When writers began composing works on speculative theology, they placed divine oneness and the attributes first, so that their discussion began with the Jahmiyyah. Abū al-Qāsim al-Tabarī likewise arranged his book on the foundations of the Sunnah in this way. Al-Bayhaqī devoted a separate work to each subject: he wrote works on the divine attributes, divine decree, the branches of faith, the proofs of prophethood, and resurrection and rising from the dead. A detailed treatment of these matters belongs elsewhere.

The point here is that the dispute over “religious designations and rulings” concerning faith and Islam arose from their assumption that faith was indivisible. The former group therefore said: “When someone commits a sin, part of his faith disappears; consequently, all of it disappears, and he will remain in the Fire forever.” The Jahmiyyah and the Murji’ah replied: “We know that he will not remain in the Fire forever and that he is not an unbeliever who has apostatized. Rather, he is one of the Muslims. Since he is a Muslim, he must be a believer possessing complete faith, not merely a portion of it.” This was because, in their view, faith was indivisible.

They therefore had to make faith a single thing shared by all who face the Kaaba in prayer. The jurists of the Murji’ah said: “It is affirmation in the heart and profession with the tongue.” The Jahmiyyah subsequently said: “Verbal affirmation may not be obligatory if a man is unable to speak or is under compulsion. What is indispensable, therefore, is affirmation in the heart.” The Murji’ah said: “When a man embraces Islam, he is a believer before any deeds become obligatory upon him.”

All these groups denied that faith “decreases.” Yet it has been reliably reported from the Companions