How did Ibn Taymiyyah assess “Let me live and die a miskīn”?
2026-10-14
T181 · 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. The Arabic miskīn can refer to poverty or lowliness; Ibn Taymiyyah explicitly explains the intended sense here as submissive humility.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
ومما يروون عنه أيضا : "اللهم أحيني مسكينا، وأمتني مسكينا، واحشرني في زمرة المساكين".
الجواب
هذا يروي، لكنه ضعيف لا يثبت، ومعناه أحيني خاشعا متواضعا، لكن اللفظ لم يثبت.
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 also attribute to him is: “O Allah, let me live as a miskīn, let me die as a miskīn, and gather me among the masākīn.”
Answer
This is narrated, but it is weak and not established. Its meaning is: “Let me live in submissive humility and modesty.” The wording, however, is not established.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 18/382
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.