THE MUSLIM'S BELIEF

33

Transcript of THE MUSLIM'S BELIEF

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THE MUSLIM'S BELIEF

BY

Shaikh Muhammad as-Sileh at-Uthaimin

Translated by

Dr. Maneh Hammad al-Johani

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TABLE OF CONTENTS- Translator's Foreward- Shaikh Ibn Baz's Preface- Author's Introduction

Chapter I - Belief in Allah's Lordship, Oneness, and

Attributes

Allah's Will: Universal and Legal

More of Allah's Artributes

Describing Allah by His Revelation

chapterrl : il::::;.::#'o.lll,-, contradi.

t ions

Chapter III - Angel's Functions

Chapter IV - Belief in Allah's Books- Books known- The Qur'a-n Protected from Change- Previous Scriptures Changed.

Chapter V - Belief in l\,lessengers- The First end Last Messengers- The Best Messengers

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- Messengers are Human beings- Islam: The Universal and Final Message- Rightly Guided caliphs- Prophet's Companions

Chapter VI - Belief in the Angels- Belief in Resurrection- Belief in Records and Scales- The Prophet's Intercession- The Straight Path

Belief in Paradise and Hell- Belief in What Happens in the Grave

Chapter VII - Belief in Fate and Divine Decree- Levels of Belief in Fate- Man's Free Will- Fate No Excuse for Sinners- Evil Not Attributable ro Allah

Chapter VIII - Virtues of Belief in Allah- Virtues of Belief in Angels- Virtues of Belief in Books- Virtues of Belief in Messengers- Virtues of Belief in Day of Judgement- Virtues of Belief in Fate.

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TRANSLATOR'S FOREWARD

ln the Name of Allah. Mosl Grgcious, Most Merciful

I found this treatise of the Muslim's creed a concise and useful pre-sentation of a very important topic. The need for this treatise, especiallyamong the non-Arabic speaking readers. cannot be over-estimated. The-refore, I decided to transalte it and make it accessable to English readers.

I would l ike to draw the attention of the readers to the followingpoints:

l. I gave the book the tit le THE MUSLIM'S BELIEF instead of theauthor's'Agidat Ahl rs Sunnah we-l-Jami.ah which may be trans-lated as The Creed of the People of Sunnah and Mejority. I thinkmy preference is justif ied by:a) The tit le I preferred is shorterb) The two tit les mean almost the samec) The original t it le contains some technical terms that are not onlydiff icult to translate, but also diff icult to understand by many rea-ders.d) The original t it le may antogonize some readers who are misin-formed about the true designations of the words in the originalt i t le .

2. I provided, in parentheses after every Qur'dnic verse, the numberscf chapters and verses quoted by the author without giving theirproper reference. This I deemed useful for readers who do notknow the Qur'an by heart and would l ike to check any of theseverses.

3. Because the author, in most cases, quotes or paraphrases some ofthe Prophetic traditions without indicating them to the readers. Itried, whenever I could recognize these traditions, to put them inquotations and to cite in parentheses the Prophetic collections inwhich they are reporred. In most cases I l imited myself to Bukhariand Muslim collections, whenever the saying is quoted in them. If itis not in these two collections,' l mention one or two of the othercollections that contain the quoted saying.

4. I prov ided the arrangement of the text in to chapters and headl inesfor ease of reading and understanding. I also provided a table ofcontents for ease of reference.

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5. ln translating the Qur'6nic verses quoted in this treatise, I did notfollow any specific translation of the Qur'in. I benefited frommore than one, but followed my own preference.

It is my sincere desire and hope that this book would be of great helpto those who consult it. Please include in your prayer all those who con-tributed to its present shape.

M.J .

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PREFACE BY SHAIKH ABD AL.AZIZ IBN BAZ

In the Name of Allah. Most Gracious. l\fost l\ lerciful.

Pra ise belongs to Al lah arone; pcace and brc. ' r i r r , r on the last pro-phet , h is fami lv and h is companions.

I was in t roduccd to rhe la luable ancl concisc t rcat isr . on the Mur l im.sbelief preparcd b1' our brorher. rhe -ereat schotar. shaikh N{uhanrrnadas-sdleh a l -Urhaimin. I l is rcnc.c l t t r i t a l l and t 'ound ;har i r covers the crccdof the Sunnircs and the mai ' s t rcanl major i ty of l l rc i lus l ims, in thc arcaof the oneness of Al lah. His A,r r r ibutes, thc bcr ic f in rhe Angers. thcBooks and rhe \ lcsscn-ccrs. i l :c Da1'of Judgemenr and in the bc l ie f ofFate anc! Di ' inc Decree. He'succccdcd in col lcct ing uhar rhc seckcr ofknorr ' lcdgc and L ' \ 'c r ) \ tus l im nccd in h is bel ic . t ' in AI lah. Hi r , \ngel , . HisScr iptures. His messc 'ngers, the Da1.o l 'Judgcnr. 'nr anci Futc. Hc inc l t r r lc< lin h is t rcat ise uscfu l in tormat ion rc larec l ro thc l r tus l im,s bel ic fs rhar arenot readi ly a 'a i lab lc in many of the books wr i r ren on rhese topics. MayAllah re'*'ard rhc aurhor, incrcase him in knouredgc and guidance, anclmake this book and his othcr books mosr uselul. i\ lay- Allah the Hcarerand the Close, bless us and him and all our brothers ancl make us amongthose who are guiding and righrly guided to call people to Allah uirh surcknowledge.

Dictatcd bv 'Abd al -Aziz ihn Baz. nr ly Al lah forgivc h int und shower peacc and blessing on<rur Prophcr l \ tuhamnrad, h is l ' : rmi11. . and his companions.

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AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION

In the Name of Al lah, Most Gracious, Mosl Merc i fu l .

Pra ise be to the Lord of the universe who g i res the best reward to t l rcgodfearing and the great loss to the transgressor. I bear witness that thereis no God but Allah; He has no partner and possesses real sovereignty. Ibear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger; the seal ofthe Prophets and the leader of the godfearing. May Allah bless him and

bless his family, companions and those who follow them ti l l the Day ofJudgement.

Allah has sent His messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him' withthe real guidance and the true religion as a mercy to mankind, a model forthose who do good, and Allah's argument against mankind. ThroughMumhammad and what was revealed to him, namely, the Qur'6n and theProphetic sayings, Allah showed mankind all means of reforming them-selves and straighterring their religious and mundane affairs in soundbeliefs, right conducts, f ine morals, and laudable manners. The Prophet,peace be upon him, 'left his followers' on a clear straight path, only thedoomed wil l deviate from it." (lbn Mdjah & Ahmad) His followers, the

companiorrs, their followers and those who faithfully followed them arethe best of mankind. They established his law, upheld his way and heldfast to it as a belief and piactice, a moral and manner. By this, "They areconsidered the party who are victorious, on the straight path, unharmedby those who are against them ti l l the end of the world." (Bukhiri &

Muslirl).

We, thanks to Allah, are following their footsteps and guided by

their examples which are supported by the Qur'dn and the Prophetic tra-ditions. We are saying this only as an announcement of Allah's blessings

and clarif ication of what every Muslim should believe. We pray to Allahthat He may keep us and our brothers on the straight path in this l i fe andin the Hereafter and give us mercy from Him, He is the Giver.

It is beeause of the importance ol this topic and the difference of

opinions about it, that I want to briefly explain our creed - the belief of

the Sunnites and the main stream Muslims (Ahl as-Sunnehwr-l-Jami'ah). This creed is the belief in Allah, His Angels, His Books,His Messengers, the Day of Judgement, and Fate whether good or bad. Iprav to Allah to make this effort sincere for His sake, in agreement withHrs wish, and useful for His people.

M .S .U .

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CHAPTER IOUR CREED

Our creed is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Mes-sengers, the Day of Judgertrent, and Fate whether good or bad.

Belief in Allah's Lordship, Oneness, snd Attributes

- We believe in Allah's Divinity, that is He is the Lord, the Creator, theSovereign, and the Manager of all affairs.

- We believe in Allah's Codship; that is, He is the True God and everyother deity is false.

- We believe in His Names and Attributes, that is He has the mosrmagnificent Names and the sublime perfect Attributes.

- We believe in His Oneness in all this, that is, He has no associate inHis Divinity, His Godship, His Names, or His Attributes. Allah saysin the Qur'6n: "He is the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and allthat is in between them, so worship Him and be patient in Hisworship, do you know any equal to Him." (19:65)

- We believe that He is "Allah there is no Cod but He, the Living theEverlasting. Slumber does not seize Him, neither sleep; to Himbelongs all that is in the Heavens and the Earth. Who is there thatshall intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what isbefore them and what is behind them, and they do not emcompassanything of His knowledge except what He wills. His Throne extendsover the Heavens and the Earth; the preservation of them does notburden Him; He is the High, the Great." (2:255)

- We believe that "He is Allah, there is no god but He - the Knowerof the Unseen and the Visible, He is the Most Gracious, Most Mer-ciful. He is Allah, there is no God but He, the King, the Holy One,the Source of Peace, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, theAlmighty, the Subduer, the Sublime. Glory be to Allah above whatthey associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, theShaper, His are the most beautiful Names. All that is in the Heavensand the Earth glorfies Him. He is the Almighty, the Wise."t59:22-4)

- We believe that to Him belongs the kingdom of the Heavens and theEarth: "He creates what He pleases. He gives, to whom He wills,females, and He gives, to whom He wills, males,. or He couples them,males and females; and He makes whom He wills barren. Surely, Hcis the Knowing. the Powerful." (42:49-50).

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We believe that "There is nothing whatever l ike unto Him, He is thcAll-Hearing, the AII-Seeing. To Him belongs the keys of the Hea-vens and the Earth. He enlarges and restr ic ts prov is ions to whomHe wills. Surely He has knowledge of everything." (42:l l-12).We believe that "There is no creature that moves in the Earth but itsprovision depends on Allah. He knows its dwell ing and its restingplace. AII is recorded in a clear Book." (l l :6)We believe that "With Him are the keys of the Unseen; none knowsthem but He. He knows what is in land and sea; not a leaf falls, butHe knows it. Not a grain in the deep darkness of the Earth, not athing green or dry but it is in a clear Book." (6:59).We believe that "Allah alone has the knowledge of the Hour, sendsdown rain, and knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what itshall earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it shall die.Surely, Allah is All-knowing, All-aware." (31:34)We believe that Allah speaks wbatever He pleases whenever [{epleases "And Allah spoke to Moses directly." Q:164) "And whenMoses came at Our appointed place, and his Lord spoke to him."(7:143) "We called to him from the right side of the Mount (Sinai),

and We brought him near in communion." (19-52)We believe that "If the ocean became ink for the words of my Lord,the ocean would be finished before the words of my Lord came loan end." (18:109) "And i f a l l the t rees that are in the ear th werepens, and the ocean (were ink), with seven oceans swell ing it there-fore, the words of Allah would not be exhausted. Surely, Allah isMighty, Wise." (31 :27) .We believe that Allah's words are the most truthfirl in conveyinginformation, the most just in ruling, and the fairest in conversation.He said, "The word of your Lord has been fulf i l led in truth andjust ice." (6: l15) "And who is more t ruthfu l in h is word thanAllah?" (4:74).We believe that the Qur'an is All lh's words. He literally spoke it toGabriel who conveyed it to the Prophet, peace be upon him: "Say(O Muhammad) the Holy Spirit has brought it down from your

Lord in truth." (16:102) "Truly it is the revelation of the Lord of

the worlds brought down upon your heart by the Faithful Spirit scthat you may be one of the warners, in a clear Arabic tongue."(26:192-5)We believe that Allah is well above his creatures in His person andHis Attributes, because He says, "He is the High, lhe Great."

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(2:255) "He is Supreme over His servants, and He is the Wise. theAl l-aware." (6: l8).

- We believe that He "created the Heavens and the Earth in six days,then He settled Himself on the Throne; He manages everything."(i0:3) His "settling on the Throne" means that He is sitting inperson on His Throne in a way that is becoming to His Majesty andgreatness. Nobody bxcept He knows exactly how He is sitting.

- We believe that He is with His crearures while He is stil l on HisThrone. He knows their conditions, hears their sayings, sees theirdeeds and manages their affairs. He provides for the poor'and thebroken. He gives sovereignty to whom He pleases and takes awaysovereig,nty from whom He pleases; He exalts whom He wills andHe abases whom He wills. In His hand is all good and He ispowerful over everything. Whoever possesses these qualitites isliterally with His creatures even if He is literally above rhem on HisThrone. "There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him; He is theAll-hearing, the All-seein g." (42:lll

- We do not say as the Incarnationists among the Jahomites andothers say, that is, Allah is living with His creatures on Earth. Weconsider whoever says this a non-believer or straying away becausehe attributed to Allah that does not become Him of defects.

- We believe in what His Messenger told us that He descends to thenear sky before the last third of every night and says: "Who praysto Me and I will answer his prayers? Who asks fMe and I will givehim? Who asks my forgiveness and I will forgive him? (Bukhari &Musl im).

- We believe that He will come at the Day of Judgement to judgeamong His people because He said, "No indeed! when the Earth iscrushed to powder, and your Lord comes down with the angels inrows after rows, and Hell is brought our that day. On that day manwill remember, but what will rememberance avail him?"(89:21-23)

- We believe that He is the Doer of what He wills.

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ALLAH'S WILL: UNIVERSAL AND LEGAL- We believe that His will is of two kinds:Universal will: through which His intention is carried out. It is notnecessary that what is carried out is liked by Him. This type of will meanspermission, as Allah said, "Had Allah willed, they would not have foughtone against the other, but Allah does whatever He desires," (2:253) and"If Allah desires to lead you astray, He is your Lord." (l l :34).

Legal will: which does not necessarily entail that the execution of Hisdesire. The wil l, in this case, cannot be but what He likes, as He said,"Allah wants to forgive you." (4:21)

- We believe that His universal and legal wills are part of His wisdom.Every thing He performs in the universe or requires legally from Hiscreatures is for a good reason and according to His wisdom, whe-ther we grasp it or it escapes our reasons: "ls not Allah the best ofJudges?" (95-9), "And who is better than Allah in judgement fora people who have firm faith." (5:50)

- We believe that Allah loves His select servants and they love Him:"Say if you love Allah, follow me and Allah wil l love you," (3:31)"Allah will bring a people whom He will love and who will loveHim", (5:45) "Allah loves the steadfast," (3:146) "And act justly,surely, Allah loves the just," (49:9) and "Do good; Allah lovesthose who do good." (5:93)

- We believe that Allah likes what He prescribed of good deeds andsayings and He dislikes what He prohibited of bad deeds andsayings: "If you disbelieve, surely Allah does not need you, yet Hedoes not l ike disbelief for His servants; if you are thankful, thispleases Him," (39:7), "But Allah disliked their marching forth. SoHe kept them back, and it was said to them: "Stay with the weak-l ings." (9:aQ.

- We believe that Allah is pleased with those who believe in Him anddo good deeds: "Allah is well pleased with them and they are wellpleased with Him. That is for him who fears his Lord." (98:8)

- We believe that Allah is angry with those who deserve His angeramong the non-believers and others; "And those who think evilthoughts of Allah, against them shall be the evil turn of fortune.Allah is angry with them." (48:6) "But whoever opens his heart todisbelief, on them is Allah's wrath and they shall have a severep "rnishment. " (16: 106).

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MORE OF ALLAH'S ATTRIBUTES- We believe that Allah has a glorious and dignified face: "There wil l

reinain the face of your Lord, majestic and splendid." (55:27)- We believe that Allah has two generous hands: "No, both His

hands are wide open; He spends how He pleases," (5:64) "They donot esteem Allah with the esteem that is due to Him. The wholeEarth wil l be His handful on the Day of Resurrection, and theHeavens wil l be rolled up in His right hand. Glory be to Him andexalted is He above that which they associate with Him." (39-67)

- We believe that Allah possesses two real eyes, because He said,"And bui ld the ark under Our eyes as We reveal . " ( l l :37) TheProphet, peace be upon him, said, "His veil is l ight. Had Heremoved it, the sublimity of His countenance would have burnt allthat His sight reached." (Muslim & Ibn Mijah) The Sunnites una-nimously have agreed that His eyes are two. This is supported bythe Prophet's saying about rhe Dajjdl (the anri-Christ) that "he isone-eyed and your Lord is not one-eyed." (Bukhiri & Muslim)

- We believe that "Eyes cannot perceive Him, but He perceives theeyes, He is the Incomprehensib le, the Al l -aware." (6:103)

- We believe that the believers wil l see their Lord on the Day ofResurrection: "Upon that day some faces shall be radiant, gazingupon their Lord." (15:22-3)

- We believe that Allah has no equal because His Attributes are per-fect : "There is noth ing whatsoever l ike unto Him. He is the Al l -Hear ing, the Al l -Seeing." (42: l l )

- We believe that "No slumber or sleep seizes Him," (2:255) becauseHis l ife is perfect and eternal.

- We believe that He does not do injustice to anybody because Hisfairness is perfect.

- We believe that He is not unaware of His servants' deeds because ofHis perfect supervision and comprehensive knowledge.

- We believe that He is capable of doing anything in the Heavens orin the Earth because of His perfect knor.rledge and power: "lndeedHis command, when He desires a thing, is only to say to it 'Be' andi t i s . " ( 36 :82 )

- We believe that He is free from weariness and weakness because ofHis super-power: "Surely, We created the Heavens and the Earthand all that is between them in six days, and no weariness touchedUs." (50:38) .

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DESCRIBING ALLAH

We believe in all thatdescribed Him with.concepts:l) To say or believeHis creatures:

BY HIS REVELATIOI\

He assigned to Himsel l 'or what His Messeng:rof names and attributes; but we reject two

that Allah's Attributes are similar to those of

2) To say or believe that Allah's Attributes are l ike such and such.

We negate all what He negated about Himself or what His Messengernegated about Him. We believe that negation implies the affirmationof a perfect opposite. We do not discuss what He or His Messengerdid not mention about Him.We believe that following this apprach is a must because what Allahaffirmed or negated concerning Himself is a statement He madeabout Himself. He knows Himself best, His words are most just andtrustful and people cannot know everything about Him. WhatAliah's Messenger affirmed or negated about Him is a statement hemade about Allah. Besides knowing Allah bettcr than anyone, he isthe most truthful, sincere and eloquent among people. Thus, in whatAllah said and what His prophet said concerning His Names andAttributes is truth, knowledge, and clarif ication. Therefore, we haveno execuse to reject or even hesitate in accepting it.

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PART II

THE QUR(AN ANI) SUNNAH: SOURCES OF HIS ATTRIBUTES

All that we mentioned about Allah's Altributes whether briefly or in

detail, affirmalively or negatively, is based on the Book of our Lord and

the traditions of our Prophet. lt also agrees with the practice of the pre-vious generations of Muslims and the rightly guided scholars who gnms

a f te r t hem.

We believe it is obligator;- to take the texts of the Qur'an and theProphetic traditions concerning Allah's Attributes at their face value and

interpret them in a way that is suitable to Almighty Allah. We reject thepractice of those who twisted the meanings of these texts and understoodthem in a way. lhat was not in tended by Al lah and His messenger.

We also reject the practice of those who made them devoid of their

meanings as conveyed by Allah and His Messenger. We finally reject the

approach of the exaggerationists who gave them a pnysical interpretationthat makes Al lah s imi lar to some of His creatures.

THU QUR 'AN AND SUNNAI I : SOURCUS OI H tS ATTRIBUTES

We knorv for sure that what is revealed in Al lah 's Book and in the

tradi t ions of His Messenger is the t ruth. l t does not conta in any contra-

d ic t ion: "Do they not ponder over the Qur 'dn? I f i t had been f rom other

than Al lah, sure ly they would have fot rnd in i t a lo t of d i f ferences."(4:82)

Contradict ions in s tatements fa ls i fy lhem, and th is is impossib le in

those statemerr ts revealed f rom Al lah and said by l { is Messenger, peace

be upon h im. \ \ / l roo 'er c la ims that there arc contradic l ions in the Qur 'an,t h t ' l ' r onhe t i c t r ad i t i ons o r be tueen the t r r ' o mus t have u i ckcd i n ten t i on

and a misguided heart . So he should repent and qui t h is s i t r . l l 'sonreonein rag ines tha t t hc rc a rc \ o rne co t t t r i t d i c t i t t t r s i l r t he Qur ' an , t l r e say ings o f

the Prophct or bc lween lhese l rv<,r , th is must be a resul t o f h is l i t t le know-

ledge, inadequate understanding or lack o l deep th ink ing. Therefore, he

should seek knorv ledge and do h is best ' in ref lect ion unt i l the t ruth is c learto h im. l f a f ter a l l these ef for ts , the t ruth is not c lear to h im, he should

leave the whole mat ter lo the One who knows i t and should qui t h is ima-ginat ion and say as those f i rmly rooted in knowledge say: "We bel ieve in

i t . a l l i s f r om o r r r I o rd " ( l : 7 ) He mus l kno r r t ha t t he re a re ne i t he r con -t radic t ions nor d i f ferences in the Our 'an, the Sunnah or betueen the two.

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CHAPTER III

BELIEF IN ANGELS

- We believe in the existence of the angels of Allah and that they are,,honoured servants. They do not speak before He does, and they act

only by His command." (2l.26l Allah created them and they wors-hipped and obeyed Him. Those who are at His presence do not disdain

to worship Him, nor do they weary." (21:19)- Angcls are concealed from us, we cannot see them' Allah may show

them to some of His servants. The Prophet Muhammad saw cabriel

in his reat shape with six hundred wings that covered the horizons(Bukhlri & Muslim). Gabriel took the form of a handsome human

being who met Mary and exchanged conversation with her. He came

to the Prophet while he was among his companions in the appea-

rance of an unknown man who did not show any trace of long travel,

with very white clothes and very black hair. He sat facing the Pro-

phet: his knees to the Prophet's knees, peace be upon him, and his

p a t m s o n t h e P r o p h e t ' s t h i g h s a n d t a l k e d w i t h t h e P r o p h e t . T h e-Prophet lat€r told his companions that the man they saw was Gabriel

(Brrkhiri & Muslim).

ANGEL'S FUNCTIONS

- We believe tbat the angels are assigned certain functions. Among the

angels is Gabriel who is entrustect with revelation. He brings it down

rrom nttatr to whomever He wishes among His Prophets and Mes-

sengers.

Among them is Michael who is in charge of rain and plantation.

Among them also is tsraftLwho is in charge of blowing the Horn at the

time oi Thunderbolring and ftesurreclion, Among them is the Angel of

death, who takes ar"af people's souls at the time of death' Among the

angeli is the one who is in charge of mountain; and Malik, the keeper of

Hell.Someange lsare inchargeofembryos inwombs,o thersarerespon-

sible for protecting the human beings and other angels are busy in recor-

ding men's deeds: two angels for every person, "when the two angels

,"..iu. (his deeds), one sitting on the right and one on the left, not a word

hf utteri but by him is an observer ready." (50:18) Some other angels are

in charge of questioning the deed after he is put in his last abode. Two

angels come to him and ask him about his Lord, his Religion, and his

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Prophet. There "Allah confirms those who believe with the firm say, inthe present life and the Hereafter, and Allah leads astray the evildoersand Allah does what He wills." (14:27)

Some of the angels are in charge of the dwellers of Paradise: "Theangels enter to them from every gate, saying'peace be upon you for thatyou were patient. How excellent is your final home." (13:24)

The Prophet, peace be upon him, told us that seventy thousandangels enter or pray in the Populous House in Heaven every day. Theynever come back to it as long as they live." (because their turn will nevercome) (Bukhiri & Muslim).

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CHAPTER IVBELIEF IN ALLAH'S BOOKS

- We believe that Allah revealed Books to His Messengcrs as pr'oof

against nankind and a guidance for the righteous workers. Theypurified nd taught them wisdom by these Books.

- We be e that Allah sent down a Book with every Messengerbecaur He says "lndeed We sent down our Messengers with theclear signs, and We sent down with them the Book and theIlalance so that people may uphold justice." (57:25)

BOOKS XNOWN

Among these Books we know the following:

I The Torrh which was revealed to Moses, peace be upon him. lt is thegrealcst among the lsraelites' books. "Surely, \f, 'e sclrt down theTorah, whercin is guidance and light; by its laws tltc Jcrrs have beerrjudged by the Prophets who surrendered themselves lo Allah, therabbis and the doctors of law becau:;e lhey were entrusted the pro-

tection of Allah's book and were witnesses thereto." (5:44)

2. The Gospel rvhich Allah revealed to Jesus, peace be uporr him. lt is a

confirrnation of the T0rah and a complement to it. "And we gave

him the Gospel, *'herein is guidance and light and confirming theTorah before it, as a guidance and an admonition to th,godfearing." (5:46) "And to make lawful to you certairr things that,trefore, were forbidden to you." (3:50)

3. The Psalms which Allah gave to David, peace be upon lt it lr.

4. Tablels of Abraham lnd Moses, peace be upon them.

5. The Glorious Qur'an which was revealed to l{is ProphetItlulrammad, the Seal of the Prophets. l l is "a guidance to thepcoplc and clear signs of guidance and criterion bet\\ 'cct.l r ight andu rong . " ( 2 : I 85 )

TI{E QIJR'AN lS PROTECTED ['ROM CHANGII

Ihe Qur'an is "confirming the scripture that was bcfore it andstands as a guardian over it." Thus, by the Qur'an Allah ablogated all thept cvi6n5 Books. Allah has also guaranteed its protection lrotn any play ornriscnievous distortion. "lndeed, We sent dorvn the messagc and We willg t rard i t . " (15:9) That is because the Qur 'an is a proof against mankindti l l the f)ay of Judgement.

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PREVIOUS SCRIPTURES CHANGEI.)

The previous scripturrs were meant for a l imited period that endedwith the revelation of what abrogated thcm and exposed what had takcnplace in them of distortion and change. That is why they were not pro-tected from corruption. They underwent distortion, addition and omis-sion. "Some of the Jews pervert words from their meanings." (4:46) "Sowoe to those who write the Book with their hands, and then say, 'This isfrom Allah,' that they may sel. it for a little price. So woe to them forwhat their hands have written, and woe to them for their earnings."(2:79) "Say, who sent down the Book that Moses brought as a l ight and aguidance to people? You put it into sheets of paper showing some of thentand concealing much." (6:91) "And there is a group among them whotwist their tongues with the Book, that you may think it is a part of theBook, but it is not part of the Book. And they say

' lt is from Atlah,' yet it

is not from Allah, and they tell a l ie against Allah and they know it. l t isnot for any human being to whom Allah has given the Book, the Wisdom

and the Prophethood to say to men "Worship me intead of Allah,"(3:J8-70) "People of the Book! Our Messenger has come to you,

making clear to you many things you have been concealing of the Bookand forgive you much. A l ight has come to you from Allah and a glorious

Book, with u'hich He wil l guide whoever follows His pleasure in the wayof peace, and brings them forth from darkness into the l ight by His wil l."( 5 : I 5 - l 6 )

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CHAPTER V

BELIEF IN MESSENGERS

- We believe that Allah has sent to His people messengers who were

"bringing good tidings and warning, so that mankind might haveno argument against Allah after the messengers. Allah is All-mighty, All-wise." (4: 165)

THE FIRST AND LAST MESSENGERS

- We believe that the first among the Messengers is Noah and thelast is Muhammad, peace be upon them all. "We revealed to you

as We revealed to Noah and the Prophets after hiin." (a:163)

"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Mes-senger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets." (33:40)

THE BEST MESSENGERS

- We believe that the best among the messengers is Muhammad,then Abraham, then Moses, then Noah and then Jesus, son of

Mary. It is they who are meant by the following Qur'inic verse:

"And when We took compact from the Prophets, and from you,

and from Noah. and Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, son of Mary.

We took from them a solemn compact." (33:7)

- We bel ieve that Muhammad's message, peace be upon h im,

includes all the merits of the messages of those dignified messen-

gers because Allah says, "He ordained for you that He enjoined

on Noah and what He revealed to you and what He enjoined on

Abraham Moses and Jesus, namely, established this faith and be

uni ted in i t . " (42:13)

MESSENGERS ARE HUMAN BEINGS

- We believe that all messenSers are created human beings who

have none of the divine qualit ies of Allah. Allah, the Exalted.

said about Noah. who was the first among them, "l do not say toyou, ' l possess the t reasures of Al lah, ' I do not know the unseen,

and I do not say: ' l am an angel ' . " ( l l :31) Al lah d i rected

Muhammad who is the last among them to say: "I do not say to

you I possess the treasures of Allah, nor do I know the unseen,

and I do not say to you ' l am an angel." (6:50) And to say: "l

have no power to bring profit or hurt for myself, but as Allah

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wills." (7:188) And also to say: "1 have no power to hurt orbenefit you. Say none can protect me from Allah, nor can I findany refuge besides Him." (72:21-2)

- we believe that the messengers are among Allah's servants. Heblessed them with the message and described them as servants, inthe context of praising and honouring them. So, He says aboutNoah, the first among them: .,you., are the descendants of thosewhom We carried with Noah, he was a truly thankful servant."( l 7 :3 )

Allah said about the last among them, Muhammad, peace be uponhim: "Blessed be He who sent down the eur'dn to His servant, that hemay warn mankind. " (25 : I ) He said about some other messengers: , ,Andmention our servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob men of might andvision." (38:45) "And remember our servants David who was a mightyand peni tent man." (38: l7) "And to David, we gave Soloman, he was anexcellent and penitent servant." (38:30)

Allah said about Jesus, son of Mary: ,,He is only a servant whom Weblessed and we made him an example to the children of Isreal." (63:59)- we believe that Allah concluded all messages with the message of

Muhammad, peace be upon him, to all people because Allah said:"Say, 'O mankind, I am Al lah 's messenger to you a l l . To Himbelongs the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth; There is nogod but He. He ordains l ife and death. So believe in Allah andHis messenger, the unlettered prophet who believes in Allah andHis words. Fol low him so that you may be r ight ly guided."(7: I 58)

ISLAM: THE UNIVERSAL AND FINAL MESSAGE- we believe that rhe Sharijah of the prophet Muhammad, peace

be upon him, is the religion of Isram which Ailah has chosen forHis servants and does not accept from anyone other rerigion,because Al lah, the Exal ted, sa id, , ,Surely , rhe t rue re l ig io-n inAl lah 's s ight is Is lam," (3:19) and.He a lso said, . .Today I haveperfected your religion for you and I have completed my favourupon you, and I have chosen ls lam to be your re l ig ion. , , (5:3)And "whoever desires a religion other than Isram, it wilr never beaccepted from Him, and in rhe Hereafrer he wil l be among thelose rs . " ( 3 :85 )

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- lt is our opinion that whoever claims the acceptability of anyexisting religion today - other than lslam - such as Judaisnt,Christianity and so forth, is a non-believer. l{e should be asked torepent, if he does not, he must be killed as an apostate because heis rejecting the Qur'an.It is also our opinion that whoever rejects the universal message of

Nluhamntad, peace be upon him, is rejedting the message of all messen-gers, even if he claims that he believes and follows his messenge . Allah,the Exalted, said: "Noah's people rejected the messengers." (26:105)Thus, Allah considered them rejecting all the messengers despite the factthat there was no messenger before Noah. This is also clear from the fol-lowing verses:

"Those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers, and wish tomakc division between Allah and His messengers, and say: 'We believe insome and disbelieve in others,' wishing to take a midway course. Thoseindeed are the unbelievers, and We have.prepared for the unbelievers ahumiliating punishment." (4: 150-l)- We believe that there is no prophet after Muhammad, Allah's Mes-

senger, peace be upon him. Whoever claims prophethood afterhim, or believes in anyone claiming it, is a disbeliever because he isrejecting Allah, [Iis messenger, and the Muslims' consensus'

TIIE RICHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS- We believe that the Prophet, peace be upon him, had rightly-

guided successors who carried out his Sunnrh in spreading know-ledge, calling to Islam and managing the Muslims' affairs. Webelieve that the best among them and the most entitled to Cali-phate was Abii Bakr as-Siddiq, then 'Umar lbn al-Khattab, then'Urhman lbn 'Affan, then 'Ali lbn Abi TAlib, may Allah bepleased with them all. Thus their succession to the Caliphate wasaccording to their virtues. Allah, the Exalted, who possesses theinfinite wisdom, would not appoint a ruler over the best of gene-ratiorrs unless he was the most superior among them and had thebest clairn to Cdiphate.

- We believe that the inferior among those rightly guided compa-nions can be superior in a specific virtue to those who are betterthan him, but he does not deserve absolute superiority because theSlements constituting superiority are varied and numerous.

- We believe that the Muslim Ummah is the best among nations, and

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Allah, the Dignified and Exalted, has blessed it because He said,"You are the best nat ion ever brought for th for mankind, enjo i -n ing what is r ight and forb idding what is wrong, and bel iev ing inA l l ah . " ( 3 : I l 0 )

IHE PROPHET'S COMPANIONS

-- We bel ieve that the best among the Musl im Ummah are the Pro.phet 's Companions, then thei r fo l lowers, and those who fo l lowedthem.

- We also bel ieve that a group of th is Ummah wi l l a lways remainvic tor ious on the r ight path, unharmed by those rvho let themdown or those who oppose them, unt i l the Day of Judgement.

- We believe that the disputes that took place among the Prophet'sCompanions were the result of sincere interpretations they rvorkedhard to reach. Whoever was right among them would be rervardedtwice, and whoever was wrong among them would be rervardedonce and his mistake would be forgiven.

- l t is our opin ion that we should stop ta lk ing about thc i r nr is takesand mention what they deserve of beautiful praise. \\re shouldpurify our hearts from hatred and malice against any of them,because Allah said about them, "They are nol equal: those amongyou who spent and who fought before the conquest of N,lakkah.Those are higher in rank than those who spent and fought after-wards. But to a l l A l lah has promised a Ereat reward." (57;10) AndAllah said about us, "And those who came after them say: ourLord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and donot put in our hearts any malice against those who have believed.Our Lord, You are the most Kind, most Merc i fu l . " (59:10)

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CHAPTER VI

BELIEF IN THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT- We believe in the Final Day, which is the Day of Judgement, when

people will be resurrected alive to remain in the abode of enjoy-ment or in the abode of severe punishment.

BELIEF IN RESURRECTION- We believe in Resurrection which is Allah's bringing to life all the

dead when Israfil blows the Horn for the second time, "And theTrumpet shall be blown and all who are in the Heavens and whoare in the Earth shall fall down fainting except those that Allahshall spare. Then, it shall be blown again and they shall rise gazingaround them." (39:68) People will stand up from their graves,answering the call of the Lord of the Universe. They are going tobe bare-footed, naked, and uncircumcised, "As We started thefirst creation, so We shall bring it back again. This is a promisefrom Us, so We shall assuredly fulfil it." (21:104)

BELIEF IN RECORDS & SCALES- We believe in the records of deeds that will be given to people in

their right hands or behind their backs, in the left hands: "As forhim who is given his book in his right hand, he shall surely receivean easy reckoning and he will return to his family rejoicing. But asfor him who is given his book behind his back, he shall call fordestruction on himself and will burn in a Blazing Fire."(84:.7-12) "Everyman's work We have fastened on his own neck,and on the Day of Judgement We shall bring out for him a bookwhich he will see spread open, saying, fRead your own bookfEnough for you this day that your own soul should call you toaccount." (17: l3-14)

- We believe that scales of deeds will be set up on the Day of Jud-gement and no soul shall be wronged. "Whoever has done anatom's weight of good shall see it." (9:70E) "Those whose scalesarl heavy. they aie the successful; but those whose scales are light,they are the ones who have I'st their souls in Hell dwellingforever. The Fire will burn their faces, and there they will begloomy with lips displaced." (23:102-al "He that does a gooddeed shall be rewarded ten times the like of it, and he that does

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evil shall only be rewarded the like of it, and they shall not bewronged." (6:160)

THE PROPI{ET'S INTERCESSION

- We believe in the special great .Intercession of the prophetMuhammad, peace be upon him. He will plead with Allah, afterHis permission and on behalf of mankind, to judge among Hisservants when they suffer from worries and troubles which theycannot bear. They will go to Adam, then Noah, then Abraham,then to Moses, then to Jesus and finally to Prophet Muhammad,peace be upon him.

- We believe in the intercession which concenrs some believers whowere to be taken out from the Fire. This mediation is granted tothe Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and to othersamong the Prophets, the believers, and the angels.

- We believe also that Allah will save from Hell some people amongthe believers without the intercession of any one, but by His graceand mercy,

TI{E PROPHET'S POOL- We believe in the Pool of the Prophet, peace be upon him, the

water of which is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey andbetter in fragrance than musk. Each of its length and width is thedistance of a month-travel. Its glasses are as stars in beauty andnumber. The believers among the Prophet's followers come totake from this great cistern a drink after which they will never bethirsty.

THE STRAIGHT PATH- We believe in the Straight Path isiret) set uD over Hell. people

pass over it according to their deeds: the first of them as fast aslighting, then as fast as wind, then as fast as birds, and then asrunning men. The Prophet will be standing on the Path, saying,"Lord, Save! Save!" Some people's deeds will fall short. Some ofthem will come crawling. At both sides of the Path there arehooks that are designed to take whom Allah wills: some are savedbut bruised; others are thrown into Hell. (Bukhiri & Muslim).

- We believe in all that is mentioned in the Qur'in or the Propheticsayings concerning that day and its horrors, may Allah save usfrom them.

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- We believe in the intercession (shef6'sh) of Prophet Muhammad,peace be upon him, for the people of Paradise to enter therein.This intercession is exclusively limited to the ProphetMuhammad, peace be upon him.

BELIEF IN PARADISE & HELL

- We believe in Paradise and Hell. Paradise is the abode of enjoymentwhich Allah, the Exalted, prepared for the righteous. The blessingthey enjoy there, no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard of, andno human bcing has ever thought of: "No soul knows what comfortis kept hidden for them, as a reward for their deeds." (32:17) Hell isthe abode of punishment which Allah has prepared for the unbelie-vers and the evildoers. The torture and horror in it clnnot be ima-gined. "Surely, We have prepared for the evildoers a fire, whosepavilion encompasses them. If they call for help, they will be helpedwith water like molten copper which will scald their faces. Howdreadful a drink and how evil a resting-place!" (18:29)

- Both Paradise and Hell are existing now and they will never perish."Whoever believes in Allah and does righteousness, He will admithim to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever.Allah had indeed m.ade for him an excellent provision." (65:ll)"Certainly, Allah has cursed the unbelievers and prepared for thema blazing Fire to dwell therein forever, they shall find neither pro-tector nor helper. On the day when their faces are turned about inthe Fire, they shall say "Would that we had obeyed Al\ah andobcyed the Messenger!" (33:64-6)

- We confirm Paradise to whom it is confirmed in the Qur'6n or theProphetic traditions either by name or desciption. Among thosewho are granted Paradise and mentioned by names are Ab0 Bakr,'Umar, 'Uthmiln, 'Ali and others who were specified by the Pro-phet, peace be upon him (Bukh?lri and Muslim). Among thosewhom we confirm to enter Paradise because they fit the descriptionare the faithful and the pious.

- We likewise confirm Hell to whom it is confirmed in the Qur'an andthe sayings of the Prophet, whether in name or description. Amongthose who are meirtioned by names to be in Hell are Ab'il Lahab,'Amr lbn Luhai Al-Khuza'i and others (Bukhfri & MuSlim). Con-firmation of Hell which is ba3ed on description includes everyunbcliever, polytheist or hypocrite.

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BELIT,F IN \+'HAT HAPPENS IN THE GRAVE- we believe in the Triar of the Grave, which is the questioning of the

dead person in his grave about his Lord, his relijion and iis pro-phet. There "Allah confirms those who believe with tne firm say, inthe present rife and the Hereafter." (14:27) The believer wilr say:"Allah is my Lord,_.lslam is my religion, and Muhammad is myProphet." The unbeliever or the hypocrite will say, .,I don,t know,I heard the people saying something and I said it.,,- we believe in the comfort of the grave for the berievers. ,,Thosewhose lives the angels take in state of purity, saying ,peace be onyou; enter Paradise for what you were doing'.,, (t6:31)

- we believe in the punishment of the grave for the transgressingunbelievers: "rf you courd onry see when the evirdoers are- in rheagonies of death and the angers are stretching out their hands,saying, 'Give up your souls! Today you shall be rewarded with thepunishment of humiriation for what you used to say untrury aboutAllah, and for scornfully rejecting His signs.,, (6:93iThe sayings ofthe Prophet are numerous and welr-known in this area. e vusri.must believe in ail that is reported in the eur'6n and prophetic tra-ditions concerning the unseen matters. He shourd not contradict itby his worldly experience because the affairs of the Hereaftercannot be measured by the affairs of this life. The difference bet-ween them is very great. Allah is the source of help.

BEI,TEF IN FATN AND DIVINE DECREE- we believe in Fate, whether good or bad, which Alrah has measured

and ordained for all creatures according to His previous knowredgeand as deemed suitable bv His wisdom.

LEVELS OF BELIEF IN FATE- Belief in Fate has four levels:

The first level is knowledge: We believe that Allah, may He beexalted, knows everything. He knew what had happened and whatwill happen and how it will happen. His knowledge is eternal. Hedoes not acquire a new knowledge nor does he forget what HeKnows.

The second level is Recording: we believe that Altah has recordedin the Secured Tablet (el-Lrwlr el-Mahfodh) whatever is going rohappen until the Day of Judgement. "Did you not know that Allahknows all that is in Heaven and Earth? Surery that is in a Book.Surely that for AIIah is an easy matter." e2.n\

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The third level is Will: We believe that Allah has willed everythingin the Heaven and Earth. Nothing happens except by His will; wha-tever He wills, will take place; and whatever He does not wish, willnot take place.

The fourth level is Creation: We believe that "Allah is the Creatorof all things; He is the Guardian over all things, and to Him belongthe keys of the Heavens and the Earth." (39:62-3)

The fourth level include whatever Allah Himself does and whateverHis creatures do. So, all that people perform of sayings, deeds, oromissions are known to Allah and He has recorded them, willedthem and created them, "To those among you who will to beupright. But you shall not wil l except as Allah wil ls, the Lord of theWorlds." (81:28-9) "And has Allah wil led they would not havefought one against the other; but Allah does whatever He desires."(2:253) "Had Allah wil led, they would not have done so, but leavethem alone and their false inventions." (6:137) "And Allah createdyou and what you do." (37:96)

MEN'S FREEWILL

- We believe, however, that Allah has granted man a power and afreewill by which he performs his action. That man's deeds are byhis power and freewill can be proven by the following points:

Firstly, Allah's saying, "So approach your fields (wives) when andhow you will." (2:223) "Had they desired to go forth, they wouldhave made some preparation for it." (9:46) In these'verses Allahaffirmed for man "a going forth" by his wil l and "a preparation"by his desire.

Secondly, directing man to do or not to do. If man has no freewilland power, these directions mean that Allah is asking man to dothat which he cannot. This proposition is rejected by Allah'swisdom, His mercy and His truthful statement in the verse "Allahdoes not charge a soul beyond its capacity." (2:286)

Thirdly, Praising the virtuous for his deeds and blaming the evil-doer for his actions and rewarding each of them with what hedeserves. If the action is not done by the individual's freewill, thenpraising the virtuous is a joke and punishing the evildoer is aninjustice, and Allah is, of course, free from joking and beingunjust.

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Fourthly, Allah has sent messengers who are "bearing goodtidings, and warning, so that mankind might have no argumentagainst Allah after the messengers." (40:165) If the individual'saction is not performed by his freewill, his argument is not invali-dated by the sen{ing of messengers.

Fifthly, every doer of actions feels that he does or does not do athing without any coercion. He stands up and sits; comes in andgoes out; travels and stays by his own freewill without feeling any-body forcing him to do any of these actions. In fact, he clearly dis-tinguishes between doing something of his own freewill andsomeone else forcing him to do that action. The Islamic law alsowisely distinguishes between these states of affairs. It does notpunish a wrong-doer for an action done under compulsion.

NO EXCUSE IN FATE TOR S INNI ,RS- We believe that the sinner has no excuse in Allah's Divine Decree

begause he commits his sin by his freewill, without knowing thatAllah has decreed it on him. That is. because no one knows Allah'sdecree before it takes place: "No soul knows what it wil l earntomorrow." (31:34) How can it be possible, then, to present anexcuse that is not known to the person who is advancing it when hecommits his offence? Altah invalidated this type of argument inHis saying: "The idolaters wil l say 'Had Allah wil led, we wouldnot have been idolaters, neither our fathers, nor would we haveforbidden anything.'So did the people before rhem cry l ies unti lthey tasted our might. Say: 'Have you any proofs that you canshow us? You follow nothing but assumption, and you are lying."(6:148) We say to the sinner who is using Divine Decree as anexcuse: 'Why did not you perform deeds of obedience assumingthat Allah has decreed them upon you since there is no differencebetween them and sins in being unknown before they happenedfrom you? That is why when Prophet Muhammad told his com-panions that everyone's position in Paradise or Hell has been assi-gned, they said: "Should not we rely on this and stop working?"He said: "No, work and every one wil l be directed to what he iscreated for," (Bukhdri & Muslim)

We may say to the sinner who is trying to find excuse in DivineDecree: "Suppose, you want to travel to Makkah. There are two roadsthat may take you there. You are told by a truthful person that one ofthese roads is dangerous and diff icult, the other is easy and safe. You wil l

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take the second one. You wil l not take the first road and say it is decreedupon me. If you did, people would consider you crazy.

We may also say to him: "lf you are offered two jobs, one of them ishigher in salary. You wi l l cer ta in ly take the one wi th the h igher salary.How come do you choosd what is lower in rhe Hereafter and use DivineDecree as an excuse?"

We may further say to him: "We see you when you are infl icted witha disease, you knock every phy'sician's door looking for treatment andbearing whatever pain that may result from surgical operations and thebi t terness of medic ine. Why do not you do the same when your hear t isspi r i tua l ly s ick wi th s ins?"

EVII , NOT ATTRIBUT},D T0 ALI ,AH

- We bel ieve that ev i l should not be at t r ibuted to Al lah because of Hisperfect mercy and wisdom. The Prophet said: "And cvil is notat t r ibutable to You." (Musl im) Thus, Al lah 's decree by i tse l f hasno evil whatsoever because it is coming from mercy and wisdom.Evi l may, however, resul t l rom some of His decrccs, because theProphct sa id in the suppl ic i l l ion for gunI l which hc taught toal-Hasan: "And protect us from the evil of what You decreed"(Ti rmi th i & Others) Here, thc Propl rc t at t r ibuted o ' i l to what Hcdecreed. Despi te th is , ev i l in His decree is not pure ev i l . l t is ratherevil in one respect, good in anothcr or it is cvil in onc case, and goodin another . Thus, corrupt ion in the land resul t ing f rom drought ,disease, poverty and fear is evil, but it is good in another rcspccl.Al lah, the Exal ted said: "Corrupt ion has appearcd on thc land andsea for what men's hands have earned. Allah has ordained this formen, so that they may taste some o[ what they have done, in ordcrthat they may rurn back ( f rorn ev i l ) . " (30:41) Cut t ing of f the th ief 'shand or s toning the adul terer is an ev i l th ing for the th ief and theadulterer, but it is good for them in one respect because it is a puri-f icatidn for them so that the punishment of this l i fe and thcHereafter are not combined for them. lt is also good in anothe!'respect. The application of these punishment is a protection ol'property, honors, and relationships.

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CHAPTER VIII

TRUITS OT'FAITHf'his rublirnc' bclief which includes those great principles bears

numcrous and useful types of fruits for whoever believes in it.

Virtues of Belief in Allsh:

. Belief in Allah, His Names and His Attributes instils in the individualAllah's love and His glorification that result in performing Allah's ins'tructions and avoiding His proscriptions which are the means of achiev'ing ultimat,' happiness in this life and the Hereafter for the individual asr.r'ell as the society. "Whoever, male or female, does righteous deed, whilebelieving, We shall assuredly grant him a goodly life, and We shall'rewardthem according to the best of their rleeds." (16:97)

I'irlues of Belief in the Angels:

Firstly. appreciating the Dignity of Allah, His might and His sovereignty.

Secondh. uratitude toward Allah because He puts some of the angelrin charge of His servantsr recording their deeds and other things thatbenefit them.'thirdll

. lorc and admiration for the angels because of what they aredoing, namely, *orshipping Allah in the best possible manner andpraying for the believers.

Virtues of Belief in the Books:

I irsttl , appreciating Allah's mercy and care for His people in that He sentdou'n a Book to every nation for their guidance.

Secondll'. appreciating Allah's Wisdom because He revealed in theseBooks to every nation what suit them. The glorious Qur'6n is the finalamong these Books and it is suitable to all people at all ti ines until the Dayof Judgement.Thirdly, showing gratitude for Allah's mercy in revealing these Books.

I'irtues of Belief in Messengers:

finitly. apprc'ciating Allah's mercy and care for His prople for sending

them those great mcssengers to guide them to the straight Path'

Secondl l , thanking Al lah for this great favour.

Thirdly. loving and respecting the Prophets and praising them in whatthey deserve because they are Atlah's messengers and His choice among

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His people. They worshipped Allah according to the best of their.ability,conveyed His message to mankind, gave sincere advise to them and borepatiently whatever hurt they received.

Virtues of Belief in the Day of Judgement:

Fintly, endeavor to obey Allah to get the reward of that day and to avoidHis disobedience for fear of His punishment.

Secondly, a consolation for the believer for whatever he misses of worldlyenjoyment by what he hopes to gain of blessings and reward of theHereafter.

Virlues of Belief in Fate end Divine l)ecree:

Firstly, dependence on Allah when doing any action because both thecause and effect are the result of Allah's decree.

Secondly, ease of mind and comfort because when the individual knowsthat everything is by Allah's decree and'that mishaps are going to takeplace anyway, his soul will be at ease and his heart will be satisfied withAllah's decree. No one has more comforiable life, worry-free soul, andstronger confidence than a believer in Fate.

Thlrdly, freedom from arrogance when a goal is achieved because this is ablessing from Allah through what He decreed of the causes of good andsuccess. The individual should thank Allah for that and free himself fromarrogance.

}'ourthly, freedom from worry and boredom in case of failure or mishapbecause that is by Allah's decree who possesses the Heavens and theEarth. Since that is going to happen anywa)', the individual should bepatient and hope for the reward from Allah.

Allah poins to the last two virtues by the following verse:

"No misfortune can happen on earth or in yourselves but is recordedin a decree before We bring it into existence, that is really easy for Allah;that you may not grieve for what escapes you, nor rejoice in what hascome to you..Allah does not love any vainglorious boaster." (57:22-3)

We pray to Allah, the Exalted, lo reward us I'or this beliel', to realizefor us its fruits, to increase our blessings, to keep us on the Right Path towhich He has guided us, and to bestow on us a blessing from Him, He isindeed the Giver. Praise and gratitude be to Allah, the Lord of theWorlds and peace and blessings be on the Prophet Muhammad, hisfamily, his Companions, and those who rightly follow them.

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