Question:
I heard that ad-Dhahabi made anti-Sufi/anti-Ashari remarks that were refuted by as-Suyuti. I know he was highly influenced by Ibn Taymiyya in his youth. I wanted to know if he held these views whilst he under that influence or if he held them afterwards?
Answer:
The premise of your question is the actual question you must first ask, which is did he ever completely emerge from that nefarious Taymiyyan influence. The answer is he never completely emerged from it. He was always of a divided opinion, defending Sufis and their positions on the one hand, as he occasionally did in his Mu`jam al-Shuyukh and his Muqiza in mustalah al-Hadith, and attacking them on the other.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
