The Shaykh al-Islam’s commentary on the fatwa regarding al-Shafi'i’s ruling on the people of Kalam.

The Shaykh : When the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned what al-Shafi'i said about the people of Kalam, al-Shafi'i said about the people of Kalam: "My ruling regarding the people of Kalam is that they should be paraded through the tribes and beaten with palm branches, beaten with palm branches and paraded through the tribes, and it should be said: This is the recompense for one who abandoned the Book and the Sunnah and turned to Kalam." When the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted this statement from al-Shafi'i in the Hama Fatwa, he said: "They are deserving of what al-Shafi'i said in one respect, but whoever looks at them with the eye of divine decree feels compassion for them and has mercy on them." Meaning, how were these people deprived of the truth until they strayed in this manner of misguidance? They are who they are in terms of intelligence and knowledge, so one feels compassion for them, but with the eye of the Shari'ah, one does not have mercy on them. For this reason, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said regarding the male and female fornicators: What is it? As for the divine decree, you may have mercy on them, feel compassion for them, and grieve for them.
He said: "Then, if they [repent], otherwise they are treated with what they deserve due to their bad intention and their opposition."