is originated (muhdath), and that which is originated is in need of the Creator, while the Creator, glorified be He, is the First and the Last. [End of quote].

Sheikh Ibn Sahman (may Allah have mercy on him) rebutted him in al-Tanbih (p. 40 onwards).

Al-Saffarini is among the Hanbalis who were tested by taking from the Ash'aris and other people of theological rhetoric (ahl al-kalam). His case is like that of many later scholars (muta'akhkhirun) who did not derive the Sunnah from the pure spring of the righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-salih) and those who followed them.

17. Among them is Muhammad Hamid al-Fiqi—the founder of the Ansar al-Sunnah Association in Egypt and Sudan—in the footnotes of his critical edition of Tabaqat al-Hanabilah.

I say: If this is the state of those known for championing the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah, then what of those known for figurative interpretation (ta'wil)?!

18. Among them is Shu’ayb al-Arna’ut in the Introduction to the Arrangement of Sahih Ibn Hibban (1/23-24). There are many others whose mention would be too lengthy.

Praise be to Allah for Islam and the Sunnah.