I say: The page cited contains none of what the writer mentions. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyya—may Allah have mercy on him—did not affirm movement for Allah in his books, nor did he attribute this to the people of hadith and the early generations, as the writer falsely and mendaciously alleged. His falsehood has thus rebounded upon him.
As for Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyya, his position on these expressions, which occur neither in the Book nor in the Sunnah, is well known and clear. He—may Allah have mercy on him—explained it in many places in his works.
One example is his statement—may Allah have mercy on him:
“The best course in this matter is to adhere to the wording of the scriptural texts, affirming what Allah and His Messenger have affirmed in the terms used to affirm it, and negating what Allah and His Messenger have negated as they negated it …”1.
- The writer says on p. 15:
“And Ibn Taymiyya says in his book al-Ta’sīs (1/101): ‘There is nothing in the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, or the words of any of the early generations and imams of this community stating that He is not a body and that His attributes are neither bodies nor accidents.’ End quote.”
I say: These are not the words of Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyya—may Allah have mercy on him. Rather, they are the words of those speculative theologians among the affirmers of the divine attributes who maintained that Allah is a body unlike other bodies. Shaykh al-Islām reported their words while discussing the various views concerning the term “body” and other technical terms. He—may Allah have mercy on him—said:
“Then, when the speculative theologians among those who affirm the divine attributes debated the Mu‘tazilah, they disagreed over technical terminology. One group said: …” He went on to say: “They said: ‘This cannot be disputed once the intended meaning is understood. But what objection is there to it? There is nothing in the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, or the words of any of the early generations and imams of this community stating that He is not