The Accusation: “The Shaykh Agreed with the Jahmiyyah in Saying That Faith Is Affirmation (Taṣdīq)”

I say: the Shaykh’s statement in some recordings — “Faith (īmān) is synonymous with affirmation (taṣdīq) and does not differ from it, and a servant cannot be an affirmer and a disbeliever at the same time” — is, on its face, objectionable.

But whoever reflects on the words of those who rejected that faith is affirmation will find that they rejected it because the Murjiʾah — including the Jahmiyyah and the Murjiʾah of the jurists — say: “Affirmation is only in the heart; it neither increases nor decreases; and action is not part of faith.”

The Shaykh, however, says: “Action is a necessary concomitant of affirmation; faith increases and decreases; it is in the heart and the limbs; and action is part of faith.”¹ So the Shaykh meant “affirmation” in its legal (sharʿī) sense, as in the Prophet’s ﷺ saying: “…and the private part confirms that or denies it.” Many of the imams defined faith as affirmation, as will be shown.

Among what refutes this fabrication is the Shaykh’s many discussions refuting the Murjiʾah of the jurists, who exclude action from faith. In his commentary on Al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, on al-Ṭaḥāwī’s words, “Faith is acknowledgement with the tongue and affirmation with the heart,” Shaykh al-Albānī said:

“I say: this is the position of the Ḥanafīs and the Māturīdīs, contrary to the Salaf and the majority of the imams such as Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, al-Awzāʿī and others; for these added, to acknowledgement and affirmation, action with the pillars. The disagreement between the two positions is not a merely verbal one, as the commentator — may Allah have mercy on him — held, on the grounds that they all agree that the perpetrator of a major sin does not leave faith and that all such people are subject to Allah’s will: if He wills, He punishes him, and if He wills, He pardons him. For although this agreement is correct, had the Ḥanafīs not truly differed from the majority in denying that action is part of faith, they would have agreed with them that faith increases and decreases — increasing through obedience and decreasing through disobedience — given that the evidences of the Book, the Sunnah and the narrations of the Salaf all support this; the commentator mentioned a number of them on pp. 342–344.

But the Ḥanafīs insisted on holding the opposite of those explicit evidences of increase and decrease, and went to obvious — indeed false — lengths in interpreting them away. The commentator (p. 342) mentioned an example of this; indeed, he related that Abū al-Muʿīn al-Nasafī disputed the authenticity of the hadith, “Faith has seventy-some branches,” even though all the imams of hadith cite it as proof, among them al-Bukhārī and Muslim in their two Ṣaḥīḥs, and it is documented in (al-Ṣaḥīḥah: 1369). There is no reason for that except that it explicitly contradicts their position.

How, then, can the said disagreement be merely verbal when they permit the most wicked of them to say, “My faith is like the faith of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq” — indeed, like the faith of the prophets and messengers, and of Jibrīl and Mīkāʾīl, peace and blessings be upon them?! How, when on the basis of this position they do not permit any of them — however sinful and wicked he may be — to say, “I am a believer, if Allah the Exalted wills,” but rather (require him to) say, “I am truly a believer”? Yet Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: “The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith, and upon their Lord they rely — those who establish prayer and spend from what We have provided them. Those are the believers, truly” [al-Anfāl 8:2–4], and He says: “And who is more truthful than Allah in statement?” [al-Nisāʾ 4:122]

On the basis of all this, they went to extremes in their partisanship, stating that whoever makes an exception (istithnāʾ) in his faith has disbelieved, and they derived from this that a Ḥanafī may not marry a Shāfiʿī woman! Some of them were lenient — so they claimed — and permitted it but not the reverse, explaining this by saying: “treating her as one of the People of the Book!” I know one of the Ḥanafī shaykhs whose daughter was sought in marriage by one of the Shāfiʿī shaykhs, and he refused, saying: “If only you were not a Shāfiʿī!” After this, is there any room for doubt that the disagreement is real? Whoever wishes to study this issue in depth should refer to the book Al-Īmān by Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, for it is the best that has been written on this subject.” End quote.²

Is one who refutes the Murjiʾah of the jurists with a refutation like this to be described as a Murjiʾ? Glory be to You! This is a tremendous slander. Note also that he documented and verified the hadiths of three books devoted to explaining the creed of the Salaf on faith: Kitāb al-Īmān by Ibn Abī Shaybah, Kitāb al-Īmān by Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām, and Kitāb al-Īmān by Ibn Taymiyyah, and he did not comment on them with anything indicating that he preferred the view of the Murjiʾah over what the authors of these books established.

And he — may Allah have mercy on him — said, in reply to one of those who attacked the Musnad of Imam Aḥmad:

“The man is Ḥanafī in school and Māturīdī in creed. It is well known that they do not accept what has come in the Book, the Sunnah and the narrations of the Companions stating explicitly that faith increases and decreases and that actions are part of faith — a position held by the majority of scholars, early and late, except the Ḥanafīs; for they still insist on opposing it. Indeed, they openly condemn it, to the point that some of them have declared that to be apostasy and disbelief — and we seek refuge in Allah the Exalted. In the (Chapter on Disliked Matters) of Al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq by Ibn Nujaym al-Ḥanafī, the text reads (8/205): ‘Faith neither increases nor decreases, because faith with us is not one of the actions.’”

Then Shaykh al-Albānī said: “This explicitly contradicts the hadith of Abū Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked: ‘Which deed is best?’ He said: ‘Faith in Allah and His Messenger…’ — the hadith, reported by al-Bukhārī and others; and there are other hadiths with the same meaning, some of which you can see in Al-Targhīb (2/107). Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah explained in his book Al-Īmān, as thoroughly as can be, how faith is among the deeds and that it increases and decreases; let whoever wishes for detail refer to it.

I say — and the words are still the Shaykh’s — this is what I wrote more than twenty years ago, establishing the position of the Salaf and the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah, praise be to Allah, on the issues of faith. Then today some ignorant novices and young upstarts come and accuse us of irjāʾ!! To Allah alone is the complaint against the evil of their ignorance, misguidance and froth.” End quote.³

I say: this is the Shaykh’s carefully worded statement, made in a written work. He did not always observe this in his recordings, like other people of knowledge. So hold fast to what he carefully wrote; as for what he recorded, what we established earlier applies to it.

And in his commentary on the words of the author of Al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, “Faith is one, and its people are equal in its basis…”, he said:

“This follows from his earlier statement on faith, that it is only acknowledgement and affirmation. You have learned that the correct view is that it varies, and that the faith of the righteous is not like the faith of the wicked; so refer to it.”⁴

Note: the original words of al-Ṭaḥāwī are: “and its people are equal in its basis.” I have explained this in a separate treatise entitled Al-Muʾākhadhāt ʿalā al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah.

And when documenting the hadith, “The fornicator does not commit fornication while he is a believer, nor does he drink wine while he is a believer, nor does he steal while he is a believer, nor does he plunder something to which people raise their eyes while he is a believer,”⁵ he said:

“Reported by al-Bukhārī, Muslim and others from the hadith of Abū Hurayrah, and it has several chains from him: … Then he said: Know that what prompted me to document this authentic hadith — whose authenticity is agreed upon by the imams of hadith, the two Shaykhs and others — is that I saw that Shaykh Zāhid al-Kawtharī, known for his intense hostility to the people of the Sunnah and hadith, commented on it in his annotations on the book Al-Tanbīh in a way that makes the ordinary reader feel that it is a weak hadith that cannot serve as proof. So I saw it necessary to carry out this documentation, by which every reader can uncover how his comment misleads readers…

He said in the comment referred to (p. 154), after mentioning two other authentic hadiths: ‘As for the hadith “The fornicator does not commit fornication while he is a believer,” it is lower than them in authenticity (!); indeed, some people of knowledge rejected its authenticity altogether, as Ibn Jarīr related. In its chain is Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Bukayr, whom Abū Ḥātim did not accept as proof and whom al-Nasāʾī declared weak; but the majority accepted him and interpreted the hadith, because the apparent meaning contradicts the Book, the Sunnah and consensus — see Fatḥ al-Bārī (12/47).’

Then he said: The reply to him is from several angles: … His saying, ‘and they interpreted the hadith… etc.’ I say: what is wrong with interpretation if its purpose is to reconcile the texts of the Sharīʿah? Is this the first authentic hadith to be interpreted?! What will al-Kawtharī do with the Prophet’s ﷺ saying: ‘None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself’ (agreed upon), and his saying: ‘By Allah, he does not believe; by Allah, he does not believe; by Allah, he does not believe — the one whose neighbour is not safe from his harm’ (reported by al-Bukhārī)?

The truth is that the hadith, even though it is interpreted, is a proof against the Ḥanafīs, who still insist on opposing the Salaf in saying that faith neither increases nor decreases. Faith, according to them, is a single level, so they cannot conceive of deficient faith. That is why al-Kawtharī tries to reject this hadith: because once it is interpreted correctly it becomes a proof against them, for its meaning is: ‘while he is a believer with complete faith.’ Ibn Baṭṭāl said: ‘Ahl al-Sunnah understood faith here to mean complete faith, because the disobedient person becomes lower in the state of faith than one who does not disobey.’

Al-Ḥāfiẓ (Ibn Ḥajar) mentioned it (10/28), and likewise what he quoted (12/49) from Imam al-Nawawī, who said: ‘The correct view, stated by the verifying scholars, is that its meaning is: he does not commit these sins while being complete in faith. This is one of the expressions that are used to negate a thing while what is meant is the negation of its completeness…’ Then al-Ḥāfiẓ supported this in a long and excellent discussion, so refer to it.

It is strange that Shaykh al-Qārī, despite being a partisan Ḥanafī, explained the hadith as Ibn Baṭṭāl and al-Nawawī did above. He said in Al-Mirqāh (1/105): ‘Our companions interpreted it to mean the complete believer…’, then he said: ‘on the basis that faith is affirmation, and actions are outside it!’ This contradicts that interpretation — so reflect.”⁶

And Shaykh al-Albānī said, when documenting the hadith, “Faith is fixed in the heart like the firm mountains, and its increase and decrease are disbelief”:⁷

“This hadith contradicts the many verses that explicitly state that faith increases, such as the saying of the Exalted: “that they would increase in faith along with their faith” [al-Fatḥ 48:4]. This is sufficient evidence of the falsehood of such a hadith, even if a group held its meaning.”⁸

And in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, Shaykh al-Albānī — may Allah have mercy on him — said:

“I say: Muslim and others added in one narration: ‘…and your deeds.’ It is documented in Ghāyat al-Marām fī Takhrīj Aḥādīth al-Ḥalāl wa al-Ḥarām (410). This addition is very important, because many people understand the hadith wrongly without it. If you command them with what the wise Sharīʿah has commanded them… they answer you that what counts is what is in the heart, and they cite this hadith for their claim, without knowing of this authentic addition, which shows that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, also looks at your deeds… as many texts indicate, such as his ﷺ saying: ‘Whoever introduces into this matter of ours what is not part of it, it is rejected.’

The truth is that the soundness of hearts cannot be conceived except with the soundness of deeds, and there is no soundness of deeds except with the soundness of hearts. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ explained this in the finest manner in the hadith of al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr: ‘…Indeed, in the body there is a morsel of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart.’

And he said regarding the hadith, ‘You will straighten your rows, or Allah will cause differences between your faces’ — that is, your hearts — and his ﷺ saying, ‘Allah is beautiful and loves beauty’…

Once you know this: among the most egregious errors I have seen in this book, Al-Riyāḍ, in all its copies… is that the author — may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him — added the said addition in hadith (1587), but his pen, or his scribe’s, slipped and placed it where it corrupts the meaning, so that it came out thus: ‘…nor at your forms and your deeds, but He looks…’ This passed unnoticed by all the printers, editors and commentators… Ibn ʿAllān said (4/46): ‘That is, the Exalted does not base reward on the size of the body, beauty of form or abundance of deeds.’ The falsehood of this explanation is obvious, because, besides contradicting the hadith in its authentic wording, it conflicts with the many texts of the Book and the Sunnah showing that the servants’ differing ranks in Paradise are according to righteous deeds, many or few. Among them is the saying of the Exalted: “And for all are degrees from what they have done” [al-Anʿām 6:132], and His saying in the hadith qudsī: ‘O My servants, it is only your deeds that I record for you and then repay you for; so whoever finds good, let him praise Allah.’

How can it be conceived that Allah does not look at deeds as He does not look at bodies and forms, when deeds are the foundation for entering Paradise after faith, as the Exalted said: “Enter Paradise for what you used to do” [al-Naḥl 16:32]? Reflect on how far blind following takes its people from what is right and casts them into a deep valley of error — and that is only because they turned away from studying the Sunnah in its principal, reliable and verified books. Allah is the One whose help is sought.”⁹

Here is the Shaykh — may Allah have mercy on him — objecting to the Murjiʾah in their definition of faith as affirmation; so reflect. The preceding texts contain a reply to most of the accusations made against the Shaykh unjustly and aggressively. So if something is found in the Shaykh’s recordings indicating that he explained faith as affirmation, this does not mean he agreed with the Murjiʾah — and in any case he has predecessors in this terminology.

Shaykh al-Islām said (Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 7/636): “Either affirmation of the heart alone, as the Jahmiyyah and those Ashʿarīs who followed them say; or the heart and the tongue, as the Murjiʾah say; or the tongue, as the Karrāmiyyah say; or affirmation with the heart, speech and action — for all of that enters into the meaning of affirmation according to the school of Ahl al-Ḥadīth.”

And in Al-Ibānah al-Ṣughrā by Ibn Baṭṭah (p. 176), he said in defining faith: “Its meaning is affirmation of what He said, commanded, obligated and prohibited, of everything that the messengers brought from Him and for which the books were revealed, and with that He sent the messengers.”

However, mere affirmation of the heart is not called faith. In Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (7/529): “Faith in the heart is not faith through mere affirmation that is not accompanied by the action of the heart and what it necessitates — love of Allah and His Messenger and the like — just as it is not faith through mere conjecture and desire. Rather, the basis of faith must include the speech of the heart and the action of the heart. The word ‘faith’ (īmān) is not synonymous with the word ‘affirmation’ (taṣdīq), as a group of people think.”