Part 49

The Jahmites considered every unbeliever to be ignorant of the truth, saying that he did not know it to be true that Allah exists. Disbelief, as they saw it, is not ignorance of just any truth, but rather ignorance of this particular truth. However, both we and everyone else know of unbelievers who are inwardly convinced that the religion of Islam is true, yet they mention other reasons for their not having belief. These reasons might include such things as the possibility of suffering hostility from their families; being cut off from wealth that would otherwise accrue to them from their families; the fear that were they to become believers, they would not be afforded the same protection by Muslims that they have been afforded by their former religion; and other such concems or fears that they declared to be the reasons for their not becoming believers. Moreover, such factors determined their choices, even though at the same time they were certain that the religion of Islam is true while their own is false. Such things occur with respect to all questions of truth; there will be some who know in their hearts that a given thing is true, although outwardly they deny this. Such individuals may even display enmity toward those who profess this truth in the belief that this hostility on their part will benefit them in some manner and protect them from harm. Allah says: “Oh, you who believe, take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors; they are but friends and protectors to each other. If any among you takes them [for friends] then surely he is one of them. Indeed Allah guides not those people who are wrongdoers. Those in whose hearts is a disease, you see how eagerly they run about among them, saying: ‘We do fear unless a change of fortune brings us disaster.’ Ah! Perhaps Allah will give [you] victory, ora decision

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according to His Will. Then will they repent of the thoughts which they secretly harbored in their hearts. And those who believe will say: ‘Are these the men [hypocrites] who swore their strongest oaths by Allah, that they were with you (Muslims]?’ All that they did has been in vain [because of their hypocrisy], and they have become the losers” (5:51—S3).

Interpreters of the Qur’dn unanimously agree on the fact that these verses were revealed because of the hypocrites who pretended to be with the Muslims, but an affliction was in their hearts. If they feared in their hearts that Allah would not grant victory to the people of Islam, they would take unbelievers—whether Jews, Christians, or others—for friends and protectors. This happened not because they believed that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a liar and the Jews and Christians possessed the truth, but simply because they feared that the Muslims would not be granted victory. Indeed, it was narrated that ‘Ubadah Ibn al-Samit said: “Oh, Prophet of Allah, I have taken some Jews for friends and protectors and I am acquitted to Allah for having Jews for friends and protectors.” Upon this “Abd Allah Ibn Ubay remarked: “But I am a man who fears a change of fortune that may bring me disaster, hence, | am not above seeking the friendship and protection of Jews.” For this reason, the above-mentioned verses were revealed.

THE MURJPITES’ OPINION OF IMAN

Among the Murji’ites, who said that Iman is tasdiq, assent, in the heart and an utterance of the tongue but does not include works, was a group of Kifah jurists. Their claims were not like those of Jahm, for they recognized that one is not a believer if, although he is able to express his belief verbally, he does not do so. They also acknowledged that Iblis, Pharaoh, and others were unbelievers despite the fact that they believed the truth in their hearts. However, if they did not include the works of the heart in their definition of belief, they would have been obliged to adopt the view of Jahm. If, on the other hand, they did include such ‘works of the hearts’ in their understanding of belief, then they would have needed to include the works of the parts of the body as well, since such outward works are necessarily associated with those of the heart. However, if they [the Murji’ites] had put forward arguments based on Islamic law, this matter would have been obscured even further. For they held that Allah makes a distinction in the Qur’an

between belief and work; for He refers to this in more than one place: Allah says: “Truly those who believe, and do works of righteousness . . .” (2:277). Moreover, they held that in various places Allah addresses human beings as believers before they have performed works [that would display belief]. For example, Allah says: “Oh, you who believe! When you intend to offer prayers, wash your faces and your hands [forearms] up to the elbows . . .” (5:6); and “All you who believe [i.e., Muslims]! When the call is proclaimed for the prayer on Friday . . .” (62:9). They also said that if a man became a believer in Allah and His Messenger early in the day and suddenly dies that day before he is obliged to perform some of the obligations, he will die as a believer and will enter Paradise. Hence, works are not part of Iman. Moreover, they said that we profess that Iman increases. That is, every time Allah sends down a verse, it should be accepted. Thus, this acceptance will be combined with the acceptance that precedes it. However, after the completion of the revelation, no one’s Iman will be greater than anyone else’s. That is, all peoples’ Iman becomes the same no matter what everyone’s belief is, be it the belief of the earliest believers such as Abu Bakr (al-Siddiq) and ‘Umar (Ibn al-Khattb), or that of the most immoral of people, such as al-Hajjaj (Ibn Yisuf), Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, and others. ,

The Murji’ites, especially the theologians and jurists from among them, regarded works as part of Iman in a figurative way, for a work is the fruit and requirement of Iman. They defended this argument by referring to the Prophet’s saying: “Iman has sixty or seventy branches, the highest of which is the declaration that there is no god but Allah, and the lowest of which is the removal of what is injurious from the path.”

MuruP ITE ERRORS IN UNDERSTANDING IMAN

The Murji’ites were of three views: The first was that Iman is merely what is in the heart. Most of them believed that works of the heart contribute to Iman, as indicated in the book of Abu al-Hassan al-Ash‘ari. He also mentioned many other sects whose listing would be lengthy, although the author states that he has mentioned most of their statements. This view does not include works as part of Iman. This was the opinion of Jahm and of those who followed him, such as alSalihi, who, along with his followers, were great supporters of him [Jahm]. The second view states that Iman is a mere utterance of the tongue. This position was

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not known prior to the opinions of the Karramite sect. The third view states that Iman is tasdiq, assent, of the heart and a saying of the tongue. This was the most well-known position among them. Indeed, this was the prevailing beliefamong the jurists and the worshipers of the Murji’ites. All three views are in error in several aspects:

The first is their [the Murji?ites’] assumption that the Iman that Allah requires of us is equal for all Allah’s servants, and that the belief incumbent upon one person is likewise required of another. This assumption is false, for the followers of the earlier Prophets were required by Allah to have a kind of belief that was not required of Muhammad’s community, just as the belief required of Muhammad’s community was not the same as that required of still others. And the type of Iman that was required prior to the revelation of all of the Qur’an is different from the Iman required after the revelation. For the Iman required of someone who knew what the Messenger was told in detail would not be the same as that required of someone who knew what the Messenger was told in general. It is incumbent as part of Iman to believe in the Messenger in all that he brought forward. But in the case of someone who believes in the Messenger and dies immediately afterward, only that part of Iman is incumbent upon him. Moreover, if he were alive, he would not be obliged to know every single matter that the Prophet (pbuh) commanded, forbade, or told about [that is, it is enough to believe without details]. Indeed, he must know what he was obliged to do and what he was prohibited from getting involved in. This person will be obligated only to the general Iman that existed before his death and nothing else and before other details of Iman reached him.

Moreover, if it is assumed that such a person did live, then not every ordinary person is required to know everything that the Prophet commanded, everything he forbade, and everything he reported. Rather, all he is expected to know is what he himself is required or forbidden to do. For example, someone with no wealth will not be expected to know the Prophet’s detailed commands relating to the payment of zakah, nor would someone unable to undertake the pilgrimage be required to know the Prophet’s commands concerning the pilgrimage rites, just as someone who is not married is not required to know what his duties would be toward a wife. Hence, the belief required of some individuals differs from that required of others, both with respect to what one believes and what one practices.

This clarifies the answer to their [ Murjites] claim that people were addressed concerning Iman were made obligatory before works. Against this, the author remarks: If they say that people were addressed about Iman before works, then before these works became obligatory, they were not part of Iman. Hence, believers [at that time] were true believers, for they believed in what was obligatory for them. However, when it is revealed that works are part of one’s Iman, then believers must perform them; otherwise, they are no longer [true] believers. And for this reason Allah says: “. . . And pilgrimage to the House is a duty that people owe to Allah, those who can afford the expense; and those who disbelieve, then Allah stands not in need of any of the creatures [mankind and jinns]” (3:97). Therefore, most traditions in which mention is made of Islam and belief do not speak of the pilgrimage. One such tradition concerns the delegation of ‘Abd al-Qays, while another concerns the man from Najd, Damam [bn Tha‘labah, and others. The pilgrimage is indeed mentioned in the tradition of Ibn ‘Umar and Gabriel, since the pilgrimage was the last of the five pillars of Islam to be legislated. Prior to its being legislated, it was not considered part of either belief or Islam. When it was legislated, however, the Prophet (pbuh) introduced the pilgrimage into [the requirements of] belief alone, and into Islam, whether spoken of in conjunction with belief or apart from it. Allah willing, we shall have more to say below concerning when the pilgrimage was established as a religious