Question
One:
How does al-Kufr al-Akbar (Major Disbelief) or ar-Riddah (Apostasy) occur? Is
it specific to al-I’tiqaad (Belief )and al-Juhood (denial) and at-Takdheeb
(refusal to accept) or is it more general than that?
Answer: In the name of
Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praise if for Allah, Lord of all the
worlds, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad
and upon his family and companions.
Indeed
the issues of al-‘Aqeedah (Islamic Creed) are very important. It is obligatory
to learn al-‘Aqeedah (Islamic Creed) in all of its various subjects and issues,
and to acquire the proper understanding from the people of knowledge. It is not
enough to just present questions and then spread them. The questions increase
and I respond to them but the ignorance (of the issues related to creed) ends
up being greater. Therefore it is obligatory on the who wants to benefit
himself and his Muslim brothers to learn the beginning all the way to the
advanced levels of al-‘Aqeedah (Islamic Creed), and to learn its subjects and
issues, acquiring it from the people of knowledge and the basic books (on
creed), the books of the rightly guided predecessors.
In
doing so ignorance will be removed and there will be no need for anymore
excessive questions. One will also be able to explain (these issues) to the
people and teach the ignorant. That is because he will become an expert in
al-‘Aqeedah (Islamic Creed).
Likewise
knowledge of al-‘Aqeedah (Islamic Creed) is not taken from books alone, or from
reading and researching, since its issues are not elementarily taken from just
books and research, rather it is by narration from the people of knowledge and
insight, those who understand it and give rulings based on its problematic
issues. This is a necessary advice.
As
for what occurs now in gatherings where large amounts of questions about
al-‘Aqeedah and its important issues are presented by the people who have not
studied it before or from those who speak about al-‘Aqeedah (Islamic Creed) and
its issues out of ignorance or relying on their reading of books or their
research. This makes the issue more obscure and cause more problems along with
other issues. Troubles will spread and differences will occur because we relied
on our (personal) understanding without taking knowledge from its sources. We
rely on our reading and (personal) understanding. Indeed the understandings and
the perceptions will differ.
Differences
will spread concerning these important issues. Our religion brought unity,
harmony, non-division, and mutual love for the people of faith and animosity
for the people of disbelief. This is not complete except by acquisition of the
religious issues and their sources by the scholars and those who conveyed it
from the scholars of the past. They studied it by the chain (of narrators) and
conveyed it to whoever was after them. This is the correct path in conveying
knowledge of al-‘Aqeedah (Islamic Creed) and in other subjects. Al-‘Aqeedah is
the most important since it is the foundation and since differing about it is
an area of misguidance and division amongst the Muslims.
Al-Kufr
(Disbelief) and ar-Riddah (Apostasy) occur when a nullifier from the nullifiers
of Islam is committed. According to the people of knowledge whoever commits a
nullifier from the known nullifiers of Islam then by this act of nullification
he becomes an apostate and becomes a disbeliever. We pass judgment based on
one’s statements and by one’s actions. We pass judgment on him based on this
because we can only do so by what is apparent. As for the issues of the heart
then no one knows them but Allah, the Glorified, the Most High. Whoever
pronounces disbelief or an act of disbelief we pass judgment based on his
statement, his words, and his actions when his action or his statement are from
the affairs of apostasy.
Question
Two:
There is one who says that al-Imaan (faith) is statement, creed, and action,
but that action is a condition for the validity of faith. And he also says,
“There is no disbelief except for belief”. Is this or is this not a statement
from the statements of the people of the Sunnah?
Answer: The person who
makes this kind of statement has not understood al-Imaan or al-‘Aqeedah. This
is what we spoke of in response to the first question: it is obligatory for
this person to study al-‘Aqeedah under the people of knowledge and to acquire
it from its correct sources. Then he will understand the answer to this
question.
As
for his statement that al-Imaan is Qawl (statement), ‘Amal (action), and
‘Itiqaad (creed) and then says that al-‘Amal (action) is a condition of the
completeness of al-Imaan and in its correctness then this is contradictory!!
How can action be a part of al-Imaan and then he turns around and says that an
action is a condition? It is understood that the condition is out of what is
stipulated. This contains deficiency. This person wants to combine the
statements of the Salaf with the statements of the later people. He does not
understand the deficiency because he does not know the statements of the Salaf
or does he know the reality of the statements of the later people. He desires
to mix the two. Therefore al-Imaan is Qawl, ‘Amal, and I’tiqaad. Action is from
al-Imaan and is al-Imaan. It is not a condition based on the conditions of what
correctly embodies al-Imaan or a condition of completeness or any other
statements that are spread today. Al-Imaan is statement of the tongue, belief
of the heart, and action of the body parts. It increases with obedience and
decreases by sins that are committed.
Question
Three:
Are actions a pillar of al-Imaan or just a part of it, or are they based on a
condition?
Answer: This is related to
the previous question. The person asking this question does not understand the
intricate issue of al-Imaan. Based on this he repeated, are actions a pillar of
al-Imaan or just a part of it, or are they based on a condition? That is
because he did not acquire al-‘Aqeedah from its sources and its principles and
its scholars. As we mentioned that there is no act without Imaan and there is
no Imaan without action. Both of them are intertwined. Actions are from
al-Imaan, it is al-Imaan: actions are faith, statements are faith, and belief
is faith. All of it combined is belief in Allah, the Mighty and Majestic and
belief in His Books, Messengers, the Day of Judgment, and belief in Divine
Decree, whether it is good or bad.
Question
Four:
How many categories do the Murjiah sect consist of? And mention their claims
concerning the issues of al-Imaan.
Answer: The sect known as
al-Murjiah consist of four categories:
The
first group is al-Jahmiyyah, who say that al-Imaan is based only on
acknowledgement even if affirmation is not done. This is the statement of
al-Jahmiyyah. This is the evilest and nastiest statement to come from them.
This is Kufr (disbelief) in Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, because the early
polytheists, Pharaoh, Haamaan, Qaaroon, and even Iblees all acknowledged Allah
and acknowledged al-Imaan in their hearts. However, they did not articulate it
with their tongues or act upon it with their body parts. This acknowledgement
(of faith) did not benefit them.
The
second group is al-Ashaa’irah. They say that al-Imaan (faith) is only
affirmation of what is in the heart. This is a statement of al-Ashaa’irah. This
is also a false statement because the disbelievers affirmed (faith) in their
hearts. They acknowledged the Quran as being the truth. They acknowledged the
messenger as being the truth. The Jews and the Christians acknowledged that:
{Those
who whom We gave the book recognize him (the messenger) just as they recognize
their own sons.}al-Baqarah: 146
They
affirmed his (prophet-hood) in their hearts! The Most High says about the
polytheists:
{We
know what they say grieves you. They do not deny you rather the oppressors deny
the signs of Allah.}al-An’aam: 33
Therefore
they did not articulate it with their tongues or act upon it with their body
parts despite the fact that they affirmed it in their hearts. It did not make
them believers.
The
third group is al-Karraamiyyah, who are comparable to al-Ashaa’irah, they are
al-Karraamiyyah. They say that al-Imaan (faith) is based on the articulation of
the tongue even if the heart does not believe it. This is a false statement
without a doubt. That is because the hypocrites, who will be in the lowest
depths of the hellfire say that they bear witness that there is nothing worthy
of worship and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah with their tongues but
they do not believe it or affirm it within their hearts. As the Most High says:
{When
the hypocrites come to you they say, “We bear witness that you are the
Messenger of Allah”, and Allah knows you are His Messenger. And Allah bears
witness that the hypocrites are liars. They made their oaths a screen so they
hindered (men) from the path of Allah.} al-Munaafiqoon: 1-2
And
the Glorified and Most High says:
{They
say with their mouths that which is not in their hearts.}Aali ‘Imraan: 167
The
fourth group is Murjiat-ul-Fuqahaa (the Murjiah from amongst the scholars of
Islamic jurisprudence). It is the lightest of the sects concerning the issue of
al-Irjaa. They said that al-Imaan (faith) is belief in the heart, articulation
of the tongue, but action does not enter into it. This is the statement of the
Murjiat-ul-Fuqahaa. This is also a false statement.
Question
Five:
Is there a difference of opinion between the people of the Sunnah and with the
Murjiat-ul-Fuqahaa concerning the actions of the hearts and body parts? Is the
difference due to wording or in meaning? We hope for clarification from his
Eminence.
Answer: Their differences
concern actions. The differences amongst the Murjiat-ul-Fuqahaa with the majority
of the people of the Sunnah is centered around the deeds that are done openly,
such as prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage. They say that it is not from al-Imaan
rather it is a condition for al-Imaan. It is either a condition for validity or
a condition for completeness, and this statement is false as we understand it.
The
difference between them and with the people of the Sunnah is in the meaning not
in the wording. That is because they say that al-Imaan does not increase or
decrease by action. It does not increase when deeds in obedience to Allah are
done and it does not decrease when deeds in disobedience to Allah are done.
Instead people are all equal since according to them affirmation of faith in
the heart is done at the same time as statement of the tongue! And this is a
false statement.
Question
Six:
What is the ruling of one who totally leaves off doing all the outward acts (of
Islam) but he recites the two testimonies of faith and affirms the performance
of the obligatory matters? He doesn’t perform any of them. Is he still a
Muslim, knowing that he has no valid Islamic excuse that stops him from
establishing these obligatory matters?
Answer: This is a not a
believer. Whoever believes in his heart and affirms (this belief) with his
tongue but does not carry out any actions with his body parts then he has
nullified all of his good deeds if there was no valid excuse. This person is
not a believer because al-Imaan as we mentioned and as the people of the Sunnah
and the scholars have defined that faith consists of the statement of the
tongue, belief in the heart, and actions of the body parts. Faith does not
occur unless these three are combined. Whoever leaves just one of them then he
is not a believer.
Taken
from Asilah wa Ajwibah fee Masaail-Imaan wal-Kufr pgs. 2 -7
Dr. Saalih al-Fawzaan
Translated by Thomas Maldonado
