Chapter 2 Text: َﺍﻟَّﺬِﻳﻦَ ﺁﻣَﻨُﻮﺍ ﻭَﻟَﻢْ ﻳَﻠْﺒِﺴُﻮﺍ ﺇِﻳﻤَﺎﻧَﻬُﻢْ ﺑِﻈُﻠْﻢٍ ﺃُﻭﻟَٰﺌِﻚَ ﻟَﻬُﻢُ ﺍﻟْﺄَﻣْﻦُ ﻭَﻫُﻢْ ﻣُﻬْﺘَﺪُﻭﻥ
It is those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah and worship none but Him Alone) and confuse not their belief with Zulm (wrong i.e. by worshipping others besides Allah), for them (only) there is security and they are the guided. (Surah An’am: 82) Explanation: When Allah says ‘Those who believe’ He means those who have firm belief in their hearts, they pronounce faith on their tongues and that they do righteous actions According to the Belief of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah Iman (Belief) is: a) Belief in the Heart (Taqwa, Tawakkul, etc) b) Belief with the Tongue (Testifying to the Shahadah, reciting Quran, etc) c) Belief in our Actions (Prayer, Jihad, Hajj, etc)
– the word Zulm usually means Oppression/Injustice but here it has the meaning of Shirk. Injustice originally means a violation of rights or of what is right, thus Shirk is a form of Zulm because it is a violation of Allah’s absolute right of being worshipped solely ٍﻇُﻠْﻢ
In the two Sahih’s, al-Bukhari and Muslim, there’s the narration of Abdullah ibn Masood (radhi Allaahu anhu). Where when he heard this verse he was concerned that he and others would not be able to apply it and not be able to implement it. Abdullah ibn Masood (radhi Allaahu anhu) narrated: “When the Verse: “They who believe and do not mix their belief with injustice” [Al-An’aam (6):82] was revealed, we said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger! Who is there amongst us who has not done wrong to himself?’ He replied, ‘It is not as
you say, for ‘injustice’ in the Verse “...and do not mix their belief, with injustice...” means ‘Shirk’ (i.e. joining others in worship with Allah). Have you not heard Luqman’s saying to his son, “O my son, do not associate (anything) with Allah. Indeed, association (with Him) is great injustice.’1 So the Prophet َ ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢclarified the situation and said that it’s not like what you’re thinking about, that’s not the real understanding of the verse. It is that they do not mix with their Iman any zulm – any type of Oppression/Injustice. Zulm here is shirk. Have you not heard the statement of the wise man Luqman. Who said to his son, O my young son, do not make shirk with Allah, because verily it is shirk that is the great Zulm (Oppression/Injustice). So the Prophet َ ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢsupplied us with Tafsir al-Qur’an. We now that Zulm can have many meanings, many shapes and many manifestations. However the intended Zulm in this verse is the greatest and most severe kind of zulm which is Shirk (Associating partners with Allah) Major Shirk is a form of Zulm (Injustice) which nullifies sound belief, while Lesser Shirk damages true belief Whosoever is saved from the 3 types of Zulm: 1) Shirk 2) Doing Injustice to others 3) Doing injustice to oneself Then for them will be perfect security and complete guidance Ibn Kathir says ‘This means that those, who are sincere in their worship to Allah Alone and worship none but Him are the secure ones and are those who are guided on the day of Judgement’ This verse proves that whoever dies practising Tawhid, having turned to Allah in repentance from any major sins he may have committed, will be saved from any punishment in the Fire; and whoever dies practising Tawhid, having committed major sins without having repented, will be saved from eternal stay in the 1
Al-Bukhari (3360) and Muslim (124)
Fire (although he may be first punished therein or forgiven as Allah Wills)
Text:
Ubaadah Ibnus-Saamit (radhiAllaahu anhu) narrated that the Prophet ِﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪ َ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢsaid: “Whoever testifies that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah Alone Who has no partners, and that Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger, and that Jesus is Allah’s Servant and His Messenger, His Word which He bestowed on Mary and a spirit (created at a command) from Him, and that Paradise is true, and Hell is true, Allah will admit him into Paradise with the deeds which he has done (even if those deeds are few).” (Reported by Al-Bukhari 3435 and Muslim 28)
Explanation: We see the obligation of worshipping Allah Alone without any partners Sheikhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said ‘The word Ilah (god) means the One who is worshipped and obeyed: it is the Only One who deserves to be worshipped We affirm that Muhammad َ ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢwas the Messenger of Allah, while we affirm that only Allah has the sole right to all of our acts of worship The highest rank a human being can achieve is to be a Slave and Messenger of Allah, the Prophet Mohammed َﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢ acquired these two qualities and thus he was the most perfect and infallible human being Affirmation of Allah's Attribute of speech In the hadith we see we must also affirm the great status of Esa (Alayhis Salaam) who is mentioned in the narration with 4 characteristics: 1) He is the servant of Allah 2) He is a Messenger of Allah 3) A Word sent down to Maryam 4) A Ruh: Esa (Alayhis Salaam) was created from Maryam by Allahs Word: "Be!" without a father and
this is a refutation of the claims of the Jews, who accused Maryam of the sin of fornication The Belief of Tawhid is something that opposes every other religion of falsehood. Of the way of the Jews that have perverted the message of Musa. And the way of the Christians that have perverted the message of Esa. And the idol worshippers and atheists, and the people who believe in reincarnation and so on Affirmation of the resurrection of mankind on the Day of Judgement Confirmation of the existence of Paradise and Hell The disobedient people, those who have sins from amongst the Muslims, the people who have worshipped Allah Alone, and not made any shirk. Then they shall not be eternally punished in the Hellfire
Text: Itbaan Ibn Maalik (Radhi Allahu anhu) narrated that the Prophet َﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢ said: “...Allah has forbidden the Hellfire (to touch) those who say ‘There is no deity but Allah,’ seeking thereby nothing but Allah’s Face.” (Part of a hadith reported by Al-Bukhari 425 and Muslim 33)
Explanation: That Tawhid is extremely excellent in virtue and that it saves people from the fire and it expiates sins Seeking by that statement the Face of Allah. Meaning purely intended for the pleasure of Allah. And by other texts we understand that statement must be followed up by actions which represent its proper understanding Good deeds are only accepted when one fulfils 2 conditions: 1) The act must be Sincerely for the sake of Allah only 2)
The act must be in accordance to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah َﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢ
This Hadith informs us that Allah , will save from the punishment of the Hell-fire all those who confirm His Oneness and act in accordance with that, intending nothing thereby except to get close to Allah , without Riya (Lesser Shirk: Performing good deeds in order to be seen doing so) and without Sum'ah (Performing good deeds in order to gain a good reputation) Confirmation of Allah's Attribute of a Face we must affirm that Allah has a Face in a manner that is befitting to His Majesty and Greatness Narrated Anas (Radhi Allaahu anhu): The Prophet َﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢ said, “Whoever said La ilaaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of a barley grain, will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said La ilaaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and has in his heart good (faith) equal to
the weight of a wheat grain, will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said La ilaaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of an atom, or a small ant will be taken out of Hell.” (Reported in Al-Bukhari) That whoever says la ilaaha illallaah while he calls upon other than Allah with his worship. Then that statement of la ilaaha illallaah will not help him, will not benefit him We must have Sincerity when worshipping Allah, Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A person can have nothing more beneficial than sincerity towards his Lord in all his affairs, along with sincerity of resolve, so he should be sincere towards Him in his resolve and in his actions. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): ْﻓَﺈِﺫَﺍ ﻋَﺰَﻡَ ﺍﻟْﺄَﻣْﺮُ ﻓَﻠَﻮْ ﺻَﺪَﻗُﻮﺍ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﻟَﻜَﺎﻥَ ﺧَﻴْﺮًﺍ ﻟَﻬُﻢ
ۚ ٌﻃَﺎﻋَﺔٌ ﻭَﻗَﻮْﻝٌ ﻣَﻌْﺮُﻭﻑ
“And when the matter (preparation for Jihad) is resolved on, then if they had been true to Allah, it would have been better for them” [Muhammad 47:21]. So his happiness lies in sincerity of resolve and sincerity of action. Sincerity of resolve means certain desire to do an action and not hesitating to do it. If his resolve is sincere, all that is left is sincerity of action, which is doing one’s best and striving one’s utmost when doing it , and not letting anything, outward or inward, hold him back from it.
Text: Aboo Sa’id Al-Khudri (Radhi Allaahu anhu) narrated that the Prophet َ ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢsaid allegedly: “Moses said, ‘O My Lord! Teach me an invoc tion with which I should remember and invoke You’ Almighty Allah said, ‘Say There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah.’ Moses said, “O My Lord! All your servants say this invocation.’ Almighty Allah replied, ‘O Moses! If the seven heavens, their inhabitants, other than Me, and the seven earths were to be in a scale, and the statement ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah’ were to be in the other scale, the latter would definitely outweigh them.’” (Reported by Ibn Hibban 2324 and Al-Haakim declared this hadith to be Authentic. 1/528)
Explanation: The great status of the statement Laa ilaaha illallah Conditions of Laa ilaaha illallaah 1)
Al-’ilm – Knowledge
2)
Al-yaqeen – Certainty
3)
Al-iklaas – Sincerity
4)
As-sidq – Truthfulness
5)
Al-Mahabbah – Love
6)
Al-inqiyaad – Submission
7)
Al-qabool – Acceptance
That it is permissible to ask Allah for something specially for oneself That Musa was virtuous and he was concerned and focused on drawing close to Allah That the Hadith clearly shows the greatness and virtue of Laa ilaaha illallaah Confirmation of Allah's Attribute of Speech: This is proven from Quran and Sunnah, Adi ibn Hatim (Radi Allahu ‘Anhu) said: Allah’s Messenger َ ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢsaid: “There is no one from you except that His Lord will speak with him, with no interpreter between them. Then he will look to his right and will see nothing except what he has put forth (of
deeds) and he will look to his left and will see nothing except what he has put forth. He will look in front of him and see nothing except the Fire in front of his face. So fear the Fire even with half of a date. Whoever does not even find that, then with a kind word.” (Reported by alBukhari no. 1413, 6539 and Muslim no. 1016) This proves Allah is above the heavens, “their inhabitants, other than Me..” The hadith the that deeds will be balanced on weighing scales which will be set in the hereafter There are seven earths as there are seven heavens La ilaaha illallaah is the statement that the whole creation is in dire need of, we must Say it understanding it and act according to it. Constantly saying La ilaaha illallaah is a great way to draw closer to Allah We see even the Prophets need to be reminded about the virtue of la ilaaha illallaah. You’ll find in the Qur’an reminders to our Prophet َ ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢthat support this idea of the importance of la ilaaha illallaah. All of the creation, the Prophets the very best of them, they are in need of being reminded about the right of Allah Laa ilaaha illallaah are the best Zikr and the weightiest in value, Iman has 70 plus branches It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be well pleased with him) that the Prophet َ ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢsaid: Iman (faith) has 70 plus branches. The greatest of all is to say: La ilaaha illallaah and the least is to remove something harmful from the way and modesty (haya) is also a branch of Iman. (Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim)
Text: Anas Ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: “I heard the Messenger of Allah َ ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢsaying that Almighty Allah said, ‘O son of Adam! If you meet me in the state that your sins fill the earth, but not associating anything with Me, I will meet you with the same (vastness) of forgiveness (on My behalf).’” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi 3534, Ad-Daarami 2791 and Ahmad (5/172), and AtTirmidhi graded it a hasan hadith)
Explanation: Meaning of this narration is that no matter how much a person sins, Allah is capable and ready to forgive. Showing you the importance of meeting Allah on Day if Judgement without having committed any shirk in this life, without having worshiped other than Allah Proof of the greatness of Allah's Generosity and Mercy We have already mentioned that we affirm that Allah Speaks in a way that is befitting to His Majesty, the Scholars of Islam have said that the Speech of Allah is Sifah Dhaatiyyah (Attributes of essence) from one angle and Sifah Fee’liyyah (Attributes of Action) from another angle. And briefly what that means is that it’s an Attribute that Allah is always described with - Speaking and Speech. We affirm Speaking and Speech as an Attribute of Allah and we don’t have any proof to say that Allah is silent, that Allah doesn’t speak. So we describe Him with that with a continual understanding. However to refer to his individual statements He made to different Prophets or to His angels or to whomever He wanted to Speak to. Then those individual statements that He made are Sifah Fee’liyyah - they are individually chosen actions that He does whenever He wants Whoever died upon Shirk Akbar (Major Shirk) will dwell eternally in the Hell-fire Whoever died without committing Shirk Akbar, but was guilty of a small amount of Shirk Asghar, if his sins outweigh his good deeds, will enter the Fire, but will not remain therein forever That the Hadith proves that whoever died, without being guilty of any kind of Shirk, will enter Paradise, even if his sins were great enough to fill the earth
This hadith is a general refutation of the deviant sect called the Khawarij. Who say that the person who commits a major sin in Islam, then he is in the Hellfire forever We see that the hadith quoted by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab in this book Kitab at-Tawhid is the last third of the narration (The whole of the Narration is long). And it’s permissible according to the Scholars of hadith to cut up a hadith that’s long into smaller phrases and narrate part of it without narrating the entire narration. This is something that is permissible The full narration of this hadith is: On the authority of Anas ibn Maalik (radhi Allaahu anhu) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah َ ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢsaying, “Allah, The Exalted, has said: ‘O son of Adam, whatever you call upon Me for, and hope of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and then you were to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and you were then to face Me not committing shirk (ascribing partners to Allah) in anything, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhee 3540, refer to as-Saheehah 127-199-200/1)