Sharh Al-Aqeedat-il-Wasitiyah (Islamic book) -A muslims foundation of beliefs

7. Introduction of the Saved Sect and its Faith

After Hamd and Salat, is being announced that this treatise will describe the beliefs of the genuine followers of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah, that is, the saved and the successful sect (Al-Firqatun-Naajiyah Al-Mansoorah) to the Day of Judgement.

The belief is this: To have faith in Allah, His angels, His Scriptures, His Messengers, and in being resurrected after death, and in having a good or bad destiny.

The word Amma ba'd is used to indicate the beginning of the main theme. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would often use this word in the beginning of his Khutbah (sermons) and writings.

The word 'Aqeedah means accepting anything with the heart and conscience and obeying Allah in doing it. The word conveys the resoluteness of the intention and maturity of thought.

Firqah is used to denote a group of people. The author has qualified it with salvation and assistance owing to the fact that one of the Ahadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) says:

"One group from my Ummah will always hold fast to truth and it will always have the assistance of Allah. No one who dissociated from it will be able to do harm to it up to the Day of Judgement." (Al- Bukhari, 13/293)

In another Hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) says:

"This Ummah will get divided into 73 Firqah, and except one Firqah all the others will be destined to Hell. That one Firqah will be such as will follow my way and the way of my Companions." (At- Tirmidhi, 7/397)

In the phrase of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama 'ah, Sunnah means the way and practice followed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Sahaba. The heretical innovation and different creeds had not come into being till then. The word Jama 'ah stands for the people who assemble. Here it means those Sahaba and the Tabi'een (the generation immediately following the Sahaba ) who unanimously accepted the truth proved from the Qur'an and the Hadith and gathered together.

The Six Pillars of Faith

The six things on which, the author says, it is compulsory to have faith are regarded as the pillars of the Faith. Unless one has faith in these six things in accordance with the Quran and the Sunnah, his Faith will not acquire perfection. If someone denies even one of these six things or does not believe in it in accordance with the Qur'an and the Sunnah, he is a Kafir . All these things have been described in the Hadith known as the Hadith of Jibrael. It is mentioned that Jibrael came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the guise of a Bedouin and put questions to him about Islam, Iman and Ihsan. He said in reply to that:

"Iman means having faith in Allah, angels, heavenly Scriptures, Messengers of Allah, life after death, and good and bad destiny." (Muslim 1/259)

Al-Malaika is plural of Malak. This word is derived from AI-Ulooka , which means Messengership. By Malaika is meant the creatures of Allah whom He has made to inhabit the heavens and has assigned them the affairs of His creatures. He has mentioned them in His Book explaining that they do not disobey Allah and follow whatever they are commanded to do. They continue narrating the glorification of Allah untiringly day and night. It is enjoined upon us to have faith in all the Attributes and actions of the angels described in the Quran and the Hadith, and keep quiet about such as have not been mentioned, for these constitute the affairs of the Unseen which are known to us only to the extent Allah and His Messenger have told us.

Al-Kutub means those Scriptures which Allah has sent down from the heaven upon His Messengers. From amongst these, we have the knowledge of the Books of Abraham, Torah of Moses, Evangels of Jesus, Psalms of David and the Quran The Quran descended as the last Scripture and it stands as the protector and the testifies for all the earlier Scriptures. In addition to these books, it is also necessary to have a general faith in the Scriptures of the other Messengers of Allah.

The word Ar-Rusul means those people who receive revelations from Allah. These revelations contain commandments of the Shari'ah and the Messengers are commanded to preach them. It is necessary for us to have specific faith in the 25 Rasool mentioned by Allah in the Quran. A poet has collected the names in a verse:

"Eighteen have been mentioned in the Quranic verse of "Tilka Hujjatuna ; the remaining seven are Idris, Hud, Shu'aib, Saleh, Dhul-Kifl, Adam, and Muhammad (peace be upon him)".

In addition to these Rasool and Nabi, we must have a general faith in other Prophets also, that, we do not have to wrangle about the faith in their Prophethood and Messengership, their names and their numbers, for Allah Alone has this knowledge. He has said:

"And Messengers We have mentioned to you before, and Messengers We have not mentioned to you." (Surah An-Nisa', 4: 164)

It is necessary to have this Faith in connection with these Messengers that they did convey the message to mankind which Allah had commanded them to do, and explained them in a manner that none remains in any doubt. And that they are free from flaws of character like falsehood, betrayals, hiding knowledge and ignorance. The most superior among these are: Muhammad, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Noah. They have been mentioned in the following verse:

"And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him) and from Nuh, Ibrahim, Mosa and 'Iesa-son of Maryam." (Sarah Al-Ahzab, 33:7).

And thesecond verse is:

"He (Allah) has ordained for you the same religion (Islam) which He ordained for Nuh, and that which We have inspired in you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him), and that which We ordained for Ibrahim, Mosa 'Iesa saying you should establish religion (i.e. to do what it orders you to do practically), and make no divisions in it (religion) (i.e. various sects in religion)." (Surah Ash-Shura, 42:13).

The meaning of the word Ba'th is to raise and to give motion. In the terminology of Shari'ah it means to raise the dead from their graves alive on the Day of Judgement so that they are judged. Allah will see him who has done an iota of good and him who has done an iota of bad. We must have faith in Ba'th in the same sense in which Allah has mentioned in the Quran, that is, Allah will collect all the organs that are dissolved and revive them again and bring back life in them. The philosophers and the Christians who deny the bodily Ba 'th are Kafir , and those who believe in Ba 'th but hold that Allah will inspire soul into a body different from the body of this world are heretical innovators and corrupt.

Al-Qadar means making an appraisal. In the terminology of Shari 'ah it means that Allah has the knowledge of the quantity and temporality of everything from the beginning of the creation. He created them by His Power and Will and according to His Knowledge, and He recorded them in the Safe Tablet (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz - the Book of Decrees) before creating them. A Hadith says:

"He first created the pen and commanded it to write. The pen asked, 'What should I write?' Allah said, 'Write out all that is destined to happen'"

Allah says in the Quran:

"No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees --(Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz), before We bring it into existence." (Surah Al-Hadid, 57:22).