Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Taqriz li Ibn Hajar ala al-Radd al-Wafir
- Author died
- 852 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat Ibn Taymiyyah
Taqriz li Ibn Hajar ala al-Radd al-Wafir ("Ibn Hajar's Commendation on al-Radd al-wafir") is a scholarly endorsement written in 835 AH (1431 CE) by the Shafi'i hadith scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (773–852 AH / 1372–1449 CE) praising Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi's treatise al-Radd al-wafir ("The Abundant Rebuttal") and defending the scholarly status of Ibn Taymiyyah.
Context and Composition
The endorsement was composed in response to the controversy initiated by Ala al-Din al-Bukhari in Damascus, who issued a ruling declaring Ibn Taymiyyah an unbeliever and pronouncing anyone who applied the honorific title Shaykh al-Islam to him to be an unbeliever as well. In rebuttal, Ibn Nasir al-Din compiled al-Radd al-wafir, documenting eighty-seven authorities across the various schools of Islamic law who referred to Ibn Taymiyyah as Shaykh al-Islam. Upon completing the work, Ibn Nasir al-Din sent it to Cairo, where leading scholars from the Shafi'i, Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali schools examined and endorsed it in 835 AH.
Ibn Hajar authored and signed his commendation on 9 Rabi al-Awwal 835 AH. According to al-Sakhawi, Ibn Hajar later transmitted and taught this text in the Levant toward the end of the following year (836 AH), when it was read back to him by al-Najm al-Hashimi.
Contents and Arguments
In his commendation, Ibn Hajar begins by praising Ibn Nasir al-Din's erudition and breadth of knowledge as demonstrated in al-Radd al-wafir. He asserts that Ibn Taymiyyah's renown is widely established and that describing him as Shaykh al-Islam remains standard practice, which cannot be denied except by someone ignorant of his rank or lacking fairness.
Ibn Hajar presents several historical and legal arguments:
- Public Acclaim at his Funeral: Citing the history of Alam al-Din al-Birzali, he notes that the massive attendance at Ibn Taymiyyah's funeral in Damascus evidenced widespread belief in his religious leadership, especially since he died imprisoned in the Citadel with the local governor absent and many jurists hostile toward him, unlike the state-supported funeral of Ahmad ibn Hanbal in Baghdad.
- Absence of Rulings of Apostasy: He observes that although various scholars challenged Ibn Taymiyyah in formal inquisitions in Cairo and Damascus regarding specific theological and legal issues, none of his contemporary opponents issued a legal ruling declaring him an apostate or sanctioning the shedding of his blood.
- Qualifications for Independent Reasoning: He explains that scholars of the sacred law recognized Ibn Taymiyyah as possessing all tools of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning), including prominent rivals who opposed him, such as Kamal al-Din al-Zamlakani and Sadr al-Din Ibn al-Wakil.
- Rebuttal of Heresies: He highlights Ibn Taymiyyah's prolific writings refuting anthropomorphism (tajsim), the Rafidites (al-rawafid), and pantheistic or incarnationist sects (al-hululiyyah wa-l-ittihadiyyah).
- Human Fallibility: He describes Ibn Taymiyyah as a human jurist who both erred and was correct; where he was correct—which was in the majority of matters—his scholarship is utilized and prayer is made for him, while in his errors he is not imitated but excused due to his qualifications.
- Distinguished Disciples: He cites the stature of Ibn Taymiyyah's student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah as independent proof of his teacher's preeminence.
Ibn Hajar concludes that anyone who declares Ibn Taymiyyah an unbeliever or applies takfir to those who address him as Shaykh al-Islam must be disregarded and deterred until they retract their claim.
Transmission and Preservation
The text was appended directly to manuscript copies and printed editions of Ibn Nasir al-Din's al-Radd al-wafir alongside endorsements by other contemporaries, such as Badr al-Din al-Ayni and Salih al-Bulqini. It was also preserved within later biographical and polemical works, including al-Qawl al-jali fi tarjamat Ibn Taymiyyah by Safi al-Din al-Bukhari and al-Sakhawi's biographical dictionary al-Jawahir wa-l-durar. It has also been edited and published independently as a short tract.
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