SANKORE' Institute of Islamic-African Studies International Kitab Usuul Ad-Deen The Book of the Foundations of the Religion by Shehu Uthmân ibn Fuduye Translated by Ustâdh Luqmân Jijon
Copyright 1413/2010 Luqman Jijon Published by Sankore Institute of Islamic-African Studies International Palace of the Sultan of Maiurno, Gezira Sudan www.siiasi.org All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher..
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds; may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah - Allah bless him and grant him peace. Says the poor servant in need of the Mercy of his Lord, Uthman bin Muhammad bin Uthman, who is famously known as Dan Fodio. May Allah cover him with mercy. Amin! All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This book is entitled, The Book of Foundations of the Religion. If Allah wills, it will be of great benefit for the one who relies upon it. I say - and success is with Allah: The whole universe, from its Throne to the spread carpet of the earth has been brought into existence, and its maker is Allah, the Most Exalted. Allah, may He be exalted, His existence is necessary, from eternity, their was no beginning to Him, He is Everlasting without having an end, He is totally distinct from things which came into being, He is not a body nor an attribute of a body, He has no direction nor place, but He is as He was before the universe even came into existence, He is independent of needing a place or designation, He is one in His Essence, Attributes and Actions, He is All-Powerful by means of power, Willing by a will, He Knows by knowledge, He is Living by Life, He is Hearing with an attribute of hearing, He is Seeing with sight, He Speaking with speech, and He is completely free to act upon something or leave it undone, Divine Perfection by necessity belongs to Allah, and all defects which are the opposite of Divine Perfection are impossible for him.
All of His Messengers, from Adam to Muhammad - Allah bless him and grant him peace - are: Truthful, Trustworthy, and They delivered what they were commanded to deliver to creation. All human perfection by right belongs to them, and All human imperfection is impossible for them. Also permitted for them are eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, and having an illness which would not result in imperfection. The Angels are: Preserved from defect, in that they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, and they perform everything that they are commanded; They are made out of light, They are neither male nor female, and They do not eat nor drink. All of the Heavenly Books are real and true. true. Death at its appointed time is true. The questioning of those in the grave or not, by Munkar and Nakîr is true. The torment of the grave is true, and The ease of the grave is true, The Day of Resurrection is true, The raising of the dead on that day is true, The gathering of mankind together into one place on that day is true, The giving of the Book of deeds is true, The weighing of actions is true, The reckoning is true, The Bridge of Sirat is true, The Kawthar (of the Prophet Muhammad) is true, The Hellfire is true, The eternity of the fire along with those in it are true, The Paradise is true, The eternity of Paradise with those in it are true, The seeing of Allah by the believers in the next life is true, and Everything that Muhammad - Allah bless him and give him peace - came with is
So this is the book, the Religious Foundations. Allah has confirmed them all. Everything in regards to Divinity, Prophecy, and that which is heard of and believed in due to faith. (I.e things related to the Afterlife) Allah himself, may he be Exalted has confirmed that these are the Fundamental Elements of the Religion, Allah has affirmed all of them in the mighty Qurân, and every legally responsible person must accept them as they were communicated. Since it is hard for the common people to understand and grasp proofs. The acceptance of these elements suffices, takes the place of the science of a specialist, and is in the case of the elite, knowledge. This is the opinion of `Izz ad-dîn Abdus-Salam (rh), the Sultan of learned men. He said in his Qawâid al-ahkâm fî Islâh al-anâm, "Therefore the Messenger of Allah - Allah bless him and give him peace - did not require anyone who had become Muslim to investigate these [proofs], on the contrary he made them firm in what they clearly were not to depart from, for he knew that they would have to separate from his presence. Also, The Rightly-Guided Caliphs and the guided scholars did not cease confirming them in this." But, I say, as for anyone who has inner sight (deep knowledge). They are obligated to reflect upon these fundamental elements in order to find a way out of blind-following and to have deep certainty in their belief, since religion is built upon reflection, especially for the one who has reached the position of having to call others to Allah. The Most Exalted said: "Say: This is my way; I call to Allah with understanding, I and those who follow me." (Quran 12:108) All Praise belongs to Allah.
SANKORE' Institute of Islamic-African Studies International