Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (7/188)

Majmu' al-FatawaIbn Taimiya

as they love Allah; but those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah.” He thus describes the believers as loving Allah more intensely than the polytheists love their rivals to Him.

There are two interpretations of this verse. According to the first, they love these rivals as the believers love Allah, while the believers love Allah more intensely than they love their idols. According to the second, they love these rivals as they themselves love Allah, while the believers love Allah more intensely than they do. This second interpretation is correct. The first is contradictory and false, for the polytheists do not love these rivals as the believers love Allah.

Love entails willing, and a fully resolved will, together with the ability to act, necessarily entails action. It is therefore impossible for someone to love Allah and His Messenger and resolutely will what Allah and His Messenger love, while being able to do it, yet not do it. Thus, if someone does not verbally profess faith despite being able to do so, this indicates that his heart lacks the faith Allah has required of him.

This reveals the error of Jahm ibn Safwān and his followers. They supposed that faith consists merely of the heart’s assent and knowledge, excluding the heart’s actions from faith. They supposed that a person could possess complete faith in his heart while nevertheless reviling Allah and His Messenger, showing hostility towards Allah and His Messenger and towards Allah’s allies, allying himself with Allah’s enemies, killing the prophets, demolishing mosques, desecrating copies of the Quran, treating disbelievers with the utmost honour, and subjecting believers to the utmost humiliation.

They said: “All these are sins that do not contradict the faith in his heart. Rather, he may do all this while inwardly remaining a believer before Allah.”

They said: “The rulings applicable to disbelievers apply to him in this world only because these statements are an indication of disbelief, so that judgment is based on what is outward, just as judgment is passed

كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ} فَوَصَفَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِأَنَّهُمْ أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ لِأَنْدَادِهِمْ. وَفِي الْآيَةِ " قَوْلَانِ " : قِيلَ: يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اللَّهَ وَاَلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ مِنْهُمْ لِأَوْثَانِهِمْ. وَقِيلَ: يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَمَا يُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ وَاَلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ مِنْهُمْ وَهَذَا هُوَ الصَّوَابُ؛ وَالْأَوَّلُ قَوْلٌ مُتَنَاقِضٌ وَهُوَ بَاطِلٌ فَإِنَّ الْمُشْرِكِينَ لَا يُحِبُّونَ الْأَنْدَادَ مِثْلَ مَحَبَّةِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِلَّهِ وَتَسْتَلْزِمُ الْإِرَادَةَ وَالْإِرَادَةُ التَّامَّةُ مَعَ الْقُدْرَةِ تَسْتَلْزِمُ الْفِعْلَ فَيَمْتَنِعُ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْإِنْسَانُ مُحِبًّا لِلَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ؛ مُرِيدًا لِمَا يُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ إرَادَةً جَازِمَةً مَعَ قُدْرَتِهِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَهُوَ لَا يَفْعَلُهُ فَإِذَا لَمْ يَتَكَلَّمْ الْإِنْسَانُ بِالْإِيمَانِ مَعَ قُدْرَتِهِ دَلَّ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ فِي قَلْبِهِ الْإِيمَانُ الْوَاجِبُ الَّذِي فَرَضَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ. وَمِنْ هُنَا يَظْهَرُ خَطَأُ قَوْلِ " جَهْمِ بْنِ صَفْوَانَ " وَمَنْ اتَّبَعَهُ حَيْثُ ظَنُّوا أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ مُجَرَّدُ تَصْدِيقِ الْقَلْبِ وَعِلْمِهِ لَمْ يَجْعَلُوا أَعْمَالَ الْقَلْبِ مِنْ الْإِيمَانِ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ قَدْ يَكُونُ الْإِنْسَانُ مُؤْمِنًا كَامِلَ الْإِيمَانِ بِقَلْبِهِ وَهُوَ مَعَ هَذَا يَسُبُّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيُعَادِي اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيُعَادِي أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ وَيُوَالِي أَعْدَاءَ اللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ وَيَهْدِمُ الْمَسَاجِدَ وَيُهِينُ الْمَصَاحِفَ وَيُكْرِمُ الْكُفَّارَ غَايَةَ الْكَرَامَةِ وَيُهِينُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَايَةَ الْإِهَانَةِ قَالُوا: وَهَذِهِ كُلُّهَا مَعَاصٍ لَا تُنَافِي الْإِيمَانَ الَّذِي فِي قَلْبِهِ بَلْ يَفْعَلُ هَذَا وَهُوَ فِي الْبَاطِنِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مُؤْمِنٌ قَالُوا: وَإِنَّمَا ثَبَتَ لَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَحْكَامُ الْكُفَّارِ لِأَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأَقْوَالَ أَمَارَةٌ عَلَى الْكُفْرِ لِيُحْكَمَ بِالظَّاهِرِ كَمَا يُحْكَمُ