حراسة التوحيد - 3
Praise be to Allah alone, and may Allah's peace and blessings be upon the final Prophet, his family, and his Companions.
To proceed: Since the sound creed is the foundation of the religion of Islam and the basis of the faith, I deemed it important to discuss this subject and to write and compile books to elucidate and clarify it.
It is known through the Shar‘i evidences from the Qur’an and the Sunnah that deeds and words are only valid and accepted if they stem from a sound creed. If the creed is not sound, then whatever deeds and words branch off from it are nullified, as Allah Almighty says: {Whoever rejects the faith, all his efforts will be worthless and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 5]
And Allah Almighty says: {It has already been revealed to you and to those who came before you that if you associate others with Allah, your deeds will surely become worthless, and you will certainly be among the losers.} [Surat az-Zumar: 65]
The verses in this regard are numerous. The clear Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His trustworthy Messenger (upon whom be the best prayers and peace from his Lord) have indicated that the sound creed is summarized in six matters, which are: belief in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and destiny, the pleasant and unpleasant aspects thereof. These six matters are the fundamentals of the sound creed that the Noble Book of Allah was revealed with, and Allah sent His Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ) with.
The evidences for these six fundamentals have been abundantly mentioned in the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah. Examples include the following:
Firstly: The evidences from the Qur’an; among them is the saying of Allah Almighty: {It is not righteousness to turn your faces towards the east or the west, but righteousness is to believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Scriptures, and the prophets.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 177]
Allah Almighty also says: {The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, as do the believers. All of them believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers, [saying]: “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.”} [Surat al-Baqarah: 285]
Allah Almighty also says: {O you who believe, believe in Allah, His Messenger, the Book which He has sent down to His Messenger, and the Books which He sent down before. Whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, and the Last Day has indeed gone far astray.} [Surat an-Nisā’: 136]
Allah Almighty also says: {Do you not know that Allah knows all that is in heaven and on earth? That is all [written] in a Record. This is indeed easy for Allah.} [Surat al-Hajj: 70]
Secondly: The evidences from the Sunnah includes the well-known authentic Hadīth narrated by Muslim in his Sahīh Collection from the Hadīth of the Commander of the Believers, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him), who reported that Gabriel (Jibrīl) (peace be upon him) asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about Imān (faith), and he said to him: “Imān (faith) is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the destiny, the pleasant and unpleasant aspects thereof.” [1] To the rest of the Hadīth. It was also narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim—with slight variation—from the Hadīth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). [1] Narrated by Muslim (8).
From these six fundamental principles branch off all that a Muslim must believe and have faith in regarding the rights of Allah Almighty, matters of the Hereafter, and other aspects of the unseen; as informed by Allah Almighty and His Messenger (ﷺ).
The explanation of these six fundamental principles is as follows: The first principle: The belief in Allah Almighty, and it includes several points, such as the following: The belief that He is the true God worthy of worship apart from all others, as He is the Creator of the servants, the Benefactor to them, the Sustainer of their provisions, the Knower of their secret and public affairs, and the One Capable of rewarding the obedient and punishing the disobedient.
Allah Almighty created mankind and jinn for this worship and commanded them to perform it, as Allah Almighty says: {I have not created the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I seek no provision from them, nor do I want them to feed Me. Indeed, it is Allah Who is the All-Provider, Lord of Power, the Mighty.} [Surat adh-Dhāriyāt: 56-58]
Allah Almighty also says: {O people, worship your Lord, Who created you and those before you, so that you may become righteous; He Who made the earth a resting place for you, and the sky a canopy; and sends down rain from the sky, and brings forth fruits thereby as a provision for you. So do not set up rivals to Allah while you know.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 21-22]
Allah Almighty sent His messengers and revealed His Books to clarify this truth and call to it, and to warn against what contradicts it, as Allah Almighty says: {Indeed, We sent to every community a messenger, [saying]: “Worship Allah and shun false gods.”} [Surat an-Nahl: 36]
Allah Almighty also says: {We never sent before you [O Prophet] any messenger without revealing to him that none has the right to be worshiped except Me, so worship Me.} [Surat al-Anbiyā’: 25]
And Allah Almighty says: {Alif Lām Ra. This is a Book whose verses are perfected, then fully explained, from One Who is All-Wise, All-Aware. [Say O Prophet]: “Worship none except Allah. Indeed, I am sent to you from Him, as a warner and bearer of glad tidings.”} [Surat Hūd: 1-2]
The essence of this worship is to devote all acts of worship to Allah Almighty alone, such as supplication, fear, hope, prayer, fasting, sacrifice, vow, and other forms of worship, with complete submission to Him, desire for His reward, and fear of His punishment, along with perfect love for Him and humility before His greatness.
Whoever reflects upon the Noble Qur’an will find that much of it was revealed concerning this great principle, as He Almighty says: {Indeed, We have sent down to you [O Prophet] the Book with the truth, so worship Allah with sincere devotion to Him. Indeed, sincere devotion is due to Allah alone. As for those who take others as guardians besides Him, [saying]: “We only worship them so that they may bring us closer to Allah.” Allah will judge between them concerning that over which they differ. Allah does not guide anyone who is a liar and a persistent disbeliever.} [Surat az-Zumar: 2-3]
Allah Almighty also says: {Your Lord has ordained that you worship none but Him.} [Surat al-Isrā’: 23]
And Allah Almighty says: {So call upon Allah with sincere devotion to Him, even if the disbelievers may dislike it.} [Surat Ghāfir: 14]
Thus, whoever contemplates the Prophetic Sunnah will find attention given to this great principle as well, including what is reported in the Two Sahīh Collections from Mu‘ādh (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The right of Allah upon the slaves is to worship Him and associate nothing with Him.” [2] [2] Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (2856) and Muslim (30).
Belief in Allah also includes belief in all that He Almighty has obligated upon His servants and ordained upon them from the five manifest pillars of Islam.
It is: bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, giving Zakah, fasting the month of Ramadan, and performing Hajj to the Sacred House of Allah for those who are able to do so, along with other obligations prescribed by the purified Shariah.
The most important and the greatest of these pillars is the testimony that “there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” This testimony necessitates sincere worship of Allah Almighty alone and the negation of the worship of anything else. This is the meaning of “there is no god but Allah,” for its meaning—as the scholars (may Allah have mercy upon them) have said—is: that there is no deity truly worthy of worship except Allah. Based on this, everything worshiped besides Allah Almighty, whether human, angel, jinn, or otherwise, is a false deity, and the deity truly worthy of worship is Allah alone, without a partner, as He Almighty says: {That is because it is Allah Who is the Truth and whatever they invoke besides Him is falsehood.} [Surat al-Hajj: 62]
It has been previously explained that Allah Almighty created mankind and jinn for this fundamental principle and commanded them with it. He sent His messengers and revealed His books with it. The servant must reflect on this deeply and ponder it extensively so that it becomes clear to him the great ignorance that many Muslims have fallen into regarding this fundamental principle, to the extent that they worshiped others besides Allah Almighty and directed His exclusive right to others. Allah is the One Whose help is sought.
Among the aspects of belief in Allah is the belief that He is the Creator of the world, the One Who manages its affairs, and the One Who governs it with His knowledge and power as He Almighty wills. He is the Owner of this world and the Hereafter, and the Lord of all the worlds. There is no creator besides Him, and no lord other than Him. And He sent the messengers and revealed the books for the reformation of His servants and calling them to what ensures their salvation and well-being in this world and the Hereafter. And He Almighty has no partner in all of that. Allah Almighty says: {Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian over everything.} [Surat az-Zumar: 62]
Allah Almighty also says: {Your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and earth in six days and then rose over [i.e., istawa] the Throne. He makes the night and day overlap in rapid succession. He made the sun, the moon, and the stars–all subservient to His command. Behold, His is the creation and the command. Blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds.} [Surat al-A‘rāf: 54]
The belief in Allah Almighty also includes the belief in His beautiful names and sublime attributes as mentioned in His Noble Book and affirmed by His trustworthy Messenger, without Tahrīf (distortion), Ta‘tīl (negation), Takyīf (asking about their nature), or Tamthīl (drawing resemblance). {There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.} [Surat ash-Shūra: 11]
They must be accepted as reported, without questioning how, while believing in the great meanings they indicate, which are the attributes of Allah Almighty that must be ascribed to Him in a manner befitting Him, without resembling His creation in any of His attributes, as Allah Almighty says: And Allah Almighty says: {So do not make comparisons to Allah. Indeed, Allah knows and you do not know.} [Surat an-Nahl: 74]
This is the creed of Ahl-us-Sunnah wa al-Jamā‘ah from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and their followers in righteousness concerning the names and attributes of Allah. It is the creed transmitted by Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari (may Allah have mercy upon him) in his book "Al-Maqālāt" about the People of Hadīth and Ahl-us-Sunnah, and it was also conveyed by others from among the people of knowledge and Imān.
Al-Awzā‘i (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: Az-Zuhri and Mak'hūl were asked about the verses of the Attributes, and they said: Let them pass as they have been reported. [3] [3] Narrated by Al-Lālikā’i in Sharh ’Usūl Al-I‘tiqād (735), and Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr in Jāmi‘ Al-‘Ilm Wa Fadlih (1801), but with the term "the Hadīths" instead of "the verses of the attributes", and his wording is: "Narrate these Hadīths as they have been reported and do not dispute over them."
Al-Awzā‘i (may Allah have mercy upon him) also said: We, while the Tābi‘is (the Companions' successors) were present in large numbers, used to say that Allah Almighty is on His Throne and believe in the attributes mentioned in the Sunnah. [4] [4] Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi in “Al-Asmā’ Wa As-Sifāt” (865); its Isnād (chain of narration) was classified as Sahīh (authentic) by Ibn Taymiyyah in "Al-Hamawiyyah" (p. 269), and Adh-Dhahabi stated in "Al-‘Ard" (2/223) that its narrators are trustworthy Imams.
Al-Walīd ibn Muslim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “Mālik, Al-Awzā‘i, Al-Layth ibn Sa‘d, and Sufyān ath-Thawri (may Allah have mercy upon them) were asked about the narrations concerning the divine Attributes, and they all said: Accept them as they are reported without asking how.” [5] [5] Narrated by Al-Lālikā’i in Sharh ’Usūl Al-I‘tiqād (930) and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Asmā’ Wa As-Sifāt (955).