concerning the Verses of the Book (1); Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, in his work al-Maqsad al-Asna fi Sharh Asma’ Allah al-Husna (The Noblest Aim in Expounding the Most Beautiful Names of Allah) (2); Ibn al-Wazir, in his book Ithar al-Haqq ʿala al-Khalq (Preferring the Truth over Creation) (3); Imam al-Dhahabi, who authored a two-volume treatise entitled Sifat al-Nar (The Description of Hellfire) (4); al-Hafiz Ibn Rajab, in his book al-Takhwif min al-Nar (Instilling Fear of the Fire) (5); Shaykh Marʿi ibn Yusuf, in his book Tawkif al-Fariqayn ʿala Khulud Ahl al-Darayn (Informing Both Parties that the People of the Two Abodes Will Abide Eternally Therein) (6); and Shaykh al-Sanʿani, in his work … Rafʿ al-Astar li-Ibatil Adillati al-Qaʾilin bi-Fanaʾ al-Nar (Lifting the Veils: Refuting the Proofs of Those Who Claim that the Fire Will Perish) (7).

On the basis of the foregoing, it has become clear to me that discussion of the question of Hellfire’s extinction was well known among the scholars before Ibn Taymiyyah’s era, during his lifetime, and after him, as the preceding sources show. What, then, was his own position on this matter?

Second:
Shaykh al-Islam’s stance on the extinction of Hellfire, together with the scholars’ views on it and a discussion thereof:

As far as I know, there is no clear, unambiguous statement from Shaykh al-Islam on this issue. He does, however, have the present epistle, composed in answer to a question put to him; in it he cites the opinions of other scholars, explains the difference between the everlasting nature of Paradise and Hellfire and the possibility of their extinction, yet offers no personal endorsement or rejection of the views he reports. For this reason, assessments and understandings of Ibn Taymiyyah’s position have diverged into three categories.

First category: those who attacked Ibn Taymiyyah, portraying him as the standard-bearer of this view and using it as a pretext to malign and declare him misguided, foremost among them Shaykh ʿAli ibn ʿAbd al-Kafi