INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC THEOLOGY.pdf - CUEA

26The meaning of the “intermediate position (al-manzila bayn al-manzilatayn) is that a sinner isneither a believer nor an unbeliever. In this life criminals should be punished, but neverthelessaccepted as Muslims. This position is anti-Khârijite and differs from Murji’’ism only by the fact thatthe Mu'tazilites taught that the sinner will be eternally in Hell in the next life if he dies unrepentant,whereas the Murji’ites held that for all Muslims eventual entrance to Paradise is assured.Later developmentsThe influential al-Ash'arî, who broke away from Mu'tazilism, maintained the Khârijite position thatfaith includes practice and therefore admits of degrees. He thought that the intercession ofMuhammad may gain the release of some Muslims from Hell, but that God may decide to punishsome Muslim sinners eternally in Hell. Nevertheless he did not go the whole way of the Khârijitesregarding the treatment of sinners in this life.Although Ash'arî is the father of Sunnî theology, most Sunnî theologians did not follow him onthese points. The view of al-Mâturîdî (d. 944) overruled al-Ash'arî, so that pure Murji’ism is thecommon teaching: Faith does not include practice, and no Muslim will stay eternally in Hell.2. DIVINE AND CREATED POWER: THE QUESTION OF QADARQadarismThe word qadar first of all means God’s determination of all events, including what people chooseto do. We would expect a Qadarite to be someone who maintains that God determines everything,but in fact the term historically came to mean the opposite, namely, one who asserts that qadarbelongs to man, and man himself determines his own acts, and not his Creator. Qadar in thissense refers to man’s power freely to choose.Later Sunnism considered Qadarism a heresy, but in Umayyad times the issue was not so clear,and the debate went on right within the general proto-Sunnite movement, although some moderateKhârijites also took part. The debate is similar to that within Christianity concerning free will andgrace. Does man require God’’s help to do or think anything good in his sight, or to do anything atall, even evil things? If so, how can man be responsible for what he does?Pre-Islamic Arabian thoughtThe pre-Islamic background to the discussion of qadar is important. In a land where rainfall andweather are completely erratic and people sometimes have plenty and other times nothing at all, itis natural for them to have a fatalistic outlook. Pre-Islamic poetry made an impersonal force out ofTime (dahr, zamân) or Days. This force determined everything, especially man’s ajal (term of life)and rizq (sustenance). On the other hand the Arabs honoured human achievement, especiallyvictory in battle, and took it as a sign of inherited excellence enabling a man to do wonderful things.The Qur’ânThe Qur’ân retains the notions of ajal and rizq, but teaches that these are determined by God, notan impersonal Time (cf. 45:23-25; 57:22); moreover God’’s decrees are not simply inevitable