“I am Ash’ari”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

At various times, Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) had declared himself a follower of the Shafi’i madzhab, which was the practice of many Hanbalis in Damascus at that time.  Surprisingly, he also claimed he was an Ash’ari, not an Atsari, as would be expected. 

Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani (r.a.) wrote, in Durar al-Kaminah fi A’ayan al-Mi’at ats-Tsaminah, about the scholars of Cairo who investigated Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah’s (r.a.) theological positions, and clarified them with him.  He wrote, “An investigation was conducted with several scholars and a written statement was drawn in which he said, ‘I am Ash’ari.’  His handwriting is found with what he wrote verbatim, namely: ‘I believe that the Qur’an is a meaning which Exists in the Divine Essence, and that it is an Attribute from the Pre-Eternal Attributes of His Essence, and that it is Uncreated, and that it does not consist in the letter nor the voice, and that His saying, ‘The Merciful Established Himself over the Throne’ is not taken according to its literal meaning, and I do not know in what consists its meaning, nay only Allah Knows it, and one speaks of His ‘Descent’ in the same way as one speaks of His ‘Establishment.’” 

It was written by Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.).  They witnessed over him that he had repented of his own free will from all that contravened the above.  This took place on the 25^th Rabi’ al-Awwal 707 CE, and it was witnessed by a huge array of scholars and others.