Did Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim attribute to Allah صفات (attributes) to which no one before them had subscribed, such as Ibn al-Qayyim’s attribution of the attribute of circumambulating (طواف) the earth to Allah, and Ibn Taymiyyah’s interpretation of al-Istiwa’ (Allah’s ascending above the Throne) as qū‘ūd (sitting) and julūss (being seated)?

The two Imams, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, are among the Imams of guidance, adhering to the Qur’an and Sunnah. Scholars have praised them and acquitted them of accusations of anthropomorphism (tajseem) and assimilation (tashbeeh). As for Ibn Taymiyyah’s affirmation of the attributes of “sitting” (julūs) and “being seated” (quʿūd) for Allah Almighty, he did not assert this definitively. Rather, he explained that what was reported in narrations concerning this is to be understood as a sitting not like the sitting of creatures, and that the well-known interpretation of istiwa’ (Allah’s ascending) is highness and elevation. As for Ibn al-Qayyim’s affirmation of the attribute of tawaf (circumambulation) for Allah Almighty on Earth, it was based on his reliance on a hadith that he deemed authentic, despite some scholars weakening it. The content of this hadith does not deviate from what has been established in the Qur’an and Sunnah regarding the attributes of coming, descending, and drawing near.