How Imām Ibn Taymiyyah Treated His Illness With Studying

Imām Ibn Al-Qayyim said:

“Our Shaykh—i.e., Ibn Taymiyyah—said to me:

‘I had an illness, so the doctor said to me:

‘Verily, your reading and speech regarding knowledge will intensify the illness.’

So, I said to him:

‘I cannot abstain from that. And I will debate you based on your science [i.e., medicine]. Is it not so, that when the soul is cheerful and delighted, the [human] nature strengthens and illness is repelled?

He said: ‘Of course!’

So, I said to him:

‘My soul is delighted with knowledge, so [my] nature will be strengthened with it, and I will find comfort.’

So, he said:

‘This is outside our scope of treatment’—or something similar.’”

Ref.: Rawḍah Al-Muḥibbīn p. 109 | Tweeted By Shaykh ʿAbdullāh Al-Bukhārī (حفظه اللّٰه)