al-Murshida. It contains statements of monotheism and a measure of good, but also elements of deviation (1). He obliged his followers to hold fast to it, named them “the Unitarians,” and stigmatized anyone who opposed al-Murshida as an anthropomorphist, declaring his blood lawful—may Allah protect us from misguidance and whim.
He led a harsh life: poor, content with little, limiting himself to the garb (2) of poverty. He found no pleasure in food, marriage, money, or anything else save the exercise of authority—until he met Allah, Exalted is He. Yet—by Allah—he plunged into bloodshed (3) in pursuit of that ruinous leadership.
He habitually carried a staff, a waterskin, and a coarse cloak; his passion was eradicating wrongdoing and proclaiming the truth, and he would smile at everyone he met. He was eloquent in both Arabic and Berber, and, though reviled and beaten, he would bear it patiently,
(1) Ibn Khaldun reports that Ibn Tumart, while in the East, met leading Ashari scholars among Ahl al-Sunnah, studied under them, and admired their method of defending the salafi creed with decisive rational proofs against innovators. Under their influence he adopted allegorical interpretation (taʾwil) of the ambiguous Qurʾanic verses and hadiths—something the Maghribis had previously avoided, following the early generations in leaving such texts as they stood. Ibn Tumart therefore educated the people of the Maghrib, compelled them to embrace taʾwil and the Ashari positions in all points of doctrine, proclaimed the Asharis’ authority and the obligation to imitate them, and composed creeds on their pattern, such as the Murshida on monotheism. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya notes in Darʾ taʿarud al-ʿaql wa-l-naql, 3/438, that the Murshida contains no affirmation of the divine attributes, no affirmation of the beatific vision, no statement that the speech of Allah is uncreated, and omits other issues normally mentioned by those who affirm the attributes. He adds that he saw another work by Ibn Tumart on tawhid that explicitly denies the attributes, and he reproduces and comments on a passage from Ibn Tumart’s Kitab al-Dalil wa-l-ʿIlm; see the cited source for details.
(2) The manuscript reads “ziq,” which is a scribal error.
(3) The Prophet ﷺ said: “A believer will remain at ease with respect to his religion so long as he does not spill unlawful blood.” Al-Bukhari, Sahih, no. 6862, Book of Blood-Money. Ibn ʿUmar added: “Among the perilous matters from which there is no deliverance for one who plunges into them is shedding unlawful blood without right.”