the books of those who claim to be Ashʿarites, you will see them upon the school of law of Aristotle and those who followed him, like Ibn Sīnā and al-Fārābī. You will see their books titled 'The Science of Monotheism (Tawhid),' while their inner content is the type called 'divine' from philosophy. If you are in doubt about what we have said, then look at 'al-Mawāqif' by ʿAḍud al-Dīn al-Ījī, its commentary by al-Sayyid al-Jurjānī, and the marginalia upon it. Then contemplate the Book 'al-Ishārāt' and the Book 'al-Shifāʾ' by Ibn Sīnā, and the commentaries on the former; you will find that all of them are from the same valley, with no difference between them except in explicitly naming the Muʿtazilites, the Jabriyya, and others. Can Monotheism (Tawhid) be taken from these books except after falling into a thousand predicaments? Then, if the seeker is saved from these calamities, he attains a Monotheism (Tawhid) of the same genus as the Monotheism (Tawhid) of the philosophers and atheists." End quote.
I say: I have spoken about this Issue and quoted some of the statements of the Imams of the Ashʿarites regarding the Monotheism (Tawhid) of divinity and what it contains of major or minor Polytheism (shirk) in my Book: "al-Iḥtijāj bi-l-Āthār al-Salafiyya ʿalā Ithbāt al-Ṣifāt al-Ilāhiyya" (The First Investigation: The relationship between the Monotheism (Tawhid) of divinity and the Monotheism (Tawhid) of names and attributes, and that the Monotheism (Tawhid) of worship is not complete except by affirming the attributes; and every denier must be a polytheist, and that denial is worse than Polytheism (shirk)).
As for the school of law of the Ashʿarites regarding Faith, it is mere affirmation in the heart, even if one never speaks the word of Monotheism (Tawhid) and never acts with his limbs.
Thus, they agreed with the Jahmiyya in defining Faith as: affirmation only, without speech and action.
Their Imam al-Bāqillānī said: "And to know that Faith in God, Mighty and Majestic, is affirmation with the heart that He is the One, the Unique." End quote.
al-Zanjānī, may Allah have mercy on him, said in his commentary on his poem on the Sunna (p. 106): "As for the Murji'ites, they are among the ancient innovations, and they are factions, with many subtle differences between them. Among the statements of some of them is:
'Faith is speech and belief,' which is the view of al-Marīsī. And among the statements of some of them is: 'Faith is knowledge of God, which is knowing His existence,' which is the view of Jahm and al-Ashʿarī, and it is the most wicked of their statements..." etc.
Ibn Taymiyya, may Allah have mercy on him, said in "Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā" (7/119): "And the Judge Abū Bakr
