The Principles of The Creed

Theprinciples of the Islamic Faith are what is contained in theconversation of the Angle Gabriel, with the prophet Mohammad (PBUH )when he asked him about faith; he explained as follows: –

 Belief In The Existence Of The One GOD

Creator of the universe and its Controller and Propenser ofits phenomena (system), and upon whom its affairs depend.  He isimbued with the fullest attributes of the Majestic, the Absolute, andHe is Allah, whom Ibrahim, (Peace be on him), describes by saying, asstated in the Holy Qur’an:

“ The creator – Who brought me into existence and it is HeWho guides me to the truth and to the path of rectitude – it is He Whoprovides me with the victuals to eat and drink – And when I fall sick,it is He Who restores me to health – And it is He Who determines themoment and the cause of my death and occasions my resurrection andrestoration to life -the Creator Whom I hope will relent and quit meall His debt, and will forgive me my wrongful actions

when I have audience of Him on the Day of Judgment.” (Sura26:78-82)

Belief in the existence of ONE GOD gives the feeling ofright- thinking, and common sense calls for it, as is mentioned in theHadith;

Prophet Mohammad, (PBUH) said: “every new-born is deliveredon the right path, but his parents make him, Jewish, Christian or Magus”  (Cited by Bukhari)

AllahMost High said:

“ And so set (O Mohammad) your face and your thoughts andrest your eyes sincere/y upon God and your heart on religion withsincere feeling and actions and with firmness in fidelity andallegiance and in the fulfillment of all duties owed to Him. This isthe natural instinct and the innate propensity which God has implantedin mankind and no change ever shall there be, nor should therebe.  This right and commendable religion is the only system offaith and worship that leads directly to God ” (Sura30:30)

So if the intellect contemplates the universe, and soul, itwill arrive at belief in the existence of One God.

Allah Most High said:

“ On earth are countless signs of miraculous nature servingto demonstrate Divine Power, omnipotence and authority; signs clearlyrecognized by those whose hearts have been touched with the DivineHand, and signs with yourselves: bodily structure, organizations anddevelopment, the characteristic appearance of an individual or a race,the vital functions and countless other signs: can you not see? ”  (Surd 51:20-21)

For that reason, there are numerous verses which urge theobservation or contemplation of the firmament and the earth for theaspirant to faith to be wonder-struck at the power of Allah, and tothank Him for His bounties.  And of the verses in confirmation ofthe ONENESS of Allah, Sanctified be He is.

Allah Most Highsaid:

“ Say: O Mohammad He is God and He is One; He is infinite,absolute, and all creatures, spiritual , animate and inanimate, are inneed of Him while He is in need of no one. He did not beget nor was Hebegotten, and like unto Him there is none ” (Sura 112)

Allah, the Almighty also said:

“ Indeed, if there be gods other then Allah the Almighty orsharing His Divine nature and attributes, the heavens and the earthwould have become corrupt and been ruined. ” (Sura 21:22)

Allah Most High said:

“Never did God take, adopt or beget a son nor did He shareHis sovereignty with any god; for, if He did, then each god would havehad a kingdom of his own, independent of the others, and earth wouldhave established his own laws, made sure to exalt himself above others.Glory be to Him, and extolled are His glorious attributes. He isinfinitely far beyond all that they falsely attribute to Him. ” (Sura 23:91)

Faith in One Lord over the whole of the universe renders thehuman bondsman nearer to Him than the jugular vein.

AllahMost High said:

“And should My servants call upon you (O Mohammad) forinformation apprising My attributes, then bring vividly before theirminds that I am in their immediate proximity; I respond favorably tothe prayers of the humble petitioner when he addresses Me. But thosewho aim at My blessings are expected to lift to Me their inward sight,respond favorably to My system of faith and worship, and believe in Mewith hearts reflecting the image of religious and spiritual virtues,that they may hopefully be guided to the path of rectitude” (Sura 2:186)

Pious deeds are the subordinate’s tally to his Lord.

Allah Most High said:

“And keep in mind that pious and virtuous deeds cancel evildeeds. ” (Sura 11:114)

Allah Almighty also said:

“Quote to them (OMohammad) what God says: (O My people (who worship Me and who do not)who have carried disobedience to excess, do not despair of God ‘sMercy; God forgives all sins; He is the Forgiving, the Merciful).” (Sura39:53)

BELIEF IN THE ANGELS

Theyare created from light; they neither eat nor drink; and never bringforth off spring.

Allah Most High Said:

“They never disobey a command given by God and they carry outevery action they enjoined to do all along.” (Sura 66:6)

And their number is fecund.

Allah Most High said :

“And no one knows the number of your Creator’s Forces but He” (Sura 74:31)

Among those mentioned in the Qur’an are; Gibriel, Israphil,Mikhail, bearers of the Throne and the agents commissioned to recapturethe soul,  and to record the  deeds of mankind.

BeliefIn The Books Of Allah

These arethe books which Allah sent His prophets, the most important of whichare; the scriptures of Ibrahim; the Torah, the Bible of Moses thePsalms with David, the Gospel with Jesus Christ, and the Qur’an withMohammad (PBUH) the original Books which decided with the prophetsbefore Mohammad have lost their originality; and discrepancy andalterations have crept into them; as stated in the Holy Qur’ an.

Allah Most High said:

“ In consequence, woe to those who reproduce God’s Book andword it differently with their own hands in a demagogic way, tossingphrases about till they bear other meanings and relate it to God toexchange the truth for the vanity of the fleeting and evanescent world;woe betide them in consequence of their wrongful and unclean hands anddenunciated of miseries shall they be in consequence of their sinfuliniquities. ” (Sura2:79)

Those of them that now exist are written by human- hand, andshould not therefore be followed or taken for granted.

The Qur’an alone, is the Book which Allah has guarded againstalterations and discrepancy.

Allah Most Highsaid:

“We have sent down the Qur’an featuring the virtuous DivineMessage of truth which shall never suffer eclipse nor shall itsspiritual power ever be on the wane, and its preservation against lossand corruption is indeed Our concern.” (Sura 15:9)

Allah Almighty also said:

“And when Our revelations are recited to them- (to theidolaters) emitting thoughts of piety and divine enlightenment aspossessed by the mind, they react with revulsion of feeling and they-  who reject the thought and deny the belief of meeting with God-insolently say: “bring a Qur ‘an that is different from this orsubstitute the words which we do not like for others to our taste.” Sayto them (O Mohammad) it is not within my power to make any changes ofmy own accord; I only follow all that is inspired to me, nor do I daredisobey God, my Creator, for the penalty in this case shall be thetorment that is suffered on a Momentous Day.” (Sura 10:15)

Yet it did not descend in block as a whole at one time likethe other Books, but instead, it descended piecemeal, within a durationof twenty-three years, and the prophet (PBUH) instructed some of thefollowers- and they were writers of the revelation to take down allthat descended upon him.

From this written version was the Mushaf (the Holy writ),from which Uthman Ibn Affan commissioned a number of copies, anddistributed them to the capital of cities, and the Muslims were keen onresorting to, and memorizing it, from generation to generation, untilit reached us -safe from any discrepancy or alterations.

BeliefIn The Prophets Of Allah

And they were human. Allah has chosen the prophets to receiverevelation and deliver it to mankind. Allah Most High said regardingthe wisdom in sending them:

“ Such Apostles were as spectacles and warnings so thatpeople shall have no excuse, nor can they hold a plea against God inmitigation of censure after they had been warned by God’s Apostles. AndGod has always been Omnipotent, Wise.” (Sura 4:165)

And their number is great.

Allah Most High said :

“ And never was there a nation but had a Spectacle anda Warner.” (Sura35:24)

AllahAlmighty also said:

“ Before you (O Mohammad) We sent Apostles to their people,Some of whom We mentioned and narrated to you their stories and some Wedid not relate to you their account.” (Sura 40:78)

And those prophets whom Allah bas spoken about in the Qur’anare twenty-five: Adam, Idris, Noah, Hud, Salih, Ibrahim, Lout, Ismail,Ishaq, Jacab (Ya’aqub), Joseph (Yusuf), Shuaib, Moses (Musa), Harun(Aaron), David (Dawud), Solomon (Soleaman), Job (Ayub), Elias (llija),Jona (yunus), Zul-Kefl, Alys‘aa (Elisha), Zakaria, Yehia (John theBaptist) Jesus And Mohammad, (PBUH). Belief in all of them isobligatory.  As stated in the Holy Qur’an.

Allah Most High said:

“Declare O Muslims and in explicit terms, thus we believe inGod with hearts impressed with the image of religious and spiritualvirtues, and we believe in all that has been imparted to us in theQur’an and in all that was imparted to Abraham and Isma’il, Isaac andJacob and to the tribes of his twelve sons and in what was imparted toMoses and to Jesus, and we believe in all that was imparted to all theprophets from God, their Creator; we do not discriminate one of themfrom another and we conform our will to His blessed will; He is theheart of purpose. ” (Sura 2:136)

That is because they are brethren in the call to the religionof Allah, even though every one of them belonged to a particularpeople, and a particular epoch, with the exception of the prophetMohammad (PBUH) who said:

“ The prophets are brethren of the families, and theirmothers are various, and their religion is one ” (Cited by Muslim)

All of them are human. They are not different from the restof mankind, except that they have received revelation from Allah, andthat they are infallible of all that may breach of the obligations ofthe message. As stated In the Holy Qur’an.

Allah Most High said:

“ And never did God send Apostles before you (O Mohammad) butwere men (and not angels) to whom We inspired Our Message.” (Sura 16:43)

Allah Almighty also said:

“ Say to them (O Mohammed), I am only a mortal like you, butI am prompted by God to impart to you the knowledge that has beeninspired to me, It emphasizes that your God is only One God, TheCreator of the whole and of all in all.” (Sura 18:110)

Allah Most Highalso said:

“ Praise be to God and extolled are His glorious attributes;am I in any respect but a human messenger.” (Sura 17:93)

None of them rose above the position of Prophethood, and thecalling of people to Allah; and Allah said regarding Jesus Christ inparticular:

“Indeed, the Messiah, the son of Mary, was no more than anApostle; many Messengers like him have passed away before him. Hismother was a woman vested with saintliness of life and character; sheand her son had to consume food (and to sustain their lives, clearthemselves from dregs) and therefore be destined to die.” (Sura 5:75)

What is mentioned about some of the prophets in the previousHoly Books of stories, is breaching of their infallibility whichcontravenes their messages, so it is obligatory upon us to vindicatethem of it.  The Noble Qur’an, took the responsibility of refutingmost of these false claims, in recognition of their position and incorroboration with the truth, which is in- keeping with the Message ofIslam;

AllahMost High said:

“And in the truth did We send down the Qur’an and inconformity with fact and in agreement with reality has it been revealedand We have only sent you (O Mohammad) as a spectacle and a warning” (Sura 17:105)

After this He said:

“It is He who has sent His Apostle to transmit the spirit oftruth to guide people into all truth,  and to proclaim bypublic discourse the Qur’an, which features the appropriate system offaith and worship which conforms with truth and agrees with reality; aQur’an which serves as the Criterion and the canon where in providenceis the guide ; it aligns and makes unanimous the course of action, ofthought and of life of all concerned, Muslims and non-Muslims , whosereligious practices are contingent upon man-made related aspects of theone religion whose unclouded and authoritative front is Islam; and goodenough for your people is this testimony on the part of God” (Sura 48:28)

Allah Almighty also said:

” And We have sent down to you (O Mohammad) the Book -theQur’an -confirming the scriptures which were revealed before it (Torahand Bible) and serving as the Book of reference which does answer anyquery on matters disputed among people of the Book (Jews andChristians), for it is the umpire of all preceding scriptures (Torahand Bible), and the decision that is based on its precepts shall haveto be accepted as final.” (Sura 5:48)

Belief In The Resurrection

Thatis to say the Day of the Resurrection after death, and of Account andReward, either to Paradise or to Hell and what there is in this day ofaffairs is unknown except by listening to the Qur’an or Sunnah, andthey are of the unseen, in which Allah has commanded us to believe asit is in many verses of the Qur’an, and in the Sunnah.

Allah Most High said:

“This book -the Qur’an -in which providence is the guide,occasions no doubt and represents the spirit of truth that guides intoall truth; it guides those who entertain the

profound reverence dutiful to God, who are strongly disposedto realize the unseen or what is not apprehended by sight,especially God who is exposed only to the mental  view andperceived only by the mind, who recognize His  spiritual beingswho are His attendants and His messengers; and they sense with prudencethe Hereafter, who duly engage in worship and spend in benevolence andbenefaction of the provisions of life with which We provisioned them.Who faithfully believe in all that has been revealed to you (OMohammad) the Qur’an, way of life, religious and spiritual virtues andall that has been enjoined and they credit all that had been revealedto those who were sent before you, Torah, Gospel and the like andaffirm with the eye of faith the certainty of the Hereafter.” (Sura 2:24)

Allah the Almighty also said:

“And it is He Who begins creation and reproduces it andcreates and recreates, a process that is indeed quite easy for Him todo (all it takes is «be» and it is).” (Sura 30:27)

And Healso said:

“The infidels venture to say that they shall not beresurrected, say to them (O Mohammad): (But indeed you shall be; Isolemnly swear by God my Creator; you shall be resurrected and broughtto judgment and you shall be informed of all that you had done, be itevil or good minor or major, and this is indeed easy for God” (Sura 64:7)

And again He said:

“He authoritatively states that: The Final Hour (Day ofJudgment) is an undoubted Event And an absolute certainty and that Godshall resurrect those deposited in the graves.” (Sura 22:7)

It is never known when the world shall come to an end; andthe creation is sent before Allah.

Allah Most High said:

“They- the infidels -insolently ask you (OMohammad) for information relating to the point of time at which thepredetermined Eventful Hour of Judgment takes place! Say to them: It isonly God alone Who knows when, He alone has the rightful claim to theknowledge of the how’s and when’s of Hour and Hereafter; no one revealsit when it is due but He as His word prompts. It weights quite heavilyon the heavens and all those within and on the earth and the hopes ofall those therein, and the encounter with it is simply a sudden startof surprise. They ask you about it as if you are anxious to know how’sand when’s and as a result you have been informed. Say to them: Restassured that it is only God and God alone Who does know when, but mostpeople do not realize this fact.” (Sura 7: 187 )

Belief In Fate And Destiny

That is tosay that Allah knows all that happens in the Universe before ithappens, and that whatever happens is out of His will, Sanctified beHe.

AllahMost High said:

“Nothing do we create casually; but everything, spiritual,animate and inanimate We create according to plan, indicating therelations of objects to one another, times and places of intended deedsand actions, proportions and measures, disposition of parts, designs,arrangements, limitations and consequence, all is one single act.” (Sura54:49)

And man cannot know what he is destined to do before itoccurs; and Allah has commanded him to do certain things which he mustcarry out, on the basis of his own freedom and choice; and freedom is astep forward to obligation; and a deed is a step to reward and AllahMost High said:

“He who imprints his deeds with wisdom and piety, advantageshimself of spiritual privileges, and he who weds himself to evil,invites his own detriment and loss, and never is God, your Creator,unjust to His servants” (Sura 41 :46 )

Belief in fate and destiny prevents impatience (and grief)and the occurrence of what Allah has decreed, in which man has nochoice, such as calamities; and this does not mean surrender anddespair; rather does it mean that man should be keen on deeds, based onthe guidance of religion in bravery and confidence and hope.

Allah Most High said:

“Say to the people (O Mohammad): < < Work >>, that is to say:

a.     dosomething involving effort of body and mind .

b.exert yourselves for a definite purpose, especially in order to produceand accomplish something, or effect some useful result and gain somedefinite end.

c.     gainyour livelihood.

d.     dowhat is dutiful to God.

e.     letyour deeds be imprinted with wisdom and piety.

And God is Omnipresent, He shall see your doings and so shallHis Apostle and those whose hearts have been touched with the Divinehand Then at the end shall you all be brought back to Him theOmniscient of all that is

invisible, hidden, and unseen, the Omniscient of what thebosoms store of thoughts and feelings and of what is suggested secretlyto the mind, There and then shall He inform you of all that your mindsand souls had actuated you to do”( Sura 9: 105)

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Chapter Three