What does Al-mrjʾa mean?

Islam > Glossary > Al-mrjʾa

Discover the meaning of the term Al-mrjʾa (مرجئة) in Islamic vocabulary.

Definition Al-mrjʾa

Al-mrjʾa according to Kitab at-Ta'rifat (Al-Jurjani)

People who say: sin does no harm when joined to faith, just as obedience does no good when joined to disbelief.

Al-mrjʾa according to Mufradat (Ar-Raghib)

They are those who judge that the committer of a major sin is not punished at all, and that punishment and the Fire are for the disbelievers.

Al-mrjʾa according to Dustur al-'Ulama (Al-Ahmadnagari)

A sect among the great Islamic sects; they are four sects: the Yunusiyya, the 'Abdiyya, the Faysaniyya, and the Thubaniyya. As for the Yunusiyya, they say: faith is the knowledge of Allah, exalted be He, submission to Him, and love of the heart; whoever combines these qualities is a believer, and abandoning acts of obedience and committing disobediences do him no harm, nor is he punished for them; yet Iblis was a knower ('arif) of Allah, and he disbelieved only through his pride and his refusal to submit to Him, exalted be He. The detail of the rest of their beliefs is in the Sharh al-Mawaqif. They were named 'murji'a' because they defer works relative to intention, that is, they relegate it in rank after it, and relative to belief: 'arja'a' means 'to defer'; and because they say sin does no harm when joined to faith, as obedience does no good when joined to disbelief: they thus give precedence to hope.

Al-mrjʾa according to At-Tawqif (Al-Munawi)

People who say sin does no harm when joined to faith, as obedience does no good when joined to disbelief.

Al-mrjʾa according to At-Ta'rifat al-Fiqhiyya (Al-Barkati)

They are people who say sin does no harm when joined to faith, as obedience does no good when joined to disbelief; they are people of innovation (ahl bid'a). As for one who denies that works are a part of faith while cherishing them, he too is called 'murji'', and these are the people of the Sunna, and their irja' is praiseworthy.