Ibn Kathir

Ash'arite have always claimed that He was an Ash'ari due to his beliefs and sayings in his works, and to the fact that:

• He belonged to the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence and was a professor of Hadith at the House of Hadith known as "Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya" which was exclusively established for those aligned to the Ash'ari school of creed, as mentioned by Taj al-Din al-Subki (d. 771/1370) in his Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra (Comprehensive Biographical dictionary of Shafi'ites) that a condition to teach at the al-Ashrafiyya was to be Ash'ari in 'aqida.[13]
• Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani (d. 852/1449) reported in his al-Durar al-Kaminah (The Hidden Pearls: on the Notables of the Eighth Islamic Century), that a dispute between Ibn Kathir and the son of Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya broke out over teaching position. It seems Ibn Kathir implied that the dislike for him is due to his Ash'ari roots, and once Ibn al-Qayyim's son confronted him about this and said that even if Ibn Kathir swore to high heavens that he wasn't upon the creed of Ibn Taymiyya, people wouldn't believe him, because his sheikh (teacher) is Ibn Taymiyya.[14]

David L. Johnston described him as "the traditionist and Ash'arite Ibn Kathir".[15]

The records from modern researchers such as Taha Jabir Alalwani, Yazid Abdu al Qadir al-Jawas, and Barbara Stowasser has indicated there are indication that Ibn Kathir shares many similarities with his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah, such as rejecting logical exegesis of Qur'an, advocating a militant jihad and adhering to the renewal of one singular Islamic ummah.[16][17][18][19] Furthermore, they claim like Ibn Taymiyyah, he counts as an anti-rationalistic, traditionalistic and hadith oriented scholar.[20] Salafis claim in regards of exegesis, he uses methods contrary to former Sunni scholars, and followed largely the methodology of ibn Taimiyya.[21] While Barbara Freyer reported this anti-rationalistic, traditionalistic and hadith oriented which held by Ibn Kathir were also shared not only by Ibn Taymiyyah,[16][22] but also held by Ibn Hazm, Bukhari independent Madhhab,[23] and also scholars from Jariri, and Zahiri Maddhab.[24]

Taha Jabir Alalwani, Professor and President of Cordoba University in Ashburn, Virginia also theorized this traditionalistic view of Ibn Kathir that claimed by Salafist were rooted even farther to the generation of Sahaba Salaf scholars, where Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, one of The ten to whom Paradise was promised also reportedly teach this view.[18] Contemporary researchers also noted such view of anti rationalistic, anti Ash'arite method of Ibn Kathir that he shared with his teacher, Ibn Taimiyyah were proven in his tafseer regarding the Day of Resurrection and Hypocrisy in Qur'an.[17]

Ibn Kathir states:

People have said a great deal on this topic and this is not the place to expound on what they have said. On this matter, we follow the early Muslims (salaf): Malik, Awza'i, Thawri, Layth ibn Sa'd, Shafi'i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh, and others among the Imams of the Muslims, both ancient and modern that is, to let (the verse in question) pass as it has come, without saying how it is meant (min ghayr takyif), without likening it to created things (wa la tashbih), and without nullifying it (wa la ta'til): The literal meaning (zahir) that occurs to the minds of anthropomorphists (al-mushabbihin) is negated of Allah, for nothing from His creation resembles Him: "There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing" Rather this affair is like what the Grand Shaykh of Imam Bukhari Shaykh Naeem ibn Hamaad Khazaa'i said "Whosoever likens Allah to his Creation has done Kufr (disbelieved) and whosoever negates what Allah describes Himself with has also done Kufr (Disbelieved) There is nothing with what Allah describes Himself with nor his Prophet describes Allah with from likening Allah to his Creation (tashbeeh). Whosoever affirms for Allah what has reached Us from the Truthful Ayahs (verses) and Correct Hadeeth (Prophetic narrations) on the way that is befitting the Majesty of Allah while negating from Allah all defects indeed He has traveled the way of guidance." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir 7:54)[25]

This words from Ibn Kathir were instead argued by proponent of traditionalists scholars scholars as a proof Ibn Kathir are not Ash'arites, since according to Salafist, Ibn Kathir does not use logical rationale to reject anthropomorphism, instead they claimed Ibn Kathir believed the attributes of God cannot be likened to creatures, while not rejecting the verses and hadith about God's attributes such as residence above throne and the heighteness above all creatures.[26]^{: 205–207} Furthermore, Salafist instead accusing Ash'arites claims as Formal fallacy regarding Ibn Kathir tafsir, and the claim that four madhhab schools as supporting Ash'ari and Maturidites are fabrication, which they using the proof from the words from Ahmad ibn Hanbal who rejected the views of those who allegedly deemed as proto Asharites and Maturidites, the Mutakallim, and deems them as not in Ahl as Sunnah teaching.[26]^: 43 As it was recorded by Holtzman in history when the school of Ahl al-Hadith, championed by none other than Ibn Kathir teacher, Ibn Taymiyyah, has successfully crushed the interrogation and accusation from Ash'arites rational (Kalam) argumentation during the 13th AD century.[27] while modern scholars such as Marzuq at Tarifi,[28] and Sa'id Musfir al-Qahtani even further theorized that Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿari himself, the alleged founder of Asharites, were not fond of his "Asharite followers" claim and pointed out on his book, al-ibāna, that Abu al Hasan were teaching the method similar to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn Kathir, and rejecting the Ahl al Kalam and Maturidites such as ar Razy.[29][30]

In summary, Jon Hoover outlined that Ibn Kathir stance according to scholars were orthodox traditionists and rejected the view of Mutakallims, just like the view of Salafist and their predecessor, the Ahl al-Hadith.[12]

Ibn Kathir wrote a famous commentary on the Qur'an named Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm which linked certain Hadith, or sayings of Muhammad, and sayings of the sahaba to verses of the Qur'an, in explanation and avoided the use of Isra'iliyyats. Many Sunni Muslims hold his commentary as the best after Tafsir al-Tabari and Tafsir al-Qurtubi and it is highly regarded especially among Salafi school of thought.[31] Although Ibn Kathir claimed to rely on at-Tabari, he introduced new methods and differs in content, in attempt to clear Islam from that he evaluates as Isra'iliyyat. His suspicion on Isra'iliyyat possibly derived from Ibn Taimiyya's influence, who discounted much of the exegetical tradition since then.[32][33]

His tafsir gained widespread popularity in modern times, especially among Western Muslims, probably due to his straightforward approach, but also due to lack of alternative translations of traditional tafsirs.[34]

Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm is controversial in western academic circles. Henri Laoust regards it primary as a philological work and "very elementary". Norman Calder describes it as narrow-minded, dogmatic, and skeptical against the intellectual achievements of former exegetes. His concern is limited to rate the Quran by the corpus of Hadith and is the first, who flatly rates Jewish sources as unreliable, while simultaneously using them, just as prophetic hadith, selectively to support his prefabricated opinion. Otherwise, Jane Dammen McAuliffe regards this tafsir as, deliberately and carefully selected, whose interpretation is unique to his own judgment to preserve, that he regards as best among his traditions.[35]

• Al-Jāmiʿ (الجامع) is a grand collection of Hadith texts intended for encyclopedic use. It is an alphabetical listing of the Companions of the Prophet and the sayings that each transmitted, thus reconstructing the chain of authority for each hadith.[4]