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MUJLISUL ULAMA OF S.A.P.O. Box 3393Port Elizabeth6056, South Africa
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEINTRODUCTIONSome of our Akaabir Ulama of Deoband have laudedpraise on Ibn Taimiyyah, and this created muchobfuscation for laymen who have to contend withsevere criticism of Ibn Taimiyyah by many otherUlama of Deoband.To dispel this confusion, we reproduce in this briefarticle a question and its answer which appeared inThe Majlis, Vol.24 No.8.A Deeni Student in U.K. wrote an Addendum whichfurther clarifies the conundrum of the praise of IbnTaimiyyah by some Akaabir Ulama of Deoband. Wereproduce the Addendum as well.Mujlisul Ulama of S.A.18 Rabiyuth Thaani14396 January 20182
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEQUESTIONHadhrat Thanvi praised Imaam ibn Taymiyyah andImaam ibn al-Qayyim, saying they were Aarifeen,and he referred to Imaam ibn Taymiyyah with the titleof Allaamah. Please comment.ANSWERIn India there was at that time a great dearth of thekutub of Ibn Taimiyyah and Ibn Qayyim, hence mostof our Akaabir of that era were unaware of the viewsof Ibn Taimiyyah. They were therefore justified tospeak highly of Ibn Taimiyyah on the basis of thepaucity of their awareness of his deviation. If you readsome of our own publication of 40 years ago, you willfind praise for Ibn Taimiyyah. That was due to ourignorance of his views.It was years later when Hadhrat Husain AhmadMadani (Rahmatullah alayh) came from Madinah toteach Hadith in Deoband, that he began to apprize ourUlama of the reality of Ibn Taimiyyah. We are underno obligation to follow Hadhrat Thanvi’s view on thisissue – a view based on insufficient information. Such‘taqleed’ is in fact jumood (fossilization of the brains)which is condemned by the Fuqaha.3
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEConsider the example of stock market shares. Sinceour Akaabir were unaware of the true meaning of thisconcept, and since it was erroneously explained tothem by some traders and by the one who posed thequestion, they understood that it was a valid shirkat,hence they issued their fatwa of permissibility.However, those who are aware of this concept,understand its hurmat to be clearer than the sun’s lightat midday. Now making ‘taqleed’ of such an error ofthe Akaabir is satanic jumood (intellectualfossilization).ADDENDUM BY A U.K. STUDENT OF THEDEENThe authentic and only correct position regarding IbnTaymiyyah as conveyed by a Deobandi authority whohad had the opportunity to study many of IbnTaymiyyah’s books which were not available in Indiato most of the Akaabir of Deoband, is represented bythe explicit statements below of Shaykh ul-IslamMaulana Husayn Ahmad Madani (rahmatullahialayh), the Principal of Deoband for around 30 phism) of Ibn Taymiyyah, Shaykh-ulIslam states:4
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISE“I am certain, having read his unpublishedtreatises, that he was guilty of innovation in beliefs,Tajseem and so on.” (Anwaar ul-Baari)Shaykh ul-Islam acquired this conviction only afterhaving gained access to Ibn Taymiyyah’s unpublishedtreatises and books in Madeenah which were notaccessible in India:“While I was staying in Madeenah Munawwarah, Isaw [Ibn Taymiyyah’s] writings and treatises. I evensaw some books which are probably not found in anyof the libraries of Hindustan. Having read all of them,I came to the conclusion – upon insight – that therewas an open deviation and departure from the path ofAhlus Sunnah found in him.” (Anwaar ul-Baari)Now that in this day and age the mass-publicationand mass-propagation worldwide of Ibn Taymiyyah’sbooks have made his anthropomorphism as clear asdaylight (see explicit statements below), and virulentsects are fervently propagating such anthropomorphicbeliefs, it would be moronic and an aid for Baatil forsomeone to dig up some earlier Malfooz (statement)of Maulana Husayn Ahmad Madani in praise of IbnTaymiyyah while he was still in a state of ignoranceor uncertainty regarding Ibn Taymiyyah’s Tajseem.It would be similarly moronic and an aid for Baatilfor someone to translate and propagate someMalfoozaat of Allamah Taaj ud Deen as-Subki,5
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEAllamah Abu Hayyaan al-Andalusi, Allamah Salahud-Deen al-Alaai, Allamah Quwnawi, AllamahZamlakani, and numerous others, in profuse praise ofIbn Taymiyyah, when the very same scholars turnedextremely harshly against him later on, only after hisTajseem or his numerous other deviations becameclear to them.While the Salafis, Halafis (Salafis masquerading asHanafis), and their like-minded breeds used toinsinuate that the countless Fuqaha (jurists)throughout the ages who had carried out extremelyharsh “Jarh Mufassar” (detailed criticism) on IbnTaymiyyah, were all liars, fabricators, guilty ofextreme bias, or part of a massive freemasonic-likeconspiracy, in light of the mass-publication of IbnTaymiyyah’s works in this age and the absolutevindication of such “Jarh Mufassar”, the Salafis are nolonger able to maintain such irrational insinuationswhich tarnish the judgement and integrity of hundredsof upright scholars for the sake of their dearMujaddid. “Hazrat-worship” (turning a blind eye tothe flagrant evil of one’s dear Mujaddid) has neverbeen more evident than in the attitude of the salafi-likebreeds towards the deviances of Ibn Taymiyyah.Furthermore, the status of the Salafis as AhlulHawaa (people of desires), their hypocrisy, and theirdouble-standards, are most manifest in their6
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEindiscriminate application of the principle of “JarhMufassar takes precedence over Ta’deel” (i.e.detailed criticism overrides praise), and the suddenand absolute suspension of this principle in regards toIbn Taymiyyah and his student Ibnul Qayyim. Weshall elaborate more on this principle and theNafsaani-based application of it by the Ahlul Hawaasuch as the Salafis in a future article insha-Allah.Consider the following explicit transmission ofMullah Ali al-Qaari that the Salaf-us-Saaliheen wouldregard as Kaafir the one who attributes a direction toAllah:“A group from them (Salaf-us-Saaliheen) and theKhalaf said, ‘The one who believes in a direction [forAllah] is a Kaafir’, as explicitly stated by al-Iraaqi.He said, ‘This is the statement of Abu Hanifah,Maalik, Shafi’i, al-Ash’ari, and al-Baqillaani'”[Mirqaat ul-Mafaateeh]kِ lِ ح َ fO gَ aَ َآ ،ٌfjِ aَ آ cِ Zَ dِ Uْ ا Gَ Iِ Jَ Lْ Nُ ن O ِإ :ِRSَTَ Uْ ا Wَ Nِ ْ َو YZُ [ْ Nِ ٌ] َْ ل َ aَb ي m fِ Lَ oْ pَ Uْ وَا qm Lِ jِ aOrU وَا tٍ UِaَN َو cَ uَ vِ[wَ qِlpَ Uِ ٌ ْل xbَ kُ yO ِإ :َ ل aَb َو ،zqbِ َا fLِ Uْ ا qm yِ aOSbِ aَ{Uْ وَا Now that in this age it is manifestly clear withoutthe slightest doubt that Ibn Taymiyyah regarded Allahto be in a specific direction, with countless Salafi sectstoday propagating such a belief openly and7
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEshamelessly, it would be moronic and a completedisservice to the teachings of Mullah al-Qaari himself,to dig out some Malfoozaat of his in praise of IbnTaymiyyah, while he was obviously ignorant of thefact that Ibn Taymiyyah firmly affirmed a belief thatwould warrant a Takfeer according to the Salaf whomMullah al-Qaari himself approvingly quoted. Yet, theMudaahins (psychophants) of this age do exactly this,thus advertising thoroughly their stupidity.Perhaps a group of Deobandi Mudaahin Muftis,Maulanas and Shaykhs who have nothing better to do,should embark on the urgent task of digging outMalfoozaat of the Akaabir of Deoband in profusepraise of Maududi, the evil denigrator of the Ambiya(alayhis salaam) and the Sahabah (radhiyallahuanhum). Hadhrat Ilyas Khandelwi, for example,before passing away, paid glowing tribute to Maududi,indicating that Maududi’s movement was far moreimportant and valuable than the Tableegh Jama’at. Itis obvious that many of the deviate beliefs of Maududiwere yet hidden from Hadhrat Ilyas Khandelwi andother Akaabir who had praised him. And, even ifsome Akaabir did praise Maududi while cognizant ofhis denigration of the Ambiya (alayhis salaam) andSahabah (radhiyallahu anhu), we are obliged to regardit as a lapse on their part, now that there no longerexists any ambiguity over Maududi’s deviance.8
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEWhile it is possible for righteous authorities of thepast to have committed errors in Furoo’ (e.g. certainfiqhi matters), without such errors impinging on theirauthority and integrity, to grant the same latitude forerrors in Usool (e.g. Sifaat of Allah) is to spell thedestruction of the Deen. Kufr shall always remainKufr, regardless of the Nooraniyat shining from theperpetrator’s face, or his monumental textualknowledge, or the length of his beard, or the extent ofhis Zuhd and Jihaad, or the numbers attending his Urs(death anniversary).If we were to tolerate such evil as theanthropomorphism of Ibn Taymiyyah as vividlyapparent in the explicit statements to come below,then justice and consistency would demand that wealso tolerate the Baatil of all other deviate sects today.Exhibiting leniency towards such beliefs as Allahhaving a direction, body, size, Allah being able to situpon the back of a mosquito, Hell-fire ending for eventhe Kuffaar, the beginninglessness of the Arsh etc.would entail tolerating all the deviances of theBarelwi grave-worshippers, modernists, feminists,progressives, etc. Perhaps even some of the more‘moderate’ Shiah sects will then have to be shovedback into the Ummah.Furthermore, in authentic Ahadith and narrationsfrom the Salaf, it is clearly indicated that Mudaahanah9
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISE(tolerating evil) is THE primary cause of Allah’spunishment which often takes the form of brutalKuffaar armies such as those which are ravaging theUmmah today. According to the Shar’iah, deviationsin Aqeedah of the degree of anthropomorphism areworse than adultery and murder. Knowinglypropagating and aiding the cause of the leaders ofanthropomorphism are worse than propagatingadultery and murder.Thus, the Mudaahin Maulanas, Muftis and Shaykhsof this age should understand that their praise and aidin service of Baatil are not trivial issues that cansimply be consigned as Kuffaar-style “academia”.They should reflect on their true intention ofpropagating such Malfoozaat of the Akaabir in praiseof deviates which were obviously made in ignorance.Perhaps in the free-lancing deviances of IbnTaymiyyah there exists a uniquely wide scope forjustification for the Tafarrudaat (abominations /anomalies) of their own Hazrats.A detailed treatise will be compiled elaborating onthe beliefs of Ibn Taymiyyah regarding which theSalafi-lovers and the proponents of Mudaahanah burythemselves head-first, deep under the sand. Such is theexplicit nature and unambiguous anthropomorphismin the statements of Ibn Taymiyyah which have onlybeen recently published that even many of the most10
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEfanatic Salafi breeds have been constrained to adopt astance of deafening silence regarding them.For now, for the edification of the sincereMudaahins who may consider rectifying theirMudahaanah, below is a small sample of explicitquotes straight from the books of Ibn Taymiyyah,whose existence is easily verifiable today, which liftthe veil of ambiguity that may have shrouded formany centuries Ibn Taymiyyah’s true beliefs whichelicited the severe and now completely vindicated“Jarh Mufassar” of hundreds of Fuqaha throughout theages.Ibn Taymiyyah’s fork-tongued and taqiyyah-likestatements elsewhere in other books, in a fashiontypical of Ahlul Hawaa, which successfully dupedmany a scholar, cannot render into non-existence themonstrosities cited below and many other statementsof the same category of depravity, which are allabsolutely irreconcilable with the true Aqeedah ofAhlus Sunnah wa’l Jama’ah.Let us begin with Ibn Taymiyyah’s explicit, nontaqiyyah affirmation of body (jism) and direction(jihat) for Allah. In one of his many refutations of theAsh’aris, Ibn Taymiyyah employs some typicallyperverse Salafi Kalaam to “prove” that it is necessaryfor Allah to have a body and direction, according to11
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEhow these terms are defined by the Ulama of AhlusSunnah wal-Jama’ah:“It is known that the vision [of Allah in theafterlife] which the Lawgiver has told [us] aboutcannot be affirmed while negating [for Allah] whatthey regard as a ‘body’. Rather, affirming it [i.e.vision] necessitates [affirming for Allah] what theyregard as a ‘body’ and ‘direction’. It is clear thatwhoever tries to combine these two [i.e. affirmation ofvision and negation of ‘body’ and ‘direction’] isstubbornly refusing what is established by reason andby the senses.” (Bayaan Talbees al-Jahmiyyah)aN quy ]N رع arU ا aZl f{ أ qJU ا c ؤ fU ت ا a{ إ W ky أ YS GIj.cZdU وا Y dU ا ky ن إ xUxI a U م SJ N aZ a{ إ l ، Y dU ا ky ن إ xUxI س x U ل وا xIL SU fla N ky j W ه Wvl ] WN ky أ Wv{ GIj اهــ k[N {Ivj vUGUal k[vl Gb a N وه ا While asserting ‘Jism‘ for Allah in the statementabove, Ibn Taymiyyah was, no doubt, well aware ofhow his opponents defined ‘Jism‘ i.e. “what theyregard as a body“. This clear-cut definition of ‘Jism’of the Ulama of Ahlus Sunnah which Ibn Taymiyyahemphatically and shamelessly affirmed for AllahTa’ala is:“[Something with spatial] measurement of length,breadth and depth, which prevents something else12
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEfrom being present where it is, unless it moves fromthat place.”G x أن WN fv ][ ض و f ل و x kU ار GIN W رة a{ ن a U ا tU ذ W [J ن pl إ x ه vwIbn Taymiyyah employs more stupid Salafi Kalaamhere to “prove” that it is impossible for Allah (azza wajal) not to have a size:“As for a thing not be described with increase anddecrease, nor the absence of that, and it is existentwithout having a size, then that is inconceivable.”(Bayaan Talbees al-Jahmiyyah)tU م ذ GLl ن و a I[U دة وا a Ual ف xgxN fv ء qrU ن ا x آ aNpj IL ا Zj ر Gb ي l vU د و x xN x وه Ibn Taymiyyah explicitly affirms limits for Allah andthe “Kufr” of denying limits for Allah:“Allah, exalted is He, has a limit which nobody butHim knows. It is not permitted for anybody to imaginehimself a demarcation to his limit, and rather he mustbelieve in it and consign the knowledge of it to Allah.Allah’s place also has a limit, namely [His place] onthe Throne above His heavens; so that means twolimits. [Here he cited a number of texts from theQur’an which in his opinion show that Allah has a13
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEphysical limit then he says:] This and what is like itare proofs that all show that [Allah has a] limit andwhoever does not profess that has disbelieved in therevelation and denied the verses of Allah.”(Muwaafaqah, vol. 2, p. 29) G U Y ه xJ أن Gw ز xd و fv Gw أ k SL Gّ w kU UaL وا kya U و ، ا U إ tU ذ YS و G Ual WN W U و k uy qj c a ا Zj ن a[ ان ا Gw ان Zj ، k ا x « ق xj kof S x وه Gw a أ fu آ GIj kl ف fJL YU WN و G U ا S ود G اه xo kZ{o أ aN و kS آ ت ا اهــ a G [ ا و JlIn his Bayaan Talbees al-Jahmiyyah, while gentlyrefuting another Mujassim (anthropomorphist) whorestricts Allah to only one limit, Ibn Taymiyyahmakes clear that he believes Allah to have more limitsfrom various sides.Finally to end this short sample, Ibn Taymiyyahstates that Allah is actually able to mount on the backof a mosquito, hence this is stupid Salafi Kalaamic“proof” that Allah is actually mounted on the throne:“If He wanted He could board/get on the back of amosquito and it would hold Him up/carry Him by Hispower and the gracefulness of His Lordship; so whatabout a great throne greater than the seven heavensand the seven earths?” (Bayaan Talbees alJahmiyyah)14
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISER U و k ر GIl kl SIJ«aj c²xLl fZ³ S IJ« ء ao Gb xU و ]{ U ات ا x U ا WN f{ أآ Yv ش f S Rv j ، kJvlxl ر {] اهــ U ا Wv² ر وا Observe the violent and irreconcilable conflictbetween Ibn Taymiyyah’s explicit affirmation of body(tajseem), direction, size, limits for Allah, etc. with thepure Aqeedah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhiwasallam), the Sahabah (radhiyallahu anhu), and theSalaf-us-Saaliheen, as transmitted here by Imam AbuJa’far Tahaawi (rahmatullah alayh) whom even theSalafis are constrained to accept as an authentic anduprighteous transmitter of the Aqeedah of the Salafus-Saaliheen:“He (Allah Ta’ala) is transcendent beyond limitsand boundaries, parts, limbs and instruments. The sixdirections do not contain Him like (the six directionscontain) all created entities.” (Aqeedat-utTahaawiyyah) ء a ن وا a رآ ت وا a a·U ود وا G U ا W ( ا q[L ) UaL ت a GJ{ U ا f a آ U ت ا aZdU ا k x دوات و وا Furthermore, Imam Tahaawi transmits from the Salafus-Saaliheen the ruling of Kufr (disbelief) for the onewho describes Allah with such attributes that canapply only to created entities which self-evidently15
IBN TAYMIYYAH AND THE DEOBANDI PRAISEincludes direction, body, size, limits, ability to sit onthe back of a mosquito, and other descriptions withwhich the Mujassimah such as Ibn Taymiyyahdescribe Allah Ta’ala:“Whoever describes Allah with a meaning (orproperty) from the meanings (or properties) of man,he has committed Kufr (disbelief).” (Aqeedat-utTahaawiyyah)fu آ GIj fr{U ا qyaLN WN [L l ا Rg و WN و For the sincere seekers of truth, the “Malfoozaat”(statements) above will more than suffice in providinga glimpse into the abundant reasons due to which IbnTaymiyyah was severely and rightfully disparaged(Jarh Mufassar) by innumerable righteous scholars inevery age, and which thoroughly overrides any praise(Ta’deel) he received from others who had clearly notcome across all his abominations in their full gorydetail which include literally dozens of contraventionsof Ijma’ (consensus) in both the spheres of Aqeedahand Fiqh. The future article will highlight andexamine many of those abominations in detail inshaAllah.16
Hadhrat Thanvi praised Imaam ibn Taymiyyah and Imaam ibn al-Qayyim, saying they were Aarifeen, and he referred to Imaam ibn Taymiyyah with the title of Allaamah. Please comment. ANSWER In India there was at that time a great dearth of the kutub of Ibn Taimiyyah and Ibn Qayyim, hence most of our Akaabir of that era were unaware of the views
