Does teaching a verse make the learner one's slave?
2026-10-14
T179 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Complete individual question and response within a collected question
One complete individual question and response from a collected question about reports circulated by storytellers and others. The quoted report in the question is presented for assessment, not endorsed. The answer gives Ibn Taymiyyah's own assessment.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
ومما يروون: "من علم أخاه آية من كتاب الله فقد ملك رقه".
الجواب
الحمد لله، هذا كذب ليس في شيء من كتب أهل العلم.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Among the reports they circulate is: “Whoever teaches his brother a verse from Allah's Book has thereby gained ownership of him as a slave.”
Answer
Praise be to Allah. This is false and is not in any of the books of the people of knowledge.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 18/381
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic collated with the cited edition and a second transcription: https://quranislam.github.io/fatwa/ibn-taymiyyah/fatwa291.html. Each individual report and its full reply is preserved within the larger collected question. Diacritics omitted and honorific glyphs expanded. Titles and scope notes are editorial.