Part 16

'* Tkrimah (25-105 A.H.) was famous for his commentary on the Quran and was a transmitter of hadith. [M. M. Azami, p. 66.]

ADHERENCE TO THE WORDS OF ALLAH AND HISMESSENGER = 63

he endeared to them Iman, which entails adhering to all obedient acts unless they are being opposed by the consensus of all the people. The Murji’ites do not question that Iman, which is in the heart, leads to and necessitates an act of obedience, and that obedience is one of its fruits and results. However, they do question whether Iman necessitates acts of obedience. For indeed, if it [Iman] calls for acts of obedience, there will be a mu‘arid, adversary, from the soul and from Satan. Then if this adversary made it [Iman] undesirable to the believers, the need for the actual obedience will consequently be safe from this adversary.

When believers hate all kinds of evil, nothing is left over except what is good or lawful. The latter is only made legitimate for believers in order to help them worship Allah; for He does not make lawful what enables one to disbelieve, to commit sins, or to reject belief. An illustration is the Prophet’s (pbuh) putting a curse on the one who presses wine, on the one for whom it is pressed, as well as on the one who drinks it. Although the presser squeezes grapes into juice that is lawful to drink and may be of benefit to one’s health, it is only when he intends to make the juice into wine that he helps the drinker disobey Allah. The Prophet put a curse on him because Allah neither makes it lawful to aid someone who rejects belief in his disobedience nor does He make lawful anything that helps one to reject belief. Indeed, nothing is made lawful unless it helps in doing good. And it can be inferred that not doing evil means that only good deeds are done. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “People who strive in this life are of two types. The first one includes those who sacrifice their souls to attain salvation, whereas the second type includes those who sacrifice to destroy themselves. Hence, he who is a believer loves good and hates evil; therefore, he is pleased by doing good and displeased by doing evil. However, if he does not do so, he lacks true belief.”

A believer may commit an evil act but later repent or perform good deeds to erase it; or if a misfortune befalls him, that may erase it also. However, he must feel hatred for it [evil], in order for Allah to redeem him. For Allah endears belief to believers and He makes unbelief, sin, and rebellion hateful to them. Hence, whoever does not have hatred for these three things is not among the believers. However, Muhammad Ibn Nasr [al-Marwazi] said: “ Al-fasiq, the sinner, hates them as an act of belief.” In response to this it is stated that what is intended is that he believed that his religion prohibited them and he loved his religion and these are simply from among its totality; however, if he still disliked them, even when

he liked his religion in its totality and there was no hate in his heart for them, he would be deprived from Iman in the same amount, as indicated in the Prophet’s saying: “He who among you sees an evil act should change it by his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue, and if he is not able to do that, then he should abhor it from his heart; and that is the weakest sort of belief.”

In another hadith (recorded in Sahih Muslim) the Prophet (pbuh) said: “He who struggles against them with his hand is a believer, and he who struggles against them with his tongue is a believer, and he who struggles against them with his heart is a believer, and beyond that there is no belief even to the extent of the weight of a mustard seed.”

Consequently, when one’s heart does not hate what Allah hates, then he does not have the true belief for which he can be rewarded. His saying “and beyond that there is no belief,” in the hadith above means absolute belief. That is, beyond these three kinds of struggle there is no absolute belief, even to the extent of the weight of a mustard seed. It also means that this is the end point of belief and no belief is beyond it. However, it is worthy of note that this hadith does not mean that whoever does not struggle against unbelievers with his hand, tongue, or heart, no longer has belief. Thus the words of the above hadith refer to the first meaning.

The Meanings of the Terms Unbelief, Hypocrisy and Polytheism

In this chapter the discussion is focused on the meaning of the words kufr, unbelief, and nifaq, hypocrisy. When the word “unbelief” is cited [in the Qur’an and Sunnah] by itself, with regard to the warming concerning the Hereafter, it implies hypocrisy, as indicated in the following verses of the Qur’an. Allah says: “... If anyone rejects belief, fruitless is his work, and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of the losers” (5:5); and “. .. Anyone who disbelieves in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgement, has gone far, far astray” (4: 136); and “None shall burn therein but those most unfortunate ones who give the lie to truth and turn their backs” (92:15~16); and “. .. Every time a group is cast therein, its keepers will ask: ‘Did no warner come to you?’ They will say: “Yes, indeed, someone did come to warn us, but we rejected him and said: Allah never sent down anything [of revelation]; you are in great error’” (67:8-9); and “The unbelievers will be led to Hell in a crowd: Until they arrive there, its gates will be opened and its Keepers will say: ‘Did Messengers not come to you from among yourselves, rehearsing to you the Signs of your Lord, and warning you of the meeting of this day of yours?’ Their answer will be: ‘Yes, but the word of Punishment for the unbelievers is fulfilled!’ It will be said to them: ‘Enter the gates of Hell, to dwell therein: And evil is [this] abode of the arrogant!”” (39:71-72); and “And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah or rejects the truth when it reaches him? Is there not a home in Hell for the unbelievers?” (29:68); and “But whosoever turns away from My Message, indeed for him life is narrowed down, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment. He will say: ‘Oh my Lord! Why have You raised me up blind, while I had sight [before]?’ [Allah] will say: ‘Thus did you, when Our Signs came unto you, and you disregarded them: so will you, this day, be disregarded. And thus do

We recompense him who transgresses beyond bounds and does not believe in the Signs of his Lord: and the penalty of the Hereafter is far more grievous and more enduring” (20:124~27); and “Those who reject [truth] among the people of the Book and among the polytheists will be in Hellfire, to dwell therein [forever]. They are the worst of creatures” (98:6). There are many other verses in the Qur’an in which unbelief is cited by itself.

In the Qur’anic verses mentioned above, the word “unbelief” implies both hypocrisy, wherein a hypocrite [inwardly] rejects belief and [outwardly] pretends to behave as a Muslim; and unbelief, wherein an unbeliever rejects belief, openly and explicitly. In His Book, Allah mentions that in the Hereafter, hypocrites will be consigned to the lowest level of Hellfire. In some verses of the Qur’an, the word “unbelief” is associated with the word “hypocrisy.” For example, in the first section of Strat al-Baqarah, the Chapter of the Cow, Allah describes the traits of the believers in four verses, of the unbelievers in two verses, and of hypocrites in ten verses. Allah says: “. . . For Allah will collect the hypocrites and the unbelievers, all in Hell” (4:140); and “On the day when the hypocrites, men and women, will say to the believers: ‘Wait for us! Let us borrow [a light] from your Light!” It will be said: ‘Turn back to your rear! Then seek a light [where you can]!' So a wall will be put up between them, with a gate therein. Inside it will be mercy, and outside will be torment. [The hypocrites] will call the believers: ‘Were we not with you?’ The believers will reply: ‘Yes! but you led yourself into temptations; you doubted [in belief]; and you were deceived by false desires, until the Command of Allah came to pass. And the chief deceiver [Satan] deceived you with respect to Allah. This day no ransom shall be accepted of you, nor of those who disbelieved Allah. Your abode is the Fire: that is the proper place to claim you: and an evil refuge it is!” (57:13-15);! and “Oh, Prophet! Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh against them . . .” (9:73); and “Do you not see what the hypocrites say to their unbelieving brethren . . .” (59:11).

The meaning of the word al-mushrikiin, the polytheists, may be associated only with the People of the Book, or may be associated with the five communities, as

' The author did not cite the complete text of these three verses. He started with half of the first verse, said it was to be continued, and then cited the last verse. The translators felt that it is more convenient for the reader to give the full text of all three verses.

THE MEANINGS OF THE TERMS UNBELIEF 67

indicated in the saying of Allah, the Exalted: “Those who believe [in the Qur’an], those who follow the Jewish [scriptures], and the Sabians, Christians, Magians, and Polytheists, Allah will judge between them on the Day of Judgement: For Allah is witness of all things” (22:17). The word, polytheists, may also be associated with the People of the Book, as indicated in the following verses of the Qur’an. Allah says: “Those who disbelieve among the People of the Book and among the polytheists, were not going to depart [from their ways] until there should come to them Clear Evidence” (98:1); and “Indeed, those who disbelieve among the People of the Book and among the polytheists, will be in Hellfire, to dwell therein [forever]. They are the worst of creatures” (98:6); and“... And say [Oh, Muhammad] to the people of the Book and to those who are illiterate: ‘Do you [also] submit yourselves?’ If they do, they are in right guidance, but if they turn back, then your duty is to convey the Message . . .” (3:20); There are only the People of the Book and al-ummiyyiin, the illiterate people, who are to be found after the mission of the Prophet (pbuh). Every community not given a Book is illiterate; like the illiterate Arabs, Khazar’, Slavs, Indians, al-Sidan, the Black Africans, and other communities who do not have a Book. All these are illiterate, and the Messenger was sent to them as well as he was sent to the illiterate among the Arabs.