SATISFYING THE NEED

WITH

THE OBLIGATORY CREED

OF “ELM At-TAWHEED”

 

 

"A summary of the Aqeedah
of Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’a”

”Presenting the essentials of Islamic belief”

 

 

 

 

PREPARED BY:

THE NEEDIEST TO ALLAH'S MERCY
MUHAMMAD BIN YAHYA NINOWY

MAY ALLAH FORGIVE HIM, HIS FATHERS AND ALL BELIEVERS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 

 

 

 

 

 

"O Allah! We beseech You for help and guidance, and seek Your protection, and believe in You, and rely on You, and extol You, and are thankful to You, and are not ingrate to You, and we declare ourselves clear of, and forsake, him who disobeys You. To You we pray and prostrate ourselves, and to You we betake ourselves, and to obey You we are quick, and Your mercy we hope for, and your punishment we fear, for Your punishment overtakes the unbelievers

INTRODUCTION

 

Praise be to Allah1, the Lord of the worlds, the Sustainer of the universe, the Almighty and the Creator. To Him belong the endowments, generosities, and the proper commendations, I bear witness, know, believe, and declare that nothing deserves to be worshipped but You O' Allah. May Allah increase the honor of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam, enable us to fully adhere to his message, and assemble us under his banner in the day of judgment.

 

The purpose of this work is to simply acquaint the new Muslims and to  refresh the memory of the rest, with the pure Aqeedah2 of Tawheed3 or the essential Islamic fundamentals of faith. Afflictions have been a long-lasting widespread disease among Muslims, unfortunately, this caused some people to employ their faculties in Islamic fields other than Aqeedah, others to swerve from the right path, while others are silently tampering with the fundamental Aqeedah of Islam and altering the essentials of belief-many times under the very name of Islam- in an attempt to impose their induced theories on Muslims, motivated by their political agenda, devious religious desires, ill-philosophies, and personal gain.

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1.       Allah: is the Arabic word for God, The Lord, The Creator.

2.       Aqeedah : Arabic for belief or faith, it constitutes the essentials of belief and the fundamentals of faith, in general, it is a religious tenet upon which one's mind and heart is firmly settled and to which he or she adheres. It consists of belief in Allah, His angels. His scriptures. His apostles, the day of judgment, the hereafter, predestination and fatalism along with some other related issues. Tawheed is concerned with "la illaha illallah, Muhammad Rasoolullah", and all related issues, which fundamentally constitutes the heart of the Islamic Aqeedah. Note, that the fundamentals of Aqeedah pertaining to the essentials of Tawheed, are unanimously identical among all Muslims from the beginning and till the day of judgment with no room existent for any difference. Some sects may have different views in a few secondary issues of Aqeedah (not related to the fundamentals of Tawheed), however, that does not necessarily eject them out of the circle of Islam. Any individual who does not believe in Tawheed or contradicts it in any way, shape or form, either fully or partially, is not Muslim.

3.       Tawheed: Arabic for MONOTHEISM, or the pure creed in one God.

This necessitated the exposition of terms of reference and indulging in some details1, that, in essence, are the belief of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a2, to safeguard the Muslims against these serious deceiving and persistent silent attempts in order to obey Allah, ta'ala3, in defending the pure Islamic Aqeedah reviving the Sunnah2, negating and eliminating -with Allah's grace- blasphemy and  evil innovations in Aqeedah.

 

In an effort to further comply with these precious principles of Islam, and to uphold to Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam, in promoting the "Kalima of Tawheed; La Illaha Illa Allah, Muhammad Rasoolullah", which in its entirety represents the Islamic Aqeedah, I have endeavored to purposely prepare this work and enriched with clear proofs from the Quran and only the Saheeh7 of the Sunnah, to project a clear image of the Islamic Aqeedah in strict accordance with the Honorable Quran and the teaching of the Prophet, as understood by the Family and Sahaba of the Prophet, the Tabi'een, Tabi'ee el Tabi'een8, and the devout, pious, and righteously guided scholars of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa, until the day of judgment.

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1.       Many recent Islamic scholars and thinkers, unintentionally, employed their faculties in different Islamic projects, leaving the job of safeguarding the Aqeedah vacant. This gave the backsliders a golden opportunity to tamper with many sensitive issues, creating more chaos, confusion, and innovations among unknowledgeable Muslims. Allah, The Exalted, promised to safeguard Islam, and He undoubtedly will. However, it is an individual obligation to acquire knowledge properly and promote it, as the truth will clear the confusions and set you free.

 

2.       Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’a: are the most moderate group of Muslims. Sunnah: is Arabic for Prophetic traditions, hence, Ahlus-Sunnah or Sunni Muslims are those who accept and adhere to the teachings and traditions of the Prophet.

 

3.       Ta’ala: Arabic for sublime i.e. above being attributed with attributes of the creation, clear of non-befitting attributes.

 

4.       Saheeh: Arabic for correct, or authentic. A term heavily used in the Science of Hadeeth. Hadeeth: is Arabic for Prophetic sayings.

 

5.       Sahaba, Tabi'een, Tabi'ee el Tabi'een : Arabic for the companions of the Prophet, their followers and the latter’s followers, i.e.  the first three generations after the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam.

It is also an apparent objective in this work, due to the increased influence of misguided groups and sects contaminating the Islamic environment with harmful innovations and serious deviations, to warn Muslims against all types of blasphemy and innovations of misguidance related to the religion.

 

Even though a tremendous effort was made to ensure the reliability of this work by strict adherence to the Quran and Sunnah, Perfection is due only to Allah, Ta'ala, however, the reader can rest assured by the fact that this work contains the pure fundamentals and the essential prescripts of our Islamic faith derived strictly and entirely from, and based on the Quran and the Saheeh of the Sunnah1 avoiding any other tradition or blind imitation2.

 

 

Aqeedah is Islam, as it constitutes our faith, must be founded on unshakable convictions and established beyond any doubt, therefore, Muslims are demanded to search for the indisputable truth, base their Aqeedah on sound convictions, and -naturally- use their intellect and oppose blind imitation.(3,4)

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1.       Sunnah : is Arabic for the traditions and the ways of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam. The sunnah includes Hadeeth ( Prophetic sayings), Prophetic Actions, and Prophetic concurring/agreement and acceptance without utterance.

 

2.       Blind Imitation : in Arabic taqleed a'ama, a recently increased misconception among Muslims, due to many reasons among them a lack of knowledge. Blind Imitation: is a call to follow a person (whether a scholar or not) blindly and accepts his opinions unquestioningly, which is a rejected concept according to Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa.

 

3.       Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa, derive their Aqeedah and fiqh (rules of religion) strictly from the Quran and Sunnah, and other reliable sources (i.e. reputable scholars -who reached the status of ljtihad, and their opinions are in line and consistent with the Honorable Quran and the Saheeh of the Sunnah.) 

 

 

4.       Ijtihad is drawing forth judicial laws or rulings based on knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah. Ijtihad is noun for Mujtahed: refers to describing the state of extremely knowledgeable, pious, and devout qualified scholars, such as Abu Hanifa, Ashafi'iy, Malek and the like.

 

 

 

Scholars, knowledgeable thinkers, and experts of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, in every century and in every country have confronted this struggle against the straying and darkness led by malevolent, short-sighted innovators, who attacked Islam's beneficial, bountiful and luminous way, tried to blemish the scholars of Ahlus Sunnah, and attempted to change Islam and thereby deceive Muslims. We in turn, and under genuine guidance and supervision of a group of righteous scholars of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa, will -insha'allah1- strive to promulgate and defend the right and pure Aqeedah of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, as mandated by the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam2.

 

The Harm of Ignorance and ignorants:

Ignorants3 are people who either have not properly received or have not understood the writings of some scholars, yet they still consider themselves capable of leading the Ummah. Ignorance led them to make many oral and written statements betraying their own ignorance and wretchedness against Muslims firm belief.

 

These harmful innovators among Muslims attempt to tamper with sensitive issues of the Islamic Aqeedah, attack reliable books, and try to vilify the righteous and renowned scholars of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, (i.e. Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Arraziyy, Imam Al Harameen AI Juwainy, Imam Al-Ghazali, Imam Al Kawthari, and the like.) disguised as the saviors and protectors from the innovation.

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1.      Insha’Allah: Arabic for God-willing.

2.       Sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam:  Arabic for: praying to Allah to invoke the best of peace and blessings on the Prophet and his household, and to raise their ranks.

3.      Ignorant People: are people who either have not received any knowledge, or people who acquired some knowledge through devious books or people, thus becoming devious and ignorant themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We entrust Allah, Ta’ala, that, by studying this work carefully with pure fitra1   and common sense, our valuable readers will reach the indisputable truth and learn the pure Tawheed; the key to an everlasting happiness.

 

Finally, our motive in this work is obeying Allah, The Exalted, in spreading the pure Tawheed, asking Him Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, to dwell the Aqeedah of Islam in the hearts of all people, make our endeavor purely for His sake, help us avoid errors in belief, utterance, and deed, make our work a beneficial, lasting, and widespread knowledge, and grant us the reward promised by the Prophet in the hadeeth saheeh narrated by Bukhari: " When the son of Adam dies, his deeds stop except for three: charity resulting in a continuing benefit, a beneficial knowledge, and a pious offspring making supplication to Allah for him".

 

 

Muhammad bin Yahya

 

 

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1.       Fitra: is Arabic for untarnished intellectual capability and capacity. Unlike the popular belief, Fitra does not indicate, mean or constitute a set of information about God with which a human being is born with. Every human being is born with this untarnished capacity (fitra) readily influenced by his environment. Basically a human being is a product of his environment. And Fitra simply refers to the intellectual readiness to accept concepts whether good or evil.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE:

 

 

 

 

 

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF

TAWHEED  AND INTRODUCTION TO

AL-IMAM AT-TAHHAWIYY

 

تقديم موجز لأهمية علم التوحيد وتعريف موجز بالامام الطحاوي

 

 

 

 

 

Tawheed, and how to acquire it.

 

 

The belief in Tawheed (monotheism) is as previously mentioned of basic importance in Islam. This belief establishes clearly the relation between human beings and Allah, and distinguish Muslims from non-Muslims. Tawheed is the fine belief that makes an accountable person a believer In Allah, and negating Tawheed in any way, would render an accountable Muslim unbeliever.

 

Worship acts can be learnt by imitation of knowledgeable Muslims, but what an accountable person must believe can never be acquired by imitation; because it is a matter of knowledge, involving human mind and heart until one is really satisfied and since people -by nature- frequently hold different views and understandings on every subject, Islamic Aqeedah, and specifically Tawheed came to us ready from The Almighty Allah for using the mind then believe by heart.

 

 

Lights on the Text of the Tahhawiyya:

Al-Aqeedah At-Tahhawiyyah contains the fundamentals of Tawheed and the essentials of Islamic monotheism, derived entirely from the Quran and the Saheeh of the Sunnah. It important to understand that it contains the major and most important issues of Tawheed, as well as some issues that are not related to Tawheed or Aqeedah, but to fiqh1 .

 

 

 

 

 

1.      Fiqh: Arabic for Islamic Jurisprudence, it is the science of applying practical regulations of Islam based on the Holy Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah.

 

 

 

This Aqeedah is very distinguished, because it symbolizes the pure belief and understanding of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, however, all other Islamic sects agree on the major parts of pertaining to Tawheed. Al-Aqeedah At-Tahhawiyyah is taught and learnt by scholars of Aqeedah for the past eleven hundred years, through scholars or in Islamic colleges, with virtually no disputes or disagreements specifically to the parts relating to Tawheed. Moreover, the Bukhari of his era, Al-Imam Al Hafeth  As-Subki, radiyallahu anhu, mentioned hundreds of years ago that all of the scholars of Ahlus Sunnah have favored teaching this Aqeedah and favored it over other sayings of scholars in this subject.

 

 

 

Introduction to Imam At-Tahhawiyy, the Author of the text:

Imam At-Tahhawiy, rahimahu Allah, is a renowned scholar among the Salaf assaleh1 . Imam Hafeth Athahaby said in his valuable book " Seeyaru A'alaami Anubalaa" vol. 15/27 : " he is the imam, the knowledgeable, the great Hafez, the Muhhaddeth and Faqeeh of the lands of Egypt, Abu Ja'far Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Salamah bin Salmat bin Abdul Maiek Al-Azadiyy Al-Hagriy Al-Masri At-Tahhawwiy Al Hanafiy, the author of many books, bom in Taha in Eygpt in the year of 239 H. He is the renowned scholar in Hadeeth and Fiqh with many books. Traveled to Syria in the year of 268 H. Abu saeed bin younes said about him: he was trustworthy, knowledgeable, faqeeh and intelligent, has not been replaced."

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1.       Salaf: Arabic for previous. Lingually pertains to people-who predeceased (good and bad). However, when accompanied by  “assaleh” it means : the pious predecessors. Asalaf assaleh refers to Muslims who lived during the first three centuries after the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam. On the other hand, Khalaf, usually refers to Muslims who lived after the third century.

 

However, as you will see later in this book insha’Allah, unlike the deceiving call of some people nowadays, the pious predecessors did not have one united understanding or one united opinion on all fiqh or even aqeedah issues.

 

Imam Bukhari related in his Saheeh vol. 1/204 and others by way of Abi Juhaifa: "I asked Ali bin Abi Taleb, karramallahu wajhahu. Do you (Muslims) have books? Imam Ali replied: None but the Book of Allah, and an understanding of a (guided) Muslim. "  The hadeeth clearly does not restrict understanding to a certain era.

 

The valuable reader will –insha’Allah- find this book very comprehensive, however, simple. Thus, covering the most important issues of Tawheed and Aqeedah. The overwhelming furnished proofs from the Quran and Saheeh of the Sunnah, gives this work an exceptional and superior elegance in satisfying the need of every accountable person, beginner student, or any misled person who is sincere, just, and is seeking the truth. It also constitutes an important, reliable, quick, and well-supported reference that a knowledgeable person cannot resist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Continuous Sanad1 To Al-Imam At-Tahhawiyy, rahimahu Allah.

 

Authenticity of the text of Al-Aqeedah At-Tahhawiyyah till Al-Imam Abu ja'far At-Tahhawiy is preserved, wal hamdulillah, through a continued and consistent chain of narrating scholars.

 

I, narrate it through and with the permission of, my Shaykh and Father Sayyedi As-Sayyed Yahya bin Muhammad bin Sa'eed bin Muhammad an-Ninowy Al-Musawy Al-Husayny - May Allah forgive him and raise his rank in paradise- [ also in the same way and through the same honorable chain of scholars, I narrate it through Sayyedi Abdullah bin Assideeq, and Sayyedi Ibrahim bin Assideeq] and they narrated it by way of, Al-Hafedh Al-Mujtahed As-Sayyed Abul-Fayd Ahmad bin Assideeq Al-Ghumari Al-Hasany -may Allah bless his soul- by way of, Shaykh Al Imam Sayyed Muhammad bin Assideeq Al-Ghumari, by way of Shaykh Al-Imam Muhammad Duwaidaar At-Tallawy, by way of, the Shaykh Al-Usooli Ibrahim Al-Bajoory, by way of, Al-Imam Al-Amir Al-Kabeer, by way of, the Shaykh Al-Badr Al-Hafny, by way of, Al-Allama Shaykh Al-Badayri, by way of, the Shaykh Ibrahim Al-Kurdi, by way of, the Shaykh Safiyyudeen Al-Qashashy, by way of, the Imam Allama Shaykh Ashams Arramly, by way of, the Shaykh Al-Imam Al-Faqeeh Zakariyyah Al-Ansaary, by way of, the Imam Al-Hafeth Ahmad bin Hajr Al-Asqalany, by way of, Abu Hurayra (son of Al-Hafeth Ath-ahabi), by way of his father Al-hafeth Atha-haby, by way of, Abdulrahman bin Muhammad Al-Faqeeh, by way of, Omar bin Tabarzad, by way of, Muhammad bin Abdul Baqiy, by way of, Abu Muhammad Al-Jawhary, by way of Muhammad bin Al-Muzaffar, he said: Abu Ja'far At-Tahhawiyy -rahimahu Allah- told us this.

 

 

 

 

1.       Sanad: Arabic for a continued chain of narrators. A method used to establish 1- proper acquisition of Islamic knowledge, 2-Verification of the Authenticity of a Hadith or narration (riwaya), the narrators, time they lived in. and consistency of the chain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also narrate the text with continuous narrations and Ijaza1 to al-Imam At-Tahhawiyy, through my other Scholars and Shaykhs, among them through Sayyidy Shaykh Abdullah and  Shaykh sidi Ibrahim bin Assideeq Al-Ghumari Al-Hasany on until Al-Imam At-Tahhawiyy. Also through Shaykh Mahmood Arrifa'iyy, Sayyed Abdullah Al-Hasany and others with their chains and narrations respectively2. And a few more chains of narrations as well, may Allah increase our blessings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1.       Ijaza: Arabic for authorization. Usually given by authorized scholars to their students upon completion of a certain topic and specialization. It represents nowadays university degrees and licenses.

 

2.       Sanad and Isnaad are heavily used in "Elm Al-Hadeeth" to determine the authenticity and classification of the ahaadeeth of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam.

 

 

CHAPTER TWO:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRE-REQUISITE KNOWLEDGE TO STUDYING AQEEDAH

 

 

 

 

 

مبادئ مهمة قبل دراسة علم العقيدة

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-Requisites to studying Aqeedah:

There are few prerequisites and some important issues to understand before moving any further with the text of Al-Aqeedah At-Tahhawwiyah.

Know, may Allah guide us and you, that Worship and obedience by definition is the application of acquired religious knowledge, hence, knowledge of the religion is a mandatory prerequisite for a correct and sound worship.

 

Family traditions, own intelligence, or personal convictions are not necessarily a reliable source of knowledge that is compatible with the teaching of Islam, nor knowledge is something automatically gained at birth, simply stated, knowledge is acquired.

 

 

Are good intentions enough?

Obedience through any act of worship is incomplete unless it is accompanied by sufficient knowledge of that act. Consequently, unlike what many people think sincere intentions alone are simply not good enough and often result in incomplete deeds.

 

Every accountable person1 is incumbent to know a basic share of religious knowledge pertaining to Aqeedah or belief, prayers, fasting, alms, pilgrimage, and some other basic rules of dealings and contracts, whereby he or she can correctly establish a solid and pure belief as well as sound acts of worship. Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, commanded us with these things and we must comply, by ignoring to gain this basic obligatory knowledge, an accountable person is only distend to a continuingly accumulative sin that may furthermore result in more serious sins and eventually lead to undesirable consequences in this life and in the hereafter.

 

The Honorable Quran and Sunnah referred to this numerous times, Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, said in Surat At-Tahreem, Ayah 6:

 

This Ayah means: (O’ you who believed, protect yourselves and your families from Hellfire which is fueled by people and stones.)

 

Many scholars of Ahlus Sunnah -wal Jama’a explained this Ayah as a direct command specifically to those who believe to protect themselves and their families by gaining the required knowledge and applying it practically, as Ataa Ibn Abi Rabah, may Allah be pleased with him, explained this Ayah saying: "protection is by learning how to perform the prayer and fasting, how to sell and buy, and how to marry and divorce".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1- An accountable person : in Arabic Mukallaf, a mukallaf is a male or female who is pubescent, sane, and has heard the creedal statement of Islam. All these conditions must be simultaneously met for a person to be accountable.

Imam Bukhari and Muslim related in their Saheehs1 that Abu Huraira, radiyallahu anhu, narrated in a long Hadeeth:

" The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam, was once in his mosque when a man entered the mosque and went to pray, then he came to the Prophet to greet him, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said to him : wa alaikum assalam, go back and pray because you did not pray, the man went back and prayed like he first did, then came back to the Prophet greeting him, the Prophet asked him to go back again and pray because he did not pray, it happened three consecutive times, the companion prays and the prophet tells him to repeat his prayer until finally the companion said: O Prophet of Allah, by Him who sent you to us with the truth, I do not know how to pray any better, please teach me, the Prophet then started teaching him the prayer in details as narrated in Bukhari. Many vital conclusions can be obtained from this Hadeeth among them:

 

1- It is mandatory (i.e. fard) on every accountable person to gain the required basic share of knowledge.

Sheikh of the Hadeeth, Al Khateeb Al Bagdadi, may Allah bestow mercy on him, narrated by way of Ali Ibn Abi Taleb, karramallahu wajhahu, that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa aalihi wa sallam, said: " seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim".

 

 

 

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1- Imam Bukhari and Muslim .' may Allah be pleased with them, are two leading Imams in "Elm Al-Hadeeth", they have classified the most reliable ahaadeeth in their books.

Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’a, frequently refer to their books and consider them to be a very reliable reference, not degrading the other highly valuable and reliable references of other scholars of Hadeeth, keeping in mind that the only perfect book is the Honorable Quran.

The six most famous books of Hadeeth classified by the following righteous scholars of Hadeeth of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa are: Al Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmithiy, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, and An-Nasaiy (radiya Allahu anhum.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

2- Ignorance in any way, shape or form is unacceptable and does not constitute a valid excuse, an accountable person who fails to acquire the basic obligatory knowledge at the commencement of his accountability (time of takleef), is not excused, whether his negligence is intentional or not, ignorance and such gross negligence is not an excusable offense, and consequently his deeds risk being incomplete and/or incorrect.