Jahmi
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Jahmī ( ar, جهمي) was a pejorative term used by early Islamic scholars to refer to the followers of
Jahm ibn Safwan Jahm bin Safwan () was an Islamic theologian who attached himself to Al-Harith ibn Surayj, a dissident in Khurasan towards the end of the Umayyad period, and who was put to death in 745 by Salm ibn Ahwaz. Biography Jahm was a client of the B ...
(d. 128/746). The four schools of jurisprudence (''
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
'') reject the Jahmi belief and the fourth Imam, Ahmad ibn Hanbal was persecuted by the Muslim ruler of the time for not accepting the Jahmi belief.


Representatives

Jahm ibn Safwan Jahm bin Safwan () was an Islamic theologian who attached himself to Al-Harith ibn Surayj, a dissident in Khurasan towards the end of the Umayyad period, and who was put to death in 745 by Salm ibn Ahwaz. Biography Jahm was a client of the B ...
was born in
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
, first lived in Termez, and then in Kufa, where he met with Jad ibn Dirham, who became his follower and preacher of his ideas. Returning to his homeland, he took part in the uprising against the
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
governor of
Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
and was captured and executed at
Merv Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
. Among the most famous preachers of ''Jahmitic'' views that can be noted was Bishra al-Marisi (d. 833). At the beginning of the 9th century Jahmites acted in
Nehavend Nahavand ( fa, نهاوند, translit=Nahāvand / Nehāvend) is a city in Hamadan Province, Iran. It is the capital of Nahavand County. At the time of the 2006 census, its population was 72,218, in 19,419 families. It is located south of the ci ...
, but some of them were forced to accept the teachings of the Asharites.


Beliefs

Many of the views of the Jahmites are seen as heretical by
Sunnis Sunni Islam () is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia ...
, and sometimes even resulted in their expulsion from Islamic society in general. Thus, the Jahmites deny all the names and attributes of Allah, faith in which is an important part of the religious doctrine of orthodox Muslims. On the issue of interpreting the concept of “
Iman Iman, Imann, Imaan, Eman, Emaan, or Imman may refer to: Places * Iman, Iran, a village in Kalashi District, Kermanshah Province * The Iman River, the former name of the Bolshaya Ussurka River, a tributary of the Ussuri River in Russia's Primors ...
,” the jahmits are similar to the
Murjites Murji'ah ( ar, المرجئة, English: "Those Who Postpone"), also known as Murji'as or Murji'ites, were an early Islamic sect. Murji'ah held the opinion that God alone has the right to judge whether or not a Muslim has become an apostate. Conseq ...
, and argue that faith is only knowledge of Allah, and unbelief is ignorance about him. They also stated that heaven and hell would disappear sooner or later, which according to mainstream muslim view contradicts both the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
and the
Sunnah In Islam, , also spelled ( ar, سنة), are the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed ...
of the
Prophet Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
. In the matter of predestination, the Jahmites adhere to the fact that a person does not have free will and is forced into their actions. And on the question of the nature of Allah, the Jahmites are
pantheists Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ex ...
and say that he is everywhere and lives in all creatures. In addition, they deny the possibility of righteous Muslims seeing Allah in paradise.


Critique of Jahmi

Since the advent of Jahmism, this tendency has been the subject of criticism by many prominent representatives of
orthodox Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
. Throughout Islamic history, numerous refutations of the teachings of the jahmites appeared, the authors of which were Sunni theologians, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
Ibn Qutayba Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muslim ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī al-Marwazī better known simply as Ibn Qutaybah ( ar-at, ابن قتيبة, Ibn Qutaybah; c. 828 – 13 November 889 CE / 213 – 15 Rajab 276 AH) was an Islamic scholar of Persian ...
and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. Other critics of the Jahmites included Abu Hamid al-Ghazali,
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī or ''Ibn Ḥajar'' ( ar, ابن حجر العسقلاني, full name: ''Shihābud-Dīn Abul-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Nūrud-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī al-Kināni'') (18 February 1372 – 2 Febru ...
and
Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263 – September 26, 1328; ar, ابن تيمية), birth name Taqī ad-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Numayrī al-Ḥarrānī ( ar, تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم ...
.
Yasir Qadhi Yasir Qadhi (born January 30, 1975), is an American preacher, theologian, and imam. Since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, an international Islamic educational institution with a center in Houston, Tex ...
wrote a lengthy dissertation (in Arabic only) during his time in Madinah which is entitled "The Theological Opinions of Jahm b. Ṣafwān and Their Effects on the Other Islamic Sects."


References

{{Islamic theology, schools Islamic branches