Topic: Obligatory Knowledge

[samsparky]

the Sustainer (ar-Raziq),

Explanation: The Sustainer is the One Who gives the sustenance (rizq) to His slaves. Sustenance (rizq) includes all the things which give a benefit to the person—whether from a lawful or an unlawful source.

Knowledgeable (al-^Alim),

Explanation: Allah is the One Who knows everything. Allah knows His Self, His Attributes, and His creations. Allah knows the things before they happen.

Powerful (al-Qadir)

Explanation: Allah is the One Who has Power over all things. He is not powerless over anything.

and the One Who does whatever He wills, i.e. whatever Allah willed to be shall be and whatever Allah did not will to be shall not be.

Explanation: This means that everything that Allah willed in eternity to happen must happen in the way which Allah knew and at the time which Allah willed for it to occur. That which Allah did not will in eternity to happen will never happen. Should an entire nation come together to inflict a harm on you that Allah did not will to happen to you, it will not be able to harm you. Likewise, should a nation come together to benefit you with a certain matter that Allah did not will in eternity for you to benefit from, it will not be able to do so. This also is among the fundamentals of the proper belief. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, in several hadiths (narrated by at-Tabariyy, Abu Dawud, and others), explicitly mentioned that anyone who holds a creed contrary to this is not a Muslim.

[samsparky]

No one can evade sinning except with Allah’s protection and no one has the ability to obey except with Allah’s help.

Explanation:         “La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah” لا حَوْلَ ولا قُوَّةَ إلا بالله is a statement that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم taught us to say. As Abu Ya^la al-Mawsiliyy related, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained this statement to mean: “Without Allah’s protection no one can evade sinning, and without Allah’s help no one has the strength to obey Him.”

Allah is attributed with all proper perfection

Explanation: Allah is attributed with all the perfect attributes that befit Him. Here the author specified befitting perfect attributes, because among the perfect attributes there are those which are perfect in relation to mankind, but are imperfect when attributed to Allah. Some examples are brilliance, intellect, nice voice, and strength of body. When attributed to a creature, these are attributes of perfection. However, they are not befitting to attribute to the Creator. This is why the author said:

and is clear of all imperfection.

Explanation: This means that Allah is clear of any of the attributes of the creation, such as bodily characteristics, colour, shape, motion, and stillness. This is why the People of Truth, Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jama^ah, said, “Allah exists without a place,” because the one who exists in a place must have a limit, and everything that has a limit is in need of one who specified it with that limit. Whatever is in need certainly is not the Creator. This is why Allah is clear of existing in any place or any direction. We do not say Allah inhabits the sky. We do not say that Allah exists in the direction of above. We do not say that Allah exists in all places, or everywhere.

Rather, Allah exists and He does not resemble other things that exist. Hence, Allah exists without a place.

There is absolutely nothing like Him, and He is attributed with Hearing and Sight.

Explanation: This is the meaning of Verse 11 of Surat ash-Shura {لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَىء}. It means that nothing resembles Allah in any way, just as was said by Dhun-Nun al-Misriyy : “Whatever you imagine in your mind, Allah is different from it.”

مَهْمَا تَصَوَّرْتَ بِبَالِكَ فَاللهُ بِخِلاَفِ ذَلِكَ

Allah is clear of resembling any of the creations, tangible or otherwise. For example, Allah is different from the humans, angels, light, spirits, sun, and moon. Allah is not similar to any of the creations in any way whatsoever.


Although he is famous as Dhun-Nun al-Misriyy, his name was Thawban, the son of Ibrahim. Originally he was from an-Nubah, today an area between southern Egypt and northern Sudan. He lived in Egypt some 1200 years ago. He was among the higher ranked scholars. He was famous for being God-fearing as well.

[samsparky]

Allah exists without a beginning and everything else exists with a beginning. He is the Creator and everything else is a creation.

Explanation: Allah is the only One Who is eternal. Hence, Allah is the only One Whose Existence is without a beginning. Everything else exists with a beginning. This is the meaning of a creation, i.e., the creation is that which was not existing and then it was brought into existence. Therefore, there was a beginning to its existence. Everything other than Allah is a creation and is created by Allah, tabaraka wa ta^ala. This applies to the kind  and the elements, the deeds and the bodies, and the jawhar and the ^arads. The jawhar refers to the smallest particle that can not be further divided. The ^arad refers to the attribute that does not exist independently.

The belief that everything other than Allah is a creation is among the fundamentals of the creed of the Muslims. Hence, anyone who believes that something other than Allah exists without a beginning is a blasphemer. Some people believe the kind of the universe is eternal (that its existence has no beginning) just like the later philosophers and Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah said. In his book, Tashnif al-Masami^, az-Zarkashiyy  narrated the consensus of the Muslims judging those who believe the universe is eternal to be blasphemers.
 
Every creation that exists, be it among entities or deeds, from the fine dust to the ^Arsh , and every movement, rest, intention, and thought of the slaves is created by Allah. Hence, no one other than Allah-be it nature or cause-creates anything. Things become existent by Allah’s Will, Power, and Destining, and in accordance with His eternal Knowledge,

Explanation: The nature of things means their specific normal characteristics (tabi^ah) or ^adah, as some scholars said. For example, the nature (tabi^ah) of fire is to burn. The cause (^illah) is what gives a certain result. For example, if one has a ring on one’s finger and moves one’s finger, the ring moves because of the movement of one’s finger. So the movement of the finger is the cause (^illah) for the movement of the ring.

Neither the laws of nature nor causes create anything in this universe. Rather, Allah is the only One Who creates. By His Power, Allah brings things into existence. Allah eternally knew about His creations and accordingly He willed for them to exist. Allah is the Creator of everything.

as mentioned in the Qur’an:

وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ

Surat al-Furqan, Ayah 2 means: [Allah created everything]. He brought all the creation from the state of non-existence into the state of existence. No one creates with this meaning of creating except Allah.

{هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ}:

Surat Fatir, Ayah 3 means: [No one is the Creator except Allah]. An-Nasafiyy said that if a person hit glass with a stone and broke it, then the acts of hitting and breaking and the state of being broken were created by Allah. The slave only acquires the act. Allah is the only One Who creates.

{لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ

Surat al-Baqarah, Ayah 286 means: [Every individual self will be rewarded by Allah for the good deeds it acquired and will be accountable for the sins it committed].[/b]


The “kind” is the common criterion existing in each and every element of a group which specifically characterizes that group. For example, humanity is the “kind” of the humans.

Az-Zarkashiyy is a Shafi^iyy scholar who lived about 700 years ago.

The ^Arsh is the ceiling of Paradise. It is the largest of the creations in size. Some refer to it in English as ‘the Throne.’

[Faithful]

Masha2Allah..May Allah the merciful reward u and let u see the Holy prophet tonight and every night

Fi 2amanillah bro

[samsparky]

aameen and you also  :-)

[samsparky]

Explanation: The creed of the People of Truth, Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama^ah, is that the slave is a creation of Allah, and the doings of the slave are also creations of Allah. The slave does not create anything. Allah is the One Who creates the doings of the slave, and the slave only acquires his acts. So if a person picks a stone from the ground, throws it at a piece of glass and breaks the glass, then breaking the glass by throwing the stone (which is the action of the slave) and the breaking of the glass (which occurs in the glass) are both created by Allah. Moreover, the slave’s intention to throw that stone at the glass, the hand by which he threw the stone, the action of throwing, and the stone he threw are all created by Allah. All that happens is a creation of Allah. Even one’s intentions, desires, inclinations, thoughts, and any changes in them are created by Allah.

As related by al-Bayhaqiyy and others, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

((إ�نَّ ق�ل�وبَ الع�بَاد� بَيْنَ إ�صْبَعَين� م�نْ أَصَابع� الرَّحمان� ي�قَلّ�ب�هَا كَيْ�َ يَشَاء�))

It means: <<The hearts of the slaves are under the control of Allah. Allah turns them the way He willed.>> Hence, the one who deviates from this belief and claims that the slaves create their own voluntary actions is belying the Qur’an and the Hadith. This is why the top scholars hold the consensus that such a person is a blasphemer. Imam al-Maturidiyy declared them as blasphemers. Abu Mansur al-Baghdadiyy said:

(أَجْمَعَ أَصْحَاب�نَا عَلَى تَكْ��ير�ه�م)

“The Ash^ariyys are in agreement that such people [those who claim people create their own actions] are blasphemers.â€� Before them, many prominent scholars of the Salaf  declared as blasphemers those who say the slave creates his deeds. Furthermore, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم declared them as blasphemers, and the sayings of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم are sufficient.

However, saying that Allah is the Creator of everything, including the intentions of the slave, does not mean that the slave does not have a choice. The slave has a choice, however, his choice is under the Will of Allah. His choice does not reach to an extent that he creates his own actions. Rather his own choice is a creation of Allah and is under the Will of Allah. 

Beneficial Information: “The slave acquires his act� means that he directs his will and intention towards doing a particular deed, then Allah creates that deed. Although the directing of the will and the doing of the deed are created by Allah, still the slave is doing the directing and the deed—therefore he acquires his act. Hence, if someone runs intentionally, the fact that his intention and his running movements are created by Allah does not negate that he is the one running intentionally, and thus, that he is accountable for his running.

  The Salaf are the Companions, their followers, and their followers who lived within the first 300 Hijriyy years.

[samsparky]

Beneficial Information: The Will of Allah is the attribute by which Allah specifies the intellectual possibilities (the creations) with their attributes.

The Speech (Kalam ) of Allah is without a beginning like all of His other attributes, because He, the Exalted, is unlike all the creations in the Self (Dhat), Attributes, and Actions.

Explanation: The Speech (Kalam) of Allah which is the attribute of His Self is eternal, i.e., it has no beginning, just like all the other attributes of Allah. It does not have a beginning or an ending. It is not letters which occur sequentially. The Speech of Allah is not similar to the speech of the creation.

The Kalam of Allah is an attribute of the Self (Dhat) of Allah which is not created and is not a letter, sound, or language; with it, Allah orders, forbids, promises, and threatens.

The eternal Speech (Kalam) of Allah is called ‘the Qur’an’. The term ‘the Qur’an’ can also refer to the terms revealed to Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and included in the Book of the Qur’an. These Arabic terms are created. Because these terms are expressions referring to the eternal Speech of Allah, they are also called ‘the Qur’an’ even though, beyond doubt, these terms are created.

To make it more clear, if someone wrote the word ‘Allah’ on a chalkboard and was asked what it was he wrote, he would answer, ‘Allah’. His response does not mean those letters he wrote, i.e., the A, L, L, A, and H are the Self Whom we worship (Allah). Rather he means that this term is an expression referring to the Self Whom we worship–Who is Allah, the Self Who does not resemble anything. Likewise, the terms revealed to Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم are expressions of the Speech of Allah, the attribute of His Self. Both the attribute of the Self of Allah and the revealed expressions are referred to as the ‘Speech of Allah’ and both are referred to as ‘the Qur’an’.

It is not permissible for one to believe that the Speech of Allah, which is the attribute of His Self, the Speech which Prophet Musa عليه السلام heard, is a language—Arabic or otherwise. Such a belief is a misguidance, because it entails likening Allah to the creatures. Allah is absolutely unlike all the creations in His Self, in His Attributes, and in His Actions.

Allah, subhanahu wa ta^ala, is greatly clear of all the non-befitting attributes that the blasphemers attribute to Him.

Explanation: Subhanahu means tanzih, i.e., we declare that Allah is clear of all non-befitting attributes. Ta^ala means the same and is a reconfirmation of the same meaning. Allah is greatly clear of all the non-befitting attributes that the blasphemers attribute to Him.

[samsparky]

Among what the Prophet ? ? ? informed us are:

The Day of Judgment (Qiyaamah);

It is obligatory to believe in the Day of Judgment.

Its length is 50,000 years of what we count.

The Day of Judgment begins when the people leave their graves and lasts until those whom Allaah willed for them to go to Paradise enter it, and those whom Allaah willed for them to go to Hellfire enter it.


Presentation of the Deeds (Hisaab);

This means that on the Day of Judgment every person will be presented with his deeds.

Every person will be handed his book in which the angels wrote what he did in this life.

On that day, some will be delighted with their books and others will be sad.


Reward (Thawaab);

The Reward refers to the reward for the believers in the Hereafter, in return for the good things they did in this life.

This reward is by both body and soul.


Punishment (^Adhaab);

The punishment refers to the punishment that one receives in the Hereafter in return for the sins one did in this life.

The punishment is also by body and soul.


The Balance (Meezaan);

In the Hereafter, the deeds of the people will be weighed on a balance.

The good deeds will be weighed in one pan and the bad deeds in the other.

If the pan of the good deeds is heavier than the pan of the bad ones, the person is a winner.

He will be saved.

If the pan of the bad deeds is heavier, then he deserves punishment.

On the Day of Judgment, the blasphemer will have nothing in the pan for the good deeds.


Hellfire (Naar);

Hellfire is a place where the blasphemers and part of the sinful Muslims are tortured in the Hereafter.

It is a physical fire, extremely hot; it does not get extinguished and it does not come to an end.

The blasphemers stay in continuous torture in Hellfire.

Their torture will never lesson or stop.

However, the sinful Muslims who enter Hellfire do not remain there endlessly.

They eventually will be taken out and admitted into Paradise.

They will not remain in Hellfire, because Allaah does not equate between the Muslim and the blasphemer. 


The Bridge (SiraaT);

It is obligatory to believe in the Bridge (SiraaT).

It is a bridge stretching over Hellfire to which all the humans will come.

It begins at the changed Earth and ends before Paradise.

Some fall into Hellfire at the very beginning of the bridge and these are the blasphemers.

Some of the believers walk on the Bridge, then fall into Hellfire.

The rest are saved.

[samsparky]

The Basin (HawD);

The basin of our Prophet ? ? ? is a huge body of water.

Its water comes from the water of Paradise.

Every Prophet has a basin from which his nation drinks.

The nation of Prophet MuHammad ? ? ? drinks from his Basin before entering Paradise.

May Allaah grant us that.


The Intercession (Shafaa^ah);

Intercession is defined as asking for good things of someone for others.

In the Hereafter, the prophets, the pious Muslims, the angels, and the martyrs intercede for some of the sinful Muslims, and as a result, they will be forgiven by Allaah.

Prophet MuHammad ? ? ? performs the major intercession.*

*On the Day of Judgment, the sinful Muslims go to Prophet Adam ? to ask him to intercede for them to be relieved from the extreme heat of the sun. He directs them to Prophet NuH ? , saying, “He is your father after your father.” Prophet NuH ? directs them to go to Prophet Ibraaheem ? who directs them to Prophet Musa ? , who directs them to Prophet ^Eesaa ? , who in turn directs them to Prophet MuHammad ? ? ? who intercedes for them.


Paradise (Jannah);

It is an obligation to believe in Paradise, which is now existing.

Paradise is above the seventh sky.

The ceiling of Paradise is the ^Arsh and is much larger than Paradise.

Imaam Abu Mansoor alBaghdaadiyy narrated that Imaam Ali, cousin of the Prophet, said what means:

“Allaah created the ^Arsh as an indication of His Power and did not take it as a place for Himself.”

Paradise has many levels.

Its uppermost level is called the Firdaws ?? and the ^Arsh is above it.


Seeing Allaah, ta^aalaa, with the eye in the Hereafter, without Allaah having a form or being in a place or direction, different from the way a creation is seen;

This is a known element of the creed of Muslims, and is a point of difference between the people of Ahlus-Sunnah and some deviant factions.

We must believe that the believers, while in Paradise, see Allaah with their eyes.

Allaah empowers their eyes to see Him.

They will see Allaah—not the way the creatures are seen—rather they see Allaah without Allaah being in a direction.

They see Allaah without having a distance between them and Him.

This was explicitly stated by Imaam Abu Haneefah in al-Fiqh al-Akbar, and other scholars.

Seeing Allaah is the greatest enjoyment the occupants of Paradise will experience.

May Allaah grant us this.


The dwelling forever in Paradise or Hellfire;

It is obligatory to believe that the blasphemers will dwell forever in Hellfire, and those who enter Paradise will be there forever.

This was explicitly stated in the Qur’aan and explicitly mentioned in the Hadeeth of the Prophet ? ? ?.

This is a matter which is known to both the scholars and the lay Muslims.

[samsparky]

The belief in Allaah’s Angels,

It is obligatory to believe in the angels, i.e., to believe that they exist.

They are bodies which Allaah created from light.

They are not males or females.

They do not eat or drink.

They are never disobedient to Allaah; they always obey His orders.


Messengers,

We must believe in all the prophets, those of whom we know and those of whom we do not know.

They were numerous.

The first of them was Adam ? .

The last was our prophet MuHammad ? ? ?.

Some of them were prophets and messengers and others were prophets but not messengers.

The prophet who is a messenger is one to whom Allaah revealed new Laws differing from the Laws of the messenger before him.

The prophet who was not a messenger also received the Revelation from Allaah, in which he was ordered to follow the Laws of the messenger before him.

Both the prophets and the messengers were ordered to convey their message.

Some falsely defined the prophet who is not a messenger as: “the one who received the Revelation of a new set of laws, but was not ordered to convey them to others.”

This is a serious error which one categorically must not adopt.


And Books,

It is obligatory to believe in all the Revealed Books.

They are one hundred and four (104).

The most famous are four (4): the Tawraah, the Zabur, the Injeel, and the Qur’aan.

Other than these for famous Books, it is narrated that fifty (50) different sheets were revealed to Prophet Sheeth ? , thirty (30) to Prophet Idrees ? , ten (10) to Prophet Ibraaheem ? , and ten (10) other than the Tawraah to Prophet Musa ? .


And destiny (qadar)-both good and evil;

The Arabic term ‘qadar’ can mean ‘destining’ and it can mean ‘destiny’.

It is obligatory to believe that everything that happens in this universe happens according to the Will of Allaah, by the Creating of Allaah, and by the Destining (Qadar) of Allaah.

Destining, when used to mean the eternal attribute of Allaah, means Allaah’s managing things and making them occur in accordance with His eternal Will and Knowledge.

In other words, it is making things the way they are.


However, destiny (qadar) is used in the above bold text to mean the created thing.

It refers to that which happens according to the Destining (Qadar) of Allaah.

This is why it is divided into what is good and what is evil.

It is not permissible to say about Destining (Qadar) which is the attribute of His Self, that some is good and some is evil.

The Destining (Qadar) of Allaah is good.

However, as to that which happens, i.e., the created things, some of them are good and some of them are evil.