of nations remain submissive to his commands, and the necks of all servants yield willingly to his decrees (1). Those who ally themselves with his realm continue, through their obedience, to enjoy delight and felicity (2), whereas anyone who challenges his power is disgraced, denounced, and driven away.

What we therefore hope from the Sacred Court—may Allah raise it ever higher in dignity and honor—is that the scholars, the heirs of the prophets, the purest of the elect, the pillars of the religion, the axis around which the people of certainty revolve, be granted an ample share of royal solicitude and a manifest portion of mercy and compassion (3). Such an act is a distinction unmatched by any other virtue and a good deed that no sin can erase, for it is, in truth, the very essence of exalting Allah’s command and the distilled expression of compassion toward Allah’s creation (4).

There is no doubt that this servant has examined the questions put to the shaykh, the eminent imam and erudite scholar (5), the unique figure of his time, Taqi al-Din Abu’l-ʿAbbas Ibn Taymiyyah, along with the answers he returned. I found his reply to be the distilled essence of what the scholars have stated on this matter, incorporating—as sound transmission and rigorous inquiry require—both demonstration and binding proof. No prejudice intrudes upon it (6), no negligence taints it, and—Allah be our refuge—it contains nothing that could imply disparagement or diminution of the rank of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him.

So how could it ever be permissible for scholars, impelled by partisanship, to utter words of disparagement