The Shaykh was asked: “Imām Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī recanted from his doctrine of making taʾwīl of some of the attributes while affirming others, save that, and until now, we read that he did not recant, so what is the reason for this?”
The Shaykh (رحمه الله) answered:
It is correct that he recanted and the book “al-Ibānah” and the book “Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn” indicate that he recanted. There only remained some mistakes which occurred because he had little to offer in [the speciality of] the science of ḥadīth as Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said.
However, the Ashʿarites are extremely hardy [in their innovation], they revile “al-Ibānah” as they revile “Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn”, even though they are affirmed [as his authorships] in the books of al-Bayḥaqī and other than al-Bayḥaqī with chains of narration to Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (رحمه الله).
Comment:
Unable to deny his authorship of these books, the Ashʿarites thereafter claim that these books have been tampered with by the “Evil Mujassimah”, this being another attempt at bending over backwards to deny the realities.
For more information refer to Asharis.Com where these claims about these books are addressed in greater detail.