Majmu Al Fatawa 20 421 Review

In the vast ocean of Islamic scholarship, few works are as frequently cited—and as frequently debated—as Majmu’ al-Fatawa of the influential Hanbali theologian Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328 CE). Spanning over 30 volumes, this collection compiles his responses to legal and theological questions ranging from the mundane to the monumental.

By page 421, he is deep in a discussion about those who commit major sins ( kaba’ir ) and whether they remain within the fold of Islam. This was a critical issue inherited from the early Kharijites (who declared sinners unbelievers) and the Murji’ah (who deferred judgment to God alone). While the exact wording depends on the edition (the standard 1981 Riyadh edition is widely used), the passage on page 421 generally addresses a delicate point: the ruling on a Muslim who abandons obligatory prayers or swears an oath by other than Allah.

Within this corpus, a specific reference——has taken on a life of its own. Cited in contemporary discussions about excommunication (takfir), oaths, and the boundaries of faith, this passage is a prime example of how a single paragraph from a medieval jurist can fuel modern theological debates. But what does Ibn Taymiyyah actually say on this page? And why does it matter? The Context: Volume 20 of Majmu’ al-Fatawa Volume 20 of the collection falls within a broader discussion of Iman (faith) and its opposite: hypocrisy and apostasy . Ibn Taymiyyah is known for his unique, action-oriented definition of faith, arguing that faith is "speech of the heart, action of the heart, speech of the tongue, and action of the limbs." For him, faith increases with obedience and decreases with sin.

For the serious student, the lesson of page 421 is clear: