The Claim That the Qur'an Is Created and the Excuse for al-Ma'mun
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah keep you safe. Is it correct to say that what al-Ma'mun did in compelling people to affirm that the Qur'an is created was an act of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) on his part, and that this serves as an excuse for him? Is independent legal reasoning permissible in such matters, given that this is a question asked in some academic institutions?
Answer:
Affirming that the Qur'an is created is disbelief (kufr). However, regarding al-Ma'mun, they say that he was ignorant of this matter; he was following the Mu'tazilah without intending it. Therefore, they do not declare al-Ma'mun a disbeliever, because he is considered ignorant of this matter, and his action was merely following the Mu'tazilah, who suggested it to him and asked him to implement it. He is excused due to ignorance. Yes. Otherwise, if he had intentionally done this, he would have been a disbeliever like the Jahmiyyah. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah keep you safe. Is it correct to say that what al-Ma'mun did in compelling people to affirm that the Qur'an is created was an act of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) on his part, and that this serves as an excuse for him? Is independent legal reasoning permissible in such matters, given that this is a question asked in some academic institutions?
Answer:
Affirming that the Qur'an is created is disbelief (kufr). However, regarding al-Ma'mun, they say that he was ignorant of this matter; he was following the Mu'tazilah without intending it. Therefore, they do not declare al-Ma'mun a disbeliever, because he is considered ignorant of this matter, and his action was merely following the Mu'tazilah, who suggested it to him and asked him to implement it. He is excused due to ignorance. Yes. Otherwise, if he had intentionally done this, he would have been a disbeliever like the Jahmiyyah. Yes.
Source
شرح مسائل الجاهلية [ صالح الفوزان ]، بداية من المسألة الخامسة والثلاثين : التعبد بكشف العورات — islamhouse.com (1:04:48)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.