Some books have appeared in Egypt discussing issues of declaring someone a disbeliever, citing certain evidence on the issue of faith, and accusing the belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community in this matter of being among the issues of the Murji'ah.

The questioner : Our Shaykh, some books have appeared there discussing issues of declaring someone a disbeliever, citing certain evidence on the issue of faith, and accusing the belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community in this matter of being among the issues of the Murji'ah. They also cited the words of Ibn Abi al-'Izz in his commentary on the Tahawiyyah. What is your response to this doubt? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Our response is that, first, the disagreement is fundamental between the true people of the Sunnah and the true Murji'ah from two aspects. The people of the Sunnah believe that righteous deeds are part of faith, whereas the Murji'ah do not believe that. They explicitly state that faith is affirmation with the tongue and belief in the heart, and that righteous deeds are not part of faith. By doing so, they reject many texts, and we have no need to mention any of them unless we are compelled to. This is the first point where the true people of the Sunnah differ from the Murji'ah. The second point, which branches from the first, is that the people of the Sunnah say that faith increases and decreases; it increases through obedience and decreases through disobedience. The Murji'ah deny this legal reality and say that faith neither increases nor decreases. Therefore, the accusation by those you mentioned—and the responsibility lies with the narrator—of these contemporary writers accusing the people of the Sunnah of being Murji'ah in the issue of faith indicates decisively one of two things, both of which are bitter: either they are ignorant of this reality, or they are ignoring it. How can one accuse those who say that faith includes righteous deeds and that faith increases and decreases of being Murji'ah? The Murji'ah fundamentally contradict them by saying that faith does not include righteous deeds and does not accept increase or decrease. They even narrated from one of their great leaders that he used to say, "My faith is like the faith of Jibril (peace be upon him)." He may have been sincere with himself, but he was not sincere with the text of his Lord's Book when he said, "My faith is like the faith of Jibril," because he believed that faith has no connection to prayer, worship, or mindfulness of Allah, but is merely faith. And faith that is mere belief does not accept increase or decrease, because if it decreased below certainty, doubt and suspicion would enter it, and at that point it would be of no benefit. But faith does not accept stagnation. Like this light, like this place, no matter how much light you shine in it, it expands and expands without limit. So, the accusation of the people of the Sunnah by these people—who, from what I heard in the question, seem to be associated with the Khawarij, those who say such things and declare disbeliever anyone who commits a major sin, contradicting many, many texts from the Book and the Sunnah—how astonishing it is that they accuse the masses of Muslims, the Companions, the Tabi'un, and those who followed them, whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) testified to as the best of generations, of being Murji'ah, contradicting ... from the texts of the Book and the Sunnah. And in my opinion, the matter does not require expanding the refutation of this lie beyond what I have just mentioned, and perhaps this is sufficient, if Allah wills.