Part 37

" The editor of MI.2 supplied this footnote from information in the margin of the Indian version of Kitab al-Iman.The Karramite sect was named after its leader, Abu ‘Abd Allah, Muhammad Ibn Karram alNisabiiri. His father kept a karm (karmah), vineyard, and therefore he was given the name Karram, vinedresser. This Abu ‘Abd Allah was originally an inhabitant of the city of Nisabar, from which he was later expelled. He then moved to Jerusalem, where he resided until his death in 244 A.H. (These facts were heard by ‘Ali Ibn Hajar, Ahmad Ibn Harb and others, and transmitted on the authority of Ibrahim Ibn Muhammad Ibn Sufayyan, Ibrahim Ibn al-Haijjaj, and others. In addition, Ibn Habban said: He suffered setbacks until he picked up the very worst of the doctrines and the traditions with the weakest attestation.)

THE ASH‘ARITES’ AND OTHER SECTS’ OPINIONS 153

view of the Karramites on Iman was invalid and heretical and had never been adopted by anyone before them, the view of the Jahmites was even more groundless, since the Karramites relied more than the Jahmites on evidence from the Arabic language, the Qur’an, and reason.

One point on which the Karramites, the Murji’ites, and the Jahmites agreed was that all peoples’ belief is to be considered equal, and no exceptions are to be made among them. Whoever displayed belief outwardly is described by them as being truly a believer. But if the individual is a hypocrite, he will abide eternally in Hell, since only those who believe both outwardly and inwardly shall enter Paradise. Thus, whoever claims that the Karramites said that the hypocrite enters Paradise has misrepresented their views. What they said is that the hypocrite is a believer, but that belief is nothing but an outward expression. Others refer to the hypocrite as a Muslim, saying that Islam is nothing but outward submission. As for the claims of the Jahmites they were, without a doubt, even more baseless than those of the Karramites, whether in relation to Islamic law, linguistics, or reason.

Someone might say: The views of the Karramites fell beyond the pale of the doctrines agreed upon unanimously by the pious ancestors. To this one might reply: The view of Jahm on belief was in conflict with what was unanimously agreed upon by virtually all Muslims who came before him. In fact, the pious ancestors declared anyone who adopted Jahm’s teachings to be an unbeliever with regard to belief. Sound arguments have been presented in refutation of the views of the Karramites; however, arguments of this sort against the views of the Jahmites are even more numerous. Allah says, for example: “And from among the people, there are some [hypocrites] who say: ‘We believe in Allah and the Last Day,’ while in fact they believe not” (2:8). Hence, Allah has denied that hypocrites may be said to have belief.

We are in agreement with this; the hypocrite is certainly not a believer, and whoever describes him thus is in error. The same applies to anyone in whose heart there resides knowledge and assent yet who at the same time displays ingratitude and enmity toward the Messenger. Such were the Jews and others, whom Allah declares to be unbelievers and never once referred to them as believers. Unlike the hypocrites, the above-mentioned groups were not included in any outward, worldly judgements pertaining to believers. However, Allah excludes from belief those who believe, with their tongues and their hearts but do not perform works.

Allah says: “The desert Arabs say, ‘We believe.’ Say: “You have no faith; but you [only] say, We have submitted our wills to Allah . . .’” (49:14). He also says: “Only those are believers who believe in Allah and His Messenger, and have never since doubted, but have striven with their belongings and their lives in the Cause of Allah: Such are the sincere ones” (49:15). Hence, He confines Iman only to those who have believed in Allah and His Messenger. Allah says: “They say, ‘We believe in Allah and in the Messenger, and we obey,’ but even after that, some of them turn away: they are not [really] believers.” (24:47). The term tawali, turning away, means turning away from obedience, as Allah says: “. . . You shall be summoned [to fight] against a people given to vehement war: Then shall you fight, or they shall submit. Then if obedience is shown, Allah will grant you a goodly reward, but if you tum away as you did before, He will punish you with a grievous penalty” (48:16); and “So he did not believe, nor did he pray! But on the contrary, he rejected truth and turned away!” (75:31-32); and “None shall enter it [Hell] save the most wretched, who denies and turns away” (92:15—16). Moses and his brother Hariin said, as in Allah’s saying: “Truly, it has been revealed to us that the torment will be for him who denies and turns away” (20:48). Accordingly, the term ‘turning away; does not refer to disbelieving but to turning away from obedience. For people must believe in what the Messenger said and obey what he commanded. Indeed, the opposite of belief is disbelief, and the opposite of obedience is turning away. That is why Allah says: “So he did not believe, nor did he pray! But on the contrary, he rejected truth and tumed away!" (75:31-32). Allah also says: “They say: ‘We believe in Allah and in the Messenger, and we obey,” but even after that, some of them turn away: they are not [really] believers” (24:47). In this verse, Allah denies Iman from the one who tums away from working righteousness even if he has expressed belief verbally. Allah says: “Only those are believers who believe in Allah and His Messenger: When they are with him on a matter requiring collective action, they do not depart until they have asked for his leave . . .” (24:62). He also says: “For believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts . . .” (8:2).

The Qur’an and the Sunnah are full of verses that indicate that Iman is negated for both the person who does not work righteousness and the hypocrite. However, he who has knowledge of Iman in his heart but contradicts that knowledge with his deeds and shows enmity toward Allah is never called a believer. In the view of the Jahmites, anyone who has inward knowledge in his heart is a believer with perfect

THE ASH‘ARITES’ AND OTHER SECTS’ OPINIONS 155

belief. Indeed, his belief is as complete as that of the prophets themselves, tegardless of what he says or does. Nor is it conceivable that such a person should cease to have belief unless he ceases also to have inward knowledge in his heart.

As for the later thinkers in Islam who supported Jahm’s views, most of them advocated the position of istithna’, exception, with respect to belief. According to these thinkers, belief in Islamic law is “that through which the servant fulfills his duties toward his Lord,” even though the meaning of “belief” in linguistic usage is broader than this. So with regard to the issue of making an exception, they considered the referent of the word “belief” to be the same as what they claimed to be its referent according to Islamic teachings. In so doing, they departed from the connotation of “belief” as generally used in language; so one wonders why they did not do the same with respect to works. There are innumerable references in Islamic teachings to indicate that obligatory good works form part of perfect belief. These teachings do not indicate, however, that the only entity to be referred to as belief is the state in which one dies; there is no support whatsoever for this view in Islamic law. Rather, these teachings were a later introduction, and were not advocated by any of the pious ancestors. However, those who supported Jahm’s views thought that those among the pious ancestors who “made the exception” with regard to belief did so on the basis of such a teaching [i.e., that the referent of “belief” is simply the state in which one dies]. But such thinkers were not well versed in the teachings of the pious ancestors. As a result, they argued in favor of the apparent meaning of the pious ancestors’ teachings by appealing to doctrines that they had adopted from Jahmite scholastic theologians and other heretical thinkers. Hence, what they were advocating appeared on the surface to reflect the views of the pious ancestors, whereas its core consisted of the views of the Jahmites, whose understanding of belief is more corrupt than that of virtually anyone else. For this reason, when some of Abual-Hassan [al-Ash‘ari’s] followers began to discover the falsehood of Jahm’s views on belief, many. of them took issue with such views, and among these followers, some adopted the teachings of the pious ancestors. And, Allah willing, we will make mention below of statements made by the pious ancestors on the issue of “making the exception” with respect to belief.

Abu al-Qasim al-Ansari, the teacher of al-Shahrastani, said in his interpretation of the Book of al-Irshad [The Counseling], written by Abu al-Ma ‘ali, that Iman consists entirely of acts of obedience. In other words, Iman is the practice of the

commands of Allah and abstaining from what is prohibited. He also said that this is what Abu ‘Alial-Thagafi and Abual-‘Abbas al-Qalanisi believed. Also inclined to this way of interpreting belief was Abu ‘Abd Allah Ibn Mujahid, who said that Malik Ibn Anas and most of the leaders of the pious ancestors used to say: “Iman is the knowledge of the heart, the confession of the tongue, and performance in accordance with the five pillars [of Islam].”

There are those who adopt the view of the Murji’ites, according to which belief is both assent in the heart and [expression of that belief] with the tongue. In addition there are those who, like Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini, stipulate that if out of obstinacy someone fails to express his belief in words, then according to Islamic teachings, he is considered an unbeliever, even if in his heart he has both knowledge and belief. Al-Ansari once said: I have seen in his writings that one is only a true believer if he completes his belief with works of righteousness, just as the scholar is only a true scholar if he acts on his learning and knowledge. In support of this he cited Allah’s saying: “The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts and when His verses are recited, increase their belief; and they put their trust in their Lord. Who offer prayers and spend out of that which We provided them, it is they who are the believers in truth .. .” (8:2-4).” Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini said that linguistically, the word Iman means tasdiq, which will not be realized except through knowledge and doing what one is commanded to do. Furthermore, both signal and compliance may function as utterances."?