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The
Second Fundamental:
Knowing
the religion of Islam with evidences
It
is submission and surrender to Allah alone, with Tawheed and submitting to Him
by obeying His commandments and being free from shirk and the (Mushriks)
polytheists.
It
has three categories:
Islam
(Submission).
Imaan
(Belief).
Ihsan
(Perfection of Worship).
The
first: Islam (submission).
Islam
has five pillars:
-
Testifying
that there is none worthy of worship but Allah, and that Muhammad is His
Messenger.
-
Performing
prayers.
-
Paying
the Zakat.
-
Fasting
in the month of Ramadan.
-
Pilgrimage
to the Sacred House (Mecca).
The
evidence for testifying is His saying:
Allah
bears witness that none has the right to be worshipped but He and the angels,
and those having knowledge (also give this witness); (He always) maintains His
creation on justice. Laa ilaha illa huwa, the All-Mighty, the All- Wise.
(3:18)
It
means that it is only Allah that is worthy of being worshipped, and the
negation, "... Laa ilaha ...", refutes entirely everything that
is worshipped besides Allah. “…illa Allah” affirms that Allah alone
deserves to be worshipped without any partners. Just as He has no partner in
worship He also has no partner in His Domain. The following verses illustrate
this point:
And
(remember) when Ibrahim said to his father and his people: “Verily, I am
innocent of what you worship, “Except
Him Who did create me, and verily, He will guide me.” And he made it (Laa
ilaha illa Allah) a Word lasting among his offspring, that they may turn back
(to Allah).
(43:26-28)
And
His saying:
Say:
(O Muhammad): O People of the scripture: Come to a word that is just between us
and you: That we worship none but Allah (alone); that we associate no partners
with him and that none of us shall take others as Lords besides Allah. Then, if
they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims.”
(3:64)
The
evidence for testifying that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah is in His
saying:
Verily
there has come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves: it grieves him that
you should receive any injury or difficulty. He is anxious over you; for the
Believers (he is) full of pity kind and merciful. But if they turn away, Say (O
Muhammad): “Allah is sufficient for me. Laa ilaha illa Huwa in Him I put my
trust and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.
(9:128-129)
To
testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah signifies that one should obey
his orders and believe him in what he has informed us of, to avoid what he
prohibits and worship Allah according to His precepts.
The
evidence for prayers and Zakat, and the meaning of worshipping Allah alone is in
His saying:
And
they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none
but Him alone, sincerely (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him, being true
in faith); and establish regular prayer; and give Zakat; and that is the right
religion.
(98:5)
The
evidence for fasting is Allah ta’ala’s saying:
O
you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those
before you, that you may (learn self-restraint). (2:183)
The
evidence for Pilgrimage is His saying:
And
Pilgrimage to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can
afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of
His creations. (3:97)
The second: Imaan (Belief)
Imaan
comprises of seventy and some odd branches (narrated by Bukhari), the highest is
to testify to "La ilaha illa Allah" and the lowest is to remove
obstacles from the path of the people. Modesty and bashfulness is one of the
branches of Imaan.
The
pillars of Imaan are six: Belief in:
-
Allah.
-
His
Angles.
-
His
Books.
-
His
Messengers.
-
The
Last Day.
-
Divine
Preordainment whether good or bad.
Evidence
from the Quran for these six pillars of Imaan is:
It
is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but Al-Bir
is (the quality) of the one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the
Book, and the Prophets…
(2:177)
Evidence
for Divine preordainment from the Quran is:
Verily,
We have created all things with Qadar (Divine preordainments of all things
before their creation as written in the Book of Decrees-Al Lauh al –Mahfuz) (54:49)
The
third: Ihsan (Perfection of worship)
Which
is to worship Allah as if you see Him; for though you do not see Him, Verily He
sees you.
Evidence
is in His saying
For
Allah is with those who restrain themselves, and those who are Muhsinun
(those who are perfecting their deeds-who perform good deeds totally for
Allah’s sake only without showing off or to gain praise or fame and they do
them in accordance with the Sunnah). (16:128)
and
in the statement of Allah exalted:
In
whatever deed you do, and whatever portion you recite from the Quran, and
whatever deed you (o mankind) do, We are but Witnesses thereof when you are
deeply engrossed therein.
(10:61)
Evidence
from the hadith is the well known hadith of Jibreel (Gabriel).
On
the authority of Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"One
day while we were sitting with the messenger (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) of
Allah, there came upon us a man with extremely white clothes and extremely black
hair. There were no signs of travel on him and none of us knew him. He sat
before the Prophet, salla Allah u alihi wa sallam, and supported his knees up
against the knees of the
Prophet’s and put his hands on the Prophet's thighs. He said:
"O
Muhammad, tell me about Islam.”
"He
(salla Allah u alihi wa sallam) said: "Islam is to testify that
there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allah, to establish the prayers, to give Zakat, to fast the month of Ramadhan,
and to perform the Pilgrimage to the House, if you have the means to do so.”
"He
(the stranger) said:"You have spoken truthfully."
We
were amazed that he asks the question and then tells him that what he had said
was true.
The
stranger then said: "Tell me about Imaan."
He
the messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah said: "It is to
believe in Allah, His Angles, His Books, His Messengers, The Last Day, and in
the Divine decree, the good and the evil thereof.”
He
said: "Tell me about Ihsan."
He
salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam answered: "It is that you worship
Allah as if you see Him, even though you do not see Him, He sees you.”
He
said: "Tell me about [the time of] the hour."
He
said: "The one being asked does not know more than the one asking.’’
He
said: "Tell me about its signs."
He
said: "The slave girl shall give birth to her master, and you will see
the barefooted, scantily-clothed, destitute shepherds competing in erecting
lofty buildings.’’
Then
he left. I stayed for a long time. Then he [the Prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa
sallam)] said: "O Umar, do you know who the questioner was?"
I
said: "Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: "That was
[the angel] Gabriel who came to teach you your religion."
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