The Belief in Allaah What Does it Mean?
Part of the Book "Explanation of Fundamentals of Faith" by our Sh. Muhammad
bin Saalih al-'Uthaimeen (rahimahullaah). See www.understand-islam.net
section).
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Belief In Allaah
The Belief in Allaah Comprises Four Matters:
First: The Belief in The Existence of Allaah:
The evidence for the existence of Allaah is established by:
1-Fitrah.
2-Reasoning.
3-Ash-Shar’a.1
4-Al-Hiss.2
1-Pertaining To The Proof of The Fitrah:
Every creature has been created in a state of belief in his Creator without
preceding thought or education. No one dissuades from what is necessitated by
this Fitrah (i.e. the belief in Allaah), except the one whose heart has been
subjected to what averts it from its (natural course of) Fitrah, as the Prophet
explained when he said:
“Each child is born in a state of “Fitrah,” but his parents make him a Jew or
a Christian.”3
2-The Evidence of “Reasoning”:
All of the creatures, the first and the subsequent ones, must have a Creator Who
brought them to existence because they neither can bring themselves into
existence, nor they could have come to exist by coincidence! The creatures could
not have brought themselves to existence because a thing does not create itself
since prior to its existence it was nothing. So how could it be a Creator? And it
cannot accidentally bring itself into being, because every occurrence (novelty,
etc.) must need an originator. Also because its existence in such highly
magnificent order and homogenous coordination, and due to the coherent
relationship between the means and their causes, and the creatures with one
another, it is rather absolutely impossible that its very being is coincidental. (In
fact), what is (believed) to exist as a result of coincidence does not follow an
1Revealed texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah.
2Lit: perception, sensation, sensory. Pertaining to the evidences about Allaah’s existence, al-Hiss
means, that which is perceptible through the senses. [TN]. {TN refers to "Translator's Note}.
3Related by Imaam al-Bukhaaree in his Saheeh, vol.8, pp.389-90, hadeeth # 597.
ordered pattern at the beginning of its existence. So how could it remain to be
ordered during its course of survival and development?
So, if it is impossible that the creatures have either brought themselves into
existence or that they came to exist by coincidence, then it becomes evident that
they must have a Creator, and He is Allaah, the Rabb (Lord) of the Worlds.
Allaah stated the above rational and decisive proof in soorat at-Tur, Saying:
Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators?
[Qur’aan 52:35], which means that they were neither created without a Creator,
nor they were the creators of themselves. It becomes clear, therefore, that their
Creator is Allaah . That is why when Jubair bin Mut’im heard Allaah’s
Messenger reciting soorat at-Tur, and when he reached the verses:
Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did
they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm belief. Or
are the treasures of your Rabb with them? Or are they the tyrants with the
authority to do as they like?4, Jubair, who was then a Mushrik (polytheist),
commented:
“My heart was about to fly (i.e. upon hearing this firm argument).”5 In
another separate narration, he said: “And that was the time when Eemaan
was first settled in my heart.”6
Let us give a parable that clarifies this matter: If someone tells you about a lofty
palace, surrounded by gardens with rivers flowing in between, fully furnished
with beds and matters, and decorated with all kinds of ornaments, the basics, and
the luxurious, then he says to you: “This palace in all of its perfection, has
founded itself, or that it came to exist by coincidence, without a founder!”
Immediately you will deny and reject his argument, and you will consider his talk
as ridiculous. (With this in mind), is it, therefore, possible that this universe with
its extended earth, skies, planets, conditions, wonderful and splendid order, could
have brought itself into existence? Or that it came to exist without a Creator?
4Qur’aan 52:35-37.
5Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, vol. 6, pp. 356-358, hadeeth # 377.
6Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, V. 5, p. 236, hadeeth # 358.
3-The Al-Shar’a7 Evidence For The Existence of Allaah:
Al-Shar’a is evidence for the existence of Allaah because all of the revealed
Scriptures state so. The Laws that address the welfare of creation and which are
provided by these Scriptures, constitute evidence that they came from an All
Wise Rabb Who knows about the welfare and interests of His Creation. The
information about the universe brought forth by the Scriptures and whose
manifestation testifies for their truthfulness, is a proof that they came from the
(One) Rabb Who is Able to bring into being whatever He already informed about.
4-Al-Hiss: The “Physical” Evidence For The Existence of Allaah
Comprises Two Aspects:
One of them is that we hear and witness (Allaah’s) response to the call of those
who supplicate and those who are distressed and grieved. This constitutes an
unequivocal evidence for the existence of Allaah . He says:
And (remember) Noah, when he cried (to Us) aforetime. We listened to his
invocation. (Qur’aan 21:76).
He, , also says:
(Remember) when you sought help of your Rabb and He answered you.
(Qur’aan 8:9).
In Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, it is reported that Anas bin Maalik ( ) said that:
“Once in the lifetime of the Prophet ( ) the people were afflicted with
drought. While the Prophet ( ) was delivering the Khutbah (religious talk)
on a Friday, a Bedouin stood up and said: ‘O Allaah’s Messenger! Our
possessions are being destroyed and the children are hungry; please invoke
Allaah (for rain). So the Prophet ( ) raised his hands (invoked Allaah for
rain). At that time there was not a trace of cloud in the sky. By Him, in
Whose Hands my soul is, clouds gathered like mountains, and before he got
7Al-Shar’a: Islamic Texts and Legislations in the Qur’aan and Sunnah.[TN].
down from the pulpit, I saw the rain falling on his ( ) beard. It rained that
day, the next day, the third day, the fourth day till the next Friday. The same
Bedouin or another man stood up and said: ‘O Allaah’s Messenger! The
houses have collapsed, our possessions and livestock have been drowned;
please invoke Allaah for us (to stop the rain).’ So the Prophet ( ) raised both
his hands and said: ‘O Allaah! Round about us and not on us.’ So, in
whatever direction he pointed with his hands, the clouds dispersed and
cleared away...”8
Responding to the invocations of the supplicants who sincerely resort to Allaah
(alone) and fulfill the required conditions for Ijaabah9 is a matter that is still
being witnessed nowadays.
The second aspect is that the Signs of the Prophets which are called Mu’jizaat
(Miracles) and which people see or hear about, constitute an irrevocable
evidence for the existence of the One who dispatched them: that is Allaah .
Certainly these matters (Mu’jizaat) are beyond the capability of mankind and that
Allaah manifests them to help and support His Messengers. For example, the
Sign given to Musa when Allaah commanded him to strike the sea with his
stick. He stroke it and the sea parted into twelve dry roads separated by water
which became like huge mountains. Allaah says:
Then We inspired Musa (Saying): “Strike the sea with your stick.” And it
parted, and each separate part (of that sea water) became like the huge, firm
mass of a mountain. (Qur’aan 26:63).
Another example is the Sign given to Eesaa (Jesus ) by which he was able to
bring life to the dead and bring forth the dead from their graves by Allaah’s
Leave. Allaah spoke about him, saying:
And I bring the dead to life by Allaah’s Leave. (Qur’aan 3:49)
And when you brought forth the dead by My Permission. (Qur’aan 5:110).
A third example is that of Muhammad ( ) when the tribe of Qureish asked him to
show them a Sign (a miracle as a proof for his Prophethood).10 He ( ) pointed to
the moon and (behold!) it split asunder and the people saw it. Regarding this
(Sign) Allaah said:
8Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, V.2, hadeeth # 55.
9Ijaabah: Answering the Du’aa of the supplicant by Allaah. [TN]
10Narrated Anas : “The people of Makkah asked the Prophet ( ) to show them a sign (miracle).
So he showed them (the miracle) of the cleaving of the moon.” Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, vol .6,
hadeeth # 390. [TN].
The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft, and if they see a
sign, they turn away, and say: “This is continuous magic.” (Qur’aan 54:1-2).
All of these physical signs (miracles) which Allaah puts into effect to help and
support His Messengers constitute an irrevocable proof for His Existence.
Second: Belief in Allaah’s Lordship (Ruboobiyyah):
This means to believe that Allaah is the only Rabb without a partner or a helper.
The Rabb is the One to Whom belongs the Creation, Kingdom, and Command;
Their is no Creator but Allaah; No Maalik (Possessor) except Him11, and there is
no Command but His. He, Most High, says:
His is the Creation and Commandment. (Qur’aan 7:54).
Allaah also said:
“Such is Allaah your Rabb; His is the kingdom. And those, whom you invoke
or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmeer (the thin membrane over
the date-stone).”12 (Qur’aan 35:13).
It is not known that anyone had denied the Ruboobiyyah of Allaah except an
arrogant who does not believe what he says, like what happened to the Pharaoh
when he said to his people:
I am your rabb, most high. (Qur’aan 79:24).
And:
11Allaah, Most Great, is the Possessor of every possessor. He permits whom He wishes to possess.
Allaah possesses all the treasures of the heavens and the Earth. All the good is in His Hand, He
gives to whom He wishes and takes from whom He wishes. Everything is in need of Allaah.
[TN].
12This great verse is a reminder for those who invoke upon the dead or the absent person(s)
seeking help and refuge in them, that those whom you seek and call upon instead of Allaah don’t
possess even a Qitmeer. They cannot help themselves let alone those who call upon them. Those
who seek refuge or intercession through the righteous in their graves have not correctly estimated
Allaah as the One who gives and takes, the One who provides and sustains, the One who loves to
be invoked Alone, etc. [TN].
O chiefs! I know not that you have an ilaah (a god) other than me. (Qur’aan
28:38).
What he said was not a matter of conviction. Allaah said:
And they belied them (the aayaat: proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs,
revelations, etc.) wrongfully and arrogantly, though their ownselves were
convinced thereof [i.e. the aayaat are from Allaah, and Musa is the
Messenger of Allaah in truth, but they disliked to obey Musa, and hated to
believe in his Message of Tawheed.] (Qur’aan 27:14).
Allaah related what Musa told the Pharaoh:
(Musa ) said: “Verily, you know that these signs have been sent down by
none but the Rabb of the heavens and the earth as clear (evidences i.e. proofs
of Allaah's Oneness and His Omnipotence etc.). And I think you are, indeed, O
Pharaoh doomed to destruction (away from all good)!” (Qur’aan 17:102).
For this reason, the Mushrikeen (the pagan Arabs) used to acknowledge the
Lordship of Allaah despite committing Shirk in His Uloohiyyah. Allaah
said:
Say: "Whose is the earth and whosoever is therein? If you know!’ They will
say: ‘It is Allaah’s!’ Say: ‘Will you not then remember?’ Say: ‘Who is (the)
Rabb of the seven heavens, and (the) Rabb the Great ‘Arsh (Throne)?" They
will say: ‘Allaah.’ Say: ‘Will you not then fear Allaah (believe in His Oneness,
obey Him, believe in the Resurrection and Recompense for each and every good
or bad deed).' Say: ‘In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of everything (i.e.
treasures of each and everything)? And He protects (all), while against Whom
there is no protector13, if you know.’ They will say: “All that (belongs) to
Allaah.” Say: ‘How then are you deceived and turn away from the truth?’
(Qur’aan 23:84-89).
He also said:
13If Allaah saves anyone none can punish or harm him, and if Allaah punishes or harms anyone
none can save him. [See Tafseer al-Qurtubee, vol.12, p.145 ].
And indeed if you ask them, “Who has created the heavens and the earth?”
They will surely say: “The All-Mighty, the All-Knower created them.”
(Qur’aan 43:9).
He further said:
And if you ask them who created them, they will surely say: “Allaah”. How
then are they turned away (from the worship of Allaah Who created them)?”
(Qur’aan 43:87).
The Command of ar-Rabb (Allaah) comprises both the al-Kawnee (Universal)
and the ash-Shar’ee (Legal or Judicial) Commands. Just as He is the One Who
runs the affairs of the universe, Ruling it as He wants and in accordance with
what is necessitated by His Wisdom, He is also the Judge Who rules it by means
of Legislations that deals with 'Ibaadaat14 and Laws governing all forms of
Mu’aamalaat,15 in conformity with His Wisdom. So, whoever sets up a legislator
besides Allaah in Ibaadaat or a judge in Mu’aamalaat, commits Shirk and does
not ascertain the Eemaan.
Third: Belief in Allaah’s Worship (Uloohiyyah):
It is the belief that Allaah alone is the true Ilaah who has no partner or associate.
The Ilaah means al-Ma’looh i.e. al-Ma’bood, the only true God who deserves to
be worshipped out of love and magnification. Allaah said:
And your Ilaah is one Ilaah, َ ُه إ إ Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (There is no true
God worthy of worship but He), ar-Rahmaan (Whose Mercy encompasses
everything), the Most Merciful. (Qur’aan 2:163).
He also said:
Allaah Bears witness that Laa Ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be
worshipped but He), and the angels, and those having knowledge (also give
this witness); (He is always) maintaining His creation in Justice. Laa ilaaha
illa Huwa, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (Qur’aan 3:18).
14'Ibaadaat: Acts of worship done sincerely for Allaah’s sake and in accordance with evidence
from Qur’aan and (or) authentic Sunnah. [TN].
15Mu’aamalaat: All forms of mutual relations, treatment, procedures, behavior, conduct, and
interactions including social, business, transactions, etc. [TN].
All that is being taken as an ilaah (god) worshipped as god besides Allaah, its
wotship is false. Allaah says:
That is because Allaah-He is the Truth (the only True God of all that exists,
Who has no partners or rivals with Him), and those besides Him whom they
(the polytheists) invoke-they are but Baatil (vain Falsehood). And verily,
Allaah,-He is the Most High, the Most Great. (Qur’aan 22:62)
Calling them aaliha (gods) does not entitle them to the right of Uloohiyyah.
Allaah said describing the pagan deities of al-laat, al-’Uz-zaa, and Minaat
that:
They are but names which you have named,-you and your fathers,-for which
Allaah sent down no authority. (Qur’aan 53:23).16
He (Allaah) told us that Yusuf said to his two companions of the jail:
O two companions of the prison! Are many different arbaab (lords) better or
Allaah, the One, Al-Qahhaar17? You don’t worship besides Him but only
names which you have named (forged), you and your fathers, for which
Allaah has sent down no authority. (Qur’aan 12:39-40).
For this reason, the Messengers, may the Salaah and Salaam of Allaah be upon
them, used to say to their respective nations:
Worship Allaah! You have no other Ilaah (God) but Him. (Qur’aan
7:59,65,73,85; 11:50,61,84; 23:23,32).
The Mushrikeen, however, refused and set up gods as rivals to Allaah,
worshipping them besides Allaah, and seeking their support and help. Allaah
invalidated their acts by two proofs:
16Allaah said that Hud told his people:
Dispute you with me over names which you have named-you and your fathers, with no
authority from Allaah? (Qur’aan 7:71).
17Allaah is Al-Qahhaar: He subdued all creatures and all the elements of the loftiest and lowest
worlds; nothing occurs or moves without His Permission. Everything of His Creation is in need of
Him. His Irresistibility is linked to His Perfect Living, Power, and Ability. [TN].
First: There is not any Divine Quality in the gods they worshipped besides
Allaah. These gods are created and cannot create and extend neither benefit to
their worshippers nor can they ward off harm from them; they can neither give
them life, nor cause their death; they possess nothing from the heavens and have
no share in it. Allaah said:
They have taken besides Him other gods that created nothing but are
themselves created, and possess neither hurt nor benefit to themselves, and
possess no power (of causing) death, nor (of giving) life, nor of raising the
dead. (Qur’aan 25:3).
Allaah also said:
Say: (O Muhammad to those polytheists, pagans, etc.) “Call upon those
whom you asset (to be associate gods) besides Allaah, they possess not even
the weight of a small ant,-either in the heavens or on the earth, nor have they
any share in either, nor there is for Him any supporter from among them.
Intercession with Him profits not, except for him Whom He permits.
(Qur’aan 34:22-23).
Do they attribute as partners to Allaah those who created nothing but they
themselves are created? No help can they give them, nor can they help
themselves. (Qur’aan 7:191-192).
If this is the situation with those gods, then worshipping them as gods besides
Allaah is the utmost of foolishness and falsehood.
Second: Those Mushrikeen used to confess that Allaah Alone is Ar-Rabb Al
Khaaliq (the Creator) in Whose Hand is the Sovereignty of everything and He
protects (all), while against Whom there is no protector.18
This (confession) necessitates that they should have attested that He is the Only
True ilaah (god) worthy of worship as they have done with His Lordship (when
they took Him as their only true Rabb). In this regard Allaah said:
18If Allaah saves anyone none can punish or harm him, and if Allaah punishes or harms anyone
none can save him. See Translation of the Meaning of the Noble Qur’aan by al-Hilaalee and
Khaan, soorat al-Mu’minoon, verse 88, p.534, quoting from Tafseer al-Qurtubee, vol.12, p.145.
O mankind! Worship your Rabb (Allaah), Who created you and those before
you so that you may become pious. Who has made the earth a resting place
and the sky as a canopy, and sent down rain from the sky and brought forth
therewith fruits as a provision for you. Then do not setup up rivals unto
Allaah (in worship) while you know (that He alone has the right to be
worshipped). (Qur’aan 2: 21-22).
He also said:
And if you ask them who created them, they will surely say: “Allaah.” How
then are they turned away (from the worship of Allaah, Who created them)?
(Qur’aan 43:87).
Say: Who provides for you from the sky and from the earth? Or Who owns
hearing and sight? And Who brings out the living from the dead and the dead
from the living? And Who disposes the affairs? They will say: “Allaah.” Will you
not then be afraid of Allaah’s Punishment (for worshipping other than Him)?”
Such is Allaah, you Rabb, in truth. So, apart from Truth, what (remains) but
error? So, how then you are turned away? (Qur’aan 10:31-32).
FOURTH: Belief in Allaah’s Names and Sifaat (Attributes):
It means to affirm the Names and Attributes which Allaah affirmed to Himself in
His Book and in the Sunnah of His Messenger in the way that best fits Him
without
Tahreef (distortion of the meaning),
Ta’teel (negating the meaning),
Takyeef, (assigning a manner to any attribute), or
Tamtheel (drawing parallels to Allaah).
Allaah said:
And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allaah, so call on Him by
them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny (or utter impious
speech against) His Names. They will be requited for what they used to do.
(Qur’aan 7:180).
He also said:
His is the highest description (i.e. none has the right to be worshipped but He,
and there is nothing comparable unto Him) in the heavens and in the earth.
And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (Qur’aan 30:27).
And there is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.
(Qur’aan 42:11).
Two sects went astray regarding this matter:
The First Sect: Al-Mu’atilah, who negated all or some of Allaah’s Names and
Attributes claiming that affirming Allaah’s Names and Sifaat necessitates
Tashbeeh (drawing similarities between Allaah and His creation)! This claim is
surely false in many respects, including:
First: It necessitates false obligations like contradiction in the words of Allaah,
far removed is He from every imperfection. This is so because Allaah affirmed
the Names and Attributes to Himself and negated the likeness of anything unto
Him. Had its affirmation necessitated the Tashbeeh, then it would imply
contradiction in the Speech of Allaah and that its parts refute one another.
Second: It is not necessary that agreement in Name or Attribute between two
things obligates likeness between them. Indeed you see two people in a state of
agreement where each is a hearing, seeing, and speaking human. In no way this
necessitate likeness neither in the human values nor in the hearing, sight, and
speech. You see that animals have hands, legs, and eyes. This kind of agreement
does not necessitate that their hands, legs, and eyes are like each other. If this
distinction in the agreement in Names and qualities amongst the created things is
clear, then the distinction between the Creator and the created thing is greater and
more evident.
The Second Sect: The Mushabbiha who affirm Allaah’s Names and Attributes
but make Tashbeeh (draw similarities) between Allaah and His Creation, claiming
that this is what is necessitated by the meaning of the texts on the ground that
Allaah addresses the ‘Ibaad (mankind) according to their understanding!
Such a claim is false in many respects, including:
First: The Mushaabaha (likeness) of Allaah to His creation is a false concept that
is negated by the Shar’a as well as reasoning. Thus it is impossible that a false
matter is necessitated by the texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah.
Second: Allaah addressed mankind according to their understanding of the basic
meanings of His Names and Attributes. However, the knowledge of the essence
and true nature of meanings regarding His Dhaat (Essence) and Sifaat
(Attributes) exclusively belongs to Allaah Alone. So, if Allaah affirms to Himself
that He is All-Hearer, then the Hearing is known from the understanding of the
basic meaning, which is the comprehension of voices. However, the essence of
this meaning with respect to the Hearing of Allaah
is unknown because the
essence of hearing is distinct even amongst the created. Certainly, the distinction
between the hearing of the created and that of the Creator is greater and more
evident.
It is known that if Allaah mentioned about Himself that He Istawaa ‘alal-’Arsh19,
then the Istiwaa’ according to the basic meaning is known (means: ascendance),
however, the manner (the ‘how’) of His ascension above His ‘Arsh is unknown,
because the essence of the Istiwaa’ amongst the creatures is distinct. The Istiwaa’
on a firmly stable chair is not the same as that on the saddle of an unyielding and
easily frightened camel. When this is distinct with respect to the creatures, then it
is greater and more evident between the Creator and the creature.
The belief in Allaah
according to what we have described above yields
great benefits to the believers:
First:
The true manifestation of the Tawheed of Allaah
such that
there is no attachment to other than Him in hope, fear, and worship.
Second:
The perfect Love, Magnification and Exaltation of Allaah
as obligated by His Most Beautiful Names and Sublime Attributes.
Third:
Manifesting our worship of Him by doing what He commands
and avoiding what He forbade.
19Istawaa ‘alal-’Arsh: Ascended the Throne (in the manner that suits His Majesty). [TN].
