The Clear Anthropomorphism of ‘Aqidah al-Wasithiyyah

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Imam Taqi’ ad-Din Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd al-Kafi’ as-Subki (r.a.) had harsh words for Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) and his followers.  This was on account of the clear anthropomorphism of ‘Aqidah al-Wasithiyyah. 

He wrote, “As for the Hashwiyyah, they are a despicable and ignorant lot who claim to belong to the school of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.”  He further continued, “They have corrupted the creed of a few isolated Shafi’iyyah, especially some of the ahadits scholars among them who are lacking in reason.” 

He also wrote, “They were held in utmost contempt, and then towards the end of the seventh century, a man appeared who was diligent, intelligent and well-read but did not find a shaykh to guide him, and he is of their creed and is brazen and dedicated to teaching his ideas.”  He was referring, of course, to Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.). 

He continued, “He said that non-eternal Attributes can subsist in Allah (s.w.t.), and that Allah (s.w.t.) is Ever-Acting, and that an infinite chain of events is not impossible either in the past or the future.  He split the ranks and cast doubts on the creed of the Muslims and incited dissension amongst them.  He did not confine himself to credal matters of theology, but transgressed the bounds and said that travelling to visit the tomb of the Prophet (s.a.w.) is a sin.”  This was in reference to Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah’s (r.a.) infamous discredited fatwa against travelling specifically to ziyarat, visit, the Rawdhah of Rasulullah (s.a.w.). 

He wrote, “The scholars agreed to imprison him for a long time, and the Sulthan imprisoned him.”  It concluded, “And he died in prison.  Then some of his followers started to promulgate his ideas and teach them to people in secret while keeping quiet in public, and great harm came from this.” 

Whilst Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) ultimately repented from his kufr and repudiated his earlier, innovated theological positions, others came along and built from it.  Most notable amongst these heretics was the arch-liar, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab an-Najdi, a clear kafir and mushrik.