The Jahmiyyah are followers of Jahm ibn Safwan (d. 128 AH). They appeared at the end of the Umayyad period. Jahm was from Samarqand and a student of al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham (killed 124 AH by Khalid ibn Abd Allah al-Qasri for zandaqah and ilhad). Jahm adopted taʿtil (negating the attributes of Allah), irjaʾ (placing iman only in the heart), and jabr (absolute compulsion).
Beliefs of the Jahmiyyah
- Jahm said the servant is compelled and has no action or power.
- He denied al-istitaah (ability).
- He claimed al-Jannah (Paradise) and al-Nar (Hellfire) will perish.
- He said iman is only maʿrifah (knowledge of Allah) and kufr is only jahl (ignorance of Him).
- He said people’s actions are only figuratively theirs, like saying “the sun set” or “the millstone turned.”
- He claimed that ʿilm Allah (knowledge of Allah) is created.
- He refused to describe Allah with sifaat such as shayʾ, hayy, ʿalim, samiʿ, or basir, except figuratively. He only accepted qadir because in his view man has no qudrah.
- He denied that Allah acts with hikmah (wisdom) or rahmah (mercy), claiming He acts only by mashiʾah (will).
- He denied that Allah is arham al-rahimin (the Most Merciful of the merciful), and mocked this by pointing to those afflicted with disease.
What The Scholars Said About Them
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Abu Mansur Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (d. 429 AH): He detailed the doctrines of the Jahmiyyah, saying they denied all human capacity, claimed that Paradise and Hell will perish, reduced iman to mere knowledge, and made kufr only ignorance. He reported their denial of Allah’s sifaat and His mercy, and explained that they declared kalam Allah (the Speech of Allah) to be created. (al-Farq bayna al-Firaq 1/211–212)
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Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH): He said Jahm ibn Safwan was the first to openly spread these doctrines of jabr and taʿtil. He reported that Jahm denied that Allah could be called with names shared with creation, so he would not call Him shayʾ, hayy, ʿalim, samiʿ, or basir except figuratively. Ibn Taymiyyah also mentioned Jahm’s denial of Allah being arham al-rahimin, and his mockery when looking at people with leprosy, saying: “Would the Most Merciful of the merciful do this to them?” (Majmuʿ al-Fatawa 8/460)
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Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH): In his biography, he described Jahm as “the founder of misguidance and head of the Jahmiyyah.” He said Jahm denied the sifaat of Allah, claimed the Qurʾan was created, and that Allah is in all places. Al-Dhahabi also cited Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH), who reported that Jahm opposed Muqatil in tajsim, and that he made iman only conviction in the heart even if one utters kufr. Al-Dhahabi added that Jahm was killed by Salm ibn Ahwaz for denying that Allah spoke to Musa. (Siyar Aʿlam al-Nubala 6/26–27)
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Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH): He explained that the Jahmiyyah were the first to oppose revelation with raʾy (opinion). At first they were few, despised, and condemned by the Imams. Their leader al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham influenced Marwan ibn Muhammad, the last Umayyad caliph, to the point he was called al-Jaʿdi. Ibn al-Qayyim linked the fall of Banu Umayyah to the spread of their misguidance. He also described how Khalid ibn Abd Allah al-Qasri killed al-Jaʿd publicly on the day of Eid al-Adha after declaring his heresies. (al-Sawaʿiq al-Mursalah 3/1070–1071)
The stance of Ahl al-Sunnah and other sects
The scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah declared him a kafir for all these beliefs. Even the Qadariyyah declared him a kafir because he said Allah creates the afʿal al-ʿibad (actions of the servants). Thus all groups of the ummah agreed on takfir of him.
Jahm’s end
Jahm fought with al-Harith ibn Surayj against Nasr ibn Sayyar. He was killed by Salm ibn Ahwaz al-Mazini in 128 AH.
Later followers
Some of his followers remained in Nihawand until later scholars such as Ismail ibn Ibrahim al-Shirazi al-Daylami called them to the madhhab of Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿari, and some of them returned to Ahl al-Sunnah.
Bishr ibn Ghiyath al-Mirisi (d. 218 AH)
From the extremists of the Jahmiyyah was Bishr al-Mirisi, a student of Abu Yusuf al-Qadi (d. 182 AH). He excelled in fiqh but became famous in kalam. Scholars reported vile and deviant beliefs from him such as denying Jannah, Nar, al-Sirat, al-Mizan, al-Shafaʿah, and ʿadhab al-qabr. Because of these, most declared him kafir. Abu Yusuf said about him: “Seeking knowledge of kalam is ignorance, and ignorance of kalam is knowledge.” Abu Zurʿah al-Razi (d. 264 AH) said: “Bishr al-Mirisi is a zindiq.
Conclusion To The Summary
The Jahmiyyah are followers of Jahm ibn Safwan, a sect known for negating the sifaat of Allah, claiming iman is only knowledge, holding to absolute jabr, and denying that Allah acts with wisdom or mercy. They said Paradise and Hell will perish, and that the Qurʾan is created. The Salaf and the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah unanimously declared their doctrines to be kufr. Jahm himself was killed in 128 AH, but his sect spread through his students and sympathisers such as Bishr al-Mirisi, until they were refuted and exposed by the Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah.
The Jahmiyyah are a sect from the extremists of the Murjiʾah. They ascribe themselves to Jahm ibn Safwan, who was killed in the year 128 AH. They appeared at the end of the Umayyad era. Jahm ibn Safwan al-Samarqandi was the student of al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham, whom Khalid ibn Abd Allah al-Qasri killed in the year 124 AH because of his zandaqah and ilhad.
Abu Mansur Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (d. 429 AH) said about Jahmiyyah:
They are the followers of Jahm ibn Safwan (see al-Tabsir p. 62; al-Milal wa al-Nihal 1/686), who said with al-jabr (absolute compulsion) and that the servant is forced in all actions.
He denied al-istitaah (capacity and ability) completely, and claimed that Paradise and Hellfire will come to an end and perish. He also claimed that iman (faith) is only maarifah (knowledge) of Allah Almighty, and that al-kufr (disbelief) is only jahl (ignorance) of Him.
He said: no qawl (speech) or amal (action) belongs to anyone other than Allah Almighty. Actions are only attributed to creation figuratively, just as it is said: “the sun set” or “the millstone turned,” though neither of them is actually a fa’il (doer) or mustati (capable) of what it is described with.
He also claimed that the knowledge of Allah is created (muhdath, the word can mean created or originated, in this context it means created).
He also refused to describe Allah Almighty as shay (a thing), or as muwhi (one who reveals), or as alim (All-Knowing), or murid (All-Willing). He said: I do not describe Him with any sifah (attribute). (It is permissible, however, to call Him shay “a thing,” mawjood “existent,” hayy “Ever-Living,” alim “All-Knowing,” murid “All-Willing,” and the like, and to describe Him as qadir “All-Powerful,” muwjid “Originator,” fail “Doer,” khaliq “Creator,” muhyi “Giver of life,” mumit “Giver of death,” for these descriptions are exclusive to Him alone. He also said that kalam Allah (the Speech of Allah) is muhdath “created,” as the Qadariyyah said, and did not name Allah Almighty “al-Mutakallim” (the One who speaks) with it.)
Al-Nasai said in Tadhkirat al-Huffaz regarding Jahm ibn Safwan: “The misguided innovator, the head of the Jahmiyyah. He perished in the time of the younger Tabiin. I do not know of him narrating anything, but he planted immense evil” (Tadhkirat al-Huffaz no. 1584). Al-Tabari said: he was the scribe of al-Harith ibn Surayj who revolted in Khurasan at the end of the Umayyad state (Tarikh, events of year 128 AH).
Jahm was a student of al-Jaad ibn Dirham, the zindiq (heretic), who was the first to innovate the claim that the Quran is created. Al-Dhahabi said about him: “Al-Jaad ibn Dirham, counted among the Tabiin, was a mubtadi who went astray. He claimed that Allah did not take Ibrahim as khalil (intimate friend) and did not speak to Musa takliman (direct speech). He was killed for that in Iraq on the day of al-Nahr (Eid al-Adha)” (Mizan al-Itidal no. 1482).
The scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah declared him to be a kafir in all of his statements. The Qadariyyah declared him kafir because of his saying that Allah Almighty creates the afal al-ibad (actions of the servants). Thus all the sects of the ummah agreed upon takfir of him.
Jahm, along with his dalalat (misguidances) that we have mentioned, carried weapons and fought against the sultan (ruler).
He went out with al-Harith ibn Surayj against Nasr ibn Sayyar, and he was killed by Salm ibn Ahwaz al-Mazini (Tarikh, events of year 128 AH) at the end of the Umayyad rule. His followers remained in Nihawand, and in our time, Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn Kabus al-Shirazi al-Daylami went out to them and called them to the madhhab of our Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari. Some of them responded to him and joined Ahl al-Sunnah as one hand. Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) for that.
al-Farq bayna al-Firaq by Abu Mansur Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi 1/211-212
Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said: The first one from whom this denial appeared was Jahm ibn Safwan and his followers. It is reported from them that they said: the servant is compelled and that he has no action at all, and that he has no power at all.
Jahm was extreme in taʿtil of the sifaat (attributes). He used to deny that Allah Almighty can be named with a name by which a servant is named. So he would not call Him shay (a thing), nor hayy (living), nor alim (knowing), nor sami (hearing), nor basir (seeing), except in a figurative sense.
It is reported from him that he used to call Allah Almighty qadir (able), because the servant, according to him, is not qadir, so there is no tashbih (likening) in using this name according to his view.
He and his followers used to deny that Allah has hikmah (wisdom) in His creation and command, or that He has rahmah (mercy). They said: He only acts by pure mashiʾah (will), without mercy with it. It is reported from him that he denied that Allah is arham al-rahimin (the Most Merciful of the merciful).
He used to go out to those afflicted with leprosy, look at them, and say: does arham al-rahimin do this to such people? He used to say: the servants are compelled in their actions, they have no action and no choice.
Majmuʿ al-Fatawa 8/460
Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH), in the biography of Jahm ibn Safwan, said: Abu Muharriz al-Rasabi, their freedman from Samarqand, the scribe and mutakallim, the founder of misguidance, and the head of the Jahmiyyah.
He used to write for the amir Harith ibn Surayj al-Tamimi. He denied the attributes and claimed to exalt al-Bari (the Creator) from them, as he thought. He said that the Qur’an is created, and that Allah is in every place.
Ibn Hazm said: he opposed Muqatil regarding tajsim (embodiment).
He used to say: iman (faith) is conviction in the heart, even if one utters kufr (disbelief).
It is said that Salm ibn Ahwaz killed Jahm because of his denial that Allah spoke to Musa.
Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalā’ By Ad Dhahabi (6/26-27)
Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said: “When the Jahmiyyah increased in the later era of the Tabiʿin, they were the first to oppose revelation with opinion. Yet at first they were few, suppressed, and condemned by the Imams. The first of them was their shaykh al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham. He gained some influence among people only because he was the teacher of Marwan ibn Muhammad and his shaykh.
Because of this, Marwan was called al-Jaʿdi. And upon his head Allah took away the kingdom and khilafah from Banu Umayyah, scattering them throughout the lands, tearing them apart in every way, by the curse of the shaykh of the muʿattilah and nafy group.
When his matter became well known among the Muslims, Khalid ibn Abd Allah al-Qasri, who was governor over Iraq, sought him until he captured him. (He is Khalid ibn Abd Allah ibn Yazid ibn Asad al-Qasri from Bajilah, Abu al-Haytham. He was born in the year 66 AH. He was Yemeni in origin, from the people of Damascus. He was the one who killed al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham. Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: I heard Yahya ibn Maʿin say: Khalid ibn Abd Allah al-Qasri was a governor for Banu Umayyah, and he was an evil man, and he used to insult Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him. He was killed during the days of al-Walid ibn Yazid in the year 126 AH. (Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 3/101–102; Wafayat al-Aʿyan 2/226, 231; al-Aʿlam 2/297))
He gave a sermon to the people on the day of Eid al-Adha, and the last thing he said in his khutbah was: ‘O people, sacrifice, may Allah accept your sacrifices. As for me, I am sacrificing al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham, for he claimed that Allah did not speak to Musa directly, and did not take Ibrahim as a khalil. Exalted is Allah far above what al-Jaʿd says with great exaltation.’ Then he descended and slaughtered him at the base of the pulpit.”
Al-Sawaʿiq al-Mursalah By Ibn Al Qayyim (3/1070-1071)
From the extremists of the Jahmiyyah was Bishr ibn Ghiyath al-Mirisi (d. 218 AH).
Al-Ghazzi said in his biography: “He took fiqh from Abu Yusuf al-Qadi, and busied himself with kalam. Reports are transmitted from him of repulsive statements and rejected doctrines. The people of knowledge spoke badly of him because of them, and most of them declared him a kafir for them. He was an evil of the evils of the time, and a calamity from the calamities of fate. It is said that he was not bound by any religion or madhhab. In al-Jawahir it is mentioned: he took fiqh from Abu Yusuf, excelled in it, and studied kalam and philosophy.
Translation: Bishr ibn Ghiyath ibn Abi Karima, Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Mirisi (d. 218 AH).
He was the mawla of Zayd ibn al-Khattab. He lived in the alley known by his name, called Darb al-Mirisisti, which lay between Nahr al-Dajaj and Nahr al-Bazzarin. He studied fiqh under Abu Yusuf al-Qadi (d. 182 AH) and occupied himself with kalam. He openly declared the doctrine of khalq al-Quran (that the Quran is created).
Reports are transmitted from him of reprehensible statements and rejected beliefs. Because of them, the people of knowledge spoke ill of him, and most of them declared him kafir. (See al-Tabaqat al-Saniyyah fi Tarajim al-Hanafiyyah 2/230–235.)
It would have been more appropriate not to mention him in our book, nor to give attention to his affair, for he was – and the truth is more deserving to be followed – one of the evils of the age and one of the punishments of time. But we mention him following others, to warn against him and against adopting his way.
And perhaps Allah guided him before death to truth and uprightness. Otherwise, the well-known state of the man is that he was not bound to any din or madhhab. We will mention what the reliable and trustworthy scholars said about him, without inclination toward him nor unfairness against him. Allah Almighty knows best what is correct.
In al-Jawahir it is written: he studied fiqh under Abu Yusuf (d. 182 AH), excelled in it, and delved into kalam and falsafah.
Al-Saymari (d. 436 AH) said: Among the close students of Abu Yusuf was Bishr ibn Ghiyath al-Mirisi. He had many writings and narrations from Abu Yusuf. He was from the people of wara and zuhd, but people turned away from him at that time due to his fame in kalam and his disputation in it. Husayn al-Najjar (d. 220 AH) took his doctrine from him. Abu Yusuf used to censure him, saying: “He is like a glass vessel, thin and narrow in opening, quick to break.”
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Umar ibn Mani (d. 251 AH) said: Bishr al-Mirisi used to hold vile sayings of the zanadiqah, naming them as a group who said: ‘Allah is nothing.’
Abbad ibn al-Awwam (d. 185 AH) said: I debated Bishr al-Mirisi and his companions, and I saw that the end of their discourse was to say: ‘There is nothing in the heaven.’
Yahya ibn Asim said: I was with my father when Bishr al-Mirisi asked permission to enter. I said: “Father, will you let such a man enter upon you?” He said: “My son, and what is wrong with him?” I said: “He says the Quran is created, that Allah is with him on the earth, that Jannah and Nar are not created, that Munkar and Nakir are false, that al-Sirat is false, that al-Shafaʿah is false, and that al-Mizan is false, with much more speech.” He said: “Bring him in.” So I admitted him.
My father said to him: “O Bishr al-Dhimmah, woe to you O Bishr al-Dhimmah,” two or three times. He kept drawing him near until he was close, then said: “Woe to you O Bishr, whom do you worship, and where is your Lord?” Bishr replied: “What do you mean, O Abu al-Hasan?” My father said: “I have been told you say the Quran is created and that Allah is with you on the earth.” I never saw anything harder upon my father than his words: “The Quran is created and Allah is with me on the earth.”
Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: I mentioned this report to one of our companions, and he said to me: “Do you not know what Bishr meant by that? It was sarcasm, for he denied that there is Jannah (Paradise) and Nar (Hellfire).”
It is narrated from Humayd al-Tusi that he entered upon the Amir al-Muʾminin while Bishr al-Mirisi was present. The amir said to Humayd: “Do you know who this is, O Abu Ghanim?” He replied: “No.”
The amir said: “This is Bishr al-Mirisi.” Humayd said: “O Amir al-Muʾminin, this is the master of the fuqaha.
He has abolished ʿadhab al-qabr (the punishment of the grave), the questioning of Munkar and Nakir, al-Mizan (the Balance), and al-Sirat (the Bridge).
Look if he can also abolish death,” Then he turned to Bishr and said: “If you could abolish death, you would truly be the master of the fuqaha.”
It is narrated that a Jew once passed by Bishr while people were gathered around him. He said to them: “Your book will be of no benefit to you, just as his father ruined the Torah for us.” He meant that Bishr’s father was a Jew.
Abu Muslim Salih ibn Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Salih al-Ajli (d. 273 AH) said: My father told me: I saw Bishr al-Mirisi – may the curse of Allah be upon him – once, a short old man, ugly in appearance, dirty in clothing, thick in hair, most resembling the Jews. His father was a Jewish dyer in Kufa in the market of wet-nurses. Then he said: May Allah not have mercy on him, for he was a fasiq.
Abu Zurʿah al-Razi (d. 264 AH) used to say: Bishr al-Mirisi is a zindiq.
Abu Yusuf (d. 182 AH) used to say to him: “Seeking knowledge of kalam is ignorance, and ignorance of kalam is knowledge.”
Al-Tabaqat al-Saniyyah fi Tarajim al-Hanafiyyah 2/230–234
Translation: Ibn Abi Al Izz said: The Jahmiyyah are those who ascribe themselves to Jahm ibn Safwan al-Tirmidhi. He was the one who made public the negation of the attributes and complete taʿtil. He had taken that from al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham, whom Khalid ibn Abd Allah al-Qasri sacrificed in Wasit.
He gave a sermon to the people on the day of Eid al-Adha and said: “O people, sacrifice, may Allah accept your sacrifices. As for me, I am sacrificing al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham, for he claimed that Allah did not take Ibrahim as a khalil and did not speak to Musa directly.
Exalted is Allah above what al-Jaʿd says with great exaltation!” Then he descended and slaughtered him. That was after consultation with the scholars of his time, who were the Salaf al-Salih, may Allah have mercy on them.
Jahm remained after him in Khurasan, where he spread his belief, and some people followed him in that, after he abandoned the prayer for forty days out of doubt in his Lord. That was during his disputation with a people from the polytheists known as the Samanis, who were philosophers of India, who denied all knowledge except sensory perception. (The Samanis were a sect in India who were Dahriyyah, materialists, who denied the existence of a Creator.)
They said to him: “This Lord whom you worship, can He be seen, or smelled, or tasted, or touched?” He replied: “No.” They said: “Then He does not exist!” So he remained forty days worshipping nothing. Then when his heart became empty of an object of worship, Shaytan cast into him a belief formed by his thought, that the deity is the absolute existence.
Thus he negated all attributes, and he was affiliated with Jaʿd Bin Dirham
It has also been said that al-Jaʿd had contact with the Sabian philosophers of Harran, and that he also took something from some Jews who had altered their religion, who were connected with Labid ibn al-Aʿsam the sorcerer who bewitched the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Jahm was killed in Khurasan by Salm ibn Ahwaz. (Al-Tabari recorded his killing in the year 128 AH, during the time of the younger Tabiʿun. See: Tarikh al-Jahmiyyah wa al-Muʿtazilah, p. 14–18.)
However, his belief had already spread among the people, and after him the Muʿtazilah carried it, though Jahm was deeper in taʿtil than them, because he denied even the names in reality, while they did not deny the names but only the attributes. (See the views of Jahm in kalam in Maqalat al-Islamiyyin, p. 279–280, 132, 141, 152, 477, 148, 149, 164, 474, 542, 181, 218, 212, 494, 636, 589.)
The scholars differed regarding the Jahmiyyah, whether they are counted among the seventy-two sects or not. There are two views on this. Among those who said they are not from the seventy-two sects are Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH) and Yusuf ibn Asbat (d. 195 AH).
The doctrine of the Jahmiyyah became well-known during the mihnah of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and other scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah. From the time of the caliph al-Maʾmun they gained strength and increased, for he had resided in Khurasan for a period and mixed with them.
Then he wrote ordering the mihnah from Tarsus in the year 218 AH, and in that same year he died. Imam Ahmad was returned to prison in Baghdad until the year 220 AH, when his trial with al-Muʿtasim took place, and his disputation with them in kalam.
When he refuted what they argued against him and clarified that they had no valid proof, and that their forcing people to agree with them and testing them was ignorance and injustice, al-Muʿtasim wished to release him. But some advised him that the interest was in beating him, so that the prestige of the caliphate would not be broken time after time.
When they beat him, uproar arose among the public, and they feared, so they released him. His story is mentioned in the books of history.
Among the distinctive beliefs of Jahm was that Paradise and Hell will come to an end, that iman is only knowledge, kufr is only ignorance, that no one has any action in reality except Allah alone, and that people are attributed with their actions only figuratively, just as one says: the tree moved, the sphere rotated, the sun set. The poet said well:
“I am amazed at a shaytan who called people openly to the Fire, while his name was derived from Jahannam.”
It has been reported that Abu Hanifah, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked about speech concerning accidents (aʿrad) and bodies (ajsām). He replied: “May Allah curse Amr ibn Ubayd, for he was the one who opened up this speech for the people.”
The Jabriyyah: the root of their doctrine goes back to Jahm ibn Safwan, as mentioned. They say that the action of the servant is like his height or his colour.
Sharh Al Aqidah At Tahawiyyah Commentary On The Creed Of At Tahawi By Imam Ibn Abi Al Izz Al Hanafi Page 795
