Rich comments on the Hama fatwa

By Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah

Written by Prof. Dr. Ahmed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Qadi

The Fatwa of al-Hamawiyyah al-Kubra (The Great Fatwa of al-Hamawiyyah) by Abu al-Abbas Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) is a foundation and confirmation of the doctrine of the righteous predecessors regarding the descriptive attributes - which are proven by reports from the Qur’an and Sunnah, such as the establishment of God on the Throne, the Face, the Two Hands, and the like - as well as a refutation and rebuttal to those who denied these attributes from among the theologians and the later Ash’arites who had corrupted their interpretations. This fatwa demonstrated some of Ibn Taymiyyah’s skill in good argumentation and debate, as he refuted the words of later theologians - such as the Ash’arites who denied transcendence and the descriptive attributes, and whom he called the Mu’tazilites - with the words of their earlier predecessors.