Shaykh Muhammad Awwama’s Observations on Some Books of Creed (ʿAqīda)
Observations on Some Books of Creed (ʿAqīda)
نظرات في بعض كتب العقيدة
بقلم: محمد عوامة
By: Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwāma[i]
(Dated: 20/12/1444 AH)
In his article entitled: “Observations on Some Books of Creed” [Naẓarāt fī Ba’ḍ Kutub al-‘Aqīda],[ii] the contemporary Syrian Hadith scholar (based in Istanbul, Türkiye these days) known as Shaykh Muhammad Awwama (b. 1940) presented a theological framework firmly rooted in the Ash’arī-Māturīdī Sunni tradition. He positions this approach as the balanced middle path between two extremes: the excessive negation of divine attributes (ta’ṭīl) and the literalism that risks anthropomorphism (tashbīh).
Shaykh Awwama critically examined works on creed by some early hadith specialists known as Imams – Ibn Khuzayma (d. 311 AH), Ibn Abī Ḥātim (d. 327 AH), and al-Dārimī (d. 280 AH) — arguing that expertise in hadith transmission does not necessarily translate to competence in theological interpretation. He identified some problematic aspects in their treatment of the divine attributes (Ṣifāt of Allāh), particularly passages that might imply corporeality when read literally.
The cornerstone of Shaykh Awwama’s hermeneutical approach is the Qur’anic verse: “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing” [laysa ka-mithlihī shay’ wa-huwa al-Samī’ al-Baṣīr] (42:11), which he interprets as establishing both divine transcendence (tanzīh) and the affirmation of attributes (ithbāt). This principle allows him to navigate between denial and anthropomorphism when understanding scriptural references to the divine attributes.
His position represents a contemporary defence of classical Ash’arī-Māturīdī methodology against more literalist approaches to divine attributes. He also emphasized disciplinary boundaries and the importance of specialized theological reasoning when approaching questions related to the divine attributes, rather than relying solely on hadith collections alone.
Translation with original Arabic text:
الحمدُ لله رب العالمين، حمداً كثيراً طيباً مباركاً فيه، والصلاةُ والسلام على سيدنا محمد، وعلى آله وأصحابه، وأتباعه من العلماء العاملين، الداعين إلى صراط الله المستقيم، على نهج أئمة الإسلام من سلف الأمة وخَلَفها.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, abundant praise, good and blessed. May peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad, his family, companions, and followers among the practicing scholars who call to the straight path of Allah, following the approach of the imams of Islam from the predecessors and successors of the nation.
وبعدُ:
Thereafter:
فقد روى أبو عِنَبةَ الخولاني رضي الله عنه، عن سيدنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال: «لا يزالُ اللهُ يغرسُ في هذا الدينِ غَرْساً يستعملُهم في طاعتِهِ»([1]).
Abū ‘Inabah al-Khawlānī, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “Allah continues to plant seedlings in this religion whom He employs in His obedience.” ([1])
وهذا الغرس الإلهي يتعهَّدُهُ اللهُ عز وجل بعنايته ورعايته، كما يتعهَّدُهُ بدوامه واستمراره، فلا ينقطع، وهو دائمٌ بدوام خَلْقِ الله تعالى وملكه.
This divine planting is cared for by Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, with His providence and care, and He ensures its continuity and persistence, so it does not cease, and it is as eternal as Allah’s creation and sovereignty.
وواجبُ أهل العِلم: أن يؤدُّوا أمانةَ الله تعالى التي حمَّلَهم إياها إلى الأجيال تِلْوِ الأجيال، بأمانة وصدق وإخلاص، نقيةً صافية كما حَمَلوها.
The duty of the people of knowledge is to convey the trust of Allah, which He has entrusted to them, to successive generations with trust, truthfulness, and sincerity, pure and clear as they received it.
وواجب آخرُ: أن يؤدُّوا هذه الأمانةَ في كلِّ عصر ومكانٍ بما يليق به من لغة أهله وثقافته؛ ليتمَّ البيانُ للحقِّ والدين كما ينبغي، وقد قال الله عز وجل في أول سورة (إبراهيمَ) عليه السلام: { وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ } [إبراهيم: 4].
Another duty: to convey this trust in every age and place in a manner befitting the language and culture of its people, so that the truth and religion are explained as they should be. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said at the beginning of Sūrah Ibrāhīm, peace be upon him: “And We did not send any Messenger except in the language of his people to state clearly for them” [Ibrāhīm: 4].
واللسان هنا: هو لسانُ اللغة، ولسانُ الثقافة والمعرفة؛ كما دلَّ عليه تاريخُ الأنبياء والرسل السابقين.
The “language” here refers to both the language of speech and the language of culture and knowledge, as indicated by the history of previous Prophets and Messengers.
فسيدنا إبراهيمُ الخليل عليه الصلاة والسلام: أقام الحجَّة على قومه الصابئة عَبَدةِ النجوم بلغتهم؛ نظر في الكوكب، ثم القمر، ثم الشمس، وأبطل ألوهيَّتَها بأنها تغيبُ وتحضُر، والإلهُ لا يغيب فيحضرَ.
Our master Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl, peace be upon him, established proof against his people, the Sabians who worshipped stars, in their own language; he looked at the star, then the moon, then the sun, and invalidated their divinity because they set and rose, while Allah does not set so as to rise.
وسيدنا موسى عليه الصلاة والسلام: أبطلَ سحْرَ سَحَرة فرعونَ بعصاً تلقفُ ما يأفكون.
Our master Mūsā, peace be upon him, invalidated the magic of Pharaoh’s magicians with a staff that swallowed up their falsehood.
وانتشر واشتَهَر الطبُّ اليوناني في عهد سيدنا عيسى عليه الصلاة والسلام، فجاءَهم بما هو فوقَ طبِّهم؛ {أبرئ الأكمه والأبرص وأحيي الموتى بإذن الله} [آل عمران: 49]، لا بعقاقيرَ مصنَّعةٍ بشرية.
Greek medicine spread and became famous during the time of our master ‘Īsā, peace be upon him, so he came to them with what was beyond their medicine: “I heal the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead by Allah’s permission” [Āl ‘Imrān: 49], not with man-made medicinal drugs.
وكان هـٰكذا شأن خاتَمهم وسيدِهم رسولنا محمدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم؛ جاء قومَه أربابَ الفصاحة بقرآن عربي معجِزٍ.
Such was the case with their seal and master, our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him; he came to his people, the masters of eloquence, with a miraculous Arabic Qur’an.
ومن هذا المنطلَقِ والقيامِ بالواجب: كان تطوُّر العلوم الإسلامية عبر العصور، وفي مختلِف الأمكنة؛ فثقافةُ علماء الإسلام في العراق اختلفت عن ثقافةِ علماء الإسلام في الحجاز، فاختلفَتِ المصطلحات وأساليبُ البيان، وطُرُقُ الحُجَج، ثم اتَّسعت رقعةُ الإسلام فدخلت بلاد فارسَ والرُّوم، وفيها الثقافةُ اليونانية في مجالاتها الكثيرة، فاضطُرَّ علماء الإسلام إلى دراستها ليقيموا حُجَجَ الإسلام على أصحابها بلغتهم وثقافتهم، فنجا من لَوْثتها من نجا – وهم الأكثر والحمد لله -، وعَثَر منهم من عثر.
From this premise and the fulfillment of this duty, Islamic sciences developed throughout the ages and in various places. The culture of Islamic scholars in Iraq differed from that of Islamic scholars in Hijaz, so terminology, methods of explanation, and approaches to argumentation differed. Then, the expanse of Islam widened to include the lands of Persia and Rome, with their Greek culture in many fields. Islamic scholars were compelled to study it to establish Islamic arguments against its adherents in their language and culture. Most were saved from its corruption, praise be to Allah, while some stumbled.
وعلى هذا الذي حصلَ: تشعَّبَتْ مناهجُ علماء الإسلام في تأليف كتبِهم للحفاظ على الهَدْي النبوي، المسترشِدِ بالوراثة السليمة كابراً عن كابر إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، دون لَيٍّ للنصوص إلى حدِّ التعطيل لمدلولاتها (المعطِّلة)، أو جمودٍ عند ظاهرها إلى حدِّ التشبيه (المشبِّهة).
Based on what happened, the methodologies of Islamic scholars in writing their books to preserve the Prophetic guidance diversified, guided by sound inheritance from one generation to another back to the Prophet, peace be upon him, without distorting texts to the point of negating their meanings (the deniers [mu’aṭṭila]), or being rigid with their apparent meanings (ẓāhir) to the point of anthropomorphism (the anthropomorphists [mushabbiha]).
وكان ميدان الكتابة والتأليف ومدارس العلم رحباً فسيحاً، فكتب كلٌّ من رجال هاتين الطائفتين المشار إليهما ما يحلُو له ويعتقده، وبالقلم والبيانِ الذي يعيش في رحابه زماناً ومكاناً.
The field of writing, authorship, and schools of knowledge was vast and spacious, so each person from these two groups wrote what pleased him and what he believed, with the pen and explanation that lived in his time and place.
والمتتبِّعُ لهذا القرن الخامس الهجريِّ، وما كُتب فيه في علم العقيدة.. يجدُ تراثاً كبيراً من هاتين الطائفتين، بل من طائفة ثالثة أرادت الحقَّ فما أصابَتْ مرادَها وهدفها.
One who follows this fifth century of Hijrah and what was written in the science of creed (al-ʿaqīda)… finds a great heritage from these two groups, and even from a third group that sought the truth but did not achieve its goal.
يجدُ تراثاً معتزليّاً شديداً عنيفاً، وقد استظهَرَ برجال دولته ليروِّجَ معتقَده.
One finds a severe and violent Mu’tazilite[iii] heritage, which was supported by men of its state to promote its beliefs.
ويجدُ تراثاً سُنيّاً كبيراً في إحقاق الحقِّ وإقامة حُججه بأساليبَ متنوِّعةٍ، تناسب أزمان مؤلِّفيها وديارهم؛ بمقارعة الحجَّةِ العقلية بمثلها، ونقْضِ البرهان الفلسفيِّ بمثله، وبجمْعِ الأدلة النقلية من الكتاب والسنَّة في مقابلة مَنْ أخذَ بظواهر بعضِها دون بعض.
One also finds a great Sunni heritage in establishing the truth and presenting its proofs in various styles, suitable to the times of its authors and their regions: countering rational arguments with similar ones, refuting philosophical evidence with similar refutations, and collecting textual evidence from the Qur’an and Sunna to counter those who took some apparent meanings without others.
وهذا الجمع من الأدلة النقلية والعقلية: كان ردّاً على الطائفتين السابقتين، وردّاً على الطائفة الثالثة أيضاً التي قصدتِ الحقَّ فما أصابته؛ قصدت الوقوف عند نصوص الكتاب والسنَّة، فوقعَتْ في شِباكِ ظواهرِها، دون استقصاء وتدبُّر وتفهُّم لها مجموعةً متكاملة.
This collection of textual and rational evidence was a response to the two previous groups, and also a response to the third group that intended the truth but did not achieve it; it intended to stand by the texts of the Qur’an and Sunna but fell into the trap of their apparent meanings (ẓawāhir), without thorough examination, reflection, and understanding of them as a complete whole.
وقد حصلَ هذا الارتباكُ لإمامين متعاصرينِ من أئمَّةِ الرواية: ابن خُزيمةَ في كتابه «التوحيد»، وابن أبي حاتم في كتابه «الردِّ على الجهمية»، وسَبَقَهما بفترة قصيرة من الزمن عثمانُ الدَّارِميُّ صاحب «نقض الدارمي على بشر المريسي»، و«الردِّ على الجهمية»، وله اشتغالٌ بالحديث الشريف دون هذينِ الإمامين.
This confusion occurred with two contemporary Imams among the Imams of narration: Ibn Khuzayma in his book “al-Tawḥīd,” and Ibn Abī Ḥātim in his book “al-Radd ‘alā al-Jahmiyya,” and they were preceded by a short period by ‘Uthmān al-Dārimī, author of “Naqḍ al-Dārimī ‘alā Bishr al-Marīsī” and “al-Radd ‘alā al-Jahmiyya,” who had less engagement with the noble hadith than these two Imams.
وقد أسند البيهقيُّ في كتابنا هذا إلى ابن خُزيمةَ قوله عن نفسه: (فما تنكرون على فقيهٍ راوي حديثٍ أنه لا يُحسن الكلام؟!)[2]؛ أي: لا يُحسنُ علْمَ الكلام، وأسند بعد هذا بقليل إلى ابن أبي حاتم قوله عن نفسه وعن ابن خُزيمةَ: (إنما الأَولى بنا وبه ألا نتكلَّمَ فيما لم نتعلَّمْهُ)[3].
Al-Bayhaqī, in our book here, attributed to Ibn Khuzayma his statement about himself: “What do you deny of a jurist who narrates hadith that he is not skilled in kalām?!” [2][iv]; that is, he is not skilled in the science of theology [kalām]. Shortly after this, he attributed to Ibn Abī Ḥātim his statement about himself and Ibn Khuzayma: “Indeed, it is more appropriate for us and for him not to speak about what we have not learned.” [3][v]
على أن الإمام البيهقي ختمَ كلامَهُ بقوله: (وقد رجع محمد بن إسحاقَ – ابن خُزيمةَ – إلى طريقة السلف، وتَلَهَّف على ما قال، والله أعلم)[4].
However, Imam al-Bayhaqī concluded his discussion by saying: “Muhammad ibn Isḥāq [Ibn Khuzayma] returned to the way of the predecessors [Salaf], and regretted what he had said, and Allah knows best.” [4]
وهذا خبرٌ مفيد جدّاً في حال هذا الإمام، ولكن يبقى التوفيقُ بين رجوعه وبين قوله تعالى: {إلا الذين تابوا وأصلحوا وبيَّنوا} [البقرة: 160]؛ فإن كتاب «التوحيد» ما زال وما يزال متداولاً محتجّاً به عند الطرفِ الذي جَمَد عند ظواهر بعض نصوص الكتاب والسنَّة، والانتقاداتُ عليه كثيرة وكثيرة، لكني ألفتُ النظرَ إلى كلمة وجيزة جدّاً تدلُّ على عدمِ تمكُّنه في هذا العلم؛ علم العقيدة!
This is a very beneficial report about the state of this Imam, but the reconciliation remains between his return and Allah’s saying: “Except those who repent and correct themselves and make evident [their repentance]” [al-Baqarah: 160]; for the book “al-Tawḥīd” has been and continues to be circulated and used as evidence by the side that became rigid with the apparent meanings (ẓawāhir) of some texts of the Qur’an and Sunna, and the criticisms of it are many and many. But I draw attention to a very brief statement that indicates his lack of expertise in this science—the science of creed (al-ʿaqīda)!
قال رحمه الله بعد صفحات من قوله: (باب ذكر استواء خالقنا العليِّ الأعلى)[5]: (ومعنى قوله: {وكان عرشه على الماء} [هود: 7]: كقوله: {وكان الله عليماً حكيماً} [النساء: 17])[6].
He, may Allah have mercy on him, said after several pages from his statement: “Chapter on mentioning the establishment [istiwā’] of our Creator, the Most High, the Most Exalted” [5]: “And the meaning of His saying: ‘And His Throne was upon water’ [Hūd: 7] is like His saying: ‘And Allah is ever Knowing and Wise’ [al-Nisā’: 17].” [6]
وهذا تشبيه يَجلُّ عنه قدر ابن خُزيمةَ إمامِ الأئمة في علم الأثر؛ ذلك: أن العرشَ مخلوق وحادث، والماءَ مخلوق وحادث، فكون عرش الرحمن على الماء حادثٌ أيضاً، أما علْمُ الله وحكمتُهُ: فصفتانِ أزليَّتان، فكيف نشبِّههما بالحوادث؟! ولم يعلِّق عليه مَن حقَّقه بشيء!!
This is an anthropomorphic (tashbīh) comparison unworthy of Ibn Khuzayma, the Imam of Imams in the knowledge of transmitted narration [athar]; because the Throne is created and temporal, and water is created and temporal, so the fact that the Throne of the Most Merciful was upon water is also temporal. As for Allah’s knowledge and wisdom, they are eternal attributes, so how can we compare them to temporal things?! And the editor did not comment on this at all!!
وممَّا يجب ذكرُهُ في هذه المناسبة: أنني حينما أقرأ في كتاب ابن خُزيمةَ، أو كتاب ابن أبي حاتم، أو كتابَيْ عثمانَ الدارمي.. أقرأُ لهم على أنهم يكتبون في علمِ العقيدة، فينبغي لمن يحقِّقُ كتبَهم: أن يترجم لهم أئمةً في هذا العلم، لا في علم الحديث، وحينما يقرأ الباحث في مقدِّمة كتاب «التوحيد» لابن خُزيمةَ، وأنه إمام الأئمة.. يرسخ في ذهنه أنه إمامٌ في العقيدة أيضاً! وهذا غلط، أو مغالطة، وأحلاهما مرٌّ.
What must be mentioned on this occasion is that when I read the book of Ibn Khuzayma, or the book of Ibn Abī Ḥātim, or the two books of ‘Uthmān al-Dārimī. I read them as authors writing in the knowledge (ilm) of creed, so those who edit their books should introduce them as Imams in this knowledge, not in the knowledge (ilm) of hadith. When a researcher reads in the introduction to Ibn Khuzayma’s book “al-Tawḥīd” that he is the Imam of Imams it becomes firmly established in his mind that he is also an Imam in creed! This is a mistake, or a fallacy, and the sweeter of the two is bitter.
وثناءُ من أثنى من العلماء السابقين واللاحقين على كُتُبِ هؤلاء رحمهم الله جميعاً.. إنما هو ثناءٌ إجمالي كلِّيٌّ، لا على كلِّ كلمة قالوها.
The praise from scholars, both predecessors and successors, for the books of these scholars, may Allah have mercy on them all… is only a general, overall praise, not for every word they said.
وكذلك ردُّ من ردَّ عليهم؛ إنما هو ردٌّ إجمالي، لا على كلِّ كلمة قالوها.
Similarly, the refutation from those who refuted them is only a general refutation, not for every word they said.
ونسأل اللهَ الإنصاف، والاهتداءَ بهدْيِ كتاب الله عز وجل، كما سيأتي.
We ask Allah for fairness and guidance by the guidance of the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, as will be discussed.
وأمر آخرُ غير ما أُخِذ عليه من أبوابٍ وعناوينَ مشكلة؛ هو: أن الإيغال في أمرٍ ما والإمعان فيه، وجمع نصوصه على صعيد واحد.. غيرُ مستساغ؛ لما يُورثُهُ في ذهن القارئ من تصوُّر خاطئ، وهذا ما حصل.
Another matter besides the problematic chapters and titles for which they were criticized is that delving deeply into a matter, persisting in it, and gathering its texts on one level… is not palatable because it gives the reader a false impression, and this is what happened.
وأذكرُ هنا عرضاً إجمالياً جدّاً وسريعاً جدّاً لأبواب كتاب «التوحيد» لابن خُزيمةَ: إثبات النفس لله تعالى، وإثبات العلم، وإثبات الوجه، والصورة، والعين، والسمع، واليد، والرِّجل، والاستواء، والنزول، والكلام، ورؤية الله يوم القيامة، والضحك.
I mention here a very general and very quick overview of the chapters of Ibn Khuzayma’s book “al-Tawḥīd”: affirming the self for Allah Almighty, affirming knowledge, affirming the face, the form, the eye, hearing, the hand, the leg, establishment [istiwā’], descent, speech, seeing Allah on the Day of Resurrection, and laughter.[vi]
ولما قام بتحقيقه محمد خليل هرَّاس.. كان من تعليقاته نتيجة لما وصفتُهُ: أن ابن خُزيمةَ قال: (باب ذكر سُنَّة ثامنة تُبيِّن وتوضِّحُ أن لخالقنا يدينِ كلتاهما يمينانِ، لا يسارَ لخالقنا، إذِ اليسارُ من صفات المخلوقين)[7].
When Muhammad Khalīl Harrās[vii] edited it, among his comments, as a result of what I described, was that Ibn Khuzayma said: “Chapter on mentioning an eighth Sunna that clarifies and explains that our Creator has two hands, both of which are right hands, our Creator has no left hand, as the left is among the attributes of created beings.” [7]
فعلَّق عليه محمد خليل هرَّاس: (يظهر أن المنع من إطلاق اليسار هو على جهة التأدُّب … يدل على أن اليد الأخرى المقابلة لها ليست يميناً).
Muhammad Khalīl Harrās commented on this: “It appears that the prohibition of attributing the left is by way of etiquette… indicating that the other hand opposite to it is not a right hand.”
وكان أيضاً من حال هذا الرجل المتشبِّعِ بهذا الكتاب: أنه لما كان مدرِّساً في جامعة مكَّةَ المكرمة أيامَ كانت تابعة لجامعة الملك عبد العزيز.. أنْ رَسَمَ على السَّبُّورة ما سماه: العرش، ورَسَمَ كائناً عليه!!
It was also the case with this man, infatuated with this book, that when he was a professor at the University of Makka when it was affiliated with King Abdul Aziz University… he drew on the blackboard what he called: the Throne, and drew a being upon it!!
وحكى ابن خُزيمةَ عن عالمٍ لم يسمِّه كلاماً له في عدم نسبة الأصابع إلى الله عز وجل، وأنكر عليه ابن خُزيمةَ هذا[8]، فعلَّق عليه محمد خليل هرَّاس: (ومن أثبت الأصابع لله فكيف ينفي عنه اليد والأصابعُ جزءٌ من اليد؟!)، وفي هذا إثباتُ التجزُّؤ لله سبحانه وتعالى وتقدَّس!!
Ibn Khuzayma related from a scholar whom he did not name a statement about not attributing fingers to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and Ibn Khuzayma criticized him for this [8].[viii] Muhammad Khalīl Harrās commented on this: “How can one who affirms fingers for Allah deny the hand, when fingers are part of the hand?!” This affirms partitioning for Allah, Glorified, Exalted, and Sanctified is He!!
ولم يكن حالُ عثمانَ بنِ سعيد الدارمي في كتابيه «الردِّ على الجهمية» و«الردِّ على بشر المريسي».. بأخفَّ وألطفَ من كتاب ابن خُزيمةَ، بل زاد الطين بِلَّة؛ فنسب إلى الله تعالى الحدَّ ببيانٍ بيِّنٍ لله تعالى، ومعرفة مكانه، سبحانه وتعالى وتنَزَّه، وذلك في كتابه الأول([9]).
The state of ‘Uthmān ibn Sa’īd al-Dārimī[ix] in his two books “al-Radd ‘alā al-Jahmiyyah” and “al-Radd ‘alā Bishr al-Marīsī” was not milder or gentler than Ibn Khuzayma’s book; rather, he made matters worse by attributing limits to Allah Almighty with a clear statement and knowledge of His place, Glorified, Exalted, and Elevated is He above that, and that is in his first book ([9]).
أما كتابه الثاني: فأخطاؤه ـ بل زلَّاته وطامَّاته ـ أكثرُ من أن تُذكر أرقام صفحاتها!!
As for his second book: his errors—rather, his slips and calamities—are too numerous to mention their page numbers!!
وغيره وغيره تحت اسم: الردِّ على الجهمية، والمعطِّلة، وأهل البدع والضلال، ونصرة الحقِّ، وعقيدة السلف، والاعتماد على الكتاب والسنَّة.
And others and others under the name of: refuting the Jahmiyya, the deniers [mu’aṭṭila], the people of innovation (bid’a) and misguidance (dalāl), supporting the truth, the creed of the predecessors [Salaf], and relying on the Qur’an and Sunna.
وهذا منهج حقٌّ، ودعوة إلى الحقِّ، ولكنْ لو حالفهم التوفيق الذي رسم الله تعالى لنا طريقه في كتابه العزيز؛ في قوله تعالى في سورة (آل عمران): {هو الذي أنزل عليك الكتاب، منه آيات محكمات هنَّ أم الكتاب وأُخَر متشابهات، فأما الذين في قلوبهم زيغ فيتبعون ما تشابه منه ابتغاء الفتنة وابتغاء تأويله} [آل عمران: 7]، فالله عز وجل يقول: إن في كتابه الكريم آياتٍ متشابهاتٍ، وحذَّرَنا من اتِّباعها، وهذا أمرٌ ضمنيٌّ بالعمل بالمحكَم، وردِّ المتشابه إليه، أما الوقوفُ عند المتشابه فهذا شأنُ أولي الزَّيغ، وقد أثنى جلَّ جلالُهُ في كتابه في سورة (الزمر) على: {الذين يستمعون القول فيتبعون أحسنه أولئك الذين هداهم الله وأولئك هم أولوا الألباب} [الزمر: 18].
This is a rightful methodology and a call to the truth, but only if they had been granted the success that Allah Almighty has outlined for us in His noble Book; in His saying in Sūrah Āl ‘Imrān: “It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise—they are the foundation of the Book—and others ambiguous [mutashābihāt]. As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they will follow that of it which is ambiguous [mutashābih], seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [ta’wīl] [suitable to them]” [Āl ‘Imrān: 7]. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says that in His noble Book there are ambiguous verses, and He has warned us against following them, and this is an implicit command to act upon the precise [muḥkam], and refer the ambiguous to it. As for standing by the ambiguous, this is the concern of those with deviation [zayg], and the Most Majestic has praised in His Book in Sūrah al-Zumar: “Those who listen to speech and follow the best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are people of understanding” [al-Zumar: 18].
فهذا طريقُ أصلِ الزيغ: اعتمادُ المتشابه فقط، وهذا طريق أولي الألباب: اتِّباعُ الأحسن والأبعدِ عن المتشابهات والمشكلات.
So, this is the path of the origin of deviation: relying only on the ambiguous [mutashābih], and this is the path of people of understanding: following what is best and furthest from ambiguities [mutashābihāt] and problems.
وهذا المنهج القوي السليم جمعه الله تعالى في جملة واحدة، من آية واحدة في سورة (الشورى): {ليس كمثله شيء وهو السميع البصير} [الشورى: 11]، فهذا تنزيهٌ مع الإثبات، فلا تعطيل، وإثباتٌ مع التنزيه، فلا تشبيهَ ولا تجسيم.
This strong, sound methodology was summarized by Allah Almighty in a single phrase, from a single verse in Sūrah al-Shūrā: “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing” [al-Shūrā: 11]. This is transcendence [tanzīh] with affirmation [ithbāt], so there is no denial [ta’ṭīl], and affirmation with transcendence, so there is no anthropomorphism [tashbīh] or corporealism [tajsīm].
وهذا التكافؤ والتوازنُ المحكم الدقيقُ يفقِدُهُ الكثيرُ من أهل العلم قديماً وحديثاً، وكلٌّ منهم يدَّعي ويدعو إلى عدم الإفراط والتفريط، ولكنه يفتقرُ إلى توازن تامٍّ دقيق أدقَّ من لسان ميزان الذهب.
This precise, firm balance and equivalence is lost by many scholars, both ancient and modern, and each of them claims and calls for the avoidance of excess and negligence, but lacks a complete, precise balance, more precise than the pointer of a gold scale.
ومن أهمِّ أسباب الوصول إلى هذا التكافؤِ الدقيق: أن يتكلَّمَ في كلِّ علم أهلُهُ المختصُّون به، ولكن مَنِ الذي يجرؤ ويقول الحقَّ على نفسه: إنه ليس من أهل هذا الاختصاص، كما جَرُؤ عليه ابن خُزيمةَ وابن أبي حاتم؟!([10]).
Among the most important reasons for achieving this precise equivalence is that specialists in each science should speak about it, but who dares to tell the truth about himself that he is not a specialist in this field, as Ibn Khuzayma and Ibn Abī Ḥātim dared to do?! ([10])
وقد قيَّضَ الله لهذا الدين مَنْ أقام الميزان بالعدل والنَّصَفة، بلسان أهل الحقِّ والسنَّة، فهيَّأ جماعةً من الأئمة العلماء الجامعين بين العلوم النقلية والعقلية والفقهية.
Allah has destined for this religion those who establish the balance with justice and fairness, with the tongue of the people of truth (Ahlul-Haqq) and Sunna, so He prepared a group of scholarly Imams who combined textual, rational, and juristic sciences.
وكما أن الله تعالى الكريم المتفضِّلَ أقام مناراتِ الفقه الإسلامي على أيدي الأئمة الأربعة، فهيَّأ لهم أصحاباً دوَّنوا فقههم، فخلَّده الله على مدى الأيام، مع أن غيرهم الكثيرَ الكثيرَ موجودٌ ظاهرٌ في هذا الميدان الفسيح.. فكذلك تفضَّل الله تعالى وأنعمَ على الأمة؛ فأقام منارةَ العقيدة الإسلامية على يدِ الإمامينِ: أبي الحسن الأشعري، وأبي منصور الماتريدي، وهيَّأ لهما من الأصحاب البررة مَن دوَّن اجتهادَهم وفهمَهم لنصوص الكتاب والسنَّة في العقيدة، على سَنَنِ السلف الصالح، مع الموازنة الحكيمةِ بين العقل والنقل، لا طغيانَ لأحدهما على الآخر، فيزلَّ الميزان.
Just as Allah Almighty, the Generous, the Bestower, established the lighthouses of Islamic jurisprudence through the four Imams[x], and prepared for them companions who recorded their jurisprudence, which Allah has immortalized over the days, even though many others were prominent in this vast field, likewise, Allah Almighty bestowed and blessed the nation by establishing the lighthouse of Islamic creed through the two Imams: Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ash’arī (d. 324 AH) and Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (d. 333 AH), and prepared for them righteous companions who recorded their interpretations [ijtihād] and understanding of the texts of the Qur’an and Sunna regarding creed, following the path of the righteous predecessors [Salaf], with a wise balance between reason and tradition, with neither dominating the other, lest the balance tip.
وكذلك أقول: كان في ساحة هذا العلم آخرون كثيرون، لكن كتبَ اللهُ تعالى البقاءَ لهاتين المدرستين، وخلَّد الله نورَهما في الأمة المحمدية.
Likewise, I say: there were many others in the field of this science, but Allah Almighty decreed permanence for these two schools, and Allah immortalized their light in the Muhammadan nation.
ظهر في خِضَمِّ القرن الخامس الذي تمكَّنت فيه الرُّدود والخصومات.. الإمامان: أبو منصور البغدادي، المتوفَّى سنة (429هـ)، والإمام أبو الحسين البيهقي، المتوفَّى سنة (458هـ)، رحمهما الله تعالى، فألَّف كلٌّ منهما كتاباً سمَّاه: «الأسماء والصفات»، وللإمام أبي منصور اشتغالٌ بعلم الحديث، وبالعلوم العقلية أكثرَ، فغلبَ على كتابه هذا الطابع، وللإمام البيهقي اشتغالٌ كبير بالفقه والخلافيات، مع إمامة بالحديث، فغلب على كتابه هذا الطابعُ أكثرَ، وكلٌّ منهما ألَّفَ كتابه سدّاً لحاجة علماء عصره وطلابهم، فجزاهما الله خيراً.
In the midst of the fifth century, in which refutations and disputes were established… two Imams appeared: Abū Manṣūr al-Baghdādī, who died in 429 AH, and Imam Abū al-Hussain al-Bayhaqī, who died in 458 AH, may Allah Almighty have mercy on them. Each of them wrote a book entitled “al-Asmā’ wa al-Ṣifāt”[xi] [The Names and Attributes]. Imam Abū Manṣūr had more engagement with hadith and with rational sciences, so this character dominated his book, and Imam al-Bayhaqī had a great engagement with jurisprudence and juristic disagreements, along with leadership in hadith, so this character dominated his book more, and each of them wrote his book to fulfill the need of the scholars of his time and their students, so may Allah reward them well.
وكان من الممكن لعلماء عصرنا أنْ يكتبوا بأقلامِهم هذه الحُجج والبيِّنات؛ سدّاً للحاجة المتجدِّدة في أيامنا التي تتجدَّدُ فيها طباعةُ تلك الكتب بين الحين والآخر، مع حاجة المسلمين إلى غيرها من المسائل وكشف الشبهات والضلالات الجديدة.
It would have been possible for scholars of our time to write with their pens these proofs and evidences, fulfilling the renewed need in our days in which the printing of those books is renewed from time to time, with the Muslims’ need for other issues and uncovering new misconceptions and misguidances.
لكن لوَقْعِ كلام أئمتِنا السابقين في نفوس الخاصة والعامة.. مكانةٌ أعلى، والحمدُ لله، فكان من المتعيِّن إحياءُ تراثهم بخِدَمات معاصرة علمية وفنِّية؛ تقريباً لأفهام قرَّائنا من الخاصة والعامة، وهذا ما نراه في هذين الكتابين للإمامين أبي منصور البغدادي والبيهقي رحمهما الله تعالى.
But the impact of the words of our previous Imams in the souls of the elite and the common people has a higher status, praise be to Allah, so it was necessary to revive their heritage with contemporary scientific and technical services, bringing it closer to the understanding of our readers from the elite and the common people, and this is what we see in these two books by Imams Abū Manṣūr al-Baghdādī and al-Bayhaqī, may Allah have mercy on them.
وقد ندب نفسه لخدمتهما بما كفى وشفى فضيلةُ الأخ الكريم الأستاذ الشيخ أنس محمد الشَّرْفاويِّ جزاه الله خيراً، وأسبغ علينا وعليه نعمه الظاهرة والباطنة، فجاء بخدمة كلٍّ منهما بما يحتاجه من تخريجِ الأحاديث والنقولِ عمَّن تيسَّر له مصدره، مع حلِّ مصطلحاته وغريبه.
The esteemed brother, al-Ustadh, al-Shaykh Anas Muhammad al-Sharfāwī, may Allah reward him well, has devoted himself to serving them with what is sufficient and healing, and may Allah bestow upon us and him His apparent and hidden blessings. He has served each of them with what they need in terms of referencing hadiths and quotations from available sources, along with explaining their terminology and unusual expressions.
وقدَّم للكتابين بدراسة جيدة عن الإمام المؤلِّف، وعن موضوع كتابه، وتأييد آرائه بالنقول عن الأئمة الآخرين، وتعزيزه منهجَهُ ومشربه فيه، فنزَّهَ الكتابَ عن عبث العابثين به، ولَيِّ نصوصِهِ لتطويعها حَسَبَ فهمِهم ومعتقَدهم.
He has presented the books with a good study about the author Imam, the subject of his book, supporting his views with quotations from other Imams, and reinforcing his methodology and approach in it, preserving the book from the tampering of those who tamper with it, and from twisting its texts to adapt them according to their understanding and belief.
وقد قرأت الدراسة، وصفحات كثيرة من مواضعَ متفرِّقةٍ في الكتاب، فلم أرَ إلا كلَّ توفيق وسداد، وفَّقه الله ورعاه.
I have read the study and many pages from different places in the book, and I have seen nothing but all success and correctness. May Allah grant him success and care.
وأول ما عرفت الأخ الكريم فضيلة الشيخ أنس عرفته بالأمانة على حقوق الآخرين، لا يأخذها ويدَّعيها لنفسه، وهذا خلق كريم يزداد وقعه حُسْناً في أيامنا؛ ذلكم هو إخراجه الجديد لكتاب الإمام ابن عساكرَ رحمه الله «تبيين كذب المفتري»، فقد حرص على مقدِّمته النادرة التي كتبها الإمام الكوثري لطبعته الأولى مع تعليقاته، ثم زاد عليها ما شاء.
The first time I knew the esteemed brother, Shaykh Anas, I knew him for his honesty regarding the rights of others, not taking them and claiming them for himself, and this is a noble character that becomes more beautiful in our days. That is his new edition of Imam Ibn ‘Asākir’s book “Tabyīn Kadhib al-Muftarī,”[xii] where he was keen on its rare introduction written by Imam al-Kawtharī for its first edition with his comments, then he added what he wished.
ثم دَأَبَ على هذا الخُلُق والأمانة في هذا الكتاب الثاني «الأسماء والصفات» للبيهقي، وقد طبعه الكوثري أولاً، وجاء فضيلة الأخ الشيخ أنس الشرفاوي فحافظ على مقدِّمة الكوثري، وعلى تعليقاته ولو بكلمة واحدة؛ فإنه ينسبها إليه، ثم يزيد من عنده ما يراه.
Then he persisted in this character and honesty in this second book “al-Asmā’ wa al-Ṣifāt”[xiii] by al-Bayhaqī, which al-Kawtharī had first published, and the esteemed brother Shaykh Anas al-Sharfāwī came and preserved al-Kawtharī’s introduction and his comments, even if just a single word; he attributes it to him, then adds from himself what he sees.
فجزاه الله خيراً، وجزى الله خيراً صاحب (دار التقوى) الذي يُجمِّل هذا الجهد الكريم، ويزيده قُرباً ومحبَّة من القراء، ومما يُؤثَر ويقال: الخطُّ الحسن يزيد الحقَّ وضوحاً، وهكذا أقول: إن الإخراج الحسن للكتاب يقرِّب ما فيه إلى قارئيه، ويزيده وضوحاً.
May Allah reward him well, and may Allah reward well the owner of Dār al-Taqwā who beautifies this noble effort and increases its closeness and love from the readers. Among what is related and said: Beautiful handwriting increases the truth in clarity, and thus I say: The beautiful production of the book brings what is in it closer to its readers and increases its clarity.
وأسأل الله تعالى من فضله الكريم أن يديم علينا جميعاً التوفيق والقَبولَ والسداد في خدمة هذا العلم الشريف المبارك.
I ask Allah Almighty from His generous favour to perpetuate for all of us success, acceptance, and correctness in serving this noble, blessed knowledge.
وصلَّى الله تعالى وسلَّمَ على سيِّدنا محمد، وعلى آله وأصحابه وأتباعه إلى يوم الدين، والحمد لله ربِّ العالمين.
May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, his family, companions, and followers until the Day of Judgment, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Footnotes:
([1]) رواه ابن ماجه (8)، وأحمد في «المسند» (4/200) (17787)، وابن حبان في «صحيحه» (326).
([1]) Narrated by Ibn Mājah (8), Ahmad in “al-Musnad” (4/200) (17787), and Ibn Ḥibbān in his “Ṣaḥīḥ” (326).
[2] انظر الخبر (600). [2] See report (600). [3] انظر الخبر (600). [3] See report (600). [4] انظر (1 /845 ). [4] See (1/845). [5] التوحيد (1/231). [5] Al-Tawḥīd (1/231). [6] التوحيد (1/238). [6] Al-Tawḥīd (1/238). [7] التوحيد (1/159). [7] Al-Tawḥīd (1/159). [8] التوحيد (1/199). [8] Al-Tawḥīd (1/199).([9]) الرد على الجهمية (ص99).
([9]) Al-Radd ‘alā al-Jahmiyyah (p. 99).
([10]) انظر (1/844).
([10]) See (1/844).
End notes by the translator:
[i] His biography as mentioned here: https://alithnainya.com/tocs/default.asp?toc_id=15783&toc_brother=-1&path=0;1;15557;15576;15783
Biography:
الاسم: فضيلة الشيخ محمد محمد عوامة مكان وتاريخ الميلاد: ولد فضيلته في حلب بتاريخ 14/12/1358هـ الموافق 1/1/1940مـ
Name: His Eminence Shaykh Muhammad Muhammad ‘Awwāma. Place and Date of Birth: His Eminence was born in Aleppo on 14/12/1358 AH, corresponding to 1/1/1940 CE.
بدأ بطلب العلم عام 1373هـ/1953م، وكان قبلها يلازم دروس فضيلة الشيخ محمد السلقيني رحمه الله تعالى.
He began seeking knowledge in 1373 AH/1953 CE, and before that, he regularly attended the lessons of His Eminence Shaykh Muhammad al-Salqīnī, may Allah Almighty have mercy on him.
ـ تتلمذ من أول أيامه في طلب العلم على فضيلة الشيخ عبد الله سراج الدين ولازمه، ثم بدأت صلته وصحبته للشيخ عبد الفتاح أبو غدة عام 1378هـ ولازمه أيضاً.
From his first days of seeking knowledge, he studied under His Eminence Shaykh ‘Abdullāh Sirāj al-Dīn and stayed with him, then his connection and companionship with Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghudda began in 1378 AH, and he stayed with him as well.
ـ التحق بكلية الشريعة عام 1382هـ/ 1962م، وفي العام نفسه اختاره شيخه فضيلة الشيخ عبد الله سراج الدين مدرساً في مدرسته الشعبانية، فدرس فيها عدة علوم إلى عام 1400هـ/1980م ـ حين خرج من سوريا ـ مع كونه أميناً عاماً لمكتبتها، كما أنه تولى إدارة المدرسة لفترة من الزمن.
He joined the College of Shariah in 1382 AH/1962 CE, and in the same year, his Shaykh, His Eminence Shaykh ‘Abdullāh Sirāj al-Dīn, chose him as a teacher in his Sha’bāniyya School, where he taught several sciences until 1400 AH/1980 CE – when he left Syria – while also serving as the general secretary of its library, and he also managed the school for a period of time.
ـ سافر إلى مصر في صفر عام 1379هـ، والتقى بمجموعة من كبار العلماء آنذاك منهم: المشايخ أحمد وعبد الله الغماريان، وعبد الوهاب عبد اللطيف، ومحمد أبو زهرة، وغيرهم..
He travelled to Egypt in Safar 1379 AH and met with a group of senior scholars at that time, including: Shaykhs Aḥmad and ‘Abdullāh al-Ghumārī (they are two brothers), ‘Abd al-Wahhāb ‘Abd al-Latīf, Muhammad Abū Zahra, and others.
ـ كان له نشاط علمي بارز مع نبوغ ظاهر في مدينته ((حلب)) حيث وضع في مصاف شيوخه، فاختير مدرساً وهو في سن الشباب في مسجد الروضة الذي كان يعد الجامعة العلمية الشرعية آنذاك.
He had prominent scholarly activity with obvious brilliance in his city (Aleppo/Halab), where he was placed among his Shaykhs, so he was chosen as a teacher while still young in al-Rawḍa Masjid, which was considered the scientific religious university at that time.
ـ قدم المدينة المنورة عام 1400هـ، والتحق بالجامعة الإسلامية حيث أسس لها مركز البحث العلمي، الذي سمي فيما بعد ((مركز خدمة السنّة والسيرة النبوية))، وبدأ فيه بتحقق إتحاف المهرة)).
He arrived in Madina in 1400 AH and joined the Islamic University, where he established for it the Scientific Research Center, which was later named “The Center for the Service of Sunnah and Prophetic Biography,” and began there with the verification of “Itḥāf al-Mahara.”
ـ أسس عام 1406هـ مكتباً لتحقيق التراث الإسلامي، وكان تابعاً لدار القبلة للثقافة الإسلامية مدة 12 عاماً.
In 1406 AH, he established an office for the verification of Islamic heritage, which was affiliated with Dār al-Qibla for Islamic Culture for a period of 12 years.
ـ فضيلته صاحب فكر نيِّرِ، ومنهج وضاء، اتضح في كتابيه ((أثر الحديث الشريف في اختلاف الأئمة الفقهاء)) و((أدب الاختلاف في مسائل العلم والدين)).
His Eminence is a man of enlightened thought and a clear methodology, which became evident in his two books “The Impact of Noble Hadith on the Disagreements of the Jurist Imams” and “The Etiquette of Disagreement in Matters of Knowledge and Religion.”
ـ منهج فضيلته في علم الجرح والتعديل مدرسة يحتذى بها في عصرنا الحاضر، دقة، وتمحيصاً، وبُعد نظر.
His Eminence’s methodology in the science of criticism and validation [al-jarḥ wa al-ta’dīl] is a school to be followed in our present time, for its precision, scrutiny, and foresight.
ـ علم من أعلام التحقيق، ولذا قال عنه فضيلة الشيخ العلامة الموسوعي محمد سعيد الطنطاوي: لا أعلم على وجه الأرض أعلم منه في علم التحقيق.
He is a flag-bearer in the field of verification [taḥqīq], and therefore His Eminence Shaykh al-‘Allāmah, the encyclopaedic Muhammad Sa’īd al-Ṭanṭāwī, said about him: “I do not know anyone on the face of the earth more knowledgeable than him in the science of verification [taḥqīq].”
له إصدارات علمية عديدة منها:
He has numerous scholarly publications, including:
ـ مصنف ابن أبي الشيبة في (26) مجلداً ـ سنن أبي داوود في (6) مجلدات ـ الشمائل المحمدية للترمذي ومعه المواهب اللدنية للباجوري في مجلد واحد. ـ مجالس في تفسير قوله تعالى لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ (آل عمران: 164) لابن ناصر الدين الدمشقي (مجلد واحد). ـ القول البديع في الصلاة على الحبيب الشفيع للسخاوي (مجلد واحد) ـ أثر الحديث الشريف في اختلاف الأئمة الفقهاء رضي الله عنهم (مجلد واحد). ـ أدب الاختلاف في مسائل العلم والدين (مجلد واحد). ـ من صحاح الأحاديث القدسية ـ جمع وشرح. ـ المختار من فرائد النقول والأخبار ـ اختيار وترتيب (مجلد واحد).
- Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shayba [The Classified Compilation of Ibn Abī Shaybah] in (26) volumes
- Sunan Abī Dāwūd [The Traditions of Abū Dāwūd] in (6) volumes
- Al-Shamā’il al-Muḥammadiyya li-l-Tirmidhī [The Muhammadan Characteristics by al-Tirmidhī], along with Al-Mawāhib al-Laduniyyah li-l-Bājūrī [The Divinely-Granted Gifts by al-Bājūrī] in one volume.
- Majālis fī Tafsīr Qawlihi Ta’ālā: Laqad Manna Allāhu ‘alā al-Mu’minīna idh Ba’atha fīhim Rasūlan min Anfusihim (Āl ‘Imrān: 164) li-Ibn Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Dimashqī [Sessions on the Interpretation of Allah’s Saying: “Allah has surely been gracious to the believers in sending them a Messenger from among themselves” (Āl ‘Imrān: 164) by Ibn Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Dimashqī] (one volume).
- Al-Qawl al-Badī’ fī al-Ṣalāt ‘alā al-Ḥabīb al-Shafī’ li-l-Sakhāwī [The Wonderful Saying Regarding Sending Blessings upon the Beloved Intercessor by al-Sakhāwī] (one volume)
- Athar al-Ḥadīth al-Sharīf fī Ikhtilāf al-A’imma al-Fuqahā’ Raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhum [The Impact of Noble Hadith on the Disagreements of the Jurist Imams, may Allah be pleased with them] (one volume).
- Adab al-Ikhtilāf fī Masā’il al-‘Ilm wa-l-Dīn [The Etiquette of Disagreement in Matters of Knowledge and Religion] (one volume).
- Min Ṣiḥāḥ al-Aḥādīth al-Qudsiyyah – Jam’ wa Sharḥ [From the Authentic Divine Hadiths – Collection and Commentary].
- Al-Mukhtār min Farā’id al-Nuqūl wa-l-Akhbār – Ikhtiyār wa Tartīb [The Selected from the Unique Narrations and Reports – Selection and Arrangement] (one volume).
Translators note:
Currently Shaykh Awwama is also supervising two major Hadith related projects. A recent update (Monday, 21 Rajab 1446 AH – 20 January 2025) was mentioned here by the pen of Mawlana Mahfuz Ahmed from London, England, after his meeting with the noble Shaykh in Istanbul:
Quote in English from the above link:
“As Dr. Muḥyī al-Dīn, may Allah preserve him, told us about the scholarly projects being completed under the supervision of our Sheikh, the Imam, these days. Among the most prominent of these is a meticulous scholarly verification [taḥqīq] of “Sunan al-Imām al-Tirmidhī” [The Traditions of Imam al-Tirmidhī], for which they collected one hundred and twenty manuscripts from around the world, selecting from them an appropriate number for the precision of the work. They also conducted a detailed study of forty narrators out of 129 very weak narrators from whom al-Tirmidhī narrated in his “Sunanihi” [his Traditions], and our Shaykh, Imam Muḥammad ʿAwāma, may Allah preserve him, commented that Imam al-Tirmidhī, may Allah have mercy on him, was not lenient in judging hadiths and narrators, but rather was precise in selecting from the narrations of the weak narrators those in which they excelled.
Among other projects: work on five books concerning the hadiths of “al-Hidāya” [The Guidance] in Ḥanafī jurisprudence: “Naṣb al-Rāya” [Hoisting the Banner] by al-Zaylaʿī, “al-ʿInāya” [The Care] by al-Qurashī, “al-Tanbīh” [The Alert] by Ibn al-Turkmānī, “al-Dirāya” [The Knowledge] by Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, and “Munyat al-Almaʿī” [The Desire of the Discerning] by Qāsim ibn Quṭlūbughā. This collection is being published in thirty volumes under the title: “Mawsūʿat Adillat al-Fiqh al-Islāmī” [Encyclopedia of Evidence in Islamic Jurisprudence]. Here, Sheikh Muḥyī al-Dīn pointed out that Imam al-Zaylaʿī, may Allah have mercy on him, despite his prestigious scholarly position, was influenced in some of his judgments on hadiths by the opinions of Shāfiʿī scholars, and his death at the age of forty prevented the refinement of some of his views and the maturation of some of his independent reasoning [ijtihādāt].”
[ii] The original article was sourced from here – https://islamsyria.com/ar/%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%B6-%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA and it was also published in the introduction to the latest edition of Imam al-Bayhaqī’s Kitāb al-Asmāʾ wa’l-Ṣifāt (1/7-18) as edited by the Damascene Shaykh Anas Muḥammad al-Sharfāwī.
One may also refer to the following video on the same theme – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVO41bSZILE
[iii] A sect that emphasised on excessive rationalism rather than relying on transmitted texts like the authentic Hadiths.
Notes with regard to Ibn Khuzayma:
[iv] The narration being referred to from Imam al-Bayhaqī’s Kitāb al-Asmāʾ wa’l-Ṣifāt (see Arabic text here – https://app.turath.io/book/9270?page=640) is as follows in English:
592 – Abu ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥāfiẓ has informed us, saying: I heard Abu ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Ḍabbī saying: I heard Abu al-Faḍl al-Baṭāyinī, while we were in al-Rayy, saying – and Abu al-Faḍl used to walk ahead of Abu Bakr Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Khuzayma when he rode – he said: One day, Abu Bakr Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq left his house near the afternoon [ʿaṣr] prayer, and I followed him without knowing where he was heading, until he reached the gate of Maʿmar. He entered the house of Abu ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, then came out with a divided heart. When he reached the small square and approached the Khan of Makkī, he stopped and called to Manṣūr al-Ṣaydalānī: “Come here.” Manṣūr hurried to him. When he stood before him, he asked him: “What is your profession?” He replied: “I am a perfumer [ʿaṭṭār].” He asked: “Do you know the craft of shoemaking?” He said: “No.” He asked: “Do you know the craft of carpentry?” He said: “No.” Then he said to us: “If the perfumer knows nothing other than his own craft, then why do you criticize a jurist who narrates hadith for not being skilled in theology [kalām], when my teacher – meaning al-Muzanī, may Allah have mercy on him – told me more than once: ‘Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah be pleased with him, used to forbid us from engaging in theology [kalām].'”
I said: This Abu ʿAbd al-Raḥmān was a Muʿtazilite who had put something of his innovation [bidʿa] into the Sheikh’s ear and portrayed to him that his companions – meaning Abu ʿAlī Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Thaqafī, Abu Bakr ibn Isḥāq al-Ṣibghī, Abu Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Manṣūr the Judge, and Abu Bakr ibn Abī ʿUthmān al-Ḥīrī, may Allah have mercy on them all – claimed that Allah the Exalted does not speak after having spoken in eternity [azal], until he [Ibn Khuzayma] came out against them and their dispute grew lengthy, and he spoke in a way that suggested the belief in the origination [ḥudūth] of speech, despite his belief in its eternality [qidam].
Then Abu Bakr Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq the jurist dictated his belief and the belief of his companions to Abu Bakr ibn Abī ʿUthmān, and presented it to Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Khuzayma, who approved it and was satisfied with it. He acknowledged, as we have related about him, that this only happened because he was not skilled in theology [kalām]. Among what was dictated concerning their beliefs, as reported to us by Abu ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥāfiẓ from the copy of that book: “Whoever claims that Allah the Exalted, Majestic is His mention, spoke only once and does not speak except what He has already spoken, after which His speech came to an end, has disbelieved in Allah. Rather, Allah has always been speaking and will always continue to speak. There is nothing like His speech because it is an attribute of His essence. Allah the Exalted has negated any likeness to His speech, just as He negated any likeness to Himself, and He negated the exhaustion of His speech, just as He negated destruction for Himself, for the Mighty and Majestic said: ‘Everything will perish except His Face’ [al-Qaṣaṣ: 88] and the Exalted said: ‘Say: If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted’ [al-Kahf: 109].
The speech of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is not separate from Allah; it is not below Him, nor other than Him, nor is it Him. Rather, it is an attribute of His essence, like His knowledge, which is an attribute of His essence. Our Lord has always been knowing and will always be knowing, and He has always been speaking and will always be speaking. He is described with the highest attributes, and has always been and will always be One with all His attributes that are attributes of His essence, and He is the Subtle, the Aware.”
And among what was written: “The Qur’an is the speech of Allah the Exalted and an attribute of His essence. None of His speech is a creation or created, nor an action or something acted upon, nor a producer of events nor an event nor events.” End of quote.
[v] The narration being referred to from Imam al-Bayhaqī’s Kitāb al-Asmāʾ wa’l-Ṣifāt (see Arabic text here – https://app.turath.io/book/9270?page=641) is as follows:
٥٩٣ – وَأَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْحَافِظُ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ عَلِيَّ بْنَ أَحْمَدَ الزَّاهِدُ الْبُوشَنْجِيَّ يَقُولُ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَى عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي حَاتِمٍ الرَّازِيِّ بِالرَّيِّ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ بِمَا جَرَى بِنَيْسَابُورَ بَيْنَ أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ خُزَيْمَةَ وَبَيْنَ أَصْحَابِهِ، فَقَالَ: مَا لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ وَالْكَلَامِ؟ إِنَّمَا الْأَوْلَى بِنَا وَبِهِ أَنْ لَا نَتَكَلَّمَ فِيمَا لَمْ نَتَعَلَّمْهُ. فَخَرَجْتُ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ حَتَّى دَخَلْتُ عَلَى أَبِي الْعَبَّاسِ الْقَلَانِسِيِّ فَقَالَ: كَانَ بَعْضُ الْقَدَرِيَّةِ مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ وَقَعَ إِلَى مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ فَوَقَعَ لَكَلَامِهِ عِنْدَهُ قَبُولٌ. ثُمَّ خَرَجْتُ إِلَى بَغْدَادَ فَلَمْ أَدَعْ بِهَا فَقِيهًا وَلَا مُتَكَلِّمًا إِلَّا عَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ تِلْكَ الْمَسَائِلَ، فَمَا مِنْهُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا وَهُوَ يُتَابَعُ أَبَا الْعَبَّاسِ الْقَلَانِسِيَّ عَلَى مَقَالَتِهِ، وَيَغْتَمُّ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ فِيمَا أَظْهَرَهُ. قُلْتُ: الْقِصَّةُ فِيهِ طَوِيلَةٌ، وَقَدْ رَجَعَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ إِلَى طَرِيقَةِ السَّلَفِ وَتَلَهَّفَ عَلَى مَا قَالَ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ
593 – Abu ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥāfiẓ informed us, saying: I heard Abu al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Zāhid al-Būshanjī saying: I entered upon ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥātim al-Rāzī in al-Rayy and informed him about what had transpired in Naysābūr between Abu Bakr ibn Khuzayma and his companions. He said: “What has Abu Bakr to do with theology [kalām]? It is more appropriate for us and for him not to speak about what we have not learned.”
I left him and went to see Abu al-ʿAbbās al-Qalānisī, who said: “One of the Qadarites from among the theologians [mutakallimīn] came to Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, and his speech was accepted by him.”
Then I went out to Baghdad and did not leave any jurist or theologian [mutakallim] there without presenting these issues to them. There was no one among them except that they agreed with Abu al-ʿAbbās al-Qalānisī in his statement, and they felt distressed for Abu Bakr Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq regarding what he had made public.
I (al-Bayhaqī) said: The story about him is long, and Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq (meaning: ibn Khuzayma) had returned to the way of the predecessors [Salaf] and regretted what he had said, and Allah knows best. End of quote.
Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852 AH) mentioned the following in his Fatḥ al-Bārī (13/492):
وَوَقَعَ نَحْوُ ذَلِكَ لِإِمَامِ الْأَئِمَّةِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ خُزَيْمَةَ ثُمَّ رَجَعَ وَلَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ مَعَ تَلَامِذَتِهِ قِصَّةٌ مَشْهُورَةٌ وَقَدْ أَمْلَى أَبُو بَكْرٍ الضُّبَعِيُّ الْفَقِيهُ أَحَدُ الْأَئِمَّة من تلامذته بن خُزَيْمَةَ اعْتِقَادَهُ وَفِيهِ لَمْ يَزَلِ اللَّهُ مُتَكَلِّمًا وَلَا مِثْلَ لِكَلَامِهِ لِأَنَّهُ نَفَى الْمِثْلَ عَنْ صِفَاتِهِ كَمَا نَفَى الْمِثْلَ عَنْ ذَاتِهِ وَنَفَى النَّفَادَ عَنْ كَلَامِهِ كَمَا نَفَى الْهَلَاكَ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ فَقَالَ لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَنْفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَبِّي وَقَالَ كل شَيْء هَالك الا وَجهه فاستصوب ذَلِك بن خُزَيْمَةَ وَرَضِيَ بِهِ
Something similar happened to the Imam of Imams, Muḥammad ibn Khuzayma, then he recanted, and he has a well-known story about that with his students. Abū Bakr al-Ḍubaʿī, the jurist, who was one of the leading scholars among Ibn Khuzayma’s students, dictated his creed which included: “Allah has always been speaking, and there is no likeness to His speech because He negated likeness from His attributes just as He negated likeness from His essence. And He negated depletion from His speech just as He negated perishing from Himself, saying: ‘The sea would be depleted before the words of my Lord would be depleted,’ and He said: ‘Everything will perish except His Face.'” Ibn Khuzayma deemed this correct and was pleased with it.
Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī also mentioned that Ibn Khuzayma was also acquainted with the anthropomorphist [mujassim] known as Muḥammad ibn Karrām (d. 255 AH) whose followers are known as the Karrāmiyya. This is what Ibn Ḥajar mentioned in his Al-Nukat ʿalā Kitāb Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ (2/858-859)
الكرامية – بتشديد الراء – نسبة إلى محمد بن كرام السجستاني وكان عابدا زاهدا إلا أنه خذل كما قال ابن حبان: «فالتقط من المذاهب أرداها ومن الأحاديث أوهاها وصحب أحمد بن عبد الله الجويباري، فكان يضع له الحديث على وفق مذهبه». قال أبو العباس السراج: «شهدت محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري ودفع إليه كتاب من محمد بن كرام يسأله عن أحاديث منها: سفيان عن الزهري عن سالم عن أبيه رفعه:»الإيمان يزيد ولا ينقص قال فكتب على ظهر كتابه: “من حدث بهذا استوجب الضرب الشديد والحبس الطويل”. وقد ذكر الحاكم لمحمد بن كرام ترجمة جيدة وذكر أن ابن خزيمة اجتمع به غير مرة وكان يثني عليه.
“The Karrāmiyya – with emphasis on the rāʾ – are attributed to Muḥammad ibn Karrām al-Sijistānī, who was a devout ascetic, but he failed as Ibn Ḥibbān said: “He selected the worst of doctrines and the weakest of hadith, and he accompanied Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Juwaybārī, who would fabricate hadith for him in accordance with his doctrine.”
Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Sarrāj said: “I witnessed Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī when a book from Muḥammad ibn Karrām was given to him, asking him about hadith including: Sufyān from al-Zuhrī from Sālim from his father who raised it [to the Prophet]: ‘Faith increases but does not decrease.'”
He said that al-Bukhārī wrote on the back of his book: “Whoever narrates this deserves severe beating and lengthy imprisonment.”
Al-Ḥākim mentioned a good biography of Muḥammad ibn Karrām and mentioned that Ibn Khuzayma met with him more than once and would praise him.”
Imam Shams al-Dīn al-Dhahabī (d. 748 AH) mentioned similarly in his Tārīkh al-Islām (6/189):
قال: ولقد بلغني أنه كان معه جماعة من الفقراء، وكان لباسه مسك ضأن مدبوغ غير مخيط، وعلى رأسه قلنسوة بيضاء. وقد نصب له دكان من لبن. وكان يطرح له قطعة فرو فيجلس عليها ويعظ ويذكر ويحدث.قال: وقد أثنى عليه، فيما بلغني، ابن خزيمة، واجتمع به غير مرة. وكذلك أبو سعيد عبد الرحمن بن الحسين الحاكم، وهما إماما الفريقين.
He said: It has reached me that he had a group of poor people with him, and his clothing was tanned sheep hide that was not sewn, and on his head was a white cap. A platform of clay bricks had been set up for him. A piece of fur would be laid out for him, and he would sit on it, giving sermons, reminders, and narrating hadith. He said: And as it has reached me, Ibn Khuzayma praised him and met with him more than once. Similarly, Abū Saʿīd ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥussain al-Ḥākim [did the same], and they were the leaders of the two groups.
Hence, it is plausible that Ibn Khuzaymah was temporarily influenced by the doctrinal positions of Muḥammad ibn Karrām al-Sijistānī, who was widely condemned for heterodox theological views, before subsequently reverting to the orthodox methodology (manhaj) of the Salaf, as documented by al-Bayhaqī in his scholarly transmission.
A note on the anthropomorphist Muḥammad ibn Karrām al-Sijzī (d. 255 AH):
Ibn Ḥibbān (d. 354 AH) mentioned the following about him in his Kitāb al-Majrūḥīn (2/326-327):
١٠١٣ – محمد بن كرام السجزي (٣) كنيته أبو عبد الله، كان يزعم أنه من بني سوان [نزار]، مولده بقرية من قرى رنج [زرنج] ونشأ بسجستان، كأنه قد خُذِلَ حتى التقط من المذاهب أردأها، ومن الأحاديث أوهاها، ثم جالس أحمد بن عبد الله الجويباري ومحمد بن تميم السعدي، ولعلهما وضعا على رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- وعلى الصحابة والتابعين مئة ألف حديث، ثم جالس أحمد بن حرب بن عبد الله لأصبهاني بنيسابور، فأخذ عنه التقشف، ولم يكن يحسن العلم والأدب، أكثر كتبه المصنفة صنفها له مأمون بن أحمد السلمي، وكان تلميذه.
1013 – Muḥammad ibn Karrām al-Sijzī. His kunya is Abū ʿAbdullāh. He claimed to be from Banī Suwān [Nizār]. He was born in a village from the villages of Ranj [Zaranj] and grew up in Sijistān. It was as if he had been abandoned such that he picked up the worst of doctrines and the weakest of traditions [ḥadīth]. Then he sat with Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Juwaybārī and Muḥammad ibn Tamīm al-Saʿdī, and perhaps they fabricated one hundred thousand traditions against the Messenger of Allah—peace be upon him—and against the Companions and the Successors. Then he sat with Aḥmad ibn Ḥarb ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Aṣbahānī in Naysābūr, and took from him asceticism. He was not proficient in knowledge and proper conduct. Most of his classified books were written for him by Maʾmūn ibn Aḥmad al-Sulamī, who was his student.
فأما في حداثته وما كان من إظهار مذهبه فحدثني محمد بن المنذر بن سعيد، قال: سمعت عثمان بن سعيد الدارمي، يقول: كنت عند إبراهيم بن الحصين والي سجستان إذ دخل علينا رجل طوال، عليه رقاع، فقيل: هذا محمد بن كرام، فقال له إبراهيم بن الحصين: هل اختلفت إلى أحد من العلماء؟ قال: لا، قال: فإلى عثمان بن عفان؟ قال: وإلى عثمان بن عفان، قال: فهذا العلم الذي تقوله من أين لك؟ قال؟ هذا نور جعله الله في بطني، فقال له إبراهيم: تحسن التشهد؟ فقال: تشهد جيست؟ فقال: اندر نمازبنشين ج كَوي؟ قال: أقول: التحيات لله والسلوات والتيبات، السلام عليك أيها النبي ورحمة الله وبركاته، السلام ألينا وألى إباد الله السالهين، أشود أن لا إله إلا الله، وأشود أن مهمدًا أبدك ورسولك، قال: فقال له إبراهيم: قم لعنك الله، وأمر به فأخرج من سجستان.
As for his youth and the manifestation of his doctrine, Muḥammad ibn al-Mundhir ibn Saʿīd told me saying: I heard ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd al-Dārimī saying: I was with Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥuṣayn, the governor of Sijistān, when a tall man entered wearing patches. It was said: This is Muḥammad ibn Karām. Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥuṣayn said to him: “Have you studied with any of the scholars?” He said: “No.” He said: “Even with ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān?” He said: “And with ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān.” He said: “So this knowledge that you speak of, from where did you get it?” He said: “This is a light that Allah has placed in my belly.” So Ibrāhīm said to him: “Do you know the tashahhud?” He said: “What is the tashahhud?” So he said [in Persian]: “What do you say when you sit in prayer?” He said: “I say: Attahiyyātu lillāhi wassalawātu wattiybātu, assalāmu ʿalayka ayyuhannabiyyu waraḥmatullāhi wabarakātuhu, assalāmu alaynā wa alā ibād Allāh assālihīn, ashudu an lā ilāha illallāh, wa ashudu anna Muhammadan abduka wa rasūluka.” He [Ibrāhīm] said: “Get up, may Allah curse you,” and ordered that he be expelled from Sijistān.
قال أبو حاتم: هذه حالة محمد بن كرام في الابتداء، ثم لما أخذ في العلم أحب أن ينشئ مذاهب، ليعرف به مجرد الإيمان، وجعله قولًا بلا معرفة، وكان يزعم أن النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم- لم يكن بحجة لله على خلقه، إن الحجة لا يندرس ولا يموت، وكان يزعم أن الاستطاعة قبل الفعل، وكان يجسم الرب جلّ وعلا، ومن كان داعية إلى بدعة من البدع يجب ترك حديثه، فكيف إذا جمع إلى بدعته القدح في السنن والطعن في منتحليها.
Abū Ḥātim said: This was the condition of Muḥammad ibn Karrām in the beginning. Then when he took to knowledge, he wanted to create doctrines to be known by mere faith, and he made it a statement without understanding. He claimed that the Prophet—peace be upon him—was not a proof of Allah against His creation, [saying] that the proof does not fade away or die. He claimed that capability precedes action. And he anthropomorphized [yujassim] the Lord, Majestic and Exalted. And whoever calls to an innovation among innovations, it is necessary to abandon his tradition [ḥadīth]. How much more so when he combines with his innovation disparagement of the Sunnas and attacks against those who adhere to them.
سمعت عمر بن سعيد بن سنان بمنبج، يقول: سمعت عبد الجبار بن عبد الله يقول: رأيت النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم- في النوم، فقلت: يا رسول الله الإيمان على ما يقول ابن كرام؟ فقال: “لَا”.
I heard ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd ibn Sinān in Manbij saying: I heard ʿAbd al-Jabbār ibn ʿAbdullāh saying: I saw the Prophet—peace be upon him—in a dream, and I said: “O Messenger of Allah, is faith as Ibn Karrām says?” He said: “No.”
سمعت عبد الله بن محمد بن مسلم، يقول: سمعت محمد بن كرام ههنا، وأشار إلى الصخرة يقول: فرعون قدر أن يؤمن، ولكن لم يؤمن.
I heard ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Muslim saying: I heard Muḥammad ibn Karrām here—and he pointed to the rock—saying: “Pharaoh was able to believe, but he did not believe.”
[vi] Imam Ibn al-Jawzī al-Ḥanbalī (d. 597 AH) said in his Dafʿ Shubah al-Tashbīh (p. 172):
قلت: وهذا إثبات تبعيض، وهو من أقبح الاعتقادات. قلت: ورأيت أبا بكر بن خزيمة قد جمع كتابا في الصفات وبوبه فقال: باب إثبات اليد، باب امساك السموات على أصابعه باب إثبات الرجل وإن رغمت أنوف المعتزلة، ثم قال: قال الله تعالى: (ألهم أرجل يمشون بها أم لهم أيد يبطشون بها) الاعراف: 195. فأعلمنا أن من لا يد له ولا رجل فهو كالانعام. قلت: واني لاعجب من هذا الرجل مع علو قدره في علم النقل، يقول هذا ويثبت لله ما ذم الاصنام بعدمه من اليد الباطشة والرجل الماشية، ويلزمه ان يثبت الاذن، ولو رزق الفهم ما تكلم بهذا، ولفهم أن الله تعالى عاب الاصنام عند عابديها، والمعنى: لكم أيد وأرجل فكيف عبدتم ناقصا لا يد له يبطش ولا رجل يمشي بها.
I say: This is affirming divisibility [tabʿīḍ], which is among the most reprehensible of beliefs. I say: I have seen that Abū Bakr ibn Khuzayma compiled a book on the attributes and organized it with chapters, saying: “Chapter on affirming the hand,” “Chapter on His holding the heavens on His fingers,” “Chapter on affirming the leg even if it displeases the Muʿtazilah.” Then he said: Allah the Exalted said: “Do they have feet by which they walk? Or do they have hands with which they seize?” [al-Aʿrāf: 195]. Thus, He informed us that one who has no hand, and no foot is like cattle.
I say: I am amazed at this man, despite his high status in the science of transmission, that he says this and affirms for Allah what He criticized the idols for lacking, such as a grasping hand and a walking foot. This would also require him to affirm ears [for Allah]. If he had been granted understanding, he would not have spoken thus and would have understood that Allah the Exalted was criticizing the idols to their worshippers. The meaning is: You have hands and feet, so how could you worship something deficient that has no hand to grasp with and no foot to walk with?
One of the most trenchant critics of Ibn Khuzayma was the Qur’anic exegete Imam Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606 AH), who articulated his disapprobation in unequivocal terms within his magnum opus, Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb, also known as al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr (27/582):
وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ خُزَيْمَةَ أَوْرَدَ اسْتِدْلَالَ أَصْحَابِنَا بِهَذِهِ الْآيَةِ فِي الْكِتَابِ الَّذِي سَمَّاهُ «بِالتَّوْحِيدِ»، وَهُوَ فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ كِتَابُ الشِّرْكِ، وَاعْتَرَضَ عَلَيْهَا، وَأَنَا أَذْكُرُ حَاصِلَ كَلَامِهِ بَعْدَ حَذْفِ التَّطْوِيلَاتِ، لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ رَجُلًا مُضْطَرِبَ الْكَلَامِ، قَلِيلَ الْفَهْمِ، نَاقِصَ الْعَقْلِ
“Know that Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Khuzayma addressed the inference of our companions from this verse in the book which he titled “al-Tawḥīd” (Monotheism), but it is in reality a book of polytheism [shirk], and he objected to it. I will mention the essence of his words after removing the lengthy portions, because he was a man of confused speech, limited understanding, and deficient intellect.”
Imam Ibn Jahbal al-Kilābī (d. 733 AH) said in his refutation of Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) as quoted by Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī (d. 771 AH) in his Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyah al-Kubrā (9/77) and available here too – https://tarajm.com/people/51051 :-
وَنقل عَن ابْن خُزَيْمَة أَن من لم يقل إِن الله فَوق سمواته على عَرْشه بَائِن من خلقه وَجب أَن يُسْتَتَاب فَإِن تَابَ وَإِلَّا ضربت عُنُقه ثمَّ ألقِي على مزبلة لِئَلَّا يتَأَذَّى بِهِ أهل الْقبْلَة وَأهل الذِّمَّةفَيُقَال لَهُ الْجَواب عَن مثل هَذَا قد تقدم على أَن ابْن خُزَيْمَة قد علم الْخَاص وَالْعَام حَدِيثه فِي العقائد وَالْكتاب الَّذِي صنفه فِي التَّشْبِيه وَسَماهُ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ ورد الْأَئِمَّة عَلَيْهِ أَكثر من أَن يذكر وَقَوْلهمْ فِيهِ مَا قَالَه هُوَ فِي غَيره مَعْرُوف
“It is narrated from Ibn Khuzaymah that whoever does not say that Allah is above His heavens, on His Throne, separate from His creation, must be asked to repent. If he repents, [well and good]; otherwise, his neck should be struck, then he should be thrown on a garbage dump so that neither the people of the Qiblah [Muslims] nor the people of protection [non-Muslim citizens] would be harmed by him.
The response to this has already been addressed, though it is well known to both the elite and the common people about Ibn Khuzayma’s discourse on creeds and the book he authored on anthropomorphism [tashbīh] which he titled “al-Tawḥīd.” The refutations of the scholars against him are too numerous to mention, and their statements about him, similar to what he said about others, are well known.”
It warrants observation that Ibn Khuzayma, notwithstanding his primary adherence to literalist hermeneutics, occasionally employed methodologies of figurative interpretation [taʾwīl] within his Kitāb al-Tawḥīd.
Ibn Khuzayma said in his Kitāb al-Tawḥīd (p. 84):
٦ – حَدَّثَنَا نَصْرُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْجَهْضَمِيُّ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي أَبِي قَالَ: ثنا الْمُثَنَّى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ، وَهُوَ الْأَزْدِيُّ عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ بْنُ مَالِكٍ الْمَرَاغِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، رضي الله عنه، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: «إِذَا قَاتَلَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَيَجْتَنِبِ الْوَجْهَ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَتِهِ»
6 – Naṣr ibn ‘Alī al-Jahḍamī narrated to us, saying: My father informed me, saying: al-Muthannā ibn Sa’īd narrated to us, from Qatādah, from Abū Ayyūb, who is al-Azdī ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Mālik al-Marāghī, from Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who said: “When one of you fights, let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in His image [ṣūratihi].”
قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ: تَوَهَّمَ بَعْضُ مَنْ لَمْ يَتَحَرَّ الْعِلْمَ أَنَّ قَوْلَهُ: «عَلَى صُورَتِهِ» يُرِيدُ صُورَةَ الرَّحْمَنِ عَزَّ رَبُّنَا وَجَلَّ عَنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ هَذَا مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ، بَلْ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: «خَلَقَ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَتِهِ»، الْهَاءُ فِي هَذَا الْمَوْضِعِ كِنَايَةٌ عَنِ اسْمِ الْمَضْرُوبِ، وَالْمَشْتُومِ، أَرَادَ ﷺ أَنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَةِ هَذَا الْمَضْرُوبِ، الَّذِي أَمَرَ الضَّارِبَ بِاجْتِنَابِ وَجْهِهِ بِالضَّرْبِ، وَالَّذِي قَبَّحَ وَجْهَهَ، فَزَجَرَ ﷺ أَنْ يَقُولَ: «وَوَجْهَ مَنْ أَشْبَهَ وَجْهَكَ»، لِأَنَّ وَجْهَ آدَمَ شَبِيهُ وُجُوهِ بَنِيهِ،
Abū Bakr (Ibn Khuzayma) said: “Some who have not carefully examined knowledge have imagined that his saying ‘in His image [ṣūratihi]’ means the image of the Most Merciful. Our Lord is far exalted above this being the meaning of the report. Rather, the meaning of his saying ‘created Adam in his image [ṣūratihi]’ is that the pronoun in this context refers to the name of the person who is struck and insulted. The Prophet ﷺ meant that Allah created Adam in the image [ṣūrah] of this person who was struck, whom he commanded the striker to avoid striking in the face, and whose face was insulted. The Prophet ﷺ forbade saying ‘and the face of whoever resembles your face,’ because Adam’s face resembles the faces of his children.
فَإِذَا قَالَ الشَّاتِمُ لِبَعْضِ بَنِي آدَمَ: قَبَّحَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَكَ وَوَجْهَ مَنْ أَشْبَهَ وَجْهَكَ، كَانَ مُقَبِّحًا وَجْهَ آدَمَ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ ⦗٨٥⦘ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَامُهُ، الَّذِي وُجُوهُ بَنِيهِ شَبِيهَةٌ بِوَجْهِ أَبِيهِمْ، فَتَفَهَّمُوا رَحِمَكُمُ اللَّهُ مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ، لَا تَغْلَطُوا وَلَا تَغَالَطُوا فَتَضِلُّوا عَنْ سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ، وَتَحْمِلُوا عَلَى الْقَوْلِ بِالتَّشْبِيهِ الَّذِي هُوَ ضَلَالٌ
So, if the insulter says to one of Adam’s children: ‘May Allah disfigure your face and the face of whoever resembles your face,’ he would be disfiguring the face of Adam, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, whose children’s faces resemble the face of their father. So understand, may Allah have mercy on you, the meaning of the report. Do not err or deceive yourselves, for you will stray from the right path and adopt the doctrine of anthropomorphism [tashbīh], which is misguidance.”
Al-Dhahabī said in his Siyar A’lām al-Nubalā’ (14/374) with footnotes by Shu’ayb al-Arnā’ūṭ and others:
وَلابْنِ خُزَيْمَةَ عَظَمَةٌ فِي النُّفُوْسِ، وَجَلاَلَةٌ فِي القُلُوْبِ؛ لِعِلمِهِ وَدِينِهِ وَاتِّبَاعِهِ السُّنَّةَ.
وَكِتَابُه فِي (التَّوحيدِ) مُجَلَّدٌ كَبِيْرٌ، وَقَدْ تَأَوَّلَ فِي ذَلِكَ حَدِيْثَ الصُّورَةِ.
“Ibn Khuzaymah has great stature in the souls and reverence in the hearts, due to his knowledge, religiosity, and following of the Sunnah. His book on (Tawḥīd) is a large volume, and in it he (figuratively) interpreted (Ta’wīl) the hadith regarding the image.
فَلْيَعْذُر مَنْ تَأَوَّلَ بَعْضَ الصِّفَاتِ، وَأَمَّا السَّلَفُ، فَمَا خَاضُوا فِي التَّأْوِيْلِ، بَلْ آمَنُوا وَكَفُّوا، وَفَوَّضُوا عِلمَ ذَلِكَ إِلَى اللهِ وَرَسُوْلِه، وَلَوْ أَنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ أَخْطَأَ فِي اجْتِهَادِهِ – مَعَ صِحَّةِ إِيْمَانِهِ، وَتَوَخِّيْهِ لاتِّبَاعِ الحَقِّ – أَهْدَرْنَاهُ، وَبَدَّعنَاهُ، لَقَلَّ مَنْ يَسلَمُ مِنَ الأَئِمَّةِ مَعَنَا، رَحِمَ اللهُ الجَمِيْعَ بِمَنِّهِ وَكَرَمِهِ.
So let there be excuse for one who interpreted [ta’awwala] some of the attributes. As for the predecessors (Salaf), they did not delve into interpretation [al-ta’wīl], but rather believed, refrained [from speculation], and delegated [fawwaḍū] the knowledge of that to Allah and His Messenger, and if we were to disregard and declare innovation against everyone who erred in his independent reasoning [ijtihādihi] – despite the soundness of his faith and his striving to follow the truth – few of the Imams would remain safe with us. May Allah have mercy on all of them by His favour and generosity.”
[vii] Muḥammad Khalīl Harrās (d. 1975) was a Salafī writer and disseminator of the creedal ideologies of Ibn Taymiyya.
[viii] The wording being referred to in the Kitāb al-Tawḥīd (pp. 199-200) of Ibn Khuzayma was:
زَعَمَ أَنَّ خَبَرَ ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ، إِنَّمَا ذَكَرَ الْيَهُودِيُّ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ عَلَى أُصْبُعٍ الْحَدِيثَ بِتَمَامِهِ، وَأَنْكَرَ أَنْ يَكُونَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ ضَحِكَ تَعَجُّبًا وَتَصْدِيقًا لَهُ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّمَا هَذَا مِنْ قَوْلِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ إِنَّمَا ضَحِكَ تَعَجُّبًا لَا تَصْدِيقًا لِلْيَهُودِيِّ، وَقَدْ كَثُرَ تَعَجُّبِي مِنْ إِنْكَارِهِ، وَدَفَعِهِ هَذَا الْخَبَرَ، وَكَانَ يُثْبِتُ الْأَخْبَارَ فِي ذِكْرِ الْأُصْبُعَيْنِ قَدِ احْتَجَّ فِي غَيْرِ كِتَابٍ مِنْ كُتُبِهِ بِأَخْبَارِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ ⦗٢٠٠⦘: «مَا مِنْ قَلْبٍ إِلَّا وَهُوَ بَيْنَ إِصْبَعَيْنِ مِنْ أَصَابِعِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ»، فَإِذَا كَانَ هَذَا عِنْدَهُ ثَابِتًا يُحْتَجُّ بِهِ، فَقَدْ أَقَرَّ وَشَهِدَ أَنَّ لِلَّهِ أَصَابِعَ، لِأَنَّ مَفْهُومًا فِي اللُّغَةِ: إِذَا قِيلَ إِصْبَعَيْنِ مِنَ الْأَصَابِعِ: أَنَّ الْأَصَابِعَ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ إِصْبَعَيْنِ، فَكَيْفَ يَنْفِي الْأَصَابِعَ مَرَّةً، وَيُثْبِتُهَا أُخْرَى؟ فَهَذَا تَخْلِيطٌ فِي الْمَذْهَبِ، وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ
He claimed that in the report of Ibn Masʿūd which we mentioned, the Jew only mentioned that Allah holds the heavens on a finger – the complete hadith – and he denied that the Prophet ﷺ laughed out of astonishment and affirmation of it. He said: “This is only from the statement of Ibn Masʿūd, because the Prophet ﷺ only laughed out of astonishment, not as affirmation of the Jew.” I have been greatly astonished by his denial and rejection of this report, while he affirms reports mentioning the two fingers. He has used as evidence in more than one of his books the reports of the Prophet ﷺ: “There is no heart except that it is between two fingers from the fingers of the Lord of the Worlds.” If this is established according to him and used as evidence, then he has acknowledged and testified that Allah has fingers, because it is understood in the language: when it is said “two fingers from the fingers,” that the fingers are more than two. So how can he deny the fingers once and affirm them another time? This is confusion in doctrine, and Allah’s help is sought. (End of quote).
A note on ʿUthmān al-Dārimī and his exaggerations in affirming the Attributes [Ṣifāt] of Allāh:
[ix] Al-Dhahabī said the following about ʿUthmān al-Dārimī in his Kitāb al-ʿUluw (p. 195):
وَفِي كِتَابه بحوث عَجِيبَة مَعَ المريسي يُبَالغ فِيهَا فِي الْإِثْبَات وَالسُّكُوت عَنْهَا أشبه بمنهج السّلف فِي الْقَدِيم والْحَدِيث
Meaning: “And in his book there are strange discussions with al-Marīsī in which he goes to great lengths in affirmation [ithbāt of the Sifat] and remaining silent about them is more in line with the methodology [manhaj] of the predecessors [salaf] in both ancient and modern times.”
An example of al-Dārimī in his work against al-Marīsī known as Naqḍ ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd ʿalā al-Marīsī (p. 458, see – https://app.turath.io/book/8680?page=430) is the following exaggeration:
وَلَوْ قَدْ شَاءَ لَاسْتَقَرَّ عَلَى ظَهْرِ بَعُوضَةٍ فَاسْتَقَلَّتْ بِهِ بِقُدْرَتِهِ وَلُطْفِ رُبُوبِيَّتِهِ، فَكَيْفَ عَلَى عَرْشٍ عَظِيمٍ أَكْبَرَ مِنَ السَّمَوَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَالْأَرَضِينَ السَّبْعِ٣؟ وَكَيْفَ يُنْكَرُ أَيُّهَا النفاج أَن عَرْشه يقلهُ٤ اوالعرش أَكْبَرَ مِنَ السَّمَوَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَالْأَرَضِينَ السَّبْعِ؟ وَلَوْ كَانَ الْعَرْشُ فِي السَّمَوَات وَالْأَرضين مَا وسعته وكلنه فَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ السَّابِعَةِ.
“And if He willed, He could settle on the back of a mosquito/gnat [baʿūḍa], and it would be able to bear Him by His power and the subtlety of His lordship [rubūbiyya]. So how much more so on a magnificent Throne that is larger than the seven heavens and the seven earths³? And how can you deny, O braggart, that His Throne bears Him⁴ or that the Throne is larger than the seven heavens and the seven earths? And if the Throne were within the heavens and the earth, they would not contain it, but it is above the seventh heaven.”
The above was also quoted by Ibn Taymiyya from al-Dārimī in his Bayān Talbīs al-Jahmiyya (3/243, see – https://app.turath.io/book/2864?page=1405).
The late Salafī editor known as Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī (d. 1999) said the following in a footnote to al-Tankīl by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Muʿallimī (2/572, fn. 1):
أقول: لا شك في حفظ الدارمي وإمامته في السنة، ولكن يبدو من كتابه «الرد على المريسي» أنه مغال في الإثبات فقد ذكر فيه ما عزاه الكوثري إليه من القعود والحركة والثقل ونحوه، وذلك مما لم يرد به حديث صحيح، وصفاته تعالى توقيفية فلا تثبت له صفة، بطريق اللزوم مثلا، كأن يقال: يلزم من ثبوت مجيئه تعالى ونزوله ثبوت الحركة، فان هذا إن صح بالنسبة للمخلوق، فالله ليس كمثله شيء فتأمل. ن
Meaning: I say: There is no doubt about al-Dārimī’s memorization and his leadership in the Sunnah, but it appears from his book “The Refutation of al-Marīsī” that he is excessive in affirmation [ithbāt], for he mentioned in it what al-Kawtharī attributed to him regarding sitting, movement, weight, and the like. These are matters for which no authentic tradition [ḥadīth ṣaḥīḥ] has been reported. The attributes of the Exalted are established only by revelation [tawqīfiyya], so an attribute should not be affirmed for Him by way of necessary implication [luzūm], such as saying: The affirmation of His coming and descending necessitates the affirmation of movement. For even if this is valid with respect to creation, Allah is such that there is nothing like unto Him, so reflect carefully. N (meaning Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī).
In a footnote to al-Dhahabī’s Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (10/202), the following assessment was quoted from another Egyptian Salafī editor, Muḥammad Ḥāmid al-Fiqī (d. 1959):
وقال الشيخ محمد حامد الفقي: إنه أتى فيه ببعض ألفاظ دعاه إليها عنف الرد، وشدة الحرص على إثبات صفات الله وأسمائه التي كان يبالغ بشر المريسي وشيعته في نفيها، وكان الأولى والاحسن أن لا يأتي بها، وأن يقتصر على الثابت من الكتاب والسنة الصحيحة كمثل الجسم والمكان والحيز، فإنني لا أوافقه عليها، ولا أستجيز إطلاقها، لأنها لم تأت في كتاب الله ولا في سنة صحيحة.
Meaning: “And Shaykh Muḥammad Ḥāmid al-Fiqī said: He [al-Dārimī] used certain expressions that were driven by the harshness of refutation and extreme eagerness to affirm the attributes [ṣifāt] and names of Allah which Bishr al-Marīsī and his followers were exaggerating in negating. It would have been better and more appropriate not to use these expressions, and to restrict himself to what is established in the Book and authentic Sunna [al-sunnah al-ṣaḥīḥa], such as [terms like] body [jism], place [makān], and space [ḥayyiz]. I do not agree with him on these terms, nor do I permit their unrestricted use, because they have not come in the Book of Allah nor in any authentic Sunna.”
[x] Meaning Imams Abū Ḥanīfa, Mālik ibn Anas, Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.
[xi] The book by Abū Manṣūr al-Baghdādī has been published in 3 volumes and a PDF copy is available here: https://archive.org/details/awsifate/aswsf1/
[xii] Available to download here: https://archive.org/details/20221106_20221106_2222
[xiii] Available to download here: https://archive.org/details/1_20250509_20250509_2011
Translation and annotation by:
Abul Hasan Hussain Ahmed
10th May 2025/12th Dhu’l Qa’da 1446 AH
(www.darultahqiq.com, Updates on Telegram: https://t.me/Darul_Tahqiq)
Download the above as a PDF file – HERE
