al-Subki (d. 756 AH), who authored an epistle entitled al-Iʿtibār bi-Baqāʾ al-Janna waʾl-Nār (Consideration of the Eternity of Paradise and Hellfire). He wrote it in response to the treatise by Shaykh al-Islam that I am currently editing. A comparison of the two writings—the one by Ibn Taymiyyah and the other by al-Subki—shows that al-Subki’s work is prejudiced against Ibn Taymiyyah, as will be demonstrated below.
Second category:
Those who deny that the view of the Fire’s extinction can be attributed to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, declaring him as free of it as the wolf was of Joseph’s blood. Among them is Dr. ʿAli ibn ʿAli al-Harbi al-Yamani, author of Kashf al-Astār li-Ibṭāl Idʿāʾ Fanāʾ al-Nār (Removing the Veils: Refuting the Claim that the Fire Will Perish), a work assigned to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his disciple Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. I shall set out his perspective on the matter (1).
Third category:
Those who have examined Ibn Taymiyyah’s own texts on the issue and say that he merely leans toward the notion of the Fire’s extinction on account of Allah’s vast mercy. The names of these scholars will be mentioned shortly.
It is now time to present these opinions and discuss them.
First:
What al-Subki wrote in his epistle al-Iʿtibār bi-Baqāʾ al-Janna waʾl-Nār. After reviewing the contents of this work, which is a rebuttal of Ibn Taymiyyah’s epistle, I noticed several matters, some of which I shall mention briefly:
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The title of the epistle—al-Iʿtibār bi-Baqāʾ al-Janna waʾl-Nār—suggests that Ibn Taymiyyah maintains the annihilation of both Paradise and Hellfire, in line with the position of the Jahmiyya and the Muʿtazila. This is not the case, though, for he actually refutes those who claim that both realms will perish; what is imputed to him concerns only the extinction of Hellfire.
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In this epistle al-Subki oversteps with regard to Ibn Taymiyyah, describing him with epithets