and of wording. Whoever espouses the doctrine of “suspension” or of “wording” (1) is, in their view, an innovator. One must not say, “The wording of the Quran is created,” nor say, “It is uncreated.”
They state that Allah will be seen with the eyes on the Day of Resurrection, just as the full moon is seen on the night when it is brightest. The believers will behold Him, while the disbelievers will not, for they will be veiled from Allah—
“No indeed! On that Day they will be veiled from their Lord” (2).
Moses—peace be upon him—asked Allah for this vision in the life of this world, and Allah manifested Himself to the mountain and reduced it to dust, thereby informing him that he would not see Him (3) in this world, but that he will see Him in the Hereafter.
They do not declare anyone who faces the qibla to be an unbeliever because of a sin he commits—such as fornication, theft, or other major sins of that kind. Such people remain believers by virtue of the faith they possess, even if they perpetrate major sins (4).
(1) In the S and T manuscripts, and in al-Maqālāt, the reading “bil-lafẓ aw bil-wiqf” (with the wording or with the pause).
(2) Sūrah al-Mutaffifīn, verse 15.
(3) In all copies: “fa-a‘limhum bi-dhālik li-annahū lā yarāhu” (so inform them of that, for he does not perceive it); this is the reading attested in al-Maqālāt.
(4) One who commits a major sin remains a believer by virtue of his faith, yet is a sinner on account of that sin. He thus is a believer with a deficiency—his faith is diminished in proportion to the sins he has committed. The salaf (may God have mercy on them) neither ascribe to him the status of an absolute believer nor declare him an unbeliever for a sin he has not deemed lawful. This pertains to nomenclature and worldly dealings; as for the hereafter, it falls under God’s will: if He wills, He will punish him in accordance with His justice and wisdom; if He wills, He will pardon him by His grace and mercy. In this stance the salaf differed from certain theological sects such as the Khawārij, the Muʿtazila, and the pure Murjiʾah. The Khawārij declare a major sinner an unbeliever and expel him from the fold of Islām in this world; in their view, he will abide eternally in Hell. Some works on sectarian groups note that the Najadāṭ and the Ibadīyya depart from the Khawārij in their judgment of a major sinner. As for the Muʿtazila, they hold that one who commits a major sin occupies an intermediate position between the two statuses and is not called…