Abul-Qasim as-Sabti — the scholar and world explorer — regarded a then-36-year-old Ibn Taymiyyah to be the most knowledgeable person he had encountered in the East and the West. He therefore wrote to him requesting advice concerning four matters:
- Advice that would benefit him in his religion and his worldly life
- A comprehensive book that would suffice him in the field of knowledge
- The best supererogatory acts of worship
- The most profitable earnings
The result is a classic must-read book, concise in size yet immense in content. Explained by one of the leading scholars of jurisprudence, Shaykh Sulaymaan Ar-Ruhaylee, this manuscript covers the subjects of seeking knowledge, the Hereafter, employment and trade, jurisprudence, repentance, 'aqidah, hadith, du'a, worship, etiquette, and much more.
Why This Exchange Is Worth Preserving
Because Ibn Taymiyyah's answer, concise as it is, ranges across all four questions — a compact map of what a serious Muslim life actually requires, from one of the most prolific scholars in Islamic history distilled into a single short response.
About Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is one of the greatest scholars and reformers in Islamic history, who emerged at a time of great turmoil and confusion to call the Muslims to return to the path of the Qur'an and Sunnah — the path of the Prophet ﷺ and the early generations of this Ummah (the Salaf).
He wrote many books, often under the most difficult of circumstances, addressing the arguments of Muslim philosophers and deviant sects and pointing out the flaws in their reasoning. His thoughts remain relevant today, in an era similarly marked by confusion and competing ideologies, at a time when the Ummah is increasingly recognizing that the way forward is a return to the path of the Salaf.
Who It Is For
Any Muslim wanting practical advice across the range of ordinary religious life, and admirers of Ibn Taymiyyah looking for an accessible entry point into his thought.
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