THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH

Treatise Salafism & Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyyah THE UNIVERSE IS ETERNAL THE UNIVERSE IS ETERNAL THE UNIVERSE IS ETERNAL THE UNIVERSE IS ETERNAL SAYS IBN TAIMIYYAH SAYS IBN TAIMIYYAH SAYS IBN TAIMIYYAH SAYS IBN TAIMIYYAH By MUJLISUL ULAMA OF S.A. P.O. BOX 3393 PORT ELIZABETH, 6056 SOUTH AFRICA CHAPTER ONE 2 Contents INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 3 CHAPTER ONE ...................................................................... 5 IBN TAIMIYYAH’S AVERMENT THAT TEMPORAL (NON-ETERNAL) ENTITIES HAVE NO BEGINNING .......................................................... 5 His Irrational Theory of Kufr in Muwaafaqatu Sareehil Ma’qool 7 His Self-Contradiction and Pure Shirk in Minhaajus Sunnah . 10 His Brazen Kufr in Naqdu Maraatibil Ijmaa’ ........................... 12 His Hypothesis of Kufr in His Sharah of the Hadith of Imraan Bin Husain ............................................................................. 13 His Kufr Commentary of Hadithun Nuzool ............................. 13 Kufr in his Fataawa ............................................................... 14 Kufr in His Tafseer ................................................................ 14 Confirmation by the Ulama of the Kufr of Ibn Taimiyyah’s Beliefs ................................................................................... 14 Ibn Taimiyyah’s Shirk in the Light of the Qur’aan ................... 16 Ibn Taimiyyah Discarding an Authentic Hadith for His Baseless Opinion of Kufr ...................................................................... 17 Ibn Taimiyyah, the Philosophers and the Salaf ...................... 20 Allah Ta’ala’s Eternal Attributes of Ghadhab (Wrath) and Ridha (Pleasure) ................................................................... 21 Ibn Taimiyyah Displaying His Ignorance ................................ 24 The Absurdity of Ibn Taimiyyah’s ‘Hawaadith Laa Awwala Laha’ Postulate ..................................................................... 25 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................... 28 A SIMPLE ELABORATION ................................................... 28 Al-Baani’s Dissociation from Ibn Taimiyyah’s Abhorrent Beliefs of Kufr and Shirk ................................................................... 31 Ibn Taimiyyah in Abnegation of Every Belief of Islam Related to Creation ............................................................................ 33 The Kufr Consequence of Ibn Taimiyyah’s Belief .................. 34 Debunking All the Rubbish of Ibn Taimiyyah ......................... 37 Soul-Searching for the Salafis ............................................... 39 THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 3 INTRODUCTION Among the vilest of Ibn Taimiyyah’s beliefs is his hypothesis of the universe being eternal. By eternity is meant existing independently without having been created. It is a never- ending existence. It has neither a beginning nor an ending. The eternity of the universe is the belief of the Greek philosophers. When Ibn Taimiyyah dabbled with philosophy he lost the path of Islam. He deviated into the kufr of the Greek philosophers. Their ‘rational’ arguments exercised a profound impact on him. He thus conjectured the belief: hawaadithu la awwala laha, that is, temporal things (things which come into existence from non-existence) have no beginning since they are always preceded by another temporal entity ad infinitum. Although the coprocreep Salafis of our age are desperately labouring to clear Ibn Taimiyyah of this kufr, they fail miserably in the task for the simple reason that in at least seven of his books, Ibn Taimiyyah has explicitly propounded his theory of the eternity of the universe. Ibn Taimiyyah’s theory of kufr has attained the rank of Tawaatur in Ulama circles. The belated attempts to exonerate Ibn Taimiyyah from his kufr belief must be dismissed with contempt. The evidence to confirm his belief is overwhelming. Al-Baani, the devoted muqallid of Ibn Taimiyyah is the seal of confirmation. No one can honestly deny the attribution of the kufr concept to Ibn Taimiyyah, when Al-Baani himself confirms it. We are not the first to refute this kufr of Ibn Taimiyah. Great Ulama of the past have thoroughly debunked the kufr and shirk which Ibn Taimiyyah had promoted with his satanic hypothesis of the universe being eternal in species. The coprocreep Salafis stupidly and monotonously moan that the great Ulama of the past did not understand the statements of Ibn Taimiyyah. These stupid coprocreeps labour under the misapprehension that everyone shares in their stupidity. Their contention is ludicrous. They are capable of fabricating statements of CHAPTER ONE 4 exoneration which they will attribute to Ibn Taimiyyah, but they will not be able to deny what Ibn Taimiyyah propounded in his seven kutub which are published and available. That Ibn Taimiyyah had in fact propounded the theory of the eternity of the universe, is undeniable. The denial of the Salafis is of no consequence and is dismissed with contempt. This short treatise is based on the Refutation of Ibn Taimiyyah’s kufr beliefs authored by Shaikh Abdullah Al- Harari. Extracts from his kitaab, Al-Maqaalaatus Sunniyyah fi Kashfi Dhalaalaati Ahmad Bin Taimiyyah, are presented in paraphrased form for better comprehension of an English- reading public. Mujlisul Ulama of S.A. Jamaadil Ula 1434 March 2013 THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 5 CHAPTER ONE IBN TAIMIYYAH’S AVERMENT THAT TEMPORAL (NON-ETERNAL) ENTITIES HAVE NO BEGINNING Ibn Taimiyyah subscribed to the belief that the genus of temporal (non-eternal) entities has no beginning. The genus of all things has always existed with Allah. In other words, Allah Ta’ala did not precede the genus of non-eternal entities. They are co-eternal with Him. His precedence is over specific elements or members of the non-eternal entities. In other words, each individual non-eternal entity is, intrinsically, new and created. However, non-eternal entities as a genus have been eternal just as Allah Ta’ala is eternal. Simply put, he believed that Allah Ta’ala did not exist before the genus of the myriads of entities in the universe. Consider the example of a donkey. The donkey exists in the mind in the abstract form as a genus. This donkey genus has millions and billions of donkeys ad infinitum in existence in the material world. According to the theory of Ibn Taimiyyah, while all these trillions and ‘impossibillions’ of donkeys ad infinitum will die one after the other, the donkey species will never come to an end. It will continue ad infinitum since it is eternal with Allah Ta’ala, never having had a beginning nor will there ever be an ending for the donkey species. It is not possible for the species of donkeys to ever become extinct. There always had been donkeys co-eternally with Allah Ta’ala. This bizarre concept vividly displays the stupidity of Ibn Taimiyyah who propounded the preposterously stupid kufr belief that despite the donkeys in the species perishing, the donkey species always existed co-eternally with Allah Ta’ala. He was too dumb in his brains to understand that with CHAPTER ONE 6 individual donkeys in the material world, there can be no donkey species being eternal. He miserably failed to understand the simple reality of every donkey perishing regardless of a donkey having preceded it. Even the preceding ass had perished, and the one which had preceded it, and the one preceding it and so on until the point of the first created donkey is reached. But in the belief of this lunatic there was never a first donkey because a donkey is always preceded by another donkey. Ibn Batutah had indeed struck the nail on the head of Ibn Taimiyyah’s insanity when he commented about him: “There is something amiss with his brains.” This vile kufr concept of Ibn Taimiyyah applies to all things in the universe. In terms of this weird theory of kufr, Hadhrat Aadam (alayhis salaam) was not the first created human being because human beings are a species to which belongs the myriads of people. So whilst the individual persons in the human species are of temporal origin and liable to perish, the human species cannever be annihilated since it is co-eternal with Allah Ta’ala. Thus, Aadam (alayhis salaam) was preceded by another Aadam or some other human being who in turn was preceded by another person and so on ad infinitum. This is Ibn Taimiyyah’s corrupt belief of kufr which he states in the words: Al-hawaadithu bin-Nau’ la awwala laha (Temporal or non-eternal things have no beginning). According to him, the universe is co-eternal with Allah Azza Wa Jal in so far as its genus is concerned. In other words, a universe precedes it (i.e. the current universe) with another universe which in turn was preceded by another universe ad infinitum. This is the most repugnant of his beliefs. It is abundantly clear that such a corrupt belief is the effect of mental disequilibrium. In this belief, Ibn Taimiyyah is violently in conflict with the clear textual evidence of the Qur’aan, Sunnah and the Ijmaa’ (consensus) of Muslims. THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 7 He has submitted this vile belief of kufr in seven of his kutub (works), namely, • Muwaafaqatu Sareehil Ma’qool Lisaheehil Manqool • Minhaajus Sunnatin Nabawiyyah • Kitaabu Sharhi Hadithin Nuzool • Kitaabu Sharhi Hadithi Imraan Bin Husain • Kitaabu Naqdi Maraatibil Ijmaa’ • Majmoo’atu Tafseer Min Sitti Suwar • Kitaab on Fataawa. All these works are published and they testify to the corrupt belief of kufr to which Ibn Taimiyyah subscribed. His Irrational Theory of Kufr in Muwaafaqatu Sareehil Ma’qool In Muwaafaqatu Sareehil Ma’qool he states: “The majority of the Ahl Hadith and those who concur with them do not view species to be non-eternal, but eternal. In other words the species (or genus) of things have no temporal origin. They did not come into existence in time, but are co-eternal with Allah Ta’ala. They distinguish between the non-eternity of the species and the non-eternity of an individual member of the species, just as the majority of intellectuals distinguish between perpetuity of species and perpetuity of any given member of the species.” Thus, in terms of his corrupt hypothesis, whilst the species, e.g. the human being is eternal, the individual members of this genus such as Zaid, Bakr, Abdullah ad infinitum, are not eternal. The individual members of the genus are created in time whilst the genus, i.e. humans, is uncreated. Only a severely corrupted brain sees logic in this insanely illogic and irrational theory of kufr. At another place, in refutation of another stupid principle of the philosophers, viz., that whatever is not void of a non- CHAPTER ONE 8 eternal element is non-eternal for contrary to that the non- eternal element will then be eternal, he (Ibn Taimiyyah) cites Al-Abhari who says: “We do not accept this (aforementioned principle). The corollary will only follow if a particular motion is indispensable to a physical body, whereas this is not the case. On the contrary, every motion is preceded by a motion without a beginning.” Ibn Taimiyyah then comments: “The pattern here is the same as before. The indispensable eternal entity is the species of the non-eternal entity, not the actual non-eternal entity. We do not accept that a current non- eternal entity is dependent on the termination of that which has no limit, assuming that motion is non-eternal in the realm of eternity. On the contrary, the current non-eternal entity is preceded by non-eternal entities without a beginning.” These rubbish ‘principles’ are mentioned here merely to present the evidence for the claim that Ibn Taimiyyah believed in the eternity of the universe – that it is co-eternal with Allah Ta’ala. He postulates this kufr concept by saying with the self- contradictory hypothesis that a created (non-eternal) object is preceded by another temporal (non-eternal) object, which again is preceded by another temporal object and so on, is the process of procession from a preceding object ad infinitum. The bunkum of this rubbish is self evident. Yet again he says in his book, Muwaafaqatu Sareehil Ma’qool Lisaheehil Manqool: “Where in the Qur’aan is there clear indication of every moving entity being non-eternal or a possible, that movement exists only with a non-eternal entity or a possible entity, that non-eternal entities are never void of what exists with them, and that a non-eternal is that which is not free of non-eternal members? And where is the possibility negated in the Qur’aan of non-eternal entities (such as the donkey and the pig) not having a beginning.” THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 9 This extremely weird concept of Ibn Taimiyyah testifies to his idiocy. Only a brain jarred and eternally damaged with some sort of insanity can conjecture the stupidity of a temporal (created in time) being not having an origin in time. He was too stupid to understand the meaning of the Qur’aanic aayat which states that only Allah Ta’ala was the First. And, his brains could not understand the simple meaning of the Hadith which categorically affirms a beginning for creation and the Hadith stating that the Qalam or the Arsh was the first created object. Despite this unequivocal affirmation, Ibn Taimiyyah insists that there was always an Arsh before the current Arsh, and that the species of Arsh is co-eternal with Allah Ta’ala, there never ever having been a moment when there was no Arsh. Divine Thrones are created and annihilated one after the other in rapid succession. But never was there a time when there was no Arsh because Arsh is co-eternal with Allah Ta’ala. This then is the conspicuous kufr of Ibn Taimiyyah. Thus, Allah Ta’ala does not possess the power to annihilate the Arsh or even the donkey species because what is eternal has no beginning and no ending, hence it is indestructible. This then is the concept of Allah’s attribute of Qudrat (Power) in the brains of Ibn Taimiyyah. He, by means of this bizarre, irrational, weird concept of kufr stripped Allah Ta’ala of His Attributes and rendered Him an impotent creating force lacking omnipotence over what ensues from him. Only a man with a scorbutic sensorium is capable of such a dastardly paroxysm. Ibn Taimiyyah averred that the eternity of the universe is eternal as a species while the individual members of the abstract theory of the universe are temporal or not eternal. Kauthari’s response in his annotation to As-Saifus Saqeel Fir Raddi Ala Ibniz Zafeel is: “How can the species be eternal (in the past) whilst its individual members are non-eternal? Such an averment can only be uttered by one in a fit of insanity. The future differs. Abu Ya’la Hambali states in Al-Mu’tamad: ‘Non-eternal entities have a beginning whence they issued. The CHAPTER ONE 10 mulhidah (heretics) believe otherwise.’ (As-Saifus Saqeel was written by the Shaafi’ authority, Imaam Taqiyyud Deen As- Subki in refutation of Ibnul Qayyim’s An-Nuniyyah in which he (Ibnul Qayyim) espouses the corrupt beliefs of his Ustaaz, Ibn Taimiyyah) “He (Abu Ya’la) is among the imaams of the composer – i.e. Ibnul Qayyim. Thus, he (Ibnul Qayyim) and his shaikh (Ibn Tayyimah) are among the heretics according to Abu Ya’la. They are therefore worse off than him (Abu Ya’la) in deviation. We ask Allah Ta’ala for safety (of Imaan, Aameen).” Although Abu Ya’la the deviate, is their imaam, he too condemns the belief of created beings having no beginning, propounded by Ibn Taimiyyah as heresy in view of the extreme corruption and irrationality of this kufr belief. His Self-Contradiction and Pure Shirk in Minhaajus Sunnah Ibn Taimiyyah says in Minhaajus Sunnatin Nabawiyyah: “If you tell us that we have affirmed non-eternal entities for Allah, our response to you is, ‘Yes’. This is our declaration which the Shariah and intelligences point out.” In it (Al-Minhaaj) he furthermore says: “…Negation of the possibility of non-eternal entities not having a beginning is an unprecedented approach in the Shariah by the consensus of the Ulama of the Sunnah. It is a dangerous and dreaded approach intellectually. In fact, it is decried by numerous parties.” At another place (in Al-Minhaaj) he says: “Thus, it is not possible for something of this universe to be eternal, although it is permissible for the species of non-eternal entities to be perpetual from eternity. The reason for this is that eternity is not defined as a limited entity. On the contrary, every set time is preceded by another time. Thus, it does not follow from the perpetuity of the species the eternity of a given object.” THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 11 From this it is obvious that Ibn Taimiyyah acknowledges and believes in the timelessness of the individual members of species without specification. Despite a specific member perishing, the membership of the species is eternal in his stupid, irrational theory. His contention, ‘it is not possible for something of this universe to be eternal’, is therefore, a manifest self-contradiction in that the procession of donkeys is never-ending, for if it would ever end, the logical conclusion would be the annihilation of the species, and this is negated by Ibn Taimiyyah’s corrupt kufr belief of the eternity of the genus of things. This is the gist of what he is saying, together with what Al-Jalaal Ad-Dawwaani quoted from him in Kitaabu Sharhil Adhudiyyah, that: “I have seen in some script of Ibn Taimiyyah this statement of his – i.e. timelessness of the genus – in regard to the Arsh.” In other words, he (Ibn Taimiyyah) believes that the genus of Arsh is eternal – never was there an Arsh but an Arsh existed before the previous Arsh from eternity, and that an Arsh comes into being then becomes non- existent then comes into being then becomes non-existent ad infinitum. Simply put, the genus of Arsh is eternal and eternally existed with Allah. Whilst the existence of a specific Arsh at this present moment of time is non-eternal, the species of Arsh, however, is eternal. Thus, the species which is also ‘something of this universe’ is eternal. The self-contradiction of Ibn Taimiyyah is therefore conspicuous. Just as the individual members of the species, e.g. a black donkey, a brown donkey, etc., are entities of the universe, so too is the donkey species an entity of the world because without individual donkeys there can be no donkey species in existence. The postulate that the donkey species is not of the universe, hence is eternal, is pure shirk to which Ibn Taimiyyah subscribed. Elsewhere in Al-Minhaaj he says: “Some say that it is with the will and power of Allah – that is, the action of Allah is with His will and power – one after the other. However, He was CHAPTER ONE 12 always attributed with it (action). Thus, it (the action of Allah) is non-eternal in relation to the individual members, and timeless (eternal) in species, as is the view of the Imaams of the Ahl Hadeeth and others, viz. the followers of Shaafi’, Ahmad and other groups.” Just look at this fabrication and blatant falsehood! It is his old habit of attributing fabricated and vile statements to the Muhadditheen. He is completely alone in this (fabrication), conforming only to the later philosophers. But he attributes a pure fabrication to the Muhadditheen and Fuqaha of the Shaafi’, Hambali and other Math-habs. He in fact slanders them. None of them ever proclaimed this stark kufr which Ibn Taimiyyah attributes to them. By means of this slander his ploy was to disseminate his fabricated belief among Muslims of weak minds whilst portraying himself too great to be accused of conformity with the philosophers in this aqeedah. He has been unable to cite the name of even a single authority of the Ahlus Sunnah who had subscribed to his concept of blatant kufr and shirk. His Brazen Kufr in Naqdu Maraatibil Ijmaa’ Ibn Taimiyyah rebutted Ibn Hazm in Naqdu Maraatibil Ijmaa’ on account of the latter quoting Ijmaa’ on the belief that Allah Ta’ala was eternally alone and nothing was with Him (in the eternal past), and on the belief that anyone having a contrary belief is a kaafir in the unanimous opinion of Muslims. Upon this Ibn Taimiyyah averred: “Even more astonishing is his (Ibn Hazm’s) narration of Ijmaa’ on the kufr of one who disputes that Allah Subhaanahu was eternally on his own and nothing was with him.” These words of Ibn Taimiyyah unequivocally affirm his i’tiqaad (belief) that the universe as a genus is eternal; Allah Ta’ala did not precede it in existence. He believed that the material universe is co- eternal with Allah Ta’ala, and that it is impossible for Allah THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 13 Azza Wa Jal to ever have been alone at any stage in eternity. He further brazenly claims that to believe that Allah Ta’ala existed before the universe and that He was Alone without any creation, is kufr. His Hypothesis of Kufr in His Sharah of the Hadith of Imraan Bin Husain In the Sharh of the Hadith of Imraan Bin Husain he says: “There is neither Shar’i nor logical negation of the hypothesis that the species of temporal entities were eternally with Him. On the contrary, these temporal entities are of His perfection. Allah Ta’ala states: “Is that Being Who creates like those who do not create? Don’t you take lesson?” (Surah Nahl, Aayat 17) He (Ibn Taimiyyah) furthermore says: “Creation has always been with Him…However, many people confuse species with a specific member (of the species).” His Kufr Commentary of Hadithun Nuzool In the commentary of the Hadith pertaining to the Nuzool (Descent) of Allah Ta’ala, he says in refutation of those who declare that whatever is not free of temporal members, is itself non-eternal, and in refutation of those who say that whatever does not precede temporal entities, is itself non-eternal: (They make these contentions) because they have not differentiated between the species of non-eternal entities and between a particular non-eternal entity.” By this Ibn Taimiyyah intends that the view which predicates with the Zaat of Allah Ta’ala temporal entities which have no beginning does not demand Him being non- eternal. He argues in confusion like a drunken man. A temporal entity is temporal because it has an origin in time. Nothing of CHAPTER ONE 14 the Zaat of Allah Azza Wa Jal is temporal. If temporality is affirmed for the Divine Zaat it logically follows that He – Nauthubillah! – is non-eternal. Kufr in his Fataawa In his Fataawa he avers: “From this, too, is clear that the sound rational proofs of the philosophisers (he refers to the Muslim philosophers) also point out to the math-hab of the Salaf, for the thrust of their arguments is that the Supreme Being was always faa’il (active), and that it is not possible rationally for Him to be active after dormancy and for an activity or action to be possible for Him after it was not possible. This and all their arguments simply affirm the eternity of the species of action.” Kufr in His Tafseer In his Tafseer of Surah A’laa he states: “The proof of the view espousing the impossibility of temporal entities having no beginning has been established to be weak.” Confirmation by the Ulama of the Kufr of Ibn Taimiyyah’s Beliefs This aqeedah of Ibn Taimiyyah has been confirmed by Hafiz Subki in his treatise, Ad-Durratul Mudhiyyah and by Hafiz Abu Sa’eed Al-Alaa-ee. It is furthermore established from Subki’s famous Qaseedah narrated by his student, As-Safdi who is also the student of Ibn Taimiyyah. In fact, it is reported by even the supporters of Ibn Taimiyyah. The qaseedah is composed of a rebuttal of Al-Huliyy and then of Ibn Taimiyyah for his view of the eternity of the universe as a genus and his THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 15 view of temporal entities having no origin for their existence just as there is no beginning for the existence of Allah… Allaamah Al-Bayaadhi Hanafi states in his kitaab, Ishaaraatul Maraam after a dissertation on the proofs of the non-eternity of the universe: “Ibn Taimiyyah’s notion of the eternity of the Arsh is thus baatil (false and corrupt), as mentioned in Sharhul Adhudiyyah.” The Muhaddith and Usooli (Aalim of Ilmu Usoolil Fiqh), Badrud Deen Zarkashi quoted consensus of Muslims in Tansheeful Masaami’ on the kufr of one who views the universe to be eternal in species. After citing the view of the philosophers who contend that the universe is eternal in matter and form, while some are of the view that it (the universe) is eternal in matter but non-eternal as far as form is concerned, he (Zarkashi) asserts: “Muslims declare them to be astray and kaafir.” Haafiz Ibn Daqeequl Eid, Qaadhi Iyaadh Maaliki, Haafiz Zainud Deen Al-Iraaqi, Haafiz Ibn Hajar in the Sharh of Bukhaari as well as other Ulama have issued similar statements. In Ash-Shifaa, Qaadhi Iyaadh states: “Similarly, we categorically declare kaafir one who avers that the universe is eternal (neither having a beginning nor an ending) or has any doubts in this regard following the doctrine of certain philosophers and atheists.” Ibn Taimiyyah adopted this kufr view of the philosophers after effecting a minor cosmetic change to it. In Fat-hul Baari Haafiz Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaani states: “Our Shaikh, Al-Iraaqi, says in Sharhut Tirmizi: ‘The correct protocol in declaring to be kaafir one who rejects Ijmaa’ is to confine it to matters of the Deen whose wujoob (compulsory nature) is known self-evidently, such as the five daily Salaat. Some explain it as: ‘Rejection of something known through tawaatur, among which is the non-eternity of the world,” (i.e. CHAPTER ONE 16 the temporality and annihilation of the universe are established by such nusoos (narrational evidence) which is of the Tawaatur category). Ibn Daqeequl Eid said: ‘There has arisen a person who has claimed mastery in the rational sciences and who is inclined to philosophy. He opined that one who opposes the temporality of the world will not be declared to be a kaafir in view of it (i.e. declaring him a kaafir) being in conflict with Ijmaa’. He has latched on to our statement that a rejecter of Ijmaa’ will not be declared kaafir unconditionally. Textual Shar’i evidence has to be produced by way of tawaatur (for substantiating a belief to be kufr).’ This argument is utterly baseless. It is the product of either intellectual blindness or deliberate blindness. The case of the temporality of the world is substantiated with Ijmaa’ and tawaatur transmission.” (End of Ibn Hajar’s dissertation) The Lexicographer and Haafiz of Hadith, Muhammad Murtadha Az-Zabeedi states in Sharhul Ihya whilst discussing the takfeer (charge of kufr) against the philosophers: “And similarly, is their view of the eternity of the universe, for no Muslim has ever subscribed to anything of this sort (of kufr).” Elsewhere he states: “In Sharhu Aqeedat-Ibni Haajib, Subki says: ‘Be aware that the position of atoms and occurrences is that all are temporal. Thus the whole world is temporal. There is consensus among Muslims, in fact among all faiths on this score. Anyone holding a dissenting view is a kaafir for going against Qat’i Ijmaa’ (Absolute Consensus).” Ibn Taimiyyah’s Shirk in the Light of the Qur’aan Ibn Taimiyyah’s averment of the species of the world being eternal is in conflict with the Qur’aan, the explicit Hadith, the THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 17 Ijmaa’ of the Ummah and the demand of intelligence. Allah Ta’ala states in the Qur’aan: “He is the First and the Last.” (Surah Hadeed, Aayat 3) The only meaning of: “He is the First,” is that the Eternal Being is nothing other than Him. In other words, First in every respect is Allah Alone; besides Him nothing else. Then Ibn Taimiyyah committed shirk by assigning other objects as associates with Allah Ta’ala in the conception of Him being the First, whereas Allah Ta’ala declared it (being the first) to be His exclusively. On the other hand precedence or priority in so far as created beings are concerned is a relative issue. The one is before the other. Thus, water enjoys relative precedence, that is, it is the first created object followed by the Arsh, followed by the Sublime Pen and Lauh Mahfuz, followed by the earth, then the firmament and then as mentioned by Allah Ta’ala in the Aayat: “He (Allah) then spread out the earth.” (Surah Naazi’aat, Aayat 30) Ibn Taimiyyah Discarding an Authentic Hadith for His Baseless Opinion of Kufr In the Hadith, Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) states: “Allah Ta’ala existed when nothing else besides Him existed.” This Hadith is narrated by Imaam Bukhaari in Kitaabu Bad-il Khalq and also by others. Similarly is another narration corroborating this Hadith, reported by Abu Mu’aawiyah: “Allah Ta’ala existed before everything else,” and the narration: “Allah Ta’ala existed whilst nothing existed with Him.” Thus there was nothing before Him and nothing with Him because ‘Firstness” (being the first) is exclusive with Him. Being ‘First’ is not a relative concept with respect to Allah Azza Wa Jal. Regarding the narration of Bukhaari at the end of his Jaami’, namely, the Hadith: “Allah Ta’ala existed whilst nothing CHAPTER ONE 18 preceded Him,” it will definitely be understood in the light of the narration which appears in Kitaabu Bad-il Khalq. It is not permissible to give preference to the narration: “Allah Ta’ala existed whilst nothing preceded Him,” over the narration: “Allah Ta’ala existed when nothing else existed,” as Ibn Taimiyyah alluded to in view of the meaning of: “Allah Ta’ala existed whilst nothing preceded Him,” apparently conforming to his baseless opinion. Haafiz Ibn Hajar referred to it in Sharhul Bukhaari when citing the Hadith: “Allah Ta’ala existed whilst nothing preceded Him.” Thus, speaking of Ibn Taimiyyah’s aim of giving preference to this narration over the former to infer his belief of affirming temporal entities having no beginning, he (Haafiz Ibn Hajar) says: “This is among the most despicable views attributed to Ibn Taimiyyah.” Similarly, the narration of Imaam Muslim: “O Allah! You are the First. Thus, nothing precedes you,” will be read in conjunction with Bukhaari’s narration: “Allah Ta’ala existed when nothing else existed.” If the narration of Muslim is not read in conjunction with Bukhaari’s narration, but given preference, it will be tantamount to subscribing to the view of the philosophers and rendering Bukhaari’s narration void. In Bukhaari appears these two Hadith narrations: (1) “Allah existed when nothing existed with Him.” (2) “Allah existed whilst nothing existed before Him.” In order to bolster his kufr view of the eternity of the universe, Ibn Taimiyyah gave preference to the second narration from which he inferred that whilst nothing existed before Allah Ta’ala, the universe existed together with Him, that is, the universe is co-eternal with Allah Ta’ala. In so doing, he arbitrarily without any valid Shar’i basis implied the refutation of the first narration and similar others which explicitly declare that at one stage nothing existed with Him. Another Hadith also explicitly negates anything being co- THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 19 eternal with Him: “Allah existed and nothing existed with Him.” It is either Ibn Taimiyyah’s perversity or ignorance or mental derangement which constrained him to discard an authentic Hadith, and adopt another narration from which he extravasated support for his baseless opinion of kufr. He furthermore, failed to provide a viable explanation for the narrations which explicitly negate co-eternity of any thing with Allah Azza Wa Jal. All the narrations have to be read in conjunction for a proper understanding. There is no conflict. The primary Hadith on this topic is: “Allah existed and nothing existed”, and the corroborative narration: “Allah existed and nothing existed with Him.” The other Hadith (No.2 above) has to be incumbently understood in the light of this primary Hadith which affirms eternity for only Allah Ta’ala, and negates eternity for all other things. Thus, Ibn Taimiyyah flouted the Qur’aan, the Hadith and the demand of intelligence which only atheists and their ilk have defied. The attribution of this (kufr) to Ibn Taimiyyah is not dubious, for he stated it in seven of his kutub as we have mentioned. In some he termed it ‘the eternity of the universe as a genus’. Even if it be assumed that Ibn Taimiyyah did not explicitly mention it (his kufr belief) in his seven works which are available for anyone who wishes to gain first-hand knowledge, as these works have been published, the testimony of the two eminent Haafiz and Imaams, Taqiyyud-Deen Subki and Abu Sa’eed Alaai who are unanimously accepted as authorities, would be sufficient. CHAPTER ONE 20 Ibn Taimiyyah, the Philosophers and the Salaf Ibn Taimiyyah acquired this concept, that is, the eternity of the universe in species, from the later philosophers due to his engrossment in philosophy as stated by Imaam Zahabi, despite his (Ibn Taimiyyah’s) vehement criticism of Aristotle and others besides him over their view of the universe being eternal in genus, composition and external form. Be that as it may, a class of philosophers does not subscribe to this doctrine. Ibn Ameerul Haaj states in his kitaab, At-Taqreer Wat Tahbeer: “Moreover, historical data reveals that among them, that is, the philosophers, there are those who say that the universe is if temporal origin. Thus, there is no consensus among them on this score.” It should be noted that this man (Ibn Taimiyyah) frequently hurls invectives at the philosophers, whereas he is in accord with their later generation. He does this to pull wool over the eyes of people; to give the impression that he speaks on the pedestal of the Muhadditheen, whereas he is in total conflict with the Ulama of Hadith and Fuqaha by virtue of his claim that the world in genus is eternal; it has been with Allah eternally; the temporal entities being only the specific individuals of creation. With this (false notion) he belied the Kalaam of Allah and started blurting out a series of incoherent utterances. How is it possible and conceivable for a species to exist without individual members? Furthermore, his averment of the species being eternal whilst the individual members of the species are temporal defeats his case. The human species cannot exist without individual human beings. The species is a reality only with the reality of individual members. His affirmation of temporality for the individual members is in fact affirmation of temporality for even the species to which the individual members are attached. The self-contradiction is thus conspicuous. THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 21 The origin of this calamity which befell him (Ibn Taimiyyah) was his dabbling with philosophy, hence one of their theories clung to his brains. Zahbi has narrated that Ibn Taimiyyah dabbled with philosophy and Ilmul Kalaam (i.e. the rational science developed by the Ulama-e-Haqq to refute the kufr of the philosophers). But the kalaam in which Ibn Taimiyyah immersed himself was evil rationalism which is the kalaam of the deviates – the people of desire who are the sects of bid’ah in I’tiqaad (Belief). Thus, on what basis does he align himself with the Salaf and on what basis do his followers regard him to be a follower of the Salaf? In fact, he revolts against the Salaf. The Salaf, all of them without exception, were unanimous in the belief that Allah Alone is the Absolute First; nothing shares this attribute with Him. He (Ibn Taimiyyah), on the other hand, makes the species and genus of the world Allah’s partners. He is therefore adrift from Tauheed. Whither is he and whither is Tauheed? They are poles apart, mutually repellent. Allah Ta’ala’s Eternal Attributes of Ghadhab (Wrath) and Ridha (Pleasure) According to Ibn Taimiyyah the speech and the will of temporal entities belonging to an eternal species is predicated to the Zaat (Being) of Allah Ta’ala. In effect this will mean that an attribute of Allah Ta’ala is temporal and perishable, since a temporal member of the imagined eternal species is perishable. However, this fallacy of Ibn Taimiyyah is debunked by what Abul Fadhl At-Tameemi in his kitaab, I’tiqaadul Imaam Ahmad states. He writes: “According to the Math-hab of Ahmad Bin Hambal (rahmatullah alayh), Allah Azza Wa Jal becomes enraged and He also becomes pleased. He possesses the attributes of wrath and pleasure. In support, Imaam Ahmad recited the Aayat: ‘And do not transgress the limits in it CHAPTER ONE 22 (food) lest My wrath descends upon you. Those upon whom My wrath descends have indeed fallen by the wayside.’ (Surah Taha, Aayat 81) Here Allah Ta’ala associates wrath with His Zaat. And Allah Azza Wa Jal says: ‘When they caused grief to Us, We extracted retribution from them.’ (Surah Zukhruf, Aayat 55) Interpreting the words, ‘When they made Us grieve,’ Ibn Abbaas (radhiyallahu anhu) said: ‘It means: ‘they angered Us.’ Similarly, Allah Ta’ala declares: “His punishment is Jahannam wherein he will dwell forever, and Allah is displeased with him and curses him.” (Surah Nisaa, Aayat 93) There are numerous Aayaat in the Qur’aan similar to these. Divine Anger/Wrath and Divine Pleasure are two of Allah’s eternal attributes. Thus, Allah’s Wrath and Pleasure are predicated with His Eternal Prescience related to the temporal occurrences. In other words, Allah Azza Wa Jal eternally possessed fore-knowledge of the temporal episodes to which either His Wrath or Pleasure will be directed. The Hanaabilah (Ulama of the Hambali Math-hab) refute the contention of the Divine Attributes of Wrath and Pleasure being of temporal origin or creations. Hence they state: ‘One who avers so has to necessarily accept that Allah Azza Wajal’s anger at the kaafireen will terminate and, similarly, His pleasure with the Ambiya and Mu’mineen. Thus, eventually He will not be pleased with His Friends and nor displeased with His enemies.” (Whilst we agree 100% with the belief that Allah’s Attributes of Wrath and Pleasure are eternal, we differ with the rational argument proffered by the Hanaabilah in substantiation of this Waajib Belief. There is no incumbency to believe that a temporal or a created entity/being will necessarily terminate because a created being can perpetually endure, forever and forever without ever being annihilated. Such entities are the souls of the Mu’mineen, Jannat, THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 23 Jahannum and there may be numerous other beings and entities whose perpetuation Allah Ta’ala has desired. And, Allah knows best. The simple rational argument to debunk Ibn Taimiyyah’s kufr is to say that the predication of temporality for the Divine Attributes implies a defect in the Zaat of Allah Azza Wa Jal – Nauthubillaah! – Mujlisul Ulama) “Certain things are figuratively designated with an attribute on account of being the product of the attribute. Hence, the athaab and iqaab (punishment and chastisement) of Allah Ta’ala are designated ghadhab and sakhat (anger and displeasure) in view of being the products of Wrath. When experiencing earthquakes and heavy rains, Muslims unhesitatingly say that these are the Qudrat (Power) of Allah Ta’ala. There is no censure among them for such a statement for it means that the phenomenon is the product of Allah Ta’ala’s Qudrat. Sometimes a person says in his Du’aa: ‘O Allah! Forgive us according to Your Ilm (knowledge) about us.’ The purport here is: ‘…the acts which You have knowledge about.’ Thus, what is known ((ma’loom) is described by the term knowledge (Ilm). Similarly, murtadha (the effect of ridha-pleasure) is described as ridha (pleasure), and maghdoob (the object of wrath) is called ghadhab (wrath). (End of Abul Fadhl’s Dissertation) The meaning of this explanation is that while the occurrences, e.g. the earthquake and the beneficial rain, are the temporal (having originated in time) products of the Divine Attributes of Ghadhab (Wrath) and Ridha (Pleasure) respectively, these (i.e. the Attributes) are eternal. The above is a wonderful dissertation. It scuttles the argument of Ibn Taimiyyah’s followers that the Sifaat (attributes) of Allah Ta’ala are temporal, i.e. they are acquired in time – that at one time they did not exist and came into existence later. They make this fallacious contention on the basis of the well-known Hadith of Shafa’ah (Intercession on CHAPTER ONE 24 the Day of Qiyaamah) when Aadam (alaihis salaam) will say: “Allah’s Wrath today is unprecedented. Never did He become so wrathful and never will He become so wrathful.” These Mushabbihhah (anthropomorphists – Ibn Taimiyyah and his followers) opine that on that occasion of Qiyaamah there will develop for Allah Ta’ala a new attribute in His Zaat (Being). The above dissertation (of At-Tameemi in elaboration of Imam Ahmad’s stance on the Sifaat of Allah Ta’ala) exposes the corrupt understanding of those who seek to align themselves with the Math-hab of Imam Ahmad, whereas, in reality, they are in conflict with him. Ibn Taimiyyah Displaying His Ignorance Ibn Taimiyyah’s self-contradiction can be adequately gauged from his statement that, “We only attribute to Allah Ta’ala such sifaat which He attributes to Himself.” But, in diametric contradiction of this contention he says in Al-Muwaafaqah: “Where is it in the Qur’aan that the concept of ‘no beginning for non-eternal entities’ is impossible?” Our response is: Where in the Qur’aan and Sunnah is mentioned this concept of hawaadith laa awwala laha – there is no beginning for non-eternal entities? This aqeedah is faasid (corrupt) and violently clashes with the Aqeedah of Islam. Muslims have absolutely no relationship with this belief. In having proffered this corrupt question, Ibn Taimiyyah has simply displayed his ignorance. There are innumerable tenets of Islam, despite not being in the Qur’aan, constitute even fundamentals of the Deen. In the Qur’aan there is no mention of the 5 Fardh Salaat, the number of raka’ts, the method of performance of the Salaat, the wordings of the Athaan, that Athaan is to be proclaimed for the Five daily Salaat, and no mention of the thousands of masaa-il which are attached to all THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 25 departments of the Deen. Ibn Batuta had correctly observed: “There is something wrong with this man’s brains.” The Absurdity of Ibn Taimiyyah’s ‘Hawaadith Laa Awwala Laha’ Postulate The Imaam of Hadith and Lughat, Muhammad Murtadha Az-Zabeedi said in his Sharh of Ihyaa-ul Uloom which is intergrated with the matan (the original text of Imaam Ghazaali – in refutation of Allah Ta’ala being haadith or non- eternal and in refutation of Ibn Taimiyyah’s kufr): “If He (Allah Ta’ala) is haadith, and not Qadeem, He will be in need of a muhdith (that is, an entity originating Him from non- existence to existence, Na’uthubillah) and that muhdith will be in need of another muhdith ad infinitum. Something dependent on a chain ad infinitum (tasalsul) will never be obtained. In other words, if the chain is ad infinitum it follows that a haadith (a temporal entity) will never be obtained from it, for previously it was mentioned that the absurdity, that is, the existence of hawaadith laa awwala laha, necessarily means that the existence of a current haadith is impossible. Furthermore, the ad infinitum chain leads to a vacuum in an infinite chain in view of a current haadith being unobtainable. And this is inconceivable. If the matter reaches a finite number then daur (unending rotation/vicious circle) will necessarily follow which is also absurd, for it necessarily means that an entity precedes and follows itself! Thus, in the light of hudooth (the concept of time-bound objects not having a beginning) leading to daur or tasalsul which are absurd, it follows that the concept of hawaadith laa awwala laha is absurd.” In Sharhul Fiqhil Akbar, Mulla Ali Qaari states: “Then you should know that the term Ahlul Qiblah (the people who follow the Qiblah – Muslims) refers to those people who agree with CHAPTER ONE 26 and accept the axiomatic tenets (Dhururiyaat – the fundamentals) of the Deen, such as the hudooth (non-eternity) of the world, the resurrection of physical bodies, Allah Ta’ala’s knowledge of universal and individual entities and other issues of a similar nature. Thus, regardless of life-long constancy in acts of Taa-at and Ibaadat (obedience and worship), a man will not be from the Ahlul Qiblah if he subscribes to the belief of the eternity of the universe, or he negates evil (being the creation of Allah), or he negates the (all-embracing) knowledge of Allah Subhaanahu of the particulars and details in creation.” On the basis of this established principle of the Deen (as explained by Mullah Ali Qaari, above), understand the logical proof for the temporality of the universe, which is everything besides Allah. May Allah grant you taufeeq to understand through His Mercy. A physical body is never free of motion and rest. These two actions are temporal for with the coming into being of one the other becomes non-existent. Therefore, whatever is not free of temporality is itself temporal (having originated in time). Thus, all physical objects are of temporal origin. There are three premises in this proof. One: Physical objects are not free of motion and rest. This premise is palpable and self-evident. There is no need for reflection to comprehend this issue. One who understands a physical body to be neither at rest nor in motion is an enemy of intelligence and blindly arrogant to reality. Two: Motion and rest being temporal is evidenced by the one alternating with the other. This is witnessed in all physical bodies. And in so far as those objects are concerned in which this is not discernable, intelligence rules the possibility of a motionless body moving and a moving body halting. Thus, the arrival of one of the two states (motion or rest) is temporal by virtue of its arrival (in time), whilst the former state is temporal THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 27 by virtue of its passing into oblivion. If its eternity is confirmed its non-existence would be impossible. Three: Whatever is not free of temporality is also temporal, and cannever be eternal. If this is not the case, it will follow that every temporal entity is preceded by temporal entities having no beginning (hawaadith laa awwala laha). And whatever from the temporal entities does not have a beginning does not end at the existence of the present temporal entity. Furthermore, the cessation of something which has no end is absurd and impossible, for if you consider the present temporal entity, then turn to the one before it and so forth in sequence, you will never come to an end point. The entry into existence of some temporal entity which has no end is impossible. And if reaching the end is possible then a beginning for those temporal entities is confirmed which proves the hypothesis (of Ibn Taimiyyah) to be fallacious. In adequately and convincingly proving rationally the fallacy of hawaadith laa awwala laha and affirming the correctness of a continuous future chain of time-bound entities ad infinitum the Ulama-e-Haqq have proffered the example of one who vows: “I will not give that person a dirham on a particular day until I give him a dirham a day before. And I will not give him a dirham a day before until I give him a dirham before that ad infinitum.” It is obvious that giving the other person the promised dirham on the set day is impossible as it hinges on something impossible – completion of an unbroken and continuous chain of giving a dirham ad infinitum. Undoubtedly, their claim of hawaadith laa awwala laha fits this example. The Active Agent, for example, sets a universe into orbit in our present time and in the times of the past suspended on setting prior motion one by one into eternity. The motion for the universe in a set time represents the promised dirham which is preceded by infinite dirhams. Thus, motion coming into existence for the universe in the present time is CHAPTER TWO 28 impossible just as it is impossible for the promised dirham to be realised in a given time for the beneficiary. Then there is the example of the bounties of Jannat. A person vows: “I will not give so-and-so person a dirham unless I give him a dirham after that and so forth forever and ever.” Any intelligent person will not doubt the rational possibility of this. It translates to the one taking the vow never terminating his gifting of a dirham once he starts giving. This example is clearly in accord with what we subscribe to in regard to the bounties of Jannat for the Mu’mineen and in accord with our belief of punishment in Jahannam for the philosophers who advocate the concept of the timelessness of the universe and people of their ilk – the scientists – and all the kuffaar. Our arguments have conclusively validated the theory of substances being time-bound. Substances inherently carry temporary states which are time-bound. And anything inherently carrying a time-bound entity will be time-bound. Thus, this world can never be eternal and timeless as Ibn Taimiyyah has falsely tried to promote. CHAPTER TWO A SIMPLE ELABORATION The academic arguments of the Ulama in refutation of Ibn Taimiyyah’s belief of kufr and shirk will generally not be understood. The facts which have been presented are extracts from the Refutation of Ibn Taimiyyah’s beliefs by Shaikh Abdullah Al-Harari, Al-Maqaalaatus Sunniyyah fi Kashfi Dhalaalaati Ahmad Bin Taimiyyah, which we have paraphrased for better comprehension. However, despite the paraphrasing, much of the arguments will be incomprehensible THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 29 to laymen. We therefore present this simple elaboration for easy and better understanding. Ibn Taimiyyah subscribed to the kufr view of the eternity of the universe which was propounded by some Greek philosophers. Despite his overt and vehement criticism of the philosophers, he dabbled in their philosophy and became entrapped in its quagmire of kufr. His study of philosophy exerted the terrible impact of kufr on him. Thus, Ibn Taymiyyah became the victim of the kufr expounded by the philosophers. Although he dabbled in philosophy, Ibn Taimiyyah was a mere simulacrum of the philosophers as well of the Muhadditheen. He tried in vain to walk along two divergent paths at the same time, hence he was neither in the camp of the philosophers nor in the camp of the Muhadditheen as the Qur’aan says of the munaafiqeen: “They are neither here nor there; they fluctuate between that.” From these atheist Greek philosophers he acquired the belief of the eternity of the universe, namely the universe is uncreated and has been existing co-eternally with Allah Azza Wa Jal, and being an eternal eternity, the universe will never come to an end. This postulate is pure shirk in its shirk fil wujood or to associate a being or entity in the eternity attribute of Allah. When eternity is attributed to a being/entity it implies the independent everlasting existence of the being; that it had no origin in time; that it will never end; that it is indestructible; that Allah Ta’ala lacks the power to annihilate it; that it exists as a partner with Allah Azza Wa Jal in eternal life and indestructibility. Whilst he vehemently berated the philosophers, he abortively attempted to acquit himself in the style and language of the Muhadditheen, proclaiming himself a follower of the Math-hab of Imaam Ahmad Bin Hambal (rahmatullah alayh). In this devious exercise he resorted to blatant lies by making the sweeping claim that the Muhadditheen and Imaam Ahmad also A SIMPLE ELABORATION 30 subscribe to the kufr view of the eternity of the universe. However, despite his sweeping claims he has miserably failed to cite the specific statements of any authority of the Ahlus Sunnah to substantiate his vile contention of the eternity of the universe. In propounding his kufr theory, he displayed weird irrationality which leads one to conclude that he suffered some kind of mental derangement. According to his theory and belief of the eternity of the universe, temporal entities (things which have an origin in time) while perishable, the species to which they belong is eternal. The species or genus is uncreated and co-eternal with Allah Ta’ala according to his belief. As such it is indestructible. Allah Ta’ala is unable to annihilate the eternal genus. Since the universe is eternal in Ibn Taimiyyah’s belief, it is indestructible by virtue of its attribute of eternity in the same way as Allah Azza Wa Jal is indestructible and cannever be annihilated. Ibn Taimiyyah seeks to overcome the palpable obstacles to his theory by affirming the attribute of eternity to the genus of things, not to the individual members of the genus/species. For example donkey is a species consisting of innumerable individual donkeys. While the individual donkeys come into existence in time and also perish, the donkey species will never perish nor become extinct. The automatic creation of donkeys will continue eternally ad infinitum, and Allah Azza Wa Jal lacks the power to bring to an end the donkey species. The procession of donkeys will automatically take place eternally. Only a man with donkey brains can so brazenly postulate such a donkey theory which puts even asses to shame. Far from overcoming any obstacle to his donkey postulate of hawaadith la awwala laha (i.e. temporal/created things have no beginning), he only complicates the irrational incongruency sinking deeper into the quagmire of irrationality and stupidity by predicating his theory to species/genus. The palpable THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 31 ludicrousness of this kufr is established by the self-evident fact that a species of any thing cannot exist without its individual members. If there are no individual donkeys, there can be no donkey species in real existence. For a species to be eternal, the imperative corollary is that there has to be a donkey or some donkeys which are also eternal. There has to be somewhere in the universe a donkey or a few donkeys who have had no beginning in time. These donkeys are ageless and timeless. Trillions of years cannot be attributed to them since the postulate affirms eternity for them, neither did they have a beginning nor will they have an ending. These donkeys – the gods of Ibn Taimiyyah – did not come into being from non- existence. Whilst the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah affirms such existence for only Allah Azza Wa Jal, Ibn Taimiyyah predicates it (eternal existence) for even donkeys. Al-Baani’s Dissociation from Ibn Taimiyyah’s Abhorrent Beliefs of Kufr and Shirk The abhorrence of this belief of kufr and shirk constrained even Al-Baani who is Ibn Taimiyyah’s devoted and ardent muqallid, to aver: “In the Hadith: ‘Verily, the first object created by Allah Ta’ala was the Pen,”, there also is refutation of the one who contends: ‘Temporal things have no beginning, and that every creation is preceded by a creation ad infinitum’, so that it is not possible to say that this was the first creation. The Hadith negates this view. Prior to the Qalam (Pen) there was absolutely no creation. Verily, Ibn Taimiyyah in his elaboration in refutation of the philosophers, attempting to prove (his theory) of temporal things have no beginning, came up with arguments which bewilder the intelligence and which most hearts cannot accept. ……. A SIMPLE ELABORATION 32 That view of his is not acceptable. On the contrary it is rejected by this Hadith. Many a time we (Ibn Taimiyyah’s followers) yearned that Ibn Taimiyyah had not dabbled in this domain (of philosophy) because discussion therein resembles philosophy and Ilmul Kalaam (which Salafis abhor).” (Saheeh of Al-Baani, Vol.1, page 208) Again in his Commentary of Aqeedatut Tahaawi, Al-Baani says: “Verily, the Ulama are unanimous that there was a first creation. Those who maintain that temporal things had no beginning are in conflict with this Consensus (Ijma’) since they explicitly claim that every creation was preceded by a creation ad infinitum as Ibn Taimiyyah has expressly said in some of his kutub.” (Page 35) Belated attempts have been made by coprocreep Salafis to exonerate Ibn Taimiyyah from his beliefs of kufr and shirk, but to no avail. Even Al-Baani the devoted follower of Ibn Taimiyyah, and the ‘mujaddid’ of Salafi’ism in this era, had no option other than to denounce and reject this vile belief of kufr and shirk propounded by his Imaam. Al-Baani’s explicit rejection is more than adequate confirmation for the contention that Ibn Taimiyyah had subscribed to the kufr view of the eternity of the universe. Hanging his head with shame and grief, Al-Baani had no alternative other than to dissociate from the kufr of his master, Ibn Taimiyyah, albeit acquitting himself very mildly in relation to the vitriolic vituperation which Salafis disgorge against the Aimmah of the Math-habs in general, and Imaam Maturidi and Imaam Ash’ari in particular. In this biased attitude they portray their dubiousness and dishonesty. On the one hand, they apologize for Ibn Taimiyyah’s explicit kufr and shirk, but the prolixity of the stupidities their brains excrete testifies to their insincerity and deviation. THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 33 Ibn Taimiyyah in Abnegation of Every Belief of Islam Related to Creation This belief of Ibn Taimiyyah is in diametric conflict with not only the Ijma’ of the Ulama, but with the uncorrupted intelligence of every Muslim who understands the simple truth that only Allah Azza Wa Jal is the One and Only Eternal Being Who has no partner and no co-existing entity. Muslims do not require any daleel for understanding and accepting this transcendental truth which is inborn in the heart of every Mu’min. The postulation of co-existence with Allah Azza Wa Jal is shirk in His Wujood (Existence) which is an idolatrous concept of the mushrikeen. There is no scope in Islam for such beliefs of shirk. On the basis of this belief of kufr and shirk, Ibn Taimiyyah by implication, is in abnegation of every Belief of Islam related to creation. Thus, Hadhrat Aadam (alayhis salaam) is not the first created man because the kufr belief affirms that every creation is preceded by another created being/thing of the same species. If Hadhrat Aadam (alayhis salaam) is treated as an individual member of the species of mankind, it follows that there had existed other human beings before him. This is explicit kufr. If Hadhrat Aadam (alayhis salaam) is regarded as a member of a specific species designated ‘Aadam’ apart from the general genus of mankind, then it follows that the Aadam (alayhis salaam) whom Allah Ta’ala created in Jannat and about whom He said to the Malaaikah: “Verily, I shall be creating a Khalifah on earth.”, was not the first Aadam since the kufr theory hallucinated by Ibn Taimiyyah postulates another Aadam of the same kind having preceded him. This is utter ludicrous, irrational kufr. The very same kufr is the consequence of denial of the Qalam (The Pen) being the first created object as stated explicitly by Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Whilst Nabi-e-Kareem (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said that the A SIMPLE ELABORATION 34 Qalam is the first created object, Ibn Taimiyyah contends with his kufr theory that the Qalam was preceded by another Qalam which in turn was preceded by another Qalam and so on ad infinitum, there being no first Qalam ever since the species of Qalam is co-eternal with Allah Azza Wa Jal. The kufr of the theory is absolutely shocking. What type of a brain could have disgorged such sewerage muck? Even the Arsh, the Malaaikah, the Jinn and every creation of Allah Azza Wa Jal are all co-eternal with Him according to Ibn Taimiyyah’s theory of shirk and kufr. Even if the numerous deflections from the Path of the Ahlus Sunnah to which Ibn Taimiyyah subscribe in both Belief and Practice have to be ignored, this one belief of hawaadith la awwala laha is sufficient to condemn him to everlasting perdition in the Aakhirah. The authentic Ahaadith explicitly proclaim that the Arsh did not exist at one stage. Allah Ta’ala brought it into existence from pure non-existence. But Ibn Taimiyyah claims that the species of the Arsh is co-eternal with Allah Ta’ala, there never ever having been a time when there was no Arsh, and there never will be a time in the future when there will be no Arsh, and by virtue of its (the Arsh’s) eternity, Allah Ta’ala lacks the power to annihilate it – Nauthubillaah! The Kufr Consequence of Ibn Taimiyyah’s Belief Furthermore, an axiomatic consequence arising from this belief is the impotence of Allah Azza Wa Jal – Nauthubillah! The logical consequence of the belief of the eternity of the universe by species is that Allah Ta’ala is not in control of creation, and that created beings, things and objects are automatically generated by the entities preceding them. The theory postulates the eternity of the species. Eternity is independent of a Creator. It (the eternal being) perpetuates THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 35 itself by virtue of its existence being self-subsisting, having had no origin and being itself uncreated. It is therefore a massive canard and the perpetration of deliberate fraud to assert that the individual members of an eternal species are the creations of an independent Creator apart from the eternal species to which the individual donkey belongs. The individual donkey being a member of the eternal donkey species, in terms of the kufr theory, does not require a Creator for its (the donkey’s) appearance is necessitated by the donkey which preceded it. If this is not so, the species would not be predicated with eternity. It is simply a rational necessity for donkeys to evolve of their own accord ad infinitum to sustain the eternity of the donkey species. Thus, Allah Azza Wa Jal is not the Creator of the individual members of the species according to the logical demand of the theory of kufr and shirk, for if it be assumed that Allah Ta’ala wills a cessation of the individual donkeys appearing on earth, the logical conclusion would be the termination of the species. But an eternal entity cannot be terminated or annihilated. If it can, it would not be eternal. This argument holds good for every thing, every iota, and every atom in the universe. Each object belongs to a species, and the kufr theory contends that all species are eternal, hence all the successive individual member of temporal origin in the myriads of species owe their origin to the eternity of the parental species whose existence and perpetual subsistence are entirely independent of Allah Azza Wa Jal. Every thing in the universe thus generates as a logical consequence of its eternal species. Thus, Allah Ta’ala is not the Creator of a single thing in the universe, the universe itself being eternal according to the kufr of Ibn Taimiyyah. Yet, the Qur’aan declares: “When Allah intends to create anything, He (simply) says: ‘BE!’, and that thing comes into existence (from the state of pure non- existence).” It does not come into existence as an automatic A SIMPLE ELABORATION 36 consequence of a preceding entity of the same species, which has now disappeared into oblivion. Creation according to the Qur’aan is the effect of Allah’s Will and Power. It is not the product of any self-subsisting eternal species which perpetuates itself eternally by the automatic substitution of one individual member by another ad infinitum. The upshot of Ibn Taimiyyah’s kufr and shirk theory is that all entities in the universe – the sun, moon, planets, stars, mankind, the animal kingdom, birds, insects, the stone kingdom and whatever there happens to be in the universe, big or small, progress automatically from preceding members of the species to which they belong. This automatic progression from preceding entities is an eternal process which sustains the eternity of the species. Thus, all entities in the universe cease to be the makhlooq (created beings) of Allah Azza Wa Jal. On the contrary, every thing is the automatic creation of the species to which it belongs. Everything is beyond the power and control of Allah Azza Wa Jal. This could be easily understood by a simple illustration. The millions of donkeys roaming on the earth are members of the donkey species which according to Ibn Taimiyyah is eternal. Now does Allah Ta’ala have the power to annihilate all donkeys and terminate the donkey species? The answer can only be ‘yes’ or ‘no’. There is no third option. If it is yes, then the whole rubbish, irrational kufr theory of Ibn Taimiyyah falls flat – debunked and deposited into the gutter for the simple reason that what is eternal cannot be terminated or annihilated. It is meaningless and downright stupid to contend that an eternal species can be annihilated. Therefore, to sustain the kufr theory, it can only be said: ‘No’, Allah Ta’ala does not have the power to terminate the eternal species by annihilating all the donkeys. The vile kufr of this conclusion is self-evident. In fact, this is precisely the THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 37 logical consequence of Ibn Taimiyyah’s theory of the eternity of the species. In the final analysis according to the kufr theory Allah Ta’ala is not the Creator of anything in the universe since all species are eternal, hence they procreate automatically to sustain their own eternity. This evil theory of kufr is also the belief of the atheist scientists of our age. According to them everything in the universe simply came into existence automatically without the intervention of a conscious, powerful eternal Creator Who possesses all the attributes of excellence. Debunking All the Rubbish of Ibn Taimiyyah Debunking all the rubbish of Ibn Taimiyyah, the Qur’aan Majeed says: “What! Do you not see that, for Allah prostrate whatever is in the heavens, whatever is in the earth, the sun, the moon, the mountains, the trees, the animals and numerous among mankind. And for numerous has the punishment been decreed. Whomever Allah disgraces, for him there is no one to honour. Verily, Allah does as He wills.” (Al-Hajj, aayat 18) Allah Azza Wa Jal is a conscious Being Who creates as He wills and whatever He wills. He is not subservient to any hallucinated eternal species which sustains its own imagined eternity by perpetuating the automatic progression of its individual members, one after the other ad infinitum. While Ibn Taimiyyah postulated that the entire universe with its species is eternal, whose existence is independent from Allah Ta’ala, not at all reliant on Allah Ta’ala, the Qur’aan Majeed declares: “It is He Who has created for you everything which is in the earth. Then He focused towards the sky and fashioned it into seven skies. And, He is aware of everything.” (Baqarah aayat 29) A SIMPLE ELABORATION 38 “All praise is for Allah Who has created the heavens and the earth, and Who has created darkness and light. (Al- An’aam, aayat 1) “Verily, your Rabb is Allah Who has created the heavens and the earth in six days.” (Yoonus, aayat 3) “Verily, the number of months by Allah is twelve in the Book of Allah from the day He created the heavens and the earth…..” (At-Taubah, aayat 36) The Qur’aan is replete with hundreds of aayaat explicitly stating that Allah had created the heavens and the earth – that creation of the universe had a beginning – that the twelve months commenced from the day Allah Ta’ala had created the heavens and the earth. The Qur’aanic announcement of the creation of the universe by Allah Ta’ala debunks the satanic kufr theory of the eternity of the universe. This one single theory of kufr is in fact a denial of the whole of Islam. It denies the advent of Qiyaamah. Since the universe is eternal and indestructible according to the mushrik’s hallucination, the destruction of the universe explicitly stated in the Qur’aan is a logical ‘falsehood’ being an axiomatic consequence of the kufr theory. Describing the destruction of Ibn Taimiyyah’s eternal universe, the Qur’aan states; “When the sun loses its light; when the stars fall down (scattered and destroyed); when the mountains will be made to fly about; when the pregnant camels are forsaken………when the sky will be opened up;……..Surah Takweer) “When the sky splits (into bits and pieces); when the stars are scattered (and fall into destruction); when the oceans pour forth; when the graves are inverted………(Surah Infitaar) So while Ibn Taimiyyah subscribed to the eternity of the universe, Allah and His Rasool taught this Ummah that the universe will one day come to an end. But an ‘eternal’ entity THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 39 cannot end. It cannot be annihilated. This kufr is the product of Ibn Taimiyyah’s theory of the eternity of the universe. Soul-Searching for the Salafis The devotees of Ibn Taimiyyah should answer: Does Allah have the power to annihilate the universe – its species and its individual members? As long as they seek to interpret and cover up the kufr of Ibn Taimiyyah with their confounded prolixity, and not outrightly reject the abominable kufr theory, they will not be able to answer. They will find themselves inextricably entrapped with either a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ answer. If they say that Allah Ta’ala does have the power to destroy the universe, they would then be debunking Ibn Taimiyyah’s eternity of the universe concept of kufr. But they are not prepared for this. On the other hand, if they uphold the vile theory and say that Allah Ta’ala lacks the power to destroy the universe, they become murtadd of the worst order. Salafis should ponder and understand the implications of Ibn Taimiyyah’s evil theory and their attempt to make it presentable by means of evil interpretation. The effect of this vile hypothesis is to predicate Allah Azza Wa Jal with impotency. It is to believe that Allah Ta’ala is not the Creator since the universe with its myriads of species procreates automatically by virtue of its imagined eternity. It is irrational and downright stupid and false to maintain that Allah Ta’ala is the Creator of the individual members of a species when the species itself is eternal, having had no beginning and will be never-ending. It is a self-subsisting eternal entity which cannot be destroyed and which compulsorily sustains its own eternity by procreating automatically its own individual members ad infinitum. Thus, the universe being eternal is a denial of the advent of Qiyaamah which will bring about the destruction of the universe. But how can such destruction find room in Ibn Taimiyyah’s eternal universe? A SIMPLE ELABORATION 40 With this kufr postulate, Ibn Taimiyyah has stripped Allah Azza Wa Jal of all of His Sifaat (Attributes), rendering him an inanimate mechanical force from which ensues some sort of activity over which He has no control and no knowledge such as the sun emitting light and heat without having the power to control the emission of light and heat and without having knowledge of its activity. But, the Qur’aan states: “The sovereignty of the heavens and the earth belong only to Allah. He creates whatever He wishes…..Verily, He is fully aware and knowledgeable (of his creation and what He creates).” -(As- Shuraa’, aayat 49) Even the early mushrikeen possessed a clearer understanding of the Creator than Ibn Taimiyyah who became entrapped with philosophy. The Qur’aan says: “And, if you (O Muhammad!) ask them (the mushrikeen): ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’, they will most assuredly say: ‘Al-Azeez (The Mighty Allah), Al-Aleem (The All-Knowing Allah) created it.” (Az- Zukhruf, aayat 9) Even the mushrikeen did not believe the universe to be an uncreated entity having existed eternally, independent of Allah Azza Wa Jal. The attempt which coprocreep Salafis of our time are making to defend Ibn Taimiyyah is nothing but pulling wool over the eyes of the ignorant and unwary. They are citing statements allegedly made by Ibn Taimiyyah denying the eternity of the universe. They should explain Ibn Taimiyyah’s explicit statements pertaining to the eternity of the universe to be found in at least seven of his kitaabs, the names of these kutb have are mentioned in this refutation. Even Al-Baani, the devoted and ardent follower of Ibn Taimiyyah expressed concern, regret and grief for this kufr view of Ibn Taimiyyah. The Salafis cannot claim ignorance in this regard. Surely, they are aware of Al-Baani’s refutation of Ibn Taimiyyah’s view of the eternity of the universe. Ibn Taimiyyah having propounded the theory of the universe’s eternity is irrefutable. Countless Ulama and great authorities of the Shariah have examined and THE KUFR AND SHIRK OF IBN TAIMIYYAH 41 refuted his kufr statements. The claim that all the Ulama did not understand Ibn Taimiyyah’s words should be referred to the eternal baboons and eternal donkeys which are the individual members of Ibn Taimiyyah’s eternal species stemming from the eternity of the universe. These Salafis who are desperate to salvage the kufr image of Ibn Taimiyyah are among the worst liars. They will fabricate just any lie to save Ibn Taimiyyah’s skin. They should refer to the seven books of Ibn Taimiyyah wherein he has explicitly propounded his theory of the eternity of the universe. Furthermore, Salafis are notorious for their taqiyah (holy hypocrisy). In the attempt to peddle their beliefs and practices, they will resort to blatant lies. This is an attitude which has been inherited from Ibn Taimiyyah the founder of the Salafi religion who resorted to double-talk calculated to deceive. When he was arraigned in the court of the Qaadhi to answer for his kufr, he overtly repented, proclaiming himself to be a Shaafi’ and a follower of Imaam Ash’ari. After being freed, he lapsed again into the propagation of his kufr. This kufr theory of Ibn Taimiyyah has hitherto been hidden from the Ummah of this age. The coprocreep, anonymous Salafi who had written a virulent and baseless condemnation of Imaam Maturidi and the Ulama of Deoband has provided the opportunity for an in depth study of Ibn Taimiyyah’s writings. Now, much of his deviation even kufr and shirk which were hitherto unknown to Muslims is surfacing. It devolves on the Ulama of the Ahlus Sunnah to expose the scourge represented by Ibn Taimiyyah. The flabby arguments and Taqiyah of the Salafis will not be able to conceal the kufr and shirk of Ibn Taimiyyah. “Haqq has arrived and baatil has vanished.” (Qur’aan) A SIMPLE ELABORATION 42 “IN REALITY, WE STRIKE THE HAQQ ON TO BAATIL, THEN IT (THE HAQQ) SMASHES OUT ITS (BAATIL’S) BRAINS. THEN SUDDENLY IT (BAATIL) VANISHES. AND FOR YOU, THERE IS WAIL (RUIN AND JAHANNUM) FOR THAT WHICH YOU FABRICATE.” (QUR’AAN) AlAn AlHarari AsShuraa AsSubki AzZukhruf Englishreading coeternal neverending noneternal nonexistence nonexistent selfcontradictory