| On Imaan and Kufr |
Shaikh ul-Islam on the Increase and Decrease of Iman |
| Author: Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah |
| Source: Kitab ul-Iman (trans. S. Ahmed Tel) |
| Article ID : GSC050001 [104245] |
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Shaikh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said:
If it is said: If absolute Iman includes all that Allah and His Messenger
commanded, then, if some of the Iman diminishes, the sinners must be charged
with unbelief as the Kharjites claimed, or abide forever in Hell and be deprived
of Iman, as the Mu’tazilites claimed. The claims of the Kharijites and
the Mu’tazilites were more erroneous than the claims of the
Murji’ites. For there is a group among the Murji'ites who were
considered good and praiseworthy people. However, the Kharijites and the
Mu’tazilites were condemned by the consensus of the Orthodox Muslim
community.
It is said: It should be known that the views of Mu’tazilites and
Kharijites, with which none of the Orthodox Muslims agreed, implied that the
people who committed major sins would abide forever in Hell. This claim was
one of the important innovations because the Companions and Successors of the
Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam), their followers, and all religious Muslims agreed that
whoever has an atom's weight of Iman in his heart will not abide forever in
Hell. They also agreed that our Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) would be among those who
would intercede to seek Allah's permission for His intercession for the major
sinners from his community. Indeed, both Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari relate
that the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said: "Every prophet is allowed one answered
prayer. As for me, I delayed my request in order to intercede for my community
on Judgment Day."
This hadith will be mentioned in its proper place. However, some people have
falsely related some sayings on the authority of the Companions of the Prophet
(sallallaahu alayhi wasallam). For example, it was falsely related on the authority of Ibn Abbas that
there is no repentance for anyone who intentionally kills, and this is a further
false claim about the Companions. For none of the Companions of the Prophet
(sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) ever related that the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) either said that he does not
intercede for major sinners or that he said that they [major sinners] will abide
eternally in Hellfire. However, it was recorded that Ibn ‘Abbas, in one of
his two narrations said: "There is no repentance for anyone who
intentionally kills [a Muslim]." A similar error was related on the
authority of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. However, the debate over repentance is different
from the debate over eternal punishment in Hell. For killing involves a human
right; that is why it was debated.
However, the saying, "If part of it [Iman] is lost, then the whole of it
is lost," is rejected, and it represents the essence from which many
innovations concerning Iman emerged. Moreover, Mu’tazilites and
Kharijites argued that if part of Iman is lost, the whole of it is lost as well;
and thus, the major sinner will abide forever in Hell. In contrast, the
Murji’ites argued that neither committing a major sin nor abandoning an
obligatory deed results in losing Iman. The sayings of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) and
his Companions indicate that part of it is lost while the other part remains, as
illustrated in the Prophet's (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) saying: "He [Allah] will remove from
Hell whoever has an atom's weight of belief." That is why the Orthodox
Muslims said: "Iman exists in varying degrees among different people. It
also may increase and diminish." However, some of their followers said:
"Iman increases but does not decrease," as related on the authority of
Malik in one of two accounts. Some [namely, Abd Allah Ibn al-Mubarak] said:
"Iman exists in varying degrees." But all the Companions of the
Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) mentioned both the increase and the decrease of Iman. For
example, people related on the authority of Hammad Ibn Salamah, on
the authority of Abu Jafar, on the authority of his grandfather Umayr Ibn Habib
al-Khatmi, one of the Companions of the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam), that he [the Prophet]
said: "Iman increases and diminishes." He was then asked: "How
does it increase and diminish?" He replied: "If we hold Allah in
remembrance, praise Him, and glorify Him, our Iman increases. But, if we hold
Allah little in remembrance, our Iman diminishes. Similarly, Ismail Ibn Ayyaash
relates on the authority of Jarir Ibn Uthman, on the authority of al-Harith Ibn
Muhammad, on the authority of Abu al-Darda, who said: "Iman increases and
diminishes."
According to Ah mad Ibn Hanbal, who said that Yazid related, on the authority
of Jafar Ibn Uthrnan: "Some or of all our scholars heard Abu al-Darda'
saying:
