Ibn Taymiyyah Carried the Torch of Traditional Islam

"The subsequent triumphs of Traditionalism took place long before the time of Ibn Taimiya. Indeed the career of Ibn Taimiya can hardly be fully appreciated without a knowledge of the career of Traditionalism prior to his day. Between Ahmad b. Hanbal and Ibn Taimiya there is a span of time covering almost five centuries, a period in which took place some of the most important developments in Islam. Ibn Taimiya was not reviving Traditionalist principles which had lain dormant throughout this long period; he was carrying on and further developing a tradition which had gathered tremendous momentum and had scored several significant victories.

Of all periods in the development of Traditionalism, this period is perhaps the most outstanding and the most decisive. The fourth/tenth century was dominated by the activity of Traditionalist doctors such as al-Barbahari and Ibn Batta, a Traditionalist activity which led to the Traditionalist-inspired epistle of the caliph al-Qadir at the beginning of the fifth/eleventh century."

- George Makdisi, Remarks on Traditionalism in Islamic Religious History, p. 80

Further Reading: The Hanbali School's Aqeedah on Allah's Attributes