Why can Iman possess parts and increase or decrease?
2026-09-21
T51 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Selected explanation · Selected source passage(s) — fully translated
Selected criticism of the claim that faith is an indivisible whole. The opening qualification concerns saying “I am a believer, if Allah wills.” The English translates every displayed Arabic paragraph; this selection is not the complete surrounding work. Square brackets identify translator-supplied clarification.
النص العربي
المقتطف
لَكِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ يَقُولُونَ بِالِاسْتِثْنَاءِ وَنَحْوِ ذَلِكَ كَمَا عُرِفَ مِنْ أَصْلِهِمْ وَأَصْلِ نِزَاعِ هَذِهِ الْفِرَقِ فِي الْإِيمَانِ مِنْ الْخَوَارِجِ وَالْمُرْجِئَةِ وَالْمُعْتَزِلَةِ وَالْجَهْمِيَّة وَغَيْرِهِمْ أَنَّهُمْ جَعَلُوا الْإِيمَانَ شَيْئًا وَاحِدًا إذَا زَالَ بَعْضُهُ زَالَ جَمِيعُهُ وَإِذَا ثَبَتَ بَعْضُهُ ثَبَتَ جَمِيعُهُ فَلَمْ يَقُولُوا بِذَهَابِ بَعْضِهِ وَبَقَاءِ بَعْضِهِ كَمَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ {يَخْرُجُ مِنْ النَّارِ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ الْإِيمَانِ} .
English translation
English translation reviewed against the displayed Arabic by SalafAlSalih editorial preparation (AI-assisted); explanatory additions appear in square brackets or separate notes.
Selected explanation
However, these people hold that one should make the qualification [“if Allah wills,” when declaring oneself a believer], and similar positions, as is known from their principles. The root of the dispute of these groups concerning faith—the Khawārij, Murjiʾah, Muʿtazilah, Jahmiyyah, and others—is that they treated faith as a single entity: if part of it disappears, all of it disappears; and if part of it is present, all of it is present. They did not affirm that some of it can disappear while some remains, as the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, said: “Whoever has a grain’s weight of faith in his heart will come out of the Fire.”
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 7/510
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic passage checked against the cited volume and printed page. English reviewed against every displayed Arabic paragraph on 14 October 2026.