Part 3

According to Ibn Taymiyyah, the discord among the Muslims, originated when the Kharijites seceded from the other sects. This was the beginning of dissension among the various Muslim sects—a dispute that included the Mu‘tazilites, Murji?ites, Jahmites (Jahmiyyah), Ash‘arites, Shi‘ites (Shi‘ah), and various Sufi groups.

"The word Ihsan is better translated as perfection {in religion] rather than beneficence or righteousness, as it usually is. See Izutsu, pp. 58-62.

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Of further concern to Ibn Taymiyyah were the political tensions and uncertainties of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. When Ibn Taymiyyah’s birthplace, Harran, was threatened by the Mongols, his family moved to Damascus. He was directly involved in defending the city and its people. Both the theological and political problems were of immediate concern to a man of Ibn Taymiyyah’s status. As noted above, in Egypt and Syria Ibn Taymiyyah challenged both the religious scholars of the various schools and sects as well as the ruling authorities. He was convinced that the weakness and division in the Muslim community were the result of a failure to observe Islam as it had been practiced by the Companions and al-salaf al-salih, the pious ancestors.

Furthermore, Ibn Taymiyyah’s objective in writing Kitab al-Iman was to connect the believer directly with the benefit obtained from the words of Allah and His Messenger. Thus he was interested in restoring true Islam to the people. And although he did not want to write about the controversies among the people of his time, he admitted that he could not avoid doing so. The best way to resolve these disputes, he felt, was through the correct understanding of the words of Allah and His Messenger. Consequently, every issue Ibn Taymiyyah discussed was always supported by quotes from the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh).

MAJOR CONCEPTS AND THEMES OF KITAB AL-IMAN

A detailed account of all the concepts in Kitab al-Iman would constitute a book by itself. Here it is only possible to highlight its most significant issues. The central theme is the concept of Iman. One clear characteristic of the writings of Ibn Taymiyyah is his repetitious style. This is probably due to his desire to make sure that the points under discussion were fully understood. In reading Kitab al- /man, for example, one gets the impression that he did not just sit down and write it, but rather that it is a collection of lectures and lessons once delivered to his students and then organized in the form of a book.

The Concepts of Iman, Islam, and Ihsan

Ibn Taymiyyah believed that Islam and Iman constitute the Islamic religion as a whole and that all disputes concerning the religion should be resolved primarily on the basis of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The

disputes started with the Kharijites (Khawarij)'* and were later intensified with the emergence of other Islamic sects, such as the Mu‘tazilites, Ash‘arites, and Murji’ites. Also, the theological differences that existed between orthodox Islam (ie., the four major schools) and the Shi‘ites contributed to a growing division among Muslims.

In addition to the concepts of Iman and Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah introduced the concept of Ihsan, perfection (in religion). Of the three concepts he judged Ihsan to be the highest, followed by Iman and then Islam. In his discussion he did not dwell much on the concept of Ihsan; the main focus of his book is on the concepts of Iman and Islam. He said that every Muhsin, man of Ihsan, is a Mu’min, believer, and every believer is a Muslim, but the converse of both statements is not necessarily true. Ibn Taymiyyah’s discussion concerning the difference between Iman and Islam is essentially based on the Angel Gabriel’s hadith and the Qur’anic verse about al-A ‘rab, the desert Arabs. Allah says: “Al-A ‘rab say: ‘We believe.’ Say: ‘You have not yet believed; but only say: We have submitted [to Islam] . . .”” (49:14). Numerous other Quranic verses and hadiths were also utilized by Ibn Taymiyyah in his discussion on Iman and Islam.

Iman Is Both Saying and Work

Ibn Taymiyyah took issue with other Islamic sects on what constitutes Iman. He affirmed that Iman, is both qawl, saying, or utterance, and ‘amal, work, or deed." He devoted almost two entire chapters to this issue as well as references to it throughout the book. Among the adversaries with which he took issue were the Murji?ite and the Jahmite sects.” The Murji?ites believed that ‘amal, was not

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considered a necessary aspect of Iman. They stated: “Iman is tasdiq, assent, in the heart and a saying of the tongue but does not include works.””! They further asserted that Iman is mere tasdiq, assent, and ‘ilm, knowledge, without work. Therefore if someone is judged to be an unbeliever who will abide in Hell for eternity, it is because he lacked knowledge and assent in his heart. According to the Jahmites, a person can commit all sorts of blasphemous acts and still be called a believer as long as he has Iman in his heart. Jahm Ibn Safwan considered such behavior as mere acts of unbelief that did not nullify Iman in one’s heart. On this issue Ibn Taymiyyah was in complete disagreement with the Murji’ites, Jahmites, and any other Islamic sects that agreed with them.

The Karramites views of Iman focused on qawl, saying, whereas the Jahmites and Murji’ites emphasized knowledge. Both of these groups, however, did not consider ‘amal, work, as an essential part of Iman. Ibn Taymiyyah argued strongly against the view of the Murji”ites, who affirmed that Iman is mere tasdiq, assent. He said that was one of the gravest errors they ever committed. The concept of Iman is even more comprehensive and universal than most Islamic sects were willing to consider or imagine. It includes work, saying, and intent, followed by the Sunnah.

The Increase and Decrease of Iman

The issue of whether Iman can be increased or diminished was discussed by Ibn Taymiyyah, and, as in his customary method, he cited Qur’anic verses and a number of hadiths that supported his discussion. In this regard the Murji’ites questioned how this issue applied to ‘amal, work. This is an important issue because Ibn Taymiyyah considered work to be an essential constituent of Iman. He judged the Murji’ites’ view of Iman as mere tasdiq, assent, and ‘ilm, knowledge, without any reference to work, to be one of their gravest errors. Another error, according to Ibn Taymiyyah, is that the Murji’ites judged someone to be an unbeliever who abides in Hell forever if he lacks assent and knowledge in his heart. The Murji’ites also believed that Iman, which lies in the heart,

* In regard to this sect, W. Madelung states: “The identification of faith with true belief to the exclusion of acts, which later became the essential trait of irdja’, was clearly implied, though not the central theme, in the earliest Murji’ite’s teachings.” E/ 2, vol. 7, pp. 605-7; also referred to in Abu Zahrah, pp. 175-78, and in Izutsu, pp. 159-79.

became complete with the revelation, and that no one’s Iman is greater than anyone else’s.

Furthermore, Ibn Taymiyyah, taking a stronger position, challenged the Kharijites’ claim that if the Iman of someone diminishes, that person should be charged with unbelief. This contradicts the position of the Orthodox Muslims. In this regard, the Prophet (pbuh) said: “He (Allah) will remove from Hell whoever has an atom’s weight of Iman.” Another Islamic sect, the Mu‘tazilites, were also challenged by Ibn Taymiyyah concerning their position with regard to Iman. They were considered in a manzilah bayna al-manzilatayn, in-between state (i.e., they were neither believers nor unbelievers). Ibn Taymiyyah emphatically opposed their view.

This raises the question of tafadul, variation in degrees, with regard to Iman. In discussing Ibn Taymiyyah’s thesis of increasing and decreasing Iman and its varying degrees, Izutsu said: “The pivotal point of this theory is the inclusion of ‘work’ in the concept of Jman. The thesis that Jman allows many degrees and individual differences is but a natural consequence of this understanding of

Literal and Figurative Meanings

Ibn Taymiyyah devoted a sizeable chapter to issues of language and linguistics, with the main focus on the dichotomy between the concepts of haqiqah and majaz, literal and figurative. These two terms, throughout their history, are almost always treated jointly. In the opinion of Ibn Taymiyyah, this division, which is a terminological istilah, convention, was not alluded to by the Companions of the Prophet, their Successors, or any of the well-attested religious scholars. He further emphasized that the division between haqiqah and majaz was not even mentioned by the early Arab philologists and grammarians. The division between these two terms did not become an issue until after the third century of the Hijrah, when it was adapted and debated by some Islamic sects. Ibn Taymiyyah said that the most prominent among these sects were the Mu‘tazilites.

” Tzutsu, p. 185. In addition to the discussion of increase and decrease of Iman in Kitab al-Iman, see Izutsu’s analysis where he brings in the different points of view expressed by other scholars, such as Ibn Hazm and Taftazani.

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The important issue regarding the dichotomy between haqiqah and majaz was discussed by Wolfhart Heinrichs in an article entitled “On the Genesis of the Haqiqa-Majaz Dichotomy.” Heinrichs specifically traced the history of majaz to the early Islamic period. He asserts that this term is not confined to the Qur’an and the hadith but is also found in the poetry and speech of the Arabs. He discusses this term as it was treated by the various religious scholars, notably Abu “Ubaydah in his book Majaz al-Qur?an.**

In addition to chapter eight of Kitab al-Jman, which Ibn Taymiyyah devoted to the dichotomy of the terms haqigah and majaz, he also wrote a treatise on the same theme.”*