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Your Ad HereSalam again Brothers and Sisters,
I continue posting the rest of the book in parts as I mentioned before.
Important Introductions
First Introduction
In relation to the Hadīth we mentioned regarding the ninety-nine deeds full of mistakes, sin and errors and the ahadīth which mentions that one will enter paradise without ever performing any good deeds amongst other Hadīth which carry a similar meaning, one must understand that these deeds or mistakes, irrespective of how great and grave they may be, that they definitely are devoid of any action of Kufr Akbar or Shirk. This is because any Shirk action will nullify any good deeds performed even if a person presents with good deeds spanning the heavens and earth. So how then with the person who had plenty of evil deeds as in the Hadīth mentioned previously and never performed a single good action, for a greater reason Shirk would nullify all of his actions and his destination will be the fire for eternity.
This is because Allāh (swt) has said,
إن الله لا يغفر أن يُشرك به ويغفر ما دون ذلك لمن يشاء
“Allāh forgives not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases; to set up partners with Allāh is to devise a sin most heinous indeed.”[1]
And He (swt) has said,
إنه من يُشرك بالله فقد حرم الله عليه الجنة
“Whoever joins other gods with Allāh (swt), Allāh (swt) will forbid him the garden,”[2]
And He (swt) has said,
لئن أشركت ليحبطن عملُك ولتكوننَّ من الخاسرين
“If you were to join gods with Allāh, truly fruitless will be your work (in this life), and you will surely be in the ranks of the failures (in the Hereafter).”[3]
And He (swt) has said,
ولو أشركوا لحبط عنهم ما كانوا يعملون
“If they were to join other gods with Him, all that they did would be vain for them.”[4]
And He (swt) says,
وقدمنا إلى ما عملوا من عملٍ فجعلناه هباءً منثوراً
“And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did (in this life), and We shall make such deeds as floating dust scattered about.”[5]
There are numerous other texts which carry the same meaning that being the negation of all good deeds and records when coupled with Shirk. In the same way that the true Tawhīd benefits the proclaimer despite the evil deeds and actions (less than Shirk) one may have performed, Shirk negates the possibility of any benefit from any righteous action one may perform. This is an accepted principal backed by a number of texts from the Qurān and Sunnah and there is no dispute regarding it.[6]
It is reported that the Prophet (saw) said in a Hadīth Qudsi,
قال الله تعالى: يا ابن آدم! مهما عبدتني ورجوتني ولم تُشرك بي شيئاً غفرتُ لك على ما كان منك ـ أي من عمل ـ وإن استقبلتني بملء السماء والأرض خطايا وذنوباً استقبلتك بملئهنَّ من المغفرة، وأغفر لك ولا أبالي
“Allāh (swt) said, ‘O children of Ādam (as)! If you worship me and place your hope in Me and do not associate anyone with Me, I will forgive for you all your deeds. And if you meet me with sinful deeds equivalent in volume to the heavens and the earth, I will meet you with complete forgiveness. And I will forgive you without any care or concern.”[7]
The matter of importance of this Hadīth is that a person meets Allāh (swt) being from the people of worship and Tawhīd and never associated anyone or anything with Allāh (swt). And the Prophet (saw) also said,
ثِنتان موجبتان قال رجل: يا رسول الله ما الموجبتان ؟ قال: من مات لا يُشرك بالله شيئاً دخل الجنة، ومن مات يُشرك بالله شيئاً دخل النار
“‘Two matters are quite unavoidable’. A person asked, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, what are the two things that are quite unavoidable?’ He replied, ‘He who dies without associating anyone with Allāh would enter Paradise and he who dies associating anything with Allāh would enter the (Fire of) Hell.’”[8]
And it is reported upon the authority of A’īsha (ra) that she asked the Prophet (saw),
قلت يا رسول الله: ابن جدعان كان في الجاهلية يصل الرحم، ويُطعم المسكين، فهل ذلك نافعه ؟ قال: لا ينفعه، إنه لم يقل يوماً: ربِّ اغفر لي خطيئتي يوم الدين
“I said to the Prophet (saw), ‘O Messenger of Allāh (swt)! Ibn Jud’ān used to maintain his blood relations and feed the poor in the time of Jāhiliyah (ignorance); will such actions benefit him?’ The Prophet (saw) replied, ‘They will not help him as he never said on a single day, ‘O my Lord forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgement.’”[9]
Imām Nawawi commented upon this Hadīth in his Sharh (explanation) of Sahīh Muslim stating,
“No one who dies upon Tawhīd will remain in the fire forever even if he committed sinful deeds. Likewise the one who died upon Kufr (disbelief) even if he committed praiseworthy actions will never enter Jannah. This is a summary of what the Ulema of Truth agree upon in this matter.”[10]
Second Introduction
The second important principal one needs to understand is that the same way Kufr and Īmān cannot co-exist outwardly or lead to the same path; they cannot co-exist in ones heart. Consequently, if Kufr began to take root in someone’s heart, the resulting effect would be for Īmān to be completely removed. Likewise, Īmān cannot take root in one’s heart until Kufr and Shirk have been completely vanquished as the Prophet (saw) has said,
لا يجتمعُ الإيمان والكفر في قلب امرئٍ
“Īmān (belief) and Kufr (disbelief) cannot co-exist in the heart of a person.”[11]
From this Hadīth we can learn to reject the claim of a person who states that he has Īmān (belief) in his heart or that he is a true believer whilst outwardly fully immersing himself in Shirk or clear-cut Kufr. This is because the outer actions of a person is a reflection of his inner and acts as an indicator of what lies therein; each one showing its sign positively or negatively upon the other. This is explained in the Hadīth of the Prophet (saw) when he said,
ألا وإنَّ في الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله، ألا وهي القلب
“There is an organ in the body, when it is corrected, the whole body is corrected, and when it is corrupted, the entire body becomes corrupt. Indeed this organ is the heart.”[12]
We can therefore conclude that the one who is outwardly a disbeliever is also a disbeliever in his heart and the one who is a disbeliever in his heart is also an outward disbeliever as well.[13]
However, we must state that it is possible for Īmān and sins to co-exist in a single heart or even for Īmān and Kufr Asghar (lesser type of disbelief) or Shirk Asghar (lesser type of association). The presence of Īmān in this situation will help and benefit the beholder. This matter is known and has been mentioned previously.
Third Introduction
It is incumbent to know that only the Muslim Muwahid who unifies Allāh (swt) in all matters alone will enter Jannah. Those who are described as sinners will still enter Jannah as their sins will not result in them being non-Muslims or Mushriks (associators) as long as they have understood Tawhīd and its conditions. And the Muwahid cannot be a Muwahid except if he has completely rejected Shirk Akbar in all its forms and has made Allāh (swt) the only focus of his worship. As the Prophet (saw) has made mention that,
لا يدخل الجنة إلا نفس مسلمة
“Only a person who is Muslim will enter Jannah.”[14]
In addition the Prophet (saw) said,
يا ابن الخطاب! اذهب فناد في الناس: إنه لا يدخل الجنة إلا المؤمنون
“O Umar bin Khattāb! Go and tell the people that only the true Muslim will enter paradise.”[15]
And in another narration he (saw) said,
يا ابن عوف! اركب فرسك، ثم نادِ: إن الجنة لا تحل إلا لمؤمن
“O ibn ‘Awf! Mount your horse and announce to the people that paradise only accepts the true believers i.e. the Muwahhidīn.”[16]
The Prophet (saw) also said,
أُعطيت الشفاعة وهي نائلة من لا يُشرك بالله شيئاً
“I was given the capability to intercede (in the Hereafter). But it is only available for those who do not associate partners with Allāh (swt).”[17]
And there are other ahadīth which have similar meanings such as mentioning that the one who has only a mustard seed of Īmān will enter Jannah as reported by Sahīh Bukharī amongst others. However, one should understand such ahadīth regarding Īmān being a mustard seed’s worth as being in addition to the foundation of Tawhīd without which one would never achieve any success. Similarly regarding the one who has never performed any good actions; one must understand it to mean the one who never offered any good deeds over and above the presence of Īmān and Tawhīd.
In relation to the Prophetic saying,
يقول الله تعالى أخرجوا من كان في قلبه مثقال حبةٍ من خردلٍ من إيمان
“Allāh (swt) will say (to the Hellfire), ‘Release all those who have in their hearts what is equivalent to a mustard seed of Īmān i.e. such that they can go to Jannah.’”
Ibn Hajr in his Fath commented,
“And what is meant by a mustard seed here is anything that is extra to the foundation of Tawhīd i.e. belief in the oneness of Allāh (swt). As the Prophet (saw) said in a different narration, ‘Release all those who say there is no god but Allāh (swt) and do good actions equivalent to an atoms weight.’”[18]
Fourth Introduction
One must also appreciate that whenever we are considering general matters like Tawhīd, al-Wa’ād (promise of happiness for believers) and al-Wa’īd (promise of punishment for disbelievers) and whatever is related to the subject matter regarding Kufr and Īmān, it is incumbent upon us to take into account all of the Sharī’ texts pertaining to the matter making them collaborate with one other, without ever rejecting (without Sharī’ reason) any one from them.
What one may understand from a single text may be specified by another text. In texts which have unclear meanings, another text may help to explain and understand it better. What may be allowed by one text may be abrogated by another. What may be prohibited by one text may be allowed by another. It is from the angle of justice and equality which is in keeping with the precepts of knowledge and true understanding that one should deal with all evidences pertaining to a matter before deriving a conclusion.
Those who wish to take texts and evidences in isolation to others whether out of fear or by choice, such that they can make them corroborate with their own opinions on a matter, or to support the position of deviant groups, are the companions of lies and personal desires who cannot be entrusted with matters pertaining to the religion. It is not from the correct principles and understanding of the Sharī’ah (Islāmic law) to take a solitary Hadīth pertaining to our matter at hand, the Shahādah, such as, “Whosoever says there is no god but Allāh (swt) will enter Jannah,” and build upon it other matters regarding Īmān without looking at the tens of ahadīth and texts which speak about the Shahādah, its conditions and requirements and offer wider explanations.
Fifth Introduction
The final principle which we wish to mention before we enter into the subject matter of the conditions of the Shahādah is a notion that is agreed upon by all the people of knowledge and which is supported by the texts of the Sharī’ah. The principle states ‘Leave the doubtful matters of the Dīn, by returning to the clear matters.’ Thus when one is faced with a text with a doubtful meaning, one should return to the clear-cut texts regarding the same matter and use these non-ambiguous texts to pass judgement upon the doubtful matters; allowing us to explain them and discover what they were meant to mean and not the opposite! This fundamental principal is not only restricted to the matter at hand regarding the Shahādah, but should be used for all matters pertaining to the religion.
Those who wish to twist around the principal and propose to judge the clear-cut matters by the doubtful; using the doubtful as a basis and foundation are from the misguided and seek to create dissention and disputes between the believers as Allāh (swt) has mentioned,
هو الذي أنزل عليك الكتاب منه آياتٌ محكمات هُنَّ أُمُّ الكتاب وأُخرُ مُتشابهات فأما الذين في قلوبهم زيغٌ فيتبعون ما تشابه منه ابتغاء الفتنة وابتغاء تأويله
“It is He (swt) Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings,”[19]
We seek refuge in Allāh (swt) from being amongst the people of perversity and misguidance and we seek protection from their ways and methodologies.
These few introductions should now help give the reader a better understanding as to how we should approach the subject matter of the conditions of the Shahādah and the rulings that pertain to it. Before we go delve into speaking about the conditions of the Shahādah, we will firstly mention the meaning of the Shahādah, and the meaning of what a Shart (condition) is according to the U’lemā’ of Usūl.
[1] Surah an-Nisa 4:48
[2] Surah al-Maida 5:76
[3] Surah az-Zumar 39:65
[4] Surah al-An’ām 6:88
[5] Surah al-Furqān 25:23
[6] This is the correct understanding of the principal. However, regarding the statement which some people quote, that sinning does not harm ones Tawhīd or Īmān. This statement is incorrect and rejected as it is from the comments and classifications of the people of Irjā; so beware. Some of the modern-day Murjiah Salafis state that, ‘Apparent Kufr (i.e. Kufr of the action) does not harm in the certainty of the belief in the heart in anyway.’ Such statements are far worse and greater than the statements of the Murjiah of the earlier generations!!
[7] Hadīth Sahīh Tabarāni Jāmi’ as-Saghir No.4341
[8] Sahīh Muslim, Chapter of Belief
[9] Sahīh Muslim
[10] Sharh Sahīh Muslim, 1/217
[11] Silsalat us-Sahīha for Shaykh Albānī No.1050
[12] Sahīh Muslim
[13] Even the hypocrite shows his Kufr upon his body i.e. acts out Kufr. Simply because he conceals such actions from the eyes of the people this does not mean that he performs such Kufriyāt when they are not present. Merely concealing a matter does not negate its presence. The evidence for this is that when a Munāfiq is with those he is comfortable with i.e. his friends and family or when he is alone, he will reveal the Kufr he hides in his heart by way of his actions without any hesitation. Regarding other than the Munāfiq i.e. the Kāfir, they have no fear to expound the Kufr of their heart in their actions as this is what they believe in.
[14] Agreed upon
[15] Sahīh Muslim
[16] Sunan Abu Dawood
[17] Sunnah, Ibn Abī A’āsim verified as Sahīh by Shaykh Albānī.
[18] Al-Fath, Ibn Hajr, 1/73
[19] Surah ale-Imrān 3:7
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