Exposition of Islam, Muslim’s Belief

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

Exposition of Islam, Muslim’s Belief

Khaled Fahmy

Exposition of Islam, Muslim’s Belief (1)

The Muslims demands faith in the following:
Our creed is to believe in Allâh, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgement, and Fate whether good or bad. Belief in Allâh’s Lordship, Oneness, and Attributes:
We believe in Allâh’s divinity; that is He is the Lord, the Creator, the Sovereign, and the Manager of all affairs. We believe in Allâh’s God-ship; that is, He is the true God and every other so-called deity is false. We believe in His names and attributes, that is He has the most magnificent names and the sublime perfect attributes. We believe in His Oneness in all of this, that is, He has no associate in His divinity, His God-ship, His names, or His attributes. Allâh says in the Qu’ran:
“He is the Lord of the heavens and the Earth and all that is in between them, so worship Him and be patient in His worship; do you know any equal to Him?” [19:65].
We believe that He is: “Allâh there is no god but He, the Living, the Everlasting. Slumber does not seize Him, neither sleep; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the Earth. Who is there that shall intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they do not encompass anything of His knowledge except what He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the Earth, the preservation of them does not burden Him; He is the High, the Great” [2:255].
We believe that “He is Allâh, there is no god but He, the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible. He is the Most Gracious, Most Merciful. He is Allâh, there is no god but He, the King, the Holy One, the Source of Peace, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Almighty, the Subduer, the Sublime. Glory be to Allâh above what they associate with Him. He is Allâh, the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper. His are the most beautiful Names. All that is in the heavens and the Earth glorifies Him. He is the Almighty, the Wise” [59:22-4].
We believe that to Him belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth: “He creates what He pleases. He gives, to whom He wills, females, and He gives, to whom He wills, males, or He couples them, males and females; and He makes whom He wills barren. Surely, He is the Knowing, the Powerful” [42:49-50].
We believe that: “there is nothing whatever like unto Him, He is the All-hearing, the All-seeing. To Him belong the keys of the Heavens and the Earth. He enlarges and restricts provisions to whom He wills. Surely He has knowledge of everything” [42:11-12].
We believe that: “there is no creature that moves on the Earth but its provision depends on Allâh. He knows its dwelling and its resting-place. All is recorded in a clear book” [11:6].
We believe that: “with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them but He. He knows what is in land and sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. Not a grain in the deep darkness of the Earth, not a thing green or dry but it is in a clear Book” [6: 59].
We believe that: “Allâh alone has the knowledge of the Hour, sends down rain, and knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it shall earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it shall die. Surely, Allâh is All-knowing, All-aware” [31:34].
We believe that Allâh speaks whatever He pleases whenever He pleases: “And Allâh spoke to Moses directly” [4:164];
“And when Moses came at Our appointed place, and his Lord spoke to him” [7:143]; “We called to him from the right side of the Mount [Sinai], and We brought him near in communion” [19:52].
We believe that “if the ocean became ink for the words of my Lord, the ocean would be finished before the words of my Lord came to an end” [18:109]; “And if all the trees that are in the earth were pens, and the ocean [were ink], with seven oceans swelling it therefore, the words of Allâh would not be exhausted. Surely, Allâh is Mighty, Wise” [31:27].
We believe that Allâh’s words are the most truthful in conveying information, the most just in ruling, and the fairest in conversation. He said: “The word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and justice” [6:115]; “And who is more truthful in his word than Allâh?” [4:87].
We believe that the Qu’ran is Allâh’s word. He literally spoke it to Gabriel, who conveyed it to the Prophet, peace be upon him: “Say [O Muhammad] ‘the Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth” [16:102]; “Truly it is the revelation of the Lord of the world brought down upon your heart by the Faithful Spirit so that you may be one of the warners, in a clear Arabic tongue” [26:192-95].
We believe that Allâh is well above His creatures in His Person and His Attributes, because He says: “He is the High, the Great” [2:22]; “He is Supreme over His servants, and He is the Wise, the All-aware” [6:18].
We believe that He “created the Heavens and the Earth in six days, then He settled Himself on the throne; He manages everything” [10:3]. His “settling on the throne” means that He is sitting in person on His throne in a way that is becoming to His majesty and greatness. Nobody except He knows exactly how He is sitting.
We believe that He is with His creatures while He is still on His throne. He knows their conditions, hears their sayings, sees their deeds, and manages their affairs. He provides for the poor and the broken. He gives sovereignty to whom He pleases and takes away sovereignty from whom He pleases; He exalts whom He wills and He abases whom He wills. In His hand is all good and He is powerful over everything. Whoever possesses these qualities is literally with His creatures even if He is literally above them on His throne. “There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him; He is the All-hearing, the All-seeing” [42:11]. We do not say, as do the Incarnationists among the others, that Allâh is living with His creatures on Earth. We consider whoever says this a non-believer or one who has strayed, for he attributed to Allâh that which does not become Him of defects.
We believe in what His Messenger told us, that He descends to the near sky before the last third of every night and says: “Who prays to Me and I will answer his prayers? Who asks Me and I will give him? Who asks My forgiveness and I will forgive him?” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
We believe that He will come on the Day of Judgement to judge among His people because He said: “No indeed! When the Earth is crushed to powder, and your Lord comes down with the angels in rows after rows, and Hell is brought out that day. On that day man will remember, but what will remembrance avail him?” [89:21-23]. We believe that he is the Doer of what He wills.