Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (18/509)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

I have perfected for you your religion” (al-Maʾidah 5:3) — a verse that was revealed at ʿArafah. I heard Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad al-Bazzāz, the Ḥanbalī jurist from Rayy, in his own house in Rayy, say:
“Everything introduced after the revelation of this verse is superfluous, an unwarranted addition, and a blameworthy innovation.”

I say: Abū Ḥātim Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. Khāmush was a man of Sunnah and adherence, yet he displayed a certain severity and the roughness of the Persians; what he said, therefore, requires consideration.

Abū Ismāʿīl, in his Censure of Speculative Theology, went to great lengths in championing strict following and did so admirably. But in his book Manāzil al-Sāʾirīn (1) he breathes a curious spirit unlike that of the imams of the Salaf. The work contains passages that thrill and others that perplex; whoever studies it carefully will notice what I have indicated. The Muḥammadan Sunnah is uncompromising, and taste and ecstatic experience can stand only upon the firm foundation of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

This man was a drawn sword against the scholastic theologians. In his city he enjoyed power, awe, and sway over hearts; the people venerated him, went to extremes in exalting him, and would sacrifice their very lives for what he commanded.

In their eyes he was far more obeyed and exalted than the ruler, and he stood like an immovable mountain in defense of the Sunnah—never shaken, never yielding—were it not that his book al-Fārūq fī ’l-Ṣifāt is marred by fabricated hadiths that must be exposed and refuted. May Allah forgive him for the sincerity of his intention. He composed an Arbaʿīn on monotheism and another Arbaʿīn on the Sunnah. He was tried many times, harmed, and banished from his homeland.

Ibn Ṭāhir said: I heard him say, “I was brought to the sword five times, yet it was never said to me, ‘Abandon your school.’ Instead they would tell me, ‘Keep silent about those who differ with you,’ and I would reply, ‘I will not keep silent.’”

I also heard him say, “I have memorized twelve thousand hadiths which I can recite in uninterrupted sequence.” (2)

(1) The work Manazil al-Sairin was printed together with its commentary, Madarij al-Salikin by the great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim, at the Saadah Press under the supervision of Shaykh Muhammad Hamid al-Fiqi. In this commentary, Imam Ibn al-Qayyim carefully re-examines the passages that appear problematic and offers his characteristically sound and rigorous criticism. (2) Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, vol. 3, p. 1184.

أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِيْنَكُم﴾ [المَائِدَة:٣] ، وَنزولهَا بِعَرَفَةَ: سَمِعْتُ أَحْمَدَ بنَ الحَسَنِ بنِ مُحَمَّدٍ البَزَّاز الفَقِيْه الحَنْبَلِيّ الرَّازِيّ فِي دَارِهِ بِالرَّيّ يَقُوْلُ: كُلُّ مَا أُحْدِثَ بَعْد نُزول هَذِهِ الآيَة فَهُوَ فَضْلَةٌ وَزِيَادَة وَبِدْعَة. قُلْتُ: قَدْ كَانَ أَبُو حَاتِمٍ أَحْمَدُ بنُ الحَسَنِ بنِ خَاموش صَاحِبَ سُنَّةٍ وَاتِّبَاع، وَفِيْهِ يُبس وَزعَارَة العَجَم، وَمَا قَالَهُ، فَمحَلُّ نَظَرٍ. وَلَقَدْ بِالغ أَبُو إِسْمَاعِيْلَ فِي (ذَمِّ الكَلاَمِ) عَلَى الاَتِّبَاع فَأَجَاد، وَلَكِنَّهُ لَهُ نَفْس عَجِيْب لاَ يُشْبِهُ نَفَسَ أَئِمَّة السَّلَف فِي كِتَابِهِ (مَنَازِل السَّائِرِيْنَ (١)) ، فَفِيْهِ أَشيَاءُ مُطْرِبَة، وَفِيْهِ أَشيَاءُ مُشكلَة، وَمَنْ تَأَمَّلَه لاَح لَهُ مَا أَشرتُ إِلَيْهِ، وَالسُّنَّة المحمديَّة صَلِفَة، وَلاَ يَنْهَضُ الذّوقُ وَالوَجْدُ إِلاَّ عَلَى تَأَسيسِ الكِتَاب وَالسّنَّة. وَقَدْ كَانَ هَذَا الرَّجُلُ سَيْفاً مسلَوْلاً عَلَى المُتَكَلِّمِين، لَهُ صَوْلَةٌ وَهَيْبَةٌ وَاسْتيلاَءٌ عَلَى النُّفُوْس بِبلده، يُعظّمونه، وَيَتغَالَوْنَ فِيْهِ، وَيبذلُوْنَ أَرْوَاحهم فِيمَا يَأْمر بِهِ. كَانَ عِنْدَهم أَطوعَ وَأَرْفَعَ مِنَ السُّلْطَان بكَثِيْرٍ، وَكَانَ طَوْداً رَاسياً فِي السّنَّةِ لاَ يَتزلزلُ وَلاَ يَلين، لَوْلاَ مَا كَدَّر كِتَابهُ (الفَارُوْق فِي الصِّفَات) بِذكر أَحَادِيْث بَاطِلَةٍ يَجِبُ بيَانُهَا وَهَتْكُهَا، وَاللهُ يغفِرُ لَهُ بحُسْنِ قصدهُ، وَصَنَّفَ (الأَرْبَعِيْنَ) فِي التَّوحيد، وَ (أَرْبَعِيْنَ) فِي السُّنَّةِ، وَقَدِ امتُحِنَ مَرَّات، وَأُوذِي، وَنُفِي مِنْ بَلَده. قَالَ ابْنُ طَاهِر: سَمِعْتُهُ يَقُوْلُ: عُرضتُ عَلَى السَّيْف خَمْسَ مَرَّات، لاَ يُقَالَ لِي: ارْجِع عَنْ مَذْهَبك. لَكِن يُقَالَ لِي: اسْكُتْ عَمَّنْ خَالفك. فَأَقُوْلُ: لاَ أَسكُتُ. وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُوْلُ: أَحْفَظُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ أَلف حَدِيْثٍ أَسرُدهَا سرداً (٢) .

(١) وقد طبع كتاب " منازل السائرين " مع شرحه " مدراج السالكين " للعلامة ابن القيم بمطبعة السعادة بتحقيق الشيخ محمد حامد الفقي، وقد تعقب الامام ابن القيم ﵀ في شرحه هذا الاشياء المشكلة، وانتقدها انتقادا جيدا رصينا كما هو دأبه ﵀ في كل تواليفه. (٢) " تذكرة الحفاظ " ٣ / ١١٨٤.