Thread by @iFlashFX

[Thread 🧵]
I’ve seen this image and tweet repeatedly brought up, and I thought I’d respond to it.

https://twitter.com/umarelhashmi/status/1636222270032035842

Our brother @RaadTheShepherd has already clarified this person’s distortion of ibn Kathīr’s intent, but I will elaborate on ibn Kathīr’s own view briefly.

https://twitter.com/raadtheshepherd/status/1636396260109471744

He said, “The maḏhab of the salaf—[such as] Mālik, al-Awzāʻī, ath-Thawrī, al-Layth ibn Saʻd, ash-Shafiʻī, ʼAḥmad, ʼIsḥāq ibn Rāhawayh, and other than them from the past and present ʼaʼimmah of the Muslims—is to pass them on as they came without takyīf, tashbīh, and taʻṭīl.”

I have already spoken about the meaning of the statement, “Pass it on as it came,” but I will further elaborate on ibn Kathīr’s view here.

https://twitter.com/iFlashFX/status/1524744295739236352

In this excerpt that I’ve translated, I will highlight three people in particular that ibn Kathīr believes are upon the maḏhab of the salaf: ʼImām Mālik, the past ʼaʼimmah, and the present ʼaʼimmah.

What did ʼImām Mālik believe according to ibn Kathīr?

Ibn Kathīr said, “ʼImām ʼAbū ʻAbdillāh aḏ-Ḏahabī mentioned in his Tārīkh, ‘ʼAbū Jaʻfar at-Tirmiḏī was asked about the ḥadīth of nuzūl, how He descends.

He answered just as ʼImām Mālik answered about istiwāʼ [saying that] the descent is comprehensible, its modality is unknown, faith in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation.’”

This shows that ibn Kathīr viewed Allah’s Attributes to be comprehensible whilst their modalities are unknown.

Who are the past ʼaʼimmah that ibn Kathīr believes are upon the maḏhab of the salaf?

He said, “Our Shaykh ʼAbū ʻAbdillāh aḏ-Ḏahabī said, ‘And ad-Dārimī has a book refuting the Jahmiyyah, which we have learnt, and a book refuting Bishr al-Marīsī, which we have learnt.’”

Ibn Kathīr comments afterwards, “I also learnt both [of these books], and to Allah belongs all praises and grace.”

Meanwhile, our theological opponents either believe these books are fabricated or they simply believe ad-Dārimī is a mujassim.

Who are the present ʼaʼimmah that ibn Kathīr believes are upon the maḏhab of the salaf?

Ibn Kathīr said, “In this month, on Thursday the twenty-seventh, the two brothers of Shaykh Taqī ud-Dīn [ibn Taymiyyah], Sharaf ud-Dīn and Zayn ud-Dīn were called from prison

to attend a session with the deputy of Sulṭān Sallār. Ibn Makhlūf al-Mālikī, [ibn Taymiyyah’s arch enemy], also attended, and they all discussed extensively. Sharaf ud-Dīn managed to defeat al-Qāḍī al-Mālikī with textual proofs, evidences, and knowledge, and he further

highlighted his errors in several issues where the latter had made false claims. The discussion was on the issue of Alalh’s throne, speech and descent.”

Ibn Kathīr also said, “Shaykh Safī ud-Dīn al-Hindī, [the student of Fakhr ud-Dīn ar-Rāzī], attended and debated with Shaykh Taqī ud-Dīn [ibn Taymiyyah] extensively; however, it was [like a] waterwheel was up against an ocean!”

He continues, “Then the meeting ended upon [the Shaykh] accepting al-ʻAqīdah [al-Wāsiṭiyyah]. The Shaykh returned to his house in great veneration and respect. It has also reached me that the common folk carried candles

[in veneration of ibn Taymiyyah’s victory] from Bāb al-Naṣr to al-Qaṣṣāʻīn, as they commonly did on such occasions.”

These two quotes from ibn Kathīr show that he viewed the present ʼaʼimmah upon the maḏhab of the salaf to be ibn Taymiyyah and his two brothers, and their ʻaqīdah is well known.