By Shaykh Abu Omar Abdul Hadi Palazzi

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE FUQARA' OF TARIQAH AL-QADIRIYYAH 

As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmat-Ullahi wa barakatuH.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Hisham Kabbani writes in "The Repudiation of 'Salafi' Innovations" (Kazi, 1996, p. 98):

"Ibn Taymiyya Compares Allah to the Moon In his infamous `Aqida wasitiyya.

"Ibn Taymiyya establishes a clear-cut case of tamthil or similitude for Allah and His attributes by comparing Him to the moon in his interpretation of the verse 57:4: 'He is with you wherever you are": The phrase "and He is with you" does not mean that He blends into creation... Nay the moon... one of the smallest of Allah's creations, is both placed in the heaven (mawdu`un fi al-samaa') and present with the traveler and the non-traveler wherever they may be. And the Exalted is above (fawq) the Throne, as a watchful guardian of His creatures and their protector Who is cognizant of them.'

"Ibn Taymiyya's admirers may claim that he represents the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunna, but we all know that none of the Ahl al-Sunna ever compared Allah to the moon, or Allah's knowledge to the moon's rays. Exalted is Allah high above the fancies of those who give such examples for Him. Yet we find today the same type of aberration still passing for Islamic education, in books such as Ibn al-Uthaymin's Sharh al`aqida al-wasitiyya, which we will address in a few pages, and where the author, dissatisfied with Ibn Taymiyya's moon, turns to comparing Allah to the sun instead."

We find what Hisham Kabbani writes absolutely correct, but are also compelled to say that, in our time, Nazim al-Qubrusi commits exactly the same mistake which was committed by Ibn Taymiyyah, since he establishes a clear-cut case of tamthil or similitude for Allah and His attributes by comparing Him to the Queen of England in his infamous "Mercy Oceans", by daring to say (p. 9): "Allah Almighty called Muhammad (peace be upon him) to His Divine presence, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) went as ordered, just as a dignitary is received by the Queen of England."

Nazim's followers and admirers may claim that he represents the doctrine of Ahlu-s-Sunnah, that he is a "Hanafi mufti", a "Naqshbandi Shaykh", "a Wali", and even - astaghfir-Ullah al-'Azhim - "the Sultan al-Awliya'" but we all know that none of the Ahlu-s-Sunnah ever compared Allah to the Queen of England, or compared the way He caused His Beloved, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, to ascend to how "a dignitary is received by the Queen of England." Exalted is Allah high above the fancies of those who give such examples for Him.

Yet we find today the same Hisham Kabbani - who correctly criticizes Ibn Taymiyyah's tamthil - passing Nazim's tamthil under complete silence, and illogically accepting the person who is guilty of this infamous tamthil as his Shaykh and his teacher in Din. Why does Hisham Kabbani consider tamthil "an aberration" when established by Ibn Taymiyyah, and no aberration at all when established by Nazim al-Qubrusi? Allahu knows best. From our point of view tamthil is an evident aberration when established by Ibn Taymiyyah, when established by Nazim al-Qubrusi and when established by anyone else. Exactly like Ibn Taymiyyah's attempt to establish a tamthil by comparing Allah Ta'ala to the moon proves his evident deviance from the 'aqidah of Ahlu-s-Sunnah wa-l-Jama'ah, so Nazim's attempt to establish a tamthil by comparing Allah Ta'ala to the Queen of England also proves his evident deviance from the same 'aqidah of Ahlu-s-Sunnah wa-l-Jama'ah

May Allah Ta'ala grant Hisham Kabbani the gift of equanimity and coherence, and help him and all of us to seek refuge by Him against those who dare to establish tamthil between Him and His creatures, and to dissociate ourselves from anthropomorphic aberrations and from those who propagate them.

Wa-s-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmat-Ullahi wa barakatuH.