The Islaamic Belief Part 4

The Islaamic Belief Part 4 (Al-Aqeedah at-Tahaweeyah)
Imaam Abu Ja'far at-Tahawi rahimahullaah


70. We do not say that any of them will categorically go to either the Garden or
the Fire, and we do not accuse any of them of kutr (disbelief), shirk
(associating partners with Allaah), or nifaq (hypocrisy), as long as they have
not openly demonstrated any of those things. We leave their secrets to Allaah.



71. We do not agree with killing any of the Ummah of Muhammad, may Allaah bless
him and grant him peace, unless it is obligatory by Shari'ah to do so.



72. We do not recognize rebellion against our Imaam or those in charge of our
affairs even if they are unjust, nor do we wish evil on them, nor do we withdraw
from following them. We hold that obedience to them is part of obedience to
Allaah, The Glorified, and therefore obligatory as long as they do not order to
commit sins. We pray for them right guidance and pardon from their wrongs.



73. We follow the Sunnah of the Prophet and the Jama'ah of the Muslims, and
avoid deviation, differences and divisions.



74. We love the people of justice and trustworthiness, and hate the people of
injustice and treachery.



75. When our knowledge about something is unclear, we say: 'Allaah knows best'.



76. We agree with wiping over leather socks (in Wudu) whether on a journey or
otherwise, just as has come in the (consistent and confirmed) ahadith.



77. Hajj and jihad under the leadership of those in charge of the Muslims,
whether they are right or wrong-acting, are continuing obligations until the
Last Hour comes. Nothing can annul or controvert them.



78. We believe in Kiraman Katibin (the noble angels) who write down our actions
for Allaah has appointed them over us as two guardians.



79. We believe in the Angel of Death who is charged with taking the spirits of
all the worlds.



80. We believe in the punishment in the grave for those who deserve it, and in
the questioning in the grave by Munkar and Nakir about one's Lord, one's
religion and one's prophet, as has come down in ahadith from the Messenger of
Allaah, may Allaah bless him and grant him peace, and in reports from the
Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them all.



81. The grave is either one of the meadows of the Garden or one of the pits of
the Fire.



82. We believe in being brought back to life after death and in being re-
compensed for our actions on the Day of Judgement, and al-'Ard, having been
shown them and al-Hisab, brought to account for them. And Qira'at al-Kitab,
reading the book, and the reward or punishments and in al-Sirat (the Bridge) and
al-Mizan (the Balance).



83. The Garden and the Fire are created things that never come to an end and we
believe that Allaah created them before the rest of creation and then created
people to inhabit each of them. Whoever He wills goes to the Garden out of His
Bounty and whoever He wills goes to the Fire through His justice. Everybody acts
in accordance with what is destined for him and goes towards what he has been
created for.



84. Good and evil have both been decreed for people.



85. The capability in terms of Tawfiq (Divine Grace and Favour) which makes an
action certain to occur cannot be ascribed to a created being. This capability
is integral with action, whereas the capability of an action in terms of having
the necessary health, and ability, being in a position to act and having the
necessary means, exists in a person before the action. It is this type of
capability which is the object of the dictates of Shari'ah. Allaah the Exalted
says: 'Allaah does not charge a person except according to his ability'. (al-Baqarah
2: 286)



86. People's actions are created by Allaah but earned by people .



87. Allaah, the Exalted, has only charged people with what they are able to do
and people are only capable to do what Allaah has favoured them. This is the
explanation of the phrase: 'There is no power and no strength except by Allaah.'
We add to this that there is no stratagem or way by which anyone can avoid or
escape disobedience to Allaah except with Allaah's help; nor does anyone have
the strength to put obedience to Allaah into practice and remain firm in it,
except if Allaah makes it possible for them to do so.



88. Everything happens according to Allaah's will, knowledge, predestination and
decree. His will overpowers all other wills and His decree overpowers all
stratagems. He does whatever He wills and He is never unjust. He is exalted in
His purity above any evil or perdition and He is perfect far beyond any fault or
flaw. 'He will not be asked about what He does but they will he asked.' (al-Anbiya'
21: 23)



89. There is benefit for dead people in the supplication and alms-giving of the
living.



90. Allaah responds to people's supplications and gives them what they ask for.



91. Allaah has absolute control over everything and nothing has any control over
Him. Nothing can be independent of Allaah even for the blinking of an eye, and
whoever considers himself independent of Allaah for the blinking of an eye is
guilty of unbelief and becomes one of the people of perdition.



92. Allaah is angered and can be pleased but not in the same way as any
creature.



93. We love the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah but we do not go to excess
in our love for any one individual among them nor do we disown any one of them.
We hate anyone who hates them or does not speak well of them and we only speak
well of them. Love of them is a part of Islam, part of belief and part of
excellent behaviour, while hatred of them is unbelief, hypocrisy and
rebelliousness.



94. We confirm that, after the death of the Messenger of Allaah, may Allaah
bless him and grant him peace, the caliphate went first to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,
may Allaah be pleased with him, thus proving his excellence and superiority over
the rest of the Muslims; then to 'Umar ibn al Khattab, may Allaah be pleased
with him; then to 'Uthman, may Allaah be pleased with him; and then to 'Ali ibn
Abi Talib, may Allaah be pleased with him. These are the Rightly-Guided Caliphs
and upright leaders.



95. We bear witness that the ten who were named by the Messenger of Allaah, may
Allaah bless him and grant him peace, and who were promised the Garden by him,
will be in the Garden, as the Messenger of Allaah, may Allaah bless him and
grant him peace, whose word is truth, bore witness that they would he. The ten
are: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali, Talhah, Zubayr, Sa'd, Sa'id, 'Abdur-Rahman
ibn 'Awf and Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah whose title was the trustee of this
Ummah, may Allaah be pleased with all of them.



96. Anyone who speaks well of the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah, may
Allaah bless him and grant him peace, and his wives and offspring, who are all
pure and untainted by any impurity, is free from the accusation of hypocrisy.



97. The learned men of the first community and those who followed in their
footsteps - the people of virtue, the narrators of the Ahadith, the jurists and
analysts- they must only be spoken about in the best way and anyone who says
anything bad about them is not on the right path.



98. We do not prefer any of the saintly men among the Ummah over any of the
Prophets but rather we say that any one of the Prophets is better than all the
awliya' put together.



99. We believe in what we know of Karamat, the marvels of the awliya' and in
authentic stories about them from trustworthy sources.



100. We believe in the signs of the Hour such as the appearance of the Dajjal
and the descent of 'Isa ibn Maryam, peace be upon him, from heaven and we
believe in the rising of the sun from where it sets and in the emergence of the
Beast from the earth.



101. We do not accept as true what soothsayers and fortune-tellers say, nor do
we accept the claims of those who affirm anything which goes against the Book,
the Sunnah and the consensus of the Muslim Ummah.



102. We agree that holding together is the true and right path and that
separation is deviation and torment.



103. There is only one religion of Allaah in the heavens and the earth and that
is the religion of Islam. Allaah says: 'Surely religion in the sight of Allaah
is Islam'. (Al 'Imran 3: 19) And He also says: 'I am pleased with Islam as a
religion for you'. (al-Matidah 5: 3)



104. Islam lies between going to excess and falling short, between Tashbih
(likening of Allaah's attributes to anything else), and Ta'til (denying Allaah's
attributes), between fatalism and refusing decree as proceeding from Allaah and
between certainty (without being conscious of Allaah's reckoning) and despair
(of Allaah's mercy).



105. This is our religion and it is what we believe in, both inwardly and
outwardly, and we renounce any connection, before Allaah, with anyone who goes
against what we have said and made clear.



We ask Allaah to make us firm in our belief and seal our lives with it and to
protect us from variant ideas, scattering opinions and evil schools of view such
as those of the Mushabbihah, the Mu'tazilah, the Jahmiyyah the Jabriyah, the
Qadriyah and others like them who go against the Sunnah and Jama'ah and have
allied themselves with error. We renounce any connection with them and in our
opinion they are in error and on the path of destruction.



We ask Allaah to protect us from all falsehood and we ask His Grace and Favour
to do all good.