The First Issue

Whoever asserts that Ēmān consists of speech, belief, and action has left the Murji'ah Al-Barbahāri, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: «ومن قال: 'الإيمان قول وعمل، يزيد وينقص'؛ فقد خرج من الإرجاء كله، أوله وآخره» "Whoever says, 'Ēmān is speech and action, and it increases and decreases,' has completely exited from the doctrine of the Murji'ah, from its beginning to its end." [Sharḥ As-Sunnah, p. 123, no. 161]. Below are some of the statements of the three scholars on this matter: Ibn Bāz, may Allāh have mercy on him, commented on what is mentioned in Al-’Aqīdah Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah: 'Ēmān is testification of the tongue and belief in the heart': «هذا التعريف فيه نظر وقصور، والصواب الذي عليه أهل السنة والجماعة: أن الإيمان قول وعمل واعتقاد، يزيد بالطاعة، وينقص بالمعصية ... وإخراج العمل من الإيمان؛ هو قول المرجئة» "This definition is flawed and incomplete. The correct view, held by Ahlus--Sunnah wal-Jamā’ah, is that Ēmān is composed of speech, action, and belief; it increases with obedience and decreases with sin... Excluding actions from Ēmān is the view of the Murji'ah." [Al-Fatāwā (2/83)]. Al-Albāni, may Allāh have mercy on him, commented on the same phrase: «هذا مذهب الحنفية، والماتريدية، خلافاً للسلف وجماهير الأمة» "This is the doctrine of the Hanafis and Maturidis, contrary to the Salaf and the majority of the Ummah." [Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah (1/51)]. Ibn Uthaymīn, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: «الإيمان عند أهل السنة والجماعة؛ هو: الإقرار بالقلب، والنطق باللسان، والعمل بالجوارح» "Ēmān, according to Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamā’ah, consists of: belief in the heart, speech by the tongue, and action by the limbs" [Al-Fatāwā (1/49)].