The Status of Imam Ibn Hajar and What Is Taken Against Him

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, he says: There has been a lot of talk about Imam Ibn Hajar from some of the young people. Is he opposed to the people of the Sunnah? And if so, which of the sects does he belong to?

Answer:
With no might or power except in Allah. It has become as if the pebbles are criticizing the constellation, and criticizing the sun and the moon, as al-Ma'izi said: "The pebbles criticize the sun and the moon." This is like the great ones; they speak about the great ones. Ibn Hajar is a distinguished imam from the imams of the Muslims, and he is the commander of the believers in hadith. His status is noble and honored among the people of knowledge. It is not permissible to attack him because he mentioned figurative interpretations (ta'wil) in Fath al-Bari, which he transmitted from others. The general rule is that he is a transmitter; he answers the words of the commentator because he collected all the commentaries on al-Bukhari, especially. And the commentaries on al-Bukhari contain figurative interpretations (ta'wil) that he answers, but what is taken against him is that he did not comment on them, and he did not say that this is the opinion of the scholars. But we take it against him that he did not comment on them, may Allah have mercy on him. In any case, it is sufficient for a person to be noble if he is counted among a noble family.