Refuting ISIS: A Rebuttal Of Its Religious And Ideological Foundations
The
Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) constitutes the most serious threat
Islam has ever faced. To justify its horrible crimes and appeal to Muslims
around the world, ISIS has based its ideology on a superficial and literalist
approach to the Sacred Texts of Islam - the Holy Qur'an and the Prophetic
Tradition. ISIS manipulates religion to brainwash angry young Muslims, who have
little knowledge of Islamic theology and jurisprudence. Therefore, the Muslim
scholars are obliged to respond with a counter-narrative that elucidates the
reality of Islam and its commitment to tolerance. There exists a plethora of
proofs that demonstrates ISIS’ actions do not represent Sunni Islam and its
claims are based on clear fallacies. The author, Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi, a
renowned scholar and one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world
today, presents in this invaluable book a thorough refutation of ISIS’ beliefs
and crimes. Providing authentic quotes that destroy the allegations of ISIS,
Shaykh Al-Yaqoubi reaches the conclusion that this group does not represent
Islam, its declaration of a caliphate is invalid, and fighting it is an
obligation upon Muslims.
Refuting ISIS – Further rebutting ISIS and its ideological foundations
This
second edition of the book comes after the heinous attacks that ISIS
perpetrated in Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, France, the USA and Indonesia.
These
attacks, which must be condemned by Muslim scholars and preachers around the
world, are another testimony that, by killing women, children, and civilians,
ISIS betrayed Islam, betrayed the Holy Quran, and betrayed the teachings of
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
New
subjects are also tackled, such as the invalidity of excommunicating Muslim rulers
for not applying certain aspects of Shari’ah, Islam’s position towards
democracy, and the prohibition of destroying pre-Islamic monuments and sacred
sites. Several other topics benefitted from more rigorous proofs, especially
the section confirming that ISIS criminals have left the fold of Islam and are
no longer Muslims.
---
Dr.
Shabir Ally discusses this book!
ISIS
tries to justify its horrible crimes by appealing to Islamic teachings.
Many community leaders across North America
have condemned the acts of ISIS. But what about the perspective of those beyond
the western world – what do they have to say?
Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, a scholar from Damascus,
has written a new book called Refuting Isis.
---
Sayyidi
al-Habib Ali al-Jifri explaining succinctly the root causes of many
tribulations in the world today.
He
carefully breaks down the ideological fallacies of many groups like ISIS and
how they are incorrect in declaring 'Shirk' (Idolatry or Polytheism) onto those
that differ with them.
Habib
Ali al-Jifri says:
'There
is a huge difference between one who does something forbidden and one who
commits shirk.
Shirk
removes one from the religion. How did this bloodshed today start?
Trivialising
the attribution of shirk to Muslims has resulted in great calamities such that
there is unjust spilling of blood today.
It
began with the generations who were brought up to view accusations of shirk and
disbelief as a light matter.'
---
Ibn
Abbas
reported: On the morning of Aqabah the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings
be upon him, said while upon his camel, “Pick up some pebbles for me.” So I
picked up seven pebbles about the size of a pea. He began to toss them in his
hand, saying, “Throw something like these.” Then he said, “O people, beware of exaggeration
in religionfor
those who came before you were only destroyed because ofexaggerationin religion.”[Sunan ibn Majah, 3029]
---
Extracts from
NEW KHARIJISM
From
Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani's
"200Years of New Kharijismand the Ongoing Revision of Islam",
May Allah
send blessings and greetings of peace on our Master Muhammad(s) the Seal of
Prophets, who said:
"Halaka al-mutanatti`ûn -
Extremists shall most certainly perish,"
repeating it three
times. [Sahih Muslim]
[...]
These two
phenomena: depraved
leadership and exclusionism, are therefore the mainstays of New Kharijism in our time. What clearer proof of this
than what took place in Makka on November 20,1979, when hundreds of armed men seized the Mosque under
the 36-year old Juhayman ibn Muhammad ibn Sayf
al-`Utaybiand proclaimed him as the
new leader of the country.They held it for two weeks during which they
practiced worse than zinâ with the women they
held captive and those they had brought with them!
The New
York Times wrote, "There
were hundreds of casualties on both sides before Saudi forces were able to drag
out the last remnant of what by then was a bunch of
filthy, bedraggled young men."
Al-`Utaybiand sixty-threeof the captured were later executed by public
beheading without any protest from anyone.
Who
taught these wild young people their ways?
As Sayyid
Yusuf al-Rifa`i said,
addressing the followers of Ibn Baz:"Your teacher was [their]
teacher."
The sect of
the Kharijis or Khawârij lived in the time of the Successors of the Companions.
They were a large group of several tens of thousands of Muslims comprising
mostly Qur'an memorizers and devoted worshippers who prayed and fasted above
the norm.
They declared the totality of the Companions of the Prophet(s) and
whoever of the Muslims were with them to be apostate disbelievers and took up
arms against them. Consequently, some of the Ulema of Ahl al-Sunna argued
that the Khawarij themselves had left Islam for
committing such acts.
Abu Mansur
al-Baghdadi said in the
beginning of his al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq (p. 11):
The Khawarij
are considered legally to belong to the Umma in certain rulings such as burial
in Muslim cemetaries, share in the spoils of war, praying in the masjids; and
they are outside the Umma in other rulings, such as not being prayed upon after
death, nor does one pray behind them in life,[2] their dhabîha is harâm not
halâl, their marriage with a Sunni woman is invalid, and a Sunni man is
forbidden from marrying one of their women if she adheres to their doctrines.
Ali ibn
Abi Talib(RA) said to
the Khawarij:
"Our responsibility towards you is threefold:
1)we
shall not initiate fighting with you;
2)we
will not prevent you from praying in the mosques of Allah in which His name is remembered;
3)we
do not prevent you from your share in the spoils (fay') as long as you fight
with us." And Allah
knows best.
The name
of Khawârij is applied to those who part ways
with the Muslims and declare them disbelievers, as took place in our time with the
followers ofIbn `Abd al-Wahhab who came
out of Najd and attacked the Two Noble
Sanctuaries. [Ibn `Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar `ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar (3:309),
Bab al-Bughat [Chapter on Rebels]
The Khawârij altered the interpretation of the Qur'an and Sunna, on the
strength of which they declared it lawful to kill and take the property of
Muslims as may now be seen in their modern counterparts, namely, a sect in the
Hijaz called Wahhabis.[Al-Sawi, Hashiya `ala Tafsir al-Jalalayn
(v. 58:18-19) in the Cairo, 1939 al-Mashhad al-Husayni edition (3:307-8) repr.
Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-`Arabi in Beirut.]
The above
excerpts are nothing new.
The
categorization of the Wahhabisas Kharijis has been a
leitmotiv of Sunni heresiography for the past 200 years. Only
now, has it become politically incorrect among the Ulema.
Since the
fall of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924,
the only manifestation of Kharijism to remain is
the declaring of Muslims apostate. The exercise of takfîr and tashrîk are
therefore the chief marks by which neo-Kharijis can be recognized in our time.
They are
those who address the Muslims with the shouts and libels ofkâfir! mushrik! kufr!
bid`a! shirk! harâm! ("apostate,"
"polytheist," "unbelief," "innovation,"
"idolatry," "forbidden") without proof nor justification
other than their own vain lusts - and without solution other than exclusionism
and violence against anyone that disagrees with them.
So, to
perpetrate takfîr of the Muslims today makes one a Khariji,regardless whether one calls oneself Sunni,
"Salafi," Ash`ari, Shi`i, Sufi, or Ibadi.
Since all
sincere Muslims are "People Who Hold That Allah is Transcendent" (Ahl
al-Tanzîh) and are people who love their Prophet(s) , it follows that this third
principle - dismantlement of Sunni Schools - is by far the most harmful
tenet of New Kharijism in our time and its most
devastating achievement.
This
dismantlement has polluted pure belief with nagging doubts in our pious Muslim
Predecessors (al-Salaf
al-Sâlih) and a general arrogant rejection of Islamic authority resulting in
libeling whoever follows a madhhab a "blind
follower" (muqallid a`mâ), whoever
adheres to the Sunni Ash`ari creed a "Jahmi
nullifier of the Divine Attributes" (mu`attil), and whoever follows
a Sufi path, a "shaykh-worshipping
grave-lover" (turuqî qubûrî)!
These
despicable labelsare all the more ironic in light of the fact that it is
usually those who apply them who are more aptly characterized by what they
pretend to blame.
Thus, they
accuse us of blind-following
but are themselves immersed up to their necks in the blind-following of
innovators such as al-Albani
who confessed not having
memorized the Book of Allah nor a single book of hadith;
Ibn
Bazthe mufti of
flip-flops, al-Jaza'iri
who
decided who goes to Paradise and who goes to Hell, and countless others of
those the Prophet(s) warned us about in the hadith of "the minor scoundrels"!
["Just before the Anti-Christ there will be years of great
deception in which people will disbelieve one who tells the truth and believe
the liar. They will distrust one who is trustworthy and trust one who is
treacherous. And the ruwaybida will speak."
They asked:
"What is the ruwaybida?" He said: "The
minor scoundrel (al-fuwaysiq) who will have his say in general affairs."
Narrated
from Anas by Ahmad (21:24-25 #13298) and Abu Ya`la (6:379) in their Musnads,
the latter with a chain of trustworthy narrators according to Shaykh Husayn
Asad; and from Abu Hurayra by Ibn Majah and Ahmad with al-tâfih ("the
worthless man") and al-safîh ("the impudent fool") instead of
fuwaysiq. Both narrations are fair (hasan) according to Shaykh Shu`ayb
al-Arna'ut. Note that the term fuwaysiq also denotes the gecko, which the
Prophet(s) ordered to kill due to its harm.]
They
accuse us of worshipping Shaykhs
but they themselves enthrone as their "Shaykh
al-Islam" Ibn Taymiyya who believed, like Jahm ibn Safwan, that Hellfire
would come to an end - as revealed by his close student Ibn al-Qayyim[In
Hadi al-Arwah (p. 249 and 253).]
- in
absolute contradiction to the Imams of the Salaf!
Who, then,
is the real "Shaykh-worshipper"?
They
accuse us of Jahmismbut follow the exact way of Jahmis
literally and step-by-step as described
by their own idolal-Barbahari in his Sharh Kitab al-Sunnain
that they "consider licit the use of the sword against the Community of
the Prophet ; contrave all those who came before them; investigate people with
matters the Prophet never said nor any of his Companions; try to close mosques,
humiliate Islam, and get rid of jihad; strive toward disunity; contradict the
narrations of the Prophet and the Companions; argue on the basis of abrogated
texts; use ambiguous texts as proofs; instill doubt in people over their
Religion; and argue concerning their Lord [i.e. His Attributes]!
[Al-Barbahari
in Sharh Kitab al-Sunna, as cited by Ibn Abi Ya`la in Tabaqat al-Hanabila
(2:30).]
Therefore,
not only are they the Jahmisand not we, but also, as Sayyid Yusuf pointed out,
they are the Mu`tazilabecause they "concur
with them in denying sainthood and saints." [9]
Al-Qushayri defined the walî as "One whose obedience attains
permanence without interference of sin; whom Allah Most High preserves and
guards, in permanent fashion, from the failures of sin through the power of
acts of obedience."[10]
These are present in the Umma until the end of
time, as stated by the Prophet(s) in his mass-transmitted (mutawatir) narration
on the Victorious Group.
Yet the New Kharijis in our time deny that they can be known!
They also
accuse us of worshipping gravesonly because we insist on the Sunna of visiting the graves
just as our Prophet(s) insisted on it due to their reminder of the Hereafter.
It is an honor, therefore, to be taken to task for doing something which the
Prophet(s) loved to do and insisted upon.
Here we
wish to ask our critics a question:
When His Highness King Sa`ud ibn `Abd al-`Aziz intervened
with the Syrian government in the fifties to preserve
the tombs of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathir from obliteration at the
time the University of Damascus was being built,why did no-one call
him a qubûrî grave-lover?
Another
consequence of the dismantlement of the Sunni Schools is the execration of
fathers by sons as apostates (takfîr al-âbâ') and its hideous consequence on
the fabric of traditional societies.
Africans
tell the story of a young man
sent to study Shari`a at great expense by his Sunni Muslim parents.
Upon his
return a few years later he refused to eat a chicken slaughtered in his honor
by his father on the grounds that "my father is
a mushrik."
What
perverse trick or brain-washing is this, that turns a traditional Sunni Muslim sent by his pious
parents to the fountainhead of Islam and the abode of the Last Prophet (s) only for him to return as one who hates and despises his own
parents - the greatest sin after polytheism?
Hardly
anything can be uglier than a Muslim son declaring his Muslim father apostate
after spending two or three years supposedly studying the Qur'an and the Sunna,
which are Light upon Light brought to humanity by the Mercy to the worlds !
Yet, uglier still
is the further consequence of violence at the societal level wreaked by
extremists on the Muslims of Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Afghanistan, Daghistan,
Chechnya, and within the Indian Subcontinent.
The perpetrators are thegraduates of Wahhabithinkers
such as the Egyptian ex-Socialist Sayyid Qutb,who considered that a Muslim is either a "revolutionist" (thawrî) or a disbeliever,[11] and went so far as to declare all
of the Islamic societies of his time apostate and fit to be overthrown before
turning to the annihilation of non-Muslim states:
"Islam is a force
that runs to give freedom to all people on the earth with no regard to the
variety of their religious beliefs. When this force meets with aberrant forces,
it is its duty to struggle and annihilate them."[12] In all this, no differences are tolerated for "Islam is
a whole: its separated parts should be united and the differences removed,"[13]
just like
the Kharijis of old.
Today his spiritual children- such as the followers of Taqi
al-Din al-Nabahani,who are outlawed
in most Muslim countries - tell us not to participate in government, not to sit
on jury duty, nor vote, nor sit on interfaith terms, nor recite remembrance of
Allah Most High in collective gatherings of dhikr, nor commemorate
the birthday of our Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - (mawlid)
nor recite poetry in his honor, nor wear turbans and revive the vestimentary
Sunna of the Prophet and the early Salaf, nor be
strong and thoughtful Muslims in the society, but to
stay alone in our corner and plan destruction and hatred of all that is other
than us.
Our answer
is that Dhikr of Allah is the most excellent act of His servants and is
stressed over a hundred times in the Holy Qur'an! It is the most praiseworthy work to earn
His pleasure, the most effective weapon to overcome the enemy, and the most
deserving of deeds in reward. It is the flag of Islam, the polish of hearts,
the essence of the science of faith, the immunization against hypocrisy, the
head of worship, and the key of all success. Nor are there any restrictions on
the modality, frequency, or timing of dhikr whatsoever. The restrictions on
modality pertain to certain specific obligatory acts which are not the issue
here, such as Salât. The Shari`a is clear and everyone knows what they have to
do! Indeed, the Prophet said that the People of Paradise will only regret one
thing: not having made enough dhikr in the world! Are not those who are making
up reasons to discourage others from making dhikr afraid of Allah in this
tremendous matter?
They want
to convince traditional, moderate Muslims that "celebrating Mawlid does
not earn you any reward in the Religion, you should mount fundraisers or media
action alerts."
But, as
one sensible respondant said,
Allah Most High has Himself promised to give us blessings for doing good works.
This could mean difficult things like being kind to one's enemies or those who
hurt you, a moderately easy thing like presenting a happy countenance to one's
spouse at all times, or even the simplest things like removing an obstacle from
the thoroughfare. In other words, all good deeds earn the doer blessings and
merits from Allah Most High.
Are you
now saying that making du`â for the added honor of the Prophet(s) , or
commemorating his noble deeds and magnificent character in order to firm the
hearts of the believers (as happens in most mawlid celebrations), ranks even
lower than any of the examples I gave above?
Glory to
my Lord Most High! May Allah grant this Community respite from such extreme and
narrow-minded folk.
---
(Edited by ADHM)
Imam
Abu Hanifah
(RA) said: ‘If it was not for Ali (RA) we would not know the Khawārij [truth about them and how to deal with
them].’
وكان إبن عمر رضي الله عنهما يَراهم شِرارخلق الله، وقال: “إنطلقوا إلى آيات
نزلت في الكفار فجعلوها على المؤمنين
Ibn
Umar
(RA) would call the “Khawarij” as the evilest of
the creatures of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and he said that “they studied the ayaat that Allah revealed
regarding the disbelievers and they applied them
on the believer”
عن علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه، أنه قال: سمعت رسول الله صلّى الله عليه
وسلّم يقول: سيخرج قوم في آخر الزمان، أحداث الأسنان سفهاء الأحلام، يقولون من خير
قول البريّة لا يجاوز إيمانهم حناجرهم، يمرقون من الدّين كما يمرق السّهم من الرّمية،
فأينما لقيتموهم فاقتلوهم فإن في قتلهم أجراً لمن قتلهم يوم القيامة
Imam
Bukhari
reports in his isnad from Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA) that he said “I heard
the Prophet صلى
الله عليه وسلم say : There would arise at the end of the age a people who
would be young in age and immature in thought, but they would talk (in such a
manner) as if their words are the best among the creatures. They would recite
the Qur’an, but it would not go beyond their throats, and they would pass
through the religion as an arrow goes through the prey. So when you meet them,
kill them, for in their killing you would get a reward with Allah on the Day of
Judgment.” --
The Holy Prophet (Allah bless him) stated, “Beware of excessiveness in religionfor thosebefore you only perished due to excessiveness in religion.” [Ahmad, Musnad]
Volume 1, Book 2, Hadith Number 38: Narated By Abu Huraira : The Holy Prophet said, "Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded; and gain strength by worshipping in the mornings, the nights."
--
---------------------
New Kharijism in our time
Radical Wahhabi
pseudo "Salafi" Extremist
Sympathisers/supporters
of ISIS
Khawārij Dogs of Hell
^Pumi^Wahhabi Extremist who needs no introduction from- UK
Khawarij Dog
^HyaenasRadicali Wahhabi Extremist -UK
^Final product of Wahhabi University of Madinah (Saudi Arabia) ^Horand von Grafrath aka Hektor Linksrhein Ismail Ibrahim Patel (aka Harris Hammam) Extremist KhawarijDog of Hell living in UK.
^afghan hound ^ "do it your self" Extremist Khawarij Dog of Hell of IA Forum- UK
^Radical Wahhabi Extremist Canid with his Khawarij Top Dog Teachers
^Canis mesomelas^ Imran Ibn Mansur (Dawah Man) and his ExtremistKhawarij Dogs of Hell Fan Boy Club-UK
--
Narrated /
Authority Of: Anas bin Malik
“The
Messenger of Allah (s) said: 'At the end of time or among this nation (Ummah)
there will appear people who will recite the Qur'an but it will not go any
deeper than their collarbones or their throats. Their distinguishing feature
will be their shaved heads. If you see them, or meet them, then kill
them.'”(Sahih)
Wahhabiyyah producers - End Product- his solution^ use The "Atomic Bomb"
^Horn of Satan^
Narrated Authority Of: Ibn Abu Awfa
“The
Messenger of Allah (s) said: 'The Khawarij are the dogs of Hell.'”
(Sahih)
^Affenpinscher - Radical Wahhabi Khawarij Dog of Hell- UK
---
^^^
“There would
arise at the end of the age a people who would be young in age and immature in
thought, but they would talk (in such a manner) as if their words are the best
among the creatures.
They would
recite the Qur’an, but it would not go beyond their throats, and they would
pass through the religion as an arrow goes through the prey.”
---
Note : Don't you find it strange that UK is a 'safe haven' for these Khawarij Dogs
Imam
al-Iraqi (d.826 AH)
Muhaddith
Waliyyud-Din Abu Zur’ah Ahmad Ibn ‘Abdir-Rahim al-‘Iraqiyy
In
his book ‘Tarh at-Tathrib fi Sharh
at-Taqrib’ when explaining
the saying of the Prophet sallallahu
‘alayhi wa sallam:> in reference to the Book positioned
above the Throne which has the following words: ‘Inna Rahmati
sabaqat Ghadabi’, which means that the matters Allah approves of,
far exceed in number those He does not, said: “Allah
is clear from the acts of sitting, occupying space and
directionality. Therefore, the word “inda” in the aforementioned
context does not infer place, rather, it infers honourable status.
Consequently, the true meaning of the Prophet’s saying is that this
book is positioned in a place Allah awarded high status and honour”.
The
Hafidh Wali al-Din Abu Zur’ah al-‘Iraqi
(d. 826AH) said:وَلِلشَّيْخِ
تَقِيِّ الدِّينِ ابْنِ تَيْمِيَّةَ
هُنَا كَلامٌ بَشِعٌ عَجِيبٌ ، يَتَضَمَّنُ
مَنْعَ شَدِّ الرَّحْلِ لِلزِّيَارَةِ
، وَأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنَالْقُرْبِ بَلْ
بِضِدِّ ذَلِكَ ,
وَرَدَّ
عَلَيْهِ الشَّيْخُ تَقِيُّ الدِّينِ
السُّبْكِيُّ فِي شِفَاءِ السَّقَامِ
فَشَفَى صُدُورَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“The
Shaykh Taqi al-Din ibn Taymiyya has an abominablestatement regarding
this issue to the effect that travelling to visit [the grave of the
Prophet – sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam -] is prohibited and that
it is not a pious deed but rather the contrary. Shaykh Taqi al-Din
al-Subki replied to him in [his book] “Shifa` al-Saqam” and
healed the breasts of the believers [by it].”
Source: “Tarh
al-Tathrib”
-------------------------------------------------
Imam
Taqi al-Din al-Hisni al-Shafi’i (d.829AH) mentions
some points regarding Imam ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (d.795AH) and some of
his negative views concerning ibn Taymiyya:
al-Shaykh
Zayn al-Din ibn Rajab al-Hanbali was from among those who firmly
believed in ibn Taymiyya’s kufr (disbelief), and had (authored)
refutations against him. He would say at the top of his voice during
some gatherings: “al-Subki
is excused – meaning in regards to his takfir“. [al-Hisni,
Daf’ Shubah man Shabbaha wa Tamarrad, ed. Dar al-Mustafa, pg. 535]
وكان الشيخ زين الدين بن رجب الحنبلي ممن يعتقد كفر ابن تيمية وله عليه الرد. وكان يقول بأعلىصوته في بعض المجالس: معذور (173/أ) السبكي – يعني في تكفيره ([1]).
—
([1]) في ب: معذور السبكي في تكفيره دفع شبه من شبه وتمرد، دار المصطفى، ص. ٥٣٥
Imam
Taqi al-Din al-Hisni on ibn Taymiyya’s anti-Ash’ari
followers being a fringe minority group who had to keep their beliefs
hidden due to fear of facing severe punishment: “Discretionary
punishment and floggings and imprisonment and beheadings have not
ceased to be their lot, despite their concealing what they believe
and their utmost secrecy in not expressing their foul beliefs except
in hidden places after taking care, and locking the doors, and
speaking softly, saying that the walls have ears.” [Taqi
al-Din al-Hisni, Daf’ Shubah man Shabbaha wa Tamarrada, 236-7]
Daf
Shubah min Shabah, page 123: وكان
الشيخ زين الدين ابن رجب الحنبلي ممن
يعتقد كفر ابن تيمية “Sheikh
Zainuddin ibn Rajab al-Hanbali was amongst those that believed that
Ibn Taimiyah is a kafir” On
page 90 we read:وكان
الإمام العلامة شيخ الإسلام في زمانه أبو
الحسن علي بن إسماعيل القونوي يصرح بأنه
منالجهلة بحيث لا يعقل ما يقول.
ويخبر
أنه أخذ مسألة التفرقة عن شيخه الذي تلقاها
عن أفراخ السامرةواليهود الذين أظهروا
التشرف بالإسلام. “The
Imam, the Allamah Sheikh al-Islam of his time Abu al-Hassan Ali bin
Ismail al-Qunuwi declared that he was ignorant and didn’t realize
what he said. He (Sheikh Qunuwi) stated that he (Ibn Taimiyah) took
the belief of ‘Tafriqa’ from his Sheikh who took it from
Samirites and Jews, those who pretend to be Muslims.” On
page 125 we read:قاله
بعض الأئمة عنه من أنه زنديق مطلق “Some
scholars deemed him to be an absolute atheist (Zindeeq)” On
page 189 we read:فنسأل
الله تعالى العافية مما يرتكبه هذا الزائغ
الفاجر الكذاب. “We
ask Allah to preserve us of what this abhorrent, immoral, liar
performs.” We
also read:ولقد
أسفرت هذه القضية عن زندقته بتجرئه على
الإفك على العلماء وعلى أنه لا يعتقد حرمة
الكذب “The
result of the case was the atheism of him (Ibn Taimiyah) because he
dares to attribute lies to the scholars and did not ascribe to
any prohibition on telling lies.”
--
—————————————————–
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (d.852AH)
——————————————————
Imam
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani,
while explaining one of the versions of the hadith of the Prophet
Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sometimes referred to
as hadith
an-Nuzul (and which
would give the impression that God descends on Earth every night, in
his book Fath
al-Bari, volume 3, page 23 (you
would find pages 22 and 24scanned
(Here) only
so that you can read the full context if needed, but the passage
translated below is contained in page
23):
“As
for his saying ‘Yanzilu Rabbuna ‘ila s-Samaa’i d-Dunya“, those
who confirm a direction to Allah, have
relied on this text and saidthat it is the direction of
‘above’ (al-uluww), and this
has been refuted by the scholars (al-jumhur), because
talking like that equals limiting Allaah, who is exempted from
that. Thereafter
people have diverged about the meaning of an-nuzul: some
took it according to its literal meaning and verily, these are the
anthropomorphists (al-mushabbihah) , and Allaah
is absolutely free (exempted) from what they say. Others
have resorted to deny the truthfulness of all the hadiths which have
been narrated in that regard: those are the Khawaarij and
the Mu’tazilah, and these are really astonishing because on the
one hand they interpret what has reached [us] in the Qur’an which
is similar to this, and on the other hand they deny what has come
from hadith, either due to ignorance, or to stubbornness.
Others have read those texts as they were revealed, believing in them
in general, while freeing Allaah from the manner [kayfiyyah]
of the anthropomorphists,and
these are the majority of the Salaf.
[On top of that], al-Bayhaqi and
others have narrated from the four imams, from the two Sufyan, the
two Hammad, al-Awza’i, from al-Layth and others, that they DID
interpret this text according to what befits Allaah, and what is in
use in the language of the Arabs.
Some other ones went so far in
their interpretation that it ended up being a type of
distortion.
Others [still] made a difference between what is a
‘close’ interpretation’, i.e. in use in the language of the
Arabs, and what would be a ‘far-fetched’ one, and as a result
they have interpreted in some cases and made tafweed [i.e.
leaving the meaning to Allaah] in some cases, and
this has been narrated from imam Malik. It has been confirmed by Ibn
Daqiq al-Id that al-Bayhaqi said that the safest [of all these
methods] is to believe in those texts without a how (bila kayf) and
to not speak about what is intended.”
Imam
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani ,
in volume
13, page 414,
of his book Fath
l-Bari, (see
scan: Here)
while
explaining a hadith relating the Mi’raj (ascension
to the skies) of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam, said: “Al-Khattabi said
that in this version there is another term narrated by Sharik which
makes it different from the other [versions] and which
has not been narrated by anyone else.
It is [where it is said] : “fi’lan bihi, i.e. from Jibril to
Allaah (al-Jabbaar) and [Sharik] said : “wa huwa
makaanuhu” [i.e. literally it would mean ‘and it is his
place’], and [later on] the Prophet said
“O My Lord alleviate for us [the number of prayers]. He
[i.e. al-Khattabi] said : a place cannot be attributed to
Allaah, therefore here it is the place of the Prophet which is
meant, i.e. that he returned where he was standing before leaving.’
In
his book Fath
al-Bari, Amir
al-Mu’minin fi l-hadith (literally the Commander of the
believers as far as hadith is concerned), al-Hafidh
Ibn Hajar said,
in volume
13 page
358 (page
328: scan), while
explaining a version
of the hadith which means that there is a book above the Throne with
an inscription: “As
for his saying ” ‘indahu“, Ibn
Battal said that
the term “ ‘inda” in the language applies to places,
when Allah is free from being incarnated in a place,
because being incarnated implies having an end and having been
created, and having been created is not suitable
for Allah. Therefore,
it has been said that the meaning [of this hadith] is that His
knowledge has preceded the confirmation of who will [in the end] act
in obedience to Allah, and of who will be punished for having
committed sins, and this [interpretation] is reinforced by the
hadith which comes next, and which says “ana ‘inda dhann ‘indi“,
and it is not at all related to a place.
In
this extract he explains the hadith in which there is a statement
which could potentially be misunderstood. It is mentioned in
that hadith that a book is “‘indahu” which, if taken literally,
would mean that this book is “next to God”, wa l-iyaadhu
billaah. Ibn
Hajar quotes
other Muslim scholars to establish the different meanings of ‘‘inda‘
to explain that here
”indahu’ does not refer to the place at all, and he takes the
opportunity to repeat the Muslims’ belief that Allah exists
without a place.
(More
Info: Here)
Imam
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani on ibn
Taymiyya’sprohibiting of
travelling to visit the Prophet’s
grave(sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam): “Al-Kirmani (d.
786AH) has said: On this issue there has been much discussion in our
Syrian lands, and many treatises have been written by both parties. I
say: He is referring to Shaykh Taqi al-Din al-Subki and others’
responses to Shaykh Taqi al-Din ibn Taymiyya… and the crux of the
matter is that they have pointed out that his position implies that
it is prohibited to travel to visit the tomb of the Prophet
(sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)… This
is one of the ugliest positions
that has been reported of ibn Taymiyya. One
of the things he has adduced to deny the claim that there is a
consensus on the matter is the report that (Imam) Malik disliked
people saying: I have visited the tomb of the Prophet. The discerning
scholars of the (Maliki) school have replied that he disliked the
phrase out of politeness, and not the visiting itself, for it is one
of the best actions and the noblest of pious deeds with which one
draws near to Allah the Majestic, and it’s legitimacy is a matter
of consensus without any doubt, and Allah is the One who leads to
truth.” [ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih
al-Bukhari (Cairo: Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi, 1959), 3:308]
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani has recorded in Lisan
al-Mizan (6/319, Hyderabad edn.):
وكم من مبالغة لتوهين كلام الرافضي ادته أحيانا إلى تنقيص علي رضى الله عنه
“How
much did he (Ibn Taymiyya)exaggerate in order to weaken
the words of the Rafidi (al-Hilli), which
at times led him to diminishAli (radiallahu
‘anh).”[ Read more Here & Here]
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani,Al-Durar al-Kamina,Volume 1 page
46:وعاد
القاضي الشافعي إلى ولايته ونودي بدمشق
من اعتقد عقيدة ابن تيمية حل دمه “The
Shafiyye judge returned back to his position and declared in Damascus
that whoever ascribed to IbnTaimiyah’s beliefs should have his
blood shed”
Al-Durar
al-Kamina, Volume 1 page 49:
Ibn Tayimiyyah was released in
Shaam. The people had different views of him. Some of them deemed him
as one that considered the likeness of Allah to His creature, due to
what he said in ‘Aqeeda al-Hamawiya’ and ‘Wasitiya’ and
other (books), such as the hand, foot, leg and face are real
attributes of Allah, and He is sitting on the throne by Himself. Then
it was said to him (Ibn Taimiyah) that the necessities of these
beliefs constitute ascribing to the limitation and partition (of
Allah), he (Ibn Taimiyah) replied: ‘I don’t believe that
limitation and partition is an attribute of a body.’
Others
deemed him as one that concealed unbelief due to his saying that the
Prophet is not to be sought for help (laa yustaghaathu bihi) and the
fact that this amounted to diminishing and impeding the establishing
of the greatness of the Prophet(s).
Amongst the most rigid people
against him was al-Noor al-Bakri, and he established a council due to
that. Some of the members said: ‘We shall pardon him (Ibn
Taimiya)’. He (al-Bakri) replied: ‘There is no meaning in that
statement. If he was diminishing he must be killed. If he wasn’t
diminishing he will not be pardoned’.
Others considered
him a hypocrite because of
what he said about Ali:… that
he had been forsaken (makhdhoolan) everywhere he went, had repeatedly
tried to acquire the Caliphate and never attained it, fought out of
lust for power rather than religion, and said that “he
loved authority while Uthman loved
money.” He would say that Abu Bakr had
declared Islam in his old age, fully aware of what he
said, while Alihad declared
Islam as a boy, and that a boy’s Islam is not considered sound upon
his mere words.
And due to his statementabout the story
of his proposing to the daughter of Abu
Jahland what he attributed the praises
to…Also the story of Abi al-Aas bin al-Rabee and
what can be concluded from its concept.
In
totality, he said derogatory
things such as these, and it was said against
him that he was a hypocrite, in
view of the Prophet’s saying (to Ali): “Only
a hypocrite would
show you hatred.”
Others deemed him a power
seeker due to his praising ibn Tumart and
constant mention of him.
—
Hafidh
Abu Sa‘id Al-‘Ala’i, who is the scholar of
the scholars of Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar Al-‘Asqalani, said
that Ibn Taymiyah said of Allah, “He
has the same volume as the Arsh, neither smaller nor larger.” (Dhakha’ir
Al-Qasr, pp. 32-33)
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani has reported an incident
in al-Durar al-Kamīna (vol. 1, pp. 164): where
again Ibn Taymiyyah descended the steps of
the Minbar in order to illustrate his understanding of how Allah
descends (nuzūl) as early as the
year 705H/1305CE (some 21 years
before Ibn Battuta’s account).
Hāfidh
Ibn Ĥajar’s source for this incident was one
of Ibn Taymiyyah’s own disciples by the
name: Sulaymân Najm al-Dīn al-Tufi al-Ĥanbalī (d.
716/1316).
Note: Also Taqī
al-Dīn mentioned it! who lived before the Ĥāfidh Ibn Ĥajar
al-Asqalânī.
Ibn
Taymiyya’s conception of Allah’s
bodily descent is also stated in his
own writings, as shown from the following excerpt
from his al-Ta’sis fi al-radd `ala asas al-taqdis, written
as a refutation of Imam al-Razi who was a fierce
enemy of the Karramiyya and other Anthropomorphists:
The
Creator, Glorified and Exalted is He, is above the world and His
being above is literal, not in the sense of dignity or rank. It may
be said of the precedence of a certain object over another that it is
with respect to dignity or rank, or that it is with respect to
location. For example, respectively: the precedence of the learned
over the ignorant and the precedence of the imam over the one praying
behind him. Allah’s precedence over the world is not like that,
rather, it is a literal precedence (i.e. in time). Similarly the
elevation above the world could be said to be with respect to dignity
or rank, as for example when it said that the learned is above the
ignorant. But Allah’s elevation over the world is not like that,
rather He is elevated over it literally (i.e. in space). And this is
the known elevation and the known precedence[al-Ta’sis
al-radd `ala asas al-Taqdis, vol. 1, pp. 111]
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani In
his book ‘Fath
al-Bari’ said:
“Not because it is impossible for the upward and downward
directions to apply to Allah does it entail that He cannot be
attributed with “Al-‘Uluww” (Aboveness in a metaphorical
sense). This
is so because attributing Him with “Al-‘Uluww” (Aboveness) is
from the point of status, which
is impossibly applicable in a physical sense when in
reference to Allah. Hence, it has been related that among the names
of Allah are Al-‘Ali, Al-‘Aliyy, and Al-Muta’ali”.
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani Rejects the innovated saying that
Allah is above the throne ‘bi dhatihi’
Regarding
the hadith that says: “God is between you and your qibla” (إِنَّ
رَبَّهُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْقِبْلَةِ) Ibn
Hajar says that in this is a refutation on those who claim that God
is upon the throne bi dhatihi (with His Essence) (فِيهِ
الرَّدّ عَلَى مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى
الْعَرْش بِذَاتِهِ).
Source: Here —
Al-Asqalaani
said they are not Muslims:
قال
حذاق المتكلمين ما عرف الله من شبهه بخلقه
أو أضاف إليه اليد أو أضاف إليه الولد
فمعبودهم الذيعبدوه ليس هو الله وإن سموه
به (فتح
الباري,
ابن
حجر العسقلاني,
دار
المعرفة – بيروت ، 1379,
3 / 359)
The
brilliant kalaam scholars said: “The one that likened Aļļaah to
His creation, or ascribed a hand to Him (i.e. in the sense of a part
or limb) or a child; what he worships is not Aļļaah, even if he
called it Aļļaah.
---------------------------------------------
Imam
Ibn Nasir al-Din Al-Dimashqi (d.846AH) The
Wahhabi/Salafis love to quote Al-Dimashqi and his book al-Radd
al-Wafir in defence of their Imam, ibn Taymiyya. However,
the following is a clear cut example of how many of those who
defended him weren’t truly aware of all the deviant positions held
by him on various issues.
Imam ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi falls
into this category as is evident from the following, where he
declares anyone who rejects the Hadiths in relation to the
reward and virtue of visiting the grave of the Prophet (sallallahu
‘alaihi wa sallam) a deviant. It is well known that ibn
Taymiyya is the foremost proponent of the view that travelling out to
visit the blessed grave of the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam) is a reprehensible innovation – a view which he based on
the rejection of the aforementioned narrations.
Imam ibn Nasir al-Din
al-Dimashqi mentions: “Visiting
the grave of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is a Sunnah
of the Muslims, it is unanimously accepted as an act of reward and
it is an act of virtue that is encouraged. The Hadiths on this
topic have been accepted and practised upon, even though a few of
these Hadiths have weakness. Only
a deviant will reject them totally.”(Jami’
al-Athar, vol.8 pg.141) In
addition, it is worth noting that Imam ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi
has written extensively on this and has approved several Hadiths on
this issue in the book of his which has been quoted from above (Jami’
a-Athar) – see [vol.8 pgs. 129-141.]
========
900AH
========
Imam
al-Sakhawi (d. 902AH) on ibn
Taymiyya:
وكذا ممن حصل من بعض الناس منهم نفره وتحامى عن الانتفاع بعلمهم مع جلالتهم علماً وورعاً وزهداًلإطلاق لسانهم وعدم مداراتهم بحيث يتكلمون ويجرحون بما فيه مبالغة كابن حزم وابن تيمية
“There
are also those scholars of great learning, austerity, and asceticism
whom people avoided and whose knowledge they were careful not to
utilise, because of their loose tongue and lack of tact, which caused
them to talk and criticise excessively. Such men were ibn Hazm and
ibn Taymiyya.” [al-Sakhawi, I’lan bi al-Tawbikh (pg. 163),
(English translation in ‘A history of Muslim Historiography‘, pg.
284, by F. Rosenthal)]
----------------------------------
Imam
Jamal al-Din Yusuf ibn ‘Abd al-Hadi ibn al-Mibrad al-Hanbali
(d.909AH) mentions
Imam Zayn al-Din ibn Rajab al-Hanbali’s (d.795AH) book in
refutation of three talaqs (in a single sitting) being equal to one –
which was a view ibn Taymiyya held and was stubborn upon: “…ibn
Rajab said in the book Mushkil al-Ahadith al-Warida fi ann al-Talaq
al-Thalath Wahida (The problematic nature of the narrations in
regards to three talaqs being equivalent to one)…” [ibn
al-Mibrad al-Hanbali, al-Sayr al-Hath ila ‘Ilm al-Talaq al-Thalath,
ed. Dar al-Basha’ir al-Islamiyya 1997, pg. 27]
Note:Imam
ibn al-Mibrad al-Hanbali then goes on to quote multiple passages from
the above-mentioned book of Imam ibn Rajab al-Hanbali. This shows
that although this book of Imam ibn Rajab al-Hanbali may not have
survived to this day, it was known and available to those Imams who
came just after his time.
قال ابن رجب في كتاب “مشكل الأحاديث الواردة في أن الطلاق الثلاث واحدة”
– السير الحاث الى علم الطلاق الثلاث للإمام جمال الدين يوسف ابن عبد الهادي ابن المبرد الحنبلي
– دار البشائر الإسلامية، ١٩٩٧
– ص. ٢٧
———————-
———————————————————–
Shaykh
al-Islam Imam Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d.911 AH) on ibn
Taymiyya:
————————————————————-
“ibn
Taymiyya was arrogant. He was self-conceited. It was his habit
to represent himself as superior to everybody, to slight the person
whom he talked to, and to make fun of great Muslims (Scholars)”
[al-Suyuti, Kam’ al-Mu’arid]
Shaykh
al-Islam Imam Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti In his book‘Al-‘Iklil
fis-tinbat at-Tanzil’ , said: “The Ayah: {ليس
كمثله شيء} holds
within it a refutation to the creed of the Mushabbihah (those who
liken Allah to the creation) and a confirmation that He (Allah) is
not a mass, a body, a colour, a taste, and that He does not occupy a
space or conform to time”.
------------------------------------
Imam
Jalal al-Din al-Dawani (d. 918AH) on
ibn Taymiyya the Corporealist
Changing
Views of ibn Taymiyya by Khaled el-Rouayheb:
In
the Sharh al-‘Aqa’id al-‘Adudiyya of Jalal al-Din al-Dawani it
is stated that the corporealists are of two kinds. The
first are blatantly corporealist and should be regarded as
unbelievers. The latter, who are wayward but not unbelievers, “hide
behind the caveat bi-la kayfa“, saying that Allah had a
body “unlike any other body (la ka-al-ajsam), and
position unlike any position, and a relation to this
spatial position that was unlike any other relation to a
spatial position.” He apparently classified Ibn
Taymiyya as belonging to the latter group:
Most
of the corporealists are the literalists who follow the
literal meaning of the Book and Sunna, and most of them are people of
Hadith. Ibn Taymiyya Abu al-Abbas Ahmad and his
followers strongly incline to affirm that He is in a direction, and
go to extremes in attacking those who deny this. I have seen
in one of his books that according to reason there is no
difference to saying “He does not exist” and saying
“I looked for Him everywhere and I could not find Him”,
and he accused those who disagreed on this point of denying the
divine attributes (ta’til). And this despite his
proficiency in the rational and traditional sciences, as can be seen
by anyone who reads his works.
Expressing
his outrage on ibn
Taymiyya’s prohibition of travelling
to visit the Prophet’s
grave (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam): “The Shaykh Taqi
al-Din ibn Taymiyyahas
abominable and odd statements on this issue to the effectthat
travelling to visit the Prophet (sallallahu
‘alaihi wa sallam)
is prohibited and is not a pious deedbut
the contrary. Shaykh
Taqi al-Din al-Subki has replied to him in Shifa al-Saqam and has
gratified the hearts of the believers.”
[Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Baqi al-Zurqani, Sharh al-Mawahib
al-Laduniyya (Cairo1291AH), 8:343]
—
Shaykh Abul-‘Abbas
Shihabud-Din Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-Qastalaniyy al-Misri (d. 923
AH) In his book ‘Irshad
as-Sari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhariyy’, said:
“The Self of
Allah is clear from the notions of place and direction”.
---
Imam
al-Qastallani on Tawassul, Tashaffu’ and Istighathah: While
speaking about the Mu’jizat (miracles) of our Prophet –
sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – he mentions that also many of
these miracles happen after his death and he also mentions
Istighathahin this context and says that this will be discussed in
the chapter regarding visiting the noble grave of the Prophet,
sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:وأما
القسم الثانى ما وقع بعد وفاته-
ص:وهو
ما وقع بعد وفاته-
صلى
الله عليه وسلم-
فكثير
جدّا، إذ فى كل حين يقع لخواص أمته من
خوارق العاداتبسببه مما يدل على تعظيم
قدره الكريم ما لا يحصى كالاستغاثة به
وغير ذلك مما يأتى فى المقصد الأخير،
فىأثناء الكلام على زيارة قبره الشريف
المنير Source:
“al-Mawahib
al-Ladunniyyah”
and
the next
page And
this is the relevant passage which he refered to above:وينبغى
للزائر أن يكثر من الدعاد والتضرع
والاستغاثة والتشفع والتوسل به-
صلى
الله عليه وسلم-،
فجدير بمناستشفع به أن يشفعه الله تعالى
فيه.واعلم
أن الاستغاثة هى طلب الغوث، فالمستغيث
يطلب من المستغاث به أن يحصل له الغوث
منه، فلا فرق بينأن يعبر بلفظ:
الاستغاثة
أو التوسل أو التشفع أو التجوّه أو التوجه،
لأنهما من الجاه والوجاهة ومعناه:
علو
القدروالمنزلة.وقد
يتوسل بصاحب الجاه إلى من هو أعلى منه،
ثم إن كلا من الاستغاثة والتوسل والتشفع
والتوجه بالنبى-صلى
الله عليه وسلم-
كما
ذكره فى «تحقيق
النصرة»
و
«مصباح
الظلام»
– واقع
فى كل حال، قبل خلقه وبعدخلقه، فى مدة
حياته فى الدنيا وبعد موته فى مدة البرزخ،
وبعد البعث فى عرصات القيامة “The
visitor (Za`ir) should supplicate and beseech [Allah] much and [he
should] perform Istighathah (seeking aid), Tashaffu’ (seeking
intercession) and Tawassul through him (the Prophet) – sallallahu
‘alayhi wa sallam -, so that he becomes worthy of Allah ta’ala
letting the one whose intercession he sought to intercede for
him. Know
that Istighathah is seeking aid, and the person who is seeking aid is
asking from one by whom aid is sought in order to obtain aid from
[other than] him (i.e. the person seeking aid with the Prophet –
sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – is doing this in order to obtain
aid from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala). And that is why there is no
difference whether one expresses this by using the wording of
Istighathah, Tawassul, Tashaffu’, Tajawwuh or Tawajjuh,because all
of this goes back to [asking by the] Jah and Wajahah and its meaning
is [to ask by the] high worth and status. Tawassul can be sought from
a possessor of rank (Jah) unto one who possesses a higher rank than
him. Add
to this: Istighathah, Tawassul, Tashaffu’ and Tawajjuh with the
Prophet – sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – is something that
takes place [in reality] – as it’s mentioned in “Tahqiq
al-Nusrah [bi Talkhis Ma’alim Dar al-Hijrah]” [by Abu Bakr bin
al-Husayn bin ‘Umar al-Maraghi (d. 816 AH)] and “Misbah al-Dhalam
[fil Mustaghithin bi Khayr al-Anam]”* [by Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad
bin Musa bin al-Nu’man al-Marakashi (d. 683 AH)] – in every
situation, before his creation and after it, in the time of his life
in this world, as well as after his death in the period of the
Barzakh, and after the resurrection on the day of reckoning.” Source:
“Al-Muwahib
al-Ladunniyyah”
and
the next
page After
the above quote he mentions proofs for the permissibility of
performing Tawassul with the Prophet – sallallahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam – in the different situations. –Imam
Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad bin Musa bin al-Nu’man al-Marakashi (d.
683 AH) wrote in his book: “Misbah
al-Dhalam fil Mustaghithin bi Khayr al-Anam”
and
it’s filled with Ahadith and Athar containing Tawassul, Tashaffu’
and Istighathah in every situation (i.e. also after the death of the
Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) The
author was born in Tilimsan in the year (b.606/607 AH) and lived
prior to Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) and Imam Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d.
756 AH) and many leading scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah after him have
referred to his book and reported from it without any objection. The
Shaykh Salah al-Din al-Safadi (d. 764) mentioned that he was a Maliki
Faqih,a Zahid, a ‘Abid and a ‘Arif and he also mentioned his book
“Misbah al-Dhalam”:مُحَمَّد
بن مُوسَى بن النُّعْمَان الشَّيْخ أَبُو
عبد الله المزالي التلمساني … وَكَانَ
فَقِيها مالكياً زاهداً عابداً عَارِفًا
… وَله تصانيف مِنْهَا كتاب مِصْبَاح
الظلام فِي المستغيثين بِخَير الْأَنَام
فِي الْيَقَظَة والمنام Source:
“al-Wafi
bil Wafiyyat”
Imam
Mujir ad-Din al Ulaymi al Hanbali (d. 927 AH)
comes from a notable family of Hanbali scholars as well as a
descendant of Amirul Mu’mineen Umar bin al-Khattab (RA).
Below
quotedare few of his interpretations of the Quran from his tafsir
work فتح
الرحمن في تفسير القرآن ,
from which it will be clear to see the methodology of tafwid that he
adopts with regards to that which is attributed to Allah, and its
difference with modern day pseudo-Salafi sects or the Tayymiyun.
On
Istawa - In commentary to the verse {ثُمَّ
اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ}
[Q 7:54], he explains,
{ثُمَّ
اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ}
استواءً
يليقُ بعظمتِه بِلا كيفٍ، وهذا من المشكِلِ
الذي يجبُ عندَ أهل السُّنَّةِ على
الإنسانِ الإيمانُ به، ويَكِلُ العلمَ
فيه إلى الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وسُئِلَ
الإمامُ مالكٌ رضي الله عنه عن الاستواءِ
فقالَ:
“الاستواءُ
معلومٌ؛ يعني:
في
اللغة، والكيفُ مجهولٌ، والإيمانُ بهِ
واجبٌ، والسؤالُ عنهُ بِدْعَةٌ” ، وسُئِل
الإمامُ أحمدُ رضي الله عنه عن قوله تعالى:
{الرَّحْمَنُ
عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى}
[طه:
5]،
فقال:
“هُوَ
كما أخبرَ، لا كما يخطرُ للبشَرِ” ،
والعرشُ في اللغة:
هو
السريرُ، وخُصَّ العرشُ بالذكرِ تشريفًا
له؛ إذ هو أعظمُ
المخلوقات. http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-14404/page-3835#page-1089
Rough
translation:
” (ثُمَّ
اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ)
Istawa that befits His Majesty without Howness, and in this
intricacy/ambiguity it is necessary with Ahlus Sunnah for the people
to have Iman in it, and relegate knowledge of it to Allah. Imam Malik
said when asked about Istawa: “Istawa is known, meaning: in the
language, and Howness in unknown, faith in it is obligatory, and
questioning about this is an innovation. And Imam Ahmed said about
the saying of Allah {الرَّحْمَنُ
عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى}
[طه:
5]: “As He informed, (and) not what crosses the mind of humans”.
And the (meaning of ) Arsh (throne) in the language: It is bed/couch,
and the Arsh has been singled out in mentioning as a honor to
Himself, because it the greatest of creation.” and it
gets even more clear, in commentary to the verse {الرَّحْمَنُ
عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى}[Q
20:5],
{عَلَى
الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى}
استواء
يليق بعظمته بلا كيف، وهذا من متشابه
القرآن، نؤمن به، ولا نتعرض لمعناه، وقال
الإمام مالك بن أنس رضي الله عنه لرجل
مسألة عن الاستواء، فقال له مالك:
“الاستواء
معلوم -يعني:
في
اللغة-،
والكيف مجهول، والسؤال عنه بدعة، وأظنك
رجل سوء، أخرجوه عني”، فأدبر الرجل وهو
يقول:
يا
أبا عبد الله لقد سألت فيها أهل العراق
وأهل الشام، فما وفق فيها أحد توفيقك
(1). وسئل
الإمام أحمد بن حنبل رضي الله عنه عن قوله:
{الرَّحْمَنُ
عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى}
فقال:
“هو
كما أخبر، لا كما يخطر للبشر”. وتقدم
الكلام على ذلك مستوفىً (2)
في
سورة
الأعراف. http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-14404/page-1965#page-1965
“{عَلَى
الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى}
Istawa that befits His Majesty without Howness. This is from the
Mutashabiha (unclear/ambiguous verses) of the Quran, we believe in
it, (however) we are not exposed to its meaning”.
After
which he quotes the same above saying of Imam Malik and Imam
Ahmed.
We see here how the methodology of Hanbali scholars
with regards to such verses is no different to the Tafwid methodology
that is adopted by Ashari & Maturidi schools.
Also note how the
saying of Imam Malik is interpreted in that when it said “its
meaning is known” it means that the meaning is known in the
language and not that the real meaning of the verse or when
attributed to Allah is known. Rather, it is from the Mutashabiha
verses.
On the verse {Do you feel secure (from) who (is)
in the heaven}[Q 67:16]
{مَنْ
فِي السَّمَاءِ}
وهذا
المحل من المتشابه الذي استأثر الله
بعلمه، نؤمن به ولا نتعرض إلى معناه، ونكل
العلم فيه إلى الله، قال ابن عباس:
“أأمنتم
عَذَابَ مَنْ في السماء إن
عصيتموه” http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-14404/page-3489#page-3489
“This
is from the ambiguous/unclear (mutashabih) whose knowledge is with
Allah alone, We believe in it and we are not exposed to its meaning,
and we relegate its knowledge to Allah. Ibn Abbas said: “Do you
feel secure of the torment from in the sky…” Here
again, the verse is explicitly stated as from the mutashabih.
Furthermore despite this tafwid the Imam also quotes a tawil from Ibn
Abbas (rad.). That is, being on tafwid does not mean an absolute
rejection of tawil and the scholars using tafwid had validated tawil
when they found enough basis for it.
On the verse {Do they
await but that Allah should come to them in covers of clouds} [Q
2:210] والأَوْلى
في هذه الآيةِ وفي ما شاكَلَها أن يؤمنَ
الإنسانُ بها، ويُمِرَّها كما جاءت بلا
كيفٍ، ويَكِلَ علمَها إلى الله سبحانه،
وهو مذهبُ أئمةِ السلف وعلماءِ السنة،
قال سفيانُ بنُ عُيينةَ:
كلُّ
ما وصف الله تعالى به نفسَه في كتابه،
فتفسيرهُ قراءتُه، والسكوتُ عنهُ، ليسَ
لأحدٍ أن يفسِّرَهُ إلا اللهُ ورسولهُ
. http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-14404/#page-358
“Firstly
in this verse and what is similar is for people to have faith in it,
and to pass it as it has come without howness, and relegate knowledge
of it to Allah, and this is the madhab of the Imams of the Salaf and
scholars of Sunnah.
Sufyan al-Thawri said: All that which
Allah attributed to Himself in His book, its tafsir is its
recitation, and silence about it, for no one can explain that except
Allah and His Messenger.”
We see knowledge of the verse
is relegated to Allah and His Messenger. If these verses and its
meaning was no different to any other verse in the Quran as the
neo-Salafis claim, then there would be no need specifically relegate
meaning to Allah in this verse only.
{And
your Lord has come} Imam Ahmed said: meaning: command of your lord
has come.
On the verse {Rather, both His hands are
extended}[Q 5:64]
{بَلْ
يَدَاهُ مَبْسُوطَتَانِ}
وليسَ
المرادُ حقيقةَ الجارحةِ المتركِّبَةِ؛
لأنه تعالى منزَّهٌ عن التركيبِ، وإنَّما
هي صفةٌ من صفاتِ ذاتِه؛ كالسمعِ والبصرِ،
قالَ جلَّ ذكرُه:
{لِمَا
خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ}
[ص:
75] , وقال
– صلى الله عليه وسلم -:
“كِلْتَا
يَدَيْهِ يَمِينٌ”، واللهُ أعلمُ بصفاته،
فعلى العبادِ فيها الإيمانُ والتسليمُ،
وأَنْ يُمِرُّوها كما جاءتْ بلا
كيفٍ؟ http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-14404/page-879#page-879
“{Rather,
both His hands are extended} It does not mean in reality (Allah has)
a limb superimposed because Allah is far above from being a
composition. It is an attribute from the Attribute of His Self
(Dhat), like His Hearing and Seeing. Allah said “Whom we created
with both hands”[Q 38:75] and the Prophet said “both His hands
are right”. And Allah knows best His attributes, what is required
of (us) slaves is belief and acceptance, and to pass it as it has
come without Howness”
On the verse {the heavens will be
folded in His right hand}[Q 39:67]
{قَبْضَتُهُ}
أي:
في
تصرفه، والمراد:
الأرضون
السبع؛ لقوله:
(جَمِيعًا).
{يَوْمَ
الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ
بِيَمِينِهِ}
أي:
مجموعات
بقدرته. http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-14404/page-2895
“{in
His Grip} that is: in His disposition, …….{on the Day of the
Resurrection and the heavens will be folded in His Right Hand} that
is: collected with His Power.”
On the verse {the hand of
Allah is over their hands}[Q 48:10]
{يَدُ
اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ}
أي:
حولُه
وقُوَّتُه فوق حولهم وقوتهم؛ أي:
في
نصرك ونصرهم، وهذا تعديد نعمة عليهم
مستقبَلة مخبر
بها. http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-14404/page-3145
“{the
hands of Allah is over their hands}: That is: His Might and His Power
is above their might and their power, that is: in help and victory.
This is the mentioning of blessing on them…”
On the
verse {bounty is in the hand of Allah} [Q 57:29]
{وَأَنَّ
الْفَضْلَ بِيَدِ اللَّهِ}
في
تصرفه
وملكه http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-14404/#page-3356
“{and
that the bounty is in the hand of Allah} in His disposal and His
possession”
“{Sailing
under Our eyes} That is: under our guarding and protection”
On
the verse {The Day the shin will be uncovered}[Q 68:42]
{يُكْشَفُ
عَنْ سَاقٍ}
أي:
يشتد
الأمر، قال ابن عباس:
“هو
أشدُّ ساعة في القيامة”، يقال:
كشفت
الحرب عن ساقها؛ أي:
شدتها. http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-14404/page-3509
“{The
Day the shin will be uncovered} that is: command intensifies. Ibn
Abbas said: It is the most intense hour in Resurrection. ….”
on
ibn Taymiyya’sview of impermissibility
on travelling to visit the graveof
the prophet (sallallahu
‘alaihi wa sallam):
“If
you say: How can you relate that there is a consensus on the
permissible and commendable status of visiting and travelling to it
(the Prophet’s grave [sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam]) when ibn
Taymiyya among the later Hanbalis deems all of this inappropriate?
I
say: Who is ibn Taymiyya so that one takes his words into
consideration or relies on them in any religious matter? Is he
anything but – in the words of the leading scholars who have
followed his rotten statements and unsalable arguments… – a
servant whom Allah has forsaken and led astray and clothed in the
garments of ignominy… The Shaykh al-Islam, the scholar of the
world, concerning whose status, ijtihad, rectitude and prominence
there is a consensus, Taqi al-Din al-Subki – may Allah sanctify his
soul and cast light on his grave – has dedicated himself to
answering him in a separate work (shifa al-saqam fi ziyarat khayr
al-anam) in which he has done a great service and shown with dazzling
arguments the correct path.” [ibn
Hajar al-Haytami, al-Jawhar al-Munazzam fi Ziyarat al-Qabr al-Sharif
al-Nabawi al-Mukarram, M. Zaynhum ed. (Cairo: Maktabat Madbuli,
2000), 29-30.]
Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami has recorded in a formal legal
opinion in his al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya (1/183-84) the
following:
ابْن تَيْمِية عبد خذله الله وأضلَّه وأعماه وأصمه وأذلَّه، وَبِذَلِك صرح الْأَئِمَّة الَّذين بينوا فَسَاد أَحْوَالهوَكذب أَقْوَاله، وَمن أَرَادَ ذَلِك فَعَلَيهِ بمطالعة كَلَام الإِمَام الْمُجْتَهد الْمُتَّفق على إِمَامَته وجلالته وبلوغهمرتبَة الِاجْتِهَاد أبي الْحسن السُّبْكِيّ وَولده التَّاج وَالشَّيْخ الإِمَام الْعِزّ بن جمَاعَة وَأهل عصرهم، وَغَيرهممن الشَّافِعِيَّة والمالكية وَالْحَنَفِيَّة، وَلم يقصر اعتراضه على متأخري الصُّوفِيَّة بل اعْترض على مثلعمر بن الْخطاب وَعلي بن أبي طَالب رَضِي الله عَنْهُمَا كَمَا يَأْتِي. وَالْحَاصِل أنْ لَا يُقَام لكَلَامه وزن بليَرْمِي فِي كلّ وَعْر وحَزَن، ويعتقد فِيهِ أَنه مُبْتَدع ضالّ ومُضِّلّ جَاهِل غال عَامله الله بعدله، وأجازنا منمثل طَرِيقَته وعقيدته وَفعله آمين
“Ibn
Taymiyya was a servant whom Allah abandoned,misguided, blinded,
deafened, and humiliated. This has been frankly expressed by the
Imams who explained the corruptness of how he was, and the mendacity
of what he said. Whoever wants to check this should read the words of
the Mujtahid Imam, whose Imamate, greatness, and having reached the
rank of Ijtihad are universally acknowledged, Abul Hasan (Taqi
al-Din) al-Subki; together with his son Taj (al-Din as-Subki), the
Shaykh and Imam al-‘Izz Ibn Jama’a, the scholars of their time,
and other Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanafi scholars. Nor did he confine
his criticism to later Sufi’s; but censured the likes of Umar ibn
al-Khattab and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them), the outcome of
which is that his words are devoid of any worth or consideration, to
be scattered across the wilds and wastelands, while the man himself
is considered an initiator of bid’ah (reprehensible innovations),
misled, misleading, ignorant and spiteful.May Allah give him what he
deserves, may Allah preserve us from the likes of his way and his
beliefs and works, Ameen.”
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Haytami , Al-Fatawa al-Hadithya, page 114: ابن
تيمية عبد خذله الله وأضله وأعماه وأصمه
وأذله ، وبذلك صرح الأئمة الذين بينوا
فساد أحوالهوكذب أقواله. “Ibn
Taimiyah, Allah (swt) let him down, misguided him, made him blind,
deaf and disgraced him, and by that the Imams both declared and
exposed his false beliefs and lies.”
Due
to being one of ibn Taymiyya’s major critics, some
modern-day followers of ibn Taymiyya do not hold much love for Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Haytami. They would like to believe that
the Imam was not of great standing or knowledge, and that his beliefs
were ‘deviant’. However, as a harsh reality check,Imam ‘Uthman
ibn Sanad al-Basri (d. 1242AH) had the following to say in praise of
Shaykh al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Haytami: “He
who looks at his works will be dazzled and say: Praise Allah who has
allowed the minds of man to reach it’s subtle depths! He is the
Shafi’i who mediated between the finer points of law and the
subtleties of the discipline of tradition. He did not treat
discipline without reaching depths that his contemporaries never
hoped to reach. No one disputed with him without finding him an
abounding sea of knowledge. He was firm in matters of religion while
being high minded, composed and intelligent… Those who came after
him have depended on what he has chosen, and thus his works are the
standard reference for fatawa, and no Shafi’i will give a fatwa
that is not in accordance with what he has considered. The prominent
scholars esteem his works, and give it the foremost rating.”[Basri,
Matali’ al-Su’ud, 113]
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Haytami on ibn Taymiyya in his own
time and the reality of his followers: “The
scholars of his age rose against him (ibn Taymiyya) and impelled the
Sultan to either kill or imprison him, so he imprisoned him until he
died and his innovations died out and his darkness disappeared. Then
he was supported by followers whose heads Allah has not raised, nor
has He granted them power or strength; rather they were afflicted
with humiliation and remained under Allah’s wrath, due to their
disobedience and their beliefs.” [ibn
Hajar al-Haytami, al-Jawhar al-Munazzam, 31]
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Haytami on ibn Taymiyya’s suggestion that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) Let Down
Part of his Turban to Mark the Spot Between his Shoulders that Allah
Touched with His ‘Hand’
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Haytami on ibn Taymiyya’s suggestion
(via ibn Qayyim) that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)
had let down part of his turban to mark the spot between his
shoulders that Allah had touched with His
‘hand’:
“This
is among their repulsive opinions and their waywardness, since it is
based on their claim, which they argued for at length and castigated
Sunnis for rejecting, that Allah is in a direction and is a body, may
He be exalted above what the unjust and stubborn say! They have in
this regard abominations and heresies to which the ear cannot listen,
and one cannot but adjudge them a falsity, a slander and a lie. May
Allah shame them and those who say that. The Imam Ahmad (ibn Hanbal)
and the distinguished among his school are innocent of this ugly
stain. How could it be otherwise, and it is unbelief according to
many?” [ibn
Hajar al-Haytami, Ashraf al-Wasa-il ila Fahm al-Shama-il, Ahmad
al-Mazidi ed. (Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, Beirut, 1998), 172-173]
Shaykh
al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Haytami on ibn Taymiyya and his
student ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and those who follow them: “Make
sure you do not listen to what is in the books of ibn Taymiyya and
his student ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and other such people who have
taken their own whim as their God, and who have been led astray by
Allah, and whose hearts and ears have been sealed, and whose eyes
have been covered by Him. And who will help them if not Allah? How
these heretics (mulhidun) have crossed the lines and broken the
fences of the Shari’a and the Haqiqa, thinking that they are on the
right path, and they are not! Rather they are in the worst of errors,
the foulest of qualities, the most odious loss, and the utmost
falsity. May Allah forsake the one who follows them, and purify the
earth of their likes.” [ibn Hajar al-Haytami,
al-fatawa al-Hadithiyya, 110-113] ---
And
how true were the words of Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974 AH)
when
he said:فإن
قلت :
كيف
تحكي الإجماع السابق على مشروعية الزيارة
والسفر إليها وطلبها وابن تيمية منمتأخري
الحنابلة منكر لمشروعية ذلك كله … قلت :
من
هو ابن تيمية حتى ينظر إليه أو يعول في
شئمن أمور الدين عليه ؟ !
وهل
هو إلا كما قال جماعة من الأئمة الذين
تعقبوا كلماته الفاسدة ، وحججهالكاسدة
… عبد أضله الله تعالى وأغواه ، وألبسه
رداء الخزي … ولقد تصدى شيخ الإسلام ،
وعالمالأنام ، المجمع على جلالته ،
واجتهاده وصلاحه وإمامته ، التقي السبكي
، قدس الله روحه ، ونورضريحه ، للرد عليه
في تصنيف مستقل أفاد فيه وأجاد وأصاب
وأوضح بباهر حججه طريق الصواب “If
you say: How can you relate that there is a consensus on the
permissible and commendable status of visiting and travelling to it
(the Prophet’s grave [sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam]) when ibn
Taymiyya among the later Hanbalis deems all of this inappropriate? I
say: Who is ibn Taymiyya so that one takes his words into
consideration or relies on them in any religious matter? Is he
anything but – in the words of the leading scholars who have
followed his rottenstatements and unsalable arguments… – a
servant whom Allah has forsaken and led astray and clothed in the
garments of ignominy… The
Shaykh al-Islam, the scholar of the world, concerning whose status,
ijtihad, rectitude and prominence there is a consensus, Taqi al-Din
al-Subki – may Allah sanctify his soul and cast light on his grave
– has dedicated himself to answering him in a separate work (shifa
al-saqam fi ziyarat khayr al-anam) in which he has done a great
service and shown with dazzling arguments the correct path.”
Source:
“Al-Jawhar al-Munadhdham“; translation taken from Here