In this article we look at the antics of the Jahmee Baleed Abu Adam Naruiji in another of his scandalous attempts to malign Ibn Taymiyyah with something he is free of. But first, it is important that we are familiar with who and what we are dealing with here and this will be explained by:

Understanding the Three Types of Contemporary Jahmite Ash'ari

Dear Ash'ari and non-Ash'ari friend alike:

You should know that there are three types of (Jahmite) Ash'ari on this earth, and it is important that you distinguish between them so as to avoid the slippery slopes and the treacherous descents:

• The Gutter Press Jahmee: This type of Jahmee is not getting paid any premiums and thus you will see the most crude and primitive of methods from him in trying to call to and defend his creed, such as claiming Ibn Taymiyyah says Allaah is a sphere that encompasses the universe within Himself, and that Ibn Taymiyyah says if you lower a bucket into the ground it will fall upon Allaah and other such ridiculous things which most people of sound fitrah would reject as false accusations against someone else. This is in addition to openly calling to a creed based around phrases such as "not a jism (body)", "not a jawhar (substance)", "not within the universe and not without..." and so on, which in reality approximate to non-existence to a person of sound fitrah. This type of Jahmee is like a child given a brand new toy (let's say its a toy gun) and who wants to show off with it to all and sundry and he has picked up some of the Greco-Metaphysical lingo and then he goes around trying to champion the Ash'arite creed through such language. Sensationalism is the name of the game and 'zapping' all those 'evil wahhabis' and 'nasty' Philosophers is portrayed to the audience as the noble aim. This type of Jahmee has not truly fathomed or appreciated what was said by the likes of al-Ghazali (d. 505H) and ar-Razi (d. 505H) - see here. You don't take this Jahmite seriously. He is a counterfeit, and he does more harm than good and he does little to aid his Ash'arite cause in reality. He's only in it for the short run. The Philadelphian Jahmites and the Jahmee Baleed, Abu Adam Naruiji are from this species. The bulk of what they spread and promote consists of exaggerations and untruths. They cannot maintain a serious and honest discussion of an issue, and very rarely will you find them being able to characterize and discuss an issue honestly and with integrity. If and when they bring a quote from Ibn Taymiyyah, and you ask them, "Please read 10 pages before and 10 pages after, and then prove to me you actually understand truthfully and honestly what is being said, and explain to me the context of what is being said, and give me an honest representation of the entire discussion", you will see this Jahmee in utter shock because play time has come to an abrupt end, he'll drop his toy gun, burst into tears, flee on his heels, and run back home - this is the reality because the overwhelming bulk of gutter press Jahmees understand very little. Unfortunately, this type seems to be the majority.

• The Moderate, Sensible Jahmee: This type of Ash'ari understands and heeds what was said by the likes of al-Ghazali (d. 505H) and ar-Razi (d. 505H) - see here, and thus he will not go down those avenues (of the dumb, primitive Jahmee), in public at least, and he will avoid making excessive and exaggerated charges against the likes of Ibn Taymiyyah. Rather, he will, in a calculated way, keep the focus at a much higher level, far away from the root and foundation of "hudooth ul-ajsaam" and its associate Greco-Metaphysical lingo. He will keep the attention of the audience centered around issues such as, "Did Imaam Bukhari do ta'weel?", "Hey, Imaam Ahmad made ta'weel of this attribute", and "Hey, the way of the Salaf was tafweed", and so all of their polemic will be based around this type of thing. This is because a person of sound fitrah will not be able to see through this type of stuff, as opposed to what the gutter press Jahmee brings. The gutter press Jahmee brings outlandish and ridiculous claims and also uses Greco-metaphysical language that common-people with sound fitrah will be repelled by. But the moderate, sensible Jahmee is more careful, and he keeps the people with him at the surface level only, which is the level of ta'weel and tafweed, and he will work on getting the people to believe this was the way of the Salaf. And most people do not realise that ta'weel, tafweed and outright ta'teel are just the procedural mechanisms that they are using in order to deal with those problematic revealed texts that contradict, falsify and invalidate their intellectual, rational proof of "hudooth ul-ajsaam". So this is a much smarter Jahmee than the dumb, primitive, gutter press Jahmee. This Jahmee will make only measured and moderate criticisms of Ibn Taymiyyah, ensuring he does not give the appearance of the rabies-infected, foaming at the mouth, gutter-press Jahmee, which would only detract from his credibility. In short, this type of Jahmee has got his head screwed on straight.

• The Shrewd Jahmee: This is the serious player, and he is on a premium. This type of Jahmee knows everything that the moderate, sensible Jahmee knows and implements, but on top of that he has an element of slickness and smoothness. He knows reviling Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim isn't really of great benefit in the long run, and besides making outlandish claims against them only destroys his credibility. So what he does is that in the discussion of many general issues, and in many of his articles and writings, he will actually quote from Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, say on issues of worship, or fiqh (jurisprudence) or issues of creed even - and in doing so he is not raising any alarms. He manages to do this despite being a hardcore Kawtharee, believe it or not. By this, he distinguishes himself from the Gutter Press Jahmee, and commands greater respect than the moderate Jahmee. He is trying to draw his net wide and far so he can catch as many fish as possible,and prudence is the name of the game. So as we said, this is your serious player - he means business, he ain't dumb, and he will go the extra mile. He won't try the crude methods of the primitive Jahmees because he knows he will get caught out eventually, and he knows that if you get caught misquoting, misrepresenting, or trying to pull a fast one - even in one instance - then your credibility as a whole is destroyed, and you've ended your career. So he treads with care - and he is in it for the long run. This species is in the minority, but they are skilled in gaining the confidence of the average person.

My dear Ash'ari and non-Ash'ari friend, you will now be upon baseerah (insight), and thus you can tread more carefully. Now that this is clear, we can move on to the subject of this article:

The Jahmee Baleed's Slandering of Ibn Taymiyyah

Let's take a look then at the antics of the Gutter Press Jahmees, the dumb, primitive, baleedic type of Jahmee, and here we have, yes, its Naruiji again, and remember, his method of fighting for his cause is to use gutter-press methods, so here we have an example:

The Jahmee's Quotation and Translation Of This Hadeeth

Before we proceed to explain what is really going on and the entire context of the discussion, we need to point out a few things about the Jahmee's translation of the weak hadeeth under discussion. Here is the Arabic for the hadeeth he has translated:

And this is the Jahmee's translation of it:

Verily his (the Prophet's) statement: "If one of you lowered a bucket by a rope, then it would fall on Allaah."

Now as we have said earlier, there is your cheap, dumb, primitive Jahmee and there is your smart, shrewd Jahmee. We are clearly dealing with the former. Your smart, shrewd Jahmee won't be making a display of incompetence and pretense such as what is being displayed here.

Now the verb "adlaa", which means "to lower, to drop" is in the passive tense and "ahadukum" is in the nominative and there is no mention of any bucket here, rather the hadeeth translates as:

If one of you was lowered with a rope, he would descend upon [meaning arrive upon] Allaah.

However, the Gutter Jahmee thought he could add some drama by entering a bucket into the scene. Now even though the Arabic word for bucket "dalw" is from the same root, the verb "adlaa" actually means "to lower, to drop" and in the context of the hadeeth it is referring to the lowering of a person by way of a rope and there is no mention of any bucket anywhere.

This is generally the kind of shoddy, cheap workmanship you would get from the Gutter Press Jahmee, and if any naive and unsuspecting Ash'ari has been caught up and duped by some of this stuff, we would advise you make a formal complaint and ask for a refund.

What is Really Going On?

The Gutter Jahmee has quoted a short passage in this article of his which is taken from "ar-Risaalah al-Arshiyyah", and this treatise which is found in Majmoo ul-Fataawaa (6/545-582) is dealing with a question posed which is that if Allaah is above the Throne, and the Throne is said to be spherical (upon the presumption of the questioner) then why is it not possible to supplicate to Allaah and seek Him in all directions, such as below, right, left and so on?

Here we will present a summary of that article. So in that treatise, Ibn Taymiyyah basically explains:

• There is no sharee'ah or intellectual (astronomical) proof that the Throne is a celestial (spherical) body or orbit.

• There are many descriptions for the Throne in the texts, such as it having Angels that carry it (through Allaah's qudrah), that the Throne was over the water before Allaah created the heavens and the earth, that the Throne is described as "Majeed", "Kareem" and "Adheem", that the Throne has great weight, that the Throne has pillars (qawaa'im), that the Throne is above Firdaws, and that in the hadeeth of Jubayr bin Mu'tim, the Throne is said to be dome-shaped, as a result of which some people hold this view based on this hadeeth. And all of this proves that the Throne is unlike the celestial bodies or orbits.

• That all the Sharee'ah texts establish that the universe is extremely small to Allaah, and that this is established through the verse:

  They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified is He, and High is He above all that they associate as partners with Him! (Az-Zumar 39:67)

  And many authentic narrations from Bukhari in explanation of this verse, and the tafseer of Ibn Abbaas who said:

  The seven heavens and the seven earths and whatever is within them and between them are not in the Hand of ar-Rahman except like a mustard seed in the hand of one of you.

• That it is in light of these texts we understand the meaning of "Ihaatah" encompassment, and that this encompassment is not like what the oppressors presume which is that Allaah is like a celestial sphere who surrounds the universe completely such that it is contained within His Essence - Ibn Taymiyyah calls this a "corrupt belief", and those who presume such things as oppressors. Rather, it is upon what is found in these texts, in the ahaadeeth and upon what the likes of Ibn Abbaas explained.

• That there are only two true real directions, above and below, and all other direction are only relative to each other, and thus, it cannot be said that one of two people in opposite parts of the earth, which is spherical, is above, or below the other, and all Muslims are agreed that the celestial bodies are spherical.

• And that if a person was able to descend, hypothetically, into the earth, he would simply reach the center, and if another person came from the opposite direction, he too would reach the center, and none of them would be said to be above, or below the other.

• In light of all these considerations, and in light of all the Sharee'ah texts, and whether we presume the Throne to be spherical (upon the presumption and claim of some people and for argument's sake) or not, then it is not permissible, whatever the case, except to turn to Allaah above and not in any other direction, and all of this, together, allows us to understand the meaning of "Ihaatah" (encompassment) in a sound and correct way - and not upon a corrupt way, which is what is presumed by the oppressors. Ibn Taymiyyah says specifically in this regard, at the end of this risaalah (p. 582):

  It has become clear, in all assumptions (of what the case might be), that turning to Allaah is not permissible except (in the direction of) above, alongside His being above His Throne, separate and distinct from His creation, and regardless of whether it is assumed that He encompasses the creation - in the manner that He encompasses them when they are in His grasp - or if it is assumed that He is above them and encompasses them without Him grasping them, then in either of these two assumptions, He is above them, separate and distinct from them.

  And it has become clear upon this assumption with respect to the Creator and this assumption with respect to the Throne that there is no (reason) for any caution (in this) or (the presence of any) contradiction, and this puts and end to all the doubt, and the doubt only emanates out of two corrupt beliefs:

  The first of them: That it be thought that the Throne, if it is spherical, and that Allaah is above it, it is binding that Allaah is spherical, and then [the second] (that he) believes that if He is spherical, then it is correct to turn to whatever is spherical - such as the ninth celestial orbit - from all the (various) directions.

  And both of these two beliefs are incorrect and misguidance, for Allaah, alongside Him being above the Throne, and alongside the (assumption of the) saying that the Throne is spherical - regardless of whether it is (assumed to be) the ninth celestial sphere or other than it - it is not permissible for it to be thought that He resembles the celestial bodies in their shapes, just like it is not permissible that it be though that He resembles them in their sizes and their attributes - Sublime and Exalted is Allaah from what the oppressors say with a great exaltation. Rather, it has become clear that He is mightier and greater than that the creation should be to Him like the interior of a celestial body within a celestial body. Rather, the creation to Him, is smaller than a peppercorn or a chick-pea and what is similar to that in the hand of one of us.

  And this is based upon what has been said by Ibn Abbaas, as mentioned earlier, that "The seven heavens and the seven earths and whatever is within them and between them are not in the Hand of ar-Rahman except like a mustard seed in the hand of one of you".

  Then he continues:

  When a chick-pea or a peppercorn, rather a dirham or a dinar, or a ball that a child plays with and what is similar to that, is in the hand of a person, or is beneath him, or whatever is similar to that, does any intelligent person, when he perceives the elevation of the person over it and his encompassment of it, that the person is like a celestial (spherical) body? And Allaah - and to Allaah is the loftiest example - is greater than that should be thought about Him, but only those think that who:

  ...have made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified is He, and High is He above all that they associate as partners with Him! (Az-Zumar 39:67)

• In the course of this discussion in this treatise, Ibn Taymiyyah makes mention of a weak hadeeth reported by at-Tirmidhi in which their occurs "If one of you was lowered with a rope, he would descend upon Allaah" - even though this hadeeth is weak, Ibn Taymiyyah discusses it as it relates to the discussion at hand - and he explains that this hadeeth uses the particle "law" (meaning "if"), is only a hypothetical assumption - even though we know that this is impossible - but assuming the hypothetical situation in the hadeeth, Ibn Taymiyyah explains that this hadeeth is similar to what the questioner raised in the initial question as to why can't we seek Allaah in all directions, including below and left and right.

So we can focus here specifically on this hadeeth and see what Ibn Taymiyyah said about it, in the context of the above, wider discussion:

Concerning The Hadeeth of Idlaa (Descending With A Rope)

bn Taymiyyah mentions the hadeeh of "Idlaa" collected by at-Tirmidhi and from Abu Hurairah, which is a da'eef hadeeth, and Ibn Taymiyyah mentions that it is munqati' (its chain is disconnected). Nevertheless, he discusses this hadeeth in light of what has preceded, because in this hadeeth there occurs, "that if one of you lowered a rope, he would descend upon Allaah", and so this has a connection to what has preceded of the discussion, and even though it is da'eef, Ibn Taymiyyah discusses it from the angle of an assumed hypothetical supposition, saying:

...this is an assumed supposition (taqdeer mafrood), meaning that if this lowering occurred, then (descending upon Allaah) would have occurred, however it is not possible for anyone to descend in this manner to Allaah in anything because He is elevated with His Essence, and if anything was lowered in the direction of the earth, it would reach the center,and it would not ascend in the other direction. However, with the supposition that this lowering is assumed, then what has been mentioned (in the hadeeth) of the outcome would take place.

So this (what is mentioned in this hadeeth) is what the questioner has mentioned in his question (which is that) when the servant seeks Allaah in that direction (i.e. below) then He, the Sublime, is (still) hearing his speech and he (the person) is (still) turning to Allaah with his heart - but this is something that the fitrah (natural instinct) prohibits, because seeking something with full, complete [intent] negates the seeking of its opposite, just like the direction of above negates the direction of below ...

Then a little later he explains the intent behind the hypothetical supposition in the hadeeth:

For he (the Prophet) said, "If one of you lowers (with a rope) he would descend...", meaning if it was assumed that there is a lowering, then it is also assumed that there is a descending, and this would be considered a lowering and a descending if it was assumed that the heavens are beneath the earth, and this assumption is negated.

However, its benefit is to explain the encompassment (Ihaatah) and elevation (uluww) from every side, and this assumption (of lowering) is impossible for us, we are not able to do it and it is not conceivable that one lower (a rope) and it is not conceivable that one descend upon Allaah in anything.

Then Ibn Taymiyyah mentions that if, on the hypothetical supposition, there was a hole from the north pole to the south pole or from the east to the west and a rope was passed through it so that it goes through the center (of the earth), that would make no difference as it relates to Allaah. And then he says, after mentioning this supposition:

Then in all considerations of a rope going through (the earth) from one encompassed side to another (encompassed) side, alongside it going through the center, and upon the consideration that His grasp encompasses the heavenes and the earth then the rope about which it is supposed that it goes through the universe [no matter how or in what direction it goes through the earth, through the poles, through east to west, or west to east] then none of that is to be called "lowering" and "descending" in relation to Allaah.

And as it relates to us, then what is below our feet, is (considered) below to us, and what is above our heads is (considered) above to us, and what we lower from the direction of our heads down to the direction of our feet is conceived of by us as "descending". So when it as assumed (in accordance with the da'eef hadeeth) that one of us lowers (himself) with a rope, then he would be descending upon what is there, but this (hypothetical) assumption is impossible for us.

And the intent here is to explain the encompassment (Ihaatah) of the Creator, the Sublime and Exalted, as has become clear that (it means) He grasps the heavens and rolls out the earth and what is similar to that within which there lies the explanation of His encompassment of the creation, and this is why he (the Messenger) recited at the end of the (aforementioned) hadeeth:

He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer than Him). And He is the All-Knower of every thing. (Al-Hadid 57:3)

And all of this is upon the assumption of its authenticity, for at-Tirmidhee when he reported it he said, "And some of the people of hadeeth have explained it in that he will descend upon the knowledge of Allaah", and some of the Hulooliyyah and Ittihaadiyyah (those believing Allaah is the creation or merged within it) think that there is in this hadeeth what amounts to evidence for their false saying, which is that He is, with His Essence, merged in every place, and that His existence is the actual existence of all places and so on.

Then Ibn Taymiyyah, after mentioning what the hadeeth does not prove, assuming it is authentic, and clarifying that the explanation of this hadeeth to mean "to descend upon the knowledge of Allaah" is incorrect, he says:

... and likewise, making ta'weel of it with "knowledge" is a ta'weel whose corruption is manifest, and it is from the types of ta'weels of the Jahmiyyah. Rather, on the assumption that it (the hadeeth) is affirmed, then it indicates "Ihaatah" (encompassment). And it is known that Allaah has power over such an encompassment (Ihaatah), and it is known that it will take place on the Day of Judgement by the Book and the Sunnah and there is nothing in affirming it, in sum, what opposes reason or legislation. However, we do not speak except with what we know, and what we do not know, we withhold from it...

Then a little later he mentions a narration from Imaam Ahmad about Muhammad bin Seereen that the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) used to raise his sight to the sky until the verse was revealed, "The Believers will prosper. Those who are humble and submissive in their prayer (Surah Mu'minoon 23:1-2)", and thereafter his sight did not go beyond his place of prostration.

Ibn Taymiyyah says there is nothing in the prohibition of the servant from raising his sight in the prayer that refutes those who say that Allaah is above the Throne as has been presumed by the ignoramuses amongst the Jahmiyyah, because to the Jahmiyyah there is no difference between the Throne, and the pit, and the sea, all of them are the same, and if this is the case, then He would not have prohibited them from raising the sight to one direction and command them to keep it in another, because to the Jahmiyyah its all the same (since they believe Allaah is in everything and in every place).

Then later he says, in winding down the discussion of this issue:

And the intent is that whatever has come from the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) on this subject and other than it, then all of it is the truth, and part of it establishes the truth of the other part, and it is (all) in agreement with the innate instinct of the creation, and with what they have been granted of clear intellects (al-aql as-sareeh) and sound objectives (al-qasd as-saheeh) - it does not oppose the clear intellect and nor the sound objective and nor the upright fitrah and nor the sound transmission that is established from the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).

But only he thinks that there is opposition between them (i.e. between the clear intellect, sound objective, the upright fitrah and the revealed text) who believes the false narrations, or who understands from them that which is not in them, or who believes something he thinks is from the rational things, when in reality it is from foolish things.

So one can see the full context of this entire discussion, and we can see clearly Ibn Taymiyyah's position is amply illustrated by what he said at the very end of the treatise, which we can repeat again:

It has become clear, in all assumptions (of what the case might be), that turning to Allaah is not permissible except (in the direction of) above, alongside His being above His Throne, separate and distinct from His creation, and regardless of whether it is assumed that He encompasses the creation - in the manner that He encompasses them when they are in His grasp - or if it is assumed that He is above them and encompasses them without Him grasping them, then in either of these two assumptions, He is above them, separate and distinct from them.

And it has become clear upon this assumption with respect to the Creator and this assumption with respect to the Throne that there is no (reason) for any caution (in this) or (the presence of any) contradiction, and this puts and end to all the doubt, and the doubt only emanates out of two corrupt beliefs:

The first of them: That it be thought that the Throne, if it is spherical, and that Allaah is above it, it is binding that Allaah is spherical, and then [the second] (that he) believes that if He is spherical, then it is correct to turn to whatever is spherical - such as the ninth celestial orbit - from all the (various) directions.

And both of these two beliefs are incorrect and misguidance, for Allaah, alongside Him being above the Throne, and alongside the (assumption of the) saying that the Throne is spherical - regardless of whether it is (assumed to be) the ninth celestial sphere or other than it - it is not permissible for it to be thought that He resembles the celestial bodies in their shapes, just like it is not permissible that it be though that He resembles them in their sizes and their attributes - Sublime and Exalted is Allaah from what the oppressors say with a great exaltation. Rather, it has become clear that He is mightier and greater than that the creation should be to Him like the interior of a celestial body within a celestial body. Rather, the creation to Him, is smaller than a peppercorn or a chick-pea and what is similar to that in the hand of one of us.

And this is based upon what has been said by Ibn Abbaas, as mentioned earlier, that "The seven heavens and the seven earths and whatever is within them and between them are not in the Hand of ar-Rahman except like a mustard seed in the hand of one of you".

Then he continues:

When a chick-pea or a peppercorn, rather a dirham or a dinar, or a ball that a child plays with and what is similar to that, is in the hand of a person, or is beneath him, or whatever is similar to that, does any intelligent person, when he perceives the elevation of the person over it and his encompassment of it, that the person is like a celestial (spherical) body? And Allaah - and to Allaah is the loftiest example - is greater than that should be thought about Him, but only those think that who:

...have made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified is He, and High is He above all that they associate as partners with Him! (Az-Zumar 39:67)

So this is another cheap attempt by the Jahmee Baleed relegated to the dustbin of history. Inshaa'Allaah we will be crafting the text of his repentance from this cheap slander for him. And you can expect that to appear shortly - please check back and watch for the article.