of being a story teller, and the historian Ibn Asakir (d. 571 H) was the first to be explicit about this. Tafsir Aside from theology and Hadith, Muslim scholars however were at times positive about his contributions to Tafsir (exegesis of the Qur'an). Ibn Hajar (d. 852 H) for instance, who repudiates him as a liar and anthropomorphist, nevertheless brings positive comments on his Tafsir and other scholars were known to do this. Early exegete Al-Tabari (d. 310 H) even quoted his view on the mysterious letters in the Qur'an as numerical counts, but was reluctant to name Muqatil as his source, stating he was among those whose views were not to be trusted. This could suggest that Muqatil's reputation had become so tainted, that few were willing to be associated with him by al-Tabari's time. Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) however rejects the theological criticisms of Muqatil, arguing that those who criticised him, took their material from his enemies, specifically Al-Ash'ari was to blame for taking Maqalat from the works of the Mutazila. He also rejected the accusation of anthropomorphism for Muqatil, saying he could not find any traces of anything he would consider anthropomorphic in Muqatil's works, and therefore he could not be an anthropomorphist. He quotes al-Shafi'i saying, "Whoever desires tafsir, he is dependent on Muqatil, Whosoever wants fiqh he is dependent on Abu Hanifa". Dr. Abdulkader al-Housien a Syrian tafsir scholar said that his teacher Dr. Nureddin 'Itr the famous Hadith scholar said it’s falsely attributed to imam Shafii. Ibn Taymiyyah uses his citation to argue that whilst Muqatil was not from the people who transmitted Hadith, Muqatil should be considered to have breadth of knowledge, including in Tafsir and other areas, making an analogy with Abu Hanifa and his authority in fiqh, despite, according to Ibn Taymiyyah, people disagreeing with some of his other views. Ibn Abi al-Izz (d. 731), a follower of Ibn Taymiyyah, argued that al-Ash'ari's material originated from the Mu'tazila and/or must have been tampered with. Contemporary Saudi scholar Abdullah al-Ghunayman, author of the commentary on Ibn Taymiyyah's Al-Aqidah Al-Waasitiyyah, argues that he could not find anything he would consider anthropomorphic from Muqatil, arguing that to be reliable, ones views must be taken from one's own works, and not from the works of an opponent. Al-Ghunayman says "Mushabbih" has become a catch word to accuse one's opponents because of their different views.