Ibn Karram

Name His name was Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Karram ibn 'Arraf (or 'Iraq) ibn Khuraya (or Khizana or Hizaba) ibn al-Bara' al-Sijistani al-Nisapuri.

Biography He was born in Zaranj in Sijistan, in around 190/806. He traveled to Khurasan and studied with Ahmad b. Harb, Ibrahim b. Yusuf, 'Ali b. Hujr in Marw, and 'Abd Allah b. Malik in Herat. Then he moved to Mecca and stayed there five years. Then he returned back to his home country Sijistan, and went to Nisapur and studied with Ahmed Bin Harb before the local governor Tahir b. 'Abd Allah (230–48/844–62) expelled him, because his teachings caused unrest and strife within society. Then he went to the Levant and returned to Nisapur to preach to the masses. His preaching attracted large crowds. In his speeches, he was opposed and attacked both Sunni and Shi'a theology. For this reason, the Tahirid governor Muhammad b. Tahir b. 'Abd Allah jailed him for eight years. After his release from the jail in 251/865, he traveled to Jerusalem.

Ibn Kathir in al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya (The Beginning and the End) and Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Maqdisi (c. 945–991) in Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim (The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions), both of them confirmed that Ibn Karram preached his controversial views while sitting near the "column of the cradle of Jesus, where many people used to meet him." Due to his views about iman (belief), his books were burned and he was expelled from Jerusalem by the governor to Ramla. 'Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi gave an exhaustive description of their doctrines in al-Farq bayn al-Firaq.

In his book, which is entitled 'Azab al-Qabr (The Punishment of the Grave), he described God as He is high above, localized on the Throne, and that God touches His Throne and that the Throne is a place for Him, and that He is sitting on it. He wrote also that God is a Unit of essence and a Unit of substance, had a body with flesh, blood, and limbs, and had direction and so could move from one point to another. He affirmed the beatific vision (seeing God in the hereafter) without securing the doctrine against its potential spatial implications.

Scholarly views on him Although he claimed to be a follower of Abu Hanifa, his theological views were criticized by the Hanafis, such as Abu Bakr al-Samarqandi (d. 268/881–2), al-Hakim al-Samarqandi (d. 342/953), Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi (d. 482/1089), Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi (d. 508/1114), and al-Saffar al-Bukhari (d. 534/1139).

He was accused of being a fabricator of Hadith by several scholars, including Ibn Hibban (d. 354/ 965), al-Dhahabi (d. 748/1348), Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373), and Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani (d. 852/1449), all of them confirmed that the reporting of Ibn Karram is unreliable, because he is a fabricator.

Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) in his book Sharh al-'Aqida al-Asfahaniyya defended him, as he stated in his own words:

Death He died in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) in Safar in the year 255 AH/869 CE, and was buried at Bab Ariha (Gate of Jericho).