imputing to them what was never in them. Al-Mizzi was harmed on that account (1), and al-Dhahabi, because of his views, was denied the leadership of the largest Dar al-Hadith in Damascus—the Ashrafiyya Dar al-Hadith (2)—after its chair fell vacant upon the death of his companion al-Mizzi in 742 AH. Chief Judge ʿAli ibn ʿAbd al-Kafi al-Subki recommended that al-Dhahabi be appointed, but the Shafiʽis objected that al-Dhahabi was not an Ashʿari, arguing that al-Mizzi himself had only been granted the post after he wrote in his own hand and testified under oath that he was Ashʿari. The debate widened, and even when the Syrian viceroy Altunbugha gathered the Shafiʽis together, they still refused to let al-Dhahabi assume the position despite al-Subki’s persistent pleading; the matter was settled only when al-Subki himself accepted the appointment (3).
Al-Dhahabi’s association with Ibn Taymiyya likewise left its mark on the books he abridged (4) or composed (5), on the formulation of some of his views, on his admiration for the Hanbalis (6), and on his stance toward certain Sufis (7)—especially the Ahmadiyya, followers of Shaykh Ahmad al-Rifaʽi (8). He states
(1) In 705 AH a dispute broke out after the public debate between Ibn Taymiyya and a group of Shafiʿi jurists. Under the Dome of the Eagle, immediately after the daily public reading from al-Bukhari, Shaykh Jamal al-Din al-Mizzi recited a chapter refuting the Jahmiyya taken from al-Bukhari’s work Khalq Afʿal al-ʿIbad. Several jurists present became angry and complained to the Shafiʿi judge Ibn Sarsari, an avowed opponent of Ibn Taymiyya. The judge ordered al-Mizzi imprisoned. When the news reached Ibn Taymiyya he was greatly distressed, went to the prison himself and secured al-Mizzi’s release. This angered the deputy governor of Damascus, who had al-Mizzi jailed again, but he was soon set free. — Sources: Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, vol. 14, p. 37; Ibn Hajar, al-Durar, vol. 5, p. 234.
(2) The institution is attributed to the Ayyubid rulers al-Malik al-Ashraf and Muzaffar al-Din Musa ibn al-ʿAdil. Construction began in 628 AH and the complex opened in 630 AH. Its first director was the leading hadith scholar of his time, Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn al-Salah (d. 643 AH). See al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam, fol. 243 (Aya Sofya 3012); al-Nuʿaymi, Tanbih al-Daris, 1/19 ff.
(3) Bibliography: Taqi al-Din al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafiʿiyya, vol. 6, pp. 170-171 (Cairo, 1324 AH); Ibn Qadi Shuhba, Tabaqat al-Shafiʿiyya, fol. 105 (manuscript Ahmed III 2836).
(4) For example, al-Muntaqa min Minhaj al-Iʿtidal, an abridgement of his teacher Ibn Taymiyya’s work (see the section devoted to his writings).
(5) Another example is the book al-ʿUluw (see the section devoted to his writings).
(6) Bibliography: al-Dhahabi, Muʿjam al-Shuyukh, manuscript 1, fol. 4.
(7) In the biography of his teacher Bahaʾ al-Din Abi al-Mahasin ʿAbd al-Muhsin ibn Muhammad, known as Ibn al-ʿAdim (d. 704 AH), al-Dhahabi writes: “He involved himself in the trivia of the Sufis.” — Muʿjam al-Shuyukh, ms. 1, fol. 85.
(8) In the entry on Thaʿlab ibn Jamiʿ al-Saʿidi al-Ahmadi al-Bazdar (d. 725 AH) he notes: “He had been a prominent member of the Ahmadiyya and gathered followers, but later repented and abandoned those follies.” — Muʿjam al-Shuyukh, ms. 1, fol. 40.