Ibn Taymiyyah

Ibn Taymiyyah

(born 1263, Harran, Mesopotamia—died Sept. 26, 1328, Cairo) Islamic theologian. He was educated in Damascus, where he joined the Pietist school. He sought to return Islam to a strict interpretation of its sources in the Qur'an and the sunnah, as well as to rid it of customs he considered contrary to the law, including the worship of saints. He was imprisoned repeatedly in Cairo after his outspoken criticisms offended religious authorities. He spent his last 15 years as a schoolmaster in Damascus, where he gathered many disciples. He died in prison. His writings are a major source of the Wahhabiyyah, a puritanical movement founded by Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab.