Assalam o 'alaykum, Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah was harsh against Imam Tahawai in his Minhaj al-Sunnah over a grading of a certain hadith. At this 'Allamah Zafar Ahmad 'Uthmani mentioned that the status of Imam Tahawi is thousand times greater than Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah in hadith; Ibn Taymiyyah can't even reach the dust Imam Tahawi's feet. This was used by the Salafis to criticize 'ulama of Deoband. Shaykh 'Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah came to the defense and mentioned that this statement doesn't denote any insult to Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah. This is actually from the special statements of 'ulama Deoband when they want to differentiate between a great and a greater personality. Shaykh Abd al-Fattah also wrote to 'Allamah 'Uthmani from jail for further clarification. 'Allamah 'Uthmani replied that I have repented from such a statement and I have told the publishers to remove this statement. 'Allamah Zafar refers to Ibn Taymiyyah as 'Shaykh al-Islam' and says he is from amongst the imams of Islam. May Allah enter him and us into Paradise.