Sharh al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyya
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- Sharh al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyya
Sharh al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyya is an extensive commentary delivered by the contemporary scholar Khalid al-Muslih on Ibn Taymiyya’s theological treatise al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyya al-Kubra, focusing on the methodology of the early generations (al-Salaf) regarding the divine names and attributes .
Scope and Core Theological Principles
The work explains Ibn Taymiyya's response to an inquiry sent from Hama concerning the approach of religious authorities to scriptural texts on divine attributes . These include Quranic verses such as الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى ("The Most Merciful rose over the Throne") [Ta-Ha: 5] and ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ ("Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke") [Fussilat: 11], alongside prophetic traditions such as إن قلوب بني آدم بين إصبعين من أصابع الرحمن ("The hearts of the children of Adam are between two fingers of the Merciful") and يضع الجبار قدمه في النار ("The Compeller will place His foot in the Fire") .
The commentary expounds the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah as occupying a middle ground between negation (taʿtil) and anthropomorphism (tamthil) . It articulates that the attributes affirmed by God and His Messenger are maintained in reality without equating them to creation and without divesting them of their meaning . A central theological rule emphasized in the text is that discourse concerning divine attributes derives from discourse concerning the divine essence (al-kalam fi al-sifat farʿ ʿan al-kalam fi al-dhat); just as God possesses a real essence that does not resemble created essences, He possesses real attributes that do not resemble created attributes, whose ultimate modality (kayfiyya) is known only to Him .
Major Themes and Transmissions
A central focus of the commentary is establishing God's aboveness (ʿuluww) and His ascending over the Throne (istiwaʾ), which it describes as supported by the Quran, the Sunnah, the innate human disposition (fitrah), sound intellect, and the consensus of the early Muslim community .
The commentary follows Ibn Taymiyya’s method of quoting early authorities to demonstrate the historical continuity of this creed . These include reports from early Sufi figures such as Abu ʿAbd Allah Muhammad ibn Khafif to show that the early ascetic authorities upheld the consensus of the Muhajirun and Ansar in creed , as well as transmissions from jurists such as Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr affirming that the Salaf accepted the textual descriptions of divine attributes without figurative distortion (tahrif) .
Historical Critique of Speculative Theology
The work traces the emergence of theological negation (taʿtil) to the late second century AH following the translation of Greek philosophy, noting its subsequent spread through figures such as Bishr al-Marisi in the third century AH . It analyzes the categories of later theologians (khalaf) who departed from the textual apparent meanings, arguing that their reliance on speculative theology (ʿilm al-kalam) produced intellectual perplexity and doubt, leading several prominent figures to renounce their dialectical systems near the end of their lives in favor of the simple, intuitive faith of the early community .
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