Woe to him—how brazen he is in branding the Salaf as “anthropomorphists”! Among them are those whom he professes to venerate, though I know that he venerates none but his own whims. Otherwise, tell me by your Lord: how can he accuse of anthropomorphism anyone who explains the verse as I have previously attributed to the Salaf—including Imam al-Bayhaqi in his two aforementioned books (1), which this doomed man himself urges people to read in his commentary (p. 78)? What could be clearer proof of his following his whims than his مخالفة of the scholars who declared this hadith on mercy authentic, among whom are his two shaykhs, the two al-Ghumaris? The same is shown by his declaring weak many other authentic hadiths, such as the Hadith of the Slave-Girl and the Prophet’s saying, peace and blessings be upon him: “Where is Allah?” Muslim narrated it, and a group of scholars declared it authentic, as I shall discuss in detail below under no. 3161. Likewise is the Hadith of the Dispute of the Exalted Assembly, which al-Bukhari, al-Tirmidhi, Abu Zur‘ah, and al-Diya’ declared authentic. It is not the same as the hadith, “I saw my Lord as a curly-haired, beardless youth ...,” for that is rejected; nor as the hadith, “I saw my Lord at Mina, during the departure, on a camel ...,” for that is fabricated, as explained in al-Da‘ifah (6330). Al-Saqqaf has deceived readers with this, giving them the impression that al-Dhahabi rejected the Hadith of the Dispute, whereas he was referring only to the latter report. Refer to the number cited to see the astonishing deception of this man and his misleading of readers. I have found another chain for the Hadith of the Dispute—indeed, an authentic corroborating report—which I documented in al-Sahihah (3169).

One point that must be noted in this connection is that, just as this man declares authentic hadiths weak, he conversely strengthens weak and fabricated hadiths, adducing them to nullify the meanings of the noble verses and authentic hadiths. For example, he invalidates the import of the mass-transmitted hadith concerning the Divine descent, and of Allah Most High’s words in it: “Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him?” by means of a hadith uniquely narrated by Hafs ibn Ghiyath, in which he mentioned neither the descent nor the aforesaid words of Allah. Rather, he narrated it with the wording: “Then He commands a caller to call out, saying: ‘Is there any supplicant ...?’” This is certainly an error, since Hafs contradicted six reliable narrators who transmitted it with the first wording, which is the preserved wording in