Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya Lam Yakun Nasibiyan
- Author died
- 1443 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Waṭan lil-Nashr
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya Lam Yakun Nasibiyan (Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya Was Not a Nasibi) is a theological treatise by the Saudi scholar Sulayman al-Kharashi (d. 1443 AH / 2021 CE) defending the medieval Hanbali theologian Ibn Taymiyya against allegations of Nasibism (harboring animosity toward Ali ibn Abi Talib).
Background and Purpose
The work was composed to refute claims popularized by opponents of Ibn Taymiyya who accused him of holding prejudice against Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Prophet's household. Al-Kharashi noted that these critics based their accusations primarily on isolated and misunderstood phrases found across Ibn Taymiyya's major polemical work, Minhaj al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya (The Pathway of the Prophetic Sunna), which was authored around 710 AH in Egypt to refute the Twelver Shi'i theologian Ibn al-Mutahhar al-Hilli's Minhaj al-Karama (The Pathway of Nobility).
Al-Kharashi observed that critics also leveraged remarks attributed to Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani to argue that Ibn Taymiyya disparaged Ali. Concerned that these claims were circulating among contemporary students of knowledge and youth, he compiled the treatise to contextualize Ibn Taymiyya's statements and demonstrate his conformity with the mainstream Sunni consensus regarding Ali's merit and legitimacy.
Content and Structure
The book opens with a foreword by the Saudi scholar Salih al-Fawzan, followed by the author's introduction outlining the impetus for writing. It then proceeds through several main discussions:
- Context of Minhaj al-Sunna: Al-Kharashi details the historical background of Ibn Taymiyya's book, explaining that Ibn al-Mutahhar al-Hilli composed Minhaj al-Karama for the Ilkhanid ruler Öljaitü (Khodabandeh) to promote Shi'ism, which prompted Sunni scholars to request a comprehensive rebuttal. He also addresses historical criticisms of the utility of writing Minhaj al-Sunna, noting the reservations expressed in verse by Taqi al-Din al-Subki and the poetic defense written in reply by Yusuf al-Sarmari, as well as al-Safadi's remark that Ibn Taymiyya spent his time on polemics rather than commentary on the Quran or Sahih al-Bukhari.
- Censure of the Nawasib: Al-Kharashi gathers passages where Ibn Taymiyya explicitly condemns the Nawasib and Kharijites who took hostility toward Ali as part of their creed, arguing that a true Nasibi would not have condemned them so severely.
- Affirmation of Ali's Virtues: The author documents Ibn Taymiyya's explicit statements affirming the high rank of Ali as the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph, one of the ten promised Paradise, and an early emigrant companion.
- Analysis of Contested Passages: The final section systematically surveys the specific phrases from Minhaj al-Sunna cited by detractors as evidence of disrespect toward Ali. Al-Kharashi provides commentary on each passage, explaining that Ibn Taymiyya was employing dialectical counter-arguments (ilzam) to refute Shi'i claims of exclusivity and infallibility rather than denigrating Ali himself.
Reception
The treatise was endorsed by Salih al-Fawzan, who commended it for defending Ibn Taymiyya and clarifying Sunni doctrine regarding the companions and the Ahl al-Bayt. It has circulated in print as well as in digital editions, and it is frequently cited in contemporary legal and theological responses addressing Ibn Taymiyya's stance on Ali ibn Abi Talib.
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