Have you considered the one who denied the religion?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Tafsir of Surah al Ma'un
Nouman Ali Khan

أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ

Have you seen the one who belies in the religion?

Here Allah is asking us to reflect but on who? Is it a particular disbeliever like Abu Lahab or is it referring to anyone who fits the description? The use of the word الذي will get people to think the surah is about them and make them feel guilty. Allah didn't say 'kufr' which is outright denial and rejection but He said 'تكذيب' which is when someone knows the truth but is lying against it anyway. In this case, the present tense is used (يكذب) because this person continues to lie against the religion
The importance of the word 'deen' here shows that after Islam, it refers to Islam itself but some mufasiroon have said that generally the word was understood in the literal sense. The biggest hurdle for people was the next life. Ash Shawkani said: They can't accept getting payback in the hereafter so they lie against the idea he'll have to get payback. In this speech rhetoric, there's omission. The denial of resurrection is the essence of rejection.

فَذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ

So that is the one who repels the orphan

There is allegory in this ayah by the use of ف It's proof of someone who doesn't believe in the afterlife pushes the orphan around. When you deny the akhirah your heart becomes hard and you lose mercy hence why the orphans don't matter. The ف is the one who lies against the religion AND acts unjustly towards the orphan. These are crimes against Allah and crimes against the human. Kufr makes it easy to push orphans around. One of the worst ways to displease and disobey Allah because Allah comes into the defence of the orphan a lot.

وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ

And not exhorts from feeding the needy one

This is a direct blow to the leaders of the Quraish. In the previous ayat we learnt about their personal life and here we learn about their public life. They are supposed to feed the poor. This person doesn't even ENCOURAGE it because he doesn't even treat the orphan right. Allah didn't even say 'he doesn't feed the poor' but doesn't ENCOURAGE feeding. The singular for needy one is used (مسكين) so that they understand their immediate behaviour. Also Allah isn't talking about feeding the orphan with their own food but Allah says (عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ) which actually means that this person doesn't even encourage giving the needy THEIR OWN FOOD. The food is mudaf ilayhi; it belongs to the him. This illustrates the state of the heart of the one not allowing this.

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ

So Woe to the ones who perform prayers

Allah starts this ayah with the ف which already indicates they are in destruction. He mentions 'those who pray' first. What is the benefit?
One of the benefit is that anyone who prays is alerted. It should terrify everyone! We should wonder if we're the people being described here. If you're engaged in crime against the creation then you'll be involved in crime against the Creator, hence worst kind of prayer there is. This ayah is referring to those who pray REGULARLY. These are people who pray in public to show off. The crime of stealing from the prayer is the same as someone who wrote their own book and called it the book of Allah.

الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ

Those who they from their prayers are negligent.

Continuing from the previous ayah, Allah is telling us how the people performing prayer committed the crime and it's because they were neglectful these are the people who say and think prayer is not important. Do we remember when Allah spoke to Musa and Allah said 'Establish prayer and remember Me'. This is what prayer means to Allah. In surah al Baqarah, Allah called Salah, imaan. The people in this ayah perform their Salah but not in their heart. Ash Shawkani said this ayah referred to those who pray sometimes but not other times, those who peck in their prayers, those who don't fulfil the pre-requisites

الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ
Those are they who show off

The repetition of الذين هم illustrates how angry Allah is - when these people DO pray, they only do it to show off! Allah is telling us that people are heedless but will improve a little because they want to show off. Guard your Salah! The Quran at Fajr will be a witness for you!
It is a mercy from Allah that He didn't say 'IN the prayer' because we are all guilty of that.
This ayah shows the hypocrisy of the believer and the hypocrisy of the kaafir. It's almost like 'don't leave the nawafil out of shame but don't make them to show off'. Go home and pray your nawafil so your kids can see.

وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ
And they withhold the small kindness (necessities)

Allah is talking about the crime against the people again. Allah doesn't separate the good towards Him and good towards the people.
ماعون
Can be something like zakat. The Sahaba said that Allah is asking very little from us - that which you can't possibly be cheap in BUT they are THAT cheap! They can't even see a smile on somebody's face. This is the hardness of the heart.

Teachings and Lessons

Two things that will keep your heart soft

1. How you pray
2. How much you give

The teacher concluded with: if our prayers are weak, that's a life project

All good is from Allah and all mistakes are from myself.

The Creed of Al Wastiyyah - Lesson 4

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

THE CREED OF ALWASITIYYAH BY SHAYKH’UL ISLAM AHMAD IBN TAYMIYYAH

Taught by Ustadh WasimKempson

Lesson  4

The lesson started offon page 45 on the topic of WILL

WILL (Mashiha)

You get the a) Will ofAllah b) The want of Allah

There are 4 versesmentioned in this section.

      1.       ‘Why , when you entered your garden, did younot say “It is as Allah wills, there is no strength but in Allah”’ (Kahf:39) ‘Shah-ah’ is the will of Allah (swt). When a person intends to dosomething then they should remember Allah (swt). ‘Jannah’ linguistically means‘something is hidden’  ﺝ ﻥ        together  mean something that is beyond our vision e.g.Jinn, Jannah are beyond our ability to see. So Allah is saying the persondidn’t say this nor say ‘ there is no STRENGTH’ except Allah (Swt)

      2.       If Allah had willed, those [generations]succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs hadcome to them. But they differed, and some of them believed and some of themdisbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought each other,but Allah does what He intends. (Baqarah:253).  This is clear refutation against those whodeny certain aspects of Qadr of Allah (swt) e.g. in Surah Takwir, Allah says ‘And you do not will except that Allah wills- Lord of the worlds.’ (Takwir:29). In the ayah first stated Allah willedthat they fight with each other. A person is responsible for his own actionsthus accountable for deeds BUT attribute matter of decree and creation to Allah(swt). Here Allah (swt) links action and His creation of you.

NB: There are

      a)     Attributesof Essence  - Where you cannot say Allahis described of this at any one time e.g. He is always Hearing and Seeing

      b)     Attributesconsidered his action – Ability to do at all time but chooses when to do it e.g.His rising over the throne.

      3.       O you who have believed, fulfill [all]contracts. Lawful for you are the animals of grazing livestock except for thatwhich is recited to you [in this Qur'an] - hunting not being permitted whileyou are in the state of ihram. Indeed, Allah ordains what He intends.(Ma’idah:1) Allahmakes lawful to you what He wills. E.g. Ali said: “The Messenger of Allah had forbidden Mutahon the day of Khaybar and had forbidden the eating of the meat of domesticdonkeys.” [Bukhari, Muslim] Also
“Twotypes of dead meat and two types of blood have been made lawful for ourconsumption: The two dead meats are: fish and locust, and the two types of bloodare: liver and spleen.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad, 2/97 andSunan Ibn Majah, no: 3314)
We take from this ruling of what and when. This is Allah’s LEGISLATIVEWILL.

NB: Allah has a UNIVERSAL WILL and aLEGISLATIVE WILL

     4.      ‘WhenAllah desires to guide someone, He expands his breast to Islam; when He desiresto misguide someone, He makes his breast narrow and constricted as if he wereclimbing into the sky’ (An’am:125) Allah mentions about the one who He wants toguide.

Q: How can Allah want to guide/misguide some?

Answer:  Allah (swt) is the owner of thisuniverse and sustains the whole universe e.g. gives/takes life. Therefore if Hewills/wants certain things, does He not have the right to do so? Having saidthat, people still have an element of choice and Allah does not oppress. Theseverses are talking about Will of Allah and this verse is talking aboutguidance.

Du’a of Musa  – ‘Rabbi shahry Sadri’.Some people use this verse as an insight to the knowledge not known. Qur’an isa book of guidance, not a book of science. Fundamentally, science changes oftenso we cannot link the two but it has knowledge of science within it.

Muawiyyah narrated that the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“If Allah wants to do good to a person,He makes him comprehend the religion. I am just a distributor, but the grant isfrom Allah. And remember that this nation will remain obedient to Allah’sOrders and they will not be harmed by anyone who will oppose them till Allah’sOrder (day of Judgement) is established. (Bukhari;71)

Conditions of Seeking Knowledge.

1.            Sincerity – to Allah (swt) usingQur’an and Sunnah only so that He is pleased with you and you do it only forHis sake.

2.              Knowledge itself is based on Qur’an andSunnah, which are the two primary resources that He (swt) gave to us. This isthe ‘Universal will/want’ in Surah An’am: 125, above. He wants us to worshipHim, submit to Him but some may or may not. Those who may not will be in theHellfire. As for those who do submit there are ways it is done. But those firm in knowledge among them andthe believers believe in what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and whatwas revealed before you. And the establishers of prayer [especially] and thegivers of zakah and the believers in Allah and the Last Day - those We willgive a great reward.(Nisa:162)

Love (Al Mahabba) (7verses)

      1.      ‘Anddo good; Allah love those who do good’ (Baqarah: 195).
It is establishedin the hadith that Gabriel asked the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam):“Tell me about excellence in faith (ihsaan).”
He replied: “It is to worship Allah as though you see Him, and though you donot see Him, you know that He sees you.” [Bukhari and Muslim]  - Thus have perfection in our ibaadah. Firstly it is acommand of Allah (swt) to do good and do best we can when doing good. Sofirstly you show Ihsaan to Allah (swt) to worship and give Him His rights andthen doing good to creation and giving them their rights especially throughexamples like buying and selling.
NB: When submitting to Allah (swt) the manner and how is of course the way ofthe Sunnah, Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah,then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allahis Forgiving and Merciful." (Imran: 31)

      2.      ‘..and be even-handed;  Allah loves thosewho are even-handed.’ (Hujurat: 9) this is the opposite of oppression and anobligation upon everyone; demands justice from His creation, between themselvesand to Allah (swt). The greatest oppression is associating partners with Allah(swt). ProphetMuhammad (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Whoever wishes to be savedfrom Hell ad admitted into Paradise as desired, they should believe in Allahand the Last Day and treat other people the way they themselves would like tobe treated." [Muslim]
 

     3.      ‘Aslong as they are straight with you, be straight with them. Allah love those whohave taqwa’ (At Tawbah: 7) the one who places between him and what he is afraid of a barrier is thereal muttaqeen. E.g. he is scared of the hellfire so he will ‘ UPHOLD ALLOBLIGATIONS’ of Allah and stay away from what He prohibited, in the fear ofAllah and by having Hope and Love for Him. (All these must be present in all your affairs)
Talq Ibn Habib was once asked about Taqwa (piety)he replied: Taqwa is to act in obedience to Allah, with a light from Allahhoping for the Reward of Allah and to avoid and give up the disobedience ofAllah with a light from Allah fearing the punishment of Allah.

Categorizethose who deal with you.

·        Those who are true to you, wehave a covenant with them and are obliged to uphold that agreement

·        Then you get some form ofagreement and you know they’ll betray you thus is nullifies the agreement and you are not obliged Andif they break their oaths after their treaty and defame your religion, thenfight the leaders of disbelief, for indeed, there are no oaths [sacred] tothem; [fight them that] they might cease.(Tawbah:12)

·        They have an agreement with usbut whether they are going to carry it out or not due to deception, we do notknow so we don’t have to fulfill it. ‘Ifyou [have reason to] fear from a people betrayal, throw [their treaty] back tothem, [putting you] on equal terms. Indeed, Allah does not like traitors.’(Anfal: 58)

     4.       Allahloves those who turn back from wrongdoing and He loves those who purifythemselves’ (Baqarah: 222). This affirms love for those who repent to Allah (swt). The ulama havegiven CONDITIONS FOR TAWBAH. These are the following:
> Ikhlaas
> An Nadm (Have regret)
> Abstain from that sin.
> Depends on if you have taken the haqq from somebody then you have to giveit back to them e.g. if you stole from them then you have to return it. Howeverwe have the theory of ‘ Lesser of evils’ whereby if you know that by giving itback a great munkar will come to you then you can give it back via anothermean.
> Before the time of tawbah where it is not accepted e.g. when the sun risesfrom West to East and time of Death, it will not be accepted.
‘ Our nature is that we fall into sin and He loves forgiveness’ so purifyyourself physically and spiritually.

    5.      ‘Sayif you love Allah, then follow me and Allah loves you..’ (Al Imran; 31). Hasan Al Basri called this the ‘Verse ofthe Test’ to those who claim to love Allah and those who follow the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam.On the authority of the Mother of theFaithful, Umm Abdullah, 'Aaishah, who said that the Messenger of Allah, sallalahualayhi wa sallam, said, what translatedmeans,
"Whoever introduces into our matter (religion) that which is not a part ofit, will have it (his innovation) rejected." (Bukhari  and  Muslim)

    6.      Oyou who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allahwill bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him[who are] humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; theystrive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is thefavor of Allah ; He bestows it upon whom He wills. And Allah isall-Encompassing and Knowing. (Ma’ida: 54).  Itfirstly starts off with whoever turns away; Allah will bring someone newbecause He is not in need of us. Then Allah (swt) goes on to say that if youare humble to the believers and stern to the disbelievers and struggle in thecause of Allah then that is the Grace of Allah which He bestows upon whom Hewills.

    7.      ‘Allahloves those who fight in His way in ranks like well built walls’ (Saff: 4). this chapter talks about many issuesespecially Jihad. So Allah says, fight in His cause, fight together and fightlike a building, together.

    8.      ‘Heis Ever Forgiving, the All Loving’ (Burooj:14). (Al Ghafoor, Al Wadud). He loves His awliyah andthose who submit to Him. Our love for each other is not the same as how we loveAllah (swt).

MERCY

      1.       ‘In the name of Allah, the All Merciful,the  Most Merciful’

     2.      ‘OurLord, You encompass everything in mercy and knowledge’ (Ghaafir: 7). this is the saying of the angels.
NB : His knowledge covers all of Hiscreation because this Mercy has let them live and also there is more specific mercy to some of His creationi.e. the believers. For example, He will give good life to the believers.  Whoever does righteousness, whether male orfemale, while he is a believer - We willsurely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward[in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do. (Nahl: 93).
Those who are most intent in gathering from this dunya are the Jews andMushrikeen.

Why them?
JEWS – They believe they are the ‘chosen people’ and because of thisthey think that they should be endeavoured with all the blessings and think thatthe hell-fire will never touch them therefore they can do whatever they wantthis life and thus they are miserly/herding people.
MUSHRIKEEN – For example the Hindus, they believe in reincarnation so theythink by the quality of life in this dunya is dependent on what they will comeback in.

     3.       ‘He is the Most Merciful to the believers’(Ahzab: 43). This isshowing Allah’s SPECIFIC Mercy on the believers. This is the Mercy of guidancein terms of recognizing all the blessings from Allah (swt).

     4.       ‘My Mercy extends to all things’ ( A’raf:156) Praising/GlorifyingHimself and that it extends to all things, even to non-Muslims.

     5.      ‘YourLord has made mercy incumbent on Himself’ (An’am: 54). Also from this mercy is that a personmay do wrong and not only when they do wrong, that person will repent to Allahand by His will He will forgive that person and change their repentance toHasanat (Good deeds) - Except for thosewho repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace theirevil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. (Furqan: 70).BUT there are those who reject this because they see Mercy as a sign ofweakness because they have likened Allah’s mercy to that of creation. THIS ISREFUTED (further along).

     6.       ‘He is ever Forgiving, the Most Merciful’(Yunus: 107). Thisayah brings together both of His name (Ghafoor – we are in need of Him toforgive us & Raheem – The need of His mercy).
The Ulama have explained why these two names are together. The reason is.
>> We are sinful and need Him to pardon us therefore we are saved andalso at the same time we are in need of His mercy.  So, He covers up our sins. Ibn `Umar (May Allah bepleased with them) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) saying, "A believer will bebrought close to his Rabb on the Day of Resurrection and enveloping him in HisMercy, He (SWT) will make him confess his sins by saying: `Do you remember(doing) this sin and this sin?'He will reply: `My Rabb, I remember.' Then He(SWT) will say: `I covered it up for you in the life of world, and I forgive itfor you today.' Then the record of his good deeds will be handed to him".[Bukhariand Muslim]

     7.       ‘Allah is the Best of Guardians, He is the Most Merciful of themerciful’ (Yusuf: 64).  It was narrated that ‘Umar ibnal-Khattaab said: “Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allah  andthere was a woman among the prisoners who was searching (for her child). Whenshe found her child she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messengerof Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to us, ‘Do you thinkthat this woman would throw her child in the fire?’ We said, ‘No, by Allah,not if she is able not to.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘ Allah is more merciful to His slaves than thiswoman is to her child.’” (Bukhari, 5653; Muslim, 6912.). This showsthat Allah is most Merciful to His servants then a mother is to her child.

Those who denythe Mercy of Allah (swt) – REFUTATION

These people do ta’teel (deny) the mercy because theysay that intellect doesn’t prove that. It means the Mercy of Allah means to dogood or to grant a favour. The fact that Allah mentions all types of Rahmah, they still denyit because their naql doesn’t prove that.
ASWJ – Allah gives us naql but not to the extent that it starts to reject text.He chose those words because he chose the best of kalam.

‘We hear and we obey’ and we stay on the way of Qur’anand Sunnah.

The Prophet (sallalahualayhi wa sallam) said: "No one of you will enter Paradise by his deedsalone." They asked, "Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?" Hesaid, "Not even me, unless Allah covers me with His Grace and Mercy"(Bukhari, Riqaq, 18; Muslim, Munafiq, 71-73).

PLEASURE AND ANGER

      1.      ‘Allahis pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him.’ (Ma’idah: 119). Allah is pleased with His creation. Realattribute related to His Will, pleased with those who are just and have taqwa.Sometimes you get people with blessings in this world.

The Creed of Al Wastiyyah - Lesson 3

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

THE CREED OF ALWASITIYYAH BY SHAYKH’UL ISLAM AHMAD IBN TAYMIYYAH

Taught by Ustadh WasimKempson

Lesson  3

This lesson we startedchapter one of the book: re-affirming the creed of ASWJ.

‘An expression of the above principles is foundin what Allah describes Himself in Surah al Ikhlaas, which equals to a 1/3 ofthe Qur’an.

The Prophet  sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  would recite Surah Ikhlaas inone unit of prayer before Fajr after reading Surah al Kafiroon in the firstunit of prayer. After the Maghrib salah the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  would recite Kafiroon andIkhlaas. The Ulama have said that the benefits of the chapter are thefollowing:

      1.      He recitedSurah Al Kafiroon before Fajr to absolve himself from Shirk

      2.      In the 2^ndunit of prayer he would recite Surah al Ikhlaas because this was an affirmationof Tawheed.

This chapter is equalto 1/3 of the Qur’an so what does that mean?

Many of the Salaf useto say that Qur’an is ‘thalatha maqsid’ (3 main objectives/topics)

      1.      Rulings,prohibitions and commands

      2.      Informationand Stories given to use with regards to Prophet s, Day of Judegement etc.

      3.      DescribingAllah (swt) e.g. through His names and attributes.

So, Surah Ikhlaas(Sincerity) is describing Allah therefore it covers the last objectivementioned. This achieves it from every respect.

‘Say He is Allah, the One. Allah, theEverlasting Sustainer of all. He has not given birth and was not born. There isnone comparable to Him.’ (al Ikhlaas:1-4)

Short tafsir ofthis surah

1. Say Allah is one, He has no equal and He is unique
2. As Samad is His name. It means He is the perfect one in knowledge, power, wisdom, in all His Attributes. THE PERFECT ONE. Also He is One who has no need for anything and everything else is reliant upon Him.
3. Here Allah (swt) negates any of shareek (partner or equal). He has no kufr, equal, likeness. In negation, we affirm the opposition – He is perfect therefore free of need.
4. None comparable to Him à UNIQUENESS OF ALLAH (SWT)

Ikhlaas is sincere toAllah alone.

AbuSa'id al-Khudri (radiAllahu anhu) reported that the Messenger ofAllah sallalahu alayhi wa sallam said to his Companions, "Are any of youunable to recite a third of the Quran in a night?" That was difficult forthem and they said, "Which of us is able to do that, Messenger ofAllah?" He said, "[The surah] 'Say: He is Allah, AbsoluteOneness, Allah, the Everlasting Sustainer of all' (112) constitutes a third ofthe Quran.'"
[Sahih al-Bukhari 6:61 #534, Riyad as-Salihin by Imam an-Nawawi Ch.183 #1010]

AbuHuraira  (radiAllahu anhu) reported that theMessenger of Allah sallalahu alayhi wa sallam said that "Say: He is Allah,Absolute Oneness" is equal to a third of the Quran.
[Muslim, Riyad as-Salihin by Imam an-Nawawi Ch.183 #1012]  

Another narration - Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (radiAllahu anhu) reported that the Messengerof Allah sallalahu alayhi wa sallam said about the surah, "Say: He is Allah,Absolute Oneness" (112), 'By Him in Whose hand my soul is, it is equalto one third of the Quran!'
[Sahih al-Bukhari 6:61 #533, Riyad as-Salihin by Imam an-Nawawi Ch.183 #1010]

Itis also found in what Allah describes Himself with in the greatest verse of HisBook (2:255) Ayatul Kursi

Q.Why is it the greatest verse?

Short tafsir of Ayatul Kursi

255)Allah, there is none worthy of worship save Him, the Living, the SelfSustaining.

‘Ilah’ = deity, something that isworshipped, fear of that what they worship.

Here Allah informs us THERE is no deityEXCEPT Him. Very explicitly negates all forms of things that are worshipped infear and hope EXCEPT to Allah (swt). You are obligated as a creation to submit,love and have hope in Allah (swt).

They are not but [mere] names you have named them- you and your forefathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority. Theyfollow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, and there hasalready come to them from their Lord guidance. (Najm:23)

This verse(Ayatul Kursi) began with His name. This is Kalimat At Tawheed.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Perish the slave of Dinar,Dirham, Qatifa (thick soft cloth), and Khamisa (a garment), for if he is given,he is pleased; otherwise he is dissatisfied." (Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76,Number 443)

They havetaken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah,the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; thereis no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.(At Tawah:31)

To support the above ayah we have another hadith

The Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  used tosay, "After fear of Allah a believer gains nothing better for himself thana good wife who obeys him if he gives her a command, pleases him if he looks ather, is true to him if he adjures her to do something, and is sincere towardshim regarding her person and his property if he is absent.
(Transmitted by Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi: 2095)

.. the Living, the Self Sustaining – ‘alhayyu alqayyumu’

‘Al Hayyu’ – Mostperfect of life. No non-existence before him and will have no death.

‘Al Qayyum’ (Lit:Qa’im) – something which is standing. Qayyum is an exaggerating form and isonly for Allah (swt). No need of anything for sustaining.

The Ulama havesaid that they ‘alhayyu alqayyumu’ are the greatest namesof Allah.

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleasedwith him) reported: I was sitting in a gathering with the Messenger of Allah sallalahu alayhi wa sallam,and a man was standing for Salaah, after bowing and prostrating he sat. Hesaid Tashahhud and then supplicated saying, 'O Allah! Verily, I ask of You, by the fact that to You belongs allPraise, there is no god except You, You alone and You have nopartners, Al-Mannaan (i.e, The Benefactor), O Badee' (i.e,Originator) of the heavens and the earth, O Dhal Jalali wal Ikram(i.e,Lord of Majesty, Bounty and Honour), O Hayy (i.e, The Everliving) andO Qayyum (i.e, The Self-subsisting): Indeed I ask ofYou Al-Jannah (i.e, The Garden of Paradise), and I seek refuge withYou from An-Naar (i.e, Hellfire)'. The Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  saidto his companions, 'Do you know with what he had supplicated?' Theysaid, 'Allah and His Messenger know best. He sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  said, 'By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! he has supplicated Allah with His GreatestName, The One with Which if He is supplicated (in Duaa) He answers, and withWhich if He is asked He gives'." (Related by Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi,Nasaa'i, Ibn Maajah; Albaani declared it Sahih in 'Sifatu Salatu Nabi'; SeeHusnil Muslim of Qahtaani, #64)

In a version of the same above hadith ofAnas ibn Malik, related by Imaam Ahmed in his Musnad: The Name ofAllah Al-Hannaan(i.e, The Compassionate), is there insteadof Al-Mannaan (i.e, The Benefactor). (Musnad, Vol. 3, p. 158; Albaanisaid it is Sahih in Mishkat Masaabih, Kitab Da'wat, #2290; See Fath Rabbani byAhmed Al-Banna, Vol. 14, p. 279)

Based onthis narration the Ulama have said that some names of Allah (Swt) are greaterthan others.
Fact that Ayatul Kursi is the greatest ayah means some ayahs are greater thanothers.

Abu Umamah (radiAllahu anhu) reportedthat the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  said that the ismullahi al- a'dham (TheGreatest Name of Allah), through which Allah assuredly fulfils people's needs,is contained in three surahs in the Qur'an: al-Baqarah, Al Imran and Taha. AbuUmamah (radiAllahu anhu) says that when he searched for the ismullahi al-a'dham, he found it to be in Ayat al-kursi (2:255); and in Surah Al-’Imran(3:2); and in Surah Taha (20:111).[al-Hakim, ibn Majah, at-Tabarani, at-Tahawi,and others] 

TheSalaf looked through these and found that ‘alhayyu al qayyum’ covers all ofAllah’s attributes.

..He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. This negates other things.Drowsiness, just before sleep is Nu’as and this is a sign of weakness. Thecreation gets tired, which is a lesser weakness than sleep. Drowsiness andsleep are effects and needs of the creation. This line refutes that Allah took a rest after creating Heavens andEarth – This is what the Jews and Christians believe and this is affirmed bythe fact that He is perfect.

Everything in the heavens and the earthbelong to Him. HereAllah (swt) mentions His dominion of the universe. It only belongs to thecreation for some time and you’ll never own it forever

Who can intercede with Him except by Hispermission?Intercession, of course, is one of those issues in Aqeedah that’s important forMuslim to understand. Here Allah (swt) is saying no-one can intercede EXCEPT byHis permission. Even when the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  wants to intercede on the Dayof Judgment, he will wait till Allah gives permission. He sallalahu alayhi wa sallam will prostrate in front of Allahand wait till Allah gives permission.

‘O Muhammad ! You are Allah’s Apostleand the last of the Prophet s, and Allah forgave your early and late sins.(Please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are?”The Prophet   added, “Then I will go beneath Allah’s Throneand fall in prostration before my Lord. And then Allah will guide me to suchpraises and glorification to Him as He has never guided anybody else before me.Then it will be said, ‘O Muhammad Raise your head. Ask, and it will be granted.Intercede It (your intercession) will be accepted.’ So I will raise my head andSay, ‘My followers, O my Lord! My followers, O my Lord’. It will be said, ‘OMuhammad! Let those of your followers who have no accounts, enter through sucha gate of the gates of Paradise as lies on the right; and they will share theother gates with the people.” The Prophet  further said, “By Him in WhoseHand my soul is, the distance between every two gate-posts of Paradise is likethe distance between Mecca and Busra (in Sham).” (Bukhari :Book 6 :Volume 60:Hadith 236)

Anothercondition is that Allah will only grant intercession for those who He ispleased with.

He knows whatis [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they cannotintercede except on behalf of one whom He approves. And they, from fear of Him,are apprehensive. (Anbiya:28)

He is pleased with those who have established Tawheed. Intercessionwill not benefit except for those who Ar Rahman permits and is pleased with

That Day, nointercession will benefit except [that of] one to whom the Most Merciful hasgiven permission and has accepted his word. (Taha:109)

He knows what is beforethem and what is behind them, but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge exceptwhat He wills. So He knows the affairs happening now and what will happen and whathas proceeded. Allah (swt) will never forget that. He completely encompasses itall and we cannot know except what knowledge He has give us (Allamal Maqlooq)

His footstoolencompasses the heavens and the earth.. This is the biggest ofAllah’s creation. This is NOT the Arsh (Throne). The Arsh is the highest ofAllah (swt) creation.

Thesaying of Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam 

“There are one hundred degrees inparadise which Allah has prepared for those who work hard for his cause,between every two degrees is like what is between the sky and the earth, so ifyou ask Allah, ask Him for Al Firdaus, for it is the highest place in heavenand at its middle ...” (Al Bukhari: 2790)

In its explanation, Ibn Abil-'Izzal-Hanafi says that the Kursi is other than Allah's Throne, and that it isauthentically reported from Ibn 'Abbas that he said that Kursi is a footstoolfor Allah's Two Feet.

NB: youneed to understand that even if Ibn Abbas said it’s placement for 2 feet thisdoes not resemble Him or the creation.

..and He is never weary of preserving them. Ya’3ni preserving the heavensand the earth is no difficulty for Him.

He is the Most High, the Magnificent.

MOSTHIGH (Aleeyon)

1. He is above His Creation
2. He is High in our estimation of who He (swt) is concerning His name and attributes.
3. Most High in power of creation.

This isthe belief of ASWJ.

MAGNIFICENT(Al Adheem)

This isthe complete of Ayatul Kursi.

Allah's Messenger sallalahu alayhi wa sallam assigned me to keep watch over the Sadaqah(charity) of Ramadan. A person snuck in and started taking handfuls offoodstuff. I caught him and said, `By Allah, I will take you to Allah'sMessenger.' He said, `Release me, for I am meek and have many dependents and amin great need.' I released him, and in the morning Allah's Messenger asked me,`What did your prisoner do yesterday, O Abu Hurayrah' I said, `O Allah'sMessenger! He complained of being needy and of having many dependents, so Ipitied him and let him go.' Allah's Messenger said, `Indeed, he told you a lieand will be coming again.' I believed that he would show up again, for Allah'sMessenger had told me that he would return. So, I watched for him. When he(showed up and) started stealing handfuls of foodstuff, I caught hold of himagain and said, `I will definitely take you to Allah's Messenger.' He said,`Leave me, for I am very needy and have many dependents. I promise I will notcome back again.' I pitied him and let him go. In the morning Allah's Messengerasked me, `What did your prisoner do last night, O Abu Hurayrah!' I replied, `OAllah's Messenger! He complained of his great need and of too many dependents,so I took pity on him and set him free.' Allah's Messenger said, `Verily, hetold you a lie; he will return.' I waited for him attentively for the thirdtime, and when he (came and) started stealing handfuls of the foodstuff, Icaught hold of him and said, `I will surely take you to Allah's Messenger as itis the third time you promised not to return, yet you returned.' He said, `Letme teach you some words which Allah will give you benefit from.' I asked, `Whatare they' He replied, `Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat Al-Kursi- Allahu lailaha illa Huwal-Hayyul-Qayyum, till you finish the whole verse. (If you doso), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no Shaytanwill come near you until morning.' So, I released him. In the morning, Allah'sMessenger asked, `What did your prisoner do yesterday' I replied, `O Allah'sMessenger! He claimed that he would teach me some words by which Allah willgrant me some benefit, so I let him go.' Allah's Messenger asked, `What arethey' I replied, `He said to me:Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat Al-Kursi from the beginning to the end,Allahu la ilaha illa Huwal-Hayyul-Qayyum. He further said to me: (If you doso), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no Shaytanwill come near you until morning.' (One of the narrators) then commentedthat they (the Companions) were very keen to do good deeds. The Prophet   said,`He spoke the truth, although he is a liar. Do you know whom you were talkingto, these three nights, O Abu Hurayrah' Abu Hurayrah said, `No.' He said, `Itwas Shaytan.''' (Bukhari 2311, 3275, 5010 and An-Nasa'i also recorded thisHadith in Al-Yawm wa Al-Laylah)

The Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  alsosaid that it was the greatest ayah and this is recorded by Suyuti.

Ahmad with the wording in Muslim, AbuDawud, Ibn Durays, al-Hakim and al-Harawi have reported regarding theexcellence [of Ayat al-Kursi] from Ubay Ibn Ka`b that the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam was asked about which verse of the Holy Qur’anwas the most exalted and he sallalahu alayhi wa sallam replied: “Ayat al-Kursi “Allah. There is no deity except Allah theLiving and Everlasting…” By Him in whose Hand is my soul; [this verse] has atongue and two lips with which it sanctifies the King at the foot of theThrone.” (See Muslim, Sahih, 1:556 (#810); al-Hakim, al-Mustadrakala’l-Sahihayn, 1:561; Abu Dawud, Sunan, 2:27 (#1460) and Ahmad in his Musnad,5/141 (#21315). See also al-Suyuti, al-Durr al-Manthur, 2:6.)

It is for this reason that Allah…untilmorning.

InAyatul Kursi 5 of Allah’s names are mentioned.

1. Al Hayyu
2. Al Qayyum
3. Al Alee
4. Al Adheem
5. Allah.

Attributesderived from this verse

1. Divinity
2. Negation of slumber and sleep
3. Comprehensiveness of sovereignty
4. Power and Perfection of His authority
5. Affirm that He gives permission to some
6. Comprehensiveness and Perfection of His knowledge
7. Not ignorant of past or future
8. Affirmation of His will ‘Bi’ithni’
9. Affirm that Kursi is placement of Allah (swt) 2 feet.
10. Perfection of His knowledge and mercy of His preservation of Heavens and earth
11. Affirmation of Allah’s exaltedness (above His creation)

In a similar vein Allahalso says ‘Put your trust in the Living, who does not die’ (Furqan:58). This is acommand from Allah (swt) that complete trust and reliance is on Him only.

‘Tawakkul’ – Reliant on Allah (swt) and entrusting your heart to Allah(swt) after you’re undertaking the necessary means. E.g. you know He willsustain you but that will require you to do some work. There are two types oftrust

1. Trust ONLY belonging to Allah (swt)
2. Reliance and trust on creation. This is further broken down:
   a) on a matter which they don’t have the ability to help you in e.g. to forgive your sins. This is a major sin (Shirk)
   b) reliance in a person/job/leader in which where they’ll help you attain what you are asking from them (minor shirk)
   c)upon which insaan has the ability to help you (mubah)

Allah (swt) mentions us to have faith in Allah (Ma’idah:23)

Said two menfrom those who feared [to disobey] upon whom Allah had bestowed favor,"Enter upon them through the gate, for when you have entered it, you willbe predominant. And upon Allah rely, if you should be believers."(Ma’idah:23) Here Allah links Tawakkul to Imaan.

From Umar ibn Al-Khattab narrated fromthe Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  who said:
"If only you relied on Allah a true reliance, He would provide sustenancefor you just as He does the birds: They fly out in the morning empty and returnin the afternoon with full stomachs."
Ahmad, An-Nasa’I, Ibn Majah, Al-Hakim and At-Tirmidhi who said: "Hassansahih"

Shaykh’ul Islam rahimullah uses another verse too.

‘Heis the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward; He has knowledge of allthings’ (Hadid:3)

Here He is talking about the four names of Allahand they are opposite in sense of time and place. This implies that Allah (swt)encompasses everything with His knowledge.

 It was reported that Abu Hurayrahsaid: “The Messenger of Allaah sallalahu alayhi wa sallam)used to tell us, when any one of us wanted to sleep, to lie on his right side,then say ‘…O Allaah, You are the First and there is nothing before You; You arethe Last and there is nothing after You. You are the Manifest (al-Zaahir) andthere is nothing above You; You are the Hidden (al-Baatin) and there is nothingbeyond You. Settle our debt and spare us from poverty).’” (Narrated by Muslim,2713). 

It is He whohas sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest itover all religion, although they who associate others with Allah dislike it.(At Tawbah:33)

KNOWLEDGE

And Allahknows what you conceal and what you declare (Nahl: 19)

Shaykh’ul Islam rahimullah uses Ayahs of the Qur’an to explain hispoint.

‘He is the All-Wise, theAll-knowing’ (Al Hakim, Al Alim)

On the topic of knowledge he uses 6 ayahs.

Benefits we take:

1. Al Hakim – All wise
   a) Wisdom (Al Hikmah). He decrees everything in a correct manner
   b) He is Al Haakim – Judge and Ruler with His rule.

Regarding Hikmah of Allah (swt) there are two types

Ø  Knowing howsomething is and condition which is e.g. Salah is preceded by purification andthere is wisdom is giving zakah

Ø  Object of thelaw. Why it has been legislated. No doubt Allah has commanded it, even if itmay be seen as a calamity.

Corruption hasappeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of peoplehave earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what theyhave done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness]. (Rum:41)

This is a refutation of those who say bad things in times of calamity,so turn to Allah.

2. Al Alim – All knowing

‘Is not Allahthe most just of judges?’ (At Teen:8)

.. Allah decides for me, and He is the best of judges. (Yusuf:80)

Then the author mentions another ayah.

‘The All Knowing and All Aware’(At Tahreem: 3) Al Alim  Al Kabeer –knower of smallest of affairs. He has fine knowledge on a matter. E.g. secretsand hidden matter.  Kabeer is a morespecific attribute.

He knows whatpenetrates into the earth and what emerges from it and what descends from theheaven and what ascends therein. And He is the Merciful, the Forgiving. (Saba: 2)Detailabout His knowledge that He knows about even the smallest of creation.

And with Him are thekeys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on theland and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain isthere within the darknesses of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but thatit is [written] in a clear record. (An’am:59)

It starts with Allah (swt) telling us that the keys/treasures of unseenare in His possession e.g. coming of the hour.

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab reports: One daywhen we were with Allah's Messenger sallalahu alayhi wa sallam,  a man with very white clothing and very blackhair came up to us. No mark of travel was visible on him, and none of us recognizedhim. Sitting down beside the Prophet   (saw), leaning his knees against his andplacing his hands on his thighs, he said: … He said: “Now tell meabout the Hour.” He replied: “The one who is asked about it is no betterinformed than the one who is asking.” (Narrated by Muslim)

In SurahLuqman:34 there are stated 5 matters that Allah has knowledge off.

Indeed, Allah[alone] has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is inthe wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soulperceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.(Luqman:34)

1. With Him alone has the knowledge of the hour
2. Sends down the Ghayf (rain so that vegetation can grow or removes any calamity)
3. He knows what’s in the wombs – e.g. you can only find out if the baby is male or female a certain time in and you can’t know if it’ll be happy/sad mu’min/kaafir.
4. What you will earn tomorrow
5. What land you will die. By not knowing is a mercy of Allah because Death is a test for us.

Theauthor then refers to another verse

No female becomes pregnant or gives birthexcept with His knowledge’ (Fatir: 11)

It is Allah who hascreated seven heavens and of the earth, the like of them. [His] commanddescends among them so you may know that Allah is over all things competent andthat Allah has encompassed all things in knowledge. (Talaq: 12)

Allah has the ability to do anything without any weakness.

MIGHT

‘Truly Allah, He is theProvider, the Possessor of Strength, the Sure’ (Ad Dhariyat: 58). This particularverse comes after specific verse

‘And I did notcreate the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not want from them anyprovision, nor do I want them to feed Me.Truly Allah, He is the Provider, the Possessor of Strength, the Sure’ (Ad Dhariyat:56-58)

‘Ar Razzaq’ – Extensiveness and plentiness of sustenance. Rizq isdivided into 2 categories

1. General – includes everything your body will benefit from (Halal/Haram)
2. Specific – refers to only given to a special type of person e.g. provision of righteous deeds, aided in obedience to Allah. This is given to the mu’minoon. Everything has been decreed.

‘Dhul Quwaah’ – Possessor of ALL strength. Opposite of ‘Dha’af’ (weak).He has unlimited strength whereas some of the creation is given strength.

As for 'Aad,they were arrogant upon the earth without right and said, "Who is greaterthan us in strength?" Did they not consider that Allah who created themwas greater than them in strength? But they were rejecting Our signs.(Fusilat:15)

‘Al Matin’ – The sure/firm

In this verse are two names of Allah ‘Ar Razzaq’ and ‘Al Matin’. Theattributes are ‘Provisions’, ‘Strength’ and ‘Sure/Firm’

The author then goes onto HEARINGAND SEEING

‘Nothing is like Him;and He is the All Hearing, the All Seeing’ (Ash Shura: 11) Firstly inthis ayah there is negation followed by affirmation ( He is Perfect). This is arefutation again those who make tamthil (likeness) to Allah.

‘All hearing’ and ‘All Seeing’ are names and attributes.

As Sam’a – To hear something and it comes into 3 different categoriesin the Qur’an.

1. No sound except Allah (swt) hears it.
    Daleel: ‘Certainly has Allah heard the speech of the one who argues with you, [O Muhammad], concerning her husband and directs her complaint to Allah . And Allah hears your dialogue; indeed, Allah is Hearing and Seeing. (Mujadilah:1)
2. Hearing which supports and aid is intended.
   Daleel: [ Allah ] said, "Fear not. Indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see. (Taha: 46). This is when Musa and Haroon (as’s) were told to go to the Firawn.
3. Form of intimidation.
   Daleel: Or do they think that We hear not their secrets and their private conversations? Yes, [We do], and Our messengers are with them recording. (Zukhruf: 80)

‘Al Baseer’ – All Seeing. Indeed, Allah knows the unseen [aspects]of the heavens and the earth. And Allah is Seeing of what you do. (Hujurat:18)

The fact that they are together tells us that Allah (swt) can see/hearwhat I do.

‘How excellent is whatAllah exhorts you to do! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing’ (An Nisa: 58)

Allah (swt) tells us to judge between people with justice. The ‘kaana’ emphasizesthat Allah (swt) was and always will be Hearing and Seeing.

Hadith: Whenthis ayah was revealed, the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam  covered his ears and eyes (AbuDawud) 

This is the end of lesson three. All good you take from here is from Allah and any mistakes are from myself

The Creed of Al Wastiyyah - Lesson 2

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

THE CREED OF ALWASITIYYAH BY SHAYKH’UL ISLAM AHMAD IBN TAYMIYYAH

Taught by Ustadh WasimKempson

Lesson  2

The lesson start off by remembering thatthe testification of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) is in 2 parts

1. Obeying everything he said and following everything he said and did
2. Staying away from what he told us to stay away from.

Also being aware that Muhammad (sallalahualayhi wa sallam) had 5 names:

‘Ihave five names: I am Muhammad, and I am Ahmad, and I am Al-Maahi with whom Goderases disbelief, and I am Al-Hashir following whom human beings are going tobe resurrected and I am Al-Aaqib.’  (Bukhari: 3339)

The author said ‘ I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger…’

SERVANT –hehas no part in Allah’s Lordship (Ruboobeeyah) because that is specific toAllah. His status as a servant is higher than us because he is the ‘Seal of theProphets’

As Abu Hurairah narrated from the Prophet (sallalahualayhi wa sallam) ‘I am the master ofthe children of Adam on the Day of Judgment, the first from whom the grave willsplit, the first interceder, and the first to be granted intercession.‘(Muslim)

Allah mentions in the Qur’an that he (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) is a servant.

In [Surah Baqarah: 23] - ‘Whohas made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rainfrom the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; thenset not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth).’

In[ Surah Isra:1] – ‘Gloryto (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the SacredMosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that Wemight show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (allthings).’

In [Surah Najm: 10] – ‘sodid (Allah) convey the inspiration to His Servant- (conveyed) what He (meant)to convey.’

In [Surah Jinn: 19] - "yetwhen the Devotee (Servant) of Allah stands forth to invoke Him, they just makeround him a dense crowd.’

MESSENGER – Not only reached pinnacle of servant, he was the BEST ofMessenger. He was the ‘Khalil of Allah’; he was given risala to the whole ofmankind which would remain with the mankind till the ‘hour’.

..may ever increasing peace andblessings be upon him. (sallalahualayhi wasallam)

The word ‘Sallah’ has another meaning. It could mean a) Allah (Swt)praises the Prophet amongst the company of Angels (Bukhari ) Or b)Salah ofAllah is a mercy upon him (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam).

Ibn al Qayyim (rahimullah) supports the first opinion that Allahis praising the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam). This can be seen inBada’I al Fawa’id and Jalalul Ath’aam. This is a command given us to praise theProphet.

The reason that it is not ‘Rahmah’ because:

 ‘They are those on whom (Descend) blessingsfrom Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance.’ [Baqarah:157]

Thus ‘Sallah’ and Rahmah do not mean the same thing. Therefore ‘SALLALAHUALAYHI WA SALLAM’ in Arabic doesn't include Mercy. Wallahu ‘Alum.

..and his family – In Arabic, who does‘Ala’ include?

1. Just the Prophet’s household and family?
2. Inclusive of the ummah and the followers?

Both of which there is a difference of opinion but the correctview is those who would follow the way of the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wasallam) would come under ‘Aali Muhammad’.

‘This is (an exposition of) thebelief of the saved groups, those who are aided until the establishment of theHour..

The author says ‘Amma Ba’ad’ to show he will stop one part ofspeech and start another or there is a change of direction in what’s going tobe talked about.

I’tiqaad is an exposition of belief whereby it something that theheart believes and there is firm and established belief in the heart.

Narrated Abu Hurairah: TheProphet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) said: The Jews were split up intoseventy-one or seventy-two sects; and the Christians were split up into seventyone or seventy-two sects; and my community will be split up into seventy-threesects.  (Sunan Abu Dawood )

The hadith in Tirmidhi ‘Thosewho will be successful are those who are what I am on today and my companions’  Related by at-Tirmidhi(no. 2641) and al-Haakim (1/128-129)

This narration is classed as da’ef BUT a hadith supporting thisnarration is by Anas ibn Malik in Tabarani which raises it to hasan.

Savedgroup  This treaty is of the saved,victorious group until the establishment of the hour. They are saved from thehellfire (An Naar)

There are two meanings to what they are saved from:

1. By physical strength
2. Ability to proclaim people to Islam by giving correct da’wah.

FromJaabir Ibn ’Abdullaah ( radiyallaahu ’anhu) who said: I heard the Messenger ofAllaah ( sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) saying: ‘‘There shall alwaysremain a group from my Ummah fighting upon the truth, until the Day ofJudgement.’ (Relatedby Muslim (no. 1923).)

Also - "TheHour will only come upon the worst of the people.” Sahih, MK: 4/496. Declaredsahih by al-Hakim and agreed to by adh-Dhahabi.

Q. How do we reconcile these two ahadith?

Scholars say: As we know shortly before the‘Hour’ the wind will be sent which will take the souls of the mu’mineen thusonly left on Earth (worst of the creation) then the hour will come.

Aided –ASWJ – these arethe people of the sunnah, who hold onto the sunnah and the jama’ah (those whoare together upon that.)(The Mujtami’oon)

..Itcomprises faith in Allah, His Angels His Books, His Messengers…

Faith(Imaanubillah) : General  -this is whatsomebody should believe in generally.

Specific - Allah is creator, most knowledgeable, sustainer,free of need, He has names/attributes to Him and Him alone, Rulings belongs toAllah (swt) etc.

HisAngels: General – Know that they are His honoured servants, created fromlight, do as they are commanded, some are given certain responsibilities. Youjust need to know that they are servants of Allah.

Specific – know their names and the specific duties e.g.Israfeel is the one who blows the trumpets (diff of opinion) and Jibra’eel (as)was given the wahi. Etc.

Q. Is it an obligation to knoweverything about Angels?

A. No BUT required to know the general belief in Angels andonce knowledge reaches you about them, then you have to accept it.

HisBooks: Generally – Say yes, person may only know the Qur’an but believethat there are other books. This is sufficient.

Specific  - Qur’anabrogated all other revelations that came before it. E.g. We know Isa alayhissalaam was given the Injeel etc. BUT not obligations to know finer issues butmore you know the stronger your belief.  You recognize that these are speech ofAllah revealed to the Prophets. The previous books were tampered with thus Qur’ancame and this preserved and protected ‘Wehave, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (fromcorruption)’[Hijr:9]

HisMessengers: General – Allah sent down Messengers to Bani Adam, they spoke asrevelation was given to them. 25 Prophets in the Qur’an mentioned and havebelief and ‘Of some messengers We havealready told thee the story; of others We have not;- and to Moses Allah spokedirect’ [Nisa:164]

..theresurrections after death – those whom the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) wassent to use to say ‘And they say:"What is there but our life in this world? We shall die and we live, andnothing but time can destroy us." But of that they have no knowledge: theymerely conjecture’ [Jaathiya:24]

Allah will raise you and you will be accountable for yourdeeds. When a person dies they will have ‘life of the grave’ (minorresurrection). This is part of imaan of the unseen EXCEPT what we’ve been informedoff: [Waaqiah:84-8]). Allah mention what happens [Waaqiah: 90-93]. At the timeof death Malikul Maut will ask people to give up their souls. What will happento the disbeliever is found in Surah An’am "Yieldup your souls: this day shall ye receive your reward,- a penalty of shame, forthat ye used to tell lies against Allah, and scornfully to reject of Hissigns!"[An’am:93].
In [Surah Zukhruf:68] we get told what happens to the believers My devotees! no fear shall be on you thatDay, nor shall ye grieve [Zukhruf:68]

..beliefin the divine Decree – the good thereof and the bad. (Al Qadr)

Ibn Al Qayyim – One article of Imaan that people haveconfusion about. Most of it is matters of the unseen. We can simply break downthe matter in to 4 areas of Qadr (Good and bad)

1. ILM – no doubt what’s been decreed, no path can change it. (Tawheed Ruboobeeyah). Thus Allah has knowledge of everything that will occur(ed). Our knowledge cannot be compared to His.
2. KITABAAllah, because of knowledge, commanded the pen to write everything that will be till coming of the Hour. ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) say: “Allah wrote down the decrees of creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.”(Muslim,2653) This is in the ‘Preserved Tablet’. Allah has knowledge of what’s going/not going to happen. So du’a doesn’t change your decree but change the direction of decree BUT Allah knows of it.
3. KHALQ (Creation) Allah created everything in the universe. He is the creator of EVERYTHING
4. WILL – Whatever happens in this universe, it is by the will of Allah. Whether a blessing or calamity, this is the will of Allah. (We never have absolute free will).

Part offaith in Allah is to believe in what He has described Himself within His Bookand what His Messenger, Muhammad (saw), has described Him… à We believe exactly what Allahhas described in the Qur’an and this is how the Prophet(sallalahu alayhi wasallam) described Allah (swt).

‘Asma’ – the names of Allah are telling us WHO Allah is e.g. Allahis Ar Rahman ; this is Allah! Go back to his essence. All names go back toAllah! ‘IsmAllah’. Then we have ‘As Sifaat’. These are the attributes aboutAllah (swt). It is not only a name but we’ll take an attribute e.g. As Sami isname of Allah but also ‘All hearing’. From Allah’s name we extract uniqueattributes. When talking about Allah we talk about principles (important topic). Based on Qur’an andsunnah, therefore when Allah is telling us He is Ar-Rahman, it is Him tellingus so we must describe Him like that too.

These descriptions that we find of Allah are not matters where aperson is left confused. It is very clear to us.

We do it without distorting,denying, questioning how, or likening,..

Distorting (At Tahreef) – (Lit: Harf) –something which is on the edge. Distortion is one of the characteristics of theYahud. There are 2 types of Tahreef

1. A) Tahreefun Lahfi (Distortion of the word itself). This is the changing of the word [Taha:5] where people change istawa to mean istawla.
   B) Where you change the vowelling of the words [Nisa:164]. Jahmiyyah denied that Allah spoke to Musa (as) by changing Qallamallahu to Qallamallaha (dhama to fatha) to say ‘Musa spoke, Allah heard’.
2. Tahreef al Ma’nawi (changing the meaning itself). This is the most frequent type of distortion. This is done by Ash’ariyyah and Mu’tazilah where they accepted some names of Allah but denied the attributes e.g. Alim bin ilm. They call it ta’weel (interpretation) but this in fact is distortion.

ASWJ, part of their faith is howHe is described in the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Denying(At Ta’teel) – (Lit:Atl) – something which is empty. Likewise there is nodenial of his name and negate any meaning of his name. this comes in 3categories

1. Negate the creator (Makhluq al Khaaliqeen) like the Pharoah did.
2. Negate rights of the Creator (Ta’til Huqooqullah)
3. Denial of attributes of Allah (swt).

ASWJ –away from distortion and denial and the question of how.

Questioning how (Takyif) – to ask how e.g. using [Taha:5]again, we weren’t to know HOW He (swt) rose above the throne.

‘He rose(known), How He rose (not known) To Believe it (obligation) Asking about it(Innovation) – Imam Malik.

Likening (Tamthil)

1. Likenes to Allah’s essence
2. Likeness to one of His attributes
3. Likeness to His Actions
4. Likeness to His Rights – worship Him alone.

Obligationto make these things unique to Him only.

..rather they believe about Allah, Gloriousis He, that nothing is like Him and He isthe All Hearing, the All Seeing. (Ash-urah:11). ASWJ is a way from all these and mentionsthe verse from the Qur’an. This verse is considered the foundation for ASWJ.Contains Negation and Affirmation.

Nothing like Him – general rule is that this is notexplained in detail and linguistically it is more eloquent.

Scholarshave said that the benefit of this verse is Allah affirms the 2 attributes e.g.even if we hear and we see, it’s not like Allah (swt). Qayyum is just for Allahbut we can be Raheem, Kareem.

As such they do not negate what He hasdescribed Himself with, the do no distort words from their proper places, and theydo not desecrate His names and Signs. ASWJ do not negate anything. People startgiving names to people of Haqq (name-calling) till they start detesting thetruth. ASWJ do not distort words from proper places. (see footnote 9, pg 39 ofbook)

Ilhaad –Desecrate, close to distortion.

They do not ask after the how and they donot liken His Attributes with the attributes of His creation. This is becauseHe has no namesake; there is none who is comparable to Him, and none who isequal to Him. Donot ask of knowledge that we’ve been known off. Do not liken his attributes toHis creation because He has no namesake. Some innovators try to find somesimilarity and if they find something, they deny it or change the meaning. E.g.He has a hand, we have hands therefore His hand must mean strength.

Imam Ahmad said: ' Allah is onlydescribed with what He described Himself with, or with what His Messenger (sallalahualayhi wa sallam) described him with. One does not go beyond the Qur'an and thehadith.

Ibn Abbas – ‘Do you know of any example or similitude to him

"Lord of the heavens and ofthe earth, and of all that is between them; so worship Him, and be constant andpatient in His worship: knowest thou of any who is worthy of the same Name asHe?" (Maryam:65)

Tamthil

1. Comparing/likening the creation to the Creator and this is where majority of mankind fall in to. E.g. in their worship, they worship the dead = SHIRK.
2. Make Allah like the creation. This is quite rare. E.g. Allah has these attributes and it’s JUST like the creation. Hand of Allah is like our hand (Tashbeeh)

Making something equal to Allah isprohibition.

He, Glorious andmost High, is not to be compared to His creation for He best knows Himself andothers.. Do notmake analogies therefore Qur’an and Sunnah is all the information about Allah.

Qur’an - it is what it is. No better speech. He is better in discourse than Hiscreation. Moreover His Messengers aretruthful and entrusted (Messengers are Saadiqoon and Musadiqoon)

Your Companion is neitherastray nor being misled [Najm:2] There are still those that reject the Messengers but everything theysaid was the HAQQ.

Ibn Abbas (RA)narrated: When the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) was taken to the(heavens for the) mi’raj, he passed by a Prophet and Prophets with whom were agroup of people, a Prophet and Prophets with whom was a raht, a Prophet and Prophetswith whom was nobody..’ [Ahmad:2448]

This doesn’t meanthat the Prophet that had no followers wasn't on the truth. See quotes below

Yet no faith will thegreater part of mankind have, however ardently thou dost desire it. [Yusuf:10]– Even if youtry your best, they won’t believe you. Similar to Wert thou to follow the common run of those on earth, they will leadthee away from the way of Allah. They follow nothing but conjecture: they donothing but lie. [An’am 116]

Glory to thy Lord,the Lord of Honour and Power! (He is free) from what they ascribe (to Him)! And Peace onthe messengers! And Praise to Allah, the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds.[Saafat:180-182]

This started with glorified, Allah ispurifying the situation. ‘Subhaan’ removes any deficiencies and anything peopleattach to Him. It describes Him in a way that is due to Him.
The fact that Allah chose Messengers to complete this message and chose thisummah, the ummah of the BEST of the messengers.

The path of thosewhom Allah favoured; the path of the Prophets, the sincerely truthful, the martyrs and therighteous. (4types of people are mentioned)

This is the end of lesson two. All good you find in this is from Allah and all mistakes are from myself.