[A Debate on ḥamd and shukr with Ibn al-Murahḥal]

I found, in the handwriting of one of his companions (1), the following record:

“A summary of a discussion that took place between Shaykh al-Islām Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—and Ibn al-Murahḥal (2):

The subject was praise (ḥamd) and gratitude (shukr). Shukr, it was said, is shown by the heart (3), the tongue, and the limbs (4), whereas ḥamd is expressed only by the tongue.

Ibn al-Murahḥal remarked: ‘One of the scholars—he named him—has transmitted that the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘ah is that shukr is limited to belief alone, while the doctrine of the Khārijites is that it consists of belief, speech, and action. They therefore held that whoever abandons works is a disbeliever, for disbelief is the opposite of gratitude; thus, if a person is not grateful, he is a disbeliever.’

Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn replied: ‘This view that has been attributed to Ahl al-Sunnah (5) is erroneous,’