“Deeds, ’ibâdât, are included in îmân. Îmân of a
non-worshipper fades away. Îmân may increase or decrease. Ash-Shafi’î, Ahmad
and others said so unanimously.”
It is of îmân to believe that ’ibâda is a duty.
Believing and performing are two different concepts that should not be confused
with each other. Anyone who, though he has believed but because he is lazy,
does not practise his beliefs does not become a
disbeliever. The author of the book, unable to
understand this, accuses millions of Muslims of disbelief. Although anyone who
calls a Muslim “kâfir” (disbeliever) becomes a kâfir himself, those who say so
with a ta’wîl do not become kâfirs.
The forty-third verse of the famous book Qasîdat al-Amâlî[1]
says, “The fard ’ibâdât are not included in îmân.” Hadrat al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu
Hanîfa declared that deeds were not a part of îmân. ‘Îmân’ means ‘belief.’
There is neither paucity nor plentifulness in believing. If ’ibâdât were of
îmân, îmân would increase or decrease. The belief will not be accepted after
the curtain rises up from in front of the eyes and the torture is seen [at the
moment one dies]. Those who pass away with îmân at that moment, when ’ibâdât
cannot be performed, believe only by heart. And this is called “îmân” in the
âyat. In many âyats, those who have îmân are ordered to perform ’ibâdât.
Therefore, belief is separate from ’ibâdât. Furthermore, the Qur’ânic phrase “Those who believe and those who do pious
deeds” shows that ’ibâdât and îmân
are distinct. The âyat al-karîma, “Those who, being believers, do pious deeds...” shows clearly that deeds are separate from belief.
For, stipulation must be different from what (who) is stipulated. It was said
unanimously that anyone who, just after becoming a believer, died and found no
time to perform any ’ibâda was a believer. It is declared in the Hadîth
al-Jibrîl that îmân is only belief.
Imâm Ahmad, al-Imâm ash-Shâfi’î, many scholars of
hadîth and Ash’arîs (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) and the Mu’tazîla said that
’ibâda was of îmân, and îmân would increase and decrease, and that if îmân and
’ibâda were separate from each other, the îmân of the prophets
(’alaihimu ’s-salawâtu wa ’t-taslîmât) and that of sinners should be the same.
They said that the âyat, “Their
îmân increases when they hear My âyats,” and the hadîth, “Îmân, when it
increases, takes its possessor to Paradise, and it takes him to Hell when it
decreases,” meant that îmân would
increase and decrease. Long before, al-Imâm al-a’zam (rahmat-Allâhi ta’âlâ
’alaih) had given information as an answer to them. He had said that the
’increase’ of îmân means its ’lasting, longevity.’ Imâm Mâlik (rahmat-Allâhi
ta’âlâ ’alaih) also said so. Plentifulness of îmân means the increase of the
number of the things to be believed. The as-Sahâbat al-kirâm, for instance,
[1] Nuhbat al-la’âlî, a very valuable Arabic annotation of this qasîda, was published in Istanbul in 1975.
formerly had a few things to believe, and, as new
orders descended, their îmân increased. The increase of îmân means the augmentation of nűr (spiritual light) in the heart. This brilliance increases
by performing ’ibâdât and decreases by committing sins. Further information can
be found in the book
Sharh-i Mawâqif and Jawharat at-tawhîd.
On page 91 of the Wahhâbite book, it is
said:
“A sahâbî did not give up drinking wine. He was punished
with a penalty of flogging called ‘hadd.’ When a few sahâbîs cursed him, Rasűlullâh declared, ‘Do not
call down curses upon him! For he loves Allâhu ta’âlâ and His Rasűl.’ “
He, too, confirms that a Muslim who commits sins does
not become a kâfir. This hadîth
sharîf refutes the Wahhabîs’ saying that
Muslims who commit grave sins or who do not perform the fard would become
disbelievers. Also it proves that the hadîth ash-sharîf “He who has îmân does not commit zinâ (adultery or fornication). He does not steal,” refers not to îmân itself but to its maturity.
’Abd al-Ghanî an-Nabulusî, while explaining the
writings of ’Allâma al-Birgiwî (rahimahumallâhu ta’âlâ) wrote on the 281st and
following pages of his book Al-hadîqa:
“Îmân is the belief by the heart in and confirmation by the tongue of the
knowledge Muhammad (’alaihi’s-salâm) revealed from Allâhu ta’âlâ. It is not
necessary to study or to understand every piece of this knowledge. The
Mu’tazila group said it was necessary to believe after understanding. ’Aynî
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), in the commentary on the Sahîh of al-Bukhârî, said that muhaqqiqîn or the most profound ’ulamâ,’ for
example, Abu ’l-Hasan al-Ash’arî, Qâdî ’Abd al-Jabbâr al-Hamadânî al-Mu’tazilî,
Ustâdh Abu ’l-Is’haq Ibrâhim al-Isfarâini, Husain ibn Fadl and many others had
said, ‘Îmân is the belief accepted by the heart in the facts that were declared
clearly. It is not îmân to say it with the tongue or to perform ’ibâdât.’ Sa’d
ad-dîn at-Taftazânî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), too, wrote this in his Sharh-i ’aqâ’id and reported that ’ulamâ’ like Shams al-a’imma and
Fakhr al-Islâm ’Alî al-Pazdawî (rahimahumallâhu ta’âlâ) said it was necessary
to confirm it with the tongue. The revelation with the tongue of the îmân in
the heart is necessary for the reason that it will help Muslims to recognize
one another. The Muslim who does not say he is a believer is a believer, too.
Most ’ulamâ’, for example, al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ),
said that deeds or worship were not included in îmân. Though
Imâm ’Alî (radî-Allâhu ’anh) and al-Imâm Ash-Shafi’î
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) said that îmân was to believe and to confirm it with
the tongue and to perform ’ibâdât, they, in fact, meant the perfection,
maturity of îmân. It was a unanimous declaration that the one who said that he
had îmân in his heart was a mu’min (believer). Rukn ad-dîn Abu Bakr Muhammad
al-Kirmânî, in the commentary on the Sahîh of Al-Bukhârî,
said, ‘If ’ibâdât had been considered to be a part of îmân, then îmân would have
increased or decreased. However, îmân of the heart neither increases nor
decreases. A belief that would increase or decrase would not be îmân but doubt,
misgiving.’ Imâm Muhyiddîn Yahyâ an-Nawawî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) said, ‘Îmân
increases by studying and understanding the reasons of the facts to be
believed. Abu Bakr as-Siddîq’s (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) îmân is not the same
as the îmân of any other person.’ This statement points to the strength or
weakness of îmân; it does not mean that îmân itself increases or decreases. It
is likened to the similarity between sick and healthy persons: they are not
equally strong, but both are human beings and their being human neither
increases nor decreases. Hadrat al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa explained the âyats
and hadîths about the attributes of îmân as follows: ‘As-Sahâbat al-kirâm
(radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în), when they embraced Islam, believed
everything as a whole. Later many new things became fard in the course of time.
They believed these orders one by one. Thus their belief increased gradually.
This is true only for the as-Sahâbat al-kirâm. The increase of îmân cannot be
thought of for Muslims who came after them.’ Sa’d ad-dîn at-Taftâzânî
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) wrote in his Sharh-i ’aqâ’id, “Those
who know summarily should believe summarily, and it is necessary for those who
know the details profoundly to believe accordingly. The îmân of the latter is
certainly greater than that of the former. But the îmân of the former is
complete, too. Their belief is not defective.”
’Abd al-Ghanî an-Nabulusî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ)
summarizes: “In short, not îmân itself but its firmness increases or decreases.
Or, the increase or decrase in îmân means its perfection or value. And so have
been interpreted the âyats and hadîths about the attributes of îmân. Since this
is a subject on which ijtihâd may be employed, various interpretations have
been made. None of the commentators have censured the other.” But the Wahhâbî
writer says “disbeliever” or “polytheist” about the one who believes in ’ibâdât
but, out of laziness, does not
perform them. Muhammad al-Hâdîmî (rahimah-Allâhu
ta’âlâ), in his Barîqa, wrote:
“Îmân does not include ’ibâdât. Hadrat Jalâl ad-dîn
ad-Dawânî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) said, ‘The Mu’tazila considered ’ibâdât as
part of îmân and said that those who did not perform ’ibâdat did not have îmân.
’Ibâdât make îmân mature and beautiful and are like the branches of a tree.’
Al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa, Imâm Mâlik, Imâm Abu Bakr Ahmad ar-Râzî and many
other profound scholars said that îmân neither increased by worshipping nor
decreased by sinning, because ‘îmân’ meant ‘thorough belief and, therefore, it
neither increased nor decreased. The increase of îmân in the heart means the
decrease of kufr, the opposite of belief, which is impossible. Al-Imâm
ash-Shâfi’î and Abu ’l-Hasan al-Ash’arî (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) said that
îmân would increase or decrease. But it is explained in the book Mawâqif that they meant with this statement the increase or decrease of not
îmân but the strength of îmân, for the Prophet’s îmân and his umma’s
îmân are not the same; the îmân of the one who, with his reason and knowledge,
has studied and then believed what he has heard is different from the îmân of
one who just believes what the hears.[1]
It is written in the Qur’ân
al-karîm that the Prophet
Ibrâhîm (’alaihi ’s-salâm) wanted his heart to gain itmi’nân (tranquility) or
yaqîn (certitude based on revelation). In his book Fiqh-i akbar[2] ,
al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) wrote, ’The îmân of the
ones in heaven [angels] and on the earth [men and genies] does not become less
or more in respect to the facts to be believed. Îmân increases or decreases in
respect to itmi’nân or yaqîn. In other words, the strength of îmân increases or
decrases. However, without any yaqîn or strength, it is not îmân.’ ”
Al-Imâm ar-Rabbânî Ahmad al-Fârűqî as-Sirhindî
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) wrote in the 266th letter in his book Maktűbât: “Since îmân is the affirmation and certitude in the heart, it neither
increases nor decreases. Belief which increases or decreases is not called îmân
but surmise. Îmân becomes brilliant, illuminated and shiny when one performs
’ibâdât and does the things Allâhu ta’âlâ likes. And it becomes dull and
stained when
[1] The îmân of a walî who has attained mukâshafa and mushâhada is not like that of a Wahhâbî who knows nothing of tasawwuf.
[2] Al-qawl al-fasl, a valuable Arabic annotation of Fiqh-i akbar, was published in Istanbul in 1975.
one commits sins. Then, increase or decrease is a
change of illumination or brilliance due to deeds. There is not a decrease or
increase in îmân itself. Some [who said that belief would increase or decrase]
said that the glossy, shiny îmân was more than the dull îmân and regarded the
dull îmân not to be îmân. They even considered the glossy îmân in some people
as îmân but said it was less than the one in others as if the [two kinds of]
îmân were like two mirrors with different grades of brilliance or gloss and the
mirror reflecting clearer images due to its brilliance were ‘greater’ than the
less brilliant one. Some others say that the two mirros are equivalent but
their gloss and the images they reflect, that is, their properties, are
different. Those who made the first type of comparison looked just on the
external varnish but could not see the essence of the matter. The hadîth ash-sharîf, ‘Abu
Bakr’s îmân is heavier than the total îmân of all my umma,’ is a comparison from the glossiness or brilliance
viewpoint.”
The Wahhâbite book quotes the hadîth ash-sharîf, “A
person’s îmân is incomplete unless he loves me more than his children, his
parents and everyone,” and comments:
“Love is in the heart it is a function of the heart.
Therefore, this hadîth shows that deeds and ’ibâdât are included in îmân and
are requisites for îmân.”
Love is not a function but an attribute of the heart.
Even if we would accept that it is a function of the heart, it cannot be said
that the work done by the body or organs is the work of the heart. The one who
commits grave sins will be punished. The one who has them in his heart or intends
to commit them will not be punished. The good deed of the heart is to believe,
and its bad deed is to disbelieve or is being without a belief. Disbelief is
not a deed of the body. Lying, for instance, is harâm (forbidden), and the one
who lies does a bad deed, but he does not become a kâfir. He who approves of
lying or does not believe that lying is harâm becomes a kâfir.
The Wahhâbî claims:
“Îmân becomes genuine by the belief and practice of
the heart, by the confirmation of the tongue and by performing ’ibâdât. Ahl
as-Sunna said so, too,” but on page 339, he says,
“If one loves Allah, he has to love those who obey
Him, His prophets, His pious servants and those whom Allah loves.”
Then love for the awliyâ’ (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) is
the sign of love for Allâhu ta’âlâ. Nothing should be said against those who
express their love for them. As the Wahhâbite book was
compelled to write, it is forbidden and disbelief to love those whom Allâhu
ta’âlâ does not love, and it is necessary and a sign of îmân to love those whom
He loves. This is the very worship called “al-hubbu fi ’llâh wa ’l-bughdu fi ’llâh,” which was declared to be the most virtuous of all
’ibâdât. Disbelievers and polytheists love things other than Allâhu ta’âlâ.
However, Muslims, because they love Allâhu ta’âlâ, love His prophets
(’alaihimu ’s-salâm) and awliyâ’ (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) whom He loves. The
Wahhâbite book confuses these two kinds of love with each other. It takes the
âyats condemning disbelievers’ love as if they comprise Muslims’ love.
Some of the Khârijîs (Khawârij), one of the seventy-two groups of bid’a, and the Wahhâbite book do not oppose the âyats and hadîths but misunderstand them by misinterpreting (ta’wîl) ambiguous and obscure nasses with unclear and uncertain meanings, and say that to do the fard and to refrain from the harâm are of îmân, that it is necessary not only to believe in the six principles of îmân but also to live up to Islam in order to be a mu’min (believer), and that anyone who does not carry out a fard or who commits a harâm becomes a kâfir. Out of this misunderstanding, they put the stamp of “kâfir” on Muslims. Whereas, what is of îmân is to believe that what is fard is fard and what is harâm is harâm. “Disbelief” and “belief without practice” are two distinct concepts. Because they confuse these two concepts with each other, they dissent from Ahl as-Sunna. Yet, they do not become disbelievers because of this belief. They become ahl al-bid’a, innovators in ’ibâdât. However, the ones tho regard, without the ta’wil of nasses, those Muslims who do not perform ’ibâdât or who commit harâm as kâfirs become kâfirs themselves. In the Hadîth ash-sharîf, it was declared, “Allâhu ta’âlâ fills with îmân the heart of the one who dislikes the innovator [in ’ibâdât]. The one who condemns the innovator [in ’ibâdât] will be blessed by Allâhu ta’âlâ against the fear of the Day of Resurrection.”