Jahmiyyah Sect (Part 17) 

Author: Abu Ayesha

Jahmiyyah Sect (Part 17) 

Ahl-sunnah’s Viewpoint on the Actions of Servants

Imam Tahawi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “We believe that the creator of the actions of servants is Allah Almighty; but the acquisition is from the servant himself, and Allah Almighty does not impose duties on servants except to the extent of their capacity, and the capacity of servants is to the extent of Allah’s obligation, and this is the interpretation of «لاحول ولا قوة إلا بالله»”; “And there is no power, and no movement to avoid disobeying Allah, the Exalted, except with His help.”

He further states, “It is the actions of servants that make people obedient or sinful and disobedient, and these actions are the creation of Allah Almighty; because Allah, the Exalted, is the only and unique in the creation of creatures, and there is no creator other than Him.”

Ahl-sunnah believe that the actions of the servants are attributed to them for their own gain and are attributed to Allah Almighty for His own creation and invention, and that the power of the accidental has no effect on them.

The Reasons of Ahl-sunnah

The Sunnis have presented the following reasons to prove that the actions of the servants are their own actions, with their own will and discretion:

1. «ولهم أعمال من دون ذلک وهم لها عاملون» “And they have deeds other than that, and they do them.”

2. «جزاء بما کانوا یعملون» “And they are rewarded for what they used to do.”

3. «هل ثوب الکفار ما کانوا یفعلون» “Did the disbelievers receive punishment for what they used to do?”

These verses and their like prove the relationship between the action and the doer. Furthermore, the doer is worthy of praise and blame for doing things. With these reasons, the meaning of the Sunnis became clear. They believe that Allah created actions, and the servant is the doer and is not forced to do them, but rather it is as if Allah has written his description.

As a result, Allah Almighty is unique in His creation and destiny, and the servant has his own will, and the action is his own; he goes to the mosque with his own will and goes to the theater with his own will because he has power.

Ahl-sunnah’s Response to the Jahmiyyah Argument

Jahmiyyah’s argument from this blessed verse «الله خالق کل شیء» contradicts many texts in which the will is proven for the servant and the action is attributed to him. Allah Almighty rewards him for these actions. If the servant were purely compelled, then what is the use of attributing actions to him or rewarding him for his actions?

Regarding the other verse that the Jabriya have argued with, it must be said that this is an argument against them. Since Allah Almighty has proven the throwing of a pebble or an arrow to His Prophet by saying “إذ رميت”, it is clear that what has been proven is different from what has been negated. This is because throwing has a beginning and an end; its beginning is throwing, and its end is hitting the target. Each of these two is called “رمي” and therefore, the meaning of the above verse is: “When you threw the arrow, it was not you who hit the target.”

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