If one were to research the styles of writing that these people employ and what they present as facts in one place when it suits their purposes, and the total opposite in another place when it suits their purposes, he would find it to be very devious and misleading.

[The following is a post that was produced by a brother, in response to the articles posted by ASFA claiming that Shaykh al Islām Ibn Taymīyyah supported some Ṣūfī practices.]

Alhamdulillāh was ṣalātu was salāmu ʿalá nabiyyinaa wa habeeibnaa muhammad

As salāmu ʿalaykum

Here we go again….

Earlier this year one of the Naqshbandi supporters posted a whole list of articles taken mainly from the ASFA forum, quoting ibn Taymīyyah and others in trying to defend certain Ṣūfī beliefs. In the vast majority of those postings, we saw how the author had lied, misquoted, and distorted what he quoted from others.

Now it seems we have a new Naqshbandi who is posting articles again containing lies and it would not surprise me if they were also from the ASFA forum.

It is surprising that those who claim to be preaching the path towards purification can find it so easy to lie!! I use the word lie deliberately for if what we see and have seen had occurred on a mere few occasions then we could have excused the author ﷺ for being mistaken. On the other hand when we see that time and time again, he or they misquote and distort then there is only one possibility left.

The point of this reply is not to deny the existence of Awliyaa or their miracles but just to outline the misquotes.

> “It is said that after the Seal of Prophets ﷺ, revelation does not

> descend upon anyone else. Why not? In fact it does, but then it is not

> called ‘revelation.’ It is what the Prophet ﷺ referred to when he

> said, ‘The believer sees with the Light of God.’ When the believer

> looks with God’s Light, he sees all things: the first and the last,

> the present and the absent. For how can anything be hidden from God’s

> Light? And if something is hidden, then that is not the Light of God.

> Therefore the meaning of revelation

> exists, even if it is not called revelation.”

> From Rama’s Fahi ma fah.

I have been unable to find this quote anywhere in the area of the two volumes of Majmūʿ Fatāwá quoted. It is surprising and suspect to note that in amidst all these quotes from Majmūʿ Fatāwá the author suddenly resorts to some third party in order to quote this paragraph.

> Ibn Taymīyyah continues in the same book, Majmūʿ Fatāwī Ibn Taymīyyah:

> “What is considered as a miracle for a saint is that sometimes the saint might hear something that others do not hear or see something that others do not see, not while asleep, but in a wakened state of vision. He can know things that others cannot know, through revelation or inspiration.”

> Imam Ibn Taymīyyah About the Unveiling of Appearances: He said (volume 11, page 313): “Allāh Almighty will unveil to his saints states that have never been unveiled before and He will give them support without measure. If that saint begins to speak from the things of the unseen, past or present or future, it is considered from the viewpoint of Bab al-ʿilm al-khariq, miraculous knowledge. Anything that a saint does which is from the unseen, for people or for listeners, of healing or teaching knowledge, it is accepted and we must thank Allāh for it.”

Two points here:

1) Nowhere in these paragraphs has ibn Taymīyyah used the word ‘saint.’

2) In fact ibn Taymīyyah is talking about the Prophets and the various categories of miracles! Here are his full words:

“All of these forms of miracles were combined for our Prophet ﷺ. As for the cases of knowledge and speaking of the matters of the unseen and hearing and visions then examples of these lie with the Prophet ﷺ informing us of the previous Prophets and their nations, his discoursing with them and the various events that occurred with them. In a similar vein (his informing) about other then the Prophets such as the Awliyaa and others in a manner that agrees with the information possessed by the People of the Book who inherited this knowledge via mutawāir means but without actually learning this from them. Similarly, his informing about the matters concerning the Lordship of Allāh, the Angels, Paradise and Fire…”

He gives more examples then he says the above-quoted paragraph (this time correctly translated insha`Allāh), “therefore, his informing of all these past and present unseen matters falls within the category of miraculous knowledge (ilm al-Khaariq) and similarly his informing about those matters that are to occur. Examples of these are the ascendancy of his nation and the removal of power and authority from the Persians and Romans, fighting the Turks….” going on to mention more examples of this and mentioning the names of books that deal with this.

How the author managed to translate this paragraph to the above is beyond me!

To further cement what I have said above, ibn Taymīyyah concludes the chapter in which he is talking about this [11/318] by saying, “in conclusion the purpose is not to mention all of the Prophetic miracles specifically but rather to give examples of them.”

He then proceeds to mention some miracles performed by some of the Salaf. Allāh knows best.

> Imam Ibn Taymīyyah Mentions some Great Shaykhs of Ṣufism

> In the volume entitled cIlm as-Sulak, (“The Science of Travelling the Way to God”), which consists of the entire 775 pages of volume 10 of Majmaca al-Fatawa, he says (p. 516): “The great Ṣūfī shaikhs are well known and accepted, such as: Bayazid al-Bistami, Shaykh ʿAbd al Qadir Jilani, Junaid ibn Muḥammad, Ḥasan al-Bʿasri, al Fuḍayl ibn al-Ayyad, Ibrahim ibn al-Adham, Abī Sulayman ad-Daarani, Ma’ruf al-Karkhi, Siri as-Saqati, Shaykh Hammad, Shaykh Abū al Bayan. “Those great Ṣufis were the leaders of humanity, and they were calling to what is right and forbidding what is wrong.”

Here are ibn Taymīyyah’s words, “as for those who were firmly upon the Straight Path from amongst those who traversed the path (al-mustaqeemeen min as-saalikeen) such as the majority of the shaykhs of the Salaf such as Fuḍayl ibn Ayaadh, Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, Abū Sulaymān ad-Daaraanee, Ma`roof al-Kharkee, as-Siri as-Saqatee, al-Junayd ibn Muḥammad, and others. Also such as ʿAbd al Qaadir, Shaykh Hammaad, Shaykh Abū al-Bayān and others from the later scholars then all of these did not allow the one traversing the path to depart from the commands and prohibitions of the Sharee`ah even if he were to walk on water or fly in the air! Rather they impressed upon him the importance of leaving off all the prohibited matters until the time of his death. This is the truth which is proven by the Book, the Sunnah and the consensus of the Salaf.”

So the questions arise: where did the author get the names Bayazid al-Bistami and Ḥasan al-Basri from? Where did he get the first sentence from? Where did he get the last two sentences from?

A final point: it is interesting how ibn Taymīyyah here has suddenly become an ‘Imām.’ In other places on the ASFA forum we find that he becomes ‘Shaykh al-Islām’ when they quote his words that seemingly support their stances. Yet on the other hand, he very quickly becomes the ‘putative authority of the Salafis’ and it becomes disliked to used the term ‘Shaykh al-Islām’ and he becomes a mujassim and other such terms when they try to refute him! A very devious ploy…

Similarly this applies to al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī who at one time becomes ‘the student of ibn Taymīyyah’ when they mention some of his opinions that concur with ibn Taymīyyah’s in an obvious attempt to confine them to the “ibn Taymīyyah school of thought” but then very quickly he becomes ‘the ex-student of ibn Taymīyyah’ when it suits their purposes! The Aid of Allāh is sought.

If one were to research the styles of writing that these people employ and what they present as facts in one place when it suits their purposes, and the total opposite in another place when it suits there purposes he would find it to be very devious and misleading. Insha`Allāh, if Allāh allows, I intend to gather together some of there material concerning this for all to see.

Allāh knows best.

was salām