The Spread of the Doctrine of the Murji'ah and the Call to It
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Fatwa No. ( 21436 )
Q: Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. After that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from a number of questioners, whose inquiries were recorded by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars under number (5411) dated 7/11/1420 AH, number (1026) dated 7/2/1421 AH, number (1016) dated 7/2/1421 AH, number (1395) dated 8/3/1421 AH, number (1650) dated 17/3/1421 AH, number (1893) dated 25/3/1421 AH, and number (2106) dated 7/4/1421 AH. The questioners asked many questions, the substance of which is: Recently, the idea of the Murji'ah has appeared in a frightening manner, and a large number of writers have set out to promote it, relying on truncated quotations from the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah , which has caused confusion among many people regarding the term "faith." These people who spread this idea attempt to exclude deeds from the term "faith," and they believe that one who abandons all deeds is saved. This
makes it easy for people to fall into sins, matters of shirk (associating partners with Allah), and matters of riddah (apostasy) if they know that faith is established for them, even if they do not perform the obligatory duties and avoid the forbidden, and even if they do not act according to the laws of the religion based on this school of thought. There is no doubt that this school of thought has its danger for Islamic societies and matters of creed and worship. Therefore, we request from Your Eminence to clarify the reality of this school of thought and its bad effects, and to clarify the truth based on the Book and the Sunnah, and to verify the transmission from Shaykh al-Islam, so that the Muslim is aware of his religion.
A: After the Committee studied the question, it responded as follows: This mentioned doctrine is the doctrine of the Murji'ah, who exclude deeds from the definition of faith, and say: Faith is belief in the heart, or belief in the heart and utterance with the tongue only, while deeds, in their view, are merely a condition of perfection in it, not part of it. So whoever believes in his heart and utters with his tongue is, in their view, a believer with complete faith, even if he does whatever he does of leaving obligatory duties and committing forbidden acts, and he deserves to enter Paradise even if he never did any good. And this misguidance entails false consequences, among which is restricting disbelief to disbelief by denial and by the heart's approval of what is forbidden. There is no doubt that this is a false statement and clear misguidance, contrary to the Book and the Sunnah and what the people of the Sunnah and the community, the Salaf and the Khalaf, are upon. And this opens the door for people of evil and corruption to loosen themselves from the religion, not to be bound by commands and prohibitions, and not to fear and be in awe of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). It also nullifies the aspect of jihad in the path of Allah and enjoining good and forbidding evil,
and it equates the righteous and the wicked, the obedient and the disobedient, the one who is upright upon the religion of Allah, and the open sinner who frees himself from the commands and prohibitions of the religion, as long as their deeds do not affect faith, as they say. Therefore, the scholars of Islam, past and present, have been concerned with clarifying the falsity of this school and refuting its proponents, and they made a special chapter for this issue in books of creed. Indeed, they wrote independent treatises on it, as the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and others did. The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said in (Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah): "And among the principles of the people of the Sunnah and the community: that religion and faith are speech and action, speech of the heart and tongue, and action of the heart, tongue, and limbs. And that faith increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience." And he said in the book (Al-Iman): "And from this chapter are the statements of the Salaf and the scholars of the Sunnah in explaining faith. Sometimes they say: It is speech and action. Sometimes they say: It is speech, action, and intention. Sometimes they say: Speech, action, intention, and following the Sunnah. Sometimes they say: Speech with the tongue, belief in the heart, and action with the limbs. And all of this is correct." And he said (may Allah have mercy on him): "And the Salaf were severe in their disapproval of the Murji'ah for excluding action from faith. And there is no doubt that their statement that the faith of people is equal is one of the most serious errors. Indeed, people do not equal each other in belief, nor in love, nor in fear, nor in knowledge. Rather, they differ in many ways." And he said (may Allah have mercy on him): "And the Murji'ah deviated in this principle from the clarification of the Book and the Sunnah and the statements of the Companions and the Tabi'un who followed them with kindness. They relied on their opinion and on what they interpreted with their understanding of the language. And this is the way of the people of innovation." End of quote.
And among the evidence that deeds are included in the reality of faith and that it increases and decreases with them is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Anfal 8:2-4] , and His saying: [Al-Mu'minun 23:1-9] , and the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih Muslim 35b . Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said in
(The Book of Faith) also: "And the origin of faith is in the heart, and it is the speech of the heart and its action, and it is affirmation by belief, love, and submission. And what is in the heart must necessarily manifest its requirement and implication on the limbs. And if it does not act according to its requirement and implication, it indicates its absence or weakness. Therefore, the apparent actions are from the requirement of the faith of the heart and its implication, and they are a confirmation of what is in the heart, a proof of it, and a witness to it. And they are a branch of absolute faith and a part of it." And he also said: "Indeed, whoever reflects on what the Khawarij and the Murji'ah say about the meaning of faith knows necessarily that it is contrary to the Messenger, and knows necessarily that obedience to Allah and His Messenger is part of the completion of faith, and that he did not make every one who commits a sin a disbeliever. And he knows that if it were the case that a group said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): We believe in what you brought us with our hearts without doubt, and we affirm with our tongues the two testimonies, but we do not obey you in anything you commanded or prohibited. We do not pray, we do not fast, we do not perform Hajj, we do not believe in the hadith, we do not fulfill trusts, we do not keep covenants, we do not maintain family ties, and we do not do any of the good you commanded. And we drink intoxicants, we commit zina with those who are forbidden to us, and we kill whoever we can
of your companions and your community, and we take their wealth. Indeed, we will also kill you and fight you with your enemies. Would any rational person imagine that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say to them: You are believers with complete faith, and you are the people of my intercession on the Day of Resurrection, and it is hoped that none of you will enter the Fire? Rather, every Muslim knows necessarily that he would say to them: You are the most disbelieving of people in what I brought, and he would strike their necks if they did not repent from that." End of quote. And he also said: "So the term faith, when used in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, is intended to mean what is intended by the term righteousness, the term piety, and the term religion, as mentioned before. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that faith has seventy-odd branches, the best of which is the saying: There is no god but Allah, and the lowest of which is removing a harmful object from the road. So everything that Allah loves enters into the name of faith. And likewise, the term righteousness includes all of that when used, and likewise the term piety, and likewise religion or the religion of Islam. And it was also narrated that they asked about faith, so Allah revealed this verse:[Al-Baqarah 2:177] the verse. Until he said: "And the intended point here: that praise has not been established except for faith accompanied by action, not for faith devoid of action." This is the statement of the Shaykh al-Islam regarding faith, and whoever quoted from him other
In that case, he is lying about it. As for what came in the hadith that a group of people will enter Paradise without having ever done any good, that is not a general rule for everyone who leaves off the deed while being able to do it; rather, it is specific to those who were prevented from doing the deed due to an excuse, or for other meanings that align with the objectives of the Shari'ah. This is the end of the matter, and the Permanent Committee, in clarifying this, forbids and warns against arguing over the foundations of creed; because of the great dangers that result from that. It advises turning to the books of the righteous Salaf and the imams of religion, which are based on the Book and the Sunnah and the sayings of the Salaf, and it warns against turning to books that contradict that, and to modern books issued by pretentious scholars who did not take knowledge from its people and its authentic sources. They have ventured into speaking on this great principle of the principles of belief, and they have adopted the doctrine of the Murji'ah and unjustly attributed it to the people of the Sunnah and the community, thereby confusing the people, and they have reinforced it aggressively by quoting from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and other imams of the Salaf with truncated quotes, and by using ambiguous statements without referring them to the clear statements of their speech. We advise them to fear Allah regarding themselves, and to return to their right mind, and not to split the ranks with this misguided doctrine. The Committee also warns Muslims against being deceived and falling into the traps of those who contradict what the community of Muslims, the people of the Sunnah and the community, are upon. May Allah guide everyone to beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and understanding of the religion. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
of the opponents of what the community of Muslims, the people of the Sunnah and the community, are upon. May Allah guide everyone to beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and understanding of the religion. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q: Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. After that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from a number of questioners, whose inquiries were recorded by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars under number (5411) dated 7/11/1420 AH, number (1026) dated 7/2/1421 AH, number (1016) dated 7/2/1421 AH, number (1395) dated 8/3/1421 AH, number (1650) dated 17/3/1421 AH, number (1893) dated 25/3/1421 AH, and number (2106) dated 7/4/1421 AH. The questioners asked many questions, the substance of which is: Recently, the idea of the Murji'ah has appeared in a frightening manner, and a large number of writers have set out to promote it, relying on truncated quotations from the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah , which has caused confusion among many people regarding the term "faith." These people who spread this idea attempt to exclude deeds from the term "faith," and they believe that one who abandons all deeds is saved. This
makes it easy for people to fall into sins, matters of shirk (associating partners with Allah), and matters of riddah (apostasy) if they know that faith is established for them, even if they do not perform the obligatory duties and avoid the forbidden, and even if they do not act according to the laws of the religion based on this school of thought. There is no doubt that this school of thought has its danger for Islamic societies and matters of creed and worship. Therefore, we request from Your Eminence to clarify the reality of this school of thought and its bad effects, and to clarify the truth based on the Book and the Sunnah, and to verify the transmission from Shaykh al-Islam, so that the Muslim is aware of his religion.
A: After the Committee studied the question, it responded as follows: This mentioned doctrine is the doctrine of the Murji'ah, who exclude deeds from the definition of faith, and say: Faith is belief in the heart, or belief in the heart and utterance with the tongue only, while deeds, in their view, are merely a condition of perfection in it, not part of it. So whoever believes in his heart and utters with his tongue is, in their view, a believer with complete faith, even if he does whatever he does of leaving obligatory duties and committing forbidden acts, and he deserves to enter Paradise even if he never did any good. And this misguidance entails false consequences, among which is restricting disbelief to disbelief by denial and by the heart's approval of what is forbidden. There is no doubt that this is a false statement and clear misguidance, contrary to the Book and the Sunnah and what the people of the Sunnah and the community, the Salaf and the Khalaf, are upon. And this opens the door for people of evil and corruption to loosen themselves from the religion, not to be bound by commands and prohibitions, and not to fear and be in awe of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). It also nullifies the aspect of jihad in the path of Allah and enjoining good and forbidding evil,
and it equates the righteous and the wicked, the obedient and the disobedient, the one who is upright upon the religion of Allah, and the open sinner who frees himself from the commands and prohibitions of the religion, as long as their deeds do not affect faith, as they say. Therefore, the scholars of Islam, past and present, have been concerned with clarifying the falsity of this school and refuting its proponents, and they made a special chapter for this issue in books of creed. Indeed, they wrote independent treatises on it, as the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and others did. The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said in (Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah): "And among the principles of the people of the Sunnah and the community: that religion and faith are speech and action, speech of the heart and tongue, and action of the heart, tongue, and limbs. And that faith increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience." And he said in the book (Al-Iman): "And from this chapter are the statements of the Salaf and the scholars of the Sunnah in explaining faith. Sometimes they say: It is speech and action. Sometimes they say: It is speech, action, and intention. Sometimes they say: Speech, action, intention, and following the Sunnah. Sometimes they say: Speech with the tongue, belief in the heart, and action with the limbs. And all of this is correct." And he said (may Allah have mercy on him): "And the Salaf were severe in their disapproval of the Murji'ah for excluding action from faith. And there is no doubt that their statement that the faith of people is equal is one of the most serious errors. Indeed, people do not equal each other in belief, nor in love, nor in fear, nor in knowledge. Rather, they differ in many ways." And he said (may Allah have mercy on him): "And the Murji'ah deviated in this principle from the clarification of the Book and the Sunnah and the statements of the Companions and the Tabi'un who followed them with kindness. They relied on their opinion and on what they interpreted with their understanding of the language. And this is the way of the people of innovation." End of quote.
And among the evidence that deeds are included in the reality of faith and that it increases and decreases with them is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
(2) The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely - (3) The ones who establish prayer, and from what We have provided them, they spend. (4) Those are the believers, truly.
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ (2) الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاَةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ (3) أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا(1) Certainly will the believers have succeeded: (2) They who are during their prayer humbly submissive (3) And they who turn away from ill speech (4) And they who are observant of zakah (5) And they who guard their private parts (6) Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed - (7) But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors - (8) And they who are to their trusts and their promises attentive (9) And they who carefully maintain their prayers -
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (1) الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ (2) وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ (3) وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ (4) وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ (5) إِلا عَلَى أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ (6) فَمَنِ ابْتَغَى وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ (7) وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ (8) وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَى صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَFaith has over seventy branches or over sixty branches, the most excellent of which is the declaration that there is no god but Allah, and the humblest of which is the, removal of what is injurious from the path: and modesty is a branch of faith.
الإيمان بضع وسبعون شعبة، أعلاها قول: لا إله إلا الله، وأدناها إماطة الأذى عن الطريق، والحياء شعبة من الإيمان(The Book of Faith) also: "And the origin of faith is in the heart, and it is the speech of the heart and its action, and it is affirmation by belief, love, and submission. And what is in the heart must necessarily manifest its requirement and implication on the limbs. And if it does not act according to its requirement and implication, it indicates its absence or weakness. Therefore, the apparent actions are from the requirement of the faith of the heart and its implication, and they are a confirmation of what is in the heart, a proof of it, and a witness to it. And they are a branch of absolute faith and a part of it." And he also said: "Indeed, whoever reflects on what the Khawarij and the Murji'ah say about the meaning of faith knows necessarily that it is contrary to the Messenger, and knows necessarily that obedience to Allah and His Messenger is part of the completion of faith, and that he did not make every one who commits a sin a disbeliever. And he knows that if it were the case that a group said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): We believe in what you brought us with our hearts without doubt, and we affirm with our tongues the two testimonies, but we do not obey you in anything you commanded or prohibited. We do not pray, we do not fast, we do not perform Hajj, we do not believe in the hadith, we do not fulfill trusts, we do not keep covenants, we do not maintain family ties, and we do not do any of the good you commanded. And we drink intoxicants, we commit zina with those who are forbidden to us, and we kill whoever we can
of your companions and your community, and we take their wealth. Indeed, we will also kill you and fight you with your enemies. Would any rational person imagine that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say to them: You are believers with complete faith, and you are the people of my intercession on the Day of Resurrection, and it is hoped that none of you will enter the Fire? Rather, every Muslim knows necessarily that he would say to them: You are the most disbelieving of people in what I brought, and he would strike their necks if they did not repent from that." End of quote. And he also said: "So the term faith, when used in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, is intended to mean what is intended by the term righteousness, the term piety, and the term religion, as mentioned before. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that faith has seventy-odd branches, the best of which is the saying: There is no god but Allah, and the lowest of which is removing a harmful object from the road. So everything that Allah loves enters into the name of faith. And likewise, the term righteousness includes all of that when used, and likewise the term piety, and likewise religion or the religion of Islam. And it was also narrated that they asked about faith, so Allah revealed this verse:
Righteousness is not that you turn your faces
لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْIn that case, he is lying about it. As for what came in the hadith that a group of people will enter Paradise without having ever done any good, that is not a general rule for everyone who leaves off the deed while being able to do it; rather, it is specific to those who were prevented from doing the deed due to an excuse, or for other meanings that align with the objectives of the Shari'ah. This is the end of the matter, and the Permanent Committee, in clarifying this, forbids and warns against arguing over the foundations of creed; because of the great dangers that result from that. It advises turning to the books of the righteous Salaf and the imams of religion, which are based on the Book and the Sunnah and the sayings of the Salaf, and it warns against turning to books that contradict that, and to modern books issued by pretentious scholars who did not take knowledge from its people and its authentic sources. They have ventured into speaking on this great principle of the principles of belief, and they have adopted the doctrine of the Murji'ah and unjustly attributed it to the people of the Sunnah and the community, thereby confusing the people, and they have reinforced it aggressively by quoting from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and other imams of the Salaf with truncated quotes, and by using ambiguous statements without referring them to the clear statements of their speech. We advise them to fear Allah regarding themselves, and to return to their right mind, and not to split the ranks with this misguided doctrine. The Committee also warns Muslims against being deceived and falling into the traps of those who contradict what the community of Muslims, the people of the Sunnah and the community, are upon. May Allah guide everyone to beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and understanding of the religion. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
of the opponents of what the community of Muslims, the people of the Sunnah and the community, are upon. May Allah guide everyone to beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and understanding of the religion. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.