Part 87

THE CONCEPT OF IMAN AND RELATED ISSUES 361

attributed to him are against this. And even those (namely, al-Shafi‘] Malik, and Abu Hanifah) who do not accuse the person who abandons these pillars of being an unbeliever, consider deeds to be a part of Islam. This being the case, how is it that Ahmad does not consider them as part of Islam, although his opinion on this is stronger than that of others? It has been related of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal that he considered Sa‘d’s hadith to be in conflict with that of ‘Umar, and that he preferred the former to the latter."

Al-Hassan Ibn ‘Ali once said that he once asked Ahmad Ibn Hanbal about belief or Islam. He [the latter] said that ‘Umar’s hadith relates to this; however, I prefer the one related by Sa‘d, as if he understood that the one related by ‘Umar indicated that works are what is referred by the term Islam, which is preferable, whereas the account related by Sa‘d indicates that the entity referred to by the term “belief” is preferable. However, ‘Umar’s hadith mentions nothing about Islam except for outward works. And these are not considered to constitute belief unless they are joined to inward belief in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers, in which case it would be partial belief. Hence, the entity referred to by the term “belief” is preferable, as indicated by Sa‘d’s hadith, and there is no real inconsistency between the two hadiths.

As for the distinction made by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal between Islam and belief, he would sometimes make the distinction, and at other times mention some difference between them, without making any definitive statement about them. Moreover, when he would draw a comparison between them, he would say: “Islam is merely the words [of the testimony] one utters,” whereas at other times he would not say this. Likewise, with respect to declaring someone an unbeliever for having neglected some of the basic religious obligations of Islam, he would sometimes declare people to be unbelievers on this basis, to the point of becoming

"' [The following footnote is taken from the MI.2 edition, pp. 354-55.] As for ‘Umar’s hadith, it concerns the coming of the Angel Gabriel (upon him be peace) in the form of a desert Arab. The final part of the hadith (which has been mentioned earlier) reads as follows: "Here is Gabriel, who has come to teach you your religion." As for the hadith related by Sa‘d, it tells us that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) gave gifts to a group of people while Sa‘d was seated (nearby). However, the Prophet (pbuh) ignored one of the men, who of all of them was the most admirable, in Sa‘d’s view. So he said to him: "Oh Messenger of Allah, what do you have against this man? For indeed, | perceive him to be a believer." To which the Prophet replied: ". . . or a Muslim." (This hadith was recorded by al-Bukhari.)

enraged, while at other times he would not declare them to be unbelievers at all. Maymiini tells us that he once said: “Oh, Abu ‘Abd Allah [Ahmad Ibn Hanbal], do you distinguish between Islam and belief?” “Yes,” he replied. “On what basis?” Maymiini asked. He answered: “The majority of hadiths point to such a distinction.” As it is said: “The fornicator is not a believer as long as he commits fornication, nor is the thief a believer as long as he steals.” While 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). Besides, Hammiad Ibn Zayd also makes a distinction between Islam and Iman. And it was related to us by Abu Salamah al-Khuza‘l that Malik and Sharik, along with Hammad Ibn Zayd, all drew a distinction between Islam and belief.

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal said that a man once told him that if we never learned any more about belief than this, it would be good. So he said to Abu ‘Abd Allah: “Do you base your views on the apparent meaning of what is in the Qur’an along with al-Sunan?” “Yes,” he replied. So he asked: “What about the Murji”ites’ claim that Islam is based on mere words?” He answered: “They do not distinguish between Islam and belief, and they consider the Muslim and the believer to be one and the same; moreover, they hold that both have belief as complete and perfect as that of Gabriel.” Then he [Ahmad] said: “Is this the basis of our argument against them?” “Yes,” he replied. Hence, he made an absolute distinction between them, basing his argument on the [religious] texts [of Islam].

Salih Ibn Ahmad "said that his father was once asked about Islam and belief, and he replied by saying that, according to Ibn Abi Dhi?b,"? Islam is based on what one says, while belief is based on what one does. Then he [the father] was asked: and what do you say about it? To which he replied that Islam and belief are not synonymous with each other, citing the hadith mentioned above from Sa‘d. In this hadith the Prophet (pbuh) did not show preference for the view that Islam is based solely on an utterance; rather, he simply replied that Islam is to be distinguished from belief, as evidenced by what we read in both the Qur’an and in this reliable hadith.

" Salih Ton Ahmad, Abu al-Fadl (7-265 A.H.), was a jurist and the son of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. [AlZirikii, vol. 3, p. 273.]

" Tbn Abi Dhi?b, Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman (2-158 A.H.), was a jurist of Madinah. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 328.]

THE CONCEPT OF IMAN AND RELATED ISSUES 363

Hanbal (Ibn Hilal al-Shaybani)'* said that Abu ‘Abd Allah [Ahmad Ibn Hanbal] has related Buraydah’s hadith to us, which says: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to teach Muslims, if they passed by a graveyard, to say, ‘Peace be upon you [deceased] believers and Muslims. We will follow you, if Allah wills.” Hanbal said: “I heard Abu ‘Abd Allah say that in this hadith there is evidence against the person who said: ‘Iman is mere words. Thus, I am a [true] believer,’” for the Prophet’s (pbuh) reference to “believers and Muslims” differentiates between a Muslim and a believer and belies the claim of one who says: “I am a true believer.” His saying: “We will follow you, Allah willing,” although he knows he will die, shows the importance of adding the phrase, “if Allah wills,” to the statement, “I am a believer.”

Abu al-Harith [Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-Sa’igh] said that he asked Abu ‘Abd Allah about the hadith, “The fornicator who fornicates is not a believer as long as he commits fornication, and no drunkard who drinks wine is a believer as long as he drinks it.” He answered that people have varied widely in their interpretations. For example, ‘Ata’ said that Iman turns aside from a sinner. Tawis said that if one commits a sin, he is no longer a believer. Al-Hassan said that if one repents, Iman will be restored to him. Some have said that [the sinner] ceases to be a believer and becomes only a Muslim, but he does not cease to be a Muslim. This issue is also mentioned by Salih [the son of Imam Ahmad], who narrated the issues of Abu Harith and who once asked his father about it. The father replied that it was narrated that Abu Ja‘far said: “The fornicator who fornicates is not a believer as long as he commits fornication.” When he heard this hadith, he remarked that a sinner ceases to be a believer and becomes only a Muslim. Therefore, anyone who comunits an act of fornication will exit from the status of a believer to that of a Muslim. Hence, Islam is a prerequisite of Iman. Al-Zuhri said that when Sa‘d’s hadith was narrated he found that Islam is the two testimonies of belief, while Iman is works. To this Ahmad replied that this hadith has different interpretations and that Allah alone knows best.

Hence, he [Ahmad] makes mention of the views held by those who were followers of the Companions of the Prophet, yet without stating a preference for any of them over any others. This may be because all their views were valid, and because he

Hanbal, Ibn Hilal (?-273 A.H.), a cousin of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, died in Wasit, Iraq. He devoted his time to working on the science of hadith and history. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 328.]

was in agreement with all of them, just as he has stated elsewhere that the person.

_, who commits fornication ceases to be a believer and becomes [only] a Muslim. Ahmad [Ibn Hanbal] and others of the pious ancestors do not use the term ta’wil, interpretation, to refer to the practice of denying the apparent meanings of expressions [in the Qur’an]; rather, they employ the term ta’wil to refer to interpretation and to the explication of what a given expression means. Thus we have the words of ‘A?ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) often used to say as he knelt and prostrated himself before Allah: ‘Praise be to you, Oh, Allah, forgive me,’” as he interpreted the Qur’an. However, what has been said by the Successors of the Prophet’s Companions does not conflict with the apparent meaning of the hadith; on the contrary, it supports it. It is also in agreement with Ahmad [Ibn Hanbal’s] interpretation of it, even if [such an interpretation] is consistent with its apparent meaning. Otherwise, the innovator or heretic might suppose its meaning to be that he became an unbeliever with no belief whatsoever, as the Kharijites’ claim. For the hadith provides no evidence for this view; and whoever denies that such people have belief considers them to be Muslims but not believers.

Al-Marwazi relates that Abu ‘Abd Allah [Ahmad Ibn Hanbal] was once asked: “Are we believers?” “We say we are Muslims,” he replied. Then I said to him: “Shall we say that we are believers?” He said: “No, rather, we are Muslims;” this is because part of the essence of Islam is to make the exception with regard to belief. For one does not know whether someone has performed everything Allah commands him, even if he says: “I am righteous,” “I am Allah-fearing,” or “I am one of Allah’s saints.” But this does not prevent one from omitting the exception if what one means to say is simply, “I believe”; in this case all a person is doing is affirming the belief that exists in his heart, rather than stating with absolute certainty that he has carried out all of Allah’s commands. Similarly, one might state with certainty that he loves Allah and His Messenger, that he detests unbelief against Allah, or other things he may know for certain to be true about the present state of his heart. The same would apply if what he meant to say was that he was a believer outwardly, in which case there is nothing to prevent him from affirming unequivocally that which is known about him. Rather, like all members of extremist sects, he detests the claims of the Murji’ites, who say that belief is identical in all those who possess it. They claim that everyone who has belief has it in the very same degree, the way every human being has a head, so that someone