part 2
[Angels:]
Specifically speaking, angels are of two types; the first is known to us because they were mentioned in the Qur’an and accordingly we are obliged to believe in them and their names, such as Jibril (Gabriel), Mikha’il (Michael) and Israfeel (Seraph) and the angel of death. The second type are angels that we must believe in although Allah did not mention them or their names, for Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) states:
but honoured slaves.
They speak not until He has spoken, and they act on His Command.
These angels are groups of which some are assigned to record our deeds, others travel throughout the earth attending circles of Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah), others take turns among us by day and by night, and some hold the Throne etc. It is reported in the Sahih (authentic) Hadith:
Everyday, seventy thousand angels visit Al-Bayt Al-Ma`mur (the house over the heavens parallel to Ka`bah), and never come again.
This indicates their great numbers and that only Allah Knows how many they are. Hence, we must believe in them generally and specifically as honored servants, not humans or Jinn, but as creatures created from light as narrated in the Sahih Hadith:
Angels were created from light, jinns were created from a smokeless flame of fire, and Adam was created from that which you have been told (i.e. sounding clay like the clay of pottery).
Related by Muslim in his Sahih on the authority of `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) from the Prophet (peace be upon him). They were formed as Allah willed. Furthermore, they have their own deeds and Attributes which befit them; some of which are known through reports in the Sunnah, such as the appearance of Jibril in different forms or in the form with which Allah created him having six hundred wings, and at other times in the form of an unknown person who came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to inquire about matters of Islam and Iman, etc.
To explain further, they are formed according to Allah’s Will and their appearance is only known to Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) although they are known to have wings as mentioned by Allah in His noble Book in Surah Fatir and other matters which Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) told about in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Thus, we should completely believe in them as far as their mentioned names and attributes are concerned, and generally accept that they are unknown to us, as are their affairs and attributes.
[Revealed Books]
The same goes to believing in all the Books sent down by Allah, as the believer generally believes in all Allah’s books and that they are Books which Allah revealed upon His messengers and prophets we do not know about but we generally believe in them and that what was revealed in such Books refers only to Allah (may He be Praised and Exalted). However, some of these Books were made known to us such as Al-Tawrah (Torah), Injil (Gospel), Zabur (Book revealed to Prophet Dawud [David]) as well as scriptures of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Musa (Moses) and the Glorious Book, the Qur’an. We should believe in all these Books which were mentioned to us, and with regard to those, which were not mentioned to us, we have to believe that Allah sent them down to His messengers and prophets which He only knows unless there is evidence or a text from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that provides clarification of such books.
[Messengers]
We must believe generally in the Messengers of Allah that were sent to people to call them to Allah and on particular those mentioned in the Qur’an. He (Exalted be He) states:
And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): “Worship Allâh (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Tâghût (all false deities i.e. do not worship Tâghût besides Allâh).”
Allah also says:
And We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) but We revealed to him (saying): Lâ ilâha illa Ana [none has the right to be worshipped but I (Allâh)], so worship Me (Alone and none else).”
Allah (Exalted be He) has sent the messengers as bearers of glad tidings and warners, but knowing exactly the number of such messengers and their names is a matter only known to Allah. Yet, it is authentically reported in the Hadith of Abu Dharr, which has some evidence from the Hadith of Abu Umamah and others that indicate the number of the messengers is more than three hundred and ten but the Isnad of such Hadiths is open for questions.
As for the prophets, it was reported in some narrations that their number amounts to one hundred and twenty four thousand messengers. In another narration: one hundred and twenty thousand but some of the Isnads of such narrations are not authenticated. To distill, the specific number of prophets and messengers is only known to Allah (Exalted be He) alone (may He be Praised and Exalted). Therefore, we have to generally believe that there are messengers and prophets whom Allah sent to make the truth known and guide people to it, as Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) states:
Never did We send a Messenger or a Prophet before you but when he did recite the revelation or narrated or spoke, Shaitân (Satan) threw (some falsehood) in it.
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Allah (Glorified be He) also said:
Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allâh and the last (end) of the Prophets.
Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) also said:
Indeed, We have sent Our Messengers with clear proofs, and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance (justice) that mankind may keep up justice.
Such Ayahs make it absolutely clear that there were many messengers and prophets whom Allah sent and He is the only One that knows their exact number.
This should form the basis of our Iman, whether generally or in detail, as they were so many and their mission was so great. They called to Tawhid (belief in the Oneness of Allah/ monotheism); forbade Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship); elucidated Allah’s Shari`ah (Islamic Law); enjoined what Allah commanded and forbade the violation of His prohibitions. This is the sole goal of their mission. We should believe in those who were named in the Qur’an such as Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim, Musa,`Eisa, Dawud, Sulayman, Hud, Salih, and others including Adam, for it is reported in some narrations from Abu Dharr and others that he is a prophet while other narrations tell that he is a messenger. There is no doubt that it a Shari`ah was revealed to him from Allah, but it is not known whether he is a prophet sent to people or just a prophet with no message. The narrations differed in this regard. It is known that Adam is one of the prophets and that its Shari`ah was revealed to him. This is supported by the Hadith of the gathering of people on the Day of Resurrection when the believers approach Nuh saying:
O Nuh, you are the first messenger Allah sent tohumankind.
This is evidence in support of the mission of Nuh and that he is the first messenger and that Adam is a prophet. Yet, even if he was a messenger, this means that he was a messenger to his children unlike Nuh who was sent to his people who were by then the entire population of the earth. As for Adam, he was sent to his offspring with a specific Shari`ah before Shirk prevailed. By contrast, Nuh was sent to his people who were the whole people on earth after Shirk dominated and prevailed. Thus, there is no conflict when Adam is a messenger, if the Hadith is sahih, and Nuh is the first messenger to the people of the earth.
[Last Day]
This could be said about the fifth pillar of Iman i.e. believing in the Last Day generally and in detail. We should believe in the existence of the events of the Last Day such as Jannah, Hellfire, Sirat (the bridge over the Fire), Mizan (the Scales for weighing deeds) and others which were not mentioned in detail in the Ayahs or the Hadiths but we are obliged to believe in it generally.
[Qadr]
The same is said about believing in Al-Qadar (Predestination), which is the sixth fundamental of Iman, as we should believe in it according to the texts on this regard. It should be noted that believing in Al-Qadar includes four things as regards the creed of Ahl-ul-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah:
First: Knowing that Allah (may He be Praised) predestined everything and that His Knowledge encompasses everything, as He (Glorified and Exalted be He) states:
Verily, Allâh is the All-Knower of everything.
This refutes the claim of extremists ofQadariyyah (a deviant sect that claims Allah has no power over His Creation and humans are independent of Him) and Mu`tazilah who deny such Knowledge. Al-Shafi` (may Allah be merciful with him) said, “Debate them with knowledge; if they acknowledge it, they are overcome and if they deny it, they disbelieve. That is because Al-Qadar means that Allah’s Knowledge encompasses everything, as matters cannot take place outside of His Knowledge. Once Allah predestined and decreed all things and matters, there is no way that they can take place in a way contrary to His Will; otherwise this would indicate Allah’s ignorance of their occurrence (Highly Exalted is Allah above their claims!)
On the other hand, if they deny this and say that Allah (may He be Praised) does not know things except after theyalready exist, this is blatant Kufr (disbelief) and a form of disavowal to Allah (may He be Praised) and a description of Him with lack of knowledge, and therefore, whoever says this is a disbeliever.
Second: Pre-writing and recording of what was and what will happen, as Allah (may He be Praised) predestined everything. He (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but it is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz) before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allâh.
He (may He be Praised) also says:
Know you not that Allâh knows all that is in the heaven and on the earth? Verily, it is (all) in the Book (Al-Lauh-al-Mahfûz). Verily that is easy for Allâh.
This means that Allah decreed all things as indicated by the two mentioned Ayahs. This was also expressed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Hadith narrated by `Abdullah ibn `Amr ibn Al-`As
Allah had recorded the decrees of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, as His Throne was upon water.
Related by Muslim in his Sahih.
Allah’s Predestination of matters that were and that will be is supported by the texts of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. We have to believe that Allah ordained everything. Nothing is hidden from Him, His Knowledge encompasses everything, and He is omnipotent over all things. He (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
that you may know that Allâh has power over all things, and that Allâh surrounds all things in (His) Knowledge.
Third: Allah’s Mashi’ah (Will), namely whatever He wills happens and whatever He does not will never happens, and that nothing takes place without His Mashi’ah (Divine Will) that wanted it to happen regardless of people’s will and their desire for a certain matter to occur or not. This Belief is a prerequisite for the validity of one’s Iman. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) states:
To whomsoever among you who wills to walk straight.
And you cannot will unless (it be) that Allâh wills – the Lord of the ‘Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists).
Allah (may He Be Glorified) also says:
So whosoever will (let him read it), and receive admonition (from it)!
And they will not receive admonition unless Allâh wills; He (Allâh) is the One, deserving that mankind should be afraid of, and should be dutiful to Him, and should not take any Ilâh (god) along with Him, and He is the One Who forgives (sins).
Allah (may He be Praised) has the absolute and perfect Mashi’ah, as He states:
Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, “Be!” – and it is!
(may He be Praised and Exalted).
Fourth: The belief in Allah’s Power to create and make them exist as He has power over everything, the Supreme Creator, the All-Knower; He created all things and brought them into existence. This applies to the present and the future. He is the Omnipotent with no partner, the Creator, the Sustainer, and has power over all things. He (may He be Praised) states:
Allâh is the Creator of all things, and He is the Wakîl (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian) over all things.
Believing in al-Qadar includes all the aforementioned prerequisites. It includes Iman in Allah’s Knowledge of everything and His Predestination; that whatever He wills happens, and whatever He does not will does not happen. Iman includes also the belief that Allah is the Supreme Creator Who created and caused all things to exist (may He be Praised). This refutes whoever claims otherwise from Mu`tazilah and others. Whoever denies Allah’s Mashi’ah and claims that things happen beyond Allah’ Will, then he refuses to accept the Omnipotence of Allah and does not give Him His due respect. Hence, every believer should have unquestionable Iman that Allah is potent over everything and that events occur according to His Cosmic Will. Yet, some people are inattentive of such articles of Iman with which the messengers were sent. Therefore, they should be educated about them with evidence and they should know the difference between Allah’s Divine Predestined Universal Will mentioned in His statement:
Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, “Be!” – and it is!
andDivine Legal Will which is not applicable to all people such as the disbelievers which it is meant by Allah’s statement:
Allâh wishes to make clear (what is lawful and what is unlawful) to you, and to show you the ways of those before you, and accept your repentance
.
It is known that some people have died while being ignorant of some basic tenets of Iman and without offering Tawbah (repentance to Allah). Allah (Exalted be He) says:
Allâh wishes to lighten (the burden) for you
This is the Legal Will, because Allah eased matters for some people and left others. This means that Allah willed, loved and satisfied with it but some people were made to succeed in that while others failed. This is expressed in the sahih Hadith:
Allah, the Exalted will say to some pagans on the Day of Resurrection: Would you like to go as ransom if you had all what equals to earth in gold? He would say: Yes. Allah would say to him: When you were in the loins of Adam, I asked you for something easier than this that you should not associate anything with Me. But you associated with Me others.
All messengers conveyed this message of worshipping Allah alone and forbidding associating others with Him but most people refused and took partners with Allah in worship and did not accept the Divine Will. Therefore, whoever believes in these four matters of Iman; Allah’s knowledge of all things; He predestined them to happen; He willed them to happen; and He is the Supreme Creator of all things, then he fully believes in Qadar but whoever falls short in this, his Iman is imperfect and is not following the creed of Ahl-ul-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah due to imperfect belief in all matters of Qadar.
This belief in Qadar does not necessarily mean that the servant is predestined without a free will or Mashi’ah as a feather moved helplessly by the wind as claimed by Qadariyyah who hold the view of Predestination from Jahmiyyah and others, rather Human beings have choice, will, and volition,to discern truth from falsehood. Human beings have choice, will, and volition, but these are only realized through Allah’s Will (Glorified and Exalted be He), as He (Exalted be He) states:
To whomsoever among you who wills to walk straight.
And you cannot will unless (it be) that Allâh wills – the Lord of the ‘Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists).
Humans have free will and are predestined; free because Allah (may He be Praised) gave them minds, hearing, the ability to choose and the will to manage their spiritual and worldly affairs. They have wills by which they can avoid sin, obey Allah’s commands or disobey Him, and give in charity or not. In regard to being predestined, this occurs because humans cannot escape, due to their words and deeds, the Divine Decree and the Will of Allah (may He be Praised).They have a will but which can only be realized through Allah’s Will (Glorified and Exalted be He), and that is why Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) states:
He it is Who enables you to travel through land and sea
By that, it could be said that human beings are predestined and also have free will and each person is led to that for which he has been created. Allah gives him the mind and the free will to act as he so likes. Similarly, he is predestined as far as Allah’s Knowledge is concerned and led to doing good or bad according to Allah’s Predestined Will, and as such, he cannot do anything contrary to what Allah decreed for him. In this regard, the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated:
No, do perform good deeds, for everyone is facilitated in that for which he has been created; For the good deeds are made easy for the blessed, and bad deeds are made easy for the wretched.” Then he recited the Ayahs:
As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allâh and fears Him,
And believes in Al-Husnâ.
We will make smooth for him the path of ease (goodness).
and the next verse. (Agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim) from the Hadith of `Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him). This makes it clear for a believer to differentiate between the creed of the Salaf (righteous predecessors) and that of the Mu`tazilah and Qadariyyah who denied the creed of Predestination, and Al-Qadariyyah who held it.
As for the first sect of Qadariyyah, they went so far in proving the Predestination that they said: The servant has no free willor Mashi’ah at all. Definitely, they were wrong about that although they were right in their proving of Al-Qadar.
Concerning the second sect of Qadariyyah who denied Predestination, they also went far in that regard although they acknowledged that the human being has a free will and free choice but they separated it from Allah’s Will. Combining the merits of both sects, Ahl-ul-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah hold the true opinions and abandoned their false thoughts.
Hence, it is incumbent upon those who seek Al-Haqq (the Truth) if they refute the claims of their adversaries to be fair in declaring what they benefited from them and what they avoided, telling them that you said so-and so and we agree with you in this regard and you said so-and-so and we do not accept that. They should say that they agree with them in believing in Al-Qadar but oppose their saying that the human being is predestined, as he has a free will and a free choice. It should be said to these sects of Mu`tazilah and their likes that we agree with the saying that the human being has a free will, but not confirming that this will is not realized through Allah’s Will and that His Mashi’ah is related to His Servant’s.
This should be said to the Shi`ah (Shi’ites) that we are with you in your love Ahl-ul-Bayt (members of the Prophet’s extended Muslim family) and `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and that all goodness lies in following his way as one of the best companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him); rather he was the best after Al-Siddiq, `Umar and `Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them all). However, we contradict you in your claim of his infallibility or his precedence to the Caliphate after the Messenger of Allah as there are three persons before him more deserving of this honor. We are not with you with regard to your deifying him, seeking his help, making vows for him, and the like. Our dispute with you is because you went far from the righteous path, although we stand shoulder with shoulder with you in loving and revering Al-ul-Bayt who were committed to Allah’s Shari’ah, invoking Allah’s pleasure on them, and we believe that they are the best of Allah’s Creation as stated in the Messesnger of Allah’s will, as he said in the Hadith narrated by Zayd ibn Arqam compiled in sahih Muslim:
I am leaving among you two weighty things: First: the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it… He then said: Second: the members of my household! I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family.
The same applies to all other sects, as we accept their opinions that agree with the truth and admit that for them, and at the same time refute theirdeviance and falsehood through textual and rational evidence. Thus, it becomes so clear that these six fundamentals are themselves the pillars of this Deen and which include the essential tenets of Islam and Iman that whoever abides by their creed, in word and deed, then they have perfected their Iman and are saved from hypocrisy. This is because such articles of faith oblige the Mu’min to fulfill what Allah has obligated upon them and their belief in all that Allah informed us of in His Book or through the Prophet (peace be upon him) Sunnah. Whoever denies these articles or some of them is indeed not a Mu’min.
[Summary]
In short, these fundamentals are great ones and basic rules for this Din and should be observed and abided by in all conditions avoiding what contradicts them. Whoever claims an opinion or does an act of disbelief proves his lack of true Iman in these prerequisites of faith or some of them, such as abandoning Salah (Prayer), as those who neglect Salah is utterly without faith, according to the soundest scholarly opinion; if he has true faith, it will hold him back from this sin. According to the most preponderant opinion, the person who neglects Salah commits kufr Akbar, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
What makes one a disbeliever and a polytheist is abandoning prayers.
Recorded by Muslim in his sahih. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said:
That which differentiates us from the disbelievers and hypocrites is our performance of Salat. He who abandons it, becomes a disbeliever.
Recorded by Al-Imam Ahmad and Ahl-ul-Sunan (authors of Hadith compilations classified by jurisprudential themes) with a sahih (authentic) Sanad (chain of narrators) on the authority of Buraydah ibn Al-Haseeb (may Allah be pleased with him). Likewise, whoever shows disrespect to Allah (may He be Praised) or His Messenger (peace be upon him) or does not believe in what Allah told with regard to the existence of Jannah, Hellfire, and the Qur’an, then they are disblieversaccording to the Ijma` (consensus), because such mocking and disrespect reflect their false Iman or that they have no Iman at all in them due to such deviance.
This is also applicable to whoever desecrates the Mus-haf (Arabic Qur’an), blemishes it with impurity, or sits upon it knowing that it is the Book of Allah. This indicates that he has no faith at all; rather he only claims that; otherwise he would never commit such acts which render one a disbeliever.
Those who mock the messengers or do not believe in them are disbelievers because by doing so, they admit their lack of true Iman and their falsely claiming to be believers. This applies to the other matters which people do, such as the people ofMusaylimah who believed the call of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and offered Salah and Sawm (Fast), but at the same time they claimed thatMusaylimah is a partner with the Prophet in his mission. Accordingly, they were unanimously rendered disbelievers according to the scholars among the Sahabah and those who came after them, even though they offered Salah, Sawm, and said that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Once they believed that Musaylimah is a partner with Muhammad in his message, this alone entailed their Kufr, as they afterwards denied Allah’s statement:
Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allâh and the last (end) of the Prophets.
and denied the sahih and Mutawatir Hadiths that prove our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the Seal of prophets and messengers.
Also the Qadiyanis and those among them who believed that Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet to whom there was a certain message revealed by Allah, were regarded as having committed Kufr Akbar, because they are disbelievers of Allah and His Messenger, even if they offered Salah, Sawm and claimed themselves as Muslims. Those who also did not believe that the Jannah or Hellfire exist, and that the Hellfire is not a place of torment for its dwellers but a blessing for them as stated by Ibn `Arabi, the deviant who is known for pantheism. Undoubtedly, this is a rejection of what Allah’s Book or the Sunnah of His Prophet mentioned as well as the Ijma` of scholars that the Hellfire is a place of torment, not pleasure, as a punishment for their neglect of what Allah enjoined upon them and committing what He forbade in addition to disbelieving in what the messengers called to. The Qur’an has many Ayahs indicating that the disbelievers will be punished with torment in the Hellfire. Nobody can deny this except a stubborn, arrogant, and ignorant person who is totally unaware of what the messengers were sent with or with no mind at all.
This makes it clear that evidence of Islamic matters is derived from the Qur’an and the Sunnah according to what Allah and His Messenger told as well as the authentically reported words from the Salaf of this Ummah (nation). Whoever refuses this and claims what contradicts these fundamentals of Iman deviates from the Straight Path and their claim is false.
I ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) to grant us a good understanding of His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, and to bestow upon us and all Muslims the blessing of true Iman and good deed. May Allah make us steadfast in adhering to the Truth until we meet Him (may He be Praised)! Indeed, He is All-Hearer and Responsive! May peace and blessing be upon His Servant and Messenger, our Prophet, his Family, Companions, and those who followed him in righteousness!
