Reading what is transmitted from Ibn Abi al-Izz and Ibn 'Abd al-Barr regarding the condemnation of the Murji'ah?

The questioner : As we do, and as I add to your kind words a kind saying from Ibn Abi al-Izz in his commentary on the Tahaawi Creed, he says, among other things, "The condemned irja' that is condemned... "

The Shaykh : Excuse me, how does he say it?

The questioner : He says, "The condemned irja'..."

The Shaykh : Ah

The questioner : "...leads to the emergence of open sinfulness and sins, by the servant saying, 'I am a believer and a Muslim, truly, with complete faith and Islam, and I am among the awliya (close friends of Allah), so I do not care about the sins that occur from me.' And in this sense, the Murji'ah said, 'A sin does not harm one who has faith if he commits it.' And this is definitely false." As Ibn Abi al-Izz says, there is also another saying from the Hafiz of the Maghreb, Abu 'Umar Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, that supports what your eminence said. He says this is the saying, meaning the saying that one who abandons prayer is not a disbeliever. He says, "This is a saying that a group of the Imams who say that faith is speech and action have said, and the Murji'ah also said it, except that the Murji'ah say that the affirming believer is one who has completed faith. And we have mentioned the disagreement of the Imams of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding the one who abandons prayer. As for the people of innovation, the Murji'ah said that the one who abandons prayer is a believer with completed faith, if he is affirming and not denying or arrogant." This is the end of the words of the Hafiz (may Allah have mercy on him). As for the eminence...The Shaykh : This fabrication is not new; rather, it is an old fabrication, as the Qadi...The Shaykh : The distinguished Abu al-Fadl al-Sikastaki mentioned in his book al-Burhan fi 'Aqaid Ahl al-Adyan that a group of the people of innovation called the Mansuriyyah accuse the people of the Sunnah of being Murji'ah because of their saying, meaning the saying of the people of the Sunnah, that the one who abandons prayer, if he is not denying its obligation, is a Muslim according to the correct view of the madhhab, meaning the madhhab of Imam Ahmad. And they say this leads to the fact that faith, in their view, is speech without action. And al-Sikastaki...The Shaykh : ...defended the people of the Sunnah and refuted this accusation in the aforementioned book. Eminence...The Shaykh

The Shaykh : Excuse me, I do not know if the phrase of the noble man in the word "Muslim" is precise, because the hypocrite who displays Islam is called a Muslim, but he is not a believer. The research now is that this one who abandons prayer, and he believes in it, is he a believer or not? And our answer is that he is a believer, but his faith is deficient.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : So his abandonment of prayer is evidence of the deficiency of his faith. As for saying that he is a Muslim, it is said that even the one who has not a grain of faith in his heart, but he displays something of the pillars of Islam, is called a Muslim. Do you understand my observation?

The questioner : Yes, yes.

The Shaykh : What do you think about this?

The questioner : It seems to me that he perhaps intends by "Muslim" the believer, and that he is one of those who does not distinguish between Islam and faith.

The Shaykh : But this...

The questioner : Perhaps this, and Allah knows best...

The Shaykh : ... .

The questioner : And I do not think that...

The Shaykh : ...is the intention, meaning that if it were said "believer," would it not be a stronger refutation of the doubt and the question?

The questioner : Without a doubt.

The Shaykh : Because it is not hidden from you the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, as they remained in my mind from my old reading, which is that if faith is mentioned absolutely and Islam is mentioned absolutely, each of them has a meaning...

The questioner : Yes, exactly.

The Shaykh : ...but one of them may take the place of the other.

The questioner : Yes, exactly.

The Shaykh : This is correct, but here, and the subject is the subject of faith, and abandoning prayer contradicts faith, whether absolutely or as a deficiency. So I thought that instead of the word "Muslim," it should be said that he is a believer, and then coupled with it, that one should not imagine from this absolute statement that he has complete faith, as a refutation of the Murji'ah. This is an observation I wanted to mention regarding this text. And this text, without doubt, provides a strong refutation of those who exploit the correct saying and try to cast the accusation upon the people of truth. Yes.