Translator’s note:
This text outlines the basic elements of Islamic creed, it is a useful tool for all believers thanks to its simple concise nature and this is exactly what the writer Muwafiq al Deen al Qudumi (541 – 620 H. / 1146 – 1223 A.D.) was famed for. The text was written by the Sheikh himself and the chain of transmission goes through him to his four sisters and his nephew through to all their students. It is split into varied sections and is supported by the words of Allah and His Messenger (pbuh).
The text was put together after the Imam looked at all Imam Ahmed’s books on creed and combined them into one form poetically. There have been 4 commentaries written on it, which is a testament to its relevance and importance, which cannot be over emphasised.
There are three retentions of the text where the Imam may have changed a word and added a comment. This is a translation of the most well known version.
It is a transmission through Mohammed Ibn al Khubas and it is worth noting that every single narrator who has narrated this text through time, of which there are 26 all in all, has either been regarded as a Sheikh ul-Islam or a Qadi (Judge).
Introduction
In the name of Allah the most Merciful and Compassionate,
Praise be to Allah who is praised in every language, and worshipped in every era, the One who gives knowledge and His knowledge is not absent from any place, and He is not distracted or confused by the various affairs.
He is Majestic and Exalted from taking any likenesses or rivals and glorified above taking a consort or children. His rule is carried out amongst all of His slaves. Intellects cannot imagine Him and the imaginations cannot fathom Him.
In support of this the Sheikh quotes “there is no thing like Him, and He is the All-Seeing and the All-Hearing” (42:11) He has the most beautiful names and the most exalted attributes.
Sheikh Ul Islam then quotes: “The most merciful is above the throne, He possess all of what’s in the skies and in the earth and what is between them and what is under the constellations. Any word that you speak in private, He knows it whether it is secret or manifest.” (20:5-7)
Through this opening series of paragraphs the Sheikh reminds us of the unparalleled grandeur of the topic he is about to discuss: Allah, His dominion and the essential ingredients of our must-know knowledge of Him.
1: Names and attributes of Allah
The Sheikh begins by saying Allah surrounds everything in knowledge and is victorious over everything: in power and judgment and surrounds everything in mercy and knowledge. The Sheikh then adds: “He knows what is to come and what is previous to them, and none encompass him in knowledge.” (20:110)
The Sheikh supplements this by explaining that Allah is described according to what He describes of Himself in His grand book, the Qur’an, and on the tongue of His noble Prophet (pbuh). Furthermore, all of what has come in the Qur’an and from the Chosen One is from the attributes of the Most Merciful. It is compulsory to believe in it, it should be met with submission and acceptance and seeking to reject it, interpret it, humanise it, or liken it is to be abandoned; whatever is ambiguous of that, it is compulsory to establish the wording but to abandon seeking the meaning. Knowledge of it should be returned to the Speaker (i.e. Allah alone knows what it means) and we leave the responsibility of knowing it, on the One who gave it in the first place.
This is in keeping with following the way of the insightful ones in knowledge; those Allah praised in His clear book, when the Glorified and Exalted One said: “those insightful in knowledge say, we believe in it, all of it being from our Lord.” (3:7)
The Sheikh then says: He Allah has rebuked the meaning of the allegorical parts of His revelation, when He says “those have a disease in their heart seek out that which is allegorical, seeking tribulation and seeking the meaning of it. But no one knows its meaning except Allah.” (3:7) So Allah has made, seeking the interpretation and the meaning, a sign of someone having a disease, and He has put it on par with seeking tribulations. Both of these actions are blame worthy so He has veiled them from what they tried to know and blunted their intellects from that, which they seek. By the words of the Glorified, none know their meaning except Allah.
In continuing his teaching Shiekh Ul Islam then explains that Imam Abu Adb Illah, Ahmed ibn Muhamed Ibn Hambel mentions the statement of the Prophet (pbuh): “Indeed Allah descends to the lowest sky and indeed Allah shall be seen in the hereafter,” and other statements like that were mentioned by the Imam (Ahmed) who said of this hadeeth: “we believe in it, and we testify to it, without how and without meaning. We don’t deny any of it. We know that the Messenger (pbuh) came with is true and we do not deny the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). We don’t describe Allah with more than what He described Himself with, He is without limit and without boundary: “There is no thing like Him, and He is the All-Seeing and the All-Hearing” (42:11) we say just as He said, we describe Him as He has described himself, we do not transgress that and no description of any human being could ever reach Him. We believe in all of the Qur’an, the decisive parts and the allegorical parts, we do not deny anything because of failure to understand and we do not transgress the Qur’an and ahadeeth. We always attest to the truth of the Messenger (pbuh) and affirm the Qur’an.”
Sheikh ul Islam then quotes Imam Al Shafee who said: “I believe in Allah and what came from Allah, according to whatever Allah intended and I believe in the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and in what came from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) according the intent of the Messenger (pbuh).”
Shiekh Ul Islam then explains that the first 3 generations had the same understanding and so did the Imams after them, may Allah be pleased with all of them. All of them agreed on affirmation, passing by the texts as they were (i.e. just reading the texts to their students, not adding or inferring anything) affirming what has been narrated about the attributes in the book of Allah, the sunnah of His Messenger (pbuh) without seeking its meaning. We have been ordered to follow in the footprints of those that preceded us and to seek guidance from their lighthouse.
We have been warned against newly invented matters and informed that they are ‘astray’ things. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “You must follow my sunnah (way/example) and the sunnah of the rightly guided successors after me. Hold on to my sunnah stubbornly, beware of newly invented matters for every newly invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is an astrayness.” (Muslim)
The Sheikh then quotes Abdullah Ibn Masuud, who said: “follow and do not innovate, simply imitate, for you have already been sufficed.” And we see an example of this enacted by Sheikh ul Islam Umar Ibn Abdel Azeez, who refused to accept the Khalifa if it was by lineage, and said he would only accept it he was chosen by the Ulamaa, as the Khalifa was meant to be decided this way. In his tenure he tried to re-address a lot of things that the Ummayads had done incorrectly before his time and he is sometimes called the 5th rightly guided Khalif.
It is also important to note that when discussing innovation Umar Ibn Abdel Azeez said: “cease wherever the people ceased. It is from knowledge that they stopped and ceased and with penetrating insight, they abstained from delving further. If there were something that could have been known they would have been the best candidates to know it. Had there been some virtue, they would have been amongst those who would have found it. If you should say ‘something new came after them and we know it’, know that no new thing came after them except that the one, who makes such a claim, opposed their guidance and sought other than their sunnah. They have described the truth according to what was sufficient and their discussion about it is what was best and is enough. Whoever should go beyond them transgresses and whoever should do less than them is a loser, and unsuccessful. Those who lost out by going under them became hard hearted, while those who did more and went over them transgressed the boundaries and exaggerated. Had they stayed between both of those limits, they would have been upon clear guidance.
The Sheikh then quotes Imam Aba Amr Al’owtha’ee, who was a contemporary to Imam Abu Hanifa and was also a Qadi in what would be modern day Beirut. He said: “you must follow in the footsteps of those who preceded you, even if the people reject you. Beware the opinions of people even if they should sweeten their speech for you.”
Furthering his point the Sheikh then quotes Imam Muhammed Al Adramee (Special note should be made of him as he survived the torture of the mu’atezilites. They beat him every day, and every day his resilience grew. He says that the torture made him more stringent as he was tortured for the right reasons and he was a friend of Imam Ahmad who suffered similarly)
One day the Imam heard someone saying something about the attributes of Allah that was an untrue tribulation and asked: “did the Prophet (pbuh) or the first Khalifs know about what it is you are teaching? Or did they not know?’ The man of innovation said “they didn’t know about it.” To this the Imam responded, “So there is something THEY didn’t know about, but YOU have come to know about it?!” Seeing the fallacy of such a position the man replied, “actually, they did know about it.” The Imam then said “so were these teachings spread in such a way that they didn’t speak about it? Didn’t they call the people to these teachings? Or did the teachings not reach the people?” The man then said, “No, the teaching reached them.” In response, the Imam’s final question was “then there is something that reached the Messenger and his Khalifs, yet somehow it failed to reach past you?” humiliated, the man quickly left.
The Khalif of the time, who was present said “Allah has not sent this message to not been known.” Unpicking this point the Imam explains that like wise, when discussing that which has reached the Messenger (pbuh) the Companions, the Tabi’een who followed in righteous guidance, the Imams who came after them and those well grounded in knowledge, that they knew about the recitation of verses about Allah’s attributes, and understood the knowledge on this issue was passed by reading the reports and passing them on in this way (i.e. reading them) so whatever has not reached them in this fashion, then Allah has not given it and this is a firm rebuttal of anyone claiming new knowledge on the subject from some other source, such as a dream, or personal inspiration.
Shiekh ul Islam then goes on to say, with regards to the attributes of Allah, we have the words of Allah, most Mighty and Majestic, to explain His attributes to us: “the Face of your Lord shall remain forever more” (55:27). There are the words of the Exalted: “His two hands are outspread” (5:64) In addition, when He was speaking with Jesus (pbuh) the prophet said: “You know what is in me but I do not know what is in You” (5:116)
Allah has also said of Himself “your Lord will surely come” (89:220) and “are they waiting except that Allah should come to them.” (2:210) There are also the words on the relationship of Allah and the believers: “their Lord is pleased with them, and them with Him” (5:119) and “He loves them and they love Him.” (5:54)
There are also the words with the Exalted One regarding the unbelievers: “Allah’s wrath is upon them” (48:6) and “they follow what brings the wreath of Allah,” (47:28) as well as “Allah is displeased with their being sent forth into his presence.” (9:46)
2: Who is Allah?
Sheikh ul Islam explains that from the sunnah we know the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Indeed our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven and indeed Allah is pleased with two men, one of who killed the other, but they both went to the paradise.” In this section the Sheikh is quoting Imam Ahmed.
The second part refers to a Muslim and kaffir having an altercation resulting in the Muslim being killed by a kaffir, but the kaffir later becomes Muslim. E.g. Hind who killed Hamza, but on the 10th of Ramadan she became Muslim.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Indeed Allah is pleased with the youths who controls their desires and spends their time in worship.”
Sheikh Ul-Islam reminds us the narrators of these hadeeth are impeachable; we can’t reject them or deny them. We can’t try to spin their narrations another way. We affirm that which we know and that we don’t know of Allah. We never liken Him to something within the creation, and we do not compare Him to anything in His creation. This is evidenced in the following verses: “And indeed there is nothing like Allah and nothing has any of His power.” (42:11) In addition to this there are verses (20:5), (67:16) and the hadeeth where the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Allah is our Lord who is above the sky, hallowed is His name, for ever more.”
The Sheikh says of Allah (quoting Abu Baker): “There is no thing like Him and indeed whatever should occur to the mind, or the brain or mind might think, then Allah is the not that.”
As for Allah’s place, a hadeeth is narrated where a slave girl was once brought to the Prophet (pbuh) on a matter concerning whether or not she was a believer. He asked her “Where is Allah?” The girl replied “Above the sky”, to which the Prophet (pbuh) replied “free her she is a believer.” Her response had shown that she understood that Allah was above comprehension. Allah was above and greater than the sky and thus outside of her physical understanding. This was the girl’s way of explaining that Allah was outside of space and time.
Further to this the Prophet (pbuh), in speaking to a non-Muslim, Husain Ibn Imran, asked “How many gods do you worship?” He answered “7, one above the sky and 6 on the earth.” The Prophet (pbuh) then asked “which one do you hope for sustenance and provision from?” Ibn Imran’s response was “the one above the sky,” so the Prophet (pbuh) concluded, “then leave off the other 6, solely worship the One above the sky and I will teach you supplications to Him.” The Prophet’s (pbuh) words had the desired effect and Husain saw the logic in what was presented to him and thus became devoted to God.
Shiekh Ul Islam adds to this the understanding of the previous messengers, as from that which we know from the messengers and the previous texts, the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions were prophesied in previous revelations that they would prostrate and they believed their God was above the sky. (Abu Dawud)
Shiekh Ul Islam then reminds us all the above hadeeth and quotes are generally accepted as true. From this we deduce you can’t use similes to compare Allah to anything, and you do not argue or stray on this matter. To do so is regarded as a form of shirk.
In rounding off this topic the Sheikh mentions that Imam Malik (May God be pleased with him) was once asked: “How is it that Allah is sat on the thrown?” the asker was referring to a verse in the Qur’an (20:5). The Imam answered: “The word ‘sitting’ is known, but the meaning of it is not. Belief in it is compulsory, and asking about it is attempting innovation.” From this we understand that whatever ‘sitting’ means in this case it’s known to Allah and Allah alone. Since it is happening in a space beyond our comprehension, the word is used to offer us an understanding of the majesty of Allah: that He has the greatest of thrones, not a physical representation.
3: Allah speaking to humanity
The Sheikh dispenses further knowledge onto his students telling us that from the attributes of Allah is eternal speech and He chooses whom He will to speak to. It is recorded that Moses heard His speech and Gibril heard Him speak also. Whoever He gives permission to hear Him will hear Him in this life and the next. In the hereafter the believers will be given the opportunity to speak to Him. In support the Sheikh quotes “from the people there are people who Allah has spoken to” (2:245) and mentions also that Allah’s speech to Moses is recorded in the Qur’an (7:144).
The Sheikh notes it is not for a human to receive revelation except through a veil or another way of receiving revelation, as seen when Moses was spoken to directly by Allah who said “Moses, indeed I am Allah, there is no God but I.” (20:7-14)
The full account of Moses (pbuh) first hearing Allah’s voice is as follows: It has been narrated that the prophet Moses, the night he saw the fire, came to the bush and became afraid. The root of Moses’ fear was because the bush was on fire, but not burning. What he was seeing was common laws of physics being suspended. Normally when wood is burning, the wood cackles and smoke is emitted as the fire feeds on it, but this was not happening. The bush was ablaze, yet completely intact. Subsequently, in the middle of his shock, Allah called out to him “Moses…” and Moses said: “I am here, I hear Your voice, but I don’t see You, where are You?” Allah replied “I am in front of you, behind you, and all around you.” And Moses knew this meant that Allah’s vision and power encompassed all of that, but that physically He was not there. So Moses asked, “Is this Your speech that I am hearing Allah, or from one of your messengers?” And Allah replied: “It is I.”
Also in the Qur’an (7:144) it is noted that after the forty days and nights in the desert with Allah, hearing Him and obeying Him, Moses asked to see Allah. He wanted to see Him because he knew that Allah was ‘the source of beauty.’
In relating who else heard the speech of Allah, the words of Ibn Masudd who was a companion, are also noted by the Sheikh. Ibn Masudd: “When Allah speaks with revelation the people of the sky hear His speech.” (Ahmed) This attests that the angels and those of their rank hear the words of Allah.
In support of Allah being heard in the hereafter. The Sheikh relates that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Allah will gather creation on the day of resurrection, bare foot, naked and uncircumcised. He will be heard by every one of them, at the same volume from all around the area of gathering and He will say: ‘I am the King, I am the Judge’.” (Bukhari)
The Sheikh explains the importance of these narrations as they show that Allah speaks directly to his servants, in words that they hear while they have their sensibilities (they are not drunk, dreaming, euphoric etc.) This is not the type of communication where Allah will speak to people who are believers through dreams or to their hearts.
This direct oral communication is predominantly for revelation that is given to prophets and messengers throughout history, by the Lord of History, to bring about what He has ordained, and for us to receive the revelations He has given. He has spoken to His creation from the beginning of time, all the way through to the Qur’an.
One of the great beauties of this lesson is that through this speech we are being shown examples of Allah wanting us to have a relationship with Him, thus He has spoken to humanity so that we may understand Him, our purpose and how to make the best of the time that we have.
It is interesting to note also that there are many claims of conversation with God made throughout history by all kinds of people. Most of these are deceptive, as seen through the experience of the great scholar Abdel Qadir Al Jelani (May God be pleased with him) One day he was praying and an apparition came to him and said, “Abdel Qadir, I am your lord and I have removed the obligation of prayer from upon you.” A lesser man may have succumbed to this temptation, but Al Jelani’s wisdom, humility and knowledge of Allah shone through and he replied, “Are you the one of who is it said ‘there is no God but Him?” The voice could not respond. The Sheikh continued by saying “…The curse is upon you from the beginning until now.” And he knew that he was being spoken to by the Devil. When he explained what had occurred to his students they asked him how he knew it was not Allah speaking and he humbly explained. “If the duty of prayer was not removed from our Master Muhammed, how can it be removed from me? From this I knew I was being deceived into an attempt to make me abandon the prayer.”
4: The Qur’an
The Sheikh opens this chapter by saying that part of the speech of Allah, is the mighty Qur’an of Allah, which has mighty application and contains His straight path. It was sent down by Him; through the trustworthy spirit; into the heart of the pride of the messengers. It was sent down not created. It is clear, is made of letters and words and is utterly powerful as it is the speech of Allah. It has a beginning and an end (Meaning in placement – and this was the divine order that was revealed), and whoever reads it and recites it correctly will receive ten rewards for every letter.
It is remembered in the heart, and heard by ears, written in copies and in it are decisive lines and allegorical ones; abrogated verses and permanent ones. No false hood can come from it in any way shape or form as it comes from the All Praise Worthy. The Exalted One, Allah has said: “Even if humanity and Jinn come together to produce something with the likeness of the Qur’an they would not be able to produce anything like it” (17:8) and it is this very book, which those who disbelieve in it said: “we will not believe in it” (33:31) and also said of it “this is only the words of a human being” (74:25). For saying such things about the Qur’an, Allah said: “I will punish them in a great fire” (74:26) and when they accused it of being poetry Allah said poetry wouldn’t be fitting for His speech (36:39).
The Sheikh drives home the point of this work being unique and inimitable, mentioning the promises of Allah: that the Almighty has sworn that it is not poetry and that it is the Qur’an. This fact leaves no option for anyone to say other than: ‘this Qur’an is the word from Allah’. It is also not possible that someone could say that the Qur’an is poetry, before being told to listen to it, as they would have to hear it first. This is evident when Allah says, “if you are in doubt of what We have sent down, then produce something like it” (2:23) and it is not possible for Allah to challenge them with something that they would not have understood. Allah also said “When We recite what We are saying them, the people ask you to replace it with something else but the prophet is to respond ‘that is what has been sent to me’.” (10:15) From this last section we can see that the Qur’an was not poetry as the Arabs of the time produced some of the greatest poetry the world had ever seen, yet could not pen anything to match a fragment of the Qur’an.
The discourse of the Sheikh is continued as he relates that Allah has said: “they are clear signs, in the hearts of those who were given knowledge.” (29:49) And He has said “it is a noble Qur’an in a noble book; no one may come near it except those who have purified themselves.” (56:77-79) Again this latter part makes clear that the Qur’an is not poetry as the reading of poetry does require ritual purity.
The Sheikh commented that the Qur’an is Allah’s speech and thus, it is part of an attribute of His and at times the speech would be brought to the Prophet (pbuh) through the Angel and at other times it would be sent to the Prophet (pbuh) directly to his heart. Muslims part ways with the other Abrahamic faiths on this issue as the others claim their writers were ‘inspired’ to write the words of God, where as Islamically we understand that the words are Allah’s words; not an understanding of what He said, or a reforming, or remembering of what He said, but His actual, exact words.
In addition the Sheikh makes clear that it is one thing to mention the Qur’an as a document, on pages etc; that is created. But the actual words are Allah’s words revealed, uncreated and eternal.
Those who were witnesses to the revelation being revealed and the compilers who represented it, were eyewitness of it, and there were witness to the eyewitnesses. There is no such rigour and first hand authority as witnessing. Other cannons for religious books were complied decades (or more) after they were completed and the final cannon wasn’t actually confirmed by the prophets of the religions. Many orientalist authorities have tried to attack the Qur’an on this from many angles, but they have not been able to attack the text… they simply try to attack the Prophet (pbuh) and the sources that he received.
There are many recorded statements from companions who said various things about the Qur’an. Abu Baker and Omar have both said that proper pronouncing of the Qur’an is more beloved than learning the letters. Commentators say that this is because, if one learns the proper pronunciation, then they know the right way to say things. If they only learn the letters then they may still not know the value of what they are saying as they may risk changing the meaning of words. Ali (RA) said ‘Whoever rejects faith in one letter of the Qur’an, has rejected faith in all of it.’ The Imam said that if a person disagrees with a single letter of the Qur’an then he is a kaffir. This does not refer to context etc. and it must be remembered that things can only be understood in terms of how they were revealed.
5: Seeing Allah in the hereafter
On the issue of seeing Allah in the hereafter, the Sheikh fills the hearts of the believers with glowing news mentioning the believers will see their Lord with their eyes, they will be in His presence, they will speak to Him, and Him to them “faces will be radiant that day, seeing their Lord.” (75:23) On this day some people will be veiled and they will be in a state of despondence, but the believers will not be in such a state, a differentiation will be made between people.
Of the actual sight the Prophet (pbuh) said ‘you shall see your Lord, as you see the full moon. There shall be no blurriness in seeing Him.’ (Bukhari, Muslim) As for the likeness mentioned between seeing the moon and the seeing of Allah; this means, the ‘vision’ is clear, not a comparison between the items in question, as indeed there is no thing like Him.
It is worth noting that the best of previous generations, when compiling their Islamic texts, started their books saying ‘I begin with the hope of seeing His Face’. We can gather from this that after salvation, seeing Allah is the next thing to strive for. It is something the first 3 generations put great stress on, and this should remain a goal for us in modern times, as everything pales in comparison to seeing Allah.
6: Ordainment and Destiny
As an introductory reminder in this section, it was taught that the more a person speaks on this issue, the less knowledge they have. The less they speak and simply quote Qur’an in response to questions on this issue, the more knowledge they have.’ A student who once thought highly of his disposition for logic and argumentation once discussed with his Sheikh, why it was that that, even though his words had an impact and relevance on those he spoke to, they did not seem to have a long lasting effect. The Sheikh advised him to quote the Qur’an more and indeed the student found the people he spoke with to be far more interested and thoughtful of what he said when he quoted the Qur’an.
The Sheikh Ul Islam then disseminates knowledge on this subject by saying one of the attributes of Allah is that He is the doer of what He wills, nothing happens without His will, and nothing moves without His decree. There is nothing that leaves except with His permission, there is no escape from that which has been ordained by Him and there is no transgression from what has been etched in the preserved knowledge.
Allah intends what will be and had He intended something for the world of creation, they would have done it, and if He had preserved them infallible, they would not have sinned. If He willed for all to obey Him, they would have. He has created the creation and their action. He has chosen their provision and life span, He chooses their life, and guides who He will. Allah says: “He is not asked about what He does, but the creation will be asked.” (21:23) All this means that creation has a responsibility towards Allah as He is the Creator and He is in charge of our destinies.
It is worth noting the subtlety of Allah’s mercy in this line, as it clarifies Allah knows everything and doesn’t force anyone into anything, as the fact it is mentioned ‘They will be asked’ which shows that they (creation) had choices.
Further proving this point the Sheikh reminds us Allah has also said “indeed everything We have created is according to a predetermined plan.” (54:49) The Exalted One has also said He “has created everything then laid out its design.” (25:2) In addition the Exalted One has said “there is no thing that happens in the earth, nor in yourselves except it is in a book, written down before We brought that matter about” (56:22) These beautifully show His control in planning and implementation, as well as the perfection therein of both.
The Sheikh then informs further of Allah’s ordainment for the creation as the Exalted One says: “whoever Allah has willed that he should be guided He opens his heart to Islam, and whoever He wills to be lead astray He makes his heart constricted” (6:125). This is also clearly indicated in the hadeeth where the angel Gabriel asked the Prophet ‘what is Iman?’ He, (pbuh) replied ‘that you believe in Allah, His Angels, His books, His messengers, the Last day and the divine ordainment; both the good of it and the bad of it.’ Angel Gabriel responded ‘you have spoken to the truth’. The sheikh explains that this shows if Allah chooses to guide someone, He opens their heart to a love and thirst for these pillars of faith.
The Sheikh further informs that the Prophet (pbuh) said ‘Indeed I believe in the ordainment, the good of it, the bad of it, the sweetness of it and the bitterness of it’ (Ahmad, Muslim). This is further evidenced by the fact that part of the dua the Prophet (pbuh) taught Hasan the son of Ali to call to Allah with was ‘and save me from the evil of that which you ordained.’ (Ahmad, Muslim). The Sheikh comments on these hadeeth, saying we do not make Allah’s preordainment or destiny an evidence for us to leave his orders or to come near to His prohibitions, but it is necessary that we believe and know that Allah has the evidence against us, in His sent books. Allah has said “this is so that humanity has no evidence against Allah after the messenger.” (4:165). So from this, one cannot then say ‘well, I am just weak in this way… so I may as well do it.’ It (the evil in what is ordained) has been made for us to learn from, if only we could see it that way.
The Sheikh then elucidates that we know that Allah, glorified be He, has not commanded nor forbidden anyone; except the person who has the ability to act or be forbidden the action. He has forced no one into disobedience as Allah the Exalted has said “Allah has not made a soul responsible except by what it can bear.” (2:286) The limitations that bind us are also clear when Allah the Exalted also said “Fear Allah as much as you are able.” (64:16) Furthermore the Exalted One also said, “today every soul shall be rewarded according to its earnings. There is no oppression today.” (40:17) All of these verses illustrate that the servant of Allah has the ability to act and to learn, to be rewarded for their goodness and punished for their sin. This is a reality and evidence of the pre-ordainment of Allah and His outline of how our destiny is shaped.
7: The two types of faith
The Sheikh’s discourse continues as he informs us Iman is speech by the tongue, action of the limbs and conviction of the heart. It increases by obedience, and decreases by disobedience as Allah has said, “they were not ordered except to worship Allah sincerely, to establish the prayer, give the Zakat and that is the straight path.” (98:5) The Sheikh comments on this saying that Allah has made the worship of Allah begin with sincerity of the heart, the establishing of the prayer and the giving Zakat, and all of these intention and acts are from the acts of devotion to Him. Similarly the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: ‘Iman has 73 branches. The highest is the testimony that there is no God but Allah, and the lowest is to remove a harmful thing from the road. (Muslim) This all references the development of a believer’s faith and the layers to it. It also outlines that this type of faith (while one is a believer) can grow and recede.
Sheikh Ul Islam then adds that the Prophet (pbuh) was told by Allah to inform us that speech and actions a part of Iman (faith) and Iman has levels. Of those who followed this command, The Exalted One has said of them “so that increased them in Iman” (9:24) and He the Exalted One refers to its purpose, saying “so that they increase in Iman.” (48:4)
In addition to this the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has also said “there will be those who will exit from the fire, and it will be those who said, at any point in their life: ‘there is no god but Allah’, while in his heart is the weight of the grain of wheat or a mustard seed’s weight of Iman. The Sheikh comments that this indicates people have different levels of faith as some people will have this miniscule grain while others will have blossoming trees.
The Sheikh then draws on the wisdom of another great Imam, Imam Safareenee who, when analysing Imam Ahmed’s original writings, mentioned: ‘There are two types of faith being touched upon here. The first is ‘salvational’ faith: It does not increase or decrease, when you have this faith you are a Muslim, when you do not have it then you are a kaffir as you will have rejected something integral in the religion and this could be in speech or action, stemming from an intention of the heart.’ The Imam enlightens us on this by saying ‘the evidence of this is two fold; firstly the statement of ‘what is Iman?’ that the angel Gabriel asked the Prophet (pbuh). It is to be understood from this that if a person doesn’t believe in any of the 6 items mentioned, other than in their entirety, then they are outside the fold and realm of Islam. This is the belief and understanding of all those of the best of generations. It is worth noting that people may have doubts on an issue or not understand an issue, but this does not lessen their belief in them, it merely instills in them a search for more knowledge in a permissible manner.
The second type of faith is referred to is that of devotional faith and this will increase and decrease. The evidence for this is in Allah’s words “so that they increase in Iman with their Iman” (48:4)
8: Belief in all of what the Messenger (pbuh) informed.
The Sheikh enlightens us further by telling us it is compulsory to believe in all of what the Prophet (pbuh) mentioned, all of that which is authentically narrated, whether we saw it, witnessed, or didn’t witness it. We know that it is true and real and whether the matter is one that we understand or one that we don’t understand, we still believe it and we don’t seek out the reality of the meaning for these things.
This includes things such as the ahadeeth of the night journey and ascension and in particular the fact that the Prophet (pbuh) was in a wakeful state during this time. This position is clear from the actions of the Quraysh who rejected his account and were arrogant over it, but in their culture they did not reject dreams. This shows us that he wasn’t telling them that it was a dream; as if he did then they would have accepted what he said. However they did reject the ascension claim showing that the Prophet (pbuh) made it clear to them he was in a wakeful state.
Furthermore, another of the marvels we believe is that the Angel of Death came to the Prophet Moses to take his soul, but the Prophet Moses (AS) struck the Angel exposing its eye, knocking it out. So it returned to Allah, and Allah returned the Angel’s eye to him. (It must be borne in mind that the Prophet did not know who the Angel was, as the Angel had taken human form the first time he visited and next time he came in the angelic form, Moses knew what his return meant, i.e. it was his time to die.)
And of things that the Prophet (pbuh) said that one must have faith in are the signs of the Hour: Arrival of Dajjal, The arrival of Jesus (AS) and his killing of Dajjal, the appearance of Gog and Magog, the appearance of the Beast, the sun rising from the west and all things like that which have authentically been narrated. The punishment of the grave and the felicity of the grave are both true and the Prophet (pbuh) was commanded to seek refuge from them and we should seek refuge from them in every prayer.
As well as the punishment of the grave being true, so is the reward. The foretelling of the angels questioning us is in the grave is true and so is the resurrection after death. The resurrection will come to pass from upon the actions of Israfil who is the angel Allah has ordained to blow the horn. When the Prophet was sent into the world, Israfil lifted the horn getting ready to blow it (showing how close Judgment Day is), We also believe that the indication of the last day will be the horn being blown for the first time, and Allah has said this is the time “they come rushing out of their graves to see their Lord.” (36:61) Further to this we believe humanity shall be gathered together on the day of resurrection, bare foot, naked and uncircumcised, needing sustenance, waiting at the place of resurrection until the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) makes intercession for them, and Allah Exalted is He, will begin the reckoning. The scales shall be laid bare, the scrolls that Allah has kept, His permanent record on us will be unrolled showing some of what Allah had decreed for us, before our existence and there will be the delivery of every person’s book of deeds which will be given on the right or left side.
Summing up this account of what the Prophet (pbuh) told of what was to come the Sheikh reminds us of Allah’s words “as for the one who is given his book in his right hand, his reckoning will be light, he will go back to his people smiling, and the one who has it in his left hand, will call for his destruction, but his pain will never end, and he will be in ever lasting torment.” (84:12-17)
The Sheikh adds we believe our Prophet (pbuh), possesses a fountain in the hereafter, its water is whiter than milk, sweeter than honey and its cups are the number of the stars in the sky. Whoever drinks from it one time shall never be thirsty in the hereafter.
On other items in the Hereafter the Sheikh reminds us to have firm belief in the bridge the righteous shall use go over the fire, which is the same as the one the rebellious criminal sinners shall slide off and head into the fire. We believe the Prophet will make intersection for his Ummah, and for whoever is from his Ummah but for those in the fire for major sins. They shall exit the fire by his intercession after they have been burnt and charred, and they will be lifted to paradise by his intercession. We also believe that the rest of the prophets (AS), believers and angels have the ability to intercede as the Exalted One has said, “the intercession does not go to other than who Allah decides should get it, those who fear Him and are in awe of Him.” (21:28)
Also in support of this is a hadeeth where Aisha’s uncle died and intercession was asked on his behalf, but the Prophet (pbuh) refused to do it, as the uncle didn’t ask Allah for forgiveness during his lifetime. This ties into the fact that it is understood, if a person didn’t believe in the Prophet (pbuh) it may be excused, but not believing in Allah will not be accepted.
Also there was case of a man who lived before Muhammad’s first revelation whose name was Zaid ibn Amr ibn Nufayl. He was killed by idol worshippers for rejecting them when they tried to convert him to their religion. When the Prophet (pbuh) was asked about his destination, years after he was killed, the Prophet (pbuh) said of him ‘he was one of this ummah.’ This indicates that rejection of idols in favour of Allah is part of faith.
Other things that must be believed in are the Paradise and the Fire. They have been created and exist now. The paradise is the home of Allah’s servants and loved ones while the fire is the punishment for His enemies as shown through Allah’s words “the rebellious criminals are in the pit of the fire until the end of eternity, there will be no respite for them.” (73:44-45) And death shall be brought in the shape of a pale ram, and it will be slaughtered, at which time it will be called out ‘people of the garden: you will have paradise and no death. People of the fire, you will have punishment and no death.’
9: Muhammad: the Messenger and seal of the Prophets.
The Sheikh opens this chapter with a timely reminder that Muhammad (pbuh) is the messenger of Allah, seal of the prophets, master of the messengers. No slave’s testimony of faith is true, until they believe in his Prophethood. His message is true, and there is no judgment of slaves in the hereafter, except by his intercession. No ummah will enter the paradise until his ummah does so. He is the commander of praise, the praise-worthy station and the narrated pond (a feature in heaven). He is the Imam of the prophets, their preacher and leader, the possessor of every intercession.
His ummah is the best of ummahs and his companions are the best of all the prophet’s companions. The best of his ummah is Abu Baker, then Umar al Farooq, then Uthman thul Noorayn, then Ali al Murtaba, may Allah be pleased with all of them. All of this is based on the narration of Abdullah ibn Umar who said: “we used to say while the Prophet (pbuh) was alive, that the best of us is Abu Baker, then Umar, then Uthman and then Ali and when this reached the Prophet (pbuh) he did not reject it.” (Imam Ahmed) There is also the narration from Imam Ali: “the best of this nation after the Prophet (pbuh) is Abu Baker, then Umar, and if I desired, I could have named the third.” (Imam Al Abu Dirdaa)
Another hadeeth narrates that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “after the prophets and messengers, the sun has not risen or set on anyone better than Abu Baker.” (Imam Ahmed) Indeed, Abu Baker has the most right of the creations of Allah to Khalifa, after the Prophet (pbuh). This is due to his virtue, his pre-eminence and the preference of the Prophet (pbuh) for him in the prayer over all of the other companions and there is consensus on his pre-eminence by the other companions, and Allah would not gather them upon any error. After him came Umar, due to his virtue and Abu Baker bequeathed the Khalifa to him; then came Uthman, which was due to the preference of the people of the shura (council) for him. Then came Ali, due to his virtue, and the consensus of the people of his time towards him.
These are the rightly guided Khalifa, those the Messenger (pbuh) spoke of when he said: “you must follow my sunnah, and the rightly guided Khalifa after me. Hold on to it” (Sahih al Jamaa), and he (pbuh) said: “the Khalifa after me is 30 years” (Sahih al Jamaa) It is worth noting that the last of this period was the Khalifa of Imam Ali. The entire 4 Khalifa make up 29 and half years and Hassan, Ali’s son, completed 6 months as incumbent of the title, giving 30 years to the day.
The Sheikh continues his explanation adding that we bear witness to the ten who were promised paradise, just as the Prophet (pbuh) promised paradise for them. He said Abu Baker is in the paradise, Umar is in the paradise; Uthman is in the paradise; Ali is in the paradise; Tulha is in the paradise; Al Zubays is in the paradise; Saad is in the paradise, Saeed is in the paradise; Abdul Rahman ibn Awd is in the paradise and Abu Ubaida ibn Aljarah was also is in the paradise. May Allah allow us to join them.
Everyone of those that the Prophet (pbuh) said would be in the paradise, we must bear witness that they will be in the paradise; as well as adding other to the blessed list E.g. he said Hassan and Hussein would be the leaders of the youth in the paradise and Bilal would be the first to step into the paradise, leading the Prophet’s camel.
We do not make specific cases for anyone of the people of the Qibla (i.e. common Muslims) to be of the paradise or of the fire, except those that the Messenger (pbuh) specified, but we hope for the one who is righteous and fear for the one who is sinning. We do not call anyone of the common Muslims a kaffir, due to a given major sin they may commit, nor do you expel them from Islam, by any given action.
We see Hajj and Jihad as compulsory, and this entails the obedience to every Imam, righteous or sinful and the Jummah prayer behind them is permissible. The Prophet (pbuh) is recorded by Annas to have said: “3 things are from the foundation of Iman: 1) restraining oneself from the one who said there is no God but Allah – we do not call him kaffir, due to any major sin, or expel him from Islam for any action 2) Jihad is extent from the time that Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me, until the last of this Ummah shall fight the Dajjal. Jihad is not nullified by the oppression of a ruler, or the justness of a ruler and 3) we are to have faith in that which Allah has ordained.” (Imam Abu Dawood)
In addition the Sheikh reveals that from the Sunnah is having allegiance to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) and loving them, mentioning their good and asking for mercy on them and asking for forgiveness for them. Refraining from mentioning their sins and whatever disputes that may have occurred between them, believing in their virtue and knowing their pre-eminent way. Allah the exalted has said “and those who came after them say ‘Oh Allah, have forgiveness for us, and for our brothers who proceeded us in faith. Do not put in our hearts any ill-will to those who believe.’” (61:11) And the Exalted One has said “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and those with him are stern against the kuffar and merciful amongst themselves.” (44:29) Furthermore, the Prophet (pbuh) said “and don’t speak ill of my companions, if one of you spent the likeness of mount Uhud in gold, that would not be one handful or even half a handful to anyone of them.” (Imam Muslim) This is all a clear indication of the high esteem in which the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) should be held and honoured.
The Sheikh continues his wise words clarifying that from the sunnah is being pleased with the spouses of the wives of the Prophets, as they are like the mothers of the believers (33:3). They are pure and free of every perversion, and false charge. The best of them is Khadija and Aisha al Sadeeqa, the daughter of Al Sadeeq. She is the one who Allah declared innocent in His book, the spouse of the Prophet in this life and the hereafter. Whoever should accuse her of what Allah has declared her innocent of is a Kaffir and Allah is the most Grand.
Also from the sunnah of following the messenger is the advice in the hadeeth of the Messenger (pbuh) is that we are to ‘listen and obey the Imam of the Muslims and the rulers of the believers, their righteous ones and the sinful ones, as long as they do not command that Allah should be disobeyed, for there is no obedience to anyone who is disobeying Allah.’ (Muslim) Whoever is declared as Khalifa and the people gather together in consensus and they are pleased with him, then that is the case, or if someone should take over with the sword until he become the Khalifa and is called the leader of the believers; it is compulsory to obey him and it is not allowed to oppose him or go against him or to break the unity of the Muslims.
Here the sheikh is referring to another of his texts which mentions the 3 ways a Khalifa can come about 1) The senior scholars meet and pick one 2) An incumbent selects a Khalifa to come of his choosing 3) Someone takes over by force and then becomes the Khalifa. These are the only ways to bring about Khalifa.
Moving on from this the sheikh explains that the correct sunnah is implemented by staying away from the people of innovation and being separate from them, as well as abandoning disputes and arguing in the religion. It also consists of abandoning examination of the books of the innovators and from considering their speech as bearing some merit. Every innovation in the religion is an innovation, and every one bringing about an affair without Islam and the sunnah, is an innovator. This can be seen in the ideology of the Shia, the Jahliya, the Khawarj, the Murgeeeaa, the Mu’atezila, the Karaameeya, etc etc and those like them. These are astray cult organisations of innovation, and we ask Allah to protect us from them. As for the one who has an Imam in the branches of the religion as in the case of the four groups that are well known (i.e. the madhabs) such a chain is not blame worthy, for indeed difference of opinion in the branches is a mercy. Those who differ in the branches are praised for their differing, and they are rewarded for their Ijtihad (skill in applying knowledge to make rulings). The Mujtahid’s difference of opinion is a wide mercy and their areas of agreement is a decisive proof. The Sheikh makes this point as the people around during his time were innovators so he clarified who we should follow and why in this section as following the righteous would lead us closest to the way of the Prophet (pbuh) who this section is about.
The Sheikh ends by saying we ask Allah that He keep us safe from innovation and tribulation and have us live on Islam and the Sunnah. May He make us from amongst those who follow the Messenger (pbuh) in life and gather us in his company after death by His mercy and His virtue and with these words the Sheikh says this fulfils the requirements for the basics of the text on creed, and all thanks are to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad (pbuh), his family and his companions.
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