Part 39

Abual-Hassan said that what we heard from [the Prophet, pbuh] adds recognizable conditions to belief. To illustrate, belief should not be associated with whatever

'S Tbn Fiirak, Muhammad Ibn al-Hassan Abu Bakr (7-406 A.H.), was a jurist of the Ash‘arite line of thinking and a theologian who worked on tafsir. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, pp. 147-48.]

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signals unbelief through what a person does or does not do. For example, the shar‘, /slamic law, dictates abstention from the worship of idols and stones. Hence, if someone does that, then such an action is an indication of his unbelief. Also, killing a prophet or making fun of him indicates one’s unbelief. Also, not respecting the Book and the Ka‘bah signals one’s unbelief. So if anyone commits such actions [which are illegal acts] or if he abstains from deeds that are commanded, then this is a proof that tasdiq, which is Iman itself, is lacking in his heart. Also, for everything that one commits by way of interpretation, which is contrary to Islamic belief, he will be considered an unbeliever, which is a further indication that he has lost the Iman which is in his heart. It is impossible to accuse someone of unbelief when he has both Iman and tasdiq in his heart.

The author refutes this argument by saying that no doubt, al-Shari‘, the Legislator (the Prophet), does not judge an individual to be an unbeliever if his heart is instilled with Iman, but to say that Iman is tasdiq even if it is devoid of all the works of the heart, is considered wrong. Do you not see that the shari‘ah, /slamic law, passed judgement on his unbelief and the shari‘ah will not pass judgement of unbelief on a true and sincere believer? For this reason we say that the unbelief of Iblis, the devil, was worse than that of every unbeliever. He [the devil] did not know Allah with His attributes at all, neither did he have a true and real inner Iman in Allah, even though he said he believed and worshiped. So, whenever we consider unbelievers—the Jews, Christians, Magians, and other unbelievers—they did not have true Iman in their hearts. Allah says: “If only they had believed in Allah, in the Prophet, and in what has been revealed to him, never would they have taken them for friends and protectors . . .” (5:81); and He says: “But no, by your Lord, they can have no [real] belief, until they make you judge in all disputes between them . . .” (4:65). Allah makes these matters a condition for the confirmation of Iman, and it has been proven that Iman is the knowledge of conditions, without which there is no Iman.

Now if you say: He added further conditions to the knowledge of the heart in order for one to be judged a believer, then this would not represent Jahm’s view. Rather, it would be consistent with the views of those who consider belief to be like prayer or going on pilgrimage. For although linguistically speaking, “prayer” means “supplication,” and “making pilgrimage” means “intending a given destination,” the lawgiver [the Prophet] has nevertheless appended further conditions to each of these. Such conditions may relate either to the judgment on such acts, or to both

such judgments and to the names that are used to refer to these acts. Moreover, the proponent of this view acknowledged that no one may be judged a believer according to the standards of the Book and the Sunnah merely on the basis of tasdiq of the heart. Rather, the other conditions mentioned are also necessary. For this reason, it is not possible to declare a fasiq, habitual sinner, to be a believer unless there is evidence on the basis of which to do so. Moreover, that evidence cannot be a mere statement on the part of such an individual that he possesses tasdiq of the heart. Those who define belief as tasdiq of the heart say: No unbeliever in Hell, be it Satan or anyone else, has the least tasdiq in Allah. For as Allah says: “And, when they will dispute in the Fire, the weak will say to those who were arrogant: ‘Indeed! We followed you, can you then take from us some portion of the Fire’? Those who were arrogant will say: ‘We are all [together] in this [Fire]! Indeed, Allah has judged between [His] slaves” (40:47—48). Allah also says: “The unbelievers will be led to Hell in a crowd until, when they arrive there, its gates will be opened. And its Keepers will say, ‘Did not Messengers 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 is: ‘True: but the Decree of Punishment has been proved true against the unbelievers!” (39:71). The unbelievers confess that the Messengers came to them, rehearsed to them the signs of their Lord, and warned them of the meeting of this day of theirs. Thus, they knew of Allah, His Messenger, and the Hereafter. But in the Hereafter they are considered unbelievers. Allah also says: “. . . Every time a group is cast therein, its keepers will ask: ‘Did no Warner come to you?’ Their answer is: ‘Yes, indeed; a Warner did come to us, but we rejected him and said, Allah never sent down any [Message] . . .’” (67:8-9). The unbelievers rejected the Warner and said that Allah never sent down any Message. But in the Hereafter, they will know Allah, His Messenger, and the Hereafter. Allah further says: “If you could see when they are confronted with their Lord! He will say: ‘Is not this the truth?’ Their answer is: “Yes, by our Lord!’ He will say: ‘Taste you then the penalty, because you rejected the Punishment of what you were ungrateful about”” (6:30). Allah also says: “And the agony of death comes in truth. This is what you have been avoiding” (50:19), until where He says, as a continuation: “And the Trumpet will be blown, that will be the Day whereof a Warning [has been given]. And every person will come forth along with an [Angel] to drive [him] and an [Angel] to bear witness. [It will be said to the sinners]: ‘Indeed you were heedless of this, now We have removed your covering, and sharp is your sight this Day’” (50:20-22). There are many other

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verses in the Qur’an which indicate that in the Hereafter the unbelievers will know their Lord. Thus, if Iman is the mere knowledge of Allah, then they [the unbelievers] are considered believers in the Hereafter. However, they [the Ash‘arites] were correct in saying that Iman is not beneficial in the Hereafter because one is rewarded for his Iman in this life; but if Iman is the mere knowledge of Allah, then this fact remains unchanged. For, if works are not part of Iman, then someone knowledgeable [about Allah] in the Hereafter would not lose his Iman. Indeed they [the Ash‘arites] used to claim that an unbeliever when he dies does not have any tasdiq in his heart about Allah. However, there are many verses in the Qur’an that indicate that unbelievers know Allah in this life. Even Pharaoh, who overtly rejected Iman, was, in his heart, admitting this fact. Allah says: “And they rejected those Signs wrongfully and arrogantly, though their souls were convinced thereof . . .” (27:14). Moses said to Pharaoh, as in the following verse. Allah says: “You know well that these things have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth as eye-opening evidence . . .” (17:102), even though Pharaoh was not a believer. Indeed, Moses said, as in the following verse Allah says: “. . . Deface our Lord, the features of their wealth, and send hardness to their hearts, so they will not believe until they see the grievous penalty” (10:88). Allah also says: “. .. Accepted is your prayer [Oh, Moses and Aaron]! . . .” (10:89). And when Pharaoh said that in the following verse, Allah says: “.. . | believe that there is no god except Him Whom the Children of Israel believe in . . .” (10:90) and “Ah now But a little while before was though in rebellion!—And you were one of the corrupt ones” (10:91). It is clear that Allah described Pharaoh as someone who was disobedient but did not have inward knowledge. Allah says: “But Pharaoh disobeyed the Messenger [Moses] . . .” (73:16). The same applies to Iblis. Allah says: “So the Angels prostrated themselves, all of them together. Not so Iblis: he was haughty, and became one of the unbelievers” (38:73-74). Thus, Allah did not describe Iblis as unknowledgeable but as reluctant, arrogant, and disobedient to the Command. Indeed, Allah says that unbelievers admit that Allah is the Creator in many verses, such as: “If you were to question them, ‘Who created them?’ They would be sure to reply, ‘They were created by Allah! . . ."” (43:87).

One might reply by adding: If you say that belief is tasdiq in the heart, or the tongue, or both, then is this a mujmal, general or overall, sort of tasdiq, or does it need to be more detailed? For if someone believed, for example, that

Muhammad was the Messenger of Allah, yet did not know Allah’s attributes, would he be a believer or not? And if someone were judged to be a believer, one might say: If he then learned of these attributes yet disbelieved what he had heard, then by agreement among Muslim thinkers, he would not be considered a believer in this respect. And in such a case, some instances of belief would be considered more complete than others. However, if such a person is said not to be a believer, then we are required not to consider anyone a believer until he comes to know every detail of everything the Prophet ever said. But the fact is, of course, that the majority of the Muslim communities likewise do not know every detail of what the Messenger taught, and one Muslim’s belief is not considered superior to that of another’s except by virtue of the individuals steadfastness over time.

Abu al-Ma‘ali said that someone might say: your assumptions [e.g., that everyone’s belief is equal, or that belief is merely inward belief and or lip profession] require you to consider the belief of an inveterate sinner as equal to the belief of the Prophet himself (pbuh). And to this we would add: One person’s belief may be considered superior to that of someone else due to the steadfastness of his tasdiq and Allah’s protection of him from doubts and misgivings; however, tasdiq is a nonessential characteristic that does not endure for most individuals. The Prophet (pbuh) had belief that was continuous and uninterrupted, whereas for others, belief may be constant at times, and waver at others. And while all levels of tasdiq were possessed by the Prophet, others possess only some of them, which means that the Prophet’s belief was superior to that of others. Hence, if one describes belief as being capable of increase and decrease, then he has spoken truly. Thus this is the basis on which, according to them, the Prophet considered one person’s belief to be superior to another’s. And of course, this view is utterly false in numerous respects, as we have demonstrated elsewhere.