Asma Muallafat Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya
- Author died
- 751 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kitāb al-Jadīd
Asma Muallafat Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya (Names of the Works of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya) is a 14th-century bibliographical treatise cataloging the writings of Ibn Taymiyya, authored by his student Ibn Rushayq al-Maghribi (d. 749 AH / 1348 CE) though historically attributed to Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751 AH / 1350 CE).
Authorship and Context
The treatise was traditionally attributed to Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in several bibliographical references and early modern printings. Later scholarly examination demonstrated that the text was composed by Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, known as Sibt Ibn Rushayq al-Maliki al-Maghribi (d. 749 AH).
Ibn Rushayq was one of Ibn Taymiyya's closest companions and copyists. According to Ibn Kathir, he was exceptionally skilled at deciphering Ibn Taymiyya's handwriting—even retrieving words that eluded the author himself—and was noted for his rapid copying, personal piety, and devotion. Ibn Rushayq observed that completely cataloging Ibn Taymiyya's writings was practically impossible because Ibn Taymiyya wrote continuously at great speed and largely from memory without quoting from books.
Scope and Contents
The work provides an inventory of Ibn Taymiyya's extensive literary output, recording major books, short treatises (rasa'il), legal and doctrinal principles (qawa'id), responsa, and commentaries on Qur'anic verses and chapters.
In documenting these texts, the author frequently notes the approximate length of each work by leaf count (waraqah). Examples include:
- A treatise on patience and gratitude (Qa'ida fi al-Sabr wa-l-Shukr), described as approximately sixty leaves.
- Treatises on spiritual annihilation and ecstatic absorption (Qawa'id fi al-Fana' wa-l-Istilam), listed as about thirty leaves.
- Specific legal treatises, such as a rule on the legal status of playing chess (al-La'ib bi-l-Shatranj).
The text also contains biographical details concerning the preservation and confiscation of Ibn Taymiyya's writings, noting that around fourteen bundles of his late writings produced during his final imprisonment in the Damascus Citadel remained held by the authorities at the time of his death.
Editions and Reception
The treatise has served as a primary source for early bibliographies and biographies of Ibn Taymiyya, including those by Ibn Abd al-Hadi in al-'Uqud al-Durriyya and al-Safadi in al-Wafi bi-l-Wafayat.
It was edited by Dr. Salah al-Din al-Munajjid and published under the title Asma Muallafat Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya as a work of Ibn al-Qayyim. It was subsequently re-edited under Ibn Rushayq's name and included in al-Jami' li-Sirat Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya, edited by Muhammad Uzayr Shams and Ali ibn Muhammad al-Umran.
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