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by Al-Jazaa'iree
THE SIX PILLARS OF IMAN
Just as Islam has
five pillars (please recall
the definitions of Islam
and Pillar), so Imaan
(please recall the
definition of Imaan
in all of its three
necessary components) also
has six pillars, taught to
us by the Prophet (sas).
These pillars are:
Belief in Allah;
Belief in the angels;
Belief in the revealed
books;
Belief in the commissioned
Messengers (peace be upon
them).
Belief in the resurrection
and the events of Qiyama.
Belief in the predestination
by Allah of all things, both
the (seemingly) good and the
(seemingly) bad.
THE FIRST PILLAR
Belief in Allah Most High.
-
It is the
foundation
of the Islamic
personality.
-
It is a basic human
need, more basic than
the need for his
provision and
sustenance.
-
Acts of worship only
become real and valid
with the feeling and
awareness of their
Object.
supplication
Love
Humility
Fear
Hope/reliance
Adoration
·
He is free of any need for
others.
·
He is the sole Creator of
all that which pleases Him
(and that which doesn't).
·
Allah has ordered His
creation and forbidden them
only in ways which are in
their best interest.
·
He sent the Messengers and
the books with the truth
Ilm-ul-Ghaib.
He alone can guide to Iman.
This is why the people of
paradise will say:
[All praise be to Allah who
guided us to this, for we
never would have been guided
to it if He had not guided
us to it.]
The best worship is
insufficient as gratitude
for his bounties and mercies
- they always fall short and
we are need of His
forgiveness.
No one's works will merit
paradise. There is no
contradiction between the
Hadith:
"None shall enter Paradise
by his actions." and the
verse which says:
[These are the people of
paradise, therein forever, a
reward for that which they
used to do.]
Every human needs Allah's
forgiveness of his sins.
THE SECOND PILLAR
Belief in the Angels.
Belief that among Allah's
creation are angels.
Real beings, not illusions
or figments of human
imagination.
Created from light.
A Muslim must believe
specifically in all the
angels named and/or
described in the Qur'an and
the Sunnah.
Jibreel:
in charge of delivering
revelation.
Mika'il:
in charge of bringing the
rain.
Israfil:
the blower of the horn on
Qiyama.
Malik-ul-Maut: the Angel of
Death who takes people's
souls at death.
The Noble Recorders: those
who record people's actions.
The Protectors (Al-Mu'aqqibat):
who keep people from death
until its decreed time.
Ridhwan:
in charge of Paradise.
Malik:
in charge of Hell.
Munkar
and Nakir: the
questioners in the grave.
The Carriers of the Throne.
Those who record the future
of the foetus.
Those who enter the Haram:
70,000 every day.
Those who move about,
descending upon gatherings
at which Allah and His Book
are mentioned and studied.
Belief in the angels is an
integral part of Iman.
[See 2/285 Al-Baqarah]
Kufr with respect to the
angels is kufr.
[See 4/136 An-Nisaa]
They are not some
metaphysical force or aspect
of the human psyche or self.
Deviants have said such
things for many centuries,
and it was not a new
deviation when it was being
propagated in America during
this century.
THE THIRD PILLAR
Belief in the Books of
Allah.
General belief in the
phenomenon of the sending of
books.
Six specific books mentioned
in the Qur'an:
As-Suhuf of Ibrahim and Musa.
Az-Zaboor given to Daud.
At-Taurat revealed to Musa.
Al-Injeel revealed to Isa.
Al-Qur'an - the final
revelation.
Attributes of the Qur'an:
Flawless and untampered
with:
[See 41/42 Fusilat]
The final authority over any
remnants of the previous
books.
[See 5/48 Al-Maidah]
A guidance and a mercy.
[See 10/37 Yunus]
The Qur'an must be
followed and applied.
[See 6/155 Al-An'aam]
Hadith narrated by Ali:
The Prophet (sas) said:
"Verily, there will be
fitan." I said: "What is
the way out of them,
Messenger of Allah?" He
said: "The Book of Allah; in
it is news of those who came
before you; news of what is
to come after you; the
ruling on that which is
between you; it is the
decisive criterion, and is
not jest. Whoever leaves it
among the arrogant ones will
be made small by Allah;
whoever seeks guidance from
other than it will be sent
astray by Allah. It is the
mighty rope of Allah, the
Wise Reminder, and the
Straight Path. With it,
inclinations do not deviate
nor tongues become confused.
Scholars are never satiated
with it; it never becomes
tiresome with repetition;
its wonders never diminish.
... Whoever speaks by it is
truthful; whoever applies it
is rewarded; whoever judges
by it is just; and whoever
calls to it is guided to a
straight path.
- Narrated by At-Tirmidhi
[Its chain is not strong
because of two unknown
narrators.]
THE FOURTH PILLAR
Belief in the prophets,
prayers and salutations of
Allah be upon them.
Belief in the process of
prophethood.
Allah in His wisdom did not
neglect His creation.
Prophets sent to guide us in
this life and the next.
Specific belief in the 25
prophets named in the
Qur'an: (1) Adam, (2) Nuh,
(3) Idris, (4) Saleh,
(5) Ibrahim, (6) Hud,
(7) Lut, (8) Yunus,
(9) Isma'il, (10) Is-haq,
(11) Ya'qub, (12) Yusuf,
(13) Ayub, (14) Shu'aib,
(15) Musa, (16) Harun,
(17) Alyas', (18) Dhu
Al-Kifl, (19) Daud,
(20) Zakariya,
(21) Sulaiman, (22) Ilyas,
(23) Yahya, (24) Isa, and
(25) Muhammad, prayers and
salutations of Allah be upon
him and upon all the
messengers of Allah.
General belief that there
are many other prophets and
messengers, but never
assuming anything without
knowledge from Allah.
The subject matter of the
prophethood.
Warnings and glad tidings.
So the disobedient will have
no excuse before Allah.
(Prophets sent to every
nation.)
Enjoining the worship of
Allah and the avoidance of
At-Taghoot (Shaitaan, etc.)
[Study: 4/165, An-Nisaa;
16/36, An-Nahl]
Prophets are the best of the
Awliyaa (Allies) of Allah.
What is wilaya; what
it isn't.
Wilaya, Iman, Kufr and
Nifaaq are all variable
attributes which can all be
present to varying degrees.
The best of Allah allies are
the prophets (a.s.).
The best among the prophets
are the messengers.
The best among the
messengers are the five
firmly intentioned mentioned
in the Qur'an.
[See: 42/13, Ash-Shuraa]
The best of the firmly
intentioned is Muhammad
(sas).
Attributes of the Prophet
Muhammad:
Seal of the prophets; Imam
of the pious; Foremost among
the sons of Adam; Imam and
Khatib of the prophets when
they assembled; Possessor of
the Praiseworthy Position
which all of mankind will
wish they had attained (and
which is mentioned in the
Du'a of hearing the adhan);
Owner of the pool in
paradise; Intercessor for
all mankind on the day of
Qiyama.
Allah sent him with the best
of the books and the best of
His law. Allah made his
nation "the best nation
brought forth for mankind."
Allah gave him (and us) all
of the good that was given
only partially to the
previous nations. His nation
is the last in creation, the
first in resurrection.
From the moment of his
prophethood, Allah made him
the criterion (Al-Farooq)
for distinguishing Allah's
allies and their actions
from His enemies and their
actions: None can have any
relationship to Allah except
through belief in the
Prophet (sas) and
following what he
brought in public and in
secret. Whoever claims love
or closeness to Allah while
disobeying the message is
actually drawing closer to
Shaitaan, farther from
Allah.
THE FIFTH PILLAR
Belief in the resurrection (Al-Ba'th).
Reconstruction of the body
and return of the soul to
it. People will come forth
out of their graves like
locusts. Faces bent down.
Rushing to the Caller.
[See 53/76 Al-Qamar; 70/43
Al-Ma'arij; 17/49 Al-Israa;
36/78 Yasin; 20/108 Taha]
The resurrection is of the
body and the soul,
not some metaphysical
resurrection of the latter.
Twelve verses from the
Qur'an which prove that.
Hadith: "The sun will come
down toward the people on
the day of Qiyama until it
is only about a mile up. The
people will be in their own
perspiration according to
their acts: some of them
will be in it up to their
ankles, some up to their
groin and others up to their
chins, and he pointed to his
mouth." Narrated by Muslim.
A disbeliever once came to
the Prophet (sas) with an
old bone, crumbled it with
his hand and said: "O
Muhammad, will Allah bring
this back to life after it
has rotted?! The Prophet
said: "Yes, Allah will
resurrect this and he will
cause you to die, bring you
back to life, and put you
into the fire of Jahannam!"
THE SIXTH PILLAR
Belief In Predestination and
Decree
A Muslim believes in Allah's
predestination of all things
and events (Qadhaa),
His decree (Qadar),
His wisdom in His actions,
and His will. Nothing in
the universe can occur, even
the voluntary actions of His
slaves, except after Allah's
knowledge, and His decree of
that event. A Muslim
further believes that Allah
is Just in His
predestination and His
decree, Wise in all of His
actions. His wisdom follows
His will: Whatever He
wills is, and whatever He
does not will is not.
There is no power nor any
movement except by Allah.
This is substantiated by the
textual and logical proofs
which follow:
TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
1) Allah informed us of this
in the Qur'an:
[Verily, we have created
everything in
(predetermined) measure.]
Qur'an 54/49
[And there is nothing
whatsoever but that its
reserves are with us, and we
do not send it down except
in known measure.] Qur'an
15/21
[No calamity strikes in the
earth nor in your selves but
that was in a book since
before We created it (i.e.
the event). That is easy for
Allah.] Qur'an 57/22
[No calamity strikes except
with the permission of
Allah.] Qur'an 64/11
[Say: Nothing will befall us
except what Allah had
decreed for us, He is our
protecting Ally, and upon
Allah let the believers
depend.] Qur'an 9/51
[And with Him are the keys
of the unseen, no one knows
them except Him. He knows
all that is in the ocean and
on the land. No leaf falls
without His knowledge, nor
any particle in the dark
recesses of the earth, nor
anything green and fresh or
dry and withered but that it
is in a clear book.] Qur'an
6/59
[This is nothing less than a
reminder to all the worlds.
* For whoever among you has
an intention to go straight.
* But you will never have
this intention unless Allah
so wills, Lord of the
worlds.] Qur'an 81/27-29
[Those for whom good has
already been decreed by us
will be far removed from it
(i.e. hell).] Qur'an 21/101
[If only, when you entered
your garden, you had said:
(This is only) by the will
of Allah. There is no power
except from Allah.] Qur'an
18/39
[Praise be to Allah who
guided us to this, and we
would never have attained
guidance if Allah had not
guided us.] Qur'an 7/43
2) The Prophet (sas), too,
has informed us about the
reality of Allah's
predestination and decree in
many hadith:
"Verily, each one of you is
formed in his mother's womb
forty days as a drop, then
he is something suspended
for a similar period, then
he is a piece of flesh like
a chewed piece of meat for
another period of forty
days, then the angel is sent
to insert the soul. This
angel is ordered to record
four things: the sustenance
which he will receive during
his lifetime, the length of
his life, all actions that
he will do, and whether he
will end up miserable (in
hell) or joyous (in
paradise). I swear by the
One other than whom there is
no deity, one of you may do
the works of the people of
paradise right up until
there is only an arm's
length between him and
paradise, but his destiny
overtakes him, so he does
the actions of the poeple of
the fire and enters it. And,
verily, one of you may do
the works of the people of
hell until there is nothing
between them and hell except
for one arm's length, but
his destiny overtakes him,
and so he does the works of
the people of paradise, and
enters it." (Muslim)
"Young man, I will teach you
some words: Preserve (your
obligations toward) Allah
and He will preserve you.
Guard (your obligations
toward) Allah, and you will
find Him on your side. When
you ask, ask Allah. When you
seek aid and succour, seek
it from Allah. And know,
that if the entire nation
got together to benefit you
in some way, they could
never benefit you at all
except for that which Allah
had already decreed for you.
And, if they all got
together to harm you in some
way, they could do you no
harm except for that which
Allah had already decreed
for you. The pens have been
lifted, and the tablets have
dried." (At-Tirmidhi, and he
rated it Sahih.)
"The first thing which Allah
created was the pen. Then,
He said to it: Write. It
asked: My Lord, what should
I write? He said: Write the
proportions of all things up
until the Hour." (Ahmad,
At-Tirmidhi, and it is
hassan.)
"Adam disputed with Musa.
Musa said to Adam: "O, Adam,
you are the father of the
human race, Allah created
you with His hand, and blew
into you of His spirit, and
made His angels prostrate to
you, why did you expel
yourself and us from the
garden?" Adam said to him:
"You are Musa whom Allah
favored with His speech, and
wrote for you the Taurah
with His hand, so (tell me)
by how many years before my
creation did you find it
written about me: [... then
Adam disobeyed his Lord and
got lost.] (Qur'an 20:121)?
Musa said: "By forty years."
Then, Adam said: "So how do
you blame me for something
which Allah had decreed for
me before my creation by
forty years?" The Prophet
said: "And so, Adam defeated
Musa in the dispute."
"Iman (faith) is to believe
in Allah, His angels, His
revealed books, His
messengers, the last day,
and the predestination of
all things both (those which
appear) good and (those
which appear) bad." (Muslim)
"Act, for each of you will
find easy that for which he
was created." (Muslim)
"Verily, oaths do not change
destiny." (Sahih)
"O, Abdullah ibn Qais,
should I not teach you a
word which is one of the
treasures of paradise? (It
is to say): There is no
movement nor any power
except from Allah."
"Someone said: That which
Allah wants and you want. To
which the Prophet (sas)
replied: That which Allah
alone wants." (An-Nasaa'i,
and he rated it sahih)
3) Millions of people from
the nation of Muhammad (sas)
have believed in Allah's
predestination and decree of
all things and events
including its scholars,
righteous ones and others.
They all believed too in His
wisdom and His will and that
everything is known to Allah
in advance of its
occurrence, and only takes
place by His decree. Nothing
can take place anywhere in
His kingdom except for that
which He wills. What He
wills is, and what He does
not will is not. The pen has
already recorded the
destinies of all things up
to the establishment of the
hour.
EVIDENCE OF REASON
1) Reason does not reject
the idea of predestination
and decree and of Allah's
wisdom and His will. Just
the opposite, reason demands
that this is the case
without doubt because of the
clear evidences of it in the
universe around us.
2) Belief in Allah and in
his perfect might and power
demands the belief in His
predestination and His
decree, His wisdom and His
will.
3) An architect is able to
make drawings for a huge
building on a piece of
paper. He determines the
time in which it will be
built, and then works at the
execution of his plan,
bringing the reality of the
building from the paper to
reality in the time set for
its accomplishment, and in
accordance with what he drew
on the paper, neither more
nor less. This being the
case for a human, how could
anyone reject the fact that
Allah has set the
proportions of all things
from now until the hour? And
then, due to the perfection
of His knowledge and His
power, He brings about those
assigned proportions just as
He had pre-set them in terms
of quantity, nature, time,
and place. There is no
reason to reject these facts
once we know that Allah is
capable of all things!
THE AFFIRMATION OF ALLAH'S
CHARACTERISTICS
(WITHOUT NEGATION, ANALOGY,
DISTORTION OR SPECULATION)
The Author: "Part of the
belief in Allah is the
belief in all that with
which He has described
Himself in His Book or with
which His Prophet (sas) has
described Him without any
distortion, negation,
speculation (as to
the exact nature of these
attributes), nor analogy
(i.e. between Allah's
attributes and those of His
creation bearing the same
names)."
This section is a more
detailed explanation of the
first pillar of Iman: belief
in Allah Most High. This is,
of course the most
fundamental principle in
Islam, and the foundation of
all other principles of
belief and action.
Distortion
(At-Tahreef).
Distortion of the Names and
Attributes themselves (i.e.
the words) and (b)
Distortion of their
meanings.
EXAMPLES:
The Jahmiy (follower of the
deviations of Al-Jahm ibn
Safwan) negates Allah's
statement about himself that
he "sat on the throne" by
adding an extra letter to
the word in the Qur'an.
[Istawaa 'alaa al-'arsh] ==>
[Istawlaa 'alaa al-'arsh]
The innovators who changed
the case of a noun in the
Qur'an in an effort to
negate Allah's attribute of
speech:
[Wa kallama Allahu Musa
takleeman] ==> [Wa kallama
Allaha Musa takleeman]
Others distorted meanings of
Allah's attributes without
actually changing the words.
Examples include those who
said that Allah's anger (Ghadhab)
means His intention to
punish, His mercy (Rahma)
means his intention to have
mercy, His hand (Yad)
is His generosity or His
power, etc.
Negation
(At-Ta'teel):
The meaning of the word is
to leave, neglect or be done
with something, or for
something to be unused and
nonfunctional. The technical
meaning here is the negation
or denial of any or all of
Allah's Attributes. Negation
of Allah's attributes can be
divided into three
categories:
Negation of the Exalted
Perfection of Allah Most
High via the negation of His
Names and Glorious
Attributes such as was done
by the Jahmiya and
the Mu'tazila.
Negation through negation of
appropriate interaction with
Allah and neglect of worship
of Him and obedience to Him,
or the association of others
with Him in acts of worship
and/or obedience.
Negation of the relationship
of the creation to its
Creator, such as the
negation of the philosophers
who claimed that this
physical universe has no
beginning, and that it has
always and will always work
according to its own
internal rules. They turn
Allah into an essence with
no attributes - which is an
impossibility!
Speculation and Analogy
(At-Takyeef wa At-Tamtheel):
At-Takyeef means attempts to
ascribe a detailed
understanding of the
exact nature of the
various attributes with
which Allah has described
Himself. At-Tamtheel means
to make a direct comparison
or analogy between one of
Allah's attributes and a
human attribute having the
same name, such as the
comparison of Isa by the
Christians to Allah Most
High, or that of Uzair by
the Jews or that of the
idols by the polytheists to
Allah Most High. Likewise
the Mushabbiha among
the Muslims who compare
Allah with His creation by
saying that He has a face
like our faces, hands like
our hands, hearing and sight
like ours, etc.
The author said elsewhere:
"Rather [the believers]
believe that Allah Most High
is not comparable to
anything or anyone else, and
He is the Hearing, the
Seeing. They do not negate
or deny any of that with
which He described Himself,
nor [do they] distort the
words out of their proper
context. They do not deviate
[with respect to] His Names
and His Verses. They do not
seek detailed descriptions
of the exact nature of His
attributes without sources
of that knowledge, nor
compare His attributes with
those of His creation,
because there are none
comparable to Him, nor any
equal or partner!"
Tauhid of Allah's Names and
Attributes means belief in
everything which has come in
the Qur'an and the
authenticated hadith
regarding Allah's attributes
with which He described
Himself in the Qur'an, or
with which His Prophet (sas)
has described Him. A Muslim
must believe in the reality
of these attributes just as
they have come in the above
sources, without attempting
to analyze the "how" of any
of them, nor to attempt to
represent them with
something else, nor to view
them as equivalent to
something else, nor to
re-interpret them with other
than their apparent meanings
in the Arabic language, nor
to distort or negate them
maintaining the belief
that...
[There is nothing whatsoever
similar to Him, and He is
the Hearer, the Seer.]
Ash-Shooraa/11
Allah said:
[Say: He is Allah, the One *
Allah, the one sought for
all needs, the
self-sufficient, the
eternal. * He bears not
offspring, nor was He born,
* And there exists nothing
comparable to Him.] Qur'an
Al-Ikhlaas/all
[And to Allah belong the
best of names, so call Him
with them, and leave those
who deviate with regard to
His names - they will be
fully repaid for all that
they used to do.] As-
A'raaf/180
THE POSITION OF AHLU
AS-SUNNAH WITH REGARD TO
ALLAH'S ATTRIBUTES
The Prophet (sas) said: "The
best of generations is my
generation. It is followed
(in superiority) by the one
which comes after it, then
the one which comes after
that, then the one which
comes after that."
Ahlu As-Sunna
acknowledge and believe that
Allah ta'ala is completely
unlike and cannot be
compared to any created
being, neither in His
essence, His attributes, His
actions or His names. All of
His names are glorious, and
all of His attributes are
attributes of perfection and
absolute greatness. The
ultimate and most concise
proof of the position of
ahlu as-sunnah is found
in the verse cited earlier,
in which Allah says:
[There is nothing whatsoever
similar to Him, and He is
the Hearer, the Seer.] Ash-Shooraa/11
This verse contains a
negation which is followed
immediately by an
affirmation. The fact that
Allah negates the
possibility of anything or
anyone being comparable or
like Him, and follows that
immediately with he
affirmation of two of His
glorious names and perfect
attributes, puts an absolute
end to the confusing
arguments and sophistries of
the innovators in the area
of Allah's names/attributes.
When one comprehends fully
the meaning of this verse
and contemplates it, it is
alone is sufficient for an
understanding of this issue.
It is further supported by
the following verses:
[He knows all that is in
front of them and all that
is behind them, and they are
incapable of encompassing
Him with their knowledge.]
Taha/110
[He knows all that is in
front of them and all that
is behind them, and they can
encompass nothing of his
knowledge (with their
understanding) except what
He so wills.] Al-Baqarah/
255
The author said elsewhere:
those who used their
imaginations, (2) those who
distort meanings through
non-apparent interpretation,
and (3) those who postulate
ignorance of their meanings
on the part of the Prophet (sas)
and the believers.
The imaginers are the
philosophers and those who
followed their path among
sophists (Al-Mutakallimeen)
and sufis. The essence of
their position is that they
say: "All that the Prophet (sas)
has mentioned to us in the
area of belief in Allah and
the last day is just an
imaginary conception of the
realities delivered in a
form that the masses could
benefit from, but which do
not make any of that reality
clear or guide the creation
to an understanding of
them."
Beyond this, they fall into
two groups: One group says
that the Prophet (sas)
did not have true knowledge
of these realities, and they
say that some of the later
philosophers and spiritual
seekers after him have
arrived at this knowledge!
They place some of the
supposed "awliyaa'"
on a higher lever than the
commissioned messengers!
This is the belief of the
many of the sufis and the
Shi'a. Another group says
that while the Prophet (sas)
had knowledge of these
realities, he did not make
them clear to the people. In
fact, they claim that he
taught them meanings
actually at odds with the
realities which he
understood because that was
what was beneficial to them.
Thus, their argument is that
it was required of the
Prophet (sas) to call the
people to belief in Allah
having attributes that they
could understand, to the
resurrection of our bodies
on Qiyama, to eating and
drinking in Al-Jannah,
not because these things are
real, but because it would
not have been possible to
call the people except with
such things. Thus they
allege that the Prophet (sas)
was ordered to lie to the
people "for their own good".
As for the practical
applications and laws of
Islam, they go two different
ways: some accept their
obligation upon them, while
others say that they only
apply to some people or that
they apply to the common
masses, but that certain
special individuals become
exempt from their
requirements.
Those who distort by
allegorical interpretation
say that the Prophet (sas)
did not intend, in these
texts dealing with Allah's
attributes, that people
should believe untruths;
rather, he intended with
them certain meanings which,
however, he did not make
clear, or did he point them
in their direction. Rather,
he wanted them to seek and
attempt to know the
realities with their minds,
and then to fit the texts
through interpretation to
the meanings at which they
arrive. In their belief, the
teachings of the Prophet (sas)
were nothing more than a
test or a requirement of
them to seek to know the
truth from other sources,
and not from him (sas).
Those who postulate
ignorance (and there are
many of them who claim
adherence to the sunnah)
claim that the Prophet (sas)
did not know the meanings of
the revelations about
Allah's attributes, nor did
Jibreel. According to this,
the Prophet (sas) spoke to
us with things which he
himself did not understand.
They cite Allah's statement
that:
[None knows their true
meanings (or interpretation)
except Allah.]
This is basically a correct
position, except for the
fact that they failed to
differentiate between
meaning and
interpretation (i.e.
tafsir).
NO ANALOGIES OR COMPARISONS
CAN BE MADE
BETWEEN ALLAH MOST HIGH AND
HIS CREATION
Allah Most High said: [So do
not posit similitudes to
Allah; Verily Allah knows
and you know not.]
An-Nahl/74. Allah ta'ala
cannot be compared to any
among His creation in His
actions and His attributes,
just as He cannot be
compared to any of them in
his essence.
This position of the Sunnah
and its followers, is at
odds with he deviation of
the "Mu'tazilah" and
those among the Shi'a
who imitated them. They make
analogies between Allah and
His creation and make Allah
comparable to His creation
and subject to the same
methods of analysis. Then
they proceeded to fabricate
a law from themselves,
saying that Allah must do
such and such and must not
do such and such.
The Mu'tazilah and those who
follow their way are
Mushabbiha in relation to
Allah's actions, and
Mu'attilah in relation to
His attributes. They
reject some of what Allah
has attributed to Himself,
and they call that Tauhid;
and they have made Him
comparable to His creation
in analysis of praiseworthy
and blameworthy actions,
calling that justice.
Their "justice" is a
rejection of Allah's
absolute power and control
over his creation (the Sixth
Pillar of Iman, above), and
is in reality shirk.
Their "tauhid" is
deviation with regard to his
names and their rejection or
negation (ta'teel).
[And to Allah belong the
best of names, so call Him
with them, and leave those
who deviate with regard to
His names - they will be
fully repaid for all that
they used to do.] As-
A'raaf/180
In short, Allah's is the
utmost example (in all of
his attributes); comparisons
and analogies, either
partial or total, cannot be
drawn between Him and His
creation.
[And His is the utmost
example in the heavens and
the earth, and He is the
Mighty, the Wise.] Ar-Rum/27
Thus, any attribute of
perfection or power with
which humans can be
described, is in its
ultimate meaning, and is
most appropriate when
applied to Allah, ta'ala.
And any negative attribute
or shortcoming which is
negated from humans by way
of praise is in its ultimate
meaning, and is most
appropriate when applied to
Allah ta'ala.
All issues of Allah's
attributes and names must be
taken back, both to affirm
and deny, to that which
Allah said about Himself,
and that which His Prophet
(sas) taught us about Him.
These sources cannot be
neglected in favor of those
who forge lies about Allah,
and speak about Him that
which they know not.
The author: "And [Allah is]
more truthful in speech and
superior in discourse to his
slaves...." This is taken
from the verse:
[Allah! There is no deity
but Him. He will surely
bring you all together to
the day of Qiyama; there is
no doubt therein; and who is
more truthful in discourse
than Allah?] An-Nisaa/87
Allah's discourse is on the
absolute highest level of
truth. Any "knowledge" which
contradicts the discourse of
Allah is falsehood, lies or
deception since it
contradicts the ultimate and
infallible truth.
The author: "Further, His
messengers are truthful and
among those who believe as
true..." Truthfulness
(As-Sidq) means accordance
between statement and
reality. "Those who believe
as true (Musaddiqeen) refers
to their complete belief in
the revelations which came
to them.
The author: "...This, in
contrast to those who say
about Allah that which they
know not." This includes
those who speak, based on
speculation and their own
minds, understandings and
inclinations about Allah:
His law, His Deen, His names
or His attributes.
Allah said:
[Glorified is your Lord, the
Lord of might above that
which they attribute to Him.
* And peace be upon the
messengers. * And all praise
is to Allah, Lord of the
worlds.]
As-Saaffaat/180-182.
ALLAH CANNOT BE COMPARED TO
HIS CREATION
(Continued)
The verses quoted previously
are a concise expression of
the position of the true
worshippers of Allah in
relation to His attributes
about which He has informed
us through His Messenger
(sas). In the first verse,
Allah declares His
perfection and his
remoteness from any of the
things which humans attempt
to ascribe to him with their
minds. Next, He invokes a
greeting upon the
commissioned messengers -
because of their faithful
delivery of the true
teachings about Allah and
His attributes. Finally, He
finishes by invoking to
Himself "Al-Hamd" the
ultimate praise which is due
only to Him because of His
glorious attributes of
perfection and might.
Now, we will take a closer
look at the meaning of the
words in the verse.
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