"The issue is when many du’āt stray away from their element – namely da’wah – and begin to speak about matters they have little knowledge in. In this case, this person takes issue with making takfīr against certain individuals/rulers who profess the shahādah, or denounce state-sponsored “scholars” who openly call those who do this a takfīrī.
There are one of two scenarios that can apply here:
1. This person has no understanding of nawāqiḍ al-īmān (nullifiers of faith) and mawāni’ at-takfīr (preventatives of making takfīr) and simply echoes what his Murji’ah scholars say.
2. This person has a corrupt understanding of imān and nawāqiḍ al-īmān and is himself from amongst the Murji’ah (whether knowingly or unknowingly).
In either case, this person is a deviant who is more dangerous to the dīn than those who are openly kuffār because both scenarios promote an ideology that the very scholars of Ahl-us-Sunnah condemned harshly. The irony here is that they promote following the Qur’ān and Sunnah when the very scholars who taught and compiled the Sunnah warned against them and would even warn others from taking knowledge from them!
These deviants believe that īmān is belief in the heart and actions have no bearing on a person’s īmān. So when rulers openly attack Islām, Muslims, ally with the Kuffār against the Muslimīn, rule by other than what Allāh (ﷻ) sent down, then they consider these to be actions that cannot take a person out of the fold of Islām. The state-sponsored Murji’ah imāms of these people propagate this to show the legitimacy of their rulers while those who prove its erroneousness through the Qur’ān and the Sunnah are imprisoned or labeled as Takfīrī or from the Khawārij. This innovation is not new and stems from aberrations of the Jahmiyyah, but the scholars of Ahl-us-Sunnah were quick to denounce it early on:
The Tābi’ī Sa’īd ibn Jubayr (d. 95 AH) said about them, “The Murji’ah are the Yahūd of the Qiblah.” [1]
The Tābi’ī Ibrāhīm an-Nakha’ī (d. 96 AH) said concerning the Murji’ah, “Their fitnah with me is more fearful upon this Ummah than the fitnah of the Azāriqah [2] - they fabricated statements; so I fear them upon this Ummah. The evil of their affairs is great. Therefore, beware of them and woe unto them.” [3]
And al-A’mash (d. 148 AH) reported that when the Murji’ah were mentioned in the presence of Ibrāhīm an-Nakha’ī, he said, “By Allāh, they are more despised to me than the People of the Book.” [4]
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (d. 161 AH) said, “I used to come across Ḥammād [ibn Abī Sulaymān] after he began the practice [of Irjā’], and I would not convey the salām to him.” [5]
Yazīd ibn Hārūn (d. 206 AH) was asked, “Can I pray behind the Jahmiyyah?” He replied, “No.” So he was asked, “Can I pray behind the Murji’ah?” He replied, “They are wicked.” [6]
Imām Aḥmad (d. 241 AH) said, “If the Murji’ī is a caller [to it], then do not speak to him.” And Imām Aḥmad would not pray behind a Murji’ī who would call to Irjā’. [7]
The Murji’ah are a cancer of the Ummah whose spread seems to know no bounds. A tell-tale sign of these individuals is they will be quick to throw labels of “takfīrī,” “kharijī,” “irhābī” (terrorist), and the like against scholars and individuals who DO understand nawāqiḍ al-īmān and mawāni’ at-takfīr and can bring evidences of the nullifiers against those they consider ṭuġāt and kuffār. Every caution should be taken against these people, no matter how popular they may be to some. "
By Abu Ubadah
November 22, 2020 / 7 Rabī-uth-Thānī 1442
_________________
[1] Kitāb as-Sunnah li ‘Abd-il-Lah ibn Aḥmad (vol. 1, pg. 341)
[2] The Azāriqah are a branch from amongst the branches of the Khawārij named after their leader Nāfi’ ibn al-Azraq
[3] Kitāb aṭ-Ṭabaqāt-il-Kubrā (vol. 6, pg. 282)
[4] Kitāb aṭ-Ṭabaqāt-il-Kubrā (vol. 6, pg. 274)
[5] Kitāb al-Ma’rifah wat-Tārīkh (vol. 2, pg. 791)
[6] Kitāb as-Sunnah li ‘Abd-il-Lah ibn Aḥmad (vol. 1, pg. 123)
[7] As-Sunnah li Abī Bakr ibn al-Khallāl (vol. 4, pg. 54)
There are one of two scenarios that can apply here:
1. This person has no understanding of nawāqiḍ al-īmān (nullifiers of faith) and mawāni’ at-takfīr (preventatives of making takfīr) and simply echoes what his Murji’ah scholars say.
2. This person has a corrupt understanding of imān and nawāqiḍ al-īmān and is himself from amongst the Murji’ah (whether knowingly or unknowingly).
In either case, this person is a deviant who is more dangerous to the dīn than those who are openly kuffār because both scenarios promote an ideology that the very scholars of Ahl-us-Sunnah condemned harshly. The irony here is that they promote following the Qur’ān and Sunnah when the very scholars who taught and compiled the Sunnah warned against them and would even warn others from taking knowledge from them!
These deviants believe that īmān is belief in the heart and actions have no bearing on a person’s īmān. So when rulers openly attack Islām, Muslims, ally with the Kuffār against the Muslimīn, rule by other than what Allāh (ﷻ) sent down, then they consider these to be actions that cannot take a person out of the fold of Islām. The state-sponsored Murji’ah imāms of these people propagate this to show the legitimacy of their rulers while those who prove its erroneousness through the Qur’ān and the Sunnah are imprisoned or labeled as Takfīrī or from the Khawārij. This innovation is not new and stems from aberrations of the Jahmiyyah, but the scholars of Ahl-us-Sunnah were quick to denounce it early on:
The Tābi’ī Sa’īd ibn Jubayr (d. 95 AH) said about them, “The Murji’ah are the Yahūd of the Qiblah.” [1]
The Tābi’ī Ibrāhīm an-Nakha’ī (d. 96 AH) said concerning the Murji’ah, “Their fitnah with me is more fearful upon this Ummah than the fitnah of the Azāriqah [2] - they fabricated statements; so I fear them upon this Ummah. The evil of their affairs is great. Therefore, beware of them and woe unto them.” [3]
And al-A’mash (d. 148 AH) reported that when the Murji’ah were mentioned in the presence of Ibrāhīm an-Nakha’ī, he said, “By Allāh, they are more despised to me than the People of the Book.” [4]
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (d. 161 AH) said, “I used to come across Ḥammād [ibn Abī Sulaymān] after he began the practice [of Irjā’], and I would not convey the salām to him.” [5]
Yazīd ibn Hārūn (d. 206 AH) was asked, “Can I pray behind the Jahmiyyah?” He replied, “No.” So he was asked, “Can I pray behind the Murji’ah?” He replied, “They are wicked.” [6]
Imām Aḥmad (d. 241 AH) said, “If the Murji’ī is a caller [to it], then do not speak to him.” And Imām Aḥmad would not pray behind a Murji’ī who would call to Irjā’. [7]
The Murji’ah are a cancer of the Ummah whose spread seems to know no bounds. A tell-tale sign of these individuals is they will be quick to throw labels of “takfīrī,” “kharijī,” “irhābī” (terrorist), and the like against scholars and individuals who DO understand nawāqiḍ al-īmān and mawāni’ at-takfīr and can bring evidences of the nullifiers against those they consider ṭuġāt and kuffār. Every caution should be taken against these people, no matter how popular they may be to some. "
By Abu Ubadah
November 22, 2020 / 7 Rabī-uth-Thānī 1442
_________________
[1] Kitāb as-Sunnah li ‘Abd-il-Lah ibn Aḥmad (vol. 1, pg. 341)
[2] The Azāriqah are a branch from amongst the branches of the Khawārij named after their leader Nāfi’ ibn al-Azraq
[3] Kitāb aṭ-Ṭabaqāt-il-Kubrā (vol. 6, pg. 282)
[4] Kitāb aṭ-Ṭabaqāt-il-Kubrā (vol. 6, pg. 274)
[5] Kitāb al-Ma’rifah wat-Tārīkh (vol. 2, pg. 791)
[6] Kitāb as-Sunnah li ‘Abd-il-Lah ibn Aḥmad (vol. 1, pg. 123)
[7] As-Sunnah li Abī Bakr ibn al-Khallāl (vol. 4, pg. 54)
