What is the ruling on the Murji'ah, and what is the ruling on one who describes those who are excused due to ignorance as being among the Murji'ah?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, what is the ruling on the Murji'ah, and what is the ruling on one who describes those who are excused due to ignorance as having entered with the Murji'ah in their methodology?
The Shaykh : First: We must say, who are the Murji'ah?
The questioner : The Murji'i is the one who says: I am a believer in my faith; a sin does not harm alongside faith, just as obedience does not harm alongside disbelief.
The Shaykh : Yes, the Murji'ah are those who say: Faith is the action of the heart. But their saying is invalid, without doubt, because all the texts indicate that if a person disobeys Allah (Mighty and Majestic), his faith decreases.
As for the excuse of ignorance, this is the implication of the generality of the texts. No one can bring evidence indicating that a person is never excused by ignorance. Even regarding the original message, a person is excused. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Isra 17:15] And He the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:165]. And were it not for the excuse of ignorance, sending the messengers would have had no benefit; people would be obligated by the implication of fitrah, and there would be no need to send the messengers. So the excuse of ignorance is the implication of the evidence of the Book and the Sunnah. The scholars of knowledge have explicitly stated this, such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab.
But a person may be negligent in seeking knowledge, in which case he sins in this regard. That is, it may be easy for him to know, but he does not care; or he is told: This is forbidden, but he does not care. In this case, he is deficient in this regard and sins for it.
As for a man who lived among people who commit sins and do not see them as anything but permissible, and then we say: This man sins, and the message did not reach him—this is far-fetched.
And in reality, my brothers, we do not rule based on our emotions; rather, we rule based on what the Shari'ah requires. And the Lord (Mighty and Majestic) says:Sahih al-Bukhari 7453. So how do we hold a person accountable for his ignorance when it did not occur to him that this is forbidden?
Indeed, Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "We do not declare disbelievers those who placed an idol on the grave of 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani and on the grave of al-Badawi due to their ignorance and the absence of anyone to alert them". Yes, what is the ruling?
The questioner : The Murji'ah?
The Shaykh : I have not known that anyone has expelled the Murji'ah from Islam. They are undoubtedly misguided and mistaken, and that deeds are included in the term of faith, as indicated by many texts, and that not performing righteous deeds decreases faith.
The questioner : The ruling of...?
The Shaykh : His ruling is that he is ignorant; we excuse him for his ignorance. Yes?
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And peace be upon you.
The questioner : We ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to bless you and all the callers who call to the word of truth, and to make them successful.
We ask you, Your Eminence, to give advice to our brothers who roam the streets, or who do not join the summer centers and do not remember Allah the Exalted, and who go outside the lands of the Muslims to European countries for their summer vacation?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. This is a very important question, and answering it requires a complete lecture. If you permit us to postpone it to the next session, if Allah wills, because the time has now ended with the adhan. If Allah wills, in the next session you will be the first to ask this question and it will be answered, if Allah wills. I think we spoke about it in a past session, but not in the way you mentioned. And if Allah wills, in the next session you will be the first to ask and the first to be answered.
The Shaykh : First: We must say, who are the Murji'ah?
The questioner : The Murji'i is the one who says: I am a believer in my faith; a sin does not harm alongside faith, just as obedience does not harm alongside disbelief.
The Shaykh : Yes, the Murji'ah are those who say: Faith is the action of the heart. But their saying is invalid, without doubt, because all the texts indicate that if a person disobeys Allah (Mighty and Majestic), his faith decreases.
As for the excuse of ignorance, this is the implication of the generality of the texts. No one can bring evidence indicating that a person is never excused by ignorance. Even regarding the original message, a person is excused. Allah the Exalted said:
And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولاً[We sent] messengers as bringers of good tidings and warners so that mankind will have no argument against Allah after the messengers
رُسُلاً مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِBut a person may be negligent in seeking knowledge, in which case he sins in this regard. That is, it may be easy for him to know, but he does not care; or he is told: This is forbidden, but he does not care. In this case, he is deficient in this regard and sins for it.
As for a man who lived among people who commit sins and do not see them as anything but permissible, and then we say: This man sins, and the message did not reach him—this is far-fetched.
And in reality, my brothers, we do not rule based on our emotions; rather, we rule based on what the Shari'ah requires. And the Lord (Mighty and Majestic) says:
My Mercy has preceded My Anger.
إن رحمتي سبقت غضبيIndeed, Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "We do not declare disbelievers those who placed an idol on the grave of 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani and on the grave of al-Badawi due to their ignorance and the absence of anyone to alert them". Yes, what is the ruling?
The questioner : The Murji'ah?
The Shaykh : I have not known that anyone has expelled the Murji'ah from Islam. They are undoubtedly misguided and mistaken, and that deeds are included in the term of faith, as indicated by many texts, and that not performing righteous deeds decreases faith.
The questioner : The ruling of...?
The Shaykh : His ruling is that he is ignorant; we excuse him for his ignorance. Yes?
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And peace be upon you.
The questioner : We ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to bless you and all the callers who call to the word of truth, and to make them successful.
We ask you, Your Eminence, to give advice to our brothers who roam the streets, or who do not join the summer centers and do not remember Allah the Exalted, and who go outside the lands of the Muslims to European countries for their summer vacation?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. This is a very important question, and answering it requires a complete lecture. If you permit us to postpone it to the next session, if Allah wills, because the time has now ended with the adhan. If Allah wills, in the next session you will be the first to ask this question and it will be answered, if Allah wills. I think we spoke about it in a past session, but not in the way you mentioned. And if Allah wills, in the next session you will be the first to ask and the first to be answered.