Bishr al-Marisi: The Innovator Even His Own Mother Warned Against

Bishr al-Marisi: The Innovator Even His Own Mother Warned Against

— The stance of the Salaf against Ahlul-Bidʿah

Imām ash-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله said:

“I entered Baghdād and went to Bishr al-Mirīsī, so he accommodated me in his room. Then his mother said to me:

‘Why have you come to him?’

I replied: ‘To hear from him knowledge.’

So she said [about her own son, Bishr]:

‘He is an innovating heretic.’”**

(Reported by al-Khaṭīb in Tārīkh Baghdād, 7/59)

SubḥānAllāh — when the mother of the man warns people against her own son due to his innovation, what does that tell you about the severity of bidʿah?

Bishr al-Mirīsī was a Muʿtazilī — a deviant who rejected the attributes of Allāh and was among the leading figures in promoting the createdness of the Qur’ān.

Yet Imām ash-Shāfiʿī — the great imām of Sunnah — sought to hear from him… until he was corrected by his own mother, who saw the danger of his deviation up close.

The Salaf didn’t make excuses for bidʿah.

They didn’t say, “He has knowledge.”

They didn’t say, “He has good manners.”

They said: He is a heretic. Stay away.

O seeker of knowledge, beware of the intellectuals of innovation.

Even if they quote Qur’ān.

Even if they speak eloquently.

Even if they wear the clothing of scholarship.

If even their own mothers saw through them — will you remain blind?

— Continued from the legacy of the Salaf

As Imām adh-Dhahabī رحمه الله said:

“Bishr Ibn Ghiyāth al-Mirīsī: A misguided innovator. It is not permitted to narrate from him, and he is given no respect. He learned under Abu Yusuf and then left – and then became proficient in theological rhetoric (`ilmul-kalaam). He then became infamous for saying that the Qur’aan was created, and debating that point. He did not reach the era Jahm Ibn Safwaan [who came before him], but he took his sayings, and used them as proofs and called to them.”

(Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, 2/35)

A group of the scholars declared him to be an unbeliever.

This is the man that Imām ash-Shāfiʿī visited in Baghdād — and even his own mother warned the Imām:

"He is an innovating heretic."

Bishr al-Mirīsī was from the Muʿtazilah — a sect that twisted the pure ʿaqīdah of Ahl al-Sunnah:

— Denying Allāh’s Names and Attributes

— Claiming the Qur’ān is created

— Using Greek philosophy and kalām to argue theology

— Causing confusion among the Ummah and empowering the mihnah (inquisition)

And despite all his knowledge, his intellect, his sharp tongue — the Salaf warned against him with no hesitation.

Today, we see Muslims defend far lesser deviants — because “he gives good reminders” or “he refutes liberals” or “he speaks nicely about Palestine.”

But the Salaf never compromised.

They taught us:

Truth is not measured by intellect.

Truth is not in eloquence.

Truth is in the Book, the Sunnah, and the path of the Salaf.

Let this be a warning:

If even scholars like Bishr were called heretics…

If even their mothers called them out…

Then how much more careful must we be before sitting with, quoting, or defending modern-day callers to bidʿah?

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Note:

The translation of the narration of Imām ash-Shāfiʿī and Imām adh-Dhahabī's writing is by Shaykh Abu Khadeejah 'Abdul Waahid may Allaah preserve him aameen (source)

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