THE NAJJARIYYA
CONCERNING THE THEOLOGICAL TEACHINGS OF THE NAJJARIYYAmstheme>
The name and origin of the Najjariyya sect can be traced to a man called al-Husain ibn Muhammad [Abu ‘Abdi’llah] an-Najjar.
According to an-Najjar, all activity [fi ‘l al-fa ‘ilin] is to be predicated of Allah (Exalted is He) as far as the reality is concerned, and of the human being [only in a metaphorical sense].
He always maintained the doctrine of the denial of the Divine attributes [nafy as-sifat]. In fact his teaching on the subject of the denial of the Divine attributes was the same as that of the Mu’tazila, except when it came to the denial of the Divine will [irada], since an-Najjar asserted that the Eternally Pre-Existent One does exercise will on His own behalf [al-Qadim Murid li-nafsih]. [Like the Mu’tazila] he also professed the doctrine of the creation [khalq] of the Qur’an.
According to his teaching, Allah is One who possesses the faculty of will [Murid] in the sense that He can neither be coerced [maqhur] nor compelled by superior force [maghlub]. Allah is One who possesses the faculty of speech [Mutakallim] in the sense that He is not incapable of speech [laisa bi-‘ajiz ‘ani’l-kalam]. He is unfailingly Generous, in the sense that avarice [bukhl] could never be predicated of Him.
The theological school [madhhab] of an-Najjar has a close affinity with that of Ibn ‘Awn and Abu Yusuf ar-Razi. The followers of his school are mostly to be found in Qashan.
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