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Kitaab-ul-^Aqeedah (The Book of Belief) By: Muhammed Huzaifah Ebrahim. 2
Preface: Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem. I have written this concise booklet which contains the basic beliefs that are obligatory upon every Muslim to know and believe in, and without which a person will not be deemed a Muslim. Everything which is correct is from Allah, and all errors are from myself. I ask Allah to forgive me for any shortcomings herein, and to accept this from me. And with Allah is all success. -Muhammad Huzaifah Ebrahim. Dated: 29 Rabee^-ul-Awwal, 1432. (Friday, March 04, 2011) 3
Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem. In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Very Merciful. Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil ^alamin, was salaatu was salaamu ^alaa Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ^alaa aalihit taahireen, wa sahaabatihit tayyibeen. All Praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and salutations upon our Master Muhammad (Sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam) and his pure family and righteous companions. Thereafter, this book is an explanation of the necessary beliefs every Muslim is required to know, such as: 4
Belief in Allah, and in His Malaa'ikah (Angels), His Revealed Books, His Messengers, in the Day of Judgment, and that all things, good and bad are from Allah, and in life after death. With regards to belief in Allah, it is essential to believe with the heart and testify with the tongue that: "There is no God besides Allah, and Muhammad (Sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam) is the Rasool of Allah." Furthermore, it is necessary to believe in all the Attributes of Allah, such as his being As-Samee^ (The one who hears all things), Al-Baseer (The one who sees all things), Al-Qadeer (The one who has power over all things), 5
Al-^Aleem (The one who has knowledge of all things), etc. Rejection of any of the Attributes of Allah is Kufr (Blasphemy). And it is necessary to believe that Allah exists everywhere with His ^Ilm (Knowledge), and Qudrah (Power), etc. This is the belief of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal Jamaa^ah. Allah says in the Qur'an: 'Laysa kamithlihee shay' "There is nothing similar to him..." Allah was not created. He has always 6
existed, and He will always continue to exist. Allah does not eat, drink, sleep, etc, as the Bible claims; rather, He (Allah) is free of all such imperfections. Allah says in the Qur'an: 'Lam yalid wa lam yoolad' "He (Allah) does not beget, nor was He begotten..." It is essential to believe that Allah is the only being attributed with the quality of Al-Uloohiyyah which means: The ability to bring things from the state of non-existence (al-^adam) to the state of existence (al-wujood). 7
This saying 'Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem' means: 'Bismillah', In the name of Allah, the one attributed with the quality of Al- Uloohiyyah. 'Ar-Rahmaan': The one who is entirely merciful to the Mu'mineen (Believers) in this world and in the Hereafter, and to the Kuffar (Disbelievers) in this world only. 'Ar-Raheem': The one who is greatly merciful to the Mu'mineen (Believers). Therefore, Ar-Rahmaan has a much greater meaning as compared to Ar- Raheem. Also, the name Ar-Raheem may be used 8
for human beings, and Allah uses it when speaking of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam): Bil mu mineena ra oofur raheem To the Mu mineen he is full of pity, very merciful. (Qur aan) However, the name Ar-Rahmaan is used exclusively for Allah. To refer to any being besides Allah as Ar-Rahmaan is Kufr. Then, with regards to the Malaa'ikah, one must believe that they are a creation of Allah separate from the humans and the Jinn (Devils) and were created before them. There are four Malaa'ikah who are above 9
all the others in rank, they are: Jibreel (^Alayhi Salam). Mikaa'eel (^Alayhi Salam). Izraa'eel (^Alayhi Salam). Israafeel (^Alayhi Salam). Jibreel (^Alayhi Salam) is the Malaa'ikah entrusted with Wahi (The Revelation), which he delivers to the Rusul (Messengers). He is also the Malaa'ikah sent down by Allah with the Divine Punishment against the Kaafir nations. He destroyed the Tribes of ^Aad, Thamood, Qowm-u-Nooh, Qowm-u- Loot (Sodom and Gomorrah), etc. Mikaa'eel (^Alayhi Salam) is the Malaa'ikah entrusted with bringing the rain. 10
Izraa'eel (^Alayhi Salam) is the Malaa'ikah who takes the souls of the humans under the command of Allah. He is also known as Malak-ul-Mowt (The Angel of Death). Israafeel (^Alayhi Salam) is the Maala'ikah entrusted with blowing the Soor (Trumpet) on the Day of Qiyaamah (Judgement). The Malaa'ikah are created from Noor (light), and the exact number of them is unknown. Then, there are four Revealed Books, they are: The Towraah The Injeel The Zaboor 11
The Qur'aan These are the four main Kutub (Revealed Books), though there have been other revealed scriptures besides these. All of the revealed books, besides the Qur'aan, have been lost or distorted. Only the Qur'an retains its original form, and will always continue to retain it. Allah says: 'Innaa nahnu nazzalnadh Dhikra wa innaa lahoo lahaafizoon' "Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption). (Qur'aan) 12
Then, with regards to the Ambiyaa (Prophets), they are 124,000 in number. 313 from amongst them are Rusul (Messengers). A Nabi (Plural - Ambiyaa) is a person sent by Allah to a Kaafir nation to bring them back to the Haqq (i.e. Islam). A Nabi follows the Shari'ah (Divine Laws) of a Rasool (Messenger) A Rasool (Plural Rusul) is a Nabi who has been given a Shari'ah by Allah, and to certain Rusul, a revealed scripture. Therefore, every Rasool is also a Nabi, but not every Nabi is a Rasool. From the 313 Rusul, 25 are mentioned by name in the Qur an. Five from amongst these Rusul are 13
known as the Ulul-^Azm. They are: Nabi Muhammad (Sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam) He is the greatest of all created beings. His title is Habeeb-ullah (The Beloved of Allah) Nabi Ibraaheem (^Alayhi Salam) His title is Khaleel-ullah (The Close Friend of Allah) Nabi Moosaa (^Alayhi Salam) His title is Kaleem-ullah (The one who Speaks with Allah) Nabi ^Isa (^Alayhi Salam) His title is Rooh-ullah Nabi Nooh (^Alayhi Salam) 14
His title is Najiyyullah (The one saved by Allah) They are the greatest of all the Ambiyaa, in that respective order. The Qur'aan was revealed to Nabi Muhammad (Sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam). The Towraah was revealed to Nabi Moosaa (^Alayhi Salam) The Injeel was revealed to Nabi ^Isa (^Alayhi Salam) The Zaboor was revealed to Nabi Dawood (^Alayhi Salam) The Nabi follows the Kitaab and Shari'ah of a Rasool who came before him, while a Rasool follows his own Kitaab and Shari'ah which is revealed unto him by Allah. 15
When the Qur'aan was revealed by Allah, it abrogated all the Kutub that had been revealed before it, and when Rasoolullah (Sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam) was sent to this world, his Shari'ah abrogated all the Shari'ahs that had come before it. Therefore, even if the Kutub and Shari'ahs of the previous Ambiyaa had still existed in their original forms, it would not have been permissible to follow them. Rasoolullah (Sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam) is Khaatam-un-Nabiyyeen (The Seal of The Prophets), so there will be no Nabi or Shari ah to come after him, and the Qur'aan is the last revealed scripture, and there will be no Wahi (Revelation) after it. 16
As for Yowm-ul-Qiyaamah (The Day of Judgement), it is necessary for every person to believe in it and to believe that he will one day stand before Allah to account for his sins. When the time decreed by Allah comes, Israafeel (^Alayhi Salam) will blow the Soor (Trumpet) which will destroy all the creatures on the Earth and all the creatures in the sky. After a period of time known only to Allah, he will blow the Soor a second time, which will cause all to come back to life with the permission of Allah. Also, it is compulsory to believe that all things, whether they are good (Money, good health, etc) or bad (Sickness, blindness, loss of limbs, poverty and 17
death) are all from Allah. To believe contrary to this is Kufr. Imaan (Belief) also comes from Allah. He guides whom He wishes, and He causes whomsoever He wishes to die as a Kaafir. 'Innallaha yaf^alu maa yureed' "Verily, Allah does whatever He wishes." (Qur'aan) Lastly, it is a condition of Imaan to believe that all human beings will be resurrected after death by Allah, after which they will be called to account for their sins, and finally Allah will dispatch them to one of two Everlasting abodes: either Al-Jannah (Heaven) or An-Naar (The Fire). 18
This is the end of the Kitaab; wal hamdulillah, wallahu waliyyut towfeeq. 19