Ibn Katheer on the Attributes of Allah
Let us take a quick look at the position of Ibn Katheer on the Attributes of Allah.
Firstly, Ibn Kathir was a devout student and an admirer of Ibn Taymiyya, and would follow him in many of his views and opinions, as he would also accompany him on his Hisba missions of commanding good and forbidding evil. Anyone who reads Ibn Kathir’s account of Ibn Taymiyya in his Bidaya will be aware of this, in particular, when Ibn Kathir proudly relates how Ibn Taymiyya punished a Sufi Zindiq at his time and made him repent, in Ibn Kathir’s presence.
Ibn al-Imad in his Shadharat quotes Ibn Qadhi Shuhba from his Tabaqat: ‘He (Ibn Kathir) had a special relationship with Ibn Taymiyya, whom he would defend and follow many of his views. He would issue verdicts according to the view of Ibn Taymiyya in the issue of Talaq, due to which he was tested and harmed. He died in Sha’ban and was buried in the Sufi cemetery next to his Sheikh Ibn Taymiyya’.
Secondly, what Ibn Kathir says in tafsir of Allah’s Hands, etc, is not the Ta’wil which involves the negation of the dhahir.
The Salaf affirmed two things from the verses regarding the Attributes:
Read MoreDid Imam Ahmed Make Ta’wil?
The narration about Imam Ahmad supposedly making Ta’wil of ‘Your Lord will Come…’ is narrated by Hanbal alone, the uncle of the Imam. The Hanbalis are very cautious when it comes to narrations transmitted by Hanbal alone on the issues of Fiqh, so how about the issues of Aqida? Many Hanbali Imams claimed that Hanbal erred while reporting this, for Salih b. Ahmad b. Hanbal was also a witness to this discussion and trial, but never reported anything of the like in his account. Furthermore, Hanbal also narrates several times from Imam Ahmad literally affirming Allah’s descent.
Other Hanbalis affirm this narration and say that he said this to them as a response to their argument, and not that it was his belief.
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