THE AQEEDAH OF TAWHEEDThere is no doubt that the knowledge of Islamic ‘AQEEDAH is the basic knowledge which deserves full attention in order to be learned, taught and acted upon, so that actions may become correct and acceptable to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic and beneficial to the doers. Especially since this is the time whereby deviated movements have spread, such as that of deviation, grave and idol worship as well as innovations which oppose the Prophetic guidance.
However all these dangerous movements cannot affect a Muslim who is armed with the weapon of the correct ‘AQEEDAH based upon the Book and the Sunnah and that which the pious predecessors of this ummah were upon. So the Muslim takes care not to be swept away by the deviated movements and this necessitates giving complete care and concern to teaching the correct ‘AQEEDAH to the Muslim youth from its original sources.
Linguistic MeaningIt is derived from ‘al-‘aqd’ which means to be firm upon something. ‘Itaqadtu’ such and such, means my heart and mind are firm upon it. ‘AQEEDAH is what a person holds as his religion. It is said: “His AQEEDAH is sound”, meaning safe from doubt. ‘AQEEDAH is an action of the heart and the belief and affirmation of something within the heart.
Islamic meaningIt is belief in Allah, His Angels, Books, Messengers, the Last Day and belief in Qadr (divine decree), the good and the bad. These are known as the pillars of imaan.
The shari‘ah is divided into two categories: Beliefs and Actions.
Beliefs: Those issues which are not related to how an action is performed, like belief in the rububiyyah (Lordship) of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, the obligation to worship Him alone and the belief in the rest of the pillars of imaan mentioned above. These are regarded as the basic foundations.
Actions: Those issues related to how actions like salaat, zakaat, fasting and other deeds are performed. These are regarded as the branches because they are built upon correct or corrupt beliefs.
Qur’anThe correct ‘AQEEDAH is the foundation upon which the deen(way of life) is built and by which actions become sound and correct, as Allah, the Most High, said: “So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord.” [al-Kahf (18): 110]
“And indeed it has been revealed to you, as it was to those before you: “If you join others in worship with Allah, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers.”” [az-Zumar (39): 65]
“So worship Allah (alone) by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allah’s sakeonly. Surely the religion is for Allah alone.” [az-Zumar (39): 2-3]
So these ayah and numerous narrations about their meanings, prove that actions are only accepted when they are pure and free from shirk. This is what the messengers gave importance to by rectifying the beliefs first and foremost. So the first thing that they called their nations to, was the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, alone and the abandonment of worship to others besides Him.
The Message of all the Prophets “And verily, We have sent amongst every nation, a messenger (proclaiming): “Worship Allah (alone) and abandon the taaghoot 1.”” [an-Nahl (16):36]
The first thing that every prophet addressed his nation with was: “Worship Allah, you have no other ilaah (deity worthy of worship) but Him.” [al-A’raaf (7): 59]
As was said by Nuh, Hud, Saaleh, Shu’aib and all the other prophets to their people. “And to (the people of ) ‘Aad (We sent) their brother Hud. He said: “O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other Ilaah (deity worthy of worship) but Him.”” [al-A’raaf (7): 65]
“And to (the people of ) Thamud (We sent) their brother Saaleh. He said: “O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other Ilaah (deity worthy of worship) but Him.”” [al-A’raaf (7): 73]
“And to (the people of) Madyan (We sent) their brother Shu’aib. He said: “O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other Ilaah (deity worthy of worship) but Him.”” [al-A’raaf (7): 85]
Rectification of AQEEDAH The Prophet ﷺ, stayed in Makkah for thirteen years calling the people to Tawheed, and the rectification of ‘AQEEDAH because it is the foundation upon which the deen is built. The Islamic callers in every time have followed the footsteps of the prophets and messengers who began with the call to Tawheed and the rectification of ‘AQEEDAH, after which they moved onto rest of the affairs of the deen.
The sources of ‘AQEEDAH‘AQEEDAH is ‘tawqeefiyyah’, meaning that it is only established through evidence from the shari‘ah. There is no room in it for opinions or conjecture. Thus, its sources are restricted to that which has been reported in the Book and the Sunnah, since no one is more knowledgeable than Allah about the obligations due to Him and what He is free from and after Allah, there is no one more knowledgeable about Him than the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alaihi wasallam). Thus the manhaj of the Pious Predecessors and those who followed them in learning the ‘AQEEDAH was restricted to the Book and Sunnah.
So they believed and acted upon whatever was proved by the Book and the Sunnah regarding the rights of Allah. They rejected and negated whatever was not proved in the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallAllahu alaihi wasallam). Due to this, differences did not arise amongst them in ‘AQEEDAH, rather their ‘AQEEDAH was one, and their Jamaa‘ah was one. This is because Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, guarantees whoever clings to His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallAllahu alaihi wasallam), with a unified position, correctness in ‘AQEEDAH and a single manhaj. He, the Most High, said: “And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (ie. this Qur`aan).” [aal-‘Imraan (3):103] “Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery.” [Taa Haa (20):123]
Ways of deviation from the ‘AQEEDAHDeviation from the correct ‘AQEEDAH causes destruction and ruin, since the correct ‘AQEEDAH is the strong driving force towards beneficial actions. An individual without correct ‘AQEEDAH becomes prey to suspicion and doubt which pile up on him. So the correct perspective for the paths to a happy life become obscured from him, until his life becomes depressing and he attempts to seek an end to this depression by committing suicide. This is the case with those individuals who lose the guidance of the correct ‘AQEEDAH.
A society which is not predominantly governed by the correct ‘AQEEDAH is an animalistic society which has lost all the components of happiness. And even if it possesses many elements of material life, it is eventually led to destruction, as can be witnessed in the disbelievers societies. This is because these material elements need direction and guidance in order to benefit from their qualities and advantages and there is no direction for them except through the correct ‘AQEEDAH. Allah, the Most High, said: “O (you) messengers! Eat of the tayyibaat (permissible foods) and do righteous deeds.” [al-Mu’minoon (23): 51]
Causes of deviation
They do not give importance to those things which establish character and good conduct and implant the correct ‘AQEEDAH which resists the streams of deviation, such that a people grow up defenceless and unarmed in front of the armies of heresy, unable to offer any resistance.
The ways to protect oneself
ConclusionThe one who protect themselves from deviation are termed as ‘the Saved Sect’ because the Prophet (sallAllahu alaihi wasallam), testified safety (from the Fire) for them when he mentioned the splitting of the ummah into seventy three sects, all of them in the Fire except one. When he was asked about this one sect, he said: “That which I and my Companions are upon today. Tirmidhee (2641)
ReferencesBook of The AQEEDAH of Tawheed By Dr. Saaleh bin Fawzaan bin Abdullaah al-Fawzaan.
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