Harun ibn Ma'ruf also narrated to me, saying: Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us, from Layth, from Mujahid, regarding the statement of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, {It may be that your Lord will raise you to a Praiseworthy Station} [Al-Isra': 79], he said: "He will seat him upon the Throne." It reached me that a wretched ignoramus denied this. I looked into his denial: if he intended to challenge Mujahid, then he is challenging Ibn 'Abbas; if he intended to challenge Ibn 'Abbas, then he is rejecting the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; and if he is rejecting the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then he has disbelieved in Allah. I ask Allah by every name that belongs to Him, for anyone who denies a right of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or rejects any excellence of his, or is enraged by any of his merits, that He not grant him his intercession, that He not gather him among his group, and that He veil Himself from him, as He promised the Jahmiyyah in His Book that He would veil Himself from them. For He said: {No! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be partitioned. Then indeed, they will [enter and] burn in Hellfire. Then it will be said, "This is what you used to deny."} [Al-Mutaffifin: 15-17]. He promised the believers a seat of truth near Him, and looking upon His Face with radiance on their faces when they gaze at His Face, and joy in their hearts when they worship Him out of love for Him, and longing for the seat near Him and to be in His company in the Abode of Permanence. It is most strange that the Christians mock us, claiming that we attribute all the virtues to 'Isa, peace be upon him, which resemble Divinity—that he used to revive the dead and heal the blind and the leper—and these only belong to Him alone. We acknowledged that for 'Isa through our contentment and belief in the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, yet this wretched person denied an excellence for the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while we pride ourselves over all nations that our Prophet is the most excellent of all Prophets. As for the statement of the Muslims that the Praiseworthy Station is intercession, we do not reject that and participate in his ignorance; rather, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, spoke the truth, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will grant him intercession at a time when He permits him to intercede, and He will honor him with the honor he desires, until He makes His allies and Prophets aware of his honor and merit. The heart of this wretched person was too narrow to carry the meanings of knowledge; thus, he does not perceive the meanings of the Book through good intention and following [the guidance]. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says: {This is a Day they will not speak} [Al-Mursalat: 35]. This is the hour when Hell bellows, so minds are stunned to the point that the Messengers say, out of the intensity of the struggle, when it bellows, they turn away, fleeing. So Allah, Blessed and Exalted, will say: {What were you answered? They will say, "We have no knowledge"} [Al-Ma'idah: 109]. Then there will come upon them an hour when they will bear witness with sound minds. Do you not hear His saying: {And the Day when the witnesses will stand} [Ghafir: 51], and His saying: {Then indeed, you, on the Day of Resurrection, in the presence of your Lord, will dispute} [Al-Zumar: 31]? Thus, there is a time for sitting and a time for intercession, unless this ignorant person claims that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is not able to seat him upon the Throne, or says that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, does not deserve that from Allah. How could that be, when Allah swears by his life, saying: {By your life, indeed they were, in their intoxication, wandering blindly} [Al-Hijr: 72], meaning: by your life, and it is said: by your existence. How is this, when He left Ya'qub in his sorrow for eighty years without asking him about his sorrow, saying: {And his eyes became white from grief, for he was filled with repressed anger} [Yusuf: 84], yet when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, grieved for those who disbelieved in him, He revealed to him: {And do not grieve over them} [Al-Hijr: 88], and said: {We know indeed, that it grieves you, what they say. But indeed, they do not treat you as a liar, but it is the verses of Allah that the wrongdoers reject} [Al-An'am: 33], meaning: I am the one being belied, not you. It reached such a point in his status before Allah, Mighty and Majestic, that when he entered with Umm Salamah or Zaynab, he sent for the weak among his companions, and he prepared a feast for them, and they sat for conversation. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, knew that he desired privacy with his family, but modesty prevented him from asking them to leave, so Allah, Blessed and Exalted, revealed: {When you are invited, then enter. And when you have eaten, disperse without seeking to remain for conversation. Indeed, that was troubling the Prophet, and he is shy of you} [Al-Ahzab: 53]. He admonished his wives on his behalf when they asked him for the world, and Allah said: {O Prophet, say to your wives, if you should desire the worldly life and its adornment, then come, I will provide for you and give you a gracious release} [Al-Ahzab: 28]. His status reached the point that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, would speak on his behalf when the Muslims asked him about their religion, and when the polytheists harmed him with their words. Do you not hear His saying, Mighty and Majestic: {And they ask you about menstruation} [Al-Baqarah: 222], {They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the bounties} [Al-Anfal: 1], {And they ask you about orphans} [Al-Baqarah: 220], they ask you about such-and-such, they seek your fatwa on such-and-such, {And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about the soul} [Al-Isra': 85], and {They ask you about the Hour} [Al-A'raf: 187]. In all of these, He takes charge of the answer on his behalf. So, by Allah, my brothers, if the word of an ignorant person were rejected in his mouth, its rejecter would be successful, just as its speaker would be miserable. I ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for whoever rejects the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or denies him a right, or disputes an excellence of his, or is enraged by any of his merits or the merits of his companions, that He not grant him his intercession, and not gather him among his group. I do not claim, God willing, to mention what Allah has favored us with regarding the virtues of our Prophet, and we praise Allah for His saying: {Your companion has not strayed, nor has he erred, nor does he speak from [his own] inclination} [Al-Najm: 2-3]. Praise belongs to our Lord for what He has deposited in our hearts of love for following [the guidance], and praise be to Him for not humiliating us with innovation. Peace. Muhammad ibn Yunus al-Basri said: This man known as al-Tirmidhi has had his innovation and apostasy in the religion become clear to us and to our companions, as well as his rejection of the traditions (athar) that are used as arguments against the Jahmiyyah, and his attack on the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. For whoever rejects these hadiths has belittled the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as well as his attack on Mujahid, who is among the most senior of the Tabi'in. He kept company with a group of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and memorized from them. We have never heard any of our senior shaykhs from the People of the Sunnah mention these hadiths except by accepting them; they use them as arguments against the Jahmiyyah, suppress them with them, and declare them disbelievers. No one rejects them except a denier (mu'attil), a Jahmi. Whoever rejects these hadiths or attacks them should not be spoken to, and if he dies, the funeral prayer should not be performed for him. It has been confirmed to us that this al-Tirmidhi spoke against these hadiths that the People of the Sunnah use as evidence. This is a man whose matter has been made clear, so adhere to the Sunnah and following, and the school of Abu 'Abdullah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal, may Allah be pleased with him, for he is the Imam to be followed. Ibn 'Awn narrated from Muhammad, who said: "You will remain upon the path as long as you continue to seek."