Tawhid

 The Concept Tawhid in Islam

 In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

All the praise and Thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-‘ālameen. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His Messenger.

The concept Tawhid in Islam is about Allah’s True Nature and His Oneness, which we acquired it through the Mercy and Guidance of Allah delivered by His prophets and revealed texts, [1] In order to provide a better understanding of Islamic Tawhid, we have provided a description of Allah and some of His attributes as it appears in a famous, classical text of Islamic knowledge.

The following is an original translation of excerpts from Revival of the Religious Sciences by Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali [2]:

Allah is singular in His essence with no partner, Unique with no equivalent, Absolute, no opposite has He, Alone without peer. He is beginning less without predecessor, perpetual of being without end, singularly sustaining everything without stop. He is not victim to termination or cessation, or to the elapsing of spans or the passing of interims. Rather He is the First and the Last; the Outward and the Inward – and He has knowledge of everything.

He is not a body with form, nor is He a confined or quantifiable substance. He does not resemble bodies in quantifiably or divisibility. Rather He resembles nothing existent, nor does anything existent resemble Him. There is absolutely nothing like Him, nor is He like anything.

No measure confines Him, no space contains Him, no direction encompasses Him, nor do the heavens surround Him.

He is above everything until the farthest reaches of the stars – an above-ness that does not increase His nearness to the heavens; rather He is exalted in degree above the heavens to the same extent that He is exalted in degree above the depths of the earth. Notwithstanding, He is near to all existence, and He is nearer to the bondsman than his jugular vein. His nearness, however, no more resembles the nearness of bodies one to another than His essence resembles the essences of bodies.

He is too sublime that space should encompass Him, as He is too hallowed that time should restrict Him. Rather He was, before He created time and space, and He is now as He was always. He is separate from His creation by His attributes. He is transcendentally holier than to be subject to change and movement. Rather He remains in His qualities of absolute majesty, not subject to abating, and in His qualities of perfection with no need of increase.

He is Living, Almighty, Irresistible, Overpowering; deficiency does not affect Him nor does incapacity. “No slumber can seize Him nor sleep.” [3] Extinction and death do not counteract Him. He is possessed of absolute dominion, sovereignty, and grandeur; to Him is creation and command.

He is matchless in creating and beginning, solitary in causing existence and originating. He creates all beings and their acts, decrees their sustenance and spans. Nothing possible is outside His grasp, and He is never detached from the absolute governing of all affairs. His abilities cannot be enumerated, and His knowledge is boundless.

He knows all things knowable, encompassing all that transpires between the depths of the earths to the ends of the universe. Nothing of an atom’s weight in the earth and the heavens escapes His Knowledge; rather He knows the creeping of a black ant across a soundless stone on a lightless night. He knows the movement of the particles on a windy day. He knows the hidden and what is beyond. He presides over the thoughts of the conscience, the movements of the cerebrations, and the recondite subtleties of the psyche, with a beginningless, eternal Knowledge that has been with Him forever.

He is the willer of all that exists, and He is the director of all that occurs. Nothing occurs in the seen or unseen world, be it minimal or abundant, small or large, good or evil, beneficial or harmful, of belief or disbelief, knowledge or ignorance, triumph or ruin, increase or decrease, obedience or defiance, except by His decree, foreordainment, command, and volition. What He wills is, and what He does not will is not.

A servant has no escape from disobeying Him except through His conferred success and mercy; he has no power to obey Him except through His assistance and will. If all of mankind united together to move or retard a single atom in the universe without His will and volition, they would be unable to do so.

He hears and He sees. No audible thing, however faint, escapes His hearing, and no visible thing, however minute, is hidden from His sight. Distance does not impede His hearing and darkness does not obstruct His seeing. His attributes do not resemble the attributes of the creation to the same extent that His essence does not resemble the essences of creation.

Everything other than Him is an originated thing that He created by His power from nothingness, since He existed in eternity alone and there was nothing whatsoever with Him. He originated creation thereafter as a manifestation of His power and as a realization of His preceding Will, not because He had any need of it.

He is Magnanimous in creating and in imposing obligations upon His creation; He is not compelled to do it by necessity. He is Gracious in beneficence and reform, though not through any need. Munificence and Kindness, Beneficence and Grace are His. He rewards His believing worshipers for their acts of obedience according to generosity and encouragement rather than according to their merit and obligation, for there is no obligation upon Him in any deed towards anyone. Tyranny is inconceivable in Him, for there is no right upon Him towards anyone. [4]

While these are the Islamic beliefs on Allah in written form, it must be noted that a person is not accountable for his intellectual understanding of them, but rather he is responsible for truly incorporating them in his heart. True conviction in Allah’s existence and in His actual relationship with every one of us comes only with His Mercy and Guidance. As such, Muslims ask Allah in every prayer (solah and do’a) for guidance unto His Straight Path.

And Allāh Almighty Knows best.

Footnotes:

[1] For a more-detailed presentation of these concepts, see Introducing Islam’s “Messengers” and “Revelation” sections respectively.

[2] A famous Islamic jurist, theologian, and sage who died in the beginning of the 6th century after Hijrah (1111 CE).

[3] Surah Al-Baqarah, 2: 255.

[4] This passage was an original translation of excerpts of al-Ghazali’s “Foundations of Belief,” found in Book II of his Revival of the Religious Sciences. A fuller version of the section can be found on the Dartmouth College MSA website.

[Excerpted from IslamOnline]

Where's Today's Ark?

Where's Today's Ark?

By Nasir Munir

In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

All the praise and Thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-‘ālamīn. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His Messenger.

The world is an incessant interplay of the ninety-nine attributes of God. These attributes are almost equally divided between those of rigor and immanence. Man benefits from both. Where immanence predominates, one is to be thankful for God's mercy [1]. When tested with rigor, a concerted effort to correct any deviation from the monotheistic path (tawhid) is required. The Prophets are chosen by God to guide erring humanity to the Straight Path.

Introduction

The people later to be known as the nation of Noah a.s gradually slipped into a state heedlessness (ghaflah). They negated the primordial covenant with God and attributed divine power to replicas of people, things and special events. The Satan who was granted the power to "whisper to the soul" made this practice fair seeming. Against this backdrop, God sent a messenger to reacquaint the people with the covenant and guide them to the Straight Path (Siraat ul Mustaqeem).

The time slices during which God's Messengers were sent to earth are times of divine refraction in human experience. During these times Truth becomes manifest and evidentiary miracles, often custom made, are in plain view of people. Rebuffing Truth (which is Kufur) with the divine light blazing is a form of Pharaonic arrogance not dissimilar to Iblis's first act of disobedience. God grants human beings volition in accepting or rejecting the Guidance (Hidayah).

The nation of Noah a.s, by and large, rejected Guidance. God decreed that the rejecters would perish. An enormous body of water overwhelmed all, save those in the ship of salvation.

Prophet Noah a.s, in common with other Messengers of God, showed, for all humanity the path to reclaim the title: "lieutenant of God on earth" [2]. Stations of the nafs along this path are followed by aspects of Prophet Noah's life-long Message as it reflected in life-events of later Messengers of God. Finally, the teasing question: "Where's Today's Ark?" is tackled.

Discovering the Straight Path

The Prophets are chosen by God to guide erring humanity to the Straight Path (Siraat al Mustaqim). A Hadith [3] identifies three Stations along this path:

1) Islam: concerns the stage of action, (generally acts of piety that require the body to be performed) [4]

2) Iman: the state of firm conviction in the belief in God; this is the stage where the mind surrenders to the Truth.

3) Ihsan: indescribable in human terms is the witnessing of God (shahood). Hallmarks of the previous states are unnecessary. God is witnessed through the 'eye' of the Heart (qalb). Each of these states has associated with them a progressively more abstract and more complete view of the true nature of God. The ascension to succeeding Stations - states - is made possible through Jihad al Nafs [5]. The ascension to higher states is not necessarily linear, as Imam Rumi's ascension to the state of Ihsan shows.

Those that rely on intentions, Walk on the Path. Those that rely on love, Fly on the Path. Imam Rumi was a renowned Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) scholar. While visiting the city of Tabriz, he was questioned about the purpose of acquiring knowledge. Not content with his answer, the questioner stated that the purpose of knowledge was to "Know, the Known". In an incommunicable flash of realization, Imam Rumi realized the significance of the questioner's statement. Whereupon, guided by the questioner, who he accepted as a Sheikh (guide), he followed a path to Know the Known (Almighty God), which led him to the state of Ihsan. The questioner, as it turned out, was a Gnostic, himself, Imam Shams Tabrazi. Imam Rumi's son later writes that the great scholar was like a schoolboy learning from his Sheikh every day.

The Prophets

Iblis, the ancient enemy of Adam a.s, has purposed himself to make mankind forget our affirmation to: "Alastu -bi -rabbikum" (Am I not Your Lord?). Failure to honor our covenant leads to outcomes similar to that of Satan. God, in His mercy, selects people (Prophets) to remind, guide and admonish erring humanity. Noah a.s was selected to remind people of their covenant with God and give them an opportunity to accept or reject it. This is the mission of all Prophets of God. The truths, sense of ‘ubudiyyah, ridha and the road to salvation shown by Prophet Noah’s are recounted in the context of later day Prophets.

The Nations of Ad, Thamud

The people of Ad and Thamud were descendants of the people of Noah a.s - who were in the ship of Salvation. Similar to the people of Noah a.s, they too attributed divine power to man-made objects, thereby rejecting God and the Prophets sent to them (Hud and Salih). Their fate was similar to that of the nation of Noah a.s.

Heedlessness leads to attributes similar to those of Iblis - with ensuing consequences.

Prophet Ibrahim alaihissalam

Prophet Ibrahim a.s was cast into the fire (after he destroyed the idols). God decreed he should be saved:

"O fire be coolness and peaceful to Ibrahim". (Al-Anbiya’, 21:69)

God who made the natural order can just as easily break it.

Prophet Ibrahim a.s when challenged to sacrifice what he loved most - offered his son, Isma’il.

The sacrifice required is not of flesh and blood, but rather the surrender of man's purpose and will to God. (in a word: Islam)

Prophets Yusuf and Yunus

Prophet Yusuf a.s was a favorite son of a Prophet, abandoned in a dry well, sold to slavery and imprisoned in Egypt.

Prophet Yunus a.s was cast in the pit of a large fish and endured ill health.

Neither Prophets railed against God. Both of them showed a serene acceptance of God's will (Ridha, a key Islamic virtue).

Prophet Moses

Prophet Moses a.s wished to behold God: “‘Reveal Yourself unto me so that I can see you'. (God replied :) 'You Shall Not See Me, but look at that mountain, if you see it standing, then shall you see Me". God revealed his Glory to the mountain. The mountain was flattened and Moses fell in a swoon. ..." (Al-‘Araf, 7:143)

Almighty God does not reveal himself in this crude manner. Contained in man is something that is not of the earth (that points to heaven, our primordial home), by cultivating that can man hope to see God (with the eye of the Heart)

Prophet Isa

For all his exalted position (his ascension and second coming him) his first words on his (miraculous) birth were:

 "I am the slave of God ..." (Maryam, 19:30)

The state of ubudiyyah (slave-hood, obedience) as contrasted to Satan's disobedience is the most perfected of the states, and most pleasing to God. (Note: Slavery and slave-hood in this context should not be confused with chattel slavery (e.g.: Roman Empire, New World)

Prophet Mohammad

He is the seal of Prophets, after him there will be no Prophets.

 "...This day have I perfected your religion for you completed my favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion..." (Al-Maidah, 5:3)"

The Message first conveyed by Prophet Adam a.s and affirmed by all succeeding Prophets after him was reaffirmed and re-conveyed for the last time. The era of the Prophets has come to a close.

God has completed His favor on mankind. The Book, Al-Qur’an is a witness and source of salvation for all of humanity till the end of time.

Present Day Ark

Today, humanity is in need of an Ark to save us from the ravages of Modernity. The era of Modernity ushered in by the writings of, for example, Gibbon and Edmund Burke has led to a loss of meaning. With only the lower agitated possibilities of the human condition recognized, Modernity has striven to find meaning. Karl Marx attributed alienation of the soul to class differences in society; Sigmund Freud attributed it to the early repression of the passional dimensions of the human condition. When these remedies proved inadequate, meaning was sought in a sea of machines, skepticism and then skepticism about skepticism and later by New Age spirituality (among others). With higher states of the human condition explicitly excluded, Modernity's quest to find meaning and purpose are bound to be frustrated.

Modernity is characterized by a lifestyle that is centered on the self, and on the lower possibilities of the human condition. The message of vision we inhale almost from birth is to glorify the nafs of clay-bound body in one form or the other: to "discover oneself"; to "free oneself", and last but not least to "be yourself" emphasize a self-centric modality of behavior. Our patterns of consumption for instance: automobiles, clothing, being seen at the "right" places etc., it appears, define our identity. The result, not surprisingly, is a society which enthusiastically pursues material happiness but which puzzles over ever increasing rates of suicide, drug abuse, failed relationships, and aberrant forms of self-mutilation. Unremarkably, it's a society in denial, pain.

"... Had you spent all that is upon the earth, you would not have reconciled their hearts, but God has reconciled their hearts ..." [Al-Anfal, 8:63]

The Prophetic Message and The final Prophet's luminosity reshaped the pagan Arabs from a crude materialistic populace to a unified nation - all this in a span of twenty three years. This shows that the Adamic restoration is possible even under the worst of conditions, even in times such as ours. The proverbial ark is with us. With the Qur’an, the example of the Prophet s.a.w and thousands of transformed souls to guide us, let us set foot in the Ark - before the rains.

And Allāh Almighty Knows best.

 Footnotes:

[1] Whereas God is under no compulsion to be merciful; mercifulness (i.e. to be merciful) is a state that God has prescribed for Himself:" ...kataba alihi rahama ..." [Al-An’am, 6:12]

[2] “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” [Al-Baqarah, 2:30]

[3] It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said: Ask me (about matters pertaining to religion), but they (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) were too overawed out of profound respect for him to ask him (anything). In the meanwhile a man came, and sat near his knees with hands on laps and said: Messenger of Allah, what Al-Islam is?-to which he (the Holy Prophet) replied: You must not associate anything with Allah, and establish prayer, pay the poor-rate (Zakat) and observe (the fasts) of Ramadaan. He said: You (have) told the truth. He (again) said: Messenger of Allah, what Al-Iman (the faith) is? He (the Holy Prophet) said: That you affirm your faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His meeting, His Apostles, and that you believe in Resurrection and that you believe in Qadr (Divine Decree) in all its entirety, He (the inquirer) said: You (have) told the truth. He (again) said: Messenger of Allah, what Al-Ihsan is? Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) said: (Al-Ihsan implies) that you fear Allah as if you are seeing Him, and though you see Him not, verily He is seeing you. He (the inquirer) said: You (have) told the truth. He (the inquirer) said: When there would be the hour (of Doom)? (Upon this) he (the Holy Prophet said: The one who is being asked about it is no better informed than the inquirer himself.

I, however, narrate some of its signs (and these are):when you see a slave(woman)giving birth to her master - that is one of the signs of (Doom); when you see barefooted, naked, deaf and dumb (ignorant and foolish persons) as the rulers of the earth - that is one of the signs of the Doom. And when you see the shepherds of black camels exult in buildings - that is one of the signs of Doom. The (Doom) is one of the five things (wrapped) in the unseen. No one knows them except Allah.

Then (the Holy Prophet) recited (the following verse): "Verily Allah! With Him alone is the knowledge of the hour and He it is Who sends down the rain and knows that which is in the wombs and no person knows whatsoever he shall earn on morrow and a person knows not in whatsoever land he shall die. Verily Allah is Knowing, Aware”

He (the narrator, Abu Hurayrah) said: Then the person stood up an (made his way). The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said: Bring him back to me. He was searched for, but they (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) could not find him. The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) thereupon said: He was Gabriel and he wanted to teach you (things pertaining to religion) when you did not ask (them yourselves).[Muslim, Chapter 2 Book 1, Number 0006]

[4] Piety that generally require acts of the body to perform: Shahadah (The Twin Testimonial: No Diety save God and Mohammad is the Messenger of God), Fasting, Zakat, Haj and Prayers

[5] Jihad al-nafs: The struggle to purify oneself from diseases of the heart (lust for power, honor, and greatness, greed ...)

[Excerpted with modification from IslamiCity - published on 5/16/2009 - Religious - Article Ref: IC0410-2493]

The Meaning of Enslavement in Islam

The Meaning of Enslavement to Allah (God) 

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

It would be most grateful if you please clarify the subject of Slaves in Islam? In The Qur'an, there are many of this term in particular the instance where man is the slave to his Master Allah, which I fully understand and agree. But in many instances the Quran cites where one man or woman is the slave of another man or woman. In what context has Allah made this permissible, if it is permissible?

In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

All the praise and Thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-‘ālamīn. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His Messenger.

We are commanded to worship Allah alone and not anything else besides Him. The enslavement to Allah had been commanded in His Book and is the Message through his Messengers. He says:

“And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): “Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taaghuut (all false deities, i.e. do not worship Taaghuut besides Allah)” [Al-Nahl 16:36].

The word ‘Ubudiyyah (enslavement) in Arabic comes from the word Ta’beed (enthrallment, subjugation). The phrase ‘abbadtu’l-tareeq means “I made the way smooth and easy to walk on.”

The enslavement of the slave to Allah has two meanings, one general and one specific. If by “slave” I mean al-mu’abbad, i.e., one who is subjugated, this is the general meaning which includes every created thing in the both the higher and the lower realms, sentient and otherwise, animate and inanimate, moving and stationary, kafir and mu’min, righteous and immoral, for every creature is subjugated by Allah and is subject to His control, and for each of them there is a limit at which it stops.

If by “slave” I mean al-‘aabid, one who worships Allah and obeys His commands, this meaning applies specifically to the believers to the exclusion of the kafireen, because the believers are the true slaves of Allah who attribute Lordship and Divinity to Him Alone and recognize Him by His Names and Attributes, and do not associate anything with Him. As Allah says in the story of Iblis:

“[Iblis (Satan)] said: ‘O my Lord! Because You misled me, I shall indeed adorn the path of error for them (mankind) on the earth, and I shall mislead them all. Except Your chosen, (guided) slaves among them.’ (Allah) said: ‘This is the Way which will lead straight to Me. Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves, except those who follow you of the Ghaawun (Mushrikun and those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, and evildoers).’” [Al-Hijr, 15:39-42]

With regard to the ‘ibadah (worship) which Allah enjoins upon us, this is a word which includes everything that Allah loves and is pleased with of words and deeds, both open and hidden, and excludes anything that may cancel that out. This definition includes the Shahaadatayn, Solah, Hajj, fasting, jihad for the sake of Allah, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and believing in Allah, the angels, the Messengers and the Last Day. The basis for this worship is purity of intention, so that the aim of the worshipper is to seek the Face of Allah, May He be glorified, and the Home of the Hereafter. Allah says:

“And Al-Muttaqûn (the pious) will be far removed from it (Hell). He who spends his wealth for increase in self-purification, And who has (in mind) no favour from anyone to be paid back, Except to seek the Countenance of his Lord, the Most High. He surely, will be pleased (when he will enter Paradise).” [Al-Layl, 92:17-21]

So purity of intention is essential, as is sincerity, so that the believer strives to follow what Allah has commanded and to avoid what He has forbidden, prepares himself for the Meeting with Allah (may He be exalted), gives up feeling helpless and lazy, and refrains from following his own desires, as Allah says:

“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds).” [Al-Tawbah, 9:119]

It is also essential to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so the worshipper should worship Allah in accordance with what He has prescribed and not in accordance with what created beings desire or innovate. This is the aim of following the Prophet who was sent from Allah, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Purity of intention, sincerity and following the Messenger are all essential. Once these matters are understood, and then it will be clear to us that everything that goes against these essentials is in fact enslavement to people.

So showing off (riya’) is a form of enslavement to people; shirik is a form of enslavement to people; neglecting Allah’s commands and angering the Lord in order to earn people’s approval is a form of enslavement to people. Everyone who puts following his own desires before obeying his Lord has gone beyond the bounds of ‘Ubudiyyah (enslavement to Allah) and has deviated from the Straight Path. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Doomed is the slave of the dinar, doomed is the slave of the dirham, doomed is the slave of fine cloth and doomed is the slave of velvet. If he is given something he is pleased and if he is denied, he is angry. Doomed is he! If he is pierced by a thorn, may he never be able to remove it.”

Enslavement to Allah includes and implies love, fear and hope. The slave loves his Lord, fears His punishment and hopes for His Mercy and reward. These are the three essential pillars of ‘Ubudiyyah or enslavement.

Enslavement to Allah is an honour, not a cause of humiliation, as the poet said:

“What increases me in honour and pride, so that my feet nearly stepped on the Pleiades, is that I am included in Your words ‘O My slaves,’ and that You made Ahmad my Prophet.”

We ask Allah to make us among His righteous slaves.

[Via Islam QA]

Allah is Both Transcendent and Immanent

Allah is Both Transcendent and Immanent

By Noor ad-Deen Ingalls

In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

All the praise and Thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-'ālamīn. There is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam, is His Messenger.

The central importance to the Islamic creed is a firm belief in Allah [1] that accords with the precepts set in the Qur’an and Sunnah. While the majority of humanity believes in an absolute, the Islamic definition of God is precise and unique, and not subject to personal revisions. In other words, Allah is as He is, and our belief in His reality benefits no one but ourselves.

It is with this premise in mind, we have endeavored to define the Islamic understanding of Allah in a candid, albeit simple, language:

Allah is One

Allah is One, without any partners. He has no sharers in His essence, attributes, actions, or rulings. He is the sole Creator of all that exists, has existed, and will ever exist. Everything other than Him is His creation – that is, a contingent being that came into existence after it did not previously exist.

He alone controls all events, causes, and effects, and no power exists independently of His power. Nothing happens outside of His will, neither before He willed it, nor after He willed it, neither more than what He willed, nor less than what He willed.

There is nothing like Him, and it is impossible to imagine or conceive Him. He is not qualified by the laws of His creation. He is not encompassed by direction or distance. Allah existed as He has always been before the creation of time and space.[2] He not only created time and space, but He is transcendentally beyond them, such that He cannot be “in” a place, He cannot be “everywhere,” and He cannot be “nowhere.”

Allah is the eternally-existing, necessary first cause. Unlike His creation, which is a possible existent subject to nonbeing, beginning, and ending, Allah has no beginning and He will never perish or come to an end. Scholars have also explained, “Bringing creation into existence did not add anything to His attributes that was not already there.”[3]

He is the Sustainer of everything, directly sustaining every instant of the existence of all things. He alone gives life and He alone gives death, and He will re-create and resurrect living rational beings for judgment and retribution just as He created them the first time. Nothing is difficult for Him.

His omnipotence encompasses all things intrinsically possible. He cannot terminate His own existence, for “the divine nature necessarily entails the divine perfections, of which being is one. It is impossible that Allah could cease to have this perfection or any other, for otherwise He would not be God.”[4] Similarly, it is impossible for created things to contravene the knowledge or speech of Allah, for by being connected with either of these two divine attributes, it has become contingently necessary for any created thing to conform and submit.

His knowledge encompasses all things. It is not subject to change or increase; it is not based on time or chronology. He knew the actions and eternal abodes of all of humanity before its creation, and its actual existence and conformity to Allah’s pre-temporal knowledge neither increased nor benefited Him.

He sees all events and things in a manner wholly unlike our means of seeing things. His sight does not depend on distance, light, and appendages. Likewise, He hears all events and things with a hearing that transcends sound waves, volume, tone, and pitch.

Allah is the source of all benefit and harm. If all of humanity gathered together with the sole intention of benefiting or harming a single person, it would be absolutely powerless to do so save by the will and permission of Allah.

In a similar vein, Allah alone guides to His single, eternal truth, and He likewise leads astray. All good works done by a person are not a consequence of his own knowledge, effort, or piety, but rather they issue from a divinely-bestowed ability that Allah grants to whom He wills.

It should be noted at this point that while the masculine pronoun “He” is used in both Arabic and English to denote Allah, He is nonetheless transcendentally beyond any gender. Elucidating this phenomenon, T.J. Winter, a British academic, writes the following:

God is simply Allah, the God; never Father. The divine is referred to by the masculine pronoun: Allah is He (huwa); but the grammarians and exegetes concur that this is not even allegoric: Arabic has no neuter, and the use of the masculine is normal in Arabic for genderless nouns. [5]

The Signs of Allah

The first “book” that attests to the existence of Allah is creation itself. As such, a wise man has said, “Praise be to God Who has proven His existence through His creation, proven His eternality through the origination of His creation, and proven His incomparability through the uniformity of His creation.” [6]

The universe is, in essence, a book, though few people are truly able to read it. With a printed book, a person may become obsessed with the font style, binding, paper quality, and other superficial features, while he never learns or takes the time to read the actual message contained therein. Similarly, most people confine their attention to the externalities of the world, such as the relationship between cause and effect, and they never perceive the underlying message of creation, namely, that behind it lays a single, all-wise, all-powerful Creator. [7]

Regarding the manifest signs of Allah all around us, a knowledgeable British convert to Islam writes the following:

We cannot live, for instance, without daily rest; both the human body and the human mind are constructed to need it. This fact is not in itself surprising, but what is surprising is that the solar system collaborates with us in our human frailty and provides us with a day and a night exactly suited to our needs. Man cannot claim to have compelled or persuaded the solar system to do so; nor can the solar system claim to have modeled human physical and mental energy to conform to its own movements. Both man and the solar system are evidently linked in a total organization in which man is the beneficiary; the organizer of these inexplicable concordances can only be a Supreme Controller of the universe and mankind. Sweet water is a necessary condition of human existence; it is equally necessary for those plants which produce man’s staple foods, which themselves depend on each other. If sea water were to invade our rivers and wells or rain down from the sky, is there any doubt that we should all die of hunger and thirst in a few days and the whole world become an empty desert? Yet sea water is only held back by an invisible barrier over which we have no control and the sun and the clouds co-operate in order to desalinate our water for us and so give us life. [8]

By reflecting upon the innumerable miracles within the cosmos around us through the use of the intellect that has been gifted to us, every human being of sound mind and senses is able to attain a basic realization of the existence of a single, omnipotent God. Through His Mercy and Guidance in the form of prophets and revealed texts,9 a person’s realization may ultimately grow into gnosis of the true nature of Allah and His Oneness, a concept know in Islam as Tawhid.

Tawhid

In order to provide a better understanding of Islamic Tawhid, we have provided a description of Allah and some of His attributes as it appears in a famous, classical text of Islamic knowledge.

The following is an original translation of excerpts from Revival of the Religious Sciences by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali [10]:

Allah is singular in His essence with no partner, Unique with no equivalent, Absolute, no opposite has He, Alone without peer. He is beginningless without predecessor, perpetual of being without end, singularly sustaining everything without stop. He is not victim to termination or cessation, or to the elapsing of spans or the passing of interims. Rather He is the First and the Last; the Outward and the Inward – and He has knowledge of everything.

He is not a body with form, nor is He a confined or quantifiable substance. He does not resemble bodies in quantifiably or divisibility. Rather He resembles nothing existent, nor does anything existent resemble Him. There is absolutely nothing like Him, nor is He like anything.

No measure confines Him, no space contains Him, no direction encompasses Him, nor do the heavens surround Him.

He is above everything until the farthest reaches of the stars – an above-ness that does not increase His nearness to the heavens; rather He is exalted in degree above the heavens to the same extent that He is exalted in degree above the depths of the earth. Notwithstanding, He is near to all existence, and He is nearer to the bondsman than his jugular vein. His nearness, however, no more resembles the nearness of bodies one to another than His essence resembles the essences of bodies.

He is too sublime that space should encompass Him, as He is too hallowed that time should restrict Him. Rather He was, before He created time and space, and He is now as He was always. He is separate from His creation by His attributes. He is transcendentally holier than to be subject to change and movement. Rather He remains in His qualities of absolute majesty, not subject to abating, and in His qualities of perfection with no need of increase.

He is Living, Almighty, Irresistible, Overpowering; deficiency does not affect Him nor does incapacity. “No slumber can seize Him nor sleep.” [11] Extinction and death do not counteract Him. He is possessed of absolute dominion, sovereignty, and grandeur; to Him is creation and command.

He is matchless in creating and beginning, solitary in causing existence and originating. He creates all beings and their acts, decrees their sustenance and spans. Nothing possible is outside His grasp, and He is never detached from the absolute governing of all affairs. His abilities cannot be enumerated, and His knowledge is boundless.

He knows all things knowable, encompassing all that transpires between the depths of the earths to the ends of the universe. Nothing of an atom’s weight in the earth and the heavens escapes His Knowledge; rather He knows the creeping of a black ant across a soundless stone on a lightless night. He knows the movement of the particles on a windy day. He knows the hidden and what is beyond. He presides over the thoughts of the conscience, the movements of the cerebrations, and the recondite subtleties of the psyche, with a beginningless, eternal Knowledge that has been with Him forever.

He is the willer of all that exists, and He is the director of all that occurs. Nothing occurs in the seen or unseen world, be it minimal or abundant, small or large, good or evil, beneficial or harmful, of belief or disbelief, knowledge or ignorance, triumph or ruin, increase or decrease, obedience or defiance, except by His decree, foreordainment, command, and volition. What He wills is, and what He does not will is not.

A servant has no escape from disobeying Him except through His conferred success and mercy; he has no power to obey Him except through His assistance and will. If all of mankind united together to move or retard a single atom in the universe without His will and volition, they would be unable to do so.

He hears and He sees. No audible thing, however faint, escapes His hearing, and no visible thing, however minute, is hidden from His sight. Distance does not impede His hearing and darkness does not obstruct His seeing. His attributes do not resemble the attributes of the creation to the same extent that His essence does not resemble the essences of creation.

Everything other than Him is an originated thing that He created by His power from nothingness, since He existed in eternity alone and there was nothing whatsoever with Him. He originated creation thereafter as a manifestation of His power and as a realization of His preceding Will, not because He had any need of it.

He is Magnanimous in creating and in imposing obligations upon His creation; He is not compelled to do it by necessity. He is Gracious in beneficence and reform, though not through any need. Munificence and Kindness, Beneficence and Grace are His. He rewards His believing worshipers for their acts of obedience according to generosity and encouragement rather than according to their merit and obligation, for there is no obligation upon Him in any deed towards anyone. Tyranny is inconceivable in Him, for there is no right upon Him towards anyone. [12]

While these are the Islamic beliefs on Allah in written form, it must be noted that a person is not accountable for his intellectual understanding of them, but rather he is responsible for truly incorporating them in his heart. True conviction in Allah’s existence and in His actual relationship with every one of us comes only with His mercy and guidance. As such, Muslims ask Allah in every prayer for guidance unto His Straight Path.

And Allāh Almighty Knows best.

Footnotes:

[1] Allah is the Arabic word for God; the same word is used by Arab Christians.
[2] For a full elaboration on this point, see Harun Yahya’s Timelessness and the Reality of Fate.
[3]- This is a translation of Imam al-Tahawi’s tenet number 13 of his famous catechism. For a complete translation of this import piece of scholarship, see al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyya on Masud.co.uk.
[4] Keller, Nuh Ha Mim. “A Letter to `Abd al-Matin.” 1996.
[5] Winter, T.J. “Islam, Irigaray, and the Retrieval of Gender,” 1999. From Islamamerica.org.
[6] Nahj al-Balaaghah, the first sermon. The quote is attributed to the Companion `Ali, but there is much speculation as to the authenticity of this claim.
[7] For an excellent discussion on the role of science in Islam and the rationality of belief, see the six “Coherence of Islam” audio files of Sheikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller on Masud.co.uk: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
[8] Faridi, Shahidullah. “Belief in God”, from Themodernreligion.com.
[9] For a more-detailed presentation of these concepts, see Introducing Islam’s “Messengers” and “Revelation” sections respectively.
[10] A famous Islamic jurist, theologian, and sage who died in the beginning of the 6th century after Hijrah (1111 CE).
[11] Qur’an Surah 2, verse 255.
[12] This passage was an original translation of excerpts of al-Ghazali’s “Foundations of Belief,” found in Book II of his Revival of the Religious Sciences. Afuller version of the section can be found on the Dartmouth College MSA website.

[Via IslamOnline]

The Misconception about who is Allah

The Misconception about who is Allah

Abu Iman Abdur-Rahman Robert Squires

In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

All the praise and Thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-‘ālamīn. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His Messenger.

Some of the biggest misconceptions that many non-Muslims have about Islam have to do with the word "Allah". It was for various reasons; many people have come to believe that Muslims worship a different God. This is perhaps due to their ignorance. This is totally false, since "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God" - and there is only One God.

Let there be no doubt that Muslims worship the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus - peace be upon them all. However, it is certainly true that Jews, Christians and Muslims all have different concepts of Almighty God. But Muslims - like Jews - reject the Christian beliefs of the Trinity and the Divine Incarnation.

The Muslim faith believes that there is only One True God, so thus the other Abrahamic Faiths which all of them are classified as "monotheistic".

However, Islam teaches that other religions have, in one way or another, distorted and nullified a pure and proper belief in Almighty God by neglecting His true teachings and mixing them with man-made ideas.

First of all, it is important to note that "Allah" is the same word that Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use for God. If you pick up an Arabic Bible, you will see the word "Allah" being used where "God" is used in English. This is because "Allah" is the only word in the Arabic language equivalent to the English word "God" with a capital "G".

Additionally, the word "Allah" cannot be made plural or given gender (i.e. masculine or feminine), which goes hand-in-hand with the Islamic concept of God. Because of this, and also because the Qur'an, which is the holy scripture of Muslims, was revealed in the Arabic language, some Muslims use the word "Allah" for "God", even when they are speaking other languages. This is not unique to the word "Allah", since many Muslims tend to use Arabic words when discussing Islamic issues, regardless of the language which they speak.

This is because the universal teachings of Islam - even though they have been translated in every major language - have been preserved in the Arabic language. It is interesting to note that the Aramaic word "El", which is the word for God in the language that Jesus spoke, is certainly more similar in sound to the word "Allah" than the English word "God". This also holds true for the various Hebrew words for God, which are "El" and "Elah", and the plural form "Elohim".

The reason for these similarities is that Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic are all Semitic languages with common origins. It should also be noted that in translating the Bible into English, the Hebrew word "El" is translated variously as "God", "God" and "angel"! This imprecise language allows different translators, based on their preconceived notions, to translate the word to fit their own views.

The Arabic word "Allah" presents no such difficulty or ambiguity, since it is only used for Almighty God alone. Additionally, in English, the only difference between "God", meaning a false God, and "God", meaning the One True God, is the capital "G". In the Arabic alphabet, since it does not have capital letters, the word for God (i.e. Allah) is formed by adding the equivalent to the English word "the" (Al-) to the Arabic word for "God/God" (ilah). So the Arabic word "Allah" literally it means "The God" - the "Al-" in Arabic basically serving the same function as the capital "G" in English. Due to the above mentioned facts, a more accurate translation of the word "Allah" into English might be "The One -and-Only God" or "The One True God".

More importantly, it should also be noted that the Arabic word "Allah" contains a deep religious message due to its root meaning and origin. This is because it stems from the Arabic verb ta'Allaha (or alaha), which means "to be worshipped". Thus in Arabic, the word "Allah" means "The One who deserves all worship". This, in a nutshell, is the Pure Monotheistic message of Islam. You see, according to Islam, "monotheism" is much more than simply believing in the existence of "only One God" - as seemingly opposed to two, three or more. If one understands the root meaning of the word "Allah", this point should become clear. One should understand that Islam's criticism of the other religions that claim to be "monotheistic" is not because they are "polytheistic" in the classic sense, but because they direct various forms of worship to other than Almighty God. We will discuss the meaning of worship in Islam below, however, before moving on it should be noted that many non-Muslims are unaware of the distinction between simply believing in the existence of only One God and reserving all worship for Him alone.

Many Christians are painfully unaware of this point, and thus you often find them asking how Muslims can accuse the followers of Jesus, peace be upon him, of being "polytheists" when they were all "monotheistic Jews". First of all, it should be clarified that the word "polytheist" doesn't really sound right in this context, since to many it implies simply believing in the existence of more than one God. So in an Islamic context, "associates", "man-worshippers" or "creature worshippers" might be more accurate and appropriate terms - especially since Christians believe Jesus to be both "100% God and 100% man", while still paying lip-service to God's "Oneness". However, as we previously touched upon, what is really at the root of this problem is the fact that Christians - as well as the members of other religions - don't really know what "monotheism" means - especially in the Islamic sense.

All of the books articles and papers that I've read which were written by Christians invariably limit "monotheism" to believing in the existence of "One Sovereign and Creator God". Islam, however, teaches much more than this.

Suffice it to say that just because someone claims to be a "monotheistic" Jew, Christian or Muslim, that doesn't keep them from falling into corrupt beliefs and idolatrous practices. Many people, including some Muslims, claim belief in "One God" even though they've fallen into acts of idolatry. Certainly, many Protestants accuse Roman Catholics of idolatrous practices in regards to the saints and the Virgin Mary.

Likewise, the Greek Orthodox Church is considered "idolatrous" by many other Christians because in much of their worship they use icons. However, if you ask a Roman Catholic or a Greek Orthodox person if God is "One", they will invariably answer: "Yes!”… …This brings us to a more important point: It should be clearly understood that what Islam is primarily concerned with is correcting mankind's concept of Almighty God. What we are ultimately going to be held accountable at the end of our life is not whether we prefer the word "Allah" over the word "God", but what our concept of God is. Language is only a side issue.

A person can have an incorrect concept of God while using the word "Allah", and likewise a person can have a correct concept of God while using the word "God". This is because both of these words are equally capable of being misused and being improperly defined. As we've already mentioned, using the word "Allah" no more insinuates belief in the Unity of God than the use of the word "God" insinuates belief in the Trinity - or any other theological opinion.

Naturally, when God sends a revelation to mankind through a prophet, He is going to send it in a language that the people who receive it can understand and relate to. Almighty God makes this clear in the Qur'an, when He states:

"Never did We send a Messenger except (to teach) in the language of his (own) people in order to make (things) clear to them." (Qur'an, Surah Abraham, 14:4)

 As Muslims, we think that it is unfortunate that we have to go into details on such seemingly minor issues, but so many falsehoods have been heaped upon our religion, that we feel that it is our duty to try to break down the barriers of falsehood. This isn't always easy, since there is a lot of anti-Islamic literature in existence which tries to make Islam look like something strange and foreign to Westerners.

There are some people out there, who are obviously not on the side of truth, that want to get people to believe that "Allah" is just some Arabian "God",[1] and that Islam is completely "other" - meaning that it has no common roots with the other Abrahamic religions

Muslims worship a "God” they call "Allah" that is the same with the French people worship God because they say "Dieu", that Spanish-speaking people worship they called "Dios" or that the Hebrews worshipped God they sometimes Him "Yahweh”. It should also be mentioned, that claiming that any one language uses the only correct word for God is tantamount to denying the universality of God's message to mankind, which was to all nations, tribes and people through various prophets who spoke different languages.”

The Ultimate Truth of Islam stands on solid ground and its unshakeable belief in the Unity of God is above reproach. Due to this, Christians could not criticize its doctrines directly, but instead fabricate things about Islam that aren’t true so that people lose the desire to learn more. Islam again bet be presented to the world. It surely might make many people reconsider and re-evaluate their own beliefs. It is quite likely that when they find out that there is a universal religion in the world that teaches people to worship and love God, while also practicing Pure Monotheism, would at least feel that they should re-examine the basis for their own beliefs and doctrines.

And Allāh Almighty Knows best.

Footnotes:

[1] The claim propagated by Robert Morey in his work, The Moon-god Allah in the Archeology of the Middle East.
(http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Sources/Allah/moongod.html)

[ Via Islamic Awareness ]

The Fundamentals of Islamic Faith

The Fundamentals of Islamic Faith

Shaikh Mohammed Saleh Al-Uthaymeen

In the Name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful;

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh, May Allāh peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

All praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, seek His Help and forgiveness; we repent to Him and seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own and from our wicked deeds. Whosoever has been guided by Allah, non can misguided and whosoever has been misguided by Allaah non can guide him. I bear witness that there is no true god worthy or being worshipped except Allah alone, without a partner or associate. I further bare witness that Mohammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalam [1]) is Allah true slave and Messenger; may Allah bestow His peace and Blessings on Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), upon his good and pure family, and upon his noble companions and those who follow their path.

It proceeds then: that the knowledge about Tawhid [2] constitutes the most noble and necessitated knowledge, because it represents the knowledge about Allah, His right upon His bondsmen. This knowledge is the key for the way to Allah, and it is the foundation for His legislation. That is why there is a consensus amongst all the messengers to invite people to Tawhid. Allah SWT [3] says:

And we did not send any Messenger before you (O Mohammed) but We inspired him (saying: Lailaha illa Ana [none has the right to be worshipped but Me (Allah)], so worship Me (alone and no one else). (Al-Anbiya’, 21:25)

Alah bears witness on His Wahdaniyyah: being the only true God that deserves to be worshipped alone and who has no coequal in Himself as well as in His Names and Attributes. The angles and people of knowledge also testify for His Wahdaniyyah:

Allah bears witness that La illah illa Huwah (none has Wright to worshiped but He,) and the angles, and those having knowledge (also give this witness); (He is always) maintaining His creation in Justice. La illah illa Huwa, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (Ali-Imran, 3:18)

Given this acknowledgement of the rank of Tawhid, it is therefore incumbent upon every Muslim to give proper consideration to this matter through learning, understanding, education, and conviction, in order for him to establish his Deen [4] on a sound foundation, confidence and submission that would give him the good fortune of sharing its fruits and results.

The Deen of Islam

Islam is the Deen, which Allah has sent Mohammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) with ; Allah made it the last of religions and perfected it for His creation; He made it a completion of His Favors upon them , and chose it to be their Deen ; No other religion is accepted from anyone except the Deen of Islam . Allah SWT says:

Mohammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah, and the last (end) of the prophets. (Al-Ahzab: 33:40)

He also says:

This day [5], I have perfected your religion for you, and completed my favour upon you, and have chosen for you Al-Islam as your Deen. (Al-Maidah: 5:30)

Truly, The Deen before Allah is Al-Islam [6] (Ali-Imran: 19)

And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never accept of him, and the Hereafter he will be one of the loser. (Ali-Imran 3:85)

Allah SWT ordained that mankind must submit to Him in Islam .He said addressing His Messenger (Mohammed)

Say (O Mohammed) ‘O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah – to who belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. La illah illa Huwa (none has the Wright to be worshipped but He.); It is He who gives life and causes death. So believe in Allah and His messenger (Mohammed) , the prophet who can neither read nor write , who believes in Allah and His words [7] , and follow him so that you may be guided .(Qura’an 7:158)

It is reported in Sahih Muslim [8] on the authority of Abu Hurairah, that Allah’s Messenger Said:

“By Him (Allah ) in Whose Hand Mohammed soul’s is, there is none from amongst the Jews and Christians ( of these present nations) who hears about me and dies without believing in the message with which I have been sent (i.e Tawhid) , but he will be from the dwellers of the (Hell) Fire” [10]

The belief in the prophet Mohammed is the attestation with full acceptance and submission, not just mere attestation, that what he brought forth is the truth. That is why Abu Talib (the uncle of the prophet) did not become a believer in the messenger, despite his attestation to what the prophet forth and his witness that it is the best of religions.

The Deen of Islam embraces all of the human welfare that is comprised in the previous religions; it is distinguished above all the religions in its suitability for all times, places, and nations, Allah SWT addresses His Messenger Mohammed saying:

And We have sent down to you (O Mohammed) the Book (this Qur’an) in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it and Muhaiminan (trustworthy in highness and witness) over it (Old Scripture). (Al-Maidah, 5:48)

The suitability of the Deen means that adhering to Islam does not contradict the welfare of the Ummah (Muslim community at large) in any place or in any time. Indeed it is its betterment. This does not mean, however, that the Deen is subjugating to every time, place and Ummah as some people like it to be.

The Deen of Islam is the Deen of Truth, whoever truly adheres to it, Allaah guarantee him victory and makes him prevail on everyone else who doesn’t. Allah SWT Says:

He it is Who sent His Messenger (Mohammed) with the guidance and Deen of the Truth to make it prevail over all (other) religions even though the Mushrikeen hate (it). (Al-Saf, 61:9)

Allah has promised, to those among you who believe, and do righteous deeds, that he will certainly grant them succession to ( the present rulers) in the land , as He granted it to those before them ; and he will grant them the authority to practice their religion , that which He has chosen for them ( i.e Islam) . And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedience to Allah). (An-Nur, 21:55)

The Deen of Islam is Aqidah (Creed) and Shari’ah (Legislation) and it is perfect in both. Islam commands:

1. The Tawhid and forbids Shirik (setting associate with Allah).

2. Truthfulness, and forbids lying.

3. Justice [10], and forbids oppression.

4. Trustworthiness, and forbids treachery.

5. Faithfulness, and forbids betrayal

6. To be good and dutiful to one’s parents, and forbids being disrespectful to them.

7. Keep ties with relatives of kinship, and forbids severing ties with them.

To have good relation to one’s neighborhood, and forbids all forms of ill-treatment to the neighbors.

Generally speaking, Islam commands all noble morals, and forbids all ill and despicable manners; it also commands righteousness and forbids wrong. Allah SWT says:

Verily, Allah enjoins Al-‘Adel (i.e justice and worshipping none but Allah) and Al-Ihsan [11], and giving help to kith and kin [12], and forbids Al-Fahsha [13], Al-Munkar [14], and Al-Baghy [15]. (Qur’an 16:90)

Arkan-ul-Islam (The Pillars of Islam)

Arkan-ul-Islam are its basic foundations upon which it is established; they are five, mentioned in the narration by Ibn Umar in Which the prophet said:

“Islam is raised on five (pillars): To establish His Tawhid [and in other narration “The Shahadah (testimony) that La illaha illa Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) and that Mohammed is Allah’s salve and Messenger], establishment of prayers, payment of Zakat, the fast of Ramadan, and pilgrimage to (to Makkah). A person said (to the narrator) (which of the two precedes the other) Pilgrimage or the fast of Ramadan? Upon this (the narrator) replied: No (it is not the pilgrimage first) but the fast of Ramadan precede the pilgrimage, this is how I have heard it from Allah’s Messenger” [16]

FIRST: The Shahadah of: La ilaaha illal lah, Mohammed Rasulullah

Is the deceived belief expressed on the tongue as though one sees with his own eyes the certainty of his firm conviction? The fact that Shahadah has been made as single pillar despite the multiplicity in what is being attested, because of either of the following (reasons):

• The Messenger is a bearer (of News) about Allah SWT. Attesting therefore, that he, the messenger is a true slave of Allah and bearer of the message (of Islam) is integral part of the meaning of Shahadah (La illaha illal lah), or

• That the two testimonies la illa illal lah , and Mohammed Rassulallah are ( the required) bases for the rightness of deeds and their acceptances , since both , the validity and acceptance of deeds , cannot be achieved without Al-Ikhlas to Allah ( sincere devotion of intention to Allah alone) and Moutaba’ah ( following) of Rassulallah. It is through Al-Ikhlas that the Shahadah of la illah illa illah is realized, while through Al-Moutaba’ah of Rassulal lah, the Shahadah that Mohammed is Allah’s slave and Messenger is manifested.

Some of the benefits attained by the declaration of the great Shahadah include the liberation of the heart and soul from slavery to the created, and from following paths other than the Messenger’s path.

SECOND: Regarding the establishing of Prayers: it is worshipping Allah by performing it in the right and perfect manner [17] and its prescribed times. Some of its benefits include the openness of the chest, contentment joys and detrainment from committing sins and wrong-doing.

THIRD: The Giving of Zakat: is devoting worship to Allah by offering the obligatory prescribed amount charity deducted from the wealth upon which Zakat is due. Some of its benefits are: purifying the self from immoral characteristics like misery, and fulfilling the needs of Islam and Muslims.

FOURTH: Fasting: It is devoting worship to Allah by refraining from any everything known to nullify the fast during the days of the month of Ramadan. Fasting coaches the self to endure the relinquishment of what it likes seeking to gain the pleasure of Allah.

FIFTH: The Hajj to the House of Allah: is worshipping Allah by going to the sacred House (Al-Ka’bah) to execute the rites of Hajj.

Some of the benefits includes: the training of the self to expend the physical and financial sacrifices in obedience to Allah. This is the reason why Hajj is considered as one kind of Jihad in the cause of Allah SWT.

The benefits that we have mentioned above regarding the basic of Islam , and others which we have not mentioned ,makes of this Ummah a virtues and purified Islamic Nation adhering to Allaah through the Deen of Truth , and treats the created with justice and truthfulness . This (conclusion) holds true because the right adherence to the rest of the Islamic laws depends upon the proper practicability of the above basic.

The status of the Ummah will thrive and prosper as long as it properly adheres to the matters of its Deen. The degree of its prosperity that may escape is proportional to the degree of abandonment of good adherence to matters of its Deen. Whoever seeks san evidence for this let him read the saying of Allah SWT.

And if the people of the town had believed and had the Taqwa (piety fear of Allah) certainly, We should have opened for them the blessing from the heaven and the earth, but belied (the Messenger). So we took (with punishment) for what they used to earn (polytheism and crime,etc) Did the people of the towns then feel secure against that coming of our Punishment by night while they are asleep? Or, did the people of the towns then feel secure against the coming our Punishment in the afternoon while they play? Did they feel secure against the plan of Allah? None feels secure from the plan of Allaah except the people who are lost. (Al-Araf, 7:96-99)

Let also examine the history of those who preceded because history is a lesson for people of thought, and an insight for anyone free from any obstructing to barrier his heart. And it is Allah alone who’s Help can be sought.

The Foundation of Islamic Creed

The Deen of Islam, as it is discussed above, is a Deen that comprises ‘Aqidah (matters of faith) and Shari’ah (laws, Legislation and judicial aspects). We indicated some of its Laws and mentioned it Arkan, which are considered the basis of its legislation. As to the ‘Aqidah Al-Islamiyah (the Islamic Creed), its basis are:

The belief in Allah, His Angles, His Books, His Messengers, the last day and Al-Qadar [18], it’s good and bad.

These basis are verified by evidences from the book of Allah (i.e The Qur’an) and from the Sunah of Allah’s Messenger. In His Book Allah says:

It is not Al-Birr (piety , righteousness , and each and every obedience to Allah , etc ) that you turn your faces towards east and ( or) west ( in prayers); but Al-Birr is the (quality of) the one who believes in Allah , the last day , the angles , the Book , the prophets. (Al-Baqarah, 2: 177)

He SWT says about Al-Qadar:

Verily, We have created all things with Qadar, and our commandment is but one, as the twinkling of an eye (Al-Qamar, 54:49-50)

In the Sunah of Allah’s Messenger, the Prophet (pbuh) said in his reply to Jibril (Gabriel) when the latter asked him about Eman (Faith):

“Eman is to believe in Allah , His angles, His Books, His Messengers , and the last day , and to believer in Al-Qadar , its good and its bad”.[19]

Footnotes:

1. Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam: The Salah and Salam of Allah be upon his prophet Mohammed. The Salah of Allah upon his prophet Mohammed is His praise of the prophet to the angles who are close to (but below) to Allah , the most high , who arose abode His ‘Arsh ( Throne) which is above the seven skies. The angles also praise him” Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam” The Salam is Allah’s safeguard and of the prophet from the deficiencies and kind of evils. When the Muslim says” Solla Allah Alaihi Wasallam”, they invoke Allah to grant His praise and security to the prophet Mohammed .See Ibnul Al-Qaiyaim’s Jala ‘ul Afham, p.128. Published by Daar Ibn Kathir, Damascus, and Maktabat Daat At-Turath, Al-Madinah, 1409H/1988.

2. Tawhid is maintaining the belief that Allah is the only true God worthy of worship and that He is the true and only Rabb of everything and that He is unique in His Divine Names, Attributes and Actions.

3. Subhanahu wa Ta’ala: Supremely Exalted id He. He is Exalted in His That (Essence) and in His Attributes. 

4. Deen: Is more comprehensive in its meaning than the western concept of “religion”. Every aspect of life subscribes to the revelation from Allah. Therefore, Deen covers life in all of its various stages and complexities.

5. This Ayah (Verse) was sent down during Hajjatul Wada’ (Farewell Pilgrimage) of the prophet, on the day of Arafah which was a Friday.

6. Which means that Islam is the only Deen that Allah will accept form His slaves? See the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir for the above Ayah.

7. Allah’s Words includes all the Messages to the prophets: The Qura’an, The Torah the Gospel (in their original text), Az-Zabur, and Psalms. Also it includes, Allah Words kun (be) – and he was i.e Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon him. See M.M. Khan and M.T Al-Hilallee’s Interpretation of the meaning of the noble Qura’an, Surat 7, Ayah 158.

8. It is a collection of authentic hadith narrations compiled by Imam Muslim: Abul Hussain Muslim ibn al –Hajjaj ibn Muslim al Quraishi an Naisaburi (202(6)-216 Hj /817(821) –875) CE). {TN}

9. Sahih Muslim, V.1, Hadith # 284

10. Justice is establishing equality between similar things and differentiating between different things. Justice is not absolute equality as generalized by some of the people when they say” The Deen of Islam is the Deen of Quality.” Establishing equality between different things is injustice that is not brought forth by Islam, and the person who does that is not to be praised.” – A footnote by the author Shaikh Muhammed bin Saleh Al-Uthaimin.

11. Al-Ihsan: In This Ayah it means to patient in performing one’s duties to Allah’s sake and in accordance with the Sunah of the prophet Mohammed.

12. Degree of Kinship: First of all, your parents then your paternal uncles and aunts (from the mother’s side), then other relative.

13. Al-Fahsha: All evil deeds e.g.; illegal sexual intercourse, disobedience to parents, to tell lies. to steal.

14. Al-Munkar: All that is prohibited by Islamic law: Polytheists, disbelief, and every kind of evil deeds.

15. Al-Baghy: All kind of Oppression

16. Agreed upon hadith: The text is that from Sahih Muslim

17. As detailed by the prophet Mohammed in his authentic Sunah. See for example an excellent collection of the narrations describing the prophet prayer in Shaikh Nassir-ud-Deen Al-Alnanee’s book “The Prophet’s prayer” translated into English by Suhaib Hassan .England

18. Al-Qadar is the ability of Allah, where He knew, wrote, willed and created all things in predestined proportions and precise measures. See the book “Al-Qada ‘Wal Qadar” by this translator

19.Riwayat By Imam Muslim

[Excerpted from Al-Islam]