title: Athlete's foot

text: The fungi (molds) that cause athlete's foot require warmth and moisture to survive and grow. There is an increased risk of infection with exposure to warm, moist environments (e.g., occlusive footwear—shoes or boots that enclose the feet) and in shared humid environments such as communal showers, shared pools, and treatment tubs. Chlorine bleach is a disinfectant and common household cleaner that kills mold. Cleaning surfaces with a chlorine bleach solution prevents the disease from spreading from subsequent contact. Cleaning bathtubs, showers, bathroom floors, sinks, and counters with bleach helps prevent the spread of the disease, including reinfection.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Keeping socks and shoes clean (using bleach in the wash) is one way to prevent fungi from taking hold and spreading. Avoiding the sharing of boots and shoes is another way to prevent transmission. Athlete's foot can be transmitted by sharing footwear with an infected person. Hand-me-downs and purchasing used shoes are other forms of shoe-sharing. Not sharing also applies to towels, because, though less common, fungi can be passed along on towels, especially damp ones.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Athlete's foot resolves without medication (resolves by itself) in 30–40% of cases. Topical antifungal medication consistently produces much higher rates of cure.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Conventional treatment typically involves thoroughly washing the feet daily or twice daily, followed by the application of a topical medication. Because the outer skin layers are damaged and susceptible to reinfection, topical treatment generally continues until all layers of the skin are replaced, about 2–6 weeks after symptoms disappear. Keeping feet dry and practicing good hygiene (as described in the above section on prevention) is crucial for killing the fungus and preventing reinfection.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Treating the feet is not always enough. Once socks or shoes are infested with fungi, wearing them again can reinfect (or further infect) the feet. Socks can be effectively cleaned in the wash by adding bleach or by washing in water 60 °C (140 °F). Washing with bleach may help with shoes, but the only way to be absolutely certain that one cannot contract the disease again from a particular pair of shoes is to dispose of those shoes.


title: Athlete's foot

text: To be effective, treatment includes all infected areas (such as toenails, hands, torso, etc.). Otherwise, the infection may continue to spread, including back to treated areas. For example, leaving fungal infection of the nail untreated may allow it to spread back to the rest of the foot, to become athlete's foot once again.


title: Athlete's foot

text: Allylamines such as terbinafine are considered more efficacious than azoles for the treatment of athlete's foot.


title: Athlete's foot

text: There are many topical antifungal drugs useful in the treatment of athlete's foot including: miconazole nitrate, clotrimazole, tolnaftate (a synthetic thiocarbamate), terbinafine hydrochloride, butenafine hydrochloride and undecylenic acid. The fungal infection may be treated with topical antifungal agents, which can take the form of a spray, powder, cream, or gel. Topical application of an antifungal cream such as butenafine once daily for one week or terbinafine once daily for two weeks is effective in most cases of athlete's foot and is more effective than application of miconazole or clotrimazole. Plantar-type athlete's foot is more resistant to topical treatments due to the presence of thickened hyperkeratotic skin on the sole of the foot. Keratolytic and humectant medications such as urea, salicyclic acid (Whitfield's ointment), and lactic acid are useful adjunct medications and improve penetration of antifungal agents into the thickened skin. Topical glucocorticoids are sometimes prescribed to alleviate inflammation and itching associated with the infection.


title: Athlete's foot

text: A solution of 1% potassium permanganate dissolved in hot water is an alternative to antifungal drugs. Potassium permanganate is a salt and a strong oxidizing agent.


title: Athlete's foot

text: For severe or refractory cases of athlete's foot oral terbinafine is more effective than griseofulvin. Fluconazole or itraconazole may also be taken orally for severe athlete's foot infections. The most commonly reported adverse effect from these medications is gastrointestinal upset.