Murji'ah: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Early Islamic sect withholding judgement of sinners or charges of disbelief}}

{{Unreferenced|date=December 2006}}

{{Sunni IslamAqidah|Other}}

'''Murji'ah''' ({{langx|ar|المرجئة}}, English: "Those Who Postpone"), also known as '''Murji'as''' or '''Murji'ites''' (singular '''Murji''''), were an early Islamic sect. The Murji'ah school of theology prioritized the importance of one's professed faith over the acts, deeds, or rituals they performed. They held the opinion that God alone has the right to judge whether or not a Muslim has become an [[apostate]]. Consequently, Muslims should practice postponement (''ʾirjāʾ'') of judgment on committers of [[Islamic views on sin|major sins]] and not [[takfir|make charges of disbelief]] (''’takfir’'') or punish accordingly anyone who has professed Islam to be their faith. They also believed that good deeds or omission of them do not affect a person's faith, and a person who did no other act of obedience would not be punished in the afterlife as long as they held onto pure faith. They used to say that "disobedience does not harm faith as good deeds do not help with disbelief."<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Murjiʾah, ISLAMIC SECT |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Murjiah |website=britannica |access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref> This mode of thought emerged from a concern over Muslim unity as opposed to religious laxity{{Sfn|Saif|2020|p=164}} and is often associated with Quran 9:106 ("There are others deferred until the command of God, whether He will punish them or whether He will forgive them").{{Sfn|Abdul-Raof|2012|p=145}}

'''Murji'ah''' (Arabic المرجئة) is an early [[Islam]]ic school, whose followers are known in English language as '''Murjites''' or Murji'ites (Arabic المرجئون).

== Origins and history ==

During the early centuries of [[Islam]], Muslim thought encountered a multitude of infuences from various ethnic and philosophical groups that it absorbed. Murji'ah emerged as a theological school that was opposed to the [[Kharijites]] on questions related to early controversies regarding sin and definitions of what is a true Muslim.

The emergence of the Murji'ah is not attributed to a single founding figure, but to the thought of a collection of figures, including [[Jahm bin Safwan|Jahm ibn Safwan]] and others.{{Sfn|Saif|2020|p=163}}

They advocated the idea of "delayed judgement". Only God can judge who is a true Muslim and who is not, and no one else can judge another as an infidel. Therefore, all Muslims should consider all other Muslims as true and faithful believers, and look to Allah to judge everyone during the last judgement. This theology promoted tolerance of [[Ummayads]] and converts to Islam who appeared half-hearted in their obedience. The Murjite opinion would eventually dominate that of the Kharijites.

It is broadly agreed among historians that the Murji'ah group emerged in the aftermath of the [[Shia Islam|Shiite]] revolt in [[Kufa]] by [[Mukhtar al-Thaqafi|al-Mukhtar]]. Muslims, for the first time, had to confront intense political and theological disagreements and try to make sense of the fate of other Muslims who stood on other sides in political and sectarian conflict. The solution of the group that emerged as the Murji'ah was that only God ultimately knows who is correct, and so to God should judgement be deferred. Muslims themselves should not support or dissociate from other Muslim opponents in such conflicts. Early scholars of the Murji'ah themselves had a positive view of the first two caliphs ([[Abu Bakr]] and [[Umar]]), but suspended judgement on the third and fourth caliphs ([[Uthman]] and [[Ali]]). Regarding the latter, since the past was no longer available for evaluation, there was little other option but to suspend judgement (over committing to a negative view of them). At first, the Murji'ah worked on restoring peace among Muslim factions. Later, their attention shifted to combating the injustices being done to non-Arab converts to Islam.{{Sfn|Cakmak|2017|p=1109–1111}} However, the Murji'ah (like the [[Sunni Islam|Sunnis]] in that era) still came to the belief that a legitimate ruler of the Islamic realm not only had to be Arab, but particularly, a descendant of the [[Quraysh]] tribe (from whom Muhammad originated).{{Sfn|Donner|1998|p=111}}

The Murjites exited the way of the [[Sunnis]] when they declared that no Muslim would enter the hellfire, no matter what his sins. This contradicts the traditional Sunni belief which states that some Muslims will enter the hellfire temporarily. Therefore the Murjites are classified as "Ahlul Bid'ah" or "People of Innovation" by traditional [[Ashari]] or [[Maturidi]] Sunni Muslims.

The Murji'ah emerged as a theological school that was opposed to the [[Khawarij|Kharijites]] on questions related to early controversies regarding sin and definitions of what is a true Muslim. The Khawarij believed that committing a sin amounted to leaving Islam and the Murji'ah reacted with the opposite extreme, that deeds not only do not result in leaving Islam, but do not affect one's faith at all.<ref>{{Cite book

| last =Ibn Taymīyah

| first =Abī al-ʻAbbās Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Ḥalīm

| author-link =ibn Taymiyyah

| title =''al-Fatawa''

}}, 5: 555-556; 7: 195-205; 7: 223</ref><ref>{{Cite book

| last =Ibn Taymīyah

| first =Abī al-ʻAbbās Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Ḥalīm

| author-link =ibn Taymiyyah

| title =al-Fatawa |volume=7 |pages= 195–205; 223}}</ref> An intermediate position was taken between the Murji'ah and the Kharijites by the Mu'tazilites, holding that an individual that commits a cardinal sin is not a believer, but is also not a disbeliever. Instead, they belong to an in-between position, which the Mu'tazilites referred to as the "intermediate position" (''manzilah bayn al-manzilatayn''). The first position attributed to have held this latter position was [[Wasil ibn Ata]] (a student of [[Hasan al-Basri]]) after being asked a question about the contrast between the Murji'ah and Kharijite positions.{{Sfn|Mutahhari|2019|p=29–30}}

According to the ''[[History of the Prophets and Kings|Ta'rikh]]'' of [[Al-Tabari]], the Murji'ite position came to be associated with [[Shirk (Islam)|''shirk'']], the ultimate Islamic sin of associating something with God. In 117/735, [[Nasr ibn Sayyar]], soon to become the governor of [[Khorasan province|Khorasan]], accused the rebel leader [[Al-Harith ibn Surayj]] of ''shirk'' on the basis of his support for the doctrine of ''irjāʾ''.{{Sfn|Hawting|1999|p=71–72}}

At some point, the Murji'ah sect ceased to exist. They stop appearing in [[Biographical evaluation|biographical dictionaries]] after the mid-9th century onwards. According to [[Christopher Melchert]], they may have been absorbed into the [[Mu'tazilism|Mu'tazilite]] sect, as a number of entries on Mu'tazilite figures in 9th-century dictionaries comment that they were inclined towards 'postponement' (''irjāʾ'') and traditionalists in later periods would associate the two schools with each other (such as Abu Muhammad ibn abi Hamzah).{{Sfn|Melchert|1997|p=58}}

== Beliefs ==

=== Postponing judgement ===

As opposed to the Kharijites, Murjites advocated the idea of deferring judgment of other peoples' belief. The word Murjiah itself means "one who postpones" in Arabic.<ref>{{cite book|title=Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices|url=https://archive.org/details/islamitshistoryt0000nigo|url-access=registration|last=Nigosian|first=Solomon Alexander|pages=[https://archive.org/details/islamitshistoryt0000nigo/page/59 59]|year=2004|publisher=Indiana University Press}}</ref> Murjite doctrine held that only God has the authority to judge who is a true Muslim and who is not, and that Muslims should consider all other Muslims as part of the community.{{Sfn|Izutsu|2006|p=55–56}} This theology promoted tolerance of [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]] and converts to Islam who appeared halfhearted in their obedience.{{Sfn|Izutsu|2006|p=55}}

=== Faith versus deeds ===

Murjites considered genuine belief in and submission to God to be more important than acts of piety and good works. They believed Muslims committing major sins would remain Muslim and be eligible for paradise if they remained faithful.<ref name="fakhry4041">Fakhry, Islamic Philosophy, p. 40-41.</ref> Therefore, they adopted moderate stances on issues such as ''fard'' and ''fasiq''.{{Sfn|Cakmak|2017|p=446, 451–452}} [[Ibn Hazm]] described the Murji'ah position in the following terms:{{Sfn|Izutsu|2006|p=54}}<blockquote>A grave sinner (murtakib al-kabīrah) is a Believer with his belief intact. It is all the same if he has never done a single act of good and has never regrained from doing evil acts.</blockquote>Conversely, those engaging in [[Shirk (Islam)|shirk]] cannot benefit salvation from performing good acts.{{Sfn|Izutsu|2006|p=201}} Thus, faith is paramount.

The Murjite opinion on the issue of whether one committing a major sin remains a believer was adopted with modifications by the later theological schools – [[Maturidi]], [[Ash'ari]] and [[Muʿtazila]].{{Sfn|Izutsu|2006|p=57–59}}

== Relationship to Abu Hanifa ==

[[Abu Hanifa]] (d. 767), the founder of the [[Hanafi]] school of Sunni jurisprudence, was often associated with the Murji'ah although he himself was not one.{{sfnp|Blankinship|2008|p=44}} In his ''al-Fiqh al-Akbar'', he lay down the oldest surviving work regarding early Muslim creed, advocating respect for all the companions of Muhammad, withholding judgment regarding Uthman and Ali and predeterminism. His works were fundamental to later Sunni theology, [[Hanbali school|Hanbalism]] being an exception.{{sfnp|Blankinship|2008|p=44}} For the Murji'ah, Abu Hanifa is a central figure, especially for his advocation of the use of the application of reason in legal decision-making. Therefore, Murji'ites adopted Hanafi jurisprudence.{{Sfn|Cakmak|2017|p=1110–1111}} A number of Abu Hanifa's followers have been associated with or called a Murji', including [[Nūḥ ibn Abī Maryam]] (d. 173/789–790) and [[Muhammad al-Shaybani]].{{Sfn|Melchert|1997|p=57}}

== Influence ==

The subsequent [[Maturidism|Maturidi]] school of Islamic theology is believed by some to have emerged out of the Murji'ah.{{Sfn|Cakmak|2017|p=1111}}

==See also==

*[[Al-Harith ibn Surayj]]

[http://www.salafimanhaj.com/pdf/TheMurjiahOfTheEra_ebook.pdf Criticism of the Murji'ah View]

*[[Islamic theology]]

*[[Khawarij]]

*[[Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry]]

==References==

[[Category:Arabic words and phrases]]

[[Category:Aqidah]]

=== Citations ===

[[fr:Murjisme]]

{{reflist|2}}

[[id:Murji'ah]]

=== Sources ===

* {{Cite book |last=Abdul-Raof |first=Hussein |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjjcRAZQ1s4C |title=Theological Approaches to Qur'anic Exegesis: A Practical Comparative-contrastive Analysis |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge}}

* {{Cite book|first=Khalid |last=Blankinship| author-link = Khalid Yahya Blankinship | year=2008 | chapter=The early creed |editor=Tim Winter|title=The Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology|publisher=Cambridge University Press (Kindle edition) }}

* {{Cite book |last= |first= |title=Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia |date=2017 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |editor-last=Cakmak |editor-first=Cenap |pages= |chapter=}}

* {{Cite book |last=Donner |first=Fred |url=https://archive.org/details/NarrativesOfIslamicOriginsTheBeginningsOfIslamicHistoricalWriting |title=Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginnings of Islamic Historical Writing |date=1998 |publisher=Darwin Press}}

* {{cite book | title = A History of Islamic Philosophy, 3rd ed | author = Fakhry, Majid | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 0-231-13221-2}}

* {{Cite book |last=Hawting |first=Gerald |url=https://archive.org/details/TheIdeaOfIdolatryByG.R.Hawting |title=The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam: From Polemic to History |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}

* {{cite book | title = al-Fatāwá | author = Ibn Taymīyah, Abī al-ʻAbbās Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Ḥalīm}}

* {{Cite book |last=Izutsu |first=Toshihiko |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PDxHG5MtLawC |title=The Concept of Belief in Islamic Theology |date=2006 |publisher=Islamic Book Trust}}

* {{Cite book |last=Melchert |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_tz7EAAAQBAJ |title=The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E. |date=1997 |publisher=Brill}}

* {{Cite book |last=Mutahhari |first=Murtada |url= |title=Understanding Islamic Sciences |title-link=Understanding Islamic Sciences |date=2019 |publisher=ICAS Press}}

* {{Cite book |last=Saif |first=Mashal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9X7DwAAQBAJ |title=The 'Ulama in Contemporary Pakistan: Contesting and Cultivating an Islamic Republic |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}

{{Islamic Theology|state=uncollapsed|schools}}

{{Theology}}

{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Arabic words and phrases]]

[[Category:AqidahIslamic branches]]