Salamu alaykum. My question is about naming a group of people Taymiyyun, because they love Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. Is this allowed? Is it true that Imam Ibn Hajer Asqalani in Inba Al-Ghamr, named followers of Shaykhul Islam, as Taymiyyun?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we say that loving the scholars is something good as long as this love is moderate and does not lead to fanaticism and other evil matters.

The name Taymiyyan – as a relation to Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah – is permissible and there is nothing wrong with it, if this is just for being recognized (as such), and it does not entail any dispraised fanaticism, alliance or enmity based on it, or similar evil matters.

Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: “The names to which a person may be affiliated to and for which he may have a sound reason to do so are like people being named after an Imaam whom they follow, like Hanafi, Maaliki, Shaafi‘i and Hanbali, or to a Shaykh like Qaadiri and ‘Adawi and the like; or associating oneself to tribes like Al-Qaysi, Al-Yamani, or to regions (countries) like Ash-Shaami, Al-Iraaqi and Al-Masri (Egyptian). Therefore, it is not permissible for anyone to test the people to this effect or make alliances based on these names and make enemies to others who are not affiliated with such names; rather, the most noble among the people in the Sight of Allaah are the most righteous among them, regardless of which denomination one belongs to.” [End of quote]

After searching in the book Inbaa’ al-Ghamr bi-Anbaa’ al-‘Umr written by Ibn Hajar, we have not come across any mention that the followers of Ibn Taymiyyah were called Taymiyyans, even though the book stated many scholars who devotedly loved Ibn Taymiyyah .

Allaah Knows best.