Jahmiyya

On looking at the statements of the Sunni clerics and that which they have said narrated about ‘Jahm bin Safwaan’, one will be extremely surprised on how they have considered him a Muslim and his sect to be an Islamic sect after knowing the heretical and corrupt thoughts which were presented by ‘Jahm’?

Why did they not realize that those thoughts and notions that will ruin the base of Islam and burn the roots of religious beliefs, how can such heretical thoughts and beliefs be considered religious notions and principles?

          Jahm used to openly say: ‘Every Muslim can remain a Muslim within his inner self but he has to exhibit Christianity or Judaism outwardly and he should introduce himself as a Christian or Jew! Such behavior will not harm his religion at all!

          As per his belief, all the Muslims can forsake Islam and become Christian or Jew outwardly and the extent to which he has Islam in his heart is sufficient for him.

          With these deceits, Jahm was able to increase the followers of his beliefs in comparison to the other invalid sects and attracted a large number of people towards his misleading ideologies.

          He used to say: All the believers are alike with respect to their belief, even the Prophets and their nations are equal in status. The actions committed by a man, even if they are sinful and indecent, do not decrease his level of belief; and all the believers are equal in their belief even if their actions differ from each other.

          He nurtured freedom of actions and sins between the people with his misleading ideology, and with his words, he mobilized the Muslims towards committing sins, indecency and kept them from performing the recommended actions. In fact, he used the name of religion to weaken its roots.

          Shahristani says:[1] ‘Jahm’ moved one step ahead of the Motazela as he said: Whoever acquired cognition and rejected it with his tongue, he has not committed blasphemy with this rejection; because cognition and understand does not cease to exist with its rejection and he will remain a believer.

          It is said about him that he used to define faith using improper descriptions and apart from considering faith as the acceptance from heart, he added that whoever becomes a believer by heart and expresses infidelity after it, or exhibits Christianity of Judaism, all these acts will not drive him out of the boundaries of faith.

          He says[2]: Faith is an inner covenant and if a believer expresses infidelity with his tongue without Taqayya* (hiding ones beliefs with the fear of death) and worships idols and shows loyalty towards Christianity or Judaism on Islamic land and worships the Cross, or expresses faith in trinity on Islamic lands and dies in such a state, he will remain a believer possessing total faith near Allah (s.w.t.), a beloved of God Almighty and the dweller of Paradise.’

          He attracted the true Murjea group towards himself by saying that faith neither increases nor diminishes and all the believers are equal in status.

          He said:[3] “Faith does not get segmented; which means it does not get divided into covenant, speech and behavior, and the believers cannot attain supremacy over each other on the grounds of their belief, and the faith of the Prophets and their nations remains on an equal status, because the cognitions do not have superiority over each other.”

          About the compulsion and helplessness of human beings in their actions, he used to follow the ideology of the true Murjea sect.

Ash’ari says:[4] One of the beliefs which were exclusively associated to ‘Jahm’ was that in reality, there is no act that is performed by anyone except for God Almighty and he is the only performer of all actions, the actions of people are associated to them metaphorically, just like it is said: The tree moved, the Sky revolved and the setting of sun, whereas in reality, it is the Almighty God who acts upon the tree, the sky and the sun in this manner; neglecting the fact that God has granted the humans a power and all their actions are done with its help and He has bestowed him the freewill and exclusive ability to perform their actions, just like He has bestowed length and man attains length with its help and granted colors which man accepts and becomes colorful.

          He says:[5] Reward and punishment are compulsive; just like all the actions are compulsive and when compulsion is proved, all our duties will also become compulsion.[6]