and His wisdom. Yet he never touched on the attribution of this view to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah—neither to affirm it nor to deny it. (1)

Section Two
Those who reject the attribution of the belief that the Fire will perish to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah include Dr. ʿAlī al-Harbī al-Yamānī, the author of Kashf al-Astār li-Ibṭāl Idʿāʾ Fanāʾ al-Nār (Unveiling the Veils to Refute the Claim that the Fire Will Cease to Exist). In that book he claimed to be the first to defend Shaykh al-Islam on this major issue (2). At the end of his study he declared: “Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is as free of the claim that the Fire will end as the wolf was of Joseph’s blood, peace be upon him.” (3)

When one surveys his book, however, it becomes clear that the evidence on which he based this conclusion may be summarized as follows:

First: He reviewed and traced the works of Ibn Taymiyyah, extracting passages in which the Shaykh refutes the Jahmiyyah and the Muʿtazilah, who maintained that both Paradise and Hellfire would come to an end. Commenting on those passages, he said:

“Can it possibly be said after this that Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah believed that the Fire will perish?” (4)

The answer is that one must understand that these passages are directed at rebutting the Jahmiyyah and the Muʿtazilah, who asserted the annihilation of both Paradise and Hellfire. About that there is no disagreement. The point at issue is the opinion that Paradise will remain while Hellfire alone will come to an end.