Part 51

Refuting the claim of the Murji?ites [that works are not implied in Iman as the above-mentioned verses indicate since these verses conjoin deeds with Iman, and this conjunction requires that they be distinguished from each other] the author argues that the righteous works associated with Iman are implied in Iman itself. They are related to it as the specific is related to the general, either by mentioning the specific after the general; or by being mentioned in conjunction with it to indicate that it is not implied in the general. It has been said that works were not originally part of Iman and that the essence of Iman is what is in the heart, while works are necessary for Iman. Hence, if anyone does not do righteousness, his Iman is negated. For the negation of a necessary feature requires the negation of the entity of which it is a necessary feature. But by virtue of the Legislator’s [the Prophet’s] customary usage of the term Iman, works came to be implied in its meaning if the word Iman is applied in an absolute sense. As was mentioned

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earlier by the Prophet: “None among you believes until one loves for his brother what he loves for himself;” and “None among you believe if his neighbor is endangered by his injurious conduct.” Hence, if works are conjoined with Iman, it would be mentioned, so that one should not think that his mere Iman, without righteous works, which are necessary for Iman, leads to Paradise. To put it differently, the specific mention of works was to affirm that the reward in the Hereafter [entering Paradise without punishment] is not for someone who claims that he is a believer, although he does not work righteousness; but for one who believes and does righteousness. Allah indicates, in many verses, that when the righteous say “I believe,” they must perform the obligations. The restriction of Iman to this group only reveals that those outside this group do not possess Iman.

In this regard, the Jahmites raised a question that is mentioned by Abu al-Hassan al-Ash‘ari in his book entitled the Concise a/-Mijaz, the question being whether, according to the Qur’4n, belief may only be ascribed to those who, although they profess to believe, do not perform good works. Allah says: “The believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts . . .” (8:2). However, it is not stated here that such works are part of belief. Rather, they said that whoever does not perform these works in this manner is not a believer, because the absence of such a response is evidence that knowledge is likewise absent from such a person’s heart.

A response to this position may be made based on the following observations. First, those who held this view acknowledged that good works are associated with belief of the heart by necessity, such that if they are not present, neither may the required belief be said to reside in the heart. However, if this is the case, then the question of whether such works are associated with belief by necessity, or an actual component of belief, becomes a mere dispute over words. Second, there are passages in hadith literature that state explicitly that such works are actually a part of belief, as in the tradition that says: “Iman has sixty or seventy-odd branches.” Third, if it is claimed that whoever does not exhibit such outward behaviors is devoid of all belief, then one has adopted the same view as the Kharijites. However, since those who are making this claim also claim to be on the opposite end of the spectrum from the Kharijites, how can they then be in agreement with them? For among the works included here are ritual prayers, giving of zakah, fasting during the month of Ramadan, making the pilgrimage to Makkah, engaging

in jihad, striving in the Cause of Allah, deferring to the rule of Allah and His Messenger, and other actions that those who claim to hold this view, would not view, as sufficient reason to declare someone an unbeliever. And if they did declare such a person an unbeliever, they would in essence be upholding the views of the Kharijites. Fourth, the claim that the absence or neglect of some of the works mentioned above requires that there will not be, in the heart of a person, the slightest belief in the truth of the Lord’s existence. This statement is so patently groundless as to need no refutation. Fifth, if this view [i.e., the fourth] were shown to be true with respect to those duties mentioned above, then it would likewise be true of all other outward requirements of Islam, as a result of which the semantic debate would be eliminated.

The Murji’ites’ Views On Iman, Works, and Religion

The second aspect of the false argument of the Murji’ites is their belief that Iman is only in the heart is tasdiq, assent, without any works of the heart, which has already been pointed out in the previous discussion concerning the opinion of the Murjiite sect, who followed Jahm.'

The third false argument is that they [the Murjiites] thought that Iman that is in the heart is complete without any works. So they regarded works as the product and necessary outgrowth of Iman, in the rank of cause and effect, but not as an essential requirement for Iman. Against this, the author argues that the complete Iman of the heart must be accompanied by righteous works and that Iman of the heart is never perfect without them. For this reason, the Murji?ites presumed the possibility of matters that never occurred due to their failure to affirm the connection between the body and the heart. For example, they said a man may have Iman in his heart similar to that of Abu Bakr [al-Siddiq] and ‘Umar [Ibn alKhattab], although he neither prostrates nor fasts during Ramadan, fornicates with his mother and his sister, and drinks wine in the daylight hours of Ramadan. They [the Murji’ites] say that such a man has complete Iman. On the contrary, all believers would absolutely deny such a claim.

' The editors of the different editions of Kitab al-Iman seem to differ on the organization and division of chapters 15 and 16. MI.1, MI.2, and MKH, the editions that have been basically adapted for this translation, begin chapter 16 with a discussion of the second error of the Murji’ ites, whereas MZ combines the two chapters (see pp. 186-203). The editor of MZ has some justification for combining the two chapters, since the discussion deals with the same topic (i.e., the two errors of the Murji”ites). However, the translators have preferred to adhere to the organization maintained in the editions mentioned above.

Ma‘qal Ibn ‘Ubayd Allah al-‘Absi (7-166 A.H.) was a compiler and transmitter of hadith from ‘Ata’ Ibn Abi Rabah and al-Zuhri. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 189.]

Maymiin Ibn Mahran Abu Ayyib (2-117 A.H.) was a jurist, a scholar of hadith, and a judge in al-Jazirah during the reign of the Caliph “Umar Ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 190.] “Abd al-Karim Ibn Malik (2-127 A.H.) was a compiler and a trustworthy scholar of hadith. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, page 190.]

Ibn Dharr, Abu Dharr ‘Umar al-Hamadani (?-156 A.H.), was a scholar and narrator of hadith and a leading figure of the Murji’ite sect. [Al-Zirkill, vol. 5, page 205 and Kitab al-Iman MZ, page 190.]

‘Nafi‘ Abu ‘Abd Allah (7-117 A.H.) was one of the famous Successors, a trustworthy jurist, and a scholar of hadith. He was also a client of Ibn ‘Umar. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, 190.)

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replied: “It shall not be so.” I reassured him. Then we prayed the afternoon prayer, after which he got up and took hold of my robe. Then he came out of the chamber and did not wait for [me], the one seeking him. “What is your request?” he asked. I replied: “Stand aside.” So I told him what they had said, and he replied that the Messenger (pbuh) said: “I have been commanded to strike them with my sword until they say: ‘There is no god but Allah’. If they do say it, they have protected their souls and their wealth by truly uttering it, while their final reckoning shall be with Allah.” Then I told him that they said that we acknowledged that prayer is a duty incumbent upon us, though we do not pray, that alcoholic beverages are forbidden to us, though we drink them, and that we are forbidden to marry mothers, though we do so. Then he withdrew his hand violently from mine and said that whoever does such things is an unbeliever.