Satisfying The Need:Sharh Aqidah Tahawiyya)

O Allah! We beseech You for help and guidance, and seek Your protection, and believe in You, and rely on You, and extol You, and are thankful to You, and are not ingrate to You, and we declare ourselves clear of, and forsake, him who disobeys You. To You we pray and prostrate ourselves, and to You we betake ourselves, and to obey You we are quick, and Your mercy we hope for, and your punishment we fear, for Your punishment overtakes the unbelievers

Praise be to Allah¹, the Lord of the worlds, the Sustainer of the universe, the Almighty and the Creator. To Him belong the endowments, generosities, and the proper commendations, I bear witness, know, believe, and declare that nothing deserves to be worshipped but You O' Allah. May Allah increase the honor of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, enable us to fully adhere to his message, and assemble us under his banner in the day of judgment.

The purpose of this work is to simply acquaint the new Muslims and to refresh the memory of the rest, with the pure Aqeedah²of Tawheed³ or the essential Islamic fundamentals of faith. Afflictions have been a long-lasting widespread disease among Muslims, unfortunately, this caused some people to employ their faculties in Islamic fields other than Aqeedah, others to swerve from the right path, while others are silently tampering with the fundamental Aqeedah of Islam and altering the essentials of belief-many times under the very name of Islam- in an attempt to impose their induced theories on Muslims, motivated by their political agenda, devious religious desires, ill-philosophies, and personal gain.

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2. Aqeedah : Arabic for belief or faith, it constitutes the essentials of belief and the fundamentals of faith, in general, it is a religious tenet upon which one's mind and heart is firmly settled and to which he or she adheres. It consists of belief in Allah, His angels. His scriptures. His apostles, the day of judgment, the hereafter, predestination and fatalism along with some other related issues. Tawheed is concerned with "la illaha illallah, Muhammad Rasoolullah", and all related issues, which fundamentally constitutes the heart of the Islamic Aqeedah. Note, that the fundamentals of Aqeedah pertaining to the essentials of Tawheed, are unanimously identical among all Muslims from the beginning and till the day of judgment with no room existent for any difference. Some sects may have different views in a few secondary issues of Aqeedah (not related to the fundamentals of Tawheed), however, that does not necessarily eject them out of the circle of Islam. Any individual who does not believe in Tawheed or contradicts it in any way, shape or form, either fully or partially, is not Muslim.

This necessitated the exposition of terms of reference and indulging in some details¹, that, in essence, are the belief of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a², to safeguard the Muslims against these serious deceiving and persistent silent attempts in order to obey Allah, ta'ala³, in defending the pure Islamic Aqeedah reviving the Sunnah², negating and eliminating -with Allah's grace- blasphemy and evil innovations in Aqeedah.

In an effort to further comply with these precious principles of Islam, and to uphold to Sunnah of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, in promoting the "Kalima of Tawheed; La Illaha Illa Allah, Muhammad Rasoolullah", which in its entirety represents the Islamic Aqeedah, I have endeavored to purposely prepare this work and enriched with clear proofs from the Quran and only the Saheeh⁷ of the Sunnah, to project a clear image of the Islamic Aqeedah in strict accordance with the Honorable Quran and the teaching of the Prophet, as understood by the Family and Sahaba of the Prophet, the Tabi'een, Tabi'ee el Tabi'een⁸, and the devout, pious, and righteously guided scholars of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa, until the day of judgment.

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1. Many recent Islamic scholars and thinkers, unintentionally, employed their faculties in different Islamic projects, leaving the job of safeguarding the Aqeedah vacant. This gave the backsliders a golden opportunity to tamper with many sensitive issues, creating more chaos, confusion, and innovations among unknowledgeable Muslims. Allah, The Exalted, promised to safeguard Islam, and He undoubtedly will. However, it is an individual obligation to acquire knowledge properly and promote it, as the truth will clear the confusions and set you free.

2. Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’a: are the most moderate group of Muslims. Sunnah: is Arabic for Prophetic traditions, hence, Ahlus-Sunnah or Sunni Muslims are those who accept and adhere to the teachings and traditions of the Prophet.

3. Ta’ala: Arabic for sublime i.e. above being attributed with attributes of the creation, clear of non-befitting attributes.

4. Saheeh: Arabic for correct, or authentic. A term heavily used in the Science of Hadeeth. Hadeeth: is Arabic for Prophetic sayings.

5. Sahaba, Tabi'een, Tabi'ee el Tabi'een : Arabic for the companions of the Prophet, their followers and the latter’s followers, i.e. the first three generations after the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam.

It is also an apparent objective in this work, due to the increased influence of misguided groups and sects contaminating the Islamic environment with harmful innovations and serious deviations, to warn Muslims against all types of blasphemy and innovations of misguidance related to the religion.

Even though a tremendous effort was made to ensure the reliability of this work by strict adherence to the Quran and Sunnah, Perfection is due only to Allah, Ta'ala, however, the reader can rest assured by the fact that this work contains the pure fundamentals and the essential prescripts of our Islamic faith derived strictly and entirely from, and based on the Quran and the Saheeh of the Sunnah¹ avoiding any other tradition or blind imitation².

Aqeedah is Islam, as it constitutes our faith, must be founded on unshakable convictions and established beyond any doubt, therefore, Muslims are demanded to search for the indisputable truth, base their Aqeedah on sound convictions, and -naturally- use their intellect and oppose blind imitation.^(3,4)

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1. Sunnah : is Arabic for the traditions and the ways of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam. The sunnah includes Hadeeth ( Prophetic sayings), Prophetic Actions, and Prophetic concurring/agreement and acceptance without utterance.

2. Blind Imitation : in Arabic taqleed a'ama, a recently increased misconception among Muslims, due to many reasons among them a lack of knowledge. Blind Imitation: is a call to follow a person (whether a scholar or not) blindly and accepts his opinions unquestioningly, which is a rejected concept according to Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa.

3. Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa, derive their Aqeedah and fiqh (rules of religion) strictly from the Quran and Sunnah, and other reliable sources (i.e. reputable scholars -who reached the status of ljtihad, and their opinions are in line and consistent with the Honorable Quran and the Saheeh of the Sunnah.)

4. Ijtihad is drawing forth judicial laws or rulings based on knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah. Ijtihad is noun for Mujtahed: refers to describing the state of extremely knowledgeable, pious, and devout qualified scholars, such as Abu Hanifa, Ashafi'iy, Malek and the like.

Scholars, knowledgeable thinkers, and experts of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, in every century and in every country have confronted this struggle against the straying and darkness led by malevolent, short-sighted innovators, who attacked Islam's beneficial, bountiful and luminous way, tried to blemish the scholars of Ahlus Sunnah, and attempted to change Islam and thereby deceive Muslims. We in turn, and under genuine guidance and supervision of a group of righteous scholars of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa, will -insha'allah¹- strive to promulgate and defend the right and pure Aqeedah of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, as mandated by the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam².

Ignorants³ are people who either have not properly received or have not understood the writings of some scholars, yet they still consider themselves capable of leading the Ummah. Ignorance led them to make many oral and written statements betraying their own ignorance and wretchedness against Muslims firm belief.

These harmful innovators among Muslims attempt to tamper with sensitive issues of the Islamic Aqeedah, attack reliable books, and try to vilify the righteous and renowned scholars of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, (i.e. Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Arraziyy, Imam Al Harameen AI Juwainy, Imam Al-Ghazali, Imam Al Kawthari, and the like.) disguised as the saviors and protectors from the innovation.

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2. Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam: Arabic for: praying to Allah to invoke the best of peace and blessings on the Prophet and his household, and to raise their ranks.

3. Ignorant People: are people who either have not received any knowledge, or people who acquired some knowledge through devious books or people, thus becoming devious and ignorant themselves.

We entrust Allah, Ta’ala, that, by studying this work carefully with pure fitra¹ and common sense, our valuable readers will reach the indisputable truth and learn the pure Tawheed; the key to an everlasting happiness.

Finally, our motive in this work is obeying Allah, The Exalted, in spreading the pure Tawheed, asking Him Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, to dwell the Aqeedah of Islam in the hearts of all people, make our endeavor purely for His sake, help us avoid errors in belief, utterance, and deed, make our work a beneficial, lasting, and widespread knowledge, and grant us the reward promised by the Prophet in the hadeeth saheeh narrated by Bukhari: " When the son of Adam dies, his deeds stop except for three: charity resulting in a continuing benefit, a beneficial knowledge, and a pious offspring making supplication to Allah for him".

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1. Fitra: is Arabic for untarnished intellectual capability and capacity. Unlike the popular belief, Fitra does not indicate, mean or constitute a set of information about God with which a human being is born with. Every human being is born with this untarnished capacity (fitra) readily influenced by his environment. Basically a human being is a product of his environment. And Fitra simply refers to the intellectual readiness to accept concepts whether good or evil.

تقديم موجز لأهمية علم التوحيد وتعريف موجز بالامام الطحاوي

The belief in Tawheed (monotheism) is as previously mentioned of basic importance in Islam. This belief establishes clearly the relation between human beings and Allah, and distinguish Muslims from non-Muslims. Tawheed is the fine belief that makes an accountable person a believer In Allah, and negating Tawheed in any way, would render an accountable Muslim unbeliever.

Worship acts can be learnt by imitation of knowledgeable Muslims, but what an accountable person must believe can never be acquired by imitation; because it is a matter of knowledge, involving human mind and heart until one is really satisfied and since people -by nature- frequently hold different views and understandings on every subject, Islamic Aqeedah, and specifically Tawheed came to us ready from The Almighty Allah for using the mind then believe by heart.

Al-Aqeedah At-Tahhawiyyah contains the fundamentals of Tawheed and the essentials of Islamic monotheism, derived entirely from the Quran and the Saheeh of the Sunnah. It important to understand that it contains the major and most important issues of Tawheed, as well as some issues that are not related to Tawheed or Aqeedah, but to fiqh¹ .

1. Fiqh: Arabic for Islamic Jurisprudence, it is the science of applying practical regulations of Islam based on the Holy Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah.

This Aqeedah is very distinguished, because it symbolizes the pure belief and understanding of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, however, all other Islamic sects agree on the major parts of pertaining to Tawheed. Al-Aqeedah At-Tahhawiyyah is taught and learnt by scholars of Aqeedah for the past eleven hundred years, through scholars or in Islamic colleges, with virtually no disputes or disagreements specifically to the parts relating to Tawheed. Moreover, the Bukhari of his era, Al-Imam Al Hafeth As-Subki, radiyallahu anhu, mentioned hundreds of years ago that all of the scholars of Ahlus Sunnah have favored teaching this Aqeedah and favored it over other sayings of scholars in this subject.

Imam At-Tahhawiy, rahimahu Allah, is a renowned scholar among the Salaf assaleh¹ . Imam Hafeth Athahaby said in his valuable book " Seeyaru A'alaami Anubalaa" vol. 15/27 : " he is the imam, the knowledgeable, the great Hafez, the Muhhaddeth and Faqeeh of the lands of Egypt, Abu Ja'far Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Salamah bin Salmat bin Abdul Maiek Al-Azadiyy Al-Hagriy Al-Masri At-Tahhawwiy Al Hanafiy, the author of many books, bom in Taha in Eygpt in the year of 239 H. He is the renowned scholar in Hadeeth and Fiqh with many books. Traveled to Syria in the year of 268 H. Abu saeed bin younes said about him: he was trustworthy, knowledgeable, faqeeh and intelligent, has not been replaced."

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1. Salaf: Arabic for previous. Lingually pertains to people-who predeceased (good and bad). However, when accompanied by “assaleh” it means : the pious predecessors. Asalaf assaleh refers to Muslims who lived during the first three centuries after the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam. On the other hand, Khalaf, usually refers to Muslims who lived after the third century.

However, as you will see later in this book insha’Allah, unlike the deceiving call of some people nowadays, the pious predecessors did not have one united understanding or one united opinion on all fiqh or even aqeedah issues.

Imam Bukhari related in his Saheeh vol. 1/204 and others by way of Abi Juhaifa: "I asked Ali bin Abi Taleb, karramallahu wajhahu. Do you (Muslims) have books? Imam Ali replied: None but the Book of Allah, and an understanding of a (guided) Muslim. " The hadeeth clearly does not restrict understanding to a certain era.

The valuable reader will –insha’Allah- find this book very comprehensive, however, simple. Thus, covering the most important issues of Tawheed and Aqeedah. The overwhelming furnished proofs from the Quran and Saheeh of the Sunnah, gives this work an exceptional and superior elegance in satisfying the need of every accountable person, beginner student, or any misled person who is sincere, just, and is seeking the truth. It also constitutes an important, reliable, quick, and well-supported reference that a knowledgeable person cannot resist.

Authenticity of the text of Al-Aqeedah At-Tahhawiyyah till Al-Imam Abu ja'far At-Tahhawiy is preserved, wal hamdulillah, through a continued and consistent chain of narrating scholars.

I, narrate it through and with the permission of, my Shaykh and Father Sayyedi As-Sayyed Yahya bin Muhammad bin Sa'eed bin Muhammad an-Ninowy Al-Musawy Al-Husayny - May Allah forgive him and raise his rank in paradise- [ also in the same way and through the same honorable chain of scholars, I narrate it through Sayyedi Abdullah bin Assideeq, and Sayyedi Ibrahim bin Assideeq] and they narrated it by way of, Al-Hafedh Al-Mujtahed As-Sayyed Abul-Fayd Ahmad bin Assideeq Al-Ghumari Al-Hasany -may Allah bless his soul- by way of, Shaykh Al Imam Sayyed Muhammad bin Assideeq Al-Ghumari, by way of Shaykh Al-Imam Muhammad Duwaidaar At-Tallawy, by way of, the Shaykh Al-Usooli Ibrahim Al-Bajoory, by way of, Al-Imam Al-Amir Al-Kabeer, by way of, the Shaykh Al-Badr Al-Hafny, by way of, Al-Allama Shaykh Al-Badayri, by way of, the Shaykh Ibrahim Al-Kurdi, by way of, the Shaykh Safiyyudeen Al-Qashashy, by way of, the Imam Allama Shaykh Ashams Arramly, by way of, the Shaykh Al-Imam Al-Faqeeh Zakariyyah Al-Ansaary, by way of, the Imam Al-Hafeth Ahmad bin Hajr Al-Asqalany, by way of, Abu Hurayra (son of Al-Hafeth Ath-ahabi), by way of his father Al-hafeth Atha-haby, by way of, Abdulrahman bin Muhammad Al-Faqeeh, by way of, Omar bin Tabarzad, by way of, Muhammad bin Abdul Baqiy, by way of, Abu Muhammad Al-Jawhary, by way of Muhammad bin Al-Muzaffar, he said: Abu Ja'far At-Tahhawiyy -rahimahu Allah- told us this.

1. Sanad: Arabic for a continued chain of narrators. A method used to establish 1- proper acquisition of Islamic knowledge, 2-Verification of the Authenticity of a Hadith or narration (riwaya), the narrators, time they lived in. and consistency of the chain.

I also narrate the text with continuous narrations and Ijaza¹ to al-Imam At-Tahhawiyy, through my other Scholars and Shaykhs, among them through Sayyidy Shaykh Abdullah and Shaykh sidi Ibrahim bin Assideeq Al-Ghumari Al-Hasany on until Al-Imam At-Tahhawiyy. Also through Shaykh Mahmood Arrifa'iyy, Sayyed Abdullah Al-Hasany and others with their chains and narrations respectively². And a few more chains of narrations as well, may Allah increase our blessings.

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1. Ijaza: Arabic for authorization. Usually given by authorized scholars to their students upon completion of a certain topic and specialization. It represents nowadays university degrees and licenses.

2. Sanad and Isnaad are heavily used in "Elm Al-Hadeeth" to determine the authenticity and classification of the ahaadeeth of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam.

There are few prerequisites and some important issues to understand before moving any further with the text of Al-Aqeedah At-Tahhawwiyah.

Know, may Allah guide us and you, that Worship and obedience by definition is the application of acquired religious knowledge, hence, knowledge of the religion is a mandatory prerequisite for a correct and sound worship.

Family traditions, own intelligence, or personal convictions are not necessarily a reliable source of knowledge that is compatible with the teaching of Islam, nor knowledge is something automatically gained at birth, simply stated, knowledge is acquired.

Obedience through any act of worship is incomplete unless it is accompanied by sufficient knowledge of that act. Consequently, unlike what many people think sincere intentions alone are simply not good enough and often result in incomplete deeds.

Every accountable person¹ is incumbent to know a basic share of religious knowledge pertaining to Aqeedah or belief, prayers, fasting, alms, pilgrimage, and some other basic rules of dealings and contracts, whereby he or she can correctly establish a solid and pure belief as well as sound acts of worship. Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, commanded us with these things and we must comply, by ignoring to gain this basic obligatory knowledge, an accountable person is only distend to a continuingly accumulative sin that may furthermore result in more serious sins and eventually lead to undesirable consequences in this life and in the hereafter.

The Honorable Quran and Sunnah referred to this numerous times, Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, said in Surat At-Tahreem, Ayah 6:

This Ayah means: (O’ you who believed, protect yourselves and your families from Hellfire which is fueled by people and stones.)

Many scholars of Ahlus Sunnah -wal Jama’a explained this Ayah as a direct command specifically to those who believe to protect themselves and their families

by gaining the required knowledge and applying it practically, as Ataa Ibn Abi Rabah, may Allah be pleased with him, explained this Ayah saying: "protection is by learning how to perform the prayer and fasting, how to sell and buy, and how to marry and divorce".

1- An accountable person : in Arabic Mukallaf, a mukallaf is a male or female who is pubescent, sane, and has heard the creedal statement of Islam. All these conditions must be simultaneously met for a person to be accountable.

Imam Bukhari and Muslim related in their Saheehs¹ that Abu Huraira, radiyallahu anhu, narrated in a long Hadeeth:

" The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, was once in his mosque when a man entered the mosque and went to pray, then he came to the Prophet to greet him, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said to him : wa alaikum assalam, go back and pray because you did not pray, the man went back and prayed like he first did, then came back to the Prophet greeting him, the Prophet asked him to go back again and pray because he did not pray, it happened three consecutive times, the companion prays and the prophet tells him to repeat his prayer until finally the companion said: O Prophet of Allah, by Him who sent you to us with the truth, I do not know how to pray any better, please teach me, the Prophet then started teaching him the prayer in details as narrated in Bukhari. Many vital conclusions can be obtained from this Hadeeth among them:

1- It is mandatory (i.e. fard) on every accountable person to gain the required basic share of knowledge.

Sheikh of the Hadeeth, Al Khateeb Al Bagdadi, may Allah bestow mercy on him, narrated by way of Ali Ibn Abi Taleb, karramallahu wajhahu, that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa aalihi wa sallam, said: " seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim".

1- Imam Bukhari and Muslim .' may Allah be pleased with them, are two leading Imams in "Elm Al-Hadeeth", they have classified the most reliable ahaadeeth in their books.

Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’a, frequently refer to their books and consider them to be a very reliable reference, not degrading the other highly valuable and reliable references of other scholars of Hadeeth, keeping in mind that the only perfect book is the Honorable Quran.

The six most famous books of Hadeeth classified by the following righteous scholars of Hadeeth of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa are: Al Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmithiy, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, and An-Nasaiy (radiya Allahu anhum.)

2- Ignorance in any way, shape or form is unacceptable and does not constitute a valid excuse, an accountable person who fails to acquire the basic obligatory knowledge at the commencement of his accountability (time of takleef), is not excused, whether his negligence is intentional or not, ignorance and such gross negligence is not an excusable offense, and consequently his deeds risk being incomplete and/or incorrect.

Unlike what many people think, the statement of "I do not know, or I did not know!!" is not a valid excuse, simply because "you should have known", Allah, The Exalted subhanahu wa Ta'ala, said in Surat Az-Zariyat, Ayah 56:

This Ayah means: (I have only created the jinn and mankind, that they worship me). The Ayah clearly states that we have been created to worship Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, in other words, the purpose of our life is to obey Allah and to submit to Him.

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala did not only command us to worship Him, but He, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, commanded us to worship Him in an appropriate manner acceptable to Him.

This appropriate manner is obviously derived from the revealed knowledge, and has prerequisites and conditions to be fulfilled in order for the worship to be acceptable.

This can only be gained through acquiring the proper knowledge. An accountable person is demanded to satisfy this condition at the time he becomes accountable, any delay in gaining the obligatory knowledge is by all means sinful.

3- Sincere intentions, good heart, loyalty, tolerance, intelligence, position, title etc., is not by any means sufficient to validate an act of worship unless knowledge is present.

From the above mentioned Hadeeth Saheeh, we can conclude that the man who was asked to re-perform his prayer three times is after all a Sahabi¹, which is among the most elite titles to have, and no one can ever doubt his sincere intentions, good heart, loyalty...etc., adding to that the fact that, this companion was not only in the mosque of the Prophet but also in his presence sallalluhu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam. However, all of that was apparently not enough for his prayer to be valid, and the Prophet asked him to repeat it three times, and then taught him how he needs to perform it.

1- Sahabi: arabic for companion of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam.

A- any kind of contact with the Prophet, visual, auditory, or just present in his presence even if it was for one minute.

B- Or, the prophet saw him, even if he didn’t see the prophet; because of blindness or being an infant, etc.

E- Age at the time of contact with the prophet, or he length of the contact does not matter.

F- Narration of hadeeth or the lack thereof, or the amount thereof, does not play a role.

Anyone who fits the above conditions is called a Sahabi in the general term. Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’a consider all the Sahabah to be just (udool). Being just does not mean that they all are on the same level of faith or practice. Indeed the companions, radiyallahu anhum, are divided into many categories, Imam As-Suyuti mentioned up to eleven levels. Being just(udool) means that they would not fabricate hadeeth on behalf of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam.

This Hadeeth Saheeh¹ is sufficient to eliminate what some people arrogantly consider, that as long as there is a sincere intention associated with an act of worship, their deeds are valid regardless of knowledge.

Qadi Eyyad², rahimahu Allah, said: “when the Prophet asked the man to repeat his prayer for the third time, the man did not repeat it, but instead asked to be taught, then the Prophet taught him, Qadi Eyyad says: " it is assumed that the Prophet taught him so he could finally re-perform his prayer in the correct manner".

Another important point to remember, that many of the companions when they accepted Islam, had to learn and acquire at least the basic knowledge, keeping in mind that not all of the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, were scholars. In addition to that, not all the companions were highly educated and energetic young men, on the contrary, many of them were old, poor, and unlettered, nevertheless, they did not only fulfill their requirements, but often exceeded expectations.

1- A Hadeeth Saheeh: saheeh, means authentic. It is one of two reliable types of hadeeth in deducing judgments, the other type is a Hadeeth hasan. However, the Hadeeth sahih is further classified into two categories mutawater, and ahaad. Hadeeth Mutawater is the most reliable type of Hadeeth; it is transmitted by such a large number of trustworthy narrators that makes it intellectually impossible for all the narrators to agree to a falsehood, add, alter, deduct, or forget anything from the Hadeeth. Hadeeth Ahaad: is usually transmitted by one narrator.

2- Qadi Eyyad: Rahimahu Allah, a renowned and leading scholar of Ahlus Sunnah.A Maliki faqeeh, Usooli, linguist, and jurist.

This is especially so because imam Bukhari and Muslim, may Allah be pleased with them, narrated in their Saheehs that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said:

“He, whom Allah choose to be righteous and successful, Allah would facilitate to him acquiring the knowledge of the religion.”

The greatest and most honorable division of the revealed knowledge is "Elm Al-Tawheed", because it is the division of knowledge concerned with the Almighty Allah, His Names and His Attributes, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, in addition to other related subdivisions constituting in totality the foundational fundamentals of the Islamic creed. Allah, The Exalted said in the honorable Quran in Surat Muhammad, Ayah 19:

فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّه ُ) )

This ayah entails a clear command, but note that Allah, The Exalted, did not command us in this Ayah to: “say!!, therefore, that there is no god but Allah)!!, but instead, Allah clearly commanded: Know, that there is no God but Allah. To know requires seeking knowledge. Hence, knowledge must be acquired.

Knowing the testification of faith, is by acquiring the pertinent obligatory knowledge including all of its basic conditions and rules.

Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, praised the status of knowledge in Surat AI Mujadilah, Ayah 11, sayings:

يرفع الله الذين امنوا منكم والذين اوتوا العلم درجات والله بما تعملون خبير ) )

This Ayah means: (Allah will raise up to suitable ranks and degrees, those of you who believe and have been granted knowledge.)

This is why the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, spent a lengthy time teaching his companions the Aqeedah and the fundamentals of the creed prior to teaching them the rules of the religion.

Abu Hanifa An-Nu'man bin Thabet Al Koofiyy, one of the most pious and righteous scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’a, may Allah be pleased with him, said : " knowledge in the essentials of belief is better and far more rewarding than knowledge in the rules of religion".

Hence, knowing Tawheed, and believing in the Kalima of Tawheed is the foundational and detrimental basis for success in this life and in the hereafter, Allah, The Exalted, said in Surat Al-Fat-h, Ayah 13:

( ومَن لَّمْ يُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَإِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ سَعِيرًا )

This Ayah means: “And if any believe not In Allah and His Messenger, We have prepared for those unbelievers a Blazing Fire”.

May Allah protect us from this blazing fire by sustaining our faith, facilitate us with a route to acquire and sincerely apply knowledge, and assemble us under the banner of our beloved Prophet Muhammad Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, in the day of judgment.

If we are seeking success in this life and in the hereafter, then it is time to go back to basics. The Honorable Qur’an and the Saheeh of the Sunnah are the key to any success. Therefore acquiring knowledge in the Qur’an and Sunnah is the way to success.

( هل يستوي الذين يعلمون والذين لا يعلمون انما يتذكر اولوا الالباب)

This Ayah means: (say: are those equal, those who know and those who do not know?)

This is an explicit reference among others in the Quran and the Saheeh of the Sunnah, that the status of knowledge is highly regarded.

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاء) )

This Ayah means: “Those who have knowledge, truly fear Allah among His worshippers”.

Know, may Allah, guide me and you, that lack of knowledge in the religion is among the fundamental reasons for the downfall of Muslims nowadays, the Muslim world suffers from economical, social, political, and even serious ethical and moral problems.

When it comes to religion, people are very emotional, but emotions alone cannot help without a solid base. Some have become so ignorant in this religion to a point where some cannot even recite the “Fatiha” correctly, or know the conditions of prayers, or fasting. More serious and dangerous than that is, some do not even know the most basic fundamentals of our Islamic faith, which is Tawheed!!

Islam is a religion for the old and young, for the man and woman, for the black and white, for the businessman who doesn't have anytime, and for the homeless who has all the time, its simply for all who believe in it, and simultaneously act accordingly.

Being born in an Islamic environment to Muslim parents, having Muslims families, friends, etc. does not guarantee anything!!! Nor does that automatically confer Islam and piety.

As a matter of fact, corruption and deviation is being inherited through environment, traditions, friends and sometimes family. Parents have a great responsibility in educating their children the Islamic way, and if they fail to do so for whatever reason, they are responsible and they will be accountable. The children on the other hand, once they become accountable themselves need to follow the right path and leave behind any inconsistent factor. If parents are nice, kind, caring, and simply good, however, religiously devious themselves, then that is not considered good, indeed, that is a very dangerous situation. If parents are far from the teachings of Islam themselves, despite anyone's claim, they simply cannot play a role model for their children, nor can they provide them with guidance and comfort. How can they give something they simply do not have..??!!!! Children by nature are vulnerable creatures, simply stated, they are a product of their environment. I will refer back to what we have previously discussed that good intentions, generosity, etc. simply are not good enough.

We MUST to go back to basics, because many of us (knowingly or unknowingly) grow old lacking these basics. If parents are devious and unknowledgeable, then one cannot expect their children to be devout scholars, of course unless the Mercy of Allah rescues them. I entreat Allah, The Exalted, to rescue all of mankind.

The only cure for this epidemic problem is going back to basics by acquiring the necessary religious knowledge to correctly educate ourselves and our children. Then we can live peace according to the Quran and Sunnah by applying this knowledge with sincerity.

Procrastination is another human feature, but one must ask the question remains open; How long are we going to be ignorant in the religion that we claim to be Part of ??!!!, and How are some people going to answer to Allah, The Exalted, in the day of judgment when He Asks:

) حتى اذا جاؤوا قال اكذبتم باياتي ولم تحيطوا بها علما اماذا كنتم تعملون(

This ayah in Surat An-Nam’l, ayah 84, means: (<Allah will say> : Did you reject my Ayahs, and did not acquire knowledge of it, or what were you doing? – on earth)

Allah, The Exalted, commanded us to acquire the mandatory knowledge, we simply have no reason to delay or abandon it. From the Ayahs and ahadeeth established so far, we can clearly understand this conclusion.

Allah, The Merciful, did not command us to acquire every kind of knowledge. Had every kind of knowledge been obligatory on every accountable male and female, it would have been a hardship beyond one's ability, and Allah, The Merciful, does not order anyone with what he cannot bear. Again, this diminishes any excuse for any accountable person not to act accordingly.

*Many Muslims are rushing themselves and their children into schools of medicine, engineering, pharmacy, and other sciences, abandoning the study of shari'a through a scholar or even through a school of shari’a. Allegedly, trying to secure their future and the future of their loved ones!!!.

Moreover, many people pay hard earned money to privately tutor their children in mathematics, physics, chemistry.....etc, while they themselves (i.e. the parents) cannot read the Honorable Quran correctly, nor can their children ~who are growing up and seriously lack religious education to keep them on the right path. Many of those kinds of parents, if asked, would not spend a dime on teaching their children how to read the Quran, or how to pray or fast correctly. They will come up with a million excuses..!!!!. Some tend to sometimes forget, that Allah knows everything, including those who always hide behind "good intentions " and the word "insha 'allah ",. Yet, time goes by and nothing is done. Therefore, their kids would usually turn out to be just like their parents if not worse. After all that some parents even dare to wonder why are their children being devious and not well mannered???!!! May Allah grant all of us guidance and sincere intentions.

"Knowledge is better than money because knowledge protects you whereas you protect money." Knowledge rules over things, whereas money is ruled over. Money diminishes as you spend it, whereas spending the knowledge by teaching it to others increases your reward.”

The gate of the city of knowledge, Al-imam Ali also said: "Whenever I debated a scholar, I succeeded, and whenever I was debated by an ignorant, I lost"!!!

May Allah forgive us and assemble us in paradise with this righteous Khalifah and leader of AhIul Bayt¹, and the rest of the four righteous khulafah, radiyallahu anhum ajma’een, under the leadership our beloved Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam.

1- Ahlul Bayt: are especially "Ahlul Qisa'a", and their descendants (alaihum assalam).
Allah said in Surat Al-Ahzab, Ayah 33 :

انما يريد الله ليذهب عنكم الرجس اهل البيت ويطهركم تطهيرا

This Ayah means: (Allah only wants to remove all abonation from you, you members of the household , and to make you pure and honorable.) They are called Ahlul Qisa'a, because according to the Hadeeth Saheeh narrated by (Imam Muslim in his Saheeh 2424, 4/1883 by way of Aisha, and by Imam At-tirmithiy in his Saheeh #3787, 5/663 by way of amro bin abi salama, and by Imam Ahmad in his "musnad" 6/292,298,304 by way of urn salama, and by Imam Tabarani 3/54, and by Imam Al Hakem 3/147, and by Imam Ibn Habban 15/433 and by Imam Al Bayhaqi 2/152, and by many others.) when this Ayah was revealed " the Prophet was in Ummu Salama's house, he, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. called Fatima, Hasan and Husayn in front of him, and Imam All behind him, then he covered them all with apiece of clothes and said; O'Allah, these are the members of my family, O'Allah remove all their abonation and make them pure and honorable. Then, Ummu Salama, may Allah be pleased with her, said: can I come with them O' Prophet of Allah. The Prophet replied: you stay where you are at, and you are deemed to goodness. " Thus, Ahlul Bait, are sayyidina Ali, the Lady Fatima, Hasan, Husayn and their descendents including Aal Ali, Aal Ja'far, Aal Aqeel, Aal Abbas and their offspring.

*It is important to love Ahlul Bayt, respect them, support them and be loyal to them, may Allah honor them. Allah said in Surat Ash-Shura, Ayah 23:

This Ayah means: (say; No reward do I ask of you for this, except love for those near of kin.)
Imam Muslim, narrated in his Saheeh #2408, vol.4/187 3 among others by way of Zayd bin Arqam, may Allah be pleased with him, that " the Prophet stood one day preaching us near a spring of water called khum, located between Macca and Madina. the Prophet praised Allah and preached then he said: thereafter, o'you people, I am human awaiting the messenger of my Lord, and I am leaving you with two heavy responsibilities; the first one is the book of Allah, practice it and hold tight to it. The Prophet then urged the people to rely on the book of Allah, then said: and Ahla Baity, <I am asking you> by Allah to remember <take care of> Ahla Baity and he repeated this sentence three times." Please note, that some people are using an alleged Hadeeth (that I am leaving you with the book of Allah and my Sunnah.) Please be advised that this Hadeeth is extremely weak. Moreover, many leading scholars of Hadeeth have declared it as fabricated. The later Hadeeth that contains (my Sunnah) is narrated by Al Hakem in his "Mustadrak" by way of Ibn abi owais by way of his father by way of thawr by way of Zayd through Ikrima, through ibn abbas, however, ibn abi owais and his father are unreliable people and fabricators. See "tahtheeb al kamal" 3/127 by Imam Hafez Mizzy, and "Sharhh saheeh Al Bukhari" intro/391 by Imam Hafez Inb Hajr, also Imam Nasaaiy was among other scholars to denounce those narrators describing them as " weak and unreliable", similarly did Abu Hatem Arrazy in his book "aljarhh wat ta'deel in Elm Al hadeeth", others who also mentioned their unreliability are Llakaiy, Assideeq, Ibn Mueen, Ibn Habban,. ....etc. Even Imam Al Hakem himself who mentioned this hadeeth in his book, after he added another weak route to it, declared this Hadeeth immediately as a weak Hadeeth and admitted it's great weakness.

(P.S. some ignorants, innovators and devious people believe that the purpose of this latter saheeh hadeeth narrated by Imam Muslim which clearly indicating the authority of Ahlul Bayt, nullifies the Sunnah!!!. Let it be known, that following the Sunnah is mandated by the Quran. Allah said in surat An-Nisa’a, ayah 80:

وما اتاكم الرسول فخذوه وما نهاكم عنه فانتهوا

This ayah clearly states the essential role of the Sunnah, and it says; “ whatever the prophet gives, shows, or command you, then do. And whatever he forbade, then avoid.”

The meaning of the saheeh hadeeth narrated by imam Muslim and others, is an indication of what the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, clearly commanded us to do, and that is to hold on tight and follow the Honorable Qur’an, and to follow the footsteps of members of the descendants of the Prophet who are known for piety, knowledge, and strict adherence and following to the Sunnah of their grandfathers.

Following this saheeh hadeeth is following the Sunnah. Hypocrites (munafiqeen) and their followers seek to eliminate Ahlul Bayt and their role, to alter the ahadeeth of the Prophet about them, and to forge and fabricate information to isolate them, despite, clear and repetitive commands of the Prophet not to do so.)

The knowledge of the religion is divided into subdivisions; the knowledge of Tawheed, the knowledge of the rules of religion (fiqh), the knowledge of Hadeeth, the knowledge of Qur’anic interpretations(tafseer), etc.

The knowledge of Tawheed is the best and most honorable of all the knowledge in Islam, because it entails knowing what befits Allah, The Exalted, and what is impossible to be among His attributes and what applies and doesn't apply to His Messengers, alayhem wa ala nabiyyina wa aalihi assalatu wassalam.

Al-imam Abu Hanifa, rahimahu Allah, said : " Tawheed is al fiqhul akbar." which means the great knowledge.

Tawheed is further classified into two categories; the first one is obligatory on every accountable person (mukallaf).

Every mukallaf must acquire this category of Tawheed as the most important of the obligatory knowledge, however, not abandoning the second portion of obligatory knowledge in the basic rules of religion (i.e. prayers, fasting, Alms, and pilgrimage).

The obligatory portion (Fard Ayan) of Tawheed includes belief in Allah, His Angles, His Books, His Messengers, the final day, destiny, and the like. The second category of Tawheed is that which is obligatory on some Muslims but not all ( Fard Kifayah). This is called communal obligation, since if some of the Muslims have that knowledge it is no longer an obligation on the rest of the community, it included learning the proofs of the tenants of belief from the Quran, Hadeeth, and intellect such that one would have the ability to refute the claims of the straying and misguided people.

The first category of Tawheed, namely the obligatory, has two subdivisions. The first subdivision entails knowing correctly about Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, and His Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and believing in it beyond doubt. Knowing this accompanied with believing in it, along with having uttered the Testification of Faith at least once in a lifetime, would make an accountable person Muslim, provided he or she does not contradict Tawheed in belief, utterance, and deed.

By learning this obligatory knowledge, an accountable person can distinguish between what is halal (lawful) and what is haram (unlawful).

In the chapter titled as "knowledge before saying or committing actions", Al-imam Bukhari stated:" If one acquires the obligatory knowledge of the religion, one acquires the ability to differentiate between what is lawful and what is unlawful, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, and what is good and what is evil."

For worship to be valid, an accountable person has to learn about Allah correctly and must have the correct belief.

Al-imam Abu Hamed Al-Ghazaliy, rahimahu Allah, said: "The worship is only valid after knowing correctly about Allah."

Hence, if an accountable person learns that knowledge of the religion, he or she would know how to perform the worship. By implementing this knowledge accordingly, an accountable person may earn the reward on the day of judgement.

A- The most important criteria in acquiring this knowledge is sincerity to Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. If an accountable person acquires knowledge for the sake of showing off, or to be recognized by people, or for any other worldly interests, he or she becomes sinful and end up being a loser. Allah, The Exalted, said in Surat Al-Israa, Ayah 37:

وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِي الأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ الأَرْضَ وَلَن تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولاً))

This Ayah means: (Nor walk on the earth with arrogance: for you can not rend the earth, nor reach the mountains in height.)

B- A second criteria is to keep in mind that knowledge is very important and it is worthy of allocating the time it takes to acquire it, however, it should be understood that it is not easily acquired. A great effort needs to be exerted in acquiring knowledge. The great scholars of Islam, used to travel extensively,
cover long distances, spend lots of time, when no cars, planes, trains, phones, computers—etc, were available, to get a trace of one Hadeeth. They used to ride camels or walk for months, crossing deserts, rivers, and countries to get a reply on a certain case, or to acquire one chapter of knowledge.

Therefore, Ibn Rislan along with many scholars said : " If one does not find a teacher where he lives, then let him go to where he can find one."

(" فلولا نفر من كل فرقة منهم طائفة ليتفقهوا في الدين ولينذروا قومهم إذا رجعوا إليهم لعلهم يحذرون )

This Ayah means: (If a contingent from every expedition go forth to devote themselves to studies in religion, and alert the people when they return to them, that thus they may learn to guard themselves against evil.)

Al-imam At-Tirmithiy, radyallahu anhu, related that the Prophet, sallallahu alyhi wa aalihi wa sallam, said:

" من سلك طريقا يلتمس فيه علما سهل الله له به طريقا الى الجنة "

" Allah facilitates a route to Paradise for he who seeks a route to acquire knowledge.

C- A third criteria is to take that knowledge from someone who has it, a person who did not receive knowledge simply cannot give it.

Imam Muslim related the At-Tabi'ee Al-imam Ibn Sayreen, rahimahu Allah, said: “This knowledge is religion, so look thoroughly at whomever you take your religion from."

Hence, a teacher must possess three criteria; knowledgeable, qualified, and trustworthy. Among the important qualifications to teach is to be authorized with an ijaza (authorization with a continued chain to the source of knowledge).

Then, knowledge should be received from knowledgeable people, and not merely reading from books. The disastrous, hazardous and unfortunately common case nowadays, is when an ignorant person who never received knowledge or received partial knowledge, nevertheless, reads books of other people, then post himself as a shaykh, teacher or a preacher, holding lectures, addressing masses and distributing fatwas.

Those kinds of people are called "suhufis" from the Arabic word "suhuf" which means papers, they may be harmful to themselves as well as others.

There are many reasons for that, among them; one who does not have sufficient knowledge cannot distinguish whether the book he is reading is good or evil, also one cannot ask a book about an ambiguity and receive a clarification; even a scholar might have a slip of the pen and write in his book an incorrect statement he did not intend to write, on the other hand, some scholars did not escape the cruelty of innovators of misguidance who planted errors in their books.

In addition to all of that, there is a direct command from Allah Ta’ala, to seek knowledge from people who have it. Allah, The Exalted, said in Surat Al-Nahl, Ayah 43:

We conclude with what Shaykhul-Hadeeth Al-Khateeb Al-Bagdadi, rahimahu Allah, said: "Knowledge is taken from the mouths of the scholars and not from the pages of books."

The knowledgable, and pious walliy of Allah, As-Sayyed Anas bin Sa’eed Ninowy, rahimahum Allah, said:

Which means: “knowledge is in the brain not the books” and also “ knowledge is in the hearts not in the lines of a book”

D- A fourth criteria is for the student to observe the proper manners with their teachers. This is why Al-imam Ashafi' iy, radiyallahu anhu, used to turn the pages of his book so softly in the presence of his teacher. Imam Malik. This reflects the high moral and ethical standards we, as Muslims, have, besides, it demonstrates our respect for others, especially those of knowledge.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said to the companions once, in a Hadeeth Saheeh narrated by Bukhari and Muslim: "stand up and go to your sayyed (master) sa'ed." The Prophet called the great companion Sa'ed bin Muaath a sayyed, which means master, because he was teaching those people, and he is a master compared to them.

This practice has many benefits and is after all realizing and practicing the true sunnah of the greatest teacher of ethics in humanity our beloved Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam. He, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, used to teach people and then authorize them to teach others, and so on.

Allah, Ta'ala said in Surat Al-Qalam, Ayah 4, describing the superior ethical standards of the Prophet:

E- A fifth criteria is being humble and kind. Sincerity must be accompanied with humbleness. This is one of the signs of knowledge, the more you know the more humble you are, however, showing off humbleness to deceive people is sinful.

Therefore, know, may Allah guide us and you, that long beards, smooth talk, Sunnah

dress...and so on are not necessarily signs of knowledge. On the other hand, there are many people nowadays who stand on platforms, hold positions in the community, address masses, etc., while they, themselves, are ignorants. They lead themselves astray, and they lead their listeners astray.

There are many more criteria, however, first and foremost, it is imperative that the knowledgeable person implements that knowledge and performs accordingly.

Al-imam Al-Junayd Al Bagdadi^1,, rahimahu Allah wa radiya anhu, said :

"It is a great contravention that there are some who have the knowledge but do not implement it and commit enormous sins instead. Worse than that, however, is a person drowning in ignorance who pretends to be a pious person."

1- Imam Al Junayd Al Bagdadi: may Allah bestow mercy on his soul, a scholar in Abi Thawr school of fiqh. He -was among the followers in the first three centuries after the Prophet, combined knowledge with application, and fought innovations. He is also known as Shaykhul Suffiyyah, which pertains to his position as one of the pious and righteous scholars of sufism who strictly adhered to the Book and Sunnah. Sufism: is a term describing the state of lhsan. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said in the Hadeeth Saheeh that Imam Muslim narrated: " Ihsan is that when you worship Allah as if you were seeing Him; and as you do not see Him, yet truly He sees you. " The Prophet mentioned the state of lhsan in a long famous Hadeeth, as a high achievement, after Islam and Iman respectively. In essence, Sufism describes the state of the knowledgeable, devout, sincere and pious Muslims who perform obedience to Allah in strict compliance with the Quran, Saheeh of the Sunnah, Ijma, and sayings of the companions while their hearts are pure and entirely detached from any worldly interest. The title; Al Sufi is added to the name of a scholar who is extremely knowledgeable, loyal and pious. Among them are (Sufian Al Thawry, Abdul Qader Al Jilani, Ahmad Al Rifaiyy. Al Naqeshbandi, Abu Al Hasan Al Shathuliyy, Imam Al Nawawiyy...and the like, may Allah be pleased with them all.) Anyone who claims to be a sufi, however, does not fulfill his obligatory knowledge and worship requirements in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah and/or does not satisfy the conditions of Islam, Iman, and Ihsan, as stated in the Hadeeth, has not reached the state of lhsan and has a false claim.

" The rules of Tasawwof (being sufi) are five; fearing Allah in public and secrecy, adhering to the Sunnah in utterance and deeds, not depending or relying on the creation of Allah in any circumstance. being pleased and thankful to Allah in the good and bad times, and being devoted to Allah regardless of the circumstance and situation. May Allah grant us all sincere adherence to his religion.

Freedom of speech is reserved and guaranteed for every Muslim. Every Muslim is commanded to say, follow, and practice the truth. As a matter of fact, Islam view personal rights more of an obligation. One must say the truth and not only entitled to it.

The Muslim individual is instructed to act and voice his concern if he believes that the principles of the faith are being violated.

( إِنَّ اللّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاء ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاء

وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُون )

This Ayah means: (Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and giving to the near of kin, and He forbids all indecent deeds, and evil and transgression; He instructs you as such, that you may remember)

It is then clear than one is commanded to do the good and avoid evil, and in doing so one is protected.

كنتم خير امة اخرجت للناس تامرون بالمعروف وتنهون عن المنكر وتؤمنون بالله) )

This Ayah means: (You are the best of peoples evolved for mankind. Commanding the good, forbidding what is evil, and believing in Allah.)

( وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوف

ِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُون َ)

This Ayah means: (Let there be among you a group that invites to the good, commands the lawful, and forbids the evil, they are indeed the successful ones).

Moreover, the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said: "Whosoever of you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart- and that is the weakest of faith."

Al-imam Abu Ali Al Daqqaq, a great Muslim scholar who lived in the fifth century of Hijra, said:

" The one who withholds the truth (i.e. commanding the good and forbidding the unlawful) is a mute devil."

Hence, commanding the maaroof (good) and forbidding the munkar (evil) is also an obligation upon every accountable person.

This is divided into four integrals; commanding yourself the maaroof, and forbidding yourself the munkar, and simultaneously commanding others the maaroof and forbidding them the munkar. An accountable person must satisfy all these integrals as a whole not withholding any of them, unlike what many people may think that a person should not command others with maaroof unless he acts according to it, an accountable person must command himself and others with maaroof and forbid himself and others the munkar.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, commanded us in the Hadeeth Saheeh, to offer our advise to our fellow Muslims, however, within moral and knowledge limits.

An accountable person who gained the obligatory knowledge is to act accordingly, however, not to exceed his knowledge limits. However, in the religion, like any other scientific field, only qualified people are allowed to interpret a text¹, issue fatwas², or other religious judgment.

In other words, an input in a matter of religion should be always left to a scholar, field expert, or a knowledgeable person since any unknowledgeable opinions may not only be misleading and deceiving but may also lead all involved parties to sinful consequences.

An opinionated person is always welcomed to share to his/her valuable opinions within his/her field of expertise only. The freedom of speech is a secured right for all Muslims as long as this does not cause a deviation or misguidance.

Many arrogant and –by definition, ignorant- people, believing in their right for an input in every situation, cause chaos, confusion and harm. They harm themselves and those affected by them, often driven by ignorance, personal ego, or both. Scholars said: "if the one who does not know, does not give his opinion, then we would not have any differences."

1- Text: in Arabic nuss, usually refers to an Ayah of the Quran or a Hadeeth Saheeh.

This is more necessary now then ever, due to the increasing ignorance among us nowadays, to ensure that we are not stepping over our field of expertise just because we feel it is right. Feelings, unsupported opinions, or proofless tales are not always a reliable source of knowledge.

Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, has given us the tongue as a great endowment, however, misusing and abusing it, is not only straying and sinful, but may be severely punishable as well. Examples of the sins of the tongue are; gossip (ghibah), tale-bearing (namimah), talking without being knowledgeable and the like.

Being opinionated without possessing the appropriate knowledge is a dangerous pattern of behavior, yet unfortunately, very common nowadays. Know, may Allah guide us and you, that misusing the tongue is extremely dangerous, it could render the Muslim unbeliever(mutadd).

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, in the Hadeeth Saheeh related by Bukhari and Muslim by way of Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with all of them, said:

" من كان يؤمن بالله و اليوم الآخر فليقل خيرا أو ليصمت "

"Let him/her who believes in Allah and the hereafter say good words, or let him be silent."

Moreover, Al-imam At-Tirmithiy, rahimahu Allah wa radiya anhu, narrated that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said to the great companion Mu'aath Ibn Jabal;

" وهل يكب الناس على وجوههم يوم القيامة الا حصائد ألسنتهم "

Which means: "and truly, what makes people fall into Hellfire on their faces is the reaps of their tongues.

Imam Abu Hamed Al Ghazali, rahimahu Allah, said: " The tongue is a great endowment from Allah; though small in size, its crime is enormous."

A person may say words praising Allah for which he may earn reward. One the other hand, a person may say a single that takes out of the folds of Islam, thereby loosing the rewards of all his previous good deeds.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, in a Hadeeth Saheeh narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, may Allah be pleased with them, replied to a companion who asked about the best among the Muslims:

Therefore, Islam emphasizes the implementation of high ethical and moral values as a protective measure to safeguard the society from deviation and collapse. And, finally, we say that Islam has guaranteed every Muslim his/her freedom of speech as long as he/she does not violate this act by invading the freedom and rights of others.

This Ayah means : (Not a word does he utter but there is a vigilant guardian.) The general meaning refers to fact that each word spoken is taken down by a guardian (raqeeb). This has been construed to mean that the guardian only records words, not thoughts which are not uttered.

These proofs from the Quran and Sunnah clearly caution people to increase their level of awareness to what they may utter, and think before you say anything.

Imam Muslim, narrated in his Saheeh, that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said :

"إن الله لا يقبض العلم انتزاعا ينتزعه من الناس. ولكن يقبض العلم بقبض العلماء. حتى إذا لم يترك عالما، اتخذ الناس رؤسا جهالا، فسئلوا فأفتوا بغير علم. فضلوا وأضلوا".

The hadeeth means: " Allah does not take away knowledge ordering it pulled away from the hearts of people, but Allah takes the knowledge away by taking away the scholars. Until no (or few) scholar remains, people appoint for themselves ignorant leaders, whom they ask. Those leaders will answer them, thus straying themselves and others."

If anyone takes a quick look at the Islamic world today, he/she would quickly notice the realization of this important Hadeeth on all levels around Muslims.

Even though, in many cases people take actions and make decisions in good faith based on warm emotions and good intentions, yet good intentions are simply not good enough.

Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala says in the Honorable Quran, in Surat Al-Israa, Ayah 36:

ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم ان السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل اولئك كان عنه مسؤولا) )

This Ayah means: (And do not indulge in that of which you do not have any knowledge of, for surely the hearing, the sight, the heart, all of those shall be questioned of).

There are numerous ayahs and ahadeeth to this effect, Allah, Ta'ala, said in Surat An-Noor, Ayah 15:

( وتقولون بافواهكم ما ليس لكم به علم وتحسبونه هينا وهو عند الله عظيم )

This Ayah means: (And you say out of you mouths things of which you have no knowledge, and you thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of Allah).

1- Half-knowledgeables: are people who did not receive adequate Islamic teaching and training. In many cases, they would deliver half-truths. Half-truths are many times more severe than or equal to no truth. However, this is not to be misused, there are very knowledgeable, effective, and sincere people working in many fields, may Allah protect them, and make their knowledge beneficial to all of us.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم وبه نستعين، الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله الطاهرين.

قال العلامة حجة الإسلام أبو جعفرالوراق الطحاوي بمصر رحمه الله:
هذا ذكر بيان عقيدة أهل السنة والجماعة، على مذهب فقهاء الملة: أبي حنيفة النعمان بن ثابت الكوفي، وأبي يوسف يعقوب بن إبراهيم الأنصاري، وأبي عبدالله محمد بن الحسن الشيباني رضوان الله عليهم أجمعين؛ وما يعتقدون من أصول الدين، ويدينون به رب العالمين.

ِAl-Imam Hujjatul Islam Abu Ja’far Al-warraq At-Tahhawiyy, may Allah have mercy on his soul, said in Eygpt:

1- This announces the declaration of the Aqeedah of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, as stated and demonstrated by the scholars of this sect: Abu Hanifa Al-Nu'man bin Thabet Al-koofy, Abu Yousuf Ya'qoob bin Ibraheem AI-Ansaari, and Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Al-Hasan Ashaybaany, may Allah be pleased with them all, stating the essentials of Islamic faith and the fundamentals rules of submission to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Imam Abu Ja'far At-Tahhawwiy plainly and clearly informs and draws definitive lines referring to the creed of the majority of Muslims and the successful sect of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa, at a time when many straying sects reached a serious level in misleading people by introducing dangerous innovations in the Islamic Aqeedah. This caused an equal reaction by the scholars of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa to defend the pure Tawheed that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, spent his life teaching, and to refute any false claims with proofs of the Quran and Sunnah.

Imam At-Tahhawiyy, also refers to this as the correct Aqeedah that every Muslim should conform to, in order to be on the safe side, thus escaping from an everlasting loss.

The text refers to the three on going top notch scholars of Ahlus Sunnah, Imam Abu Hanifa, Qadi Abu Yousuf, and Imam Muhammad bin Al-Hasan¹, may Allah be pleased with them all. They, among other pious scholars are the pioneers in demonstrating strict adherence to the Book and Sunnah, and deduced rules that shaped the balanced stand of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a as moderate in Aqeedah, Fiqh and methodology².

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Abu Hanifa: also called Al-Imam Al-A’zam, meaning the Great Imam, was born around year 80 Hijri and died year 150 H. Left a great legacy and a tremendous amount of knowledge. Qadi Abu Yousuf, and Imam Muhammad, are both his students. Often scholars refer to them as his companions. Imam Abu Hanifa was more specialized in fiqh than other subjects, yet he was a top learned scholar in all fields of Islamic Sciences, loved by all the Muslims, and Allah blessed him so much by so many people still loving him and making supplication for him until this day and probably till the day of judgement. Some ignorants in recent years attempted to blemish him, but Allah will always protect his Awliya. Imam Shafi’iy said: “ people are all children if compared to Abu Hanfia in Fiqh”, may Allah be pleased with him.

2. Methodology of Ahlus Sunnah is to abide by the Qur’an texts and the Saheeh of the Sunnah, and not to inject in Islam innovations of evil. Thus, while Ahlus Sunnah remain moderate, open-minded, and creative, we strongly reject the introduction of bad innovations that are unsubstantiated in Islam, and would swerve people astray.

1- نقول في توحيد الله معتقدين بتوفيق الله: إن الله واحد لا شريك له.

1. We say about the Tawheed of Allah (monotheism), believing in Allah's help - that Allah is One, without any partners.

Imam At-Tahhawiyy started with talking about Tawheed (monotheism), because a correct Aqeedah which Tawheed is part of, is the key to an everlasting success. Hence, three points can be deduced:

2. All prophets and messengers of Allah from the time of Adam, Noah, David, to Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace and blessings upon all of them) came with, because of, and for Tawheed.

3. It is imperative for every accountable person¹to acquire Tawheed immediately upon accountability.

( فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّه )

فامنوا بالله ورسوله النبي الامي الذي يؤمن بالله وكلماته واتبعوه لعلكم تهتدون) )

“Therefore, believe in Allah and His messenger, the Prophet who is not lettered, who believes in Allah and in His Words, and follow him that can be guided.”

Numerous versus in the Qur’an point to the belief in Allah first, because if belief in The Creator is not firm, nothing else helps.

Hence, aqeedah and Tawheed must happen first before an accountable can act on any of the commands of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

This does not mean that an accountable Muslim should halt until he/she learns Tawheed. On the contrary, errors in actions, belief and utterance are counted and recorded. Accountable people who purposely, whether ignorantly or deliberately, delay acquiring Tawheed, and other basic Fiqh requirements are sinful and accumulating sins every minute they delay further. Not only that, but if their Aqeedah is spoiled because of an error in belief or their prayers are spoiled because of an error due to lack of knowledge, then consequently they will be liable for an invalid and non-counted prayer, etc..

The sensitive issue in Tawheed is, that errors in Tawheed may not simply render the deed invalid, but may render a Muslim unbeliever without knowing!!. Simply stated, ignorance in Tawheed can lead to blasphemy, regardless whether the errors were innocently made or deliberately.

Moreover, all other pillars of Islam need to be satisfied immediately i.e. prayers, fasting and the like, and should be performed correctly upon accountability. However, such deeds cannot be accepted unless the Aqeedah is pure, and the deeds were done in the right way. Of course, that requires basic knowledge in Aqeedah and Fiqh.

Accountability means responsibility, and accountable individuals must be responsible to safeguard their future in the Hereafter, when their past deeds, belives

and words will determine their end.

Allah Ta’ala said in Surat Al-Baqara ayah 286:

لا يكلف الله نفسا الا وسعها لها ما كسبت وعليها ما اكتسبت) )

This ayah means: “ Allah charges every soul with what it is capacitated to do,

it will be rewarded for the good it does, and punished for the evil it commits”

Allah Ta’ala also said in Surat Al-Imran, Ayah 25:

فكيف اذا جمعناهم ليوم لا ريب فيه ووفيت كل نفس ما كسبت وهم لا يظلمون) )

Which means: “ The how will it be with them, when they are assembled in a Day, in which there is no doubt, and every soul is given rightfully what it deserves, and they are not wronged.”

Hence, accountability entails taking charge of one’s life and time, as everything little and big reward or sin acquired, will be presented in the day of judgment.

1. Accountable person : in Arabic Mukallaf, a mukallaf is a male or female who is pubescent, sane, and has heard the creedal statement of Islam. All these conditions must be simultaneously met for a person to be accountable.

Someone may work hard exhausting his or her efforts and resources in the worship of Allah, performing lots of prayers, fasting, zakat…etc, but their deeds may be spoiled by wrong beliefs. All matters of belief should be mastered by acquiring knowledge directly from an authorized scholar.

Hence, once an accountable person knows and believes in "la ilaha illallah Muhammad Rasoolullah", he or she must seek knowledge. No opinion should count, no theories can be admitted, and no ideas can be put foreword, because a true Muslim should after believing in Allah, learn before expressing opinions ignorantly. An accountable Muslim must learn who he or she claims to worship, and precisely this is the topic that Tawheed deals with, namely, about The Creator.

Allah is One, has no partners: The Oneness of Allah means that The Creator, subhanahu wa Ta’ala, is one in everything that pertains to Him, He, Ta’ala, has no managers to help him with the creation, no associates to share the dominion with, and no partners.

One here does not reflect a number, rather being absolutely unique and nothing is like Him.

( والهكم اله واحد لا اله الا هو الرحمن الرحيم )

This ayah means: “ your Lord is One, there is no God other than Him, Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem.”

This is Tawheed’s most important rule, and it is based on the Ayah 11, in Surat Ash-Shura, where Allah said:

He is not similar to anything in anyway. Assimilating Allah to His creation in anyway, for instance, by trying to imagine Him, or one of His attributes, is where most people negate Tawheed and depart Islam immediately. The core message of Islam and of all the Prophets of Allah since Adam up until Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, is based on this rule, i.e., to distinguish The Creator from the creation.

Allah sent Prophet after Prophet to nations and peoples because after prophets passed away, people gradually swerved from the right path of worshipping God, The Creator, who is distinguished from the creation, to worshipping the creation by worshipping things and entities they imagined and deluded to be God. All Prophets delivered the same message and spent their whole lives trying to correct people’s belief and alert them that: there is nothing like The Creator, in any and everyway.

If The Creator was the same as, or even comparable to the creation, then that would negate the entire meaning of God, even if it is with only one attribute.

A creation can only think, imagine and delude about another creation, and as we intellectually grow our intellectual thinking capacities and imaginations grow with us, and we can imagine and think about more things. This very process reflects our imperfection. If one is perfect, then one should be able to know and imagine everything. It is impossible sometimes to imagine another creation such as the extent of space, or the mechanism of some cells in our body, or the laws of physics,….etc.. it is impossible to imagine some of the creation!!, hence, it definitely is impossible to imagine The Creator.

The above mentioned ayahs, among a lot more in the Qur’an, constitute the basis of Islamic belief in Allah. He is not the creation.

Delusions cannot apply to Him, minds cannot encompass Him, thoughts cannot conceive Him, imaginations cannot grasp Him.

( اوليس الذي خلق السماوات والارض بقادر على ان يخلق مثلهم بلى وهو الخلاق العليم )

The ayah means : “Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth Able to create the like of them? yes, that He is! for He is the All-knowledgeable Creator”

Allah Ta’ala is the absolutel Lord of the worlds, and nothing is difficult, or overpowering to Him.

Allah, Ta’la is attributed with the attributes of perfection, as He is The Lord of the worlds. Therefore, nothing can overwhelm Him, and nothing is hard or impossible for Him, as He created everything and everything happens by His Will. If something is impossible for Him, that would negate the attributes of God and Godhood, and it would be a contradiction in terms.

This ayah means: “ Allah, there is no God but Him, who is attributed with life and everlastingness” .

There is only One Creator for the entire creation, Allah Ta’ala said in Surat Al-Anbiya’, ayah 22:

( لو كان فيهما الهة الا الله لفسدتا فسبحان الله رب العرش عما يصفون )

In this ayah, Allah Ta’ala is answering those who claim that there are more than one God. The ayah means : “If there were gods beside Allah, then verily both (the heavens and the earth) had been disordered. Glory to Allah, the Lord of the Arsh, Who is clear from all that they ascribe Him with.”

( ما اتخذ الله من ولد وما كان معه من اله اذا لذهب كل اله بما خلق ولعلا بعضهم على بعض سبحان الله عما يصفون )

This ayah, is again, a direct response to those who believe that Allah has a son or a partner. The ayah means: “Allah does not have any son, nor is there any god along with Him; else would each god have assuredly championed that which he created, and some of them would assuredly have overcome others. Glorified be Allah Who is above all that they attribute Him with.

Notice that at the end of both of these ayah, Allah is alerting us to glorify Him and clear Him from non-suitable attributes.

There is only one God, The Lord of the worlds. Some people believe in two Gods. Some believe in an entity divided by three, each sharing the responsibility of managing the worlds. Some feel that there are many Gods, each responsible for some aspects of life.

The fact is, there is One God, The Creator, and everything else other than Him, are the creation -created by Him-, thus, cannot be God. The Qur’an repeatedly stresses this fact, and logic necessitates it, and here are just a few logical arguments:

1- Hypothetically if we assume that there are two Gods, which is of course impossible, then both must be equally capable of doing everything at will. If one wants to move something and the other god doesn’t, then either:

a. Both of their wills will be executed, which is impossible, as two opposite things cannot happen at the same exact second, which leads to the conclusion that both are incapable, therefore cannot be Gods.

b. None of their wills are executed, therefore, they cannot be gods, since a God cannot be incapacitated, because incapacitation is imperfection, and imperfection cannot be attributed to God.

c. One of them will have his way, which means, he is capable and the other is not, hence, the other is not God.

2- If we assume –contrary to the truth- that there are two gods, then they both must be equal in the attribute of existence, yet they must be distinguished from each other. Otherwise what is the logic behind two!! And in fact it is impossible to be different, since God is attributed with the perfect attributes, and is clear of all and any imperfection. That would necessitate one of them having more perfect attributes than the other, which would make the latter less, hence, he cannot be god. Or that one would simply have more attributes that are not attributes of perfection..! but God is attributed only with the attributes of perfection, therefore the second is not god.

3- If we assume –contrary to the truth- that there are two gods; then either one of them is enough to manage the worlds or one is not enough. If one of them is enough, then the second god is not needed, and nothing is in need of him, and it would be nonsense to have him to start with. If one cannot manage the worlds without the other, then they both are needy, and dependant, and incapacitated on their own, hence, both cannot be gods, as God is not in need of anything, and everything is in need for Him.

4- If we assume –contrary to the truth- that there are two gods, then one of them should be able to hide some of his actions from the other, or he is incapacitated of that. If he can hide things from the other, then that makes the god ignorant and unknowledgeable, which means he is not god. And if he can’t hide any action from the other one, then he is incapacitated and not able to do all he wills, and not omnipotent.

5- If we assume –contrary to the truth- that there are two equally omnipotent gods, then the summation of both of their powers must be more than each power alone. Hence, the summation is more perfect that what each god has, which means that their power was not perfect and sublime, meaning they cannot be god.

6- Partnership and association is a sign of imperfection and need. The king who does not have any associates or partners other than himself is much more perfect than the one who does. God, is attributed with the attributes of perfection, having a partner or an associate implies imperfection, which means it is impossible.

7- God is attributed with the attributed of perfection. Sharing such attributes or even some of it with any other entity, revokes the uniqueness, superiority and perfection from god. The Creator’s attributes are unique to Him, nothing else has any of it.

8- If we assume-contrary to the truth- that there are two gods, then can one of them buy the other one out? And remain the only power? If he can, then the second god is weak, and not needed, meaning he is not god. If he can’t then he is incapacitated, and god cannot be incapacitated.

From all the above and a lot more logical arguments we can conclude that there is only One God, Allah, Ta’ala, The Creator.

( هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ )

This ayah means : “ He is The First (without a beginning) and The Last (without a beginning) “.

Allah Ta’ala, is Eternal, He existed eternally when nothing else existed. No space, no time, no sun, no moon, no galaxies, absolutely nothing, but Allah. Allah willed for entities to be created, and then space was created, and planets, and earth, that’s how space, place, and time was created and used.

Hence, Allah existed when nothing else existed, that includes space and place, therefore, Allah does not exist in a place, as He is not in need of a place, because He eternally existed before creating the place. Creation need places, spaces and time to exist, Allah is not similar to the creation.

Time is a creation and a standard for the creation. Allah is The Creator, He created time and place, hence, for His existence there is no beginning and there is no end. Because both beginning and end imply time and a starting point, which are attributes of the creation not The Creator.

Another point is that Allah, Ta’ala, is Eternal and Everlasting because of Him, because He is God, not because of anything else. For example, Heaven and hell are everlasting. But they are everlasting because of the Will of Allah to be as such, not because of themselves. Heaven and Hell are creation of Allah, and The Creator is different from the creation.

The ayah means: “Trust in The One who attributed with Life, Who does not die, and glorify Him”

The Ayah explicitly points that Allah Ta’ala is not subject to change or death.

الله لا اله الا هو الحي القيوم لا تاخذه سنة ولا نوم) )

“ Allah, there is no God but Him, The One attributed with Life and Everlstingness, and is not subject to somnolence nor sleep”.

The meaning is clear, because anything that perishes means it cannot sustain itself, which negates the attributes of perfection of Allah.

Moreover, perishing entails changing from a state to another. Only the creation undergoes changes. Change implies imperfection, since change maybe due to aspects that have effects of an entity whether positively or negatively. Therefore, change and changes happens with the creation not to The Creator. Allah is not similar to the creation, and Allah is by definition not subject to change, nor His attributes of perfection.

Any and everything that happens whether it is the movement of an electron around an atom, a heart beat, the movement of the moon around earth, planets around the sun, or the birth of new galaxies, less than that and more, except by His Will. Nothing is executed except by His Will.

8- No imagination can conceive of Him, and no understanding can comprehend Him. He does not resemble the creation.

This ayah firmly established that nothing is like Him, therefore everything we imagine or capacitate is something, and Allah is similar to nothing.

Islam stresses and emphasizes on this very important point in Tawheed (monotheism). As breaking this rule, would automatically invalidate the state of Tawheed; simply: The Creator is distinguished from the creation.

Hence, our imaginations and our intellectual capacity are all part of us, a creation. The creation can never encompass The Creator. In other words, imperfection cannot encompass perfection. One cannot define some creations that are complex and advanced, with no comparison, The Creator cannot be imagined by a created imagination of a created human being.

Because no matter what one may imagine, it is still a creation with limited capacity, which can only imagine another creation, if that!.

He does not resemble the creation is very important, and is the core of Islamic monotheism. Simply stated, Allah Ta’ala, does not resemble any creation in any and all ways. Many people depart Islam to blasphemy imagining that God looks like a human being with limbs, organs, lives in a place up in the skies, rests, descends and ascends, comes and goes, sleeps and rests, or that He is a light!!!!!…etc. All these deviations are because they tried to conceive God in their imaginations, that lead them to compare Him with things the mind knows and understands, therefore, they fell into blasphemy.

Who are anthropomorphists? And what is the difference between anthropomorphists and Muslims?

Anthropomorphism comes from anthropology and morphism. In essence, anthropomorphism is attributing human features, limbs, and organs to God!!!.

Humans are curious by nature. That curiousity led some since Adam, alayhi assalam, to try to imagine The Creator. Many could not simply submit to God and His attributes of perfection. Instead, they attempted to imagine Him, and since all they can imagine is what their created imagination can do, they imagined Him like a human being but with supreme and unlimited powers.

As a matter of fact, the torah, the old and the new testament explicitly ascribe God with human features and actions, yet giving Him Godly names..!!

The idea that seeped into the human mind that God looks like an old man with all that it comes with it, limbs, organs, hair, face, lips, teeth, tongue, beard, two hands, fingers, two legs, two feet,…..basically a total human being!!! Also that He –according to them- resides in the 7^th heaven or in a place above that where he can watch the universe and manage it, while sitting firmly on the chair of the throne!!! And Angels are surrounding him, while He is a very bright mass of light!!!!. Hence, Know, may Allah guide us and you, that those who believe in God as such, are actually worshipping an idol they imagined in their minds, and definitely not worshipping The Creator. Such a devious belief departs its people from Islam to blasphemy immediately.

Anthropomorphism is not only written in the old and new testament, but unfortunately is widely propagated by both Jewish and Christian scholars.

Clear and unambiguous statements in the above mentioned books affirming anthropomorphism are negated by other verses in the Torah and the Bible reflecting remnants of the pure Tawheed that was the base of those books, and clearing The Creator from resembling anything else.

Since the rise of Islam some Jews and/or Christians who converted to Islam intentionally or unintentionally imported portions of their old faith and belief with them. Anthropomorphism was one of the main, most sensitive, and most dangerous principles they imported. Often times those ideas and philosophies were introduced silently and peacefully into the Islamic society and injected into some muslim’s faiths.

1. Hadeeth: Hadeeth means Prophetic verbal instructions and words. Every recorded word The Prophet, peace be upon him, said is considered Hadeeth, which is an essential part of the Sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam. Sunnah is the second source of legistlation in Islam after the Holy Book Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem.

Such introjections may lead to a deviation in the Muslim’s faith from the pure Tawheed to anthropomorphism which leads to blasphemy. This is exactly what Islam came to abolish.

Having Muslims fall for anthropomorphism in creed means replication of the previous history of other nations where they altered the original message of monotheism and manufactured a reformed message of anthropomorphism (Tajseem).

Hence, scholars named those introjections as israailiyyat¹. Usually these israailiyyat were imported to Muslims via converts of Jewish or Christian background starting from the Prophet’s time onwards.

1. Israailiyyat: is plural for israailiyyah, which means a collection of philosophies, usually in matters of faith foreign to Islam but have managed to infiltrate it, most of which are Jewish in origin, hence the name israailiyyat. Furthermore, these philosophies are not only foreign to Islam, but more importantly rejected by, and most times negate the pure Tawheed that is the basis of Islam. These israailiyyat are found in many of the Hadeeth books that are not authenticated, and most commonly in most of the Tafseer(Qur’anic interpreations) books, such as ibn katheer, and others, etc. That is not to blemish those scholars who wrote them, but to indicate the seriousness of this infiltration. With the grace of Allah, scholars have been able to identify most of those israailiyyat and isolate them. Among the known people who narrated hadeeth yet were implicated in mixing them with israailiyyat are the famous : Ka’b al-Ahbaar, wahab bin Munabbeh, Nawf al-Bakali, and Abdullah bin salam. They all had a few things in common; they all lived at or a few years after the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam. They all narrated many ahaadeeth, lived in the companions times where they narrated and even taught many companions, and more importantly they were highly and extensively learned scholars in Judaism before converting to Islam. Often times when they were teaching the new companions or the Tab’ieen, after the Prophet, sallallhu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam, they would mention that this hadeeth is from the old books ( Jewish or Christian books), and some used to attribute sayings to where they belong in his session, so if the Prophet said it, they would attribute it as such, and if they learned it from the old books, they would also attribute it as such.

Praise due to Allah, The Lord of the Lords, this infiltration of Israailiyyat into the books of Tafseer and Hadeeth was immediately identified and isolated. The standard was and will always be The Qur’an itself, which is preserved from alteration and change, and of course, the authentic ahadeeth. However, some people who do not receive their Islamic knowledge properly , they may fall in the pitfalls and go astray.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, did not come with a new message in its entirety. As a matter of fact, the Prophet, sallallahu alayi wa aalihi wa sallam, came with the same identical message of pure Tawheed (monotheism) that all the preceding Prophets came with from Adam, to Muhammad, including Noah, to Moses, to Jesus, etc.. may the best of peace and blessings be upon them all.

When people deviated in Tawheed after their prophet passed away, Allah sent another prophet to correct their belief and teach them the right belief, and so on. However, many were subjected to destruction and annihilation because they deviated to anthropomorphism from monotheism. Thus they became ignorants in the Lord they claim to worship and worshipped an imaginary God instead.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said in an authentic hadeeth narrated by Bukhari and Muslim :

" الأنبياء اخوة لعلات أمهاتهم شتى و دينهم واحد"

This hadeeth means: “ all the prophets are like brothers, their belief (Tawheed) is the same” In other words, they all came with the same message of the pure Tawheed ( monotheism).

The current Torah and Bible contain numerous verses affirming anthropomorphism. Not only that, but the popular belief among their followers is almost entirely based on anthropomorphism ( i.e. worshipping a God who resembles humans, resides above the 7^th heaven, sits on the throne, has organs and limbs, hands, feet, eyes, lips, etc., comes and goes, dwells in the creation, etc..etc…basically a superman with physical mass that occupies space.!!!, all of which God cannot be attributed with.)

1- God lives in heaven, God takes walks in heaven and He makes sounds when he walks!!! God walks among the trees in the cool of the day, Also God’s creation can hide from him!!! :

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, Where are you? He answered, I have heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. And he said: who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? The man said; The woman you put with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate”. Genesis 3:8

“ There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds” DEUTERONOMY 33:26

“The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.” CHRONICLES 30:27

6- God comes down and descends from heaven to planet earth, also dwells in it!! :

“At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him” MATTHEW 3:16

8- God is composed of parts, can be divided, or a part leaves the origin, then dwells into other entities!!! :

Examples are numerous, but that should give you an idea of the trend of faith being almost entirely anthropomorphistic in nature.

Note that many people in the world nowadays believe in many of the above mentioned anthropomorphistic belief, up to and including some, who call themselves Muslims!!!!. Those have simply adopted the belief of the altered Jewish old books.

Being an anthropomorphist (mujassem) is considered blasphemy (Kufr) in Islam, may Allah safeguard everybody and keep us steadfast on the right path of truth.

Some people who claim Islam attempt to be more implicit and philosophical about it, so in an attempt to conceal their belief, they attribute God with many of the above mentioned attributes and then say the following nonsense statement : “ he is attributed with limbs, organs, directions, residing in a place, sitting on a chair!!!, time, limits, two hands, two feet, lips, face, hips, fingers, ….etc. they say all these things are his attributes but “ in a manner that suits his majesty”!!!!!

This is a very dangerous methodology, as it –in fact- the same as pure anthropomorphism, however, with a special edition entailing that it suits his majesty.

Islam, indeed, considers ascribing God with any such things a clear blasphemy. It is blasphemous to believe that God is attributed with human features, human face, lips, teeth, two hands, fingers, hips, two legs, two feet, etc... Islam considers all these things imperfections, as they are human attributes indeed. The rule is, any attributes of human beings are attributes of imperfection, and The Creator is only attributed with The Attributes of Perfection. Ascribing any attributes of the creation to Allah, invalidates Islamic belief and negates monotheism (Tawheed).

Cease your mind as you will never be able to encompass Him, believe in His attributes of Perfection, and submit the true meanings and interpretations to Him. No matter what you do, do not resemble Allah to the creation and do not negate any of His attributes, as both things lead to blasphemy.

) هو الحي لا اله الا هو فادعوه مخلصين له الدين الحمد لله رب العالمين(

“He is the Oneattributed with Life. There is no God but Him. So pray to Him, and be sincere in the religion to Him only, Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds”.

Among the attributes of Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, is being attributed with Life. However, a life that does not resemble that of the creation. In other words, we, for instance, are attributed with life. But our life is due to many causes and reasons. If any of those reasons ceases to continue, our life would immediately end. Just to enumerate a few, we live because of the Will of Allah for us to live, once that Will necessitate death, then death ensues, hence our life is sustained and dependant on the Will of Allah.

Allah, Ta’ala, also created reasons for us to sustain our life, such as water, air, food, nerves, arteries, etc…. If any of these reasons cease to exist or is not provided, then our life ceases with it.

As for Allah, Ta’ala, He is attributed with Life, because of Him, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, not because of anything sustaining Him. He is Living independently of any reason or cause, He is the sustainer of all reasons and causes. He is not in need of anything, and everything is in need for Him.

Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, is not subject to death. Death is a change of state, or an alteration of characteristics and attributes. Allah, Ta’ala, is The One who created change, and is not subject to change. Change in state, attributes or characteristics, entails a deficiency and an imperfection.

Anyone who is subjected to change is either forced to undergo change or opts tp change his attributes for better or less. Allah, Ta’ala, is God, and by definition cannot be forced to change, other wise it would entail a weak entity, and weak entity cannot be God. The second option to change His attributes for better entails that His attributes were imperfect before, and now He is achieving perfection, which would negate the definition of God.

الله لا اله الا هو الحي القيوم لا تاخذه سنة ولا نوم) )

“ Allah, there is no God but Him, The One attributed with Life and Everlstingness, and is not subject to somnolence nor sleep”.

Imam Abu Ja’far At-Tahhawiyy emphasizes once again the belief on Muslims that The Creator is different from the creation. The creation maybe overtaken by sleep or the need to rest, etc… all of which are needs. God cannot be attributed with needing anything, as the verb need entails dependence or reliance which in any case leads to deficiency and imperfectin. God is attributed with the names and attributes of Perfection.

He, subhanahu wa Ta’ala, is not subject to restlessness or sleep, as He created restlessness and sleep.

Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, is The Creator, which means The One who bring entities from a state of absolute non-existence into a state of existence.

This ayah means: “Say, Allah is The Creator of all things, and He is The One, The Omnipotent.”

The meaning is this ayah is: “ Were they created without a creator, or are they the creator??”

Know, may Allah guide us and you, that what is meant by these Ayahs is that Allah Ta’ala created everything. By saying everything, it is meant as literally everything, i.e. the entire creation.

Allah is the Creator, and everything else whether existed in the past, in the presence, or will exist in the future, is in totality with no exception is a creation of Allah. That includes, the Arsh, the seven heavens, the seven earths, Paradise, Hellfire, time, place, planets, stars, humans, animals, microorganisms, deeds, intentions....etc.

The first thing Allah created was water, then Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, created the Grand Arsh.

Some people refer to the Grand Arsh as the throne, however, the truth of the matter is all we know about the Arsh is that it is the largest creation that Allah created, it has pillars carried by eight angels on the day of judgment, and it is the ceiling of Paradise.

Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, created the entire creation not because He is in need of them or their creation. Their creation or the lack thereof, does not change, add or lose any of His attributes. Their existence or the lack thereof does not benefit Him nor harm Him. He, subhanahu wa Ta’ala, willed for the creation of Humans and Jinn¹ so they worship Him correctly.

1. Jinn: Arabic for the other form of accountable creation God created. The accountable creation consists of three categories; Angles, Humans, and Jinn. Angels are obedient soldiers of God. Humans were created and given the choice to act towards believing or disbelieving. This latter characteristic is shared by Jinn. Jinn comes from the Arabic word janna which mean hidden, or unseen. They are creations from lighter stem than humans which are made from clay. Hence, Jinn are not usually seen to humans, their world is very similar to the human world, some are good and some are evil. They do not know the unforeseen, but because of their created nature of a lighter stem, the physical barriers that apply humans ( who come from a heavier stem) do not apply to Jinn. They are accountable.

Allah, Ta’ala, sustains and provides for every creation, humans, jinn, animals, and everything else without any hardship or effort, nor is He in need of a source or supply. Everything is dependant on His Will, and He sustains everything by His Will.

) وهو الذي احياكم ثم يميتكم ثم يحييكم ان الانسان لكفور (

The meaning of this ayah is: “And He it is Who gave you life, then He will cause you to die, and then will give you life (again).Man is verily a a denier.”

Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, by His Power and Wisdom wills for the creation or some of it to die without harm or impact to Him. He, Ta’ala, wills for death and does not fear the consequences, as nothing can harm him.

( فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُم بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسَوَّاهَا وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا )

This ayah means: “But they denied Him, and they hamstrung her, so Allah doomed them for their sin and leveled their homes with earth (destroyed all of them and everything they have), and He does not fear the consequence.”

Because humans usually tend to fear backlash if they punish their enemies severely. But Allah, Ta’ala, is the absolute Lord of Lords.

) وان الساعة اتية لا ريب فيها وان الله يبعث من في القبور (

This ayah means: “And the final Hour will come, there is no doubt thereof; and Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves.”

Allah, Ta’ala, resurrects the dead from death without any difficulty and gives them life again. Just as He, Ta’ala, gave them life the first time when the creation didn’t even exist, before the day of judgment, He, subhanahu wa Ta’ala, gives them life again after death to enable them to withstand the accountability judgment, and live eternally afterwards.

15- ما زال بصفاته قديما قبل خلقه ، لم يزدد بكونهم شيئا لم يكن قبلهم من صفاته.

15- He has always existed (eternally)¹ with His attributes before any creation. Bringing creation into existence did not add anything to His attributes that was not already there.

)يا ايها الناس انتم الفقراء الى الله والله هو الغني الحميد (

The meaning of the ayah is: “O mankind! You are the needy to Allah. And Allah is the One Who is not in need of anything, to Him praise is due.”

Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, has always existed eternally¹ with no beginning. Any beginning implies a starting point in time or place, and since Allah. Ta’ala is The Creator of time and place, and He, Ta’ala, existed eternally when no time or place was created, therefore, He, subhanahu wa Ta’ala, cannot be attributed with a beginning.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said in what Imam Bukhari narrated in his Saheeh:

This hadeeth came as the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, was replying to some people from Yeman when they asked him about the beginning of everything.

1. Eternally : I mean by He existed eternally as in before the creation of time, with no time, always, without a beginning .

Remember nothing means absolutely nothing. Then Allah willed for the creation of water and then the “ Arsh”, and so on. Nothing includes space and place. It means no space nor any place, no air, no heavens no skies, no earth, absolutely nothing, but Allah, Ta’ala.

This hadeeth constitutes a solid rule in Tawheed, especially in distinguishing The Creator from the creation. The Creator cannot have a beginning because the beginning implies time, and since He created time, hence, His existence cannot be subject to time. The same applies to space and place.

THE CREATION DOES NOT SUBJECT THE CREATOR, BUT INDEED THE CREATOR SUBJECTS THE CREATION.

Therefore, every creation has a beginning, because it is created. Another important deduction out of this Hadeeth is that a sign of any creation is a starting point or a beginning. Therefore, attributing Allah Ta’ala with a beginning or a starting point implies applying the measures of the creation on Him, and hence, leading to blasphemy. Nothing is like Him.

The same concept goes for space or place. It is a sign of a physical creation. Any mass needs to occupy space. The mass and the space it occupies are both created. Attributing Allah, Ta’ala, with being in a place or space implies that He is a mass and occupies space!!! May Allah safeguard us from this blasphemy. All the space and place is His creation, He, Ta’ala, existed in eternity before any creation, no place, no space, no time, and He, Ta’ala, continues to exist as such after creating the creation.

Intellectually it is impossible that Allah, Ta’ala, is not eternal. Because if He was not eternal, then He was created at some point!! And that is impossible because it simply contradicts the meaning of God, The Creator. The Creator cannot be created!!!.

Another very important point this topic brings is change. Can change be applies to Allah, Ta’ala?

We have so far determined that time, place and space are symbols of the creation and cannot under any circumstances be applies to The Creator. Applying such things to The Creator means subjecting Him to the measures and standards of the creation, which –of course- means blasphemy ( riddah).

The same applies to change. Allah, Ta’ala, is not subject to change, simply because anything that is subject to change means one of two things:

1- The force that changed it has more power. This is impossible because Allah, Ta’ala, is The Lord of Lords, The Almighty.

2- Whatever changed, changed to either a more complete and perfect status or to a lesser status. This is impossible as well, because it implies that Allah was not attributed with truly perfect attributes before, which implies deficiency and imperfection to Him at one state or the other, which is impossible. God must be attributed with the attributes of perfection, and nothing can subject Him to any change.

Change implies imperfection and deficiency. Therefore, Allah, ta’ala, is not subjected to any kind of change, whether in His Will, other attributes, etc..

1. Subhana’Allah : Arabic for Sub’haan, and comes from Tasbeeh. Tasbeeh in the Arabic language means Tanzeeh, both of which mean :

In other words, Tasbeeh means to attribute Allah Ta’ala with the Perfect attributes of Glory that He is attributed with, to glorify Him. In the Qur’an you see many versus referring to Sub’hana Allah, and during the prayers every Muslim says Sub’hana Allah numerous times, and this word is the essence of Islamic belief, as it replies to the non-muslims who attributed Allah Ta’ala, with non-suitable attributes, specifically resembling Him to the creation by saying or believing that He begets or is begotten, lives in the skies, anthropomorphistic approach. This word which is repeated so many times all the time during our daily prayers stands to re-emphasize the core belief of Muslims of monotheism (Tawheed), and that The creator does not resemble the creation.

16- وكما كان بصفاته أزليا كذلك لا يزال عليها أب

16- And as He always was, with His attributes, in pre-eternity, so He will remain as such everlastingly.

As we have previously seen creating the creation did not and cannot add to the attributes of Allah anything that was not of His attributes in eternity. No change was He subjected to in His attributes or else, after creating the creation.

JUST AS HE ETERNALLY EXISTED WITH HIS ATTRIBUTES BEFORE CREATING ANY CREATION, HE, TA’ALA, CONTINUES TO EXIST EVERLASTINGLY AFTER CREATING THE CREATION WITHOUT ANY CHANGE OR ALTERATION.

And just as His attributes are not subject to change, and they have always existed eternally, then they remain not subject to change everlastingly.

Hence, no attribute will be added to His attributes that He, Ta’ala, did not already have. And no attribute of His is subject to completion or enhancement, or perfection, because it already is.

17- ليس بعد خلق الخلق استفاد اسم الخالق، ولا بإحداث البرية استفاد اسم الباري.

17- It was not only after creating the creation He gained the attribute of “ The Creator”, nor was it only after originating entities He gained the attribute of “ Al- Bari” ( The Originator).

) هو الله الخالق البارئ المصور له الاسماء الحسنى يسبح له ما في السماوات والارض وهو العزيز الحكيم (

This ayah means: “He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. To Him are the names of Perfection. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him, and He is theAlmighty and All-Wise.”

This again is emphasizing that Allah,Ta’ala, was always The Creator even before creating anything. And it is not that He, Ta’ala, became The Creator after creating.

He, and His attributes are not subject to any kind of change, whether addition, complementing, or otherwise.

18- له معنى الربوبية ولا مربوب، ومعنى الخالقية ولا مخلوق

18- He was always The Lord even when there was nothing to be Lord of, and always The Creator even when there was no creation.

Allah, Ta’ala, has always been The Lord, The God, and The Creator, not the created. And our creation did not make Him The Creator. He, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, was The Lord and The Creator even when no creation was created.

19- وكما أنه محيي الموتى بعدما أحياهم استحق هذا الاسم قبل إحيائهم، كذلك استحق اسم الخالق قبل إنشائهم.

19- Although He is attributed with “The Ressurector”, (because the dead will be resurrected), yet He, Ta’ala, had that attribute before resurrecting anything. Similarly, He had the attribute “The Creator” before creating anything.

)فانظر الى اثار رحمت الله كيف يحيي الارض بعد موتها ان ذلك لمحيي الموتى وهو على كل شيء قدير (

The meaning of the ayah is: “Look, therefore, at the results of Allah's Mercy (in creation): how He gives life to the land after its death. He verily is the One who gives life to the Dead, and He is Omnipotent.”

This states that Allah, Ta’ala, was always and will always be The Ressurector even before resurrecting anybody. Life and death are creations of Allah, and are subjected to Allah’s eternal Will and Power.

The meaning of the ayah is: “ and He –Allah- has the Power to do any and everything”

Everything that exists except Allah, is a creation by Allah. All the creation are subjected to Allah’s Power and Will by definition, because He is the Lord and The Subjugator. Therefore, He, subhanahu wa Ta’ala, has the ultimate and supreme Power over everything.

Omnipotent (Qudrah) is among the attributes of Allah, and just like all of His Attributes, it is eternal, everlasting, not created and not subject to change.

) قالوا اتخذ الله ولدا سبحانه هو الغني له ما في السماوات وما في الارض ان عندكم من سلطان بهذا اتقولون على الله ما لا تعلمون (

The meaning of this ayah is: “They claim: Allah has a son! - Glorified be He! He is not in need for that –nor for anything. To Him is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. You have no warrant for this. Do you say about Allah that of which you do not know?”

Everything means everything but Allah. Everything is dependant and needy to Him, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. While Allah, Ta’ala, is NOT in need of anything. Having a need or any kind or any magnitude implied imperfection and deficiency, hence, all the creation need Him to be sustained, while He does not need anything.

This is exactly the meaning of “ As-Samad” which is among the Perfect Names of Allah. As-Samad means : The One who is not in need of anything, and EVERYTHING is in need of him.

Also what is important to mention here that Allah is One does not mean One as a number, which impies before it there is 0 and after it there is 2. The Oneness here means the uniqueness, it means nothing is like Him, and nothing is similar to Him in anyway.

Since Allah, Ta’Ala, is The Creator of everything, everything is subjugated to Him. Hence, nothing is difficult for him, and everything is easy for Him. He, subhanahu wa Ta’ala, does whatever He wills.

The ayah means: “ Allah, The One Who is not in need of anything, and everything is in need of Him”.

Allah, Ta’ala, is The Creator who is attributed with the attributes of Perfection. Hence, He is not in need of anything. Being in need implies imperfection which would contradict and nullify the meaning of Godhood. Every creation has needs, and therefore they are dependant.

Among the needs is the place and time, both of which are a creation of Allah. We need a place and a space to exist in, because we are a physical mass. Allah, Ta’ala, is not like us, and therefore is not in need of a space or place. He, Ta’ala, exists without a place, because He is The Creator of place. The same applies to time. Allah is The Creator of time, therefore, it does not apply to him, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.

Anthropomorphists or (Al Mujassima) believe that Allah Ta’ala resides in a place or partially contained in a place above the 7^th heaven, and they believe if Muslims say Allah is not in any specific place this would lead to negating Allah’s presence. Because to them, if Allah exists then He must be in a place. They fell in the pitfall of applying the standards of creation on The Creator, may Allah safeguard us from this blasphemy.

Imam Abu Ja’far At-Tahhawiyy brings this ayah from Surat Ash-Shura # 11, which constitutes the basis of monotheism (Tawheed). This Ayah clearly draws a line between the attributes of the creation and that of The Creator.

Nothing is like Him, no matter what one can imagine, conceive, or capacitate, Allah is different from that.

The understanding of incapacitation to capacitate and encompass Him is the correct understanding.

The Ayah also mentions two attributes, The Hearing and Sight. These are among the attributes of Allah, Ta’ala, and they are like the rest of His attributes, eternal, everlasting, not created, and not subject to change.

Anthropomorphists argue that this ayah is a proof that Allah, has attributes that are similar to humans, just vary in the shape, form, or magnitude. Of course, this is a blasphemous belief, and here is how they were confused.

It is true that humans are attributed with hearing and sight, and Allah is attributed with Hearing and Sight. Although the name of the attribute is similar, but that is the extent of this sharing relationship. In otherwords, nothing else other than the name of the attribute is common between the hearing and sight of humans, and that of Allah, Ta’ala.

Our hearing and sight, are due to many reasons and are dependant on many factors. To enumerate a few;

C- We also have inner, middle and outer ear, each with a specific role to amplify the noise

D- This noise must be recorded ad interpreted in our brain to appropriately respond and analyze.

I- Our hearing had a beginning and will have an end, some are even born deaf, some have variant degree of hearing loss, etc..etc..

If anything goes wrong or is faulty with any of the factors, then our hearing is impacted.

Allah, Ta’ala, is attributed with Hearing, simply as such. His attribute is eternal, everlasting, not created, and not subject to change. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, is not attributed with having organs or limbs. Nor sound waves, frequencies, decreasing or increasing hearing power, etc..etc..

All of that implies change, and Allah, Ta’ala, is not attributed with organs, limbs, or change.

25- He created the creation according to His (eternal) Knowledge and Will (purposely).

)يا ايها الناس اعبدوا ربكم الذي خلقكم والذين من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون (

This ayah means: “ O’people, worship Allah, The One who created you and those before you, so you may succeed”.

Allah, Ta’ala, created every creation according to His eternal Will and Knowledge purposely. Everything is created for a reason, every creation has a certain role in its lifespan according to the Knowledge and Will of Allah.

This ayah means: “We have created everything with a specific destiny, decree and mission”.

Everything from bigger than galaxies to smaller than atoms has a destiny, and every destiny was assigned by Allah, Ta’ala.

)ولكل امة اجل فاذا جاء اجلهم لا يستاخرون ساعة ولا يستقدمون (

The meaning of this ayah is: “and for every nation –everybody- there is a fixed term, and when it comes to end, they cannot put it off for an hour nor advance it”.

Just as everything was created as per the Will of Allah, everything will end as per His Will, and as per the destinies He destined for things.

Everything has a lifespan or a span which no one can alter, shorten, or prolong. Everyone’s life and everything will end, it is simply a matter of time. Everything must first take the course Allah willed for it, and then must reach its final destiny.

)هو الذي خلق لكم ما في الارض جميعا ثم استوى الى السماء فسواهن سبع سماوات وهو بكل شيء عليم (

The meaning of this ayah is: “He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is All-knower of all things.”

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, knew everything eternally before He created anything. He encompassed everything. He knows All-knowledgable of everything.

29- He (eternally) knew whatever His creation would do before He created them.

)قالوا سبحانك لا علم لنا الا ما علمتنا انك انت العليم الحكيم(

This ayah means: “They said: Glorify to You! We have no knowledge but that which you gave us. You are the All-Knower, the All-Wise”.

Imam Abu Ja’far At-Tahhawiyy reaffirms again the absolute attribute of knowledge of Allah, Ta’ala.

He is the One Who knows about the unforeseen and what is evidenced by His creation, nothing on earth or in heaven is hidden from Him.

He knows what is on land and in sea. Not a leaf falls but He knows about it, and there is no grain in the darkness of earth, nor anything which moist nor dry but is inscribed in a clear book. His knowledge encompasses everything, He knows everything of all things.

)قل اطيعوا الله والرسول فان تولوا فان الله لا يحب الكافرين(

This ayah means: “Say: Obey Allah and the messenger. But if they turn away, Allah does not like disbelievers”.

Although Allah Ta’ala, eternally knew what will happen, He, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, ordered people to obey Him and do good, and forbade them from disobeying and doing evil.

Because Allah is Just, therefore, He sent messages and messengers to people to deliver His orders and guide people to the right path of worship, obedience and doing good. On the other hand, the message was to warn them from disobedience and evil doing.

)وان من شيء الا عندنا خزائنه وما ننزله الا بقدر معلوم (

The meaning of this ayah is: “And there is not a thing but with Us are the sources thereof. And we give it in appointed measure”.

All the creation is subjugated by His decree and will. No speck moves except by His will and decree.

Imam At-Tahhawiyy is pointing to two important attributes of Allah, Ta’ala, and they are Al-Qudrah and Al-Mashee’ah, which means the decree and will.

These attributes are like the rest of Allah’s attributes, eternal, everlasting, not created and not subject to change. Nothing in the universe happens from entities bigger than galaxies and smaller than atoms unless the will and decree of Allah decree for it to happen. Nothing can be executed unless Allah permits.

32- ومشيئته تنفذ لا مشيئة للعباد إلا ما شاء لهم، فما شاء لهم كان، وما لم يشأ لم يكن.

32- His will is executed. The will of the creation cannot overcome His Will. What He wills occurs; and what He does not will, could never happen.

)قل اللهم مالك الملك تؤتي الملك من تشاء وتنزع الملك ممن تشاء وتعز من تشاء وتذل من تشاء بيدك الخير انك على كل شيء قدير(

This ayah means: “Say: O Allah! The Lord of everything, you give unto whomever you like, and you take away from whomever you like, you elevate whom you like and you bring down whomever you like, in your hand is the good, and you are Omnipotent”.

Imam At-Tahhawiyy explicitly referring to the will of the creation (mashee’ah), yet, the will of the creation cannot contradict that of The Creator. Our will is created by Allah as per His eternal will.

Hence, if a creation wills for something to happen, it will only happen if it is permitted by Allah’s eternal will and decree. And if a creation wills for something to happen that Allah did not will for or decree, it could never happen.

( وما تشاؤون إلا أن يشاء الله إن الله كان عليما حكيما)

“ and your will, will not be executed unless Allah wills. He is all-knowing, all-wise”

33- He guides whomever He wills, protects them, and keeps them safe from harm, out of His kindness and generosity.

) ذلك هدى الله يهدي به من يشاء من عباده ولو اشركوا لحبط عنهم ما كانوا يعملون (

This ayah means: “Such is the guidance of Allah wherewith He guides whom He will of His creation, But if they associate anything with Him, all they did would be erased”.

Allah Almighty gives guidance to whoever He likes. In other words, He creates guidance in the heart and mind of those of some people. He also protects and guards some all due to His Kindness and generosity.

34- and He leads astray whoever He wills, disgraces them, and afflicts them, out of His justice.

) ولو شاء الله لجعلكم امة واحدة ولكن يضل من يشاء ويهدي من يشاء ولتسالن عما كنتم تعملون(

This ayah means: “Had Allah willed, He could have made you (all) one nation, but He sends whom He will astray and guides whom He will, and you will indeed be asked of what you used to do in your lives.”

Allah Almighty disgraces and afflicts whomever He wants justly. Every endowment from Him is due to His Generosity and every punishment from Him is just.

To Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, belong the universe and everything in it, He ordered people to obey Him and do the good, if they disobey Him, then they are eligible for His punishment and humiliation.

35- All of the creation is subjugated by His will, moving between His generosity, and His justice.

Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, created a will and the capacity to choose within his creation. People are always faced with choices that entail good or evil. They choose executing their will, intellect and free choice. They are accountable based on the choice they make, whether good or evil respectively.

If Allah gives them lots of endowments then it is due to His generosity, and if He strips it away from them, and punishes them, then it is due to His just. And in everything in life and thereafter, people and what happens to them are between the generosity and the just of Allah, Ta’ala.

Allah, Ta’ala, is clear of being attributed with opposites. Opposites are entities that have power to act against His will, or against His orders. The same thing applies to equals. Allah and His attributes are eternal, everlasting, not created and not subject to change. These attributes among the rest of the attributes of Allah are only suitable to Allah, Ta’ala. Allah, Ta’ala, is the Lord of Lords, no entity can be compared to Him in anyway, hence, there cannot be opposites, or equals to Him.

)هو الذي يحيي ويميت فاذا قضى امرا فانما يقول له كن فيكون (

The meaning of this ayah is: “He it is Who gives life and gives death. If He wants a thing, He wills for it to be and it is”.

No one can hinder what He decreed. Allah’s will and decree are executed, nothing can prevent them.

Al-Qada according to scholars of Ahlus Sunnah has two meanings, some scholars said it pertains to the will of Allah that decree things to happen. Some said Al-Qada pertains to creating things, which means brining them from the state of non-existence into the state of existence, and who can hinder what He decrees??

والله غالب على امره ولكن اكثر الناس لا يعلمون ) )

This ayah means: “Allah’s will, will be executed, but most people do not know”.

Allah’s sentence is just and is executed. No one can delay, nullify, void or put back what He willed. No one can prevent what He decreed, nor stops what He gives. He does in His dominion whatever He wills.

39- We have complete faith in Him, and firmly believe that everything happens due to Him.

Imam Abu Ja’far At-Tahhawiyy is concluding this section by firmly asserting our complete faith in Allah and what is decreed from Him. And that we firmly believe that everything that happens, happens due to Allah’s eternal knowledge, will, and decree

Belief in the Prophecy of Prophet Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam.

الإيمان بنبوة النبي محمد صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم:

40- وأن محمدا عبده المصطفى، ونبيه المجتبى، ورسوله المرتضى

40- And Muhammad is His most exalted worshipper, chosen Prophet, and beloved Messenger.

)يا ايها النبي انا ارسلناك شاهدا ومبشرا ونذيرا(

This ayah means: “O Prophet! We have sent you as a witness and a messenger, and a warner”.

Allah Ta’ala chose from mankind prophets and messengers to guide people to the right path, and to teach them about their Lord and Creator. The first of them was Adam and the last of them and their Seal was Prophet Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam.

Allah sent messengers to mankind to lead them to good and to deliver the commands of Allah to them. Therefore the presence of the Prophets or their message represent a continuing reminder of accountability to Allah in the day of judgment.

Those people who did not receive any Prophet, nor received any message, book, nor revelation, are not accountable in the day of judgment. They are not eligible for punishment either.

Our Prophet Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, is the final of Prophets and Messengers. He is Muhammad son of Abdullah, son of Abdul Muttaleb, son of Hashem, from the tribe of Quraysh. His tribe comes from Hijaz, which is the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. He was born in Makkah in the year of Abyssinians attack on Makkah, which correlates to 570 according to the Gregorian calendar. His mother is Aminah daughter of Wahb, son of Abd-Manaf, from the tribe of Quraysh.

His father passed away before his birth, and his mother along with his grandfather; the chief of Makkah; Abdul Muttaleb, took care of him until the age of six, when his mother passed away.

His grandfather took care of him until age nine when he passed away, and the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, moved to live in the house of his uncle Abu Taleb, who took care of him until he the Prophet got married at approximately twenty five years of age.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, was ordered to announce his message to the people at approximately forty years of age, and he spent twenty three years in his mission until he passed away at sixty three years in the city that was named after him; Al-Madina Al-Munawarra ( the city of the Prophet). The prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, spent thirteen years in Makkah and ten years in Madina, at the end of which, Islam was spread to the entire Arab peninsula and on the way to the rest of the world. May the best of peace and blessings be on him.

)ما كان محمد ابا احد من رجالكم ولكن رسول الله وخاتم النبيين وكان الله بكل شيء عليما(

This ayah means: “Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal(Final) of the Prophets; and Allah is All-Knower of all things”.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, is the last and seal of the Prophets. Among the most honorable of the prophets, -and they all are honorable-, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus son of Mary, and Muhammad who is the most honorable of all, may the best of peace and blessings be upon all of them. There is no prophet after him.

42- وإمام الأتقياء، وسيد المرسلين، وحبيب رب العالمين

42- He is the best of the pious worshippers, the most honored of all the messengers, and the beloved to The Lord of the worlds.

)وربك اعلم بمن في السماوات والارض ولقد فضلنا بعض النبيين على بعض واتينا داوود زبورا (

This ayah means: “And your Lord is Best Aware of all who are in the heavens and earth. And we favored some of the prophets above others, and unto David We gave the Psalms (zaboor)”.

In this section, al-imam At-Tahhawiyy is implicitly emphasizing the important of the Sunnah of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam. The best and shortest way to success is following the Prophet in everything, and since he is the best of pious worshippers, then his way (sunnah) is the shortest and best way to piety.

Among the most honorable of the prophets, -and they all are honorable-, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus son of Mary, and Muhammad who is the most honorable of all, may the best of peace and blessings be upon all of them.

The Prophet, sallallhu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam, is the most beloved to Allah Ta’ala, shouldn’t he be the most beloved to us as well then?

Loving him, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, is not by just claiming it, it is by belief, utterance and deeds. Following his footsteps and preserving his Sunnah is the key to success in this life and in the hereafter.

The ayah clearly states that “the prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, is the Seal, which means the final of the prophets”.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, came as the final messenger to the universe.

This is also another insight, that there will be some people who will falsely claim prophecy after the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, yet they are self-sent based on their own personal desire and deviation.

This claim was shown in history a few times, and every time Allah exposes their fraudulent nature and claims.

The Prophet, sallallhu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam, said in what Imam Bukhari narrated in his saheeh:

Anyone who claims prophecy after the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalhi wa sallam, belies the Qur’an and the saheeh of the Sunnah, and hence, departs from the folds of Islam.

44- وهو المبعوث إلى عامة الجن، وكافة الورى، بالحق والهدى، وبالنور والضياء.

44- He is the one who has been sent to all the jinn and all mankind with Truth and Guidance and with Light and Illumination.

) وما ارسلناك الا كافة للناس بشيرا ونذيرا ولكن اكثر الناس لا يعلمون(

This ayah means: “And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but as a bringer of good tidings and a warner unto all mankind; but most of mankind do not know”.

There many prophets before Prophet Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, and every prophet used to be sent to his people, tribe, or town. The message of the Prophet Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, is a consistent continuation of the messages of the prophets before him, the core of which to call people to worship The Creator, one creator, and to do good and avoid evil. No prophet will be sent by Allah after Prophet Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam. But the uniqueness of Prophet Muhammad’s message, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, is that his message was not restricted to his tribe, town, people, or even mankind!, it is a universal message for everybody and everything in everywhere for all time to come.

45- وإن القرآن كلام الله, منه بدا بلا كيفية قولا

45- The Qur’an is the word of Allah, it came from Him without (saying) how.

)ولقد اتيناك سبعا من المثاني والقران العظيم(

The ayah means: “And We have given seven of the repeated verses (Al-Fatiha) and the Glorious Qur’an”.

The glorious Qur’an being “kalamu Allah” means the book of Allah, or the book that was revealed by Allah to the angel Gabriel to the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam.

Saying this the Qur’an is the word of Allah is not meant in the literal sense. Even though we say that the Qur’an is the word of Allah, Allah Ta’ala, is not attributed with speech like ours, which consists of words, letters, alphabets, language, sounds, etc... Attributing Allah with alphabets, languages, uttering letters, sounds, etc. leads to anthropomorphism (Tajseem) or Likening Allah to His creatures (Tashbeeh). Because all letters, allalphabets, sounds are a creation of Allah, and we have already established that Allah cannot be attributed with anything of the creation. Both Tashbeeh and Tajseem lead to blasphemy. Nothing is like Him in everything, subhanahu wa Ta’ala.

One is incapacitated to understand “the how” it was revealed from Allah to the angel Gabriel to the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam. Simply because when the question of how is asked, our answer will only contain methods known to us or imaginable to us, and all of that cannot apply to Allah, He is clear of non-befitting attributes.

46- وأنزله على رسوله وحيا , وصدقه المؤمنون على ذلك حقا،

46- He ( Allah) revealed it (The Qur’an) to His prophet, and the believers testified to it as the absolute truth with a firm faith.

The book was revealed by Allah to the angel Gabriel, and then to the Prophet Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam. The Qur’an is not the words of angel Gabriel nor the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalhi wa sallam, both of them are messengers. The believers who witnessed the revelation and corroborated it with the events and contents, testified that this is the truth from Allah.

47- وأيقنوا أنه كلام الله تعالى بالحقيقة، ليس بمخلوق ككلام البرية

47- They (the believers) firmly believed that the Qur’an is the true word of Allah, it is not created as in the speech of human beings.

The glorious Qur’an has many miraculous aspects to it, they are revealed continuously. Among the miracles of the Qur’an;

a- The linguistic challenge, anyone who listens to the Qur’an up until our days and for the rest of time to come realizes that no man can come up with even a sentence similar to the Qur’an from a linguistic point of view.

b- The scientific challenge, the Qur’an elaborated on many scientific facts and talked about a variety of scientific subjects, from geology, to marine biology, to embryology, among many others.

c- These miracles remain until our days after 1424 years witnessing the glory of the Book of Allah, and testifying to its authenticity.

48- فمن سمعه فزعم أنه كلام البشر فقد كفر، وقد ذمه الله وعابه، وأوعده بسقر، حيث قال تعالى: (سأصليه سقر) ، فلما أوعد الله بسقر لمن قال: (إن هذا إلا قول البشر)

48- Anyone who hears it and claims that it is the words of humans has become an unbeliever. Allah condemned him, disgraced him and promised him Hellfire when He said (in Surat Al-Muddathther, ayah 26, which means): “I will torture him in Hellfire”. When Allah threatens with Hellfire,it is for those who say: ”This is just the words of humans” (the meaning of Ayah 25 in Surat- Al-Muddaththir).

Some people out of ignorance, hatred, or deviation accused the Prophet, sallallhu alayhi wa aalhi wa sallam, as he made the Qur’an up. Allah, Ta’ala, challenged them to bring even an Ayah similar to the Qur’an, which they failed to do then, now and for ever to come.

Having failed this ongoing challenge, they unleashed a malicious campaign of rumors against the Book of Allah. Allah Ta’ala, promised them Hellfire, and they are unbelievers, as humans can never come up with even a verse similar to the Qur’an.

Moreover, unlike some other revelations that have been tampered with, Allah, Ta’ala, promised to safeguard the Qur’an and that is witnessed until now, and will be as such forever. This is another continuing miracle and challenge simultaneously.

49- علمنا وأيقنا أنه قول خالق البشر، ولا يشبه قول البشر.

49- We know and firmly believe that the Qur’an is the word of The Creator of mankind and that it is does not resemble that of humans.

Imam At-Tahhawiyy is reaffirming the belief of Muslims that the Qur’an is the Book of Allah, and stating the fact that no human can ever come up with anything like it.

كفر من قال بالتشبيه التجسيم و الحض على تفويض المعاني المتشابهة الى الله :

50- ومن وصف الله بمعنى من معاني البشر فقد كفر

50- Whosoever attributes Allah with (even one) attribute of human beings becomes a blasphemer.

This ayah means: “ The Lord of Majesty, is above what they attribute Him with (non-suitable attributes)”.

This is the core of Islamic belief. Islam is based on distinguishing The Creator from the creation. More than one third of the Qur’an is concentrated on Tawheed emphasizing this fact.

Anytime anybody ascribes Allah Ta’ala even with one attribute of a human being, he/she is rendered a blasphemer(Murtadd) and departed the circle of Islam.

Due to cultural invasion and religious ignorance, may people unfortunately who claim to be Muslims attribute non-befitting attributes to Allah Ta’ala, rendering themselves non-believers instantly.

No attribute of characteristic of the human beings can be attributed to Allah Ta’ala. Allah Ta’ala is not a human being, nor does He look like one in anyway or characteristic. Among the attributes of humans are having a beginning, change, development, impacted or affected, gender, physique, limbs, organs, morphology, mass, color, movement or still, being in a place, etc…

Attributing any of the above mentioned human attributes to Allah literally leads to blasphemy and one departs out of the folds of Islam saying, believing or acting based on these things.

51- فمن أبصر هذا اعتبر، وعن مثل قول الكفار انزجر، وعلم أنه بصفاته ليس كالبشر.

51- Anyone who grasp this should take note of it, and refrain from saying things such as the unbelievers say. They should know that He, and His Attributes, is not like human beings.

) هو الله الذي لا اله الا هو الملك القدوس السلام المؤمن المهيمن العزيز الجبار المتكبر سبحان الله عما يشركون (

This ayah means: “He is Allah, the is no God but Him, the Lord, the One Who is pure from any imperfection, the One who is clear from every imperfection, the One who witnessed for Himself that there is no God but Him, the One who witnesses the saying and deeds of His creatures, the defeater Who is not defeated, the One for Whom nothing happens in His dominion except what he willed, the One who is clear of the attributes of the creatures and of resembling them, Glorify to Him, He is above all that they ascribe Him with”.

Al-imam Abu Ja’far At-Tahhawiyy is stating that any one who understood what Allah promised for those who liken Him to His creatures will never say or belief such a thing. Allah, Ta’ala, created us and sent messengers so we can worship Him. The only way to worship Him is to know Him. Knowing Him is realized in distinguishing His attributes from His creation. Failure to do so leads to blasphemy and misguidance.

52- والرؤية حق لأهل الجنة بغير إحاطة ولا كيفية، كما نطق به كتاب ربنا: (وجوه يومئذ ناضرة إلى ربها ناظرة)

52- The people of Paradise will see their Lord without their vision being all-encompassing and without “the how” of their vision being known, as the Book of Allah said in Surat Al-Qiyamah, ayah 22: (which means):

Al-imam Abu Ja’far At-Tahhawiyy is mentioning the belief of the majority of Muslims that those who succeed and enter paradise will see Allah Ta’ala, BUT without Him being in a place, and without “how”. In other words it is simply unimaginable, as Allah Ta’ala, is not a mass that occupies space nor is He contained in a direction, subhanahu wa Ta’ala. Therefore when some Ahlus Sunnah scholars said there is a vision, they made sure to stay clear of attributing Allah with being in a place or contained in a space.

Al-imam At-Tahhawiyy brought forth the proof on seeing Allah from the Ayah in Surat Al-Qiyamah which talks about the good people whose faces are going to be radiant in the day of judgment, looking to their Lord.

Some scholars differed in opinion and said that Allah Ta’ala cannot be seen, not now nor in paradise. They said seeing Him meaning a reflection of an object, a mass and a distance, etc.. which is impossible. Their proof is the ayah 103 in surat Al-An’aam where Allah Ta’ala said:

They also interpreted the ayah in Surat Al-Qiyamah, as looking forth to the reward of their Lord.

53- وتفسيره على ما أراده الله تعالى وعَلِمَه، وكل ما جاء في ذلك من الحديث الصحيح عن الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم فهو كما قال، ومعناه على ما أراد

53- We submit the true meaning and interpretation of the above verse (regarding vision) to what Allah wants and knows, and everything that has come to us about this from the Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa aalhi wa sallam, in authentic traditions, is as he said and its meaning and interpretation is exactly what he intended.

This is a very important rule in Tawheed and Tafseer of the Qur’an and Hadeeth. It explicitly and clearly dictates the method in which all Muslims should follow to understand the verses of the Qur’an, or prophetic quotations that talk about Allah Ta’ala.

The method is SUBMISSION. Submitting the true meaning to Allah is the safest way, as NO ONE knows what they truly mean anyway but Allah.

Many people attempt to interpret the meaning of some verses according to their own understanding and capacity, which sometimes leads to chaos, confusion and even blasphemy. Many people fell in anthropomorphism in their attempt to extract the exact meaning of some verses, in which they applied human features and human standards to Allah. This is a clear blasphemy. Allah, Ta’ala, warned us from seeking that of which we have no knowledge or basis.

The following Qur’anic verse lays out the solid foundation for this understanding and clears any doubt:

( هو الذي انزل عليك الكتاب منه ايات محكمات هن ام الكتاب واخر متشابهات فاما الذين في قلوبهم زيغ فيتبعون ما تشابه منه ابتغاء الفتنة وابتغاء تاويله وما يعلم تاويله الا الله والراسخون في العلم يقولون امنا به كل من عند ربنا وما يذكر الا اولوا الالباب )

“He it is Who has revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture wherein are clear verses (Muh’kamat), they are the foundation (basis) of the Book, and others (which are) metaphorical(mutashaabihaat). But those in whose hearts are deviousness, follow the metaphorical verses seeking (to cause) dissension and friction by seeking to (literally) understand their true meaning.

No one knows their true meanings but Allah. And those who are of sound knowledge say: We believe in them as revealed; all is from our Lord; but only men of understanding really heed.”

Hence, the Qur’an explicitly says that we have two kinds of verses. Clear verses (ayat Muh’kamat) and metaphorical verses (ayat mutashaabihaat).

Many of the verses that talk about Allah Ta’ala, or his attributes are considered among the metaphorical verses. Because our human intellectual capacity is limited, it is incapacitated to understand and encompass Allah Ta’ala or how his true attributes are. Therefore, Allah Ta’ala, talked to us in a way we understand yet warned us from imagining that He or His attributes are similar to ours in anyway.

The safest way to understand these kinds of Ayahs is to believe in them with the meaning Allah willed, and wanted, not to interpret them, and to surrender and submit to them the way they are stated in the Quran. However, if interpretations are done, they should be
within the limits of the Islamic faith, thus satisfying two conditions; one is not to liken Allah to His creature and the second is not to negate His attributes.

1- Allah told us the Honorable Quran contains two types of Ayat; the first type is Ayat Muhkamat: these are the ayat that have and can only have one meaning according to the rules of the Arabic language, Qur’an and Sunnah. or else the meaning of the Ayah is clearly known. Examples are what Allah, Ta'ala, said in Surat Al-Ikhlas, ayah 4:

This ayah clearly and intellectually cannot accept any other meaning or interpretation. It clearly indicate one meaning.

Nothing means absolutely nothing, which includes whatever illusions, delusions or imaginations one may have. They are all wrong, because we can never capacitate Him, because He is The Creator, and we are his creation. Nothing is like Him.

There are many examples of ayat muhkamat for the seeker through out the Honorable Qur’an.

2- The other type of Ayah in the Honorable Quran is called according to the Quran Ayat Mutashabihat. The Ayat Mutashabihat: are the type of ayat that can have multiple meanings in the Arabic language.

Many people who attempted to translate the Qur’an into other languages or those half-knowledgeables who attempted to dive in the science of Tafseer(Qur’anic interpretations) without proper academic knowledge in Tafseer, and they knowingly or unknowingly disembarked into an unknown territory for them which led many of them to commit serious mistakes.

Some have interpreted the above ayah with: “Allah is firmly established on the throne”. They committed at least two errors in their effort to interpret and understand the ayah, one in arbitrarily interpreting the Arabic word Istawa as established, and the other interpreting the word Al-Arsh as the Throne.

This ayah is clearly among the ayat Mutashaabihaat, and submission to Allah in its true meaning is the safest way. This kind of irresponsible and erroneous interpretation may lead to misguidance, chaos and confusion. And if some imagination are led to imagine, then that is the pathway to blasphemy, may Allah safeguard us all.

Whereby Istawa can have many meanings. In the Qur’an itself, the word Istawa have seven different meanings. In the Arabic language Istawa has more than twelve different meanings. Picking and choosing one meaning rather than the other is the source of the problem.

Here are some examples of ayahs in the Qur’an that contain the word Istawa with totally different meanings in every ayah;

( هو الذي خلق لكم ما في الأرض جميعا ثم استوى إلى السماء فسواهن سبع سماوات وهو بكل شيء عليم )

“He Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then istawa to the heaven and made them seven heavens.

The word istawa in this ayah means: willed, or decreed the creation of seven heavens.

(إن ربكم الله الذي خلق السماوات والأرض في ستة أيام ثم استوى على العرش يدبر الأمر)"

“your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then He istawa over the Arsh, directing all things.

( ولما بلغ أشده واستوى آتيناه حكما وعلما وكذلك نجزي المحسنين )

“And when he reached his full strength and became a man, We gave him wisdom and knowledge. Thus do We reward the good.

The word istawa in this ayah means that Musa, alayhi assalam, grew up and became a young man.

It is referring to the angel Gabriel: “He who is powerful, and he became clear to view”

( لتستووا على ظهوره ثم تذكروا نعمة ربكم اذا استويتم عليه وتقولوا سبحان الذي سخر لنا هذا وما كنا له مقرنين)

“That you may mount upon their backs, and may remember your Lord's favor when you mount thereon “

( وقيل يا ارض ابلعي ماءك ويا سماء اقلعي وغيض الماء وقضي الامر واستوت على الجودي)

This ayah is referring to the time of prophet Noah after the water ceased and earth was coming back to normal, indicating the stability of the ship on the water of the ocean. Allah said which means:

“And it was said: O earth! Swallow thy water and, O sky! be cleared of clouds! And the water was made to subside. And the commandment was fulfilled. And it (the ship) came to be stable upon the water.

The word istawa here refers to the state of stability and comfortable sailing on the water.

( هل يستوي الذين يعلمون والذين لا يعلمون انما يتذكر اولوا الالباب)"

There much more examples from the Qur’an, and the Arabic language that assign different meaning to istawa.

Anthropomorphists or the Mushabbihah, deviously interpret what Allah, ta'ala, said in Surat Taha, Ayah 5 :

As we have previously seen, the word “istawa” has many different meanings, some of which cannot be attributed to Allah Ta’ala. The best way in understanding this ayah is believing in it while submitting the entire meaning of it to Allah, knowing that nothing is like Him.

Anthropomorphists chose one meaning out of the many possible meanings istawa may have and assigned it to Allah Ta’ala. They erroneously claim that the Ayah means that Allah sits on the throne. This is a plain example of likening Allah to His creatures. This statement negates Tawheed and causes the one who says or believes it to depart from Islam. The Meaning of this Ayah is: (Allah Istawa over the Arsh), and it does not under any circumstances mean that Allah sits on the throne or is established on the throne. The reason is simple, because sitting and being established involves actions applicable to humans and involves being in a place and confined to a space, which results in blasphemy.

According to the Arabic language, Istawa has more than fifteen different meanings, among of which are to sit, to subjugate, to protect, to conquer, to preserve, etc. It is a clear blasphemy to apply a meaning in interpreting this Ayah that results in likening Allah to His creation.

Those who wish to indulge in the interpretation of the Qur’an, cannot choose meanings that imply human actions or features, as they are non-befitting to Allah, Ta’ala.

Muslims believe in this Honorable Ayah and all of Allah's ayahs without negating any of them nor likening Him to His creatures. Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’a believe regarding this Ayah is :

“ Places do not contain Him. nor do the directions, earth, or heavens. He is attributed with an Istiwa over the Arsh as He said in the Quran with the meaning He willed, and not as what people may delude. It is an Istiwa which is clear of touching, resting, holding, moving and containment. Because Al Arsh does not carry Him. but rather Al Arsh and those that carry Al Arsh are all carried by Allah with His Power and are subjugated to Him. He is above the Arsh and above the heavens and above everything -in status- an aboveness that does not give Him proximity to Al Arsh or the heavens as it does not give Him firmess from earth. He is higher in status than Al Arsh and the heavens, as He is higher in status than earth and the rest of the creation."

The literal translation of the ayah would be: the hand of Allah is above their hands. Yet, we have already established that Allah Ta’ala is clear of being attributed with organs and limbs, as that resembles humans. Therefore, we can unequivocally state, that the meaning here does not refer to an actual physical limb which is a hand.

The true meaning is known only to Allah, and among the suitable meanings could be the blessings of Allah is bestowed upon them, etc.. The best way though, is to submit the entire meaning to Allah. Submission (Tafweedh) is the best and safest methodology.

According to the rules of the Arabic language, these ayat are Mutashabihat; so they can have many meanings. If meanings are assigned to them, this must be done in compliance with the Aqeedah, Saheeh Hadeeth and the Arabic language, and it cannot contradict the foundational ayat (muhkamat.)

Surely the ayat of the Quran do not contradict one another, likewise are the ahadeeth do not contradict one another or the Quran.

There are two methodologies in understanding the Ayat al-Mutashabihat, both of them are valid, besides, they are the traditions of the Salaf Assaaleh. The first methodology is called Submission (Tafweedh) and the second is called Interpretation (Ta'weel). The Salaf and the Khalaf of the guided Muslims relied on both methods equally and simultaneously. The Methodology of Tafweed: believing that these ayat have meanings befitting to the perfection of Allah, in the way they are stated in the Quran without trying to understand what they really mean. In other words, rather than saying what these ayat mean in reality, they referred these Mutashabihat ayat to the muhkamat ayat which constitute the foundation of the Quran.

Tafweedh really means submitting the entire meaning to Allah and not interfering with it. An example of Tafweedh is what Imam Ashaffiy, radiyallahu anhu, said :” I believe in what Allah revealed according to the meaning that Allah willed, and in what the Messenger of Allah conveyed according to the meaning that the Messenger of Allah willed.” An example of Ta’weel is what Imam Bukhari, rahimahu Allah, said in interpreting Ayah 88, in Surat Al-Qasas in his Saheeh :

( كل شيء هالك الا وجهه له الحكم واليه ترجعون)"

The literal translation of the Ayah is: everything will perish but His Face, However, the meaning of the Ayah according to Imam Bukhari is: (Everything will perish but His Dominion.) Because additions like face, leg, shin, lingers, foot....etc. is not applicable to Allah The Exalted.

In other words, the proper befitting meanings are not according to the sensuous and physical meanings that delusions would lead to, such as places, shapes, limbs, colors, movements, sitting, directions, smiling, running, laughing, forgetting, or any other meanings which are not permissible to be attributed to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Furthermore, the Arabs during the first three centuries spoke the Arabic language with a natural disposition and great eloquence. Their understanding of its meaning was very sharp and sufficient. They understood that these kinds of Ayahs have meanings that befit Allah, and that it is impossible
they would have sensuous and physical meanings which do not befit Allah, The Exalted.

Imam Al Bayhaqi, radiyallahu anhu, in his book "Al-Mutaqad" related that when the scholars of the Salaf were asked about how to understand the Mutashabihat, said : " Accept them as they came without applying a "how" to them." Without applying a "how" to them, means that Allah is clear of being
attributed with sitting, resting, moving, limbs, organs,..etc, it does not mean that His Istiwa over the throne (Arsh) has a "how" of which we are ignorant. On the contrary, the scholars completely negated that a "how" could be applied to Allah. So the statement of those who say: Allah sits on the Throne but we do not know how? Is rejected and leads to blasphemy.

Similarly the statement that many people falsely related to Malik that he said "Istiwa is known and the "how" is unknown". This statement cannot be related to Malik in anyway and is baseless. It is affirmed about Imam Malik Ibn Anas, radiyallahu anhu, in what Imam Al-Bayhaqi related with a sound chain by way of Abdullah bin Wahb, that we were at Malik's when a man entered and said; O Aba Abdillah, arhmanu ala alarsh istwa, how did He Istawa? Malik Looked down astonishingly and then lifted his head and said: alal Arsh Istwa as He attributed to Himself, it is invalid to say how, and how does not apply to him. Malik further said: I see that you are an innovator, take him out."

Moreover, Imam Al-Hafez Ibn Hajr Al-Asqalaani, radiyallahu anhu, related in his valuable book " Sharh saheeh Al Bukhari" that Ummul Mu'mineen Ummu Salama, the wife of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: " The attribute of the Istiwa is not unknown, because it is mentioned in the book of Allah, Al-kayf, that is, the 'how' of it is inconceivable, because its applicability is impossible."

Hence, it is important to beware of the various books that claim adhering to the Sunnah or the Salaf, even some translations of the Quran, because in many cases they contain false interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah, spreading their spoiled beliefs among Muslims. The Mushabbihah are exhausting major resources to deceive Muslims and to inject their ill-philosophies of likening Allah to His creatures, attributing to Him light, hand, hands, eyes, shin, foot, fingers, faces, sitting, places, directions, ..etc., into Islam Know firmly, that Allah, Ta'ala, is clear of all imperfections and is above being attributed with that.

54- لا ندخل في ذلك متأولين بآرائنا، ولا متوهمين بأهوائنا.

54- We do not dwell into that (those kinds of verses), trying to interpret it according to our own opinions nor our imaginations.

This is stressing on the methodology of submission (Tafweedh). As Allah Ta’ala, is the only one who truly knows the true meanings of everything.

55- فإنه ما سلم في دينه إلا من سلَّم لله عز وجل ولرسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ورَدَّ عِلْم ما اشتبه عليه إلى عالمه.

55- No one is safe in his faith unless he/she submits themselves completely to Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, and to His Messenger, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, and leaves the knowledge of things that are ambiguous to the one who knows them.

Al-Imam At-Tahhawiyy, make it very clear and unambiguous in his approach of why should anyone try to guess a meaning of something no one knows the extent thereof. The best is to believe in the verse and submit the true meaning to Allah and His Prophet. People of knowledge maybe able to elaborate to a certain extent on some of these meanings based on the firm foundation of “nothing is like Him”, the Qur’an, the Saheeh of the Sunnah, the Arabic language and the intellect.

56- ولاتثبت قدم الإسلام إلا على ظهر التسليم والاستسلام

56- One’s foot will not be safe in Islam unless it is based on submission and surrender.

This is a great rule in Islam referring again to the methodology of submission of the entire meaning to Allah and His prophet when the ayah or hadeeth pertain to Allah or His attributes.

Believe in the ayah and submit its entire meaning, believing that nothing is like Him.

57- فمن رام عِلْمَ ما حُظِر عنه علمه، ولم يقنع بالتسليم فهمه، حجبه مرامه عن خالص التوحيد، وصافي المعرفة، وصحيح الإيمان، فيتذبذب بين الكفر والإيمان، والتصديق والتكذيب، والإقرار والإنكار، موسوسا تائها، زائغا شاكا، لا مؤمنا مصدقا، ولا جاحدا مكذبا.

57- Whosoever desires to know things which it is beyond his/her capacity, and whose intellect is not satisfied with submission, will remain deprived of the pure monotheism (Tawheed), true faith and correct belief, and that he/she will be swinging between disbelief and belief, affirmation and denial and acceptance and rejection. He/She will be uncertain and confused, devious and doubtful, being neither a submitting believer nor a denying rejector.

The meaning is self-explanatory, and it applies to those whose minds refuse to realize their limited capacities. Hence, they indulge into the unknown to them led by their blind curiosity and devious philosophies. They end up assigning meanings and attributes to Allah that are compatible with their intellectual capacity, not realizing that it is deficient and imperfect, this may lead to blasphemy.

Therefore, many philosophers reached some truths and believed in them, and fell short of others and disbelieved in them.

Believing some and disbelieving some is practically disbelief, as because disbelieving in one attribute of Allah renders a Muslim, unbeliever(murtadd).

In order to reach the state of pure understanding of Tawheed, one must believe in Allah and His attributes, and submit the true meanings to Allah, subhanahu wa Ta’ala.

58- ولا يصح الإيمان بالرؤية لأهل دار السلام لمن اعتبرها منهم بوهم، أو تأولها بفهم

58- It is invalid for those who will enter paradise to believe that they will see Allah if they imagine what it is like, or interprets it according to his own understanding.

Al-imam At-Tahhawiyy is stressing again on the vision of Allah for the people of paradise by re-affirming that it cannot be imagined nor capacitated. Simply, a belief in it with total submission to Allah, along with the firm belief that Allah Ta’ala cannot be confined to a place, physically present in one direction or space, nor is He a mass, nor consists of light, nor veiled by anything, etc. Nothing is like Him.

59- إذا كان تأويل الرؤية وتأويل كل معنى يضاف إلى الربوبية بترك التأويل ولزوم التسليم، وعليه دين المسلمين.

59- Because the interpretation of this seeing' but indeed, the meaning of any thing which pertain to the realm of Lordship, is by avoiding its interpretation and strictly adhering to the submission, and this is the basis of the religion of Muslims.

It seems that Al-Imam At-Tahhawiyy, rahimahu Allah, is repeating a few concepts in different ways to stress on their sensitivity and importance.

This is of course, the most sensitive topic in the Islamic faith and it is where many people deviate and fall.

Avoiding superficial or literal interpretation and submission of the entire meaning to Allah is the foundation of the Muslim’s faith.

60- ومن لم يتوَقَّ النفي والتشبيه زل ولم يصب التنزيه

60- Whosoever does not avoid negating the attributes of Allah, or likening Allah to humans, then indeed has gone astray and has missed the correct belief in Allah.

Negating Allah’s attributes and likening Him to humans are the two most common and most dangerous pitfalls in which people tend to fall in. Both of which lead to blasphemy.

Tanzeeh means clearing Allah from non-suitable attributes and this is the objective of every believer. One must be extremely cautious not to make a mistake that would void Tanzeeh, and be thrown, as a result into blasphemy.

The seed of happiness and success in this life and the hereafter is in this Tawheed (monotheism). Tanzeeh, or clearing Allah from non-suitable attributes is the core of Tawheed. Tawheed is the most honorable knowledge, and is strictly and entirely derived from the Quran and the Saheeh of the Sunnah. It does happen to coincide with the sound intellect as well. The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, spent thirteen years in Makkah teaching his household and companions Tawheed.

(Say: He is Allah, The One; Allah, The Master Who is relied upon in matters and is resorted to in one's needs; He beget not, Nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him.)

This Sura constitutes the basis of Tanzeeh. Under its light, we can say that, the first concept in Tawheed is to firmly believe and understand that Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and His attributes are far beyond our limited conceptions and capacities.

Simply stated, what we know about Allah, The Exalted, is just what He told us through His attributes and Names of Perfection. We are absolutely not to assume anything else, as this could lead to blasphemy. This Islamic nation is distinguished with this pure Tawheed, since we were commanded by Allah and His Prophet, to avoid the pitfalls into which nations have fallen at various times in trying to understand Allah, Ta’ala. The two major ones are two very dangerous and ancient philosophies that still exist; the first one is likening Allah to humans. These people are called (Anthropomorphists) which in Arabic means: Ahlut-Tajseem or Ahlut-Tashbeeh*. Their faith is spoiled by their serious innovation and deviation, may Allah safeguard everybody from their evil. Anthropomorphists are by definition non-Muslims.

The second pitfall is negating one or more of Allah's attributes. Those people are called Ahlut-Ta'teel. Hence, it is mandatory for all Muslims to learn and believe with perfect certainty and beyond doubt, that Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, is The One and Only God, the Only One to Whom worship is due, and nothing is like Him.

* Ahlut-Tajseem: are called (Mujassimah). Tajseem is derived from the Arabic word "jism " which means "body". Ahlut-Tashbeeh (or Mushabbihah): Tashbeeh means to liken things to other things. Ahlut-Tashbeeh and Ahlut-Tajseem: are almost synonymous meaning Anthropomorphists. They liken Allah to His Creatures, by attributing Him, subhanahu wa ta'ala, with attributes of a human body. Attributing Allah, The Exalted, with attributes of humans is an obvious blasphemy.

All other things or beings that we can think of are His creatures and in absolutely no way comparable to Him. The meaning of the name of Allah (Al Wahed) is the One Who does not have a partner, and there is no similar to Him. Allah, ta'ala, said in the Quran Surat Ashura, Ayah 11:

This Ayah clearly and plainly confirms the fact stating: (Nothing is like Him). He has been ever-existent in eternity, His existence did not have a beginning. He is ever-existent everlastingly, there is no end to His existence. His existence is always necessary. His non-existence is impossible. His existence is of Himself. He does not need any means. However, there is nothing that is not in need of Him. He is not material or a thing. He is not at a place or in any substance. He does not have a shape and cannot be measured. It cannot be asked how He is; when we say "He", none of the things which occur to the mind or which we can imagine is He. He is unlike these, because all of them and everything are His creatures. He is not in any way similar to His creation. He is The Creator of everything that occurs to the mind, every illusion and every delusion. Delusions do not apply to Him, He is not encompassed by the mind, nor is He conceivable in it. He is not imagined in the self nor is He pictured in delusions. Al-Imam Than-Noon Al-Masri, rahimahu Allah, said:

Allah Ta'ala, is The One, who created your imagination, thus, whatever you imagine is a creation, and the Creator does not resemble his creation. Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, asks in Surat Maryam, Ayah 65 :

( رب السماوات والارض وما بينهما فاعبده واصطبر لعبادته هل تعلم له سميا )

Which means: (Do you know of anyone who is similar to Him????) O'Allah, we declare and believe that there is no one similar to You, You are The One, praise be to You.

Imam Ashafi'iy, radiyallahu anhu, said: " Whoever seeks to know his Creator, and conclude that his Creator is something that exists which his mind can imagine, then he is an anthropomorphist (Mushabbeh). If he believes is pure nonexistence, then he is a negator (Mu'attel) or a denier. If he concluded that Allah exists, and admits consequently that his mind cannot conceive Him, then he is Muwahhed (practicing Tawheed).

Since no one knows the Reality of Allah except Allah, Muslims scholars led by Ibn Abbas said: " Think of the creation of Allah and do not think of the Self of Allah.." This is so because our knowledge of Allah is only through knowing what is revealed to us in the Qur’an and the saheeh of the Sunnah. Whoever thinks about Allah and imagines a picture, or has an illusion or a delusion and believes that this is Allah, is not Muslim.

Al-Imam Al-Muffasser Al-Qurtuby rahimahu Allah, said in his book "At-Tathkaar" about the Mushabihhah and the Mujassimah (anthropomorphists): "They are Kuffar (blasphemers/unbelievers), this is the right sentence. Because there is no difference between them and the idol worshippers."

Indeed, there is no difference according to all Muslim scholars, the idol worshipper worships a picture that he sculptured, and the Mushabbeh or the Mujassem worships a picture that he imagined.

Al-Imam Ahmad Ar-Rifa'iy Al-Kabeer, radiyallahu anhu, said: " The ultimate knowledge about Allah is to be certain the He exists without a how and without a place."

The Mushabihhah or the Mujassimah, believe that Allah is a body (usually they do not specify the shape or size). They believe and imagine that Allah is like a great king sitting on a huge chair/ throne. They also believe that Allah!!! (Subhanahu wa Ta 'ala) occupies what is above the seventh heaven, and that he consists of organs i.e. hands, fingers, face, leg, foot. eyes, buttock, thighs... etc., (again, they usually do not specify the shape or size of these organs). They also believe that Allah sits on his royal chair/arsh!, and that He moves, comes and goes, and that He resides in a place above the 7th heaven physically (in the upper direction), and that this world is also eternal with Allah, and that Hellfire will perish, and they believe that Allah in the day of judgment will move over four fingers from His arsh or kursiy where He sits, so the Prophet can sit next to Him....etc. They, may Allah denounce them, claim that Allah does all these things (i.e. sitting, coming down, going up...etc) PHYSICALLY, however, they add a statement " in a way that suits his majesty". Once I discussed this subject with one of them, and at the end I told him " you are insane, without how, in a way that suits your majesty ". Then he realized that after attributing Allah, ta 'ala, with attributes of creatures such as sitting, it does not really matter what you add after that, and it will not change the original meaning. Know, may Allah guide us and you, that attributing these things to Allah, The Exalted, is the essentials of Kufr and the true blasphemy itself, and whoever believes this, is not Muslim regardless of his claims. Remember Islam is not a claim it is rather a faith that is manifested by belief, utterance and deeds. May Allah safeguard us from any blasphemy. Ameen.

61- فإن ربنا جل وعلا موصوف بصفات الوحدانية، منعوت بنعوت الفردانية، ليس في معناه أحد من البرية.

61- Indeed, our Lord, The Exalted, is only be attributed with the attributes of Oneness, Absolute uniqueness and no creation is in any way like Him.

In conclusion, we say that Allah and His attributes are attributed with the absolute uniqueness. They do not change, develop, or perish. He is now like He eternally was, when nothing else existed but Him Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.

He eternally existed with His attributes. He has always had these attributes and will always have them. They did not increase nor decrease after He brought His creatures into existence. The meaning of the previously mentioned Ayah 11, in Surat Ashura: (Nothing is like Him, and He is attributed with Hearing and Sight) constitutes one of the most essential fundamentals of Islam, and distinguish the Islamic faith from any other.

Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, is not a body or a soul. He does not occupy places. He is not subject to time, simply stated, He cannot be imagined in the mind. He is attributed with Hearing and Sight, however, Allah's Hearing and Sight are among His attributes Ta'ala, and they do not under any circumstances resemble the hearing and sight of His creation.

We, creatures, need organs and instruments for our hearing and sight to be effective. Allah's hearing is not with an ear, tympanic membrane, or the like. Similarly, is His sight, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, it is not with a pupil or any other instrument. He, Ta'ala, is unlike anything.

Similarly, all other attributes of Allah, i.e. Existence, Oneness, Will, Knowledge, Life, and the like. They do not resemble those of the creatures. Allah said in Surat An-Nah’l, Ayah 60:

This Ayah means : ( Allah has attributes that do not resemble the attributes of others).

Consequently, Allah exists, however. His Existence does not resemble that of others. Allah, Ta'ala, said in Surat Ibrahim, Ayah 10:

This Ayah means : (Is there a doubt in Allah (in the Existence of Allah), The Creator of the heavens and the earths.)

He exists without a beginning, without an end, and without being attributed with a place, while our existence is dependant on all these factors and more.

It is also incumbent to know that Allah is the Only God, there is no God but Him. To this effect Allah said in Surat Muhammad, Ayah 19 :

( فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّه ُ)

This Ayah confirm the Oneness (Al Wahdaniyyah). Allah is One in His Self, Attributes and Doings. This means He has no partner and nothing is comparable to Him or His attributes.

We have previously established the proof that Allah, Ta'ala, is Eternal and Everlasting based on what He said in Surat Al-Hadeed, Ayah 3:

( هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيم)

“ He is The Eternal (without a beginning) and Everlasting (without an end), The One above Whom nothing exists and underneath Whom nothing exists, and He is All-knowing”

It is imperative to understand that only Allah existed in eternity and nothing else. He existed before the creation. All other creations i.e. heavens, earths, galaxies, space, time, place...etc., were non-existent.

The Perfect Name of Allah; Al-Awwal literally means The First. That of course means the One Whose existence is eternal and has no beginning. This Ayah also entails that only Allah has no beginning, hence, whosoever who believes the this world is eternal either by kind or element (i.e. has no beginning), has belied this Ayah, and whoever belies the Qur’an, departs from Islam to philosophy.

A man once came to al-Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb, the fourth caliphate of Rasoolullah, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, and asked him: " when did your Lord exist?.

Imam Bukhari related in his Saheeh by way of lmran bin Husayn, that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said :

The hadeeth means " Allah eternally existed and there was nothing else other than Him".

The Quran also tells us that Allah, Ta'ala, is not in need of others, Allah said in Surat Al-Ankabut, Ayah 6:

( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ)

Which means: (Allah is The Lord Who is not in need of anything, and everything is in need for Him)

62- وتعالى عن الحدود والغايات، والأركان والأعضاء والأدوات، لا تحويه الجهات الست كسائر المبتدعات.

62- He is clear of being attributed with having limits, nor ends, nor having parts, nor organs, nor limbs. Nor is He contained by the six directions as all created things are.

This is clear in stating the Muslim’s belief that unites of measurements cannot apply to Him, whether it is distance, time or otherwise. No ends, no restrictions, no confinement in space or place, no organs, no parts, no limbs, nor do the six directions apply to Him. The six directions are above, below, front, back, right and left. All these things are a creation of Allah, and a creation cannot be an attribute to The Creator. That would mean that The Creator and the creation are equal in that attribute which contradict the Qur’an, Sunnah, the sound intellect, and the meaning of God.

Another golden rule in Tawheed is what Imam At-Tahhawiy said: "Allah is clear of limits, ends, parts, limbs, instruments; and the six directions do not contain Him."

There are numerous Ayahs and Ahadeeth in the Honorable Quran stating that Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, is not designated with a place. And how can He? isn't He Who created the entire place??!! How can anyone with the slightest sense of intelligence ever thinks that Allah Ta'ala, resides above the seventh heaven, and is in the upper direction??!!! How can they negate the clear and specific Ayah in Surat Ashura, ayah 11 which means : Nothing is like Him.

Imam At-Tahhawiyy statement relieves every believer and asserts our firm faith that Allah Ta'ala is The Creator of heavens and earths. He existed before they were created, and just as He existed (before creating the seventh heavens and the seventh earths) without a place (because there was no place). He still exists without a place.

Unlike what the Mushabbihah believe, Muslims do not believe that Allah occupies a place above the seventh heaven, this is the belief of the Yahood and Nasara, among others.

He who is attributed with limits, ends, parts, limbs, organs, places, directions,..etc., would have to have a size and a format, these are the attributes of humans and bodies.

Allah, Ta'ala, unlike what the Mujassimah believes is not a body. He is as He described Himself in Surat Ashura, Ayah 11, which means: (Nothing is like Him).

This Honorable Ayah clearly points to (by stating that Allah is absolutely and totally clear of resembling the creation) that Allah is different from the creations in the Self, Attributes, and Doings. Consequently, it is impossible that Allah exists in a place or in a direction because only bodies and masses occupy space.

Imam Bukhari and Bayhaqi related in their Saheeh, that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said :

This Saheeh Hadeeth clearly and beyond doubt proves that only Allah existed alone in eternity without a beginning, and everything else has been created i.e. there was nothing with Him, Ta'ala, no space, no place, no heaven, no sky, no earth, no galaxies, no time, no day, no night, no light, no darkness...etc. there was absolutely nothing but Allah.

Besides, it is known that neither Allah, nor His attributes are subject to change or development. Hence, it is impossible that after having been existing without a place, He would create a place and then resides in it!!! This obviously negates the Quran, Sunnah, and the sound intellect, for an obvious reason;

Blasphemous faith clearly establishes a development of Allah, a change, and a need for His creation.

Imam Muslim related in his Saheeh Vol.4/61 that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said:

"O Allah, You are (Al Awwal) The One who existed eternally without a beginning, and You are (Al Akher) The One who exists everlastingly without an end, and Your are (Ath-Thaher) The One Above and nothing above You, and You are (Al Baaten) The One underneath Whom nothing exist."

This Saheeh Hadeeth clearly proofs that Allah, Ta'ala, is not designated with a place. Moreover, scholars said based on this Hadeeth: " Hence, He exists without a place. His Existence is obvious by proofs, and He is clear of the delusions of bodily attributes.

Al-imam Al-Hafedh Al-Bayhaqi, radiyallahu anhu, commented on this Saheeh Hadeeth in his highly valuable book " Al Asma'a was-Sifaat" page 400:

" Our people (Scholars of Ahlus Sunnah) determined based on this Hadeeth that Allah, Ta'ala, is not designated with a place, since He is the One above Whom nothing exists and underneath Whom nothing exists; hence, He exists without a place."

Al-imam Abdul Qaher Al-Bagdadi, rahimahullah, who is a renowned Muslim scholar from the first three centuries of Hijrah, said in his Book "The differences between sects" page333:

"By consensus (of Muslim scholars) that Allah is not subject to a place nor time."

It is an obvious issue to a person with a sound mind, but Allah Ta'ala said in Surat Al Israa, Ayah 72:

( ومن كان في هذه اعمى فهو في الاخرة اعمى واضل سبيلا )

Which means: (But those who are blind in this world, will be blind in the Hereafter, and more astray from the Path.)

The Ayah mentioned blindness with the idea that being blind is not necessarily a loss of vision, but many times is being farther and farther away from the true path.

Furthermore, Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem stresses this fact in Surat Al-Hajj, Ayah 46 saying :

( فانها لا تعمى الابصار ولكن تعمى القلوب التي في الصدور)

Which means: (Truly it is not the eyes that are blind, but the Hearts which are in their chests.)

Heart in Arabic imports both the seat of intelligent faculties and understanding as well as the seat of affections and emotions. Those who are astray may have their physical ears and eyes, but their hearts
are blind and deaf. May Allah grant us guidance.It is therefore determined by the Quran And Sunnah, that Allah created everything including the place and time. Allah said in Surat Ar-Ra'd, Ayah 16:

Hence, everything is created by Allah the Creator. Place (the entire universe) is something other than Allah, because Allah is not the place or the universe, thus, place is a thing that is created by Allah.

People who believe that Allah dwells in His creation, namely (Al-Hululiyyah) i.e. the Mushabbihah and the some devious sufi-claimers are on a pathway to blasphemy as well, may Allah safeguard us.

Al-imam Al-Hafedh Ibn Hajr Al-Asqalaani, radiyallahu anhu, said in " Sharhu Saheeh Al Bukhari" vol.6/136 : " The two directions up and down do not negate that Allah Ta'ala is above. Because He is above any imperfection, and it is impossible for His to be attributed with being above physically."

Moreover, the Hadeeth of Bukhari and Muslim that we previously mentioned, relating that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa salllam, states clearly that the Preserved Tablet is on the Arsh. Then according to the blasphemous Mushabbihah, not only Allah sits on the throne but beside him is the Tablet. May Allah protect all believers from this devious philosophy.

Al-imam Al-Bayhaqi, radiyallahu anhu, related in his book " Al Asma'a was- Sifat" explaining the name of Allah Al-Muta'ali :

"It means the One Who is above being attributed with the attributes of the creatures like marriage, children, limbs, organs, sitting on the sarir (Arsh), being hidden behind veils so that the eyes wouldn't see Him, moving from one place to another, and the like. Some of these attributes dictate ending, some dictate need, and some dictate change. All of that is non-befitting and not permissible to attribute to He Whose Existence is without a beginning."

The fourth righteous caliphate of Rasoolullah, Al-imam Ali bin Abi Taleb, karramallahu wajhahu, said:

" Allah existed eternally and there was no place, and He now is as He was, i.e. without a place."

Al-Hafedh Abu Na'eem, rahimahullah, reported in his Hilyah, that a man entered the quarters of the khalifah and said to Imam Ali: O'Ameer-Al Mu'mineen, there are forty Jews at the door wanting to talk to you.

Imam Ali replied: let them in. When they entered they asked Imam Ali: " describe your Lord for us, the One Who is in the sky. How is He? How was He? When was He? On what is He?." Imam Ali sat up and said: "O’ Jews, hear me out and you wouldn't have to ask anyone else. My Lord, The Exalted is Al-Awwal (exists eternally without a beginning). He is not from anything, nor mixed with anything, nor deluded about, nor a person that would be sought, nor is veiled thus contained, nor did He exist after He had not been existing. Allah spoke to Musa without limbs or instruments or lips nor uvulas. He who claims that our Lord is limited, then he is ignorant about the Creator Who is worshipped."

Imam Abu Hanifa, radiyallahu anhu, said: " The Creator does not resemble His creatures."

Imam Abu Hanifa also said: " Allah existed eternally and there was no place. He existed before creating the creation. He existed, and there was no place, creation, or thing; and He is the Creator of everything."

Al-Hafedh Al-Imam As-Sayyed Az-Zubaydi narrated through a continuous chain, that Al-imam Zayn Al-Abideen Ali bin Al-Husayn bin Ali bin Ali Taleb, who was also known as As-Sajjad, used to say:

"O Allah, you are clear of all imperfection. You are Allah, the One Who no place contains you."

He also said: " O'Allah, subhanak. You are Allah, the One Who is not in boundaries."

" He who believes that Allah fills the heavens and earth or that Her is a body sitting above al-Arsh (ceiling of Paradise, throne) is a non-believer (kafer)."

Al-iman Abu Hamed Al-Ghazaliy, rahimahu Allah, in Al-Ihya said : " Allah, the Exalted, existed eternally and there was no place. He is not a body, jawhar(atom), or property, and He is not on a place or in a place."

Many anthropomorphist and some ignorants who surfaced lately have been saying that they believe that Allah Ta’ala has limbs and organs, but they say without a “how” claiming that they do not know the method or the “how” of the limbs, or place, or descending, ascending, etc.

Be, may Allah guide us and you, certain and beyond any doubt that the question "how" or “method” does not apply to Allah, because this is a question about shapes, bodies, places, depths, and dimensions. Allah, Ta'ala, is above being attributed with all of that.

The confusing point to some laymen is that the Mushabbihah bring up always is the statement" we do not know how". Know, may Allah guide us and you, that this statement is wrong, misleading and deceiving to someone whose not an expert, since it falsely yet positively indicates that there is a “how”, but they don't know it, and that Allah has a shape, dimension, body, place, sits on the Arsh, but one is ignorant of the "how" of it!!! This is the essence of anthropomorphism.

Even though some of those people may say Allahu Akbar, however, their faith seems to indicate that what they really believe is that the Arsh is Akbar (bigger), because blasphemers who believe that Allah sits on the Arsh, naturally, believe that the Arsh must be bigger to accommodate their Lord, unless they believe that the Arsh is smaller. This is highly unlikely, because they, may Allah denounce them, believe that Allah will empty a space next to Him on the Arsh (this space is measured by four fingers) so the Prophet can sit next to Allah. There are basically no differences between the idol worshippers philosophies and anthropomorphists.

The mentioned Ayahs, Ahadeeth, and sayings proof without doubt for anyone with a sound mind, that attributing the sensuous physical aboveness and place to Allah is contrary to the Quran, Sunnah, Ijma, and the intellectual proof.

The intellectual proof that Allah exists without a place is due to the fact that the one who is in a place would have an area, and the one who has an area is in need of it, and the one who is needs other is not God. Furthermore, the Saheeh Hadeeth clearly determines that Allah existed without a place before creating places, then accordingly and consistently, after creating the places he still exists without a place.

Non-Muslims and some who even claim Islam believe that God resides in the sky, raised a question of why do we lift our hands and faces to the sky when making supplication (du'a)?? Moreover, in one of their books, one of their imams in support of his philosophy that Allah resides in the sky said: "then why do you think cows cannot lift their heads to the sky? because they are afraid of Allah who is up there." !!!!

Muslim scholars determined based on the Quran and Sunnah, that lifting the hands and the faces towards the sky when performing supplication (du'a) is because the heavens are the qiblah (direction) of du'a just as the Ka'bah in Makkah is the qiblah of prayers. For from heavens, the mercies and blessings of Allah descend.

Attributing Allah, The Exalted, with the sensuous physical aboveness is not perfection, contrary to what some ignorant people think. The importance of one's status is not measured by places limits, and physical heights and distances. The physical place of the Angeles around the Arsh is much higher than that of the Prophets of Allah, yet, the status of the Prophets is better and much higher to Allah, the Creator subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

Since we have determined that the creed of Muslims is that Allah exists without a place and the question "how" does not apply to Allah, it is clear that Al-Arsh (or may be also known as the throne) which is the largest creation and the ceiling of Paradise is not a place for Allah, The Exalted.

The pure creed of Muslims is indeed what Al-imam Ali bin Abi Taleb, karramallahu wajhahu, said :

" Allah created the Arsh (the largest creature) as an indication of His Power and did not take it as a place for Himself."

It is obligatory to know that Allah is not above, below or at one side in the physical sense and He does not have a place. Everything is below the Arsh and the Arsh is under His Power.

The Arsh does not carry Him, indeed, the grand Arsh exists with His Favor and in His Omnipotence. He is the same now as He was in eternity, and He will always be the same in the everlasting future as He had been before creating the Arsh with no changes occurring in Him.

Imam Abu Hanifa said : " Had He been in a place needing to sit and rest, then before creating Al-Arsh where was Allah?."

"It must not be said: When was He? or Where was He? or How is He? He existed without a place, created the universe and willed for the existence of time. He, therefore, is not bound to time and is not designated with place."

Thus, we conclude based on the Ayahs and Ahaadeeth, that. He is the One who creates everything. He is the same now as He was in eternal past and He will always be the same in the everlasting future as He had been before creating the entire creation. No change ever occurs in Him or His attributes because change implies development or alteration of a state. This is an obvious deficiency in addition to it being an attribute of creatures. He has no deficiency or defect nor is He subject to development or change. He does not resemble His creatures, therefore, it is impossible to know Him, but as much as He makes Himself known.

In this world. He is known and He does exist without realizing how He is, and in the Hereafter, if He is seen, it will be in an incomprehensible way without how. Allah, Ta’ala, said in the honorable Quran in Surat Ashura, Ayah 11, which means:(Nothing is like Him, and His is attributed with Hearing and Sight.)

This Ayah constitutes the foundational cornerstone in describing the attributes of Allah, whoever negates it through deeds, utterance, or belief, has belied this Ayah and joined the rest of the blasphemers.

Anthropomorphists or the Mushabbihah became blasphemers by negating this and other similar Ayahs of the Honorable Quran, they moved towards a blasphemous philosophy that dictates applying the measures of humans on The Exalted, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, in order to encompass Him, Ta'ala.

AL_-ISRA’A AND AL-MI’RAAJ

الإيمان بإسراء ومعراج النبي صلى الله عليه وآله:

62- والمعراج حق، وقد أسرى بالنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، وعرج بشخصه في اليقظة إلى السماء، ثم إلى حيث شاء الله من العلا

62- Al-Mi'raaj (the ascending through the heavens) is true. The Prophet, was taken by night and ascended in his bodily form, while awake, through the heavens, to whatever honorable pleace in heaven Allah willed for him.

)سبحان الذي اسرى بعبده ليلا من المسجد الحرام الى المسجد الاقصى الذي باركنا حوله لنريه من اياتنا انه هو السميع البصير(

The meaning of this ayah is: “Glorified be He Who carried His worshipper by night from the Inviolable Mosque (in Makkah) to the Far distant Mosque (in Jerusalem) the surroundings whereof We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our miraculous creations”.

Al-Israa is the night journey the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, took from Makkah to Jerusalem.

Al-Mi’raaj, was at the same night right after the journey to Jerusalem, where the prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa salla, ascended through the heavens until the last of the 7^th heaven, reaching “sidratul Muntaha”, which is the most honorable place above the 7^th heaven, which non of the creation has yet reached.

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَى) )

This ayah refers to the Mi’raaj and events in heavens: “and He –the prophet, saw him –gabriel- another time, at the place of Sidratil-Muntaha, at that place is the everlasting Paradise”.

Both journeys were conducted at night in one night and the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, was then brought back to his home in Makkah at early morning time.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, went on both journeys in his physical body and soul, and this is one of the miracles where the prophet was shown that time and distance no matter how long they are, they still are a creation of Allah, and are subjugated by Him. Thus, shortened by His will, or prolonged by His will. Subhanaha wa Ta’ala.

63- وأكرمه الله بما شاء، وأوحى إليه ما أوحى، (ما كذب الفؤاد ما رأى) فصلى الله عليه وسلم في الآخرة والأولى.

63- Allah honored (the prophet in this journey) in the way that He willed, and revealed to him what He willed, {”and his heart was not mistaken about what it saw”' [the meaning of ayah 11 in surat An-Najm]}. Allah blessed him and granted him peace in this world and in the Hereafter.

Al-imam At-Tahhawiyy in section is emphasysing on the purpose and goals of both journeys the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, took.

The objective of both journeys is to honor the prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, and show him a tour of the universe, earth and heavens. No creation was ever given the same privileges the prophet was given.

The important point to remember is that anthropomorphists' and some ignorant people erroneously imagine that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, ascended to heavens so he can meet with Allah in the 7^th heaven!!!!! This, simply, is a blasphemous belief.

Allah Ta’ala, is not in a place so the prophet can visit him, nor was the prophet closer in distance to Allah while he was above the 7^th heaven than was prophet Younus in the stomach of the whale in the deep depth of the oceans.

Distances entail space, place, measures, time, etc. all of which cannot apply to Allah.

Allah Ta’ala wanted for the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, to be honored and see things and entities no on else has seen, so He ascended him to heavens and showed the wonders of His creation, and some of the unforeseen, and Allah willed to reveal to Him about prayers and other commands in the most honorable place above the 7^th heaven.

This place was not a meeting ground, it was simply a very honorable place, where Allah willed for the Prophet to be, and revealed to him His commands. Just as Allah revealed to Musa (Moses) alayhi salam, in the valleys of Palestine, Allah revealed to Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, in the heavens.

Notice that the first ayah of Surat Al-Israa’, which talked about the journeys, started with a very important word: “Sub’haan”. Sub’haan stems linguistically from Tasbeeh, which means: clearing Allah from non-suitable attributes and spoiled imaginations. It is like Allah, Ta’ala, is informing us about the journeys, and before anything, He is warning us not to imagine wrongly, or have false delusions that the Prophet went to a specific place which is the meeting ground to meet a physical God who resides above the 7^th heaven, such belief is clear blasphemy. Allah is The Creator of physics, masses and places. Nothing is like Him, places and directions do not contain Him.

Some scholars mentioned that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, might have seen Allah, yet not with his eyes, and without a place, nor a “how”.

Yet the majority of the scholars believe that Allah cannot be seen, and that is what the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, himself said.

The Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said in what Al-imam Muslim narrated in his saheeh vol. 1/161, by way of Abi Tharr, radiyallahu anhu, said:

عن أبي ذر قال: سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم هل رأيت ربك؟ قال "نور أنى أراه". ”

قلت : و النور هنا في حق الله تعالى لا تعني الضوء وانما تعني الهادي أو الرب الجبار الخالق جل جلاله . لأن الله تعالى هوخالق الظلمات و النور فلا يوصف بشيئ مخلوق ومن وصف الله بمعنى من معاني البشر فقد كفر.ليس كمثله شيء وهو السميع البصير.

“Narrated by the Noble Sahabi, Abi Tharr, radiyallahu anhu, said: I asked the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, Did you see your Lord? The Prophet replied: He is An-Noor, It is impossobile to see Him!!”

So the prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, explicitly and clearly states that he did not see Allah, because Allah Ta’ala, cannot be seen.

One important to be clearified here, is the response of the Prophet, that Allah is An-Noor. Know, may Allah keep us steadfast on the correct path of truth, that when Allah is ascribed with An-Noor, it does mean light. Whosoever believes that Allah is light, has departed from the fold of Islam, and became a blasphemer.

)الحمد لله الذي خلق السماوات والارض وجعل الظلمات والنور ثم الذين كفروا بربهم يعدلون (

The meaning of this ayah is: “Praise to Allah, Who has created the heavens and the earth, and appointed (created) darkness and light. Yet those who disbelieve ascribe rivals unto their Lord”.

The ayah clearly states the darkness and light are creations of Allah. Hence, Allah Ta’ala, cannot be attributed with that, this is a Torah/Bible stemmed idea. An-Noor, as one of the names of Perfection of Allah, does not mean light which consists of streaming photons, etc.. An-Noor means Al-Haady, The Lord who guides to the right path. That of course is the closes interpretation by the scholars based on the Book and the Saheeh of the Sunnah. Yet, know, may Allah guide us and you, that no one knows the true significance and meanings of the names of Allah but Allah, Ta’ala.

Now back to the Al-Mi’raaj and the alleged vision. Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim narrated in their Saheeh, 8/606, and 1/159 respectively, by way of Masrooq said:

عن مسروق قال:
قلت لعائشة رضي الله عنها: يا أمتاه، هل رأى محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ربه؟ فقالت: لقد قف شعري مما قلت، أين أنت من ثلاث، من حدثكهن فقد كذب: من حدثك أن محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم رأى ربه فقد كذب، ثم قرأت: {لا تركه الأبصار وهو يدرك الأبصار وهو اللطيف الخبير}. {وما كان لبشر أن يكلمه الله إلا وحيا أو من وراء حجاب}. ومن حدثك أنه يعلم ما في غد فقد كذب، ثم قرأت: {يا أيها الرسول بلغ ما أنزل إليك من ربك}. الآية، ولكنه رأى جبريل عليه السلام في صورته مرتين.

{ “by way of Masrooq, he said: I told (the Lady) Aisha, radiya Allahu anha: O’ mother, did Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, see his Lord?

She said: my hair has chilled (goose bumps) from what you just said. Where are you from three things whosoever tells you of, then has surely lied to you;

Whosoever tells you that Muhammad, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, saw his Lord, then he has lied, then she recited the ayah 103 from Surat Al-An’aam :

)وما كان لبشر ان يكلمه الله الا وحيا او من وراء حجاب او يرسل رسولا فيوحي باذنه ما يشاء انه علي حكيم(

This ayah means: And no human can receive the speech of Allah (kalamu Allah) unless it is by (wahi) revelation or through a created medium.”

Then the Lady Aisha, radiyallah anha, ends the hadeeth with: but he-the prophet- saw the angel Gabriel twice”}.

64- والحوض الذي أكرمه الله تعالى به غياثا لأمته حق

64- Al-Hawd, (the Basin, which Allah will grant the Prophet as an honor to quench the thirst of His followers on the Day Of Judgement), is true.

The Basin will be the source of relief for Muslims in the day of judgement, so the Prophet, can give water to those believers who are thirsty. Whoever drinks from it will never be thirsty afterwards. The Awliya’ of Allah (pious worshippers) will not experience thirst in the day of Judgement, yet they will still seek to drink from the Basin for its great honor.

Many scholars of Tafseer refer to Al-Kawthar, as the river supplying the Basin. Allah Ta’ala, said in Surat Al-Kawthat, ayah 1:

65- والشفاعة التي ادخرها لهم حق، كما روي في الأخبار

65- Ash-Shafa'ah, (the intercession) which is allocated to his followers is true, as related in the authentic Ahaadeeth.

The intercession of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, is authentic and will happen in the day of judgement. This is when the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, asks Allah Ta’ala, to forgive thos who are being punished yet have believed in “La ilaha illa Allah”. Allah grants the Prophet his wish, and this is known as “ Al-maqaam Al-Mah’mood” or “The Praised Status” of the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam.

Anothropomorphists believe that “The Praised/elevated Status” of the Prophet, is that he will sit next to Allah on the chair of the throne.!!! This is a clear blasphemy, may Allah protect us.

The intercession is not only restricted to our Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, rather it is granted to many other prophets. However, the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, gives intercession to the vast majority of believers.

66- والميثاق الذي أخذه الله تعالى من آدم وذريته حق

)واذ اخذ ربك من بني ادم من ظهورهم ذريتهم واشهدهم على انفسهم الست بربكم قالوا بلى شهدنا ان تقولوا يوم القيامة انا كنا عن هذا غافلين(

This ayah means: “And (remember) when Allah took from Adam and his offspring a pledge (not to worship any but Him), and He made them testify of themselves: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes, verily. We testify. So they do not claim in the day of judgement that we were not unaware”.

Adam and his offpring testified after, Allah enabled them to know, that there is no God but Him, The Only one to be worshipped.

67- وقد علم الله تعالى فيما لم يزل عدد من يدخل الجنة، وعدد من يدخل النار جملة واحدة، فلا يزاد في ذلك العدد ولا ينقص منه.

67- Allah eternally knew, before the existence of time, the exact number of those who would enter Paradise (Al-Jannah) and the exact number of those who would enter Hellfire (Jahannam). This number is not subject to increase nor decrease.

68- وكذلك أفعالهم فيما علم منهم أن يفعلوه، وكلٌّ ميسر لما خلق له.

68- The same applies to all actions done by people, which are done exactly as Allah knew they would be done. Everyone is facilitated to what he was created for.

69- والأعمال بالخواتيم، والسعيد من سعد بقضاء الله، والشقي من شقي بقضاء الله

69- The final deeds that one’s life end with, dictates his fate. Those who are fortunate are fortunate by the decree of Allah, and those who are wretched are wretched by the decree of Allah.

70- وأصل القدر سر الله تعالى في خلقه، لم يطلع على ذلك ملك مقرب ولا نبي مرسل

70- The exact nature of the decree of Allah onto His creation, is not known to the creation. No high ranking angel, nor a messenger, has been given knowledge of it.

71- والتعمق والنظر في ذلك ذريعة الخذلان، وسلم الحرمان، ودرجة الطغيان، فالحذر كل الحذر من ذلك نظرا وفكرا ووسوسة،

72- Deep indulgance in attempting to encompass how things are decreed, only leads to confusion, humiliation, and loss. One should exercise extreme caution about attempting to encompass this matter, or letting doubts about it assail you.

72- فإن الله تعالى طوى علم القدر عن أنامه، ونهاهم عن مرامه، كما قال الله تعالى في كتابه: (لا يسأل عما يفعل وهم يسألون) فمن سأل: لِمَ فعل ؟ فقد رد حكم الكتاب، ومن رد حكم الكتاب كان من الكافرين.

72- Allah has kept knowledge of the decree away from his creation, and forbidden them to attempt to encompass it, as He said in Surat Al-Anbiya’, ayah 23, which means: “He is not asked about what He does but they are asked'. Whosoever asks: `Why did Allah do that?' has gone against a judgement of the Book, and who rejects the judgement of the Book becomes an unbeliever.

73- فهذا جملة ما يحتاج إليه من هو منور قلبه من أولياء الله تعالى، وهي درجة الراسخين في العلم

73- This in sum is what the pious worshippers of Allah with enlightened hearts need to know, which constitutes the degree of those firmly endowed with knowledge.

74- لأن العلم علمان: علم في الخلق موجود، وعلم في الخلق مفقود، فإنكار العلم الموجود كفر، وادعاء العلم المفقود كفر، ولا يثبت الإيمان إلا بقبول العلم الموجود وترك طلب العلم المفقود.

74- For there are two kinds of knowledge: knowledge which is accessible to created beings, and knowledge which is not accessible to created beings. Denying the knowledge which is accessible is disbelief, and claiming the knowledge which is inaccessible is disbelief. Belief can only be firmly established, when accessible knowledge is accepted and inaccessible knowledge is not sought after.

75- ونؤمن باللوح والقلم، وبجميع ما فيه قد رقم

75- We believe in Al-Lawh (The Sacred Tablet) and Al-Qalam (The Pen) and in everything written on the Tablet.

The Preserved or Sacred Tablet is a creation of Allah. It contains everything. It is called “ the mother of the books”. The Sacred Tablet is placed on top of The Grand Arsh, above the 7^th heaven.

Al-imam Bukhari and Muslim related in their Saheehs by way of Abu Huraira, that the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, said:

"إن الله كتب كتاباً قبل أن يخلق الخلق: إن رحمتي سبقت غضبي، فهو مكتوب عنده فوق العرش".

Allah ordered to be written in a book before He created any creation, that my Mercy overcomes my Anger, and it is written (in the sacred tablet) –which is- on the Arsh".

Imam Al-Hafez Ibn Hajr Al-Asqalaani in his book " sharhu saheeh al bukhari" vol.13/527 : " the meaning of this Hadeeth is that the Preserved Tablet is placed on the Arsh." The Preserved Tablet has everything that happened, happens, or will happen inscribed in it. Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala, said in the honorable Quran in Surat Al-Buruj, Ayah 21 :

( بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَّجِيدٌ فِي لَوْحٍ مَّحْفُوظٍ )

This Ayah means: (Nay this is a Glorious Quran (inscribed) in a preserved Tablet)

76- فلو اجتمع الخلق كلهم على شيء كتبه الله تعالى فيه أنه كائن ليجعلوه غير كائن لم يقدروا عليه، ولو اجتمعوا كلهم على شيء لم يكتبه الله تعالى فيه ليجعلوه كائنا لم يقدروا عليه

76- If all created beings were to gather together to make something fail to exist, whose existence Allah had written, they would not be able to do so. And if all created beings were to gather together to make something exist which Allah had not written on it, they would not be able to do so.

77- جف القلم بما هو كائن إلى يوم القيامة، وما أخطأ العبد لم يكن ليصيبه، وما أصابه لم يكن ليخطئه.

77- The Pen has dried having written down all that will be in existence until the Day of Judgement. Whatever a person has missed he/she would have never met, and whatever one gets, he/she would have never missed.

78- وعلى العبد أن يعلم أن الله قد سبق علمه في كل كائن من خلقه

78- It is necessary for the worshipper to know that Allah eternally knew everything that is going to happen in His creation.

79- فقدر ذلك تقديرا محكما مبرما، ليس فيه ناقض ولا معقب، ولا مزيل ولا مغير، ولا ناقص ولا زائد من خلقه في سماواته وأرضه، وذلك من عقد الإيمان وأصول المعرفة، والاعتراف بتوحيد الله تعالى وربوبيته، كما قال تعالى في كتابه: (وخلق كل شيء فقدره تقديرا) ، وقال تعالى: (وكان أمر الله قدرا مقدورا)

79- Allah’s decree is detailed and final. There is nothing that He has created in either the heavens or the earth that can contradicts it, adds to it, erases it, changes it, decreases it, or increases it in any way.

80- وذلك من عقد الإيمان وأصول المعرفة، والاعتراف بتوحيد الله تعالى وربوبيته، كما قال تعالى في كتابه: (وخلق كل شيء فقدره تقديرا) ، وقال تعالى: (وكان أمر الله قدرا مقدورا)

80- This is a fundamental aspect of belief and an essential element of all knowledge including the Tawheed of Allah. As Allah said in His Book, which means: `He created everything and decreed it he a detailed way'. [al-Furqan 2], And He also says, which means: `Allah's command is always a decided decree'. [Al-Ah’zaab38]

81- فويل لمن صار لله تعالى في القدر خصيما، وأحضر للنظر فيه قلبا سقيما، لقد التمس بوهمه في محض الغيب سرا كتيما، وعاد بما قال فيه أفاكا أثيما.

81- Woe to anyone who becomes the emeny of Allah concerning the decree, and who ill-heartedly attempts to encompass it. It is a delusional attempt to investigate the Unseen, and he/she ends up in delusions and fiction leading him/her to fabricate lies and commit evil.

BELIEF IN AL-ARSH

AND AL-KURSI:

They both are mentioned in the Qur’an, therefore every Muslim must believe in them. However, no one knows what they truly are. These two things are among the things that are ambiguous (Mutashabihaat). The Qur’an and the Saheeh of the Sunnah did not go into the detailed explanation of what the Al-Arsh or Al-Kursi is, hence, we do not induldge in it.

All we know about Al-Arsh that it is a massive creation, probably the biggest creation Allah Ta’ala created. And it is the ceiling of Paradise. We also know, that Al-Arsh is going to be carried by eight angels in the day of judgement.

The Kursi is another creation that is smaller than the Arsh. Similarly, we do not know exact nature of Al-Kursi, other than Allah mentioned it in the Qur’an.

Submitting the true meanings of Al-Arsh and Al-Kursi to Allah is the safest way to protect one’s belief.

Anothropomorphists along with the rest of non-Muslims, believe that the Arsh is a throne (like the thrones of kings) and Al-Kursi is the chair (similar to thhe chair of kings), and they believe that Allah Ta’ala sits on the chair or throne like a king!!!, This is a clear blasphemy, and if a Muslims believes it, it renders him non-believer immediately.

Yes, among the meanings of Al-Arsh and Al-Kursi is the throne and the chair, however, we know that Allah is The Creator, who is not a mass to occupy a chair or sit on it, nor is He limited by phycial boundaries to sit !!!! on the throne!!..This is a Torah/Bible derived tale that seeped into some people’s imaginations. May Allah protect us and keep us steadfast on the correct path of truth.

Therefore, and since Al-Arsh is the biggest in size of the creation, Allah called it; The Grand. However, it is subjugated to Allah, because, like everything else it is a creation of Allah, and Allah existed eternally when no Arsh or the place that contain Al-Arsh even existed. And if this Grand Arsh is subjugated to Allah, then necessarily, -and by definition- what is less in size than the Grand Arsh is also subjugated to Him, subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

" ان الله خلق العرش اظهارا لقدرته ولم يتخذه مكانا لذاته "

“Allah Ta’ala, created Al-Arsh to show his Power and Majesty, and did not make Al-Arsh as a place for Him ”

Imam Al-Hafez Ibn Asaker, radiyallahu anhu, said: "All the creation is subjugated by His Power." No knows what the Reality of the Arsh is but Allah, consequently, all we know about it is its name. Allah, ta'ala, keeps the Arsh in a very high place, and with His Mercy prevents it from falling on the heavens and earth. Keep in mind that Paradise is above the seven heavens and Hellfire is below the seven earths, all of that is the creation of Allah, subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

Some scholars said Al-Arsh and Al-Kursi are really the same thing, others said they mean knowledge, others said they are a metaphor for Power and Majest, as per the Arabic language.

The best way is to believe in them, and submit the true meaning of them to Allah Ta’ala, knowing that nothing is like Him, and He Ta’ala is not contained in paces nor spaces.

83- وهو مستغن عن العرش وما دونه، محيط بكل شيء وفوقه

83- He (Allah Ta’ala) is in no need of Al-Arsh or anything other than Al-Arsh. He is All-Knowing of all things, and is superior to it.

Al-imam At-Tahhawiyy stresses again that Allah is not in need of Al-Arsh or anything else, smaller or bigger than the Arsh.

Because Allah Ta’ala is not a mass or a body to need a place, or that a place can limit it.

Also AllahTa’ala, knows everything and above it or superior to it. This superiority or aboveness is in status, knowledge , and power.

84- ونقول إن الله اتخذ إبراهيم خليلا، وكلم الله موسى تكليما، إيمانا وتصديقا وتسليما.

84- We say with belief, acceptance and submission: that Allah took Ibrahim as friend and that He spoke to Musa.

85- ونؤمن بالملائكة والنبيين والكتب المنزلة على المرسلين، ونشهد أنهم كانوا على الحق المبين.

85- We believe in the angels, the Prophets, and the Books which were revealed to the messengers, and we bear witness that they were all following the manifest Truth.

The sinfulness of talking about Allah, the religion, or the Qur’an with ignorance.

حرمة الخوض في الله، والجدال في دين الله وقرآنه بجهل

86- ونسمي أهل قبلتنا مسلمين مؤمنين، ما داموا بما جاء به النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم معترفين، وله بكل ما قاله وأخبر مصدقين.

86- We call the people of our qiblah (direction and faith) Muslims and believers as long as they acknowledge what the Prophet,sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, brought, and accept it as true and everything that he said and told us about.

87- ولا نخوض في الله، ولا نماري في دين الله، ولا نجادل في القرآن

87- We do not indulge into ignorant talk about Allah nor do we ignorantly dispute religious issues, and we do not ignorantly discuss or interpret the Qur’an.

88- ونشهد أنه كلام رب العالمين، نزل به الروح الأمين، فعلمه سيد المرسلين، محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم، وهو كلام الله تعالى لا يساويه شيء من كلام المخلوقين، ولا نقول بخلقه

88- we bear witness that (the Qur’an) it is the Word of Lord of the Worlds, which the Trustworthy Angel Gabriel came down with and taught the most honored of all the Messengers, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It is the Word of Allah and no word of any created being is comparable to it. We do not say that it was created.

89- We do not go against the Jama'ah of the Muslims. (granted they are on the truth).

90- و لا نكفر أحدا من أهل القبلة بذنب الا اذا استحله

90- We do not consider any of the people of our qiblah (any Muslim) to be unbelievers because of any wrong action they have done, as long as they do not consider that action to have been lawful.

91- Nor do we say that evil deeds do not have harmful effects on one’s belief status.

2- نرجو للمحسنين من المؤمنين أن يعفو عنهم، ويدخلهم الجنة برحمته، ولا نأمن عليهم، ولا نشهد لهم بالجنة، ونستغفر لمسيئهم، ونخاف عليهم ولا نقنِّطهم.

92- We hope that Allah will pardon the pious believers and grant them entrance into Paradise by His Mercy, but we cannot be certain of this, nor can we bear that they will enter Paradise. We ask forgiveness for the people who do wrong deeds and, nevertheless, we care for them, and do not despair them.

93- والأمن والإياس ينقلان عن ملة الإسلام، وسبيل الحق بينهما لأهل القبلة ولا يخرج العبد من الإيمان إلا بجحود ما أدخله فيه.

93- Certainty and despair both lead to exiting the folds of islam, but the path of truth for the people of the qiblah(Believers) lies between the two (e.g. a person must fear and be conscious of Allah's reckoning as well as be hopeful of Allah's mercy).

94- ولا يخرج العبد من الإيمان إلا بجحود ما أدخله فيه

94- A Muslim does not exist from the circle of Islam except by disbelieving in what brought him/her into it

95- والإيمان: هو الإقرار باللسان، والتصديق بالجنان.

95- Faith (belief) is affirmation by the tongue and believing in the heart and mind.

96- وجميع ما صح عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من الشرع والبيان كله حق.

96- And all the authentic traditions from the Prophet, upon him be peace, regarding the Shari'ah and the explanation (of the Qur'an and of Islam) are true.

97- والإيمان واحد، وأهله في أصله سواء، والتفاضل بينهم بالخشية والتقى، ومخالفة الهوى، وملازمة الأولى.

97- Belief is, at the essence, the same. All believers are the same as far as the fundamentals of faith. However, they vary in ranks due to the variation in their pious worship to Allah, their rejection of ill-desires, and prioritizing duties and deeds.

98- والمؤمنون كلهم أولياء الرحمن، وأكرمهم عند الله أطوعهم وأتبعهم للقرآن.

98- All the believers are “awliya” (loyals to) of Allah and the most noble of them to Allah are those who are the most obedient and who most closely follow the Qur'an.

99- والإيمان: هو الإيمان بالله، وملائكته، وكتبه، ورسله، واليوم الآخر، والقدر خيره وشره، وحلوه ومره من الله تعالى.

99- Belief consists of belief in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and belief that the Decree - both the good of it and the bad of it, the sweet of it and the bitter or it - is all from Allah.

100- ونحن مؤمنون بذلك كله، لا نفرق بين أحد من رسله، ونصدقهم كلهم على ما جاؤوا به.

100- We believe in all these things. We do not make any distinction between any of His messengers, we accept as true what all of them brought.

101- وأهل الكبائر من أمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم في النارلا يخلدون، إذا ماتوا وهم موحدون، وإن لم يكونوا تائبين، بعد أن لقوا الله عارفين مؤمنين.

101- Those of the Ummah of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who have committed grave sins will be in the Hellfire, but not everlastingly, provided they die on Tawheed, and go to Allah as believers even if they have not repented.

102- وهم في مشيئته وحكمه: إن شاء غفر لهم وعفا عنهم بفضله، كما ذكر عز وجل في كتابه: (ويغفر ما دون ذلك لمن يشاء) .

102- They are subject to His will and judgement. If He wants, He will forgive them and pardon them out of His generosity, as is mentioned in the Qur'an : which means: “And He forgives anything less than that (blasphemy) to whoever He will” [Surat An-Nisa' , ayah 116]

103- وإن شاء عذبهم في النار بعدله، ثم يخرجهم منها برحمته، وشفاعة الشافعين من أهل طاعته، ثم يبعثهم إلى جنته،

103- and if He wants, He will punish them in the Hellfire out of His justice and then bring them out of it by His mercy, and for the intercession of those who were obedient to Him, and send them to the paradise.

104- وذلك بأن الله تعالى تولى أهل معرفته، ولم يجعلهم في الدارين كأهل نكرته؛ الذين خابوا من هدايته، ولم ينالوا من ولايته، اللهم يا ولي الإسلام وأهله ثبتنا على الإسلام حتى نلقاك به.

104- This is because Allah is the Protector of those who know Him and will not treat them in this world nor in the Hereafter the same way as He treats those who deny Him and who have lost out on His guidance and have failed to obtain His protection.

O’Allah, You are the Protector of Islam and its followers; keep us steadfast on it until we die.

Al-'Ummah:

The Muslim Nation

105- ونرى الصلاة خلف كل بر وفاجر من أهل القبلة، ونصلي على من مات منهم.

105- We lean to validate doing the prayer behind any of the people of the qiblah (Muslims) whether pious or sinful, and doing the funeral prayer over any of them when they die.

106- ولا ننزل أحدا منهم جنة ولا نارا، ولا نشهد عليهم بكفر ولا بشرك ولا بنفاق، ما لم يظهر منهم شيء من ذلك، ونذر سرائرهم إلى الله تعالى.

106- We do not declare anyone of them will categorically go to either paradise or Hellfire, and we do not accuse any of them of blasphemy (kufr), disbelief (associating anything with Allah), or hypocrisy (nifaaq), as long as they have not openly demonstrated any of those things. We leave their hidden characters to Allah Ta’ala.

107- ولا نرى السيف على أحد من أمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم إلا من وجب عليه السيف.

107- We do not approve of the killing any human of the Ummah of Muhammad, except those who deserve it according to the Law (Shari'ah).

108- ولا نرى الخروج على أئمتنا وولاة أمورنا وإن جاروا، ولا ندعوا عليهم ولا ننزع يدا من طاعتهم ونرى طاعتهم من طاعة الله عز وجل فريضة، ما لم يأمروا بمعصية، وندعوا لهم بالصلاح والمعافاة.

108- We do not recognize rebellions (transgressors) against our (righteously qualified and appointed) Caliphate or those in charge of our affairs even though they may act unjustly. We do not wish them evil, nor do we refuse to obey them. We hold that obedience to them is part of obedience to Allah, The Exalted, and therefore obligatory as long as they do not order to commit sins. We pray to Allah that He guides and forgives them.

109- ونتبع السنة والجماعة، ونجتنب الشذوذ والخلاف والفرقة.

109- We follow the pathway of the Prophet and the Jama'ah (righteous group of Muslims), and avoid deviation, partitions and divisions.

110- ونحب أهل العدل والأمانة، ونبغض أهل الجور والخيانة.

110- We love the people of justice and trustworthiness, and dislike the people of tyranny, injustice and betrayal.

111- When our knowledge about something is unclear, we say: `Allah knows best'.

112- ونرى المسح على الخفين في السفر والحضر، كما جاء في الأثر.

112- We approve wiping over (boots or leather socks -in ablution-) whether traveling or when at home, as has come in the ahaadeeth.

113- والحج والجهاد ماضيان مع أولي الأمر من المسلمين، برهم وفاجرهم إلى قيام الساعة، لا يبطلهما شيء ولا ينقضهما.

113- Hajj and jihad under the leadership of those in charge of the Muslims, whether they are pious or evil-doers, are a continuing obligations until the Last Hour comes. Nothing can suspend or nullify them.

الإيمان بالبرزخ و يوم القيامة وما فيه من المشاهد:

114- ونؤمن بالكرام الكاتبين، فإن الله قد جعلهم علينا حافظين.

114- We believe in the noble angels who are commissioned to record whatever we utter or do, for Allah has appointed them guardians over us.

115- ونؤمن بملك الموت الموكل بقبض أرواح العالمين

115- We believe in the Angel of Death who is commissioned with taking the souls of everyone.

116- وبعذاب القبر لمن كان له أهلا، وسؤال منكر ونكير في قبره عن ربه ودينه ونبيه، على ما جاءت به الأخبار عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وعن الصحابة رضوان الله عليهم.

116- We believe in the punishment in the grave for those who are deserve it, and in the questioning in the grave by Munkar and Nakir about one's Lord, one's religion and one's prophet, as has come down in the ahaadeeth from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and as reported by the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

117- والقبر روضة من رياض الجنة، أو حفرة من حفر النيران.

118- The grave is either one of the meadows of Paradise or one of the ditches of the Hellfire.

118- ونؤمن بالبعث وجزاء الأعمال يوم القيامة، والعرض والحساب، وقراءة الكتاب، والثواب والعقاب، والصراط والميزان.

118- We believe in the resurrection and the accounablility for our deeds on the Day of Judgement. We believe in the presentation of deeds, accounting, the reading of everyone’s record, the reward, the punishment, the pathway (0ver Hellfire), and the scale (of the deeds).

119- والجنة والنار مخلوقتان، لا تفنيان أبدا ولا تبيدان

119- Both Paradise and Hellfire are created. They will never perish nor come to an end.

It is important to mention what Imam Al-Bayhaqi, radiyallahu anhu, said: " Him (Allah) being everlasting should not be confused (compared) with
Paradise and Hell being . because Paradise and Hell are not eternal." They are everlasting only because Allah willed for them to be as such, not because they are everlasting in themselves. It also an essential Muslim belief that Paradise and Hell are everlasting.

وَمَن يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَإِنَّ لَهُ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا))

This Ayah clearly states: (For any that disobey Allah and His Messenger, for them is Hell, they shall dwell therein everlastingly.)

Hence, whoever, negates the everlastingness of Hellfire , belied this Ayah and negates the Quran and the Prophet, Sall Allahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, and whoever blied the Quran, and whosoever belies the Qur’an, departs from Islam.

120- وإن الله تعالى خلق الجنة والنار قبل الخلق، وخلق لهما أهلا، فمن شاء منهم إلى الجنة فضلا منه، ومن شاء منهم إلى النار عدلا منه، وكل يعمل لما قد فرغ له، وصائر إلى ما خلق له.

120- Allah created both Paradise and Hellfire, before the creatures and then created those who will dwell therein. Whoever He wills enters Paradise out of His Generosity and whoever He wills enters Hellfire out of His justice. Everybody acts in accordance with what is written for him/her in the Preserved Tablet and goes towards what he/she has been created for.

122- والاستطاعة التي يجب بها الفعل من نحو التوفيق الذي لا يجوز أن يوصف المخلوق به، فهي مع الفعل، وأما الاستطاعة من جهة الصحة والوسع والتمكن وسلامة الآلات فهي قبل الفعل، وبها يتعلق الخطاب، وهو كما قال تعالى: (لا يكلف الله نفسا إلا وسعها)

A- Tawfeeq: Which is Grace from Allah that enables a person to carry out a command or to obstain from something forbidden.

It is always connected with a specific action and does not exist before the action. It cannot be attributed to creatures, as they have no control over it.

B- General Ability: due to health variety of means, access to them, and the use of body organs.

This type of ability precedes a specific action. A person is help responsible and accountable for all applicabale commands if he/she has this ability. It is as Allah Ta’ala said [in Surat Al-Baqara ayah 286, which means: “Allah does not burden a person beyond its capacities”.

And the actions of people are a creation of Allah, yet they acquired them (due to the created capacities and faculties Allah gave us).

123- ولم يكلفهم الله تعالى إلا ما يطيقون ولايطيقون إلا ما كلفهم،

123- Allah, the Exalted, has only charged people with what they are capable of doing, and people are enabled to do what Allah has charged them with.

124- وهو تفسير لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله، نقول: لا حيلة لأحد، ولا حركة لأحد، ولا تحول لأحد عن معصية الله إلا بمعونة الله، ولا قوة لأحد على إقامة طاعة الله والثبات عليها إلا بتوفيق الله.

124- And what we have just established is the meaning of the phrase: `There is no power and no strength except by Allah.'

We add to this that no one can avoid or escape sins except with the help of Allah. No one has any power at all to carry out an act of obedience to Allah and to remain steadfast on it, except by the grace of Allah.

125- وكل شيء يجري بمشيئة الله تعالى وعلمه وقضائه وقدره، غلبت مشيئة المشيئات كلها، وغلب قضاؤه الحيل كلها، يفعل ما يشاء وهو غير ظالم أبدا

125- Everything happens according to the will of Allah, His knowledge, His decree and destination. His will dominates those of others, and His decree overpowers the plannings of all others. He does whatever He wills and He is never unjust.

126- تقدس عن كل سوء وحين، وتنزه عن كل عيب وشين، يسأل عما يفعل وهم يسألون.

126- He is clear of any evil or injustice, and is clear of imperfection or flaw. {“He is not be asked about what He does but they will be asked” [the meaning of ayah 23, in surat Al-Anbiya’]}.

127- وفي دعاء الأحياء وصدقاتهم منفعة للأموات، والله تعالى يستجيب الدعوات ويقضي الحاجات.

127- There is benefit for dead people in the supplication and alms-giving y the living. And Allah Ta’ala, responds to the prayers and fulfils the needs.

128- ويملك كل شيء ولا يملكه شيء، ولا غنى عن الله تعالى طرفة عين، ومن استغنى عن الله طرفة عين فقد كفر، وصار من أهل الحين.

128- Allah subjugates everything, and nothing can subjugate Him. Nothing can be needless of Allah even for one blink of an eye. Whosoever thinks of him/her self in no need of Allah, even for a blink of an eye, becomes blasphemer and perishes.

129- Allah is attributed with being angered or being pleased, but not in the same way as any creature.

130- ونحب أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولا نفرط في حب أحد منهم، ولا نتبرأ من أحد منهم، ونبغض من يبغضهم، وبغير الخير يذكرهم، ولا نذكرهم إلا بخير، وحبهم دين وإيمان وإحسان، وبغضهم كفر ونفاق وطغيان.

130- We love the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, but we do not go to extremes in our love for any one individual among them, nor do we disown any one of them. We dislike those who despise them or talk of them righteously. We only speak well of them, loving them is a sign of faith, conviction and piety, and hatred for them is nothing but blasphemy, hypocrisy and tyranny.

131- ونثبت الخلافة بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أولا لأبي بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه تفضيلا له وتقديما على جميع الأمة، ثم لعمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه، ثم لعثمان رضي الله عنه، ثم لعلي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه، وهم الخلفاء الراشدون والأئمة المهتدون.

131- We confirm that, after passing away of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the caliphate went first to Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq, may Allah be pleased with him, thus proving his excellence and advancement over the rest of the Muslims; then to `Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him; then to `Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him; and then to `Ali ibn Abi Taleb, may Allah be pleased with him. These are the Rightly-Guided Khaliphs (Al-Khulafa Ar-Rashidoon) and upright leaders.

132- وأن العشرة الذين سماهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وبشرهم بالجنة نشهد لهم بالجنة، على ما شهد لهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقوله الحق، وهم: أبو بكر، وعمر، وعثمان، وعلي، وطلحة، والزبير، وسعد، وسعيد، وعبد الرحمن بن عوف، وأبو عبيدة بن الجراح؛ وهو أمين هذه الأمة رضي الله عنهم أجمعين.

132- We testify that those ten who were named by the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and were promised Paradise, will be in Paradise, as the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, whose word is truth, bore witness that they would be. The ten are: Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman, `Ali, Tal’hah, Zubayr, Sa'd, Sa'eed, `Abdur-Rahman ibn `Awf and Abu `Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarrah whose title was the trustee of this Ummah, may Allah be pleased with all of them.

133- ومن أحسن القول في أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأزواجه الطاهرات من كل دنس وذرياته المقدسين من كل رجس؛ فقد برئ من النفاق.

133- Whosoever speaks well of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and his purified wives and his honorable and pure offspring, is then absolved from hypocrisy.

134- وعلماء السلف من السابقين، ومن بعدهم من التابعين أهل الخير والأثر، وأهل الفقه والنظر، لا يذكرون إلا بالجميل، ومن ذكرهم بسوء فهو على غير السبيل.

134- No one among the early scholars and those who followed them, whether in the field of narrating ahaadeeth and events, or in the filed of jurisprudence and analysis, should be mentioned except in a proper way. Whoever speaks unjustly of them is not on the right path.

135- ولا نفضل أحدا من الأولياء على أحد من الأنبياء عليهم السلام، ونقول: نبي واحد أفضل من جميع الأولياء.

135- We do not give preference to any of the pious scholar (waliy) over any of the Prophets, alayhem assalam, but rather we say that any one of the Prophets is better than all the pious scholars (awliya') put together.

136- ونؤمن بما جاء من كراماتهم، وصح عن الثقات من رواياتهم.

136- We believe in what has been authentically reported of their Karamat (the marvels of the awliya') from trustworthy sources.

BELIEF IN SIGNS OF THE LAST DAY &THE MODERATION OF ISLAM AND REJECTING EXTREMISM.

137- ونؤمن بأشراط الساعة منها: خروج الدجال، ونزول عيسى ابن مريم عليه السلام من السماء، ونؤمن بطلوع الشمس من مغربها، وخروج دابة الأرض من موضعها.

137- We believe in the signs preceding the Last Hour, such as the advent of Ad-Dajjal, the descent of `Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus), peace be upon him, from heaven, the rising of the sun from where it sets (the west) and in the emergence of the Beast from its place.

138- ولا نصدق كاهنا ولا عرافا، ولا من يدعي شيئا يخالف الكتاب والسنة وإجماع الأمة.

138- We do not believe in any soothsayers or fortune-tellers, nor who claims anything contrary to the Book, Sunnah and the consensus of the Muslim Ummah.

139- ونرى الجماعة حقا وصوابا، والفرقة زيغا وعذابا.

139- We believe that unity (righteously and justly) is the true and right path and that disunity and partition are deviation and destructive.

140- ودين الله في الأرض والسماء واحد، وهو دين الإسلام، قال الله تعالى: (إن الدين عند الله الإسلام) ، وقال تعالى: (ورضيت لكم الإسلام دينا) .

140- In the heaven and the the earth, the Deen of Allah (faith in Allah) is one, i.e, Islam. Allah Ta’ala said [ in surat Al-Imran ayah 19, which means:

141- Islam is between the extremes of radicalism (going to excess) or falling short.

142- Islam is between At-Tashbeeh (anthropomorphism) and At-Ta’teel (denying Allah’s attributes).

144- (Islam) is between not fearing the punishment of Allah or totally despairing of His Mercy.

145- فهذا ديننا واعتقادنا ظاهرا وباطنا، ونحن براء إلى الله من كل من خالف الذي ذكرناه وبيناه

145- This is our faith and belief, as it is manifested in what is apparent and what is in the depth of the heart. We absolve ourselves to Allah from anyone who opposes what we have mentioned and explained.

146- ونسأل الله تعالى أن يثبتنا على الإيمان، ويختم لنا به

146- We pray to Allah Ta’ala, to keep us steadfast on the path of belief, and seal our lives with it.

147- ويعصمنا من الأهواء المختلفة، والآراء المتفرقة

147- (We pray to Allah) to protect us from the devious views, and straying opinions.

148- والمذاهب الردية، مثل المشبهة والمعتزلة والجهمية والجبرية والقدرية وغيرهم؛ من الذين خالفوا السنة والجماعة، وحالفوا الضلالة، ونحن منهم براء، وهم عندنا ضلال وأردياء، وبالله العصمة.

AL_-ISRA’A AND AL-MI’RAAJ

BELIEF IN AL-ARSH

AND AL-KURSI:

Al-'Ummah:

The Muslim Nation

Send mail to hunafaa@hotmail.com with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 1996 Al Adaab: Living Islam According to the Minhaj of the True Salaf as Salihoon Last modified: 08/29/06

Send mail to hunafaa@hotmail.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1996 Al Adaab: Living Islam According to the Minhaj of the True Salaf as Salihoon
Last modified: 08/29/06