The Classical Muslim View on the Real Nature of Believe and a Critical Appraisal of the Opinions of Their Opponents / Haya Al-Ashekh 

The Muslim theologians have differed with regard to the issue of the real nature of belief into three positions, a moderate and two extremes. The classical Muslim view is that belief consists of three components: believing in the heart and utterance by the tongue and actions. They also believe that it can increase and decrease. As a result they do not accept that every sin could lead to rendering Muslim to be non-Muslim, in the same time they do not rule out tamer. This is the view of Ahl Al-Sunnah which is the moderate position with regard to belief. The two extreme positions in this issue are represented by Al-Khawarij and Al-Mutazila from one side and by Al-Murji'ah by the other. Al-Khawarij and Al-Mutazila agreed with Ahl Al-Sunnah on the fact that it is composed of three components, as clarified before, but they were of the view that belief does not increase or decrease. This led Al-Khawarij to believe that sin rendered Muslim to be unbeliever, and Al-Mutazila were of the view that sins render the believer to a state between belief and infidelity, the punishment for which is that the sinner will be cast in hell forever. The other extreme position in this issue is that of Al-Murji'ah who consists of three groups: Al-Jahmiyyah, Al-Karramiyyah and Murji'ah Al-Fuqaha. Al-Jahmiyyah claimed that belief is a mere heartily knowledge and this is why they were pronounced by Al-salaf, such as Waki‘ ibn Al-Jarah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu libayd, to be infidels. Whereas Al-Karramiyyah asserts that utterance by the tongue is the only needed component for belief. It is well known that whoever his words contradict his belief he is a hypocrite. Murji'ah Al-Fuqaha have differed in this issue, Some of them defined faith as believing in the heart and utterance by the tongue only. Others, among them, defined faith as believing in the heart. Although this group did not totally agree with those who were of the view that belief is a mere heartily knowledge, their ideas encouraged the sinners to disobey God and commit sins.