❖ Ibn Battuta’s Fabricated Account Regarding Imam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله
Authored by: Hafiz Muhammad Anwar Zahid حفظه الله
✿ The Allegation by Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta writes:
"In Damascus, Imam Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله was counted among the scholars of the Hanbali school. He was a man of great stature and possessed the ability to speak in various disciplines. However, he had some instability in his mind.
The people of Damascus held him in great reverence, and he used to deliver sermons seated on the pulpit.
Once, I went to see Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله on a Friday. He was seated in the congregational mosque, engaged in supplication, and he said:
『إن الله ينزل كنزولي هذا』
'Indeed, Allah descends as I descend.'
Then he stepped down one stair of the pulpit and said:
『ونزل درجة من درج المنبر』
'Just as I descend one step from this pulpit.'
At this, a Maliki jurist by the name of Ibn al-Zahra stood in opposition. People gathered around the Maliki and assaulted Ibn Taymiyyah with their hands and shoes until his turban fell off."
❖ Authentication of the Report:
This incident is baseless and fabricated.
- Source: Safar Nama Ibn Battuta, pp. 126–127 (Nafees Academy, Karachi edition)
- It has been rigorously refuted by Shaykh al-Albani's student Abu ʿUbaydah Mashhoor ibn Hasan Al Salman in his book Qasas La Tathbut, Vol. 1, pp. 66–67.
✿ Summary of the Criticism Against the Story
Abu ʿUbaydah listed three major reasons why this narration is false:
① Lack of Corroboration:
Stories of such magnitude attract attention. If such an event had occurred—especially in a crowded mosque—why is Ibn Battuta the only one to report it?
None of Ibn Taymiyyah’s students mention it, not even his critics and enemies narrate such a story, despite their opposition to him.
This lack of corroboration invalidates the claim.
② Contradiction with Ibn Taymiyyah’s Beliefs:
The statement falsely attributed to Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله contradicts his well-documented theological stance. He explicitly denied any resemblance between the Creator and the creation.
He said:
“To ascribe Allah’s attributes as resembling those of the creation—such as saying Allah's istiwa (rising) is like the rising of a created being, or His nuzool (descending) is like theirs—is a sign of heresy and misguidance. Both reason and revelation make it clear that Allah cannot be likened to His creation in any respect.”
— Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, Vol. 5, p. 262
— Also see: al-Tasfiyah wa al-Tarbiyah, pp. 39–41 by Shaykh ʿAli ibn Hasan al-Halabi
③ Chronological Contradiction:
Ibn Battuta entered Damascus in Ramadan 726 AH, whereas Imam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله was imprisoned in the citadel in Shaʿbān 726 AH.
This timeline proves that Ibn Battuta could not have seen him delivering sermons, as he claims.
❖ Conclusion:
The story narrated by Ibn Battuta regarding Imam Ibn Taymiyyah’s statement and subsequent assault is entirely false, historically inaccurate, and theologically unfounded. It contradicts well-known facts, established timelines, and the Imam’s own writings.
Such fabricated stories should be rejected outright and not used as evidence in any academic or religious discourse.
