Part 74

2 Harmalah Ibn Yahya Ibn ‘Imran (?-243 A.H.) was a jurist and scholar of hadith who transmitted hadith from al-Shafi. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 271.]

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Abu ‘Amr al-Talamanki has related, based on his well-known chain of transmission, on the authority of Misa Ibn Harin al-Hammal,'* who said: “Ishaq Ibn Rahwiyah dictated to us that belief is a saying and a work, and that it may increase or diminish. There is no doubt that this is as we have described, but rather we came to understand this through sound accounts and accurate, generally recognized traditions relating to the deeds and sayings of Muhammad and his Companions, as well as accounts, each of which was passed down on the authority of just one of the Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) or their Successors. Scholars who came after the Successors of the Companions were likewise in agreement on this single view. The same was true during the era of al-Awza‘i in Syria, Sufyan al-Thawri in Iraq, Malik Ibn Anas in the Hijaz, and Mu‘ammar in Yemen, all of whom held the view we have explicated here, according to which belief is a saying and a work, which may either increase or diminish.

Ishaq said: “Whoever deliberately neglects prayer until its time is past, from noon to sunset and from sunset to midnight, has committed unbelief against the Great Allah. He shall be called upon to repent for three days, and if he refuses and says that neglecting prayer is not unbelief, he shall be beheaded. However, if he does pray and makes such a statement, then this raises a theological and legal question requiring the formulation of an independent judgement [based on the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the Prophetic traditions and the consensus of the Islamic community].” Ishaq also said: “And scholars who came after them from this era of ours [and onward] adopted the view that we have described. That is, all of them did so except those who differed with the [Islamic] community and followed various and sundry whims. As for these latter, they are people whose opinions carry no weight in Allah’s scheme of things because of their having departed from the consensus of the community.”

Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim Ibn Sallam al-Imam, who wrote a book on the subject of belief, says: “These are the names'* of those who say that belief is saying and work, something which may increase or diminish.”

Among the scholars of Makkah we have: ‘Ubayd Ibn ‘Umayr al-Laythi, ‘Ata’ Ibn Abi Rabbah, Mujahid Ibn Jabr, Ibn Abi Mulaykah, ‘Amr Ibn Dinar, Ibn Abi

Nujayh, ‘Ubayd Allah Ibn ‘Amr, ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Amr Ibn ‘Uthman, ‘Abd alMalik Ibn Jurayj, Nafi‘ Ibn Jubayr, Da‘iid Ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-‘Attar, and “Abd Allah Ibn Raja’. Among the scholars of Madinah we have: Muhammad Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, Rabi‘ah Ibn Abi ‘Abd al-Rahman, Abu Hazim al-A ‘raj, Sad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn ‘Awf, Yahya Ibn Sa‘id al-Ansari, Hisham Ibn ‘Urwah Ibn al-Zubayr, ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Amr al-‘Umri, Malik Ibn Anas, Muhammad Ibn Abi Dhi’b, Sulayman Ibn Bilal, ‘Abd al-Aziz Ibn ‘Abd Allah (that is, al-Majishiin), and ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Ibn Abi Hazim. Among those of Yemen we have: Tawi al-Yamani, Wahb Ibn Munabbih, Mu‘ammar Ibn Rashid, and “Abd al-Razziq Ibn Humam. And from Egypt and Syria we have: Makhil, alAwza‘l, Sa‘id Ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, al-Walid Ibn Muslim, Yinis Ibn Yazid alAyyaili, Yazid Ibn Abi Habib, Yazid Ibn Shurayh, Sa‘id Ibn Abi Ayyab, al-Layth Tbn Sa‘d, ‘Abd Allah Ibn Abi Ja‘far, Mu‘awiyah Ibn Abi Salih, Haywah Ibn Shurayh, and ‘Abd Allah Ibn Wahb.

And among those who lived in the capitals and other cities of the [Arabian] peninsula we have: Maymiin Ibn Muhran, Yahya Ibn ‘Abd al-Karim, Ma‘qil Ibn “Ubayd Allah, ‘Ubayd Allah Ibn ‘Amr al-Ruqqi, ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn Malik, alMu‘afa Ibn ‘Imran, Muhammad Ibn Salamah al-Harrani, Abu Ishaq al-Fazari, Mukhlid Ibn al-Husayn, ‘Ali Ibn Bakkar, Yusuf Ibn Asbat, ‘Ata’ Ibn Muslim, Muhammad Ibn Kathir, and al-Haytham Ibn Jamil. As for the scholars of Kifah, they include: ‘Ilqamah, al-Aswad Ibn Yazid, Abu Wail, Sa‘id Ibn Jubayr, alRabi‘ Ibn Khaytham, ‘Amir al-Sha‘bi, Ibrahim al-Nakh ‘4, al-Hakam Ibn ‘Utaybah, Talhah Ibn Masrif, Mansiir Ibn al-Mu‘tamar, Salamah Ibn Kuhayl, Mughirah alDabbi, ‘Ata? Ibn al-Sa’ib, Isma‘ll Ibn Abi Khalid, Abu Hayyan, Yahya Ibn Sa‘id, Sulayman Ibn Muhran al-A‘mash, Yazid Ibn Abi Ziyad, Sufyan Ibn Sa‘id alThawri, Sufyan Ibn ‘Uyyaynah, al-Fudayl Ibn ‘Ayyad, Abu al-Miqdam, Thabit Ibn al-‘Ajlan, Ibn Shabarmah, Ibn Abi Layla, Zuhayr, Sharik Tbn ‘Abd Allah, alHassan Ibn Salih, Hafs Ibn Ghayyath, Abu Bakr Ibn ‘Ayyash, Abu al-Ahwas, Waki‘ Ibn al-Jarrah, ‘Abd Allah Ibn Numayr, Abu Usamah, ‘Abd Allah Ibn Idris, Zayd Ibn al-Hubab, al-Husayn Ibn ‘Ali al-Ja‘fi, Muhammad Ibn Bishr al-‘Abdt, Yahya Ibn Adam, Muhammad, Ya‘la, and ‘Amr Bani ‘Ubayd. Among the scholars of Basrah we have: al-Hassan Ibn Abi al-Hassan, Muhammad Ibn Sirin, Qatadah Ibn Da‘amah, Bakr Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Muzni, Ayyib al-Sikhtiyani, Yinis Ibn ‘Ubayd, ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Awn, Sulayman al-Taymi, Hisham Ibn Hassan alDustuwa’i, Shu ‘bah Ibn al-Hajjaj, Hammad Ibn Salamah, Hammad Ibn Zayd, Abu

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al-Ashhab, Yazid Ibn Ibrahim, Abu ‘Uwanah, Wahib Ibn Khalid, ‘Abd al-Warith Ibn Sa‘id, Mu‘tamar Ibn Sulayman al-Taymi, Yahya Ibn Sa ‘id al-Qattn, ‘Abd alRahman Ibn Mahdi, Bishr Ibn al-Mufaddal, Yazid Ibn Zuray‘, al-Mu’ammal Ibn Isma‘il, Khalid Ibn al-Harith, Mu‘adh Ibn Mu‘adh, and Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman alMuaarri. And among the scholars of Wasit we have: Hushaym Ibn Bashir, Khalid Ibn ‘Abd Allah, ‘Ali Ibn ‘Asim, Yazid Ibn Haran, Salih Ibn ‘Umar, and ‘Asim Ibn “All. As for those from the East, we have: al-Dahhak Ibn Muzahim, Abu Jamrah, Nasr Ibn ‘Imran, ‘Abd Allah Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Nadr Ibn Shumayl, and Jarir Ibn “Abd al-Hamid al-Dabbi.

According to Abu ‘Ubayd, all of the above say that belief is a saying and a work, and something that may either diminish or increase. Moreover, this is the view held by Orthodox Muslims and that which we ourselves adhere to.

This view has been attributed more to Kiifan scholars than it has been to those in other groups, since in the beginning there were more Kifans who held the Murji?ite’s views. The first to espouse such a view was Hammad Ibn Abi Sulayman. This view was repudiated by Islamic scholars of Kiifah along with the Jahmite’s views, and their denial of the divine attributes when such teachings began to spread out from Khurasan. Moreover, criticism of the Jahmite’s views by scholars in Khurasan at that time was seen to a degree not encountered among those in whose countries this particular heresy had not appeared or even been heard of. As it is stated in one of the Prophetic traditions: “Within every heresy that plots against Islam and its adherents, Allah has those who speak in favor of Islam, so be certain to benefit from gatherings [of such persons], for mercy shall descend upon those who take part in them.”

And if one of the views held by the pious ancestors was that both belief and hypocrisy may reside in a single individual, then it may likewise be said that in the same person one might find both belief and unbelief, though not the kind of unbelief that excludes one from the religious community. As Ibn ‘Abbas and his disciples have said concerning Allah’s saying: “. .. And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the unbelievers” (5:44). This refers to a kind of unbelief that does not exclude one from the [Islamic] community. This interpretation was shared by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and other leading Orthodox Muslim scholars.

In his book al-Salah, Prayer, Muhammad Ibn Nasr al-Marwazi said that people have differed over how to interpret Gabriel’s saying. A group of our followers said that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Iman is to have belief in Allah.” This hadith has a precise and deep meaning that the Murji?ites misunderstood. Their faulty explanation and interpretation of it was based on their lack of understanding of the Arabic language and the depth of the meaning of the words of the Prophet (pbuh), who was given a gift of knowing the deep sense of speech and its essence. However, the Prophet’s (pbuh) saying, “Iman is to have belief in Allah,” means that one must believe that there is only one Allah and believe in Him overtly and covertly, submit to Him and to His orders, and be determined to do what He commands. One must also avoid disdain, arrogance, aid obstinacy; and ifa person abides by what is. mentioned above, he will win Allah’s love and avoid his indignation. As for the phrase “and His Angels,” this means that one ought to have Iman in those Angels that Allah named in His Book, as well as having belief that Allah has other Angels whose names and numbers are only known to Him Who created them. The phrase, “and His Books,” means that one ought to have belief in the Books Allah mentions in His Book, which include the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Gospel, and especially the Book of Psalms; and that one must believe that Allah has other Books that He reveals to his Prophets, whose names and numbers are only known to the One who reveals them [i.e., to Allah]. One must have belief in the Furqan [one of the names of the Qur’an], and one’s Iman in it should differ from that of the other Books. For Iman in the other Books is limited to an acknowledgment of them with the heart and the tongue. But having Iman in the Furgan should not only be mere affirmation; in addition, it should include following the instructions mentioned therein.

His saying, “and His Messengers,” means that one should have Iman in the Messengers whom He named in His Book and must have belief that Allah has other Prophets and Messengers whose names are unknown except to Him Who sent them. One must also have belief in Muhammad (pbuh), which is different from belief in all other Messengers. Iman is to testify that Allah has sent all of them. But one’s belief in Muhammad must involve, in addition to this test, an assent and perseverance in obeying his message. This is done by performing all the obligations, abandoning all that is prohibited, doing what is lawful, pausing before taking any dubious action, and hastening to do good deeds. The Prophet’s (pbuh) saying, “Resurrection Day,” means that one should have Iman in resurrection after

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death, in the accounting [by weighing one’s deeds on the scales of reward and punishment], in Paradise and Hell, and in all of Allah’s descriptions of Resurrection Day. Finally, the Prophet’s (pbuh) saying, “One should have Iman in the predestination of both good and evil,” means that one should trust that anything that happens to him could not have missed him, and anything that failed to happen to him could not have happened to him. Also one should not say: “If such and such had happened, such and such would have been the result.” He {al-Marwazi] closes by saying: “This is the meaning of having Iman in Allah, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, and in Resurrection Day.”