Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

SECOND WEEKEND – SH. YASIR QADHI

This class is added with academic justice –to know what is iman and kufr, what is
the line in between and their levels.

1. THE BLESSINGS OF IMAN

Some of them discussed in the previous light of guidance class. What is discussed here is from a
different perspective, focusing on the adjectives and verbs that Allah subhanahu wa tala used to
describe iman.

a. The single greatest blessing that Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA) bestows on anyone is that of
Iman.

               

     

“They consider it a favor upon you that they have accepted Islam. Say: Do not [use] your Islam as a
favor upon me. Rather, Allah has shown you favor by guiding you to Iman – if you are indeed truthful.”
[Al-Hujurat:17]
And the sign of this faith is the gratitude and thankfulness a slave expresses for this favor.

b. Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA) ‘writes’/inscribes Iman in the hearts of His chosen servants.

            

            

            

                



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 Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

“…they are the ones whom Allah has written Iman in the hearts, and He has helped them with a spirit
from Him. He shall cause them to enter gardens underneath which rivers flow – to dwell therein for all
of eternity. Allah is pleased with them and they are please with Him. These are the party of Allah, and
indeed, the part of Allah is truly the victorious.” *Al-Mujadilah:22]

c. Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA) makes Iman beloved to those whom He loves, and beautifies it
for them.

               

           

           

“…but rather, Allah has made Iman beloved to you and beautified it in your hearts, and cause dyou to
despise disbelief, and sin, and evil – these are the rightly guided. A bounty from Allah, and a blessing,
and indeed Allah is all-Knowing, all-Wise.” *Al-Hujurat:7-8]
ALLAHUMMA ZAYYINA BEE ZEEYNATIL EMAN.

d. Iman has a taste and provides spiritual nutrition

“He who is content with Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA) as His Lord, and with Islam as his religion, and
with Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)as his Prophet has tasted the reality of Iman.” *Muslim,
Sahih Muslim]
The word Ta’am in Arabic means both taste and nutrition, therefore a mu’min has an internal
energy and is always optimistic, strengthened with tawakkul, so even if the body gets physically
weak the eman / spirit is always strong.

e. Iman is like a beautiful and blessed tree.

             

 

“Have you not seen how Allah has given the similitude of a beautiful kalmia as a beautiful tree, whose
roots are firmly established, and whose branches tower in the skies” *Ibrahim: 24+. It is the beneficial
tree of date palm

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 Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

( this parable also mentioned in a hadith. The similitude is discussed in detail in the light of
guidance class - Eman consists of 7- (another version 60) branches, and the highest is laa
illaha illlah. So this is the best.

At-tabari -> Ibn Abbas ‫عنه هللا رضي‬: the kalimah tayyibah referred to in here is laa illaha illalah.

Tayyibah: 2 connotations: pure, and pleasing. This kalimah leads you to a beautiful and
pleasing tree.

Roots firm in the ground, branches towering in the skies.

In 5 words Allah ‫ وتعالى سبحانه‬gives us a perfect description incomparable in any other

language.

Tree: what is the analogy between the kalimah and the tree? What is the symbolism?

 Flourishes, grows over your lifetime.

 One seed provides bounty for everyone. One phrase gives you so much back.
 Provides shade and coolness.
 Life. Imagine walking in a desert and you see tress: LIFE! A tree symbolizes to mankind life.
Modern sciences tell us a bit more to make it more profound. Trees are the basic building
blocks of the entire ecosystem. It gives us the air that we breathe. The wood with which we
build our house, fruits for nourishment. Everything we need to live. If we would remove the
trees, there would be no more life. Similarly, laa illaha… symbolizes the building block of
spirituality and eman. Just the sight of the tree gives you a sense of peace and life and
calmness. This is something implied in the parable. \

Roots go very, very deep:

-stability: implies tawheed gives you stability in your life. Gives you a sense of purpose
in your life. You have anchored yourself in a very firm position in your life. When you
don’t have it you have no stability and no purpose. Like a leaf blowing in the wind.
Look at the life of those with no eman., they live day by day, foe the pleasures of this
dunya. It gives you a sense of id even if the world around you changes. Some trees
have been around since Isa was alive.

- when the winds come and the rains come., and the storms come, the tree does not
shake; it remains firm. Houses, cars, etc are uprooted, but not trees so much.
Therefore, Allah ‫ وتعالى سبحانه‬describes eman as anchoring you to the ground. When
the fitan come, the tornadoes of reality, eman allows you to remain firm.

- eman achors itself in the heart, and once it does it does not leave it after that. True
eman does not leave the heart. The seed of eman is planted in the right soil in the
heart of a Muslim: the right soil is the fitrah.

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 Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

But once true eman enters the heart, it never leaves. Branches towering in the skies:

 The very symbolism of height, conveys the notion of taking you up, uplifting you.
 Taller tree, larger branches, more shade and shelter, more fruits and more benefits.
 A tree whose branches are towering in the skies, such a tree can never be hidden even if you
tried. Eman is something that can never be hidden. It’s not possible to do so even if you
wanted to. A person of sincerity and faith will show that eman and faith to everyone whether
you want to or not. It will be shown in each and every step you take. Eman is based in the
heart, but when it exists in the heart, it will manifest itself in the limbs. If you were a good
Muslims, it would hsow on your outer limbs, it wouldn’t be hidden in ur heart.
 This tree give sits fruits: fruits of eman are not just one, multiple types. Throughout the year, at
every moment of time. These 2 facts are never combined in any worldly tree. There is no tree
on earth that is fruitful all year round. It gives you multiple fruits all year round. We need
fruits for nourishment. This tree of eman will give you what you need to live, throughout your
life. Whatever desire you have for your life, will be met with eman. We need diffetent things
throughout your life, and this tree will give you all that you want. )

f. Iman has a sweetness that the heart feels

“Three *matters+ – whoever has them shall taste the halawa of Iman.” *Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Those three matters are - love of Allah and messenger, and love one another for Aallah and
hatesto return to kufr like he hates to be thrown in fire.

g. Iman has a light that enlightens the heart – eman is a light and it enlightens the heart which is
the seat of the eman. There are many verses in the quran referring to this -

            

            

               

              

“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a
Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit
from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor the west, whose oil is will-nigh luminous,
though fire scarce touched it. Light up Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light, and
Allah doth set forth Parables for men, and Allah doth know all things.” [Al-Nur:35]

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 Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

This verse is called ayatun nur and there is lot of debate regarding the interpretation of this verse. Some
of them are exotic. Ahlussunnah wal jamaah understood this verse in the light of the explanation given
by ibn abbas radiallahu anhu, (The parable of His Light) There are two views concerning the meaning of
the pronoun (His). The first is that it refers to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, meaning that the
parable of His guidance in the heart of the believer is (as a niche). The second view is that the pronoun
refers to the believer, which is indicated by the context of the words and implies that the parable of the
light in the heart of the believer is as a niche. So the heart of the believer and what he is naturally
inclined to of guidance and what he learns of the Qur'an which is in accordance with his natural
inclinations.

If Allah does not give you light then there is no light for you, this is explicitly mentioned in the following
verse –

             

        

“O ye that believe! Fear Allah, and believe in His Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam), and He will
bestow on you a double portion of His Mercy: He will provide you a Light by which ye shall walk (straight
in your path), and He will forgive (your past): for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” *Al-Hadid:28]

In every single verse it is Allah who is bestowing the light and beautify it - there is no intermediary in
between so a believer should feel humbled – the profundity of the metaphors of the quran – its beauty.
The methodology of ahlussunnah is to use literally as much as possible – so is it literal light – not quite
true but there will be a time when it will be literal light and help us cross the sirat – in the herafter – so
this way the verse have similitude and a literal meaning– this world is darkness and what gives us light
and life in this dark world is the light of eman given by Allah to the believer – what is the defining line
between symbolic interpretation and literal interpretation == ibn qayyim says – the metaphor should
not contradict the literal meaning, the metaphorical meaning must have some legitimate basis in quran
and sunnah, and it should not be farfetched ( for eg – Allah says to musa - ikhlaa na’laika inna ka fee
wadil muqaddis tuwa – before you come to my presence remove all desires of jannah and come only
with love of me – the person who wrote this is the author of revival of--) and we should have some of
salaf who mentioned metaphorical interpretation.

h. Iman finds a dwelling-place in the heart of a believer – another beautiful metaphor

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 Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

              

               

 

“But those before them (i.e., the Ansar) had inhabited homes (in Madinah) and Iman, they love those
who fled unto them for refuge, and find in their hearts no need for that which hath been given them,
but prefer (the fugitives) above themselves though poverty become their lot. And whoso is saved from
his own avarice – such are they who are successful” *Al-Hashr:9]

The Ansaar are praised with 2 descriptions – they inhabited the houses of medina and have the eman
dwelling in their hearts, the verb used - (inhabiting) that is not normally used for eman – because of the
blessing of wealth and eman - they give to the muhajir and give with love though they have necessity.

i. The ‘Caller’ to Iman

               

     

“Our Lord! We have heard a crier crying out for faith – ‘Have Iman in your Lord’ – so we have believed.
Our Lord! Forgive our sins, and remove from us our faults, and cause us to die amongst the righteous.”
[Al-‘Imran: 193+

The caller to eman is praised, and the best person is the one who believes and calls others – directly
they are the prophets and indirectly it could be all those who call for religiosity and eman – a crier == is
an ambassador – who has special privilege with one who sends them – so this noble status of emissary
of Allah.

j. Iman brings about nothing but good in this life and the next

              

      

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“Why was there not a single township (among those We warned), which believed, - so its faith should
have profited it, - except the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the penalty
of ignominy in the life of the present, and permitted them to enjoy (their life) for a while.” *Yunus: 98+

The blessings increase with it in proportion to their eman – every single prophet was rejected – and all
towns did so - except the town of yunus – the whole town accepted islam – when you have true faith in
Allah - blessing of dunya increases.

k. Iman conquers all else, and nothing conquers it

         

“And do not become feeble, nor grieve, for you shall be the victors if you truly have iman” *Al-
‘Imran:139+
You can destroy the body but nothing can conquer the internal spirit – ibn taymiyyah what can my
enemy do to me my jannah is in my heart.
It does not mean every believer will succeed in dunya but in the aakhirah their victory is secured if the
condition of eman is fulfilled.

l. Iman Has levels and branches.

“Iman is composed of sixty odd branches. The best of them is the testimony of faith, and the lowest of
them is to remove some harm from the path. And modesty is one branch of faith.” *Muslim, Sahih
Muslim, another version mentions 70 odd branches, but the version with 60 is more authentic]
Eman has levels and branches – categories – its not one entity .the highest level is to fully comprehend
and practice the conditions of eman – the lowest level is picking up trash and hayaa is branch of eman –
this is reason for us to study the levels and branches of eman – 7:43 alhamdullillah ladhee hadaana li
hadha -----0 imam bayhaqi had tried to corelate every branch with some aspect of ibadah- some
scholars say the numbers are only used as expression to show the ballpark figure meaning a large
number –Allah says if you ask forgiveness for hypocrites 70 times Allah will not forgive –we don’t know
precisely the names of these branches just like Allahs 99 names – there are many more than 99 as
shown in the hadith.
the methodology of ahlusunnah is that ulitimately hidaya comes from Allah – He bestows on whom He
wills and to some aspect the servants have chosen eman – about badr prisoners – in surah anfal – if
there is good in your heart Allah will magnify it ( desire and intention)Hhe will bestow eman to you .(
see rays of faith notes – qadariyya and jabariyya -- wa maa tashaauna illa an yashaaa allahu rabbal
alameen.)

2. DEFINITION OF IMAN ACCORDING TO AHL AL-SUNNAH

2.1 METHODOLOGY OF DEFINING: how does one make any definition and who has the
right??
1. Defining words through Scriptural Evidence (Quran and Sunnah) – e.g., Salah (linguistically it
means dua, islamically it is the specific worship with specific movements and timings)

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2. Defining words through linguistic evidence (poetry, lexicons, etc) – e.g., ila al-ka’bayn (include or
upto - difference of opinions – 3 schools v/s hanafi, majority say it is upto and includes
elbow/ankles)
3. Defining words through cultural norms – e.g., safar

Q. Which one should we choose from the term Iman?

All groups except ahlussunnah say eman should be defined through linguistic perspective. Even though
our understanding of eman is crystal clear from quran and sunnah vast majority of muslims have
defined like the other groups. And they find it strange when we talk of it from quran and sunnah.

Liniguistically - emaan - comes from a ma na = 1. Aman means to grant protection, saftety and security
and remove fear – In quran - alladhee ata’amahum wa aamaanahum min khawf. Surah quraish.

to believe in your truthfulness – in 12:17 this is the pinnacle of evidence used by our theological cousins
– wa maa anta bi mu’min lanaa wa law saadiqeen. Ibn taymiyyah said – the most précise/closest
synonymn to eman in Arabic language is not tasdeeq but it is iqraar – belief with certainity. Allah uses
iqrar for eman 3:83 – a aqrartum? Qaaluu aqrarnaa. For the murjia and others eman is not tasdeeq so
ibn taymiyyah refuted them linguistically as well as sharii level. Even in surah yusuf it means – you will
not have certainity.

Islamically - IMAN IS A SERIES OF BELIEFS, STATEMENTS AND ACTIONS, WHICH INCREASES WITH GOOD
AND DECREASES WITH SINS AND EVIL - so from scientific or logic perspective it is not a definition.

According to ahlussunnah wal jamah there is no watertight precise entity that we can say this is eman –
in the quran and sunnah there are qualitative descriptions of eman and not quantitative.

2.2 DEFINITION FROM THE SALAF – is by description and not by demarcating or

quantifying it.

It is a Mutawatir from the early scholars that “Iman is comprised of statements and actions; it
increases and decreases.”

a. Abdullah b. ‘Umar said, “We learnt Iman, and then we learnt the Qur’an so we increased
in our Iman.
b. Hasan al-Basri said, “Iman is not by decorating oneself *with outward matters], nor is it
by wishful thinking. Rather, it is what settles in the heart and is confirmed with actions.”
c. Al-Bukhari said, “it is composed of statements and actions, and increases and
decreases.”
d. Sahl al-Tustari was asked, “What is Iman?” He replied, “Statements, actions,
intentions and Sunnah. For if Iman is only statements without actions, this is kufr, and

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if it is statements and action without intentions, this is nifaq, and if it is statements

and actions and intentions without sunnah, it is bid’ah.”
e. Story of al-Shafi’I after he quoted a hadith, then was asked what his opinion was,
“Subhan Allah! Do you see me go to church? Or do you see a zunnar tied around me? I
tell you that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)said something, and then you dare
ask me what my opinion is?” He was asked a question of fiqh and yet he got angry
because for a muslim it cannot be that he would willingly contradict the sunnah of the
PROPHET peace be upon him.

3. PILLARS OF IMAN
1. Belief in the heart

a. Knowledge and Affirmation (qawl al-qalb).

                

              

“The Bedouins say: We believe. Say: you have not believed, but rather you have accepted Islam; and
Iman has yet to enter your hearts.” *Al-Hujurat: 14]

This is thebelief in Allah, the prophets, angels, books, resurrection…. for vast majority of muslims iman is
only this ( belief in heart ) but this is not sunni way of understanding. In the verse Allah denies iman but
affirms islam for the Bedouins. 16:106 – eman in heart - (except one who was forced while his heart
is at peace with the faith) This is an exception in the case of one who utters statements of
disbelief and verbally agrees with the Mushrikin because he is forced to do so by the beatings
and abuse to which he is subjected, but his heart refuses to accept what he is saying, and he is,
in reality, at peace with his faith in Allah and His Messenger . The scholars agreed that if a
person is forced into disbelief, it is permissible for him to either go along with them in the
interests of self-preservation, or to refuse, as Bilal did when they were inflicting all sorts of
torture on him. It is better and preferable for the Muslim to remain steadfast in his religion, even
if that leads to him being killed, as was mentioned by Al-Hafiz Ibn `Asakir in his biography of
`Abdullah bin Hudhafah Al-Sahmi.

b. Actions of the heart (‘amal al-qalb). The emotions are the internal actions of the heart
and a believer must have certain actions in his heart – love, hope, fear, submission,
trust, respect for Allah and His signs.

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                 

               

“And those who believe love Allah even more” *Al-Baqarah: 165]

It is not possible to have eman without some bare minimum level of actions in heart – Alllah mentions
clearly that it is possible to have a. without b. 23:70 = the prophet has come to them with truth but most
respond hate it – they know and affirmed it but instead of loving it they hate it – and calls them kaafir –
2:165 – those who believe love Allah. Eg of those who have a. affirmation without b. love – Iblees, he
did not deny any thing in theory but refused to submit – zero actions – so ibless did not do kadhdhaba
/refuse to believe , what he did was –abaa was takbara wa kaana minal kaafireen. Other eg who
believed but not to the level of eman – abu talib, he believed and acknowledgement in the prophethood
of his nephew but this did not translate into actions. Another eg firawn – did he actually believed in his
heart that he is lord - they rejected musa even though they had yaqeen that he has the truth and
yaqeen is the highest level of affirmation.

2. Admitting with the tongue (al-iqrar bi-l-lisan)

              

               

                 

     

“Say all of you: We believe in Allah, and what has been revelaed to us, and Ibrahim…” *Al-Baqarah: 136-
7]

This is for one who is capable to speak – it can be said in non Arabic language – some form of public
expression – this public must be out loud between oneself and allah – does not necessarily have to be in
front of a congregation – hadith I am ordered to do jihad /qitaal till people say la ilaha illaallah. In the
time of the prophet it was defensive jihad And offensive jihad. Around 150H defined the muslim lands in
the era o fumayyads. From that point on the scholars never thought of offensive jihad, in the time
Abbasids too no offensive jihad needed. Once in a while it was required the fall of constantipole, the
rule is offensive jihad is not resorted to. Other verses ‘say –2:136 , there must be a general type of
worship/dhikr of allah with tongue – hadith in bukhari – aisha – Abdullah ibn judaan was a noble person

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generous and died as non muslim – aisha was related distantly to him– and she asked will he enter
jannah = prophet said no because he did not say once with his tongue of Allah forgive me .

So say kalima, general dhikr with tongue and the third thing is you must abstain from speaking kufr
except under coercion – it is impossible for a musilm to ridicule or say any negative of Allah and His
messenger or His signs –

3. Acting with the limbs (al- ‘amal bi-l-jaqarih)

             

                

                 



“And Allah will not cause your Iman to go to waste…” *Al-Baqarah: 143]

 The famous hadith of the Delegation of Abd al-Qays (see below); the fact that in over seventy
verses, Allah () always mentions Iman along with ‘amal al-salih.
 One evidence: The famous hadith of the branches of faith clarifies this point:
o Iman is composed of sixty odd branches. The best of them is the testimony of faith, and
the lowest of them is to remove some harm from the path. And modesty is one branch
of faith.”
There is a unaninmous consensus that action is part/pillar of faith and there are many verses in quran
that actions are part of eman -an average muslim believes that only saying kalima is enough to be a
muslim even if he does not pray once in his lifethime. ( murijiah tul fuqaha befin of faith) of the
evidence given are 2:143, which was revealed at the time of change of the qiblah – those who died
while facing Jerusalem – Allah will not cause your iman to go to waste – though the question was
regarding the salah and Allah responded with eman not being wasted – bukhari, shafi, ahmed used this
verse to prove that salah is the outward action that is proof of eman so they are equated. There is no
action that Allah called it eman except salah. There is controversy on this point NO PRAYER NO EMAAN.
Over 70 verses - al lahdeena aaman wa amilus saalihat -- never has Allah praised eman without amal –
to show the inherent relationship between them – the hadith – eman has 70 odd branches highest is
kalima – saying it, lowest is picking trash and hayaa is eman - these two are action of limbs and action of
heart.

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4. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMAN AND ISLAM

 These two terms seem to occur in very different contexts; sometimes they seem to mean
same thing, sometimes different things. What is the difference between them? Both concepts
mentioned in the quran.
Key evidences –
a. The concluding verses of surah al hujurat – MEMORIZE THEM

                

              

“The desert Arabs say, “We believe.’ Say, “Ye have faith; but say, ‘We have submitted our wills to Allah,’
For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa
sallam), He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” *Al-
Hujurat:14] and in verse 17 (They regard as a favor to you that they have embraced
Islam. Say: "Do not count your Islam as a favor to me...'')

o Hadith of Jibril…peace be upon him, when he questioned the Prophet

about Islam, then Iman then Ihsan.
a. Hadith of the ‘Delegation of ‘Abd al-Qays’: “Once a delegation of’Abdul Qays came to Allah’s
Apostle and said, “We belong to such and such branch of the tribe of Rabi’a, and we can
only come to you in the Sacred Months. Order us to do something good so that we may
take it from you and also invite our people whom we have left behind (at home) to it.’ The
Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)said, “I order you to believe in Allah. And do you know
what is belief in Allah? [It is[ to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah,
and I am the messenger of Allah, and to offer prayers perfectly, and to pay zakat, and to give
the khumus. And I forbid you from dubba and hantam and muqatrat and naqir (all these are
utensils used for the preparations of alcoholic drinks)’” *Agreed Upon+ ( hajj not mentioned
because not yet made fard) this is the exact defn of islam
How to reconcile apparently difffereing texts??

 Scholars have differed over the relationship between these two terms, as follows:
o First Opinion: The Two Terms are Synonymous
 Held by Al-Bukhari; I bn Mandah; and Muhammad b. Nasr al-Marwadhi.
 Their evidence was the fact that the two seem to refer to the same reality.
 They combined the two hadiths - Hadith of Jibril and delegation of abd
al qays and the verse

              

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“Then We evacuated those of the Believers who were there; But We found not there any Muslim person
except in one house” *adh-Bhariyat: 35-36]

Bukhari was askjed about the verses of hujurat – the meaning of aslamnaa – he explained it is political
acceptance out of fear, outwardly accepted – so it is linguistic term of submitting to the political
dominanace of islam

o Second Opinion: Islam signifies the Shahada and Iman signifies the actions.
o This was the opinion of another group, such as al-Zuhri, Hammad b. Zayd,
and also reported from Imam Ahmad.
o Verse of Hujurat – imam ahmad explained that islam is to say the kalima
and iman is to act.
o Hadith of Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas, “Allah’s Apostle (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam)distributed (zakat) amongst (a group of) people while I was sitting
there but Allah’s Apostle left a man whom I thought the best of the lot. I
asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! Why have you left that person? By Allah I regard
him as a mu’min.” The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)commented:
“Or merely a Muslim.” I remained quiet for a while, but could not help
repeating my question because of what I knew about him. And then asked
Allah’s Apostle, “Why have you left so and so? By Allah! He is a mu’min.”
The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)again said, “Or merely a Muslim.”
And I could not help repeating my question because of what I knew about
him. Then the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)said, “O Sa’d! I give to a
person while another is dearer to me, for fear that he might be thrown on
his face in the Fire by Allah.”” *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari] out of fear that
he will misuse the money. Imam Ahmad said the Prophet knew he has
outwardly accepted islam.
o Third Opinon: Synonymous at times, different at times. – MAJORITY OPINION
o “if the two terms occur in different contexts, they are synonymous, but if
they occur in the same context, Islam signifies the outward actions and
Iman signifies the inner beliefs.” According to ahlussunnah both are needed
for a believer.

o Combines all of the evidences above along with other Scriptural references.

In hujurat – outwrardly you have professed islam – prayed fasted, but real iman not in heart – so there
must be some eman because they are not called munafiq – actions without eman. H0w can we say this
when Allah says you don’t have eman – Allah says in the verse 17 – Allah conferred favor by guiding you
to eman (lilemaan) – so there are levels of eman – and there must be some kernel of eman to perform
the actions – since Allah mentions that He will not waste their deeds and we know that allah accepts
good deeds only from a believer.

In hadith jibreel – islam then higher level eman then highest ihsan – so how can one pray before you
believe in the six pillares of eman – so with verse if hujurat there has to be a base level of eman to act

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and perform the worship – higher level of eman is to be God consicious at every point and level in our
life – so allalh has negated this higher level of eman while affirming their base level – allah will accept
your worship ( and allah does not accept worship from kaafir)

Relation between aql and qalb --- Allah affirms knowledge to heart but we know it resides in mind –
similarly is the thought. Some say the qalb is the metaphor for soul – the inside -- which includes mind –
this is metaphysical discussion – where does the eman reside?? The spiritual soul - it is not the eyes
that are blinded but it is the hearts in the chest that is blinded –

If one only has belief in the 6 pillars of eman -- then that was also the state of iblees, abu talib.

It is possible for a muslim to go out of islam with some action - and he will
have to make taubah and redo his shahadah. There are certain actions that
will take the muslim out of fold of islam – eg ridiculing Allah and His prophet
– in surah taubah= qad kafartum baad al imaan—it is a sign of eman if you
have feeling of disgust when someone ridicules Allah and His messenger.

5. INCREASE AND DECREASE OF IMAN

5.1 Evidences for Increasing and Decreasing of Iman
o This is of the fundamental unique positions of Ahl al-Sunnah. We know this because we all
experience it.we know if from our fitrah, And we don’t need evidence for it. The majority of
theological groups say eman is stagnant and does not go up and down ( one of the
priniciples of aqeedah at tahawiyyah says this_) - THIS BELIEF IS UNIQUE TO AHLUSUSNNAH
WAL JAMAA – THAT IMAN INCREASES AND DECREASES and there are explicit verses in the
quran that eman increases, mutawaatir hadiths, ijma, fitrah, and logic all prove that iman is
dynamic in nature.
o Evidences:

              

  

“The believers are those who, When Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble, and when His verses are
recited to them, their Iman increases” *Al-Anfal: 2]

              

    

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“And whenever a Surah is revealed, there are those who *mockingly+ ask, ‘Who amongst you has
increased in Iman?’ So as for those who *truly+ believe, their Iman increases and they rejoice.’” *At-
Tawbah: 124]

              

      

“He is the one who has sent down peace to the heart of the believers, so that they can increase Iman
upon their Iman.” *Al-Fath: 4]

   
 
   
 
   
     
  
 
       
  
   
 
    
     
     
     
  
      
  

 
 
   
 
     
    
    
  
      
 
   
    
           
 
        
  
  

                 

            

“…so that the People of the Book have certainty, and the people of Iman increase in their Iman.” *Al-
Muddathir: 31]

              

  

“Those whom, when the people said to them ‘They have gathered against you, so be scared of them!’,
they only increased in their Iman” *Al ‘Imran: 173+

The narrations from the Prophet show that eman is of different levels -
Hadith: “I have never seen any with lesser ‘aql and religion and that *still+ manages to cause a smart
man’s intelligence to disappear…Does she not leave prayer in her menses? So that is her deficiency in
her religion” *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari] there is an entire chapter in sahih bukhari on this. The
deficiency in deen is due to their missing prayers in menstruation( the khawaarij hold the opinion that
women should make up these missed prayers, therefore the retort of aisha radiallahu anhu to the

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woman who asked about making up these prayers – are you from amongst the haruuriyah??) Touchy
issue – woman portrayed inferior to men – Scientifically they are equal - is it IQ factor? Exam scores? –
so how to understand this hadith – ibn taymiyyah – good explan – aql here is not IQ factor – aql is to
restrain – and generally speaking man is able to restrain his emotions and can perform more rationally
than emotionally – whereas woman act or judge more emotionally than rationally. This is the beauty of
Allahs creation – where balance in family and society maintained with emotional mother and rational
father. therefore woman are not sinful in missing these prayers – so she can make up in rewards by
excelling in other avenues. Overall this hadith proves that missing an action even for legitmate reasons
causes decrease in eman – so how much so for illegitimate reasons????

o Hadith: “The one who fornicates does not fornicate as a mu’min; the one who steals does not
steal as a mu’min, the one who drinks does not drink as a mu’min.” *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-
Bukhari] – this negation of eman is not such that it takes one out of fold of islam as claimed by
khawaarij (their belief that major sins takes one out of fold of Islam and treachery is a major sin)
o Hadith: “Whoever amongst you is able to change an evil with his hand, let him do so, and if not,
then with his tongue, and if not, then with his heart, and that is the weakest Iman.” *Imam
Ahmad, Musnad Iman Ahmad]
o Hadith: “While I was sleeping I saw (in a dream) some people wearing shirts of which some were
reaching up to the chests only while others were even shorter than that. ‘Umar b. al-Khattab
was shown wearing a shirt that he was dragging.” The people asked, ‘How did you interpret it,
Oh Allah’s Apostle?’ He replied, “The religion.” *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]

o All the traditions that mention people will be removed from the Fire in batches, depending on
their level of Iman.

(*Note: Some controversy over Imam Malik’s position…) Some say imam malik was of the opinon that
iman does not go down – i.e. stagnant. There are some reports from his students – quran says eman
goes up so I am not going to say it goes down. Some say he did this to avoid going down the route of
khawaarij who said one who sins eman is removed. Another narration of malik - he says eman increases
and decreases.

5.2 Examples of how this occurs

– Our theological cousins – eman is like light switch on/off - binary system 0 or 1. Eman is belief in Allah
and if if goes down then you are doubting and doubting is kufr – this is the rational they use. So slightest
deficiency is kufr.

. Our perception is light switch is round and with varies levels, it goes up and down.

Ibn Taymiyyah clarified how Iman Increases and Decreases: (kitab ul eman)

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1. The details of what believers have been commanded varied from time to place. The
details varies with knowledge.
2. The level of commitment and action that believers undertake. – those
who do bare min is not same as those who do more nawaafil ibaadah
3. Actual affirmation of truth is in fact of various levels. – there are decimal
points between 0 and 1. Abu bakr given title of sideeq in the incident of
isra and miraj – one who witnesses and sees is not the same as one who
hears( there is a hadith to this meaning) he gives an interesting story –
after musa spending 40 days and allah says his people worshipped calf –
but his anger exploded when he saw the golden calf –

4. Detailed knowledge of a matter adds levels of perception and certainty that summarized
knowledge does not. ACADEMICS GIVES EMAN RUSH AND SPIRITUALITY.
5. A belief that causes one to act upon it is necessarily stronger than a
belief that does not cause any action. – how many believe in jannah
and hell – but how many struggle to achieve it / stay away

6. The actions of the heart (humility, love, modesty etc), which are an integral part of Iman,
very widely between people.
7. The outward actions vary widely between people. This is similar to point 2.
8. States of ghafla ( heedlessness, lapse of eman) are more frequent for some than others.
Ihsan is absence of ghafla. A tabeeyeen said to be conscious of Allah increases eman and
neglecting dhikr decreases eman.
9. It is possible that a matter or belief is denied because of ignorance, and when someone
learns of its truth, he accepts it. This shows something has changed in him internally –
How do I know my state of eman – look at your actions and phases of ghafla, the khushu in
prayer and other ibadah deeds.

When Ibrahim asks to show how resurrection occurs?? Don’t you believe?? Ofcourse but I want
ease of heart – mutma’innah – hadith – prophet -- we have more right than Ibrahim to have
that level of shakk --

6 LEVELS OF IMAN
1) The bare minimum of Iman
 *This is also called al-Iman al-Mujmal and mutlaq al-Iman

 Definition: – says the kalima and attempts to practice the commandment.

The bare minimum level of Iman is embodied in the Kalima itself: believing that Allah (SUBHANAHU
WA TA’ALA) and His Messenger (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)are truthful in all that they say, and
then wishing and attempting to implement their commandments, even if it is a minimal attempt.

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This level was affirmed by Allah for the Bedouins, the born muslims, thus who converted for
political reasons - under islam dominate, one who converts to marry a muslim. ( this is
different from one who converts for theological reasons who are very sincere )

 *Note: There is controversy over the bare minimum of actions required – to be

discussed later.

 Benefits:
o In this world, the person shall enjoy the LEGAL RIGHTS AND benefits of a Muslim
In the hereafter, the person shall be saved from eternally remaining in jahannam. might
enter hellfire but eventually is saved from it and made to enter paradise.
This level in and itself is not praiseworthy , the quran never calls them mumin
unconditionally
Ibn taymiyyah - so most ppl who have iman mujmal do not have reality of eman - to enter
but they may reach if allah wills and if doubt enters about islam they might fall into it – if
they are saved from trials and tests they might eventually enter paradise but if they are put
into tests and trials(sacrifice wealth and life) they might fall into it and end up being
hypocrisy – when the going gets tough the tough gets going but the weak ones crack up –
this is like punishment in dunya and they forfeit their blessings in the aakhirah. For some the
trials increase their eman.

2) The minimal level required by Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA)*

o *This is also called al-Iman al-wajib, al-Iman al-Kamil al-wajib and al-Iman al-mutlaq.

 Definition: The fulfillment of the obligatory deeds and the avoidance of major sins

 Benefits:
o Enjoy the benefits of the protection of Islam in this world besides the benefits of the
previous level, they enjoy extra blessings and mercy,
o Protection of Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA) in this world and the next
o Guaranteed to be protected from the Fire even if he is punished in other ways in dunya
or in the grave or on sirat passing on the bridge over hellfire. This level is negated for
the Bedouins in surah al hujurat.
*Note: Every time the characteristic of Iman is negated in the Qur’an or Sunnah, it is to this
level of Iman, and not the previous, unless evidence indicates otherwise.
thief/drunkard/fornicator === has no eman
Bukhari – 3X he does not have eman – wallahi laa yumin – one whose neighbor is not safe
from his hands and tongue.
None of you truly has eman till he love for his brother what he loves for himself.
The descriptions for the mumin in the quran – aftrer the characteristics ---- these are the
mumin – see the first 10 verses of surah aal muminuun – khushoo in salah, laghw talk, zakat,

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guarding their private parts, fulfill their trusts, --- in the verses of beginning of surah anfal –
whenever Allah is mentioned their hearts trembles, ulaaika muminuna haqqa –
Anytime and action is praised and negated for believers – it is this level of eman

3) The perfection of Iman

*This is also called al-Iman al-kamil al-mustahabb

 Definition: There is no precise definition that separates this level from the next… this is the
ultimate level of striving that is preferred. – a person has perfected sunnah and healthy dose of
nawafil, consciousness of allah more than mumin – and has ihsan. The one quality prophet
described of ihsan – you worship as though you see allah

 Benefits:
o Increase protection in this life and the next…

 Evidences:

           

“Those who have faith, and do not mix their faith with injustice, they are the ones who shall
have security (amn), and they are the ones who are rightly guided.” *Al-An’am:82+
ibn taymiyyah uses various verses – 6:82 = faith not mixed with dhulm for them there shall
be given aman – security, he comments that therefore the more eman a person has the
more aman he will have from allah in this world and next – i.e. the qualitive of life increases
in this dunya more optimistic and tranquililty, their pain and anguish washed away.

One verse explicitly mentions 3 categories – 35:32-36 – all believers given the book – some
of them wronged themselves, some were in the middle, some were in the forefront of good
and for all 3 – they will enter jannah – so all 3 will eventually enter jannah - the quickness of
entry and the level will depend on the level of eman you achieved –

            

            

              

               

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               

             

“Then We have given the Book for inheritance to such of Our Servants as We have chosen: but there are
among them some who wrong their own souls; some who follow a middle course; and some who are, by
Allah’s leave, foremost in good deeds; that is the highest grace. Gardens of Eternity will they enter:
therein will they be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls; and their garments there will be of silk.
Who has, out of His Bounty, steeled us in a Home that will last: no toil nor sense of weariness shall touch
us therein. But those who reject (Allah) – for them will be the Fire of Hell: No term shall be determined
for them, so they should die, nor shall its Penalty be lightened for them. Thus do we reward every
ungrateful one!” *Fatir: 32-36]

Minimum required level of ʾῑmān to prohibit Hell – ijma

on this point (5 pillars /obligations and avoidance of
major sins) ALEMAN AL WAAJIB/AL EMAN AL
MUTLAQ/AL EMAN AL KAMIL AL WAJID. Allah
wants from us from us

Fisq. Eman and kufr concepts can be in a person together

ʾῑmān

but he is only one of 2 either mumin or kaafir. 12:106

Aleman almutlaq
Minimum level of ῑmān

– bare minimum to eventually enter paradise MUTLAQUL IMAN/AL EMAN AL MUJMAL

Kufr – eterHELLnal hellfire -

HELL FIRE KAAFIR
iblis

7 MINIMAL LEVEL OF ACTIONS

 The Qur’an is full of evidences that demonstrate actions are an integral part of Iman.

                  

              

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               

       

“(This) shall not be in accordance with your vain desires nor in accordance with the vain desires of the
followers of the Book; whoever does evil, he shall be requited with it, and besides Allah he will find for
himself neither a guardian nor a helper. And whoever does good deeds whether male of female and he
(or she) is a believer – these shall enter the garden, and they shall not be dealt with a jot unjustly. And
who has a better religion than he who submits himself entirely to Allah? And he is the doer of good (to
others) and follows the faith of Ibrahim, the upright one, and Allah took Ibrahim as a friend.” *Al-Nisa:
123-125]

          

“And whoever comes to Him as a mu’min, having done good deeds, these are the ones that shall have
the high ranks.” *Ta Ha: 75+

        

“So he neither gave charity nor prayed, but rather rejected and turned away.” *Qiyamah: 31-32]

 Abu Bakr al-Ajurri (d. 360) writes…

o “O you who have been blessed with understanding of the halal and haram, if you
understand the Qur’an as you are supposed to, you will see that Allah (SUBHANAHU WA
TA’ALA) has obligated upon people after they believe in him that they act…and I have
read the Qur’an, and found 59 times in the Book of Allah this fact. For Allah never
causes anyone to enter Jannah with only Iman, but rather through His mercy, and by
allowing them to believe in Him and act righteously.”

 To Clarify: There are four logical possibilities with respect to inner and outer coordination
o 1) Iman in the heart of and outward actions outwardly – clearly mu’min
o 2) Both non-existent – clearly Kafir
o 3) Outer actions without inner Iman – clearly munafiq
1. 4) Inner Iman without actions – Has inner eman but no outward actions- no good not
avoids evils == but says he is muslims this is the crux of diff betn is ahlussunnah and
murjia – ahlussunnah = you cannot have inner faith without any outward manifestation

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is impossible , it is not eman and will not help in hereafter, murjia = says he is mumin.
There is direct correlation betn inner and outer – if one exists the other follows.

o different between murji’a and Ahl al-Sunnah

 Ahl al-Sunnah: This situation is simply an impossibility
 Very controversial issue – what is the minimum level of actions that is required by Allah --??
There is no question that the basis of eman is in the heart, however the key diff betn
ahlusunnah and murjia is that there must be some outward manifestations of eman. There are
many evidences to show that actions must be part of eman
 Shafii and ahmed– 98:5 – they are commanded to worship sincerely and pray and fast - -- allah
was not satisfied that they only believe but they perform actions of worship
 2:177 – ayaaatul birr – it is not merely sufficient to have faith – used by bukhari
 4:123-125 == religion is not upto your desires, whoever does good be he male or female while
he has faith will enter jannah, 21:94 = who doesr good and strives while he has faith
 9:4 – the verse of sword –specific verse for specific event – mecca conquered 8H – hajj in 9th H –
4 months notice to mushrik only for haram area – once the sacred months over either they go
out they be escorted to safety or be killed – no mushrik allowed to stay in mecca or medina –
9:5,11,12 – but if they repent and believe and pray and give zakah they are your brothers in
faith,
 Thre is another category that knowledge without eman and actions are not muslims – 2:146 –
they recognized him as prophet like they recognize their own children, Allah affirms their
knowledge but not their faith – huyay ibn akhtab – his story narrated by his daughter who is
mother of believers ( zainab) , romans – recognized the truthful of islam but could not give up
their lavish life style and favors of emperors
 Another category of verses – that clearly tells that actions must be part of belief – tawallah == to
turn your back == did not act upon it, 3:132 –obey allah and his messenger and if you turn away
from this obedience allah does not llike the kaafirs, 75: -- kadhaba wa tawlaa – ibn taymiyyah
said khadhaba is by heart and tawalla is by body – 20:48 and 24:48.
 Allah has obligated to all ppl that after they believe they submit to His commands and do the
worship

 There is a direct correlation between the inner and outer level of Iman. Inner faith and outer
actions are indications of the other, and the absence of one is an indication of the absence of
the other.

o 1) Must perform an unspecified type of good deed (jins al-‘amal)

 – like smiling in the face of your brother – JINS AL AMAL This opinion is a
completely modern one that contradicts common sense.
o 2) The five prayers:
 A) Leaving any one prayer is kufr. this was the opinion of sh bin baaz, he has
fatwa – if man sets alarm for 8am and knows he will not get up for fajr is kaafir

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 B) Leaving prayers completely is kufr

      

“And when it is said to them to bow down they do not do so” *Al-Mursalat: 48]

    

“So he neither gave charity nor prayed, but rather denied and turned away” *Qiyamah: 31+

    

“What has caused you to enter Saqar? They said: We were not of those who prayed…” *Al-Mudaththir:
42], Also [Al-Baqarah: 143]

             
“So there came after them a generation ada’u the prayer” *Maryam:59+
a. What is the meaning of “ada’u”? – he has left praying in any sense or fashion
regularly- be it regular eid prayer, it is said this is the opoinon of the sahaba, shafii
has 2 opinons and this is one of them, ahmed and other majority ulema of first two
generation, what is their evidences???? Ibn qayyim wrote comprehensive – the
hukm of taariqas salaah – the verdict of one who leaves the prayer – quran, sunnah,
ijma and aathar of salaf – quran 77:148 --- when it was said to them bow they did
not bow in rukku, 75:31 –neither prayed nor charity, 74:42 – what caused to enter
hell – we were not of those who used to pray, 2:143 salah = eman, 68:43 –when
they were called to prostrate they did not so on this day they will not be able to
prostrate, maun – alladheena an salaatihim saahuun – those who are lax in prayer –
sad ibn waqqas – they did not care for timings for which they are punished in wail
the valley in helll , if they had left prayer they would be kaafirs . the verse 30:--31-
establish salah and don’t be amongst the mushriks, if you leave salah you might as
well be pagans, 19:59 – adaaaus salaah – ibn masood – they lost it not punctual, if
they had left if they would be kaafirs, many hadith narrations – sahih muslim –
when sone of adam prostrates for the verse of sajdah- shaytan weeps , ishaq
rahway said iblees became kaafir for one sajdah that he refused so one who
knowingly leaves salah is kaaaifr, in another hadith jaabir – betn man and kufr and
shirk is leaving salah, another version there is nothing betn man and kufr is leaving
salah. In musnad ahmed – mihjan a Bedouin converts reported he went to masjid in
mina and sat at the back when prophet saw him at the back – why did you not pray?
Are you not a muslim?? He said I already prayed in my tent so prophet said – when
you meet a congregation you join it .this hadith applies to masjid only. In bukhari

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whoever prays our prayer and faces qiblah and eats our dhabeeha is muslim, who
has protection from allah and messenger. In sahih muslim – an expedition sent he
would not allow to attack at night but to wait till fajr and see if adhan called don’t
attack if no adhan then attack. Abu umaaha in sahih muslim – every time a pillar of
islam is destroyed ppl will go to next the first pillar to be destroyed will be
leadership and the last pillar to be lost in this religion is salah. Another hadith -
whoever guards salah willhave light and be safe and evidence on d of j and one who
does not pray will be resurrect with qarun, hamam, firawn, uaby ibn khalaf – in
ahmeds musnad – this means these ppl had their characteristics so one who
fooloows them will be with them . ijma == umar ibn khattab said on mimbar abnd
on his death bed - there is no share of islam to one who does not pray.
Q – why did this group leave zakah??? Their crux was the hadith in bukhari – there is
no owner of camels who deos not give zakah except that these will trample on him
on the day ofjudgement until allah judges between them and decrees paradise or
hell --- even though he did not give zakah he is sinner.

Th e majority position – is one who does not even pray eid regularly is kufr. ( but be
carful to put the label of kaafir)

3) The five prayers and zakat

          

               

 
“So if they repent, and establish the prayer and pay the zakat, then let them be” *at-Tawbah:5]

                  

          

            

      

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“So if you establish the prayer, and pay the zakat, and believe in My Messengers and help them…” *Al-
Maidah:12]

= Incident of the ‘Wars of Ridda’ abu bakr fought wars of ridda – those who refused to pay
zakah, ( note the debate between umar and abubakr – between their understandings of
believer, did those ppl refuse theobligation of zakah or felt greedy, the first category of
scholars say they denied its obligation therefore abu bakr fought them, the early reference
don’t mention and it shows us that abu bakr did not bother to ask them their stand on it –
actions are speaking for the inner state )
The famous opinion of ahmed is the minimum level is of five prayers
How did these scholars interpret hadith of abuhurairah in sahih bukhari = animals trampling,
the hadith says whoever does not give the reights of animals so they paid zakah but less
than their full rights. This is similar to the hadith – those who guard their salah have the
saftety

4) All of the pillars of Islam

 All of the above evidences put together:

o Hadith of Jibril
o Hadith of the ‘Delegation of ‘Abd al-Qays’:
“Once a delegation of ‘Abdul Qays came to Allah’s Apostle (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)and said, “We
belong to such and such branch of the tribe of Rabi’a, and we can only come to you in the Sacred
Months. Order us to do something good so that we may take it from you and also invite our people
whom we have left behind (at home) to it.’ The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)said, “I order you
to believe in Allah. And do you know what is belief in Allah? [It is] to testify that none has the right to
be worshipped but Allah, and I am the Messenger of Allah, and to offer prayers perfectly, and to pay
zakat, and to give the khumus. And I forbid you from dubba and hantam and muqaytat and naqir (all
these are utensils used for the preparation of alcoholic drinks)’” *Agreed Upon+

The sahaba understood as – salah and zakah are only mentioned because only these can be monitored
the other pillars are between you and allah – so the diff between third opinon ( 5 prayers and zakat) and
the fourth pillar is semantics – why is it called a pillar – rukn is necessary requirement ---- so without it
the structure does not stand –you cannot judge fasts and hajj – but they are given special status
therefore mentioned so explicityly in the hadiths – jibrel, abu qays etc. realistically all of these opinion
automatically comes under the second opinion – of five prayers – so one who prayes will not ignore
fasts and the other arkaan –

The three main opinion in ahlussunnah – prayer – some form of regularity like 2 of 5 , he is on the fence
betn iman and kufr therefore the hadith if one who misses 3 jumuah straight nifaaq is sealed on him..
the second opinion - zakal is included and the third says its theoreitcall all the pillars are integral part of
islam and your commitment to attempt to sincerely fulfill them ( hajj – 2 opinons – faurii, as soon as

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capable or anytime in life). The hadith – I wish to burn the houses of those who avoid the congregational
salah in masjid close by to you - no scholar said that one who prays at home is kaafir.

8 THE ISSUE OF ISTITHNA’

 Historical controversy: How does one respond when asked, “Are you a mu’min?”
 One gp says – whoever says inshaallah has committed kufr
 Another gop you have to say – otherwise you commit kkufr
 Ahlusunnah - its better to say but if you leave then its not kufr – why??

 Position of Ahl al-Sunnah:

o Did not like the question, and said the whole issue was an innovation.
o However, they said it was permissible (perhaps even better) to say inshaa’Allah after
this phrase, and it was permissible to leave it.
o It was permissible (or better) to say inshaa’Allah because:
 1) Iman is of levels, and no one knows for sure whether he has perfected those
levels or not.
 2) True Iman is that which has been accepted by Allah (SUBHANAHU WA
TA’ALA), and no one knows if that will be the case.
 3) No one knows in what state one will die, hence if one adds inshaa’Allah it is
as if one is hoping and praying to die in that state
 4) As for the basic level of Iman regarding which one should not be in doubt, it
is in face permissible to occasionally used istithna even when one is not in
doubt.
o And it was permissible to leave because there is no evidence that suggests it is
obligatory, and people should be certain about having entered the basic level of Iman.

 Ahmad b. Hanbal was asked, ‘Doesn’t saying inshaa’Allah constitute doubt?’ He replied, ‘I seek
Allah’s refuge! Doesn’t Allah say, “You shall, inshaa’Allah, enter the Sacred Mosque, safe and
secure” *Al-Fath:27+ and didn’t the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)say, ‘And we will,
inshaa’Allah, join you.’ So where is the doubt in this?”

 ‘Alqama was asked, “Are you a mu’min?” He replied, “I hope I am, inshaa’Allah.”

 However, Ahl al-Sunnah did not allow istithna in Islam, so one says, “I am a Muslim” because
this deals with the outward testimony of faith and rulings of this life.

 There is one gop – you are supposed to say inshallah for future and present events .
 But we are supposed to say inshaallah for future events- for present and past its not relevant.

 Another historical controversy: Is Iman created or not? This is also a bygone controversy –
there are elements of eman that are uncreated like quran, shahadah . my actions are created

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9 FACTORS THAT WEAKEN ONE’S IMAN

9.1 . Major and minor sins = who categorized them?? Allah

                 

                 

“Those who avoid great sins (kaba’ir) and shameful deeds, only (falling into) small faults” *An-Najm: 32]

            

“If you shun the great sins which you are forbidden, We will do away with your small sins and cause you
to enter an honorable place of entering.” *An-Nisa:31]

            

                

“And the Book shall be placed, then you will see the guilty fearing from what is in it, and they will say:
Ah! Woe to us! What a book is this! It does not omit a small one (saghira) nor a great one (kabira),
except that is enumerates it (all). And what they had done they shall find present (there), and your Lord
does not deal unjustly with anyone.” *Al-Kafh:49]

 And in the hadith,

o “Of the kaba’ir is a man cursing his own father” *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]
o “The five prayers, and the Friday prayer to the Friday prayer, and one Ramadan to the
next, forgives all that is between it, as long as the kaba’ir are avoided” *Al-Bukhari, Sahih
Al-Bukhari]
o avoid the seven deadly sins, the biggest of all kabaair is the shirk with allah
 What is the definition of a “kabira”?
Allah punishes with had, ibn hazam how can it be so – there is no had for cursing father

Sins that were forbidden in other shariah and ours- but this again is wrong- drinking alcohol , al
ghazali and his teacher al juwayni defined major and minor based on the state of the persons
heart – if your heart feels the guilt then it is minor sin and if your heart is devoid of guilt then it
is major sin –but again if one fornicates and feels the guilt it is minor ? ibn abbas -- every sin for
which hell fire or invoked curse or anger is major sin

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o Ibn Taymiyya defined it as “every sin that has been assigned a wordly punishment (had),
or has been threatened with the Fire, or Allah’s curse, or His anger.”

 Q: Does a habitual minor sin become a major sin?

Answer: Maybe, it depends on the state of the sinner. ? This is so when it is done without any
remorse and it becaome habit and leads to arrogance – here we follow ghazaalis defn
Habitual sins with remorse does not become major – Abdullah ibn salaam mentioned clearly

 Another categorization:
o Sins performed out of lust and desire (Adam)
o Sins performed out of arrogance (Iblis)
 ibn abbas was asked of minor sins – no better way to define this than fornication of eyes.
These sins that will be forgiven with good deeds.

9.2. Status of sins vis-à-vis Iman

1. Rule: Sins that are less than kufr do not in and of themselves expel a person from Islam.
khawaarij oppose this – any major sinner is kaafir.

There are 5 categories of evidences –

a. Shirk is the only unforgivable sin and perfecting tawheed leads to jannah. Verses in
surah an nisaa
b. Those who commit major sins will enter paradise - ‘Ubadah b. al-Samit reported that
the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)took the oath from the women and said, “give
me the oath of allegiance: that you shall not commit shirk, or steal, or fornicate, or kill
your offspring…so whoever fulfills this shall have his reward with Allah. And whoever
falls into any of these [sins] and is punished in this world, then that shall count as an
expiation for him. And whoever commits any of these [sins] secretly shall be left to
Allah – if He wills, He shall forgive, and if He wills, He shall punish him.” *Al-Bukhair,
Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Abu Dharr , “I visited the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)when he was sleeping,
and he was wearing a while thawb…when he woke up, I sat next to him. He said, ‘No
servant says La ilaha ila Allah and dies with tha t except tha the shall go to Paradise.’ I
said, ‘Even if he fornicated and stole?’ He said, ‘Even if he fornicated and stole!’ I said,
‘Even if he fornicated and stole?’ He said, ‘Even if he fornicated and stole!’ I said, ‘Even
if he fornicated and stole?’ He said ‘Even if he fornicated and stole…’ but then added on
the fourth, ‘…even if Abu Dharr doesn’t want it!’” *Muslim, Sahih Muslim+

c. Evidences that affirm faith to those who commit major sin - Abu Dharr addressed Bilal
as” You son of a black woman!” The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam), addressing
Abu Dharr, said: “Abu Dharr! Have you criticized him because of his mother? You still
have traces of Jahiliyyah in you” *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]. . The verse in hujurah -
2 gps of muslims fighting – which is major sin and allah calls them believers

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Haatib ibn abi balata –committed treason by revealing the secret of the Prophet to the
quraish, surah mumtahinah beginning verses – he was not executed nor considered
apostate. The hadith in bukhari – a drunkard punished repeatedly and one said may alah
curse you don’t help shaytaan against him for by allah I know he loves allah and his
messenger.
d. All of the evidences of the intercession of the Prophet – discussed in light of guidance
class. Musnad ahmed explicit – my shafaa is for those who committed major sins of my
ummah. Because those who avoided major sins will enter jannah

e. The purpose of haddd punishment would be useless if that sinner was not a muslim.

 Q: Are these traditions problematic?

 There are mushkil hadith that the khawarij use =you never use one hadith and ignore the rest of
the evidences,. There are more than 15 evidences in each of the 5 categories that major sin does
not expel one from islam –
 Of these mushkil hadiths
A. Anyone who has atoms wt of pride will not enter jannah – so does an arrogant person become
kaafir. Arrogance is major sinn and there is threat of him not entering jannah immediately. This
is the general verdict that he does not deserve jannah but allah may choose whatever he wills
B. One who has 4 characteristics is a hypocrite --- the mushkil point is – the words he is a pure
hypocrite – it does not mean he is munafiq in aakhira, so we interpret in light of other hadiths. If
a person has these traits with allah – yaani nifaaq I’tiqaadi then he is kaafir??
 Hadith – fornicator when he fornicates, -- when he drinks ----- when he steals – so this is
restricted to the times of committing the sins -- - and this is eman kaamil

 Sahl al-Tustari said, “Even if the sinner is punished, his punishment will not be like the
disbeliever, He shall not be thrown in like him, nor shall he remain [eternally] like him, nor shall
he suffer like him.”
 Rule one -----Major sinner – is muslim, must repent and if he repents then is mumin, if if given
haadd then that is ---- if no haaadd and no t repented it is upto Allah -- forgiven or intercession.
Even if he is punished it is not eternal and will be different level than a kaafir.

 Rule two: Considering sins to be permissible (istihlal) expels one from Islam even if one does
not commit the sin. – even theologocial cousins consider this -- you have rejected the
commandment of allah – we are talking about that which is wellknown to be haraam and not
that which is controverseial like mortgage, the interest that is given by banks is not riba thisis
ludicrous but not kufr. He differentialted betn paper money and gold and silver – but majority of
ulemea say that paper money is equal to gold and silver.

9.3 Forgiveness of Minor Sins vs. Major Sins

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 The traditions mention many specific good deeds that expiate minor sins, such as [partial list]:
o 1) The five prayers
o 2) Fasting Ramadan
o 3) ‘Umrah
o 4) Hajj (of the most powerful, if not the most powerful deed) that is kaffarah for both
major and minor sins (the only thing that trumps this deed is a non muslim accepts
islam)
o 5) Wudu
o 6) Fasting on ‘Ashura
o 7) Fasting on the 9th of Dhul Hijjah
 WARNING; Some people who are deceived rely too much on things like fasting
on ‘Ashura or the day of ‘Arafah, to the extent that some of them say, “Fasting
on Ashura will expiate for the sins of the whole year, and fasting on the day of
‘aRafah will being extra rewards.”

 Ibn al-Qayyim said: ‘This misguided person does not know that fasting in Ramadan and praying
five times a day are much more important fasting on the day of ‘Arafah and ‘Ashura, and that
they expiate for the sins between one Ramadan and the next, or between one Friday and the
next, so long as one avoids major sins. But they cannot expiate for minor sins unless one also
avoids major sins; when the two things are put together, they have the strength to expiate for
the minor sins. Among those deceived people may be one who thinks that his good deeds are
more than his sins, because he does not pay attention to his bad deeds or put a check on his
sins, but if he does a good deed he remembers it and relies on it. This is like the one who seeks
Allah’s forgiveness with his tongue (i.e., by words only), and glorifies Allah by saying “Subhan
Allah” one hundred times a day, then he backbites about the Muslims and slanders their honor,
and speaks all day long about things that are not pleasing to Allah. This person is always
thinking about the virtues of his tasbihat (saying “Subhan Allah”) and tahliyat (saying “La ilaha ill-
Allah”) but he pays no attention to what has been reported concerning those who backbite, tell
lies and slander others, or commit other sins of the tongue. They are completely deceived.”

 Q: Which deed is the most powerful?

The most powerful hadith – even the angels argue. Narrated by Muadh ibn jabal ( tirmidhi, authentic)
Mu'ath Bin Jabal, Ibn 'Abbas, 'Ubaydah Bin al-Jarrah, and others (RAA)reported that the Prophet (ASWS)
was once so late in coming out to lead the morning prayer that the sun was about to rise. He came out
of his home hurriedly, led the people in a (relatively) short prayer, and then turned toward them and
said:

"Stay in your places, for I will tell you what delayed me this morning: I
got up during the night and prayed for as long as was decreed for me. Then I
became so sleepy while praying that I found it hard to continue (so I
slept). I then saw (in a dream) my Lord (AWJ) in the best form.

He asked me, "O Muhammad, about what does the most supreme society (i.e., the angels) argue?" I
said, "I do not know, my Lord." He asked me (again), "O Muhammad, about what does the most
supreme society argue?" I said, "I do not know, my Lord." He asked me (a third time), "O Muhammad,
about what does the most supreme society argue?" I said, "I do not know, my Lord." Then He placed His

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palm (on my back) between my shoulder-blades, and I felt the coolness of His fingers inside my chest.
Everything then became clear to me, and I knew (the answer). He asked me, *"O Muhammad, about
what does the most supreme society argue?"*I replied, "(They argue about) the expiating
acts/mukaffarat and (the acts that elevate) the ranks (of the believers in Jannah)." He asked, *"What are
the expiating acts?" I replied, "(They are) walking (once and again) to the jama'ah prayers, sitting in the
place of prayer (saying thikr) after prayers, waiting (with anticipation) for the (next) prayer after the
(previous) prayer, and performing complete wudu' (even in) disliked conditions."
He asked, "What are the (acts that elevate in) ranks?" I replied, "(They are:) feeding food (to the needy),
spreading (the greeting of) salam, speaking kindly (to others), and praying at night while people are
asleep." Then He commanded me, "Ask (from me), *"Allahumma inni as'aluka fi'l-al-khayrat, wa-tark-al-
munkarat, wa-hubb-al-masakin, wa-an-taghfira li wa-tarhamani. Wa-itha aradta fitnatan fi qawmin, fa
tawaffani ghayra maftun. Wa-as'aluka hubbaka, wahubba man yuhibbuka, wahubba 'amalin
yuquarribuni ila hubbik—O Allah, I ask you (to guide me to) doing good deeds, avoiding evil deeds, and
loving the needy. And ( I ask you) to forgive me and show me mercy. And when You will to afflict some
people (around me) with a (destructive) tribulation, take my life without being changed (in faith). And I
beseech You (to grant me) the love of You, of those who love You, and of all deeds that can bring me
nearer to Your love." Revolution, it was recorded by at-Tirmithi, ahmad, and others. Verified to be
authentic by al-Albani (as-sahihah no. 3169, as-sunnah nos. 388, 465-471, and Irwa'ul-ghalil no. 684).

 Final Warning: “Beware of the sins that are considered trivial, for they gather together around a
person until they destroy him.” *Imam Ahmad, Musnad Imam Ahmad+ other hadiths compare
the minor sins to twigs and too many twigs lit up the fire.
 Know that decreasing our minor sins is also perfection of our eman

9.4. The Effects of Sins

 Ibn al-Qayyim listed many of the evil effects of committing sins [partial list]
o 1) Prevention of knowledge
o 2) Prevention of rizq
o 3) Weakening of the heart
o 4) reduces lifespan (barakah)
o 5) Contempt from Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA)
o 6) Decrease of remorse
o 7) Increase of humiliation
o 8) Lack of intelligence
o 9) Sealing of the heart
o 10) Spoiling the land’s resources
o 11) Disappearance of modesty
o 12) Becoming neglectful of Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA)
o 13) Pain and suffering in this world and the next

9.5. The Expiation of Sins

 Ibn al-Qayyim listed ten factors that forgive or expiate sins:
o 1) Tawbah
o 2) Istifhfar
o 3) Good deeds

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o 4) Problems and grief of this world

o 5) Prayer of others for you (in life) and over you (after death)
o 6) Good deeds done on behalf of those who are deceased
o 7) Trials and punishments of the grave
o 8) Affliction on the Day of Judgment
o 9) Intercession
o 10) Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness

10 FACTORS THAT NEGATE ONE’S IMAN (NAWAQID AL-IMAN)

10.1 Intro to the topic

       

“Those who fulfill the Covenant of Allah and break not the Mithaq (bond, treaty, covenant) *Al-Rad:20]
NAQADA – rip off from roots

 There are two categories:

o 1) Those who never entered Islam (kufar asliyyun)
o 2) Those who entered Islam and then left is (murtad)

                 

               

              

             

 

“They ask You concerning fighting In the sacred months (e.e. 1st, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic
calendar). Say, “Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) with Allah is to
prevent mankind from following the Way of Allah, to disbelieve in him, to prevent acess to Al-Masjid-al-
Haram (at Makkah), and to drive out its inhabitants, and Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And they will
never cease fighting You until they turn You back from Your Religion (Islamic Monotheism) if they can.
And Whosoever of You turns back from his Religion and dies as a disbeliever, Then his deeds will be lost
in This life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They will abide therein
forever.” *Al-Baqarah:127]

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 The naqaqid are beliefs, statements, and actions that expel one from Islam after having entered
it.
 The controversial idea – not to call non muslims kaafir – since it is for those who have known
and rejected islam. Since it is viewed as a negative/pejorative word
 But quran has termed non Muslims as kaafir, but that does not mean you start jihad --- what it
means that the rulings of kufr will apply to him. Whether he will be saved in the next life or not
is a different issue – we don’t judge a person in this world that so and so is kaafir and will be in
hellfire

 Those who say that there is a third category ( modern phenomena of last 30 yrs) betn kaafir and
muslim-
Ridda == to turn around – you accepted islam and turned back 2:217. Ridda is a state and nawaaqid is
the cause of it.

 There are three matters that contradict Iman:

o 1) Kufr
o 2) Shirk –. It is one of the most evil manifestations of kufr
o 3) Nifaq. Na fa qa = tunnel it is a secret tunnel to escape from islam. One who pretends
to be a Muslim externally while internally he is not. It is the medinan phenomena,
therefore those who converted before hijrah are the best and free from hypocrisy.

 Kufr
o Linguistically: From kafara, which mean ‘to over up’
o Technically: The absence of Iman (antithesis)
 Shirk
o Linguistically: From the root word that signifies ‘mixing, assimilation’
o Technically: To give the rights of Allah to other than Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA)
 Nifaq
o Linguistically: From the root word that is used for ‘tunnel, burrow’
o Technically: To pretend to be a Muslim while belying the message.

Q: What is the relationship between these three terms…?

o Nifaq and shirk are subsets of kufr. Kufr and nifaq are equal to shirk in their being
unforgivable but shirk mentioned because of its most heinous and ugly nature.
 All three are divided into major and minor, it is the major kufr/shirk/nifaq that expels one from
Islam. Minor kufr/shirk/nifaq are major sins that a muslim commits.
*NOTE: Fisq and dhulm are also major and minor

Major fisq is major kufr and major dhulm is major shirk.

Fisq is synonymous to kufr and dhulm is synonymous to shirk

10.2 The Reality of Kufr

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A. From the Heart:

a. Lack of belief (qawl al-qalb)
i. This could be due to:
1. Ignorance
2. Incorrect information
3. Doubt (shakk)
4. Turning away (irad) most hedeinouse who don’t even care to read or
study.
b. Denial of belief (‘amal al-qalb) there are many who studied like orientalists, know the
religion but don’t have any emotions of attachment
i. This could be due to:
1. Arrogance (istikbar) like ibless and firawn. Arrogance can also mean that
you value something else more than alllah – abutalib was not arrogant
in the sense that he is better than allah but he valued his lineage
Heraclius valued power this is his arrogant. The monk who saw and
knew the prophet but fenied because of valyes of materials gifts from
roman rulers and don’t want to sacrifice and take the pains

There are pl who genuinely feel sympathetic for islam and muslims but don’t accept it – these are the
closet muslims – ostracization

2. Outright rejection (juhud) like firawn

3. Hypocrisy (nifaq0 those who pretend and they will be in the lowest
depths of hellfire.
B. By the tongue:
a. Outright rejection
b. A statement that necessitates rejection (ridicule, sarcasm, rejection of a fundamental
commandment) doubting something that is well established.
C. From the Body:
– action with limbs --- willfully worships to idols – blatant shirk, the common eg in books of fiqh
is to show disrespect to quran – knowingly throwing putting foot on it etc – ijma of ulemea that
it is kufr.

a. Sufyan b. ‘Uyayna (d. 198) was asked about the murji’a. He said: “Iman consists of
statements and actions, and the murji’a considered Jannah to be obligatory on those
who testified the shahada even if his heart was adamant at not doing the obligatory
good deeds, and they considered this a sin, just like incest. But they are not the same!
Because incest, if it is still considered impermissible, is a sin, but leaving the obligatory
deeds intentionally, without ignorance or excuse, is kufr. And the example of this is In
Adam, Iblis, and the scholars of the Yahud. As for Adam, he was prohibited from eating
from the tree, but he ate intentionally, desiring power or eternal life. So he was called a
sinner, without any kufr. As for Iblis, he was told to prostrate once, but refused
intentionally and rejected it, and so he was called a kafir. And as for the scholars of the
Yahud, they recognized the characteristic of the Prophet just as they know their sons,

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and they admitted this with their tongues, but they did not follow his Shariah, so they
were called Kafir.” *Dhahira al-Irja, p. 482]

Q – what is the ruling of those who has never heard of islam? = how can one not know of islam while
living in the midst of Muslims? in this world the ruling of kufr applies. In the hereafter --- ashari school
claim that such ppl will be automatically saved – ibn hajr, suyuti and nawawi]

Mutazila and maturiidy – you will not be saved if you worshipped false gods, but if you worshipped the
true god ( one god- monotheist) will be saved because they say logically you should know that there is
only one god

Ahlussunnah – has number of oopinons

Majority in classical age – tawaqquf – only allah knows best

Ibn taymiyyah – these ppl will be tested on the day of judgement there isno guarantee of hell or heaven
– based on hadith in musnad ahmed ( hasan hadith) – 4 ppl will come and complain to allah – one a
senile, deaf, and a man who lived in between prophets – ahlal fatrah, and ----------------------- all 4 will say
o allah no one came to us. Allah will ask them ‘what would you do if I had sent a prophet? Then an angel
will be sent in the form of prophet – follow me and this is fire fall in it – those who obey and fall the fire
will be paradise and those who reject will be in hellfire

Ashari rejected this saying its nonsensical but truly theirs is non sensical position – since the kaafir is
better off than muslims since wthey will be heaven and why should then on edo dawah to no n muslims

10.2 Minor Kufr, Shirk, and Nifaq

It is possible for a muslim to commit these while still being a muslim where do we get the evidence of
this category

Hadith – prophet explicitly called some deeds as minor shirk – eg riyaa. There is no quranic or sunnah
term as minor kufr and minor nifq – based on one term shirk al asghar the ulema extrapolated major
shirk and looking into quran they found term kufr for actions that does not take person out of fold of
Islam , similaryly for nifq like lying is nifq 0- so the ulema derived that thre is major and ninor kufr

 Many traditions mention sins by calling them kufr

o For example: “Cursing a Muslim is a sin, and fighting him is kufr” *Bukhari, Sahih Al-
Bukhari]
o Yet, in the Qur’an, Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA) says:

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             

                 

 

“And if two parties or groups among the believers fall to fighting, Then make peace between them
both…” *Al-Hujurat:9]

 Similarly, the Prophetic traditions mention certain acts as being shirk or nifaq, yet are clearly
sins.
o Proves the existence of some type of Kufr that is present amongst Muslims; i.e., minor
kufr (and minor shirk and minor nifaq)
 In debating with our cousins use the bukihari muslim and other muhaddith ( bukhari many
works on aqeedah_) hadith in s bukhari – fighting a muslim is kufr ( with intention to kill) – yet in
surah hujuraat – if two parties of believers are fighting then cause reconciliation - allah called
them mumin despite they committed kufr - so this means kufr does not necessarily take a
person out of islam - so there are minor and major kufr – fighting a muslim is minor kufr. And
the same applies for nifaq – eg lies, breaks promise betrays amaanah, foul language in arguing.
Being double faced
 ONE NEEDS TO BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU COME ACROSS AN AYAH AND HADITH OF KUFR AND
NIFQ – TO SEE IF IT IS MAJOR OR MINOR – one of the problems with khawaarij was that they did
not differentialte between major and minor and also did not follwow the guideline on hwo to
make takfir //
 Ghazali – kaafir 3 types – those who never heard/lived with muslims under jizya/in border states
wsith muslims and interact – if they know enough of islam and rejects will be held liable.
 The general rule – any belief or statement or action that explicitly contradicts eman is kufr-
 One aspect of kufr is isthlaal and vice versa – to reject the law of Allah.
 Utter statements against allah /prophets / books- without coercion

10.4. Issues of Ridda

 Linguistically: To return from something

 Technically: To return to kufr after having left it for Islam.
o Or: coming forth with a belief, statement or action after entering Islam, that nullifies it.

10.4.1. Examples of beliefs, statements, and actions that constitute ridda

 Heart:

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o To ascribe divinity to other than Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA)

o To believe something that contravenes the fundamentals of Islam
o To consider something haram as halal when it is established otherwise
 Tongue
o To utter statements of kufr without duress
o To ridicule Allah or His Messenger
 Body
o To perform any action that demonstrates a lack of Iman, such as disrespecting
the Qur’an, or prostrating to an idol, etc.

*NOTE: Scholars have unanimously agreed that hadd punishments can only be applied by a
legitimate Caliph. Muslims living under non-Muslim rule can NEVER take the law into their own
hands. A Muslim who becomes a murtad may be socially ostracized, but nothing else.
In our shariah - the punishment of murtadd is execution – ijma of classical scholars and shia – this is
applicable in the land of islam under Islamic rule – in the times of prophet too a person apostate in
abysynnia and no muslims touched him nor did the prophet order to execute him in the land of najjashi.

Ubaidullah ibn jahsh = husband of ramlah bint abi sufyan (umm habeebah) was contemporary of
waraqah ibn naufal – searching for religion. He converted to Christianity and became Muslim when
Islam rose –migrated to habasha – and apostated became Christian.

So if we come across a murtadd we are allowed to ostracize and boycott him – we have the right and
privilege to put emotional pressure on them. We need to handle them on case by case basis – find out
why this happened? And try to counsel and find a solution – the most common ridda is to become an
atheist.

10.4.2. Ruling by a Law other than the Shari’ah

 This issue has become one of the most controversial issues of our times. It is exploited
by extremist groups to justify radical ideologies and militants actions.
o Theoretical issues (different opinions…)
o Practical ramification (extremist groups ignore)
 Conclusion: Regardless of the theoretical factors, all major scholars the world over state
that making blanket takfir of societies, or politicians, leads to a far greater harm than
any possible good. It is for this reason that no senior scholar supports takfiri groups in
either their theory or their practices.
 This is most talked by theologians – used by ulema and extremist who make takfir on all
muslim govts – unconditionally jihadist prescribe the rule that ruling by other than allah
is major kufr – they base this on the fatwa of ibn taymiyyah – 698H against Mongols ---
the emperor of Mongols at that time converted to islam outwardly and he started
establishing shariah – adhaan, prayers , on the other hand he attacked the muslims –
the ppl were fed up with the mamluk rule – in the ppl of Damascus – power corrupts –
high taxes – so they were debating whether it is better to have the Mongols come and

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rule us – ibn taymiyyah was instrumental in rallying ppl against Mongols and defend the
mamluk dynasty – and in one fatwa he said the Mongols are not muslims –one of the
reason was because he said they don’t practice the shaair of islam they claim to pray
but they don’t and they don’t go for hajj – there is no regular ritual prayer or
collectionof zakat nor hajj – and since their conversion they have not changed the law of
Genghis khan and they don’t apply our shariah – their system of governance is the same
as before they converted - so his fatwa that the Mongols is not muslims – their
conversion is a political agends to convince the masses - in our times we cannot cut and
paste this fatwa
 In our times our mainstream scholoars none or them hold the jihadist rule – sh
uthaymeen said a Muslim ruler substitutes an Islamic law for a completely diff set of
rules - this is kufr but we do not pronounce him to be kaafir because of various reasons
– out ignorance? Rebelling against them weigh the good and bad – if the bad is more
than good then it is haraam to rebel – because outcome is geater evil. This is wisdom –
look at the reality.
 Sh bin Baaz disagreed that ruling by other than Allah is not kufr – it is a major sin and
does not make him kaafir. Though both said you don’t take law in your hands.
 Theoretically there is diff of opinions but there are practical ramifications – all the
greatest ulema of all groups are pragmatic and realistic.
 In north America we don’t really have to worry us since it has no effect – we need to see
the implications of such fatwa – those who declare blanket takfirs – since last 40 yrs
what good has been the outcome in the ummah and the massive bloodshed came about
 The group who started modern guriella warfare - they assainated anwar sadat – the first
person they assassinated - the greatest scholar of the time - dr muhammad haytham
Minister of Islamic affairs in egypt –ph d from azhar – ( book on tafsir one of the best
books)
 Sh bin Baaz and others said – ‘ it is far easier to die for sake of allah than it is to live for
sake of Allah’

10.5. The Issue of Takfir

 Rule: “Whoever is a Muslim for certain cannot be considered a non-Muslim based on doubt”

“Whoever calls his brother ‘O kafir!” – it shall return to one of the two. So if the other was as he said [it
will go to him+, otherwise it shall return upon the one who said it.” *Muslim, Sahih Muslim+
various interpretation – the sin is retained on him not the kufr, if you call a muslim kaafir and you are
believing too on that then you too are kaafir – there are many other opinons0- bottomline its dangerous
issue – the realm of takfir – is the legal judgement and only the judge in Islamic state can make it or the
scholars in the area 0 the avg muslim is not empowered to do so.. in sahih muslim a man of bani Israel
saw hi s friend committing sin and tried to stophim so the friend got aangry and rebuked – the
righteous man got arrogant - wallahi allah will never forgive – the first one was rude and angry but did
not fall in to kufr the second one in his self piety got arrogant and so allah said who are you to limit my

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mercy – wallahi you will not be forgiven and the first one was forgiven – this is crucial hadith for us to
understand – to those who make takfir.
If you see a person doing any of the signs of islma is a muslim -0 we judge on outward actions and its not
upto us to see theirinner hearts – you assume muslim by any action of islam.

The general rule you have to say the shahadah to become a muslim, but if you don’t know the shahadah
and says anything to indicate his willingness to submit is enough

 Rule: Takifr of characteristics does not necessitate takfir of individuals with those
characteristics.
 The different between takfir al-mutlaq and takfir al-mu’ayyan
 Ibn Taymiyyah writes:
o “So it is possible that an action or statement be kufr, and one may generalize and say
that whoever is guilty of it is a kafir. However, it is not allowed to specify a particular
person who has done such a deed as being a kafir until sufficient proof is presented to
him (iqamat al-hujja) – a proof that is so clear that one may consider the one who
opposes it to be kafir. And this is a matter that is clear in all of the texts that mention
punishments, and [one that] Ahl al-Sunnna affirms. So one does not testify regarding
specific person of this Umma that he shall be in the Fire, because there is a possibility he
shall not, due to an impeding factor or a lock of the necessary conditions.” *Ibn
Taymiyyah, Majmu’ alFatawa+ *M.F. 35/165+

Excuses that prevent takfir:

1. Ignorance (jahl)
a. An uneducated man blindly following his leaders (taqlid)
b. Not being capable of knowing or learning (‘ajz)
c. Ignorance is relative (time, place, person…)
hadith in bukhari – a man who lieved before us – wasiya to kids to cremate his body and scatter
his ashes out of fear of allahs punishment –allah forgave him because of fear – ibn taymiyyah
comments - this man tried to outdo allah and in his actions he denied that allah is
overpowerftul, he partially denied day of judgment thinking he will be exempt and allah forgave
him due to ignoranc
Hadith of abu waaqid al laythi – one day old muslims – passed by a tree – good luck tree –
dhaatu anwaaq – to hand weapons – subhanallah you have asked idol other than allah – good
luck charm – god other than allah who can protect you – prophet did not make takfir on him –
his ignorance excused him.
Blind following leaders – taqleed – allah says in quran that the excuse of blind following of idol
worshippers is not accepted but we are differentiating muslim from kaafirs – we see muslims
going to grave based on the teaching of his sheikh thinking that this is the teaching of islam –
this is diff from a hindu worshipping idol – he is ignorant – and may be forgiven
Ignorance is relative – time place person – one born in 4th century Baghdad v/s kid in 21st
century in America --- this is one of the easiest places to use the excuse of ignorance –

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What is iqamatul hujjah – you present the evidence so clearly crystal that the opponent knows
that he is rejecting allah an dhis messenger - we have this movt of secular muslims in America
– progressives – who say we believe but don’t take the quran as source of legislation –
Evidences for iqamatul hujjah – it is the establishment of the evidence that removes the excuse
of ignorance – your opponent understands that by rejecting you they are rejecting allah ( 17:15)
allah does not punish until messengers are sent so who are we to establish takfir witout giving
th emessage. 4: --- messengers are sent so that ppl will have no excuse from allah –therefore if
the message has not come you have excuse
67:7 – the angels ask did not the messengers come? You cannot end up in hell till you are
completely ignorant – 28:56 – messengers sent to give message –
Summarize this section – someone who hold the believ of kufr does not become kaafir – and be
sure that excuses are not met – like ignorance,
Bin baaz interpreted the verse inil hukmu illa billah – tafsir tabari – ibn abbas said this is kufr
doona kufr –lesser kufr – and it is major sin-
Iqamatu hujjah should be done by group of scholars
Hallaj was executed - for saying ana al haqq – he was in prison for 2 yrs and many scholars
debated him and them sent the verdict –
everyone knows that alcohol is haram, no idol worship, prophet is the last prophet – so what
is daroorah is varied through time and place and person.
Whoever shows respect to the signs of allah is from the taqwa.
Average American born muslim is utterly jaahil of what is necessitated

2. Genuine mistake (khata’). it is of the mercy of allah that khata’a is not even written down and
held to account. There is penalty in this dunya depending on the gravity of the ppls rights
violated through this khataa’ – in verse in taubah – there is no sin for the khataa but that which
is determined is held accountable.
The common eg in the book of fiqh – throwing the quran on floor ( v/s that which falls accidently
on floor – this is not penalized) but this is clear kufr
Hadith – memorize – principle of fiqh – ibn majah – my lord has overlooked frommy ummah
anything that is done with mistakes, under compulsion or forgetfulness. An explicit eg is the
man who looses his camel and then after dismal death he finds and in joy says – I am your lord
and you are my slave – prophet smiled and said he said kufr out of extreme joy

3. Being coerced (ikrah). – hadith – Allah overlooks that is under compulsion. The story of ammar
ibn yaasir – made to say kufr statements of blasphemy against the prophet. He asked how do
you find your heart? He said the same state as it was before - surah annahl :106 revealed –
prophet said if they ask you to repeat , repeat it.
There is unanimous consensus that ikrrah can only occur on external body – your inside must be
mumin since no one can force you to love someone or hate – there are conditions for ikraah –
genuine threat that is executable – of loss of life or limbs, there is level of commonsense

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involved – see the books of usul al fiqh. People are of diff strength - woman v/s man, there are
various scenirios. You can never kill another under compulsion – because your life is no more
sacred than another human – this is the beauty of our deen. By unanimous consensus that to
sacrifice yourself and not to bend down to the threat is of higher status and reward – so the
level of yaasir and summaiya and bilal I s better than ammar. There is hadith in sahih muslim –
when sahaba asked when will the help of allah arrive? He said you are being hasty ppl b4 were
tortured and killed-------but if the person does not have so much of resolve he is forgiven

4. A genuine incorrect interpretation (ta’wil)

               

        

“Whoever disbelieved in Allah after his belief, except Him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at
rest with faith but such as open their breasts to disbelief, on them is Wrath from Allah, and Theirs will be
a great torment.” *An-Nahl:106]
A genuine interpretation – the hadith in s. bukhari – anytime a person judges with correct ruling
2 rewards and if wrong ruling 1 reward. The story of person who asked his kids to cremate –
had distorted understanding, muadh after coming back from Syria and prostrated to prophet –
he saw the priests and rabbi werer prostrating so I thought you deserve more ( this was his
taweel) . there was a companion ( very famous ) who misinterpreted a verse in quran and say
alcohol is permissible – umar punished him for drinking but never gave him the ruling of ridda.
Though in the fiqh books you see the fatwa that anyone who considers alcohol is halal is doing
kufr. Another sahaba ( ibn masood) said surah falaq and naas are dua and not the surah
revelation of quran, this is b4 the uthmaani compilation of quran. There is a scholar who says
that every qul in quran is interpolation – qul is commandment to jibreel to say – and quran
starts with huwa—the ulema made takfir of this person since in our times we cannot say this or
use taweel with quran
Ahlusunnah – deny qadr is kufr but we don t say takfir on every individual mutazila
Not every taweel is excused – extreme 7ers ismailis made a type of tawweel that are not
excused – all halal and haram in quran are symbolic --- go fo hajj m,eans visit imam – therefore
agha khanis have no shariah. The sufi concept of dhaahir and baatin of understanding of quran.
Our cousins have taweel of asma wa sifat – yet our ulema do not make takfir, but they made
takfir on baateeniyah – who tried to annul the shariah, but our cousins taweel was genuine
tanzeeh of allah. Ibn taymiyyah has said If I were to hold this belief that allah has no direction I
would be kaafir but I don’t say to you that you are kaafir

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To deny direction to allah means to claim non existence of allah – this is necessity of the claim-
but the claim is that we cannot attribute or restrict to allah. So if you asks ahlussunnah that this
is kufr for it means there is no god but if you ask them do you believe in allah they say yes.
LAAZIMUL MADHABI LAISA BIMADHABI – THAT WHICH AN OPINION NECESSITATES IS NOT
AN OPINION.
So there is no mistaken or jahl that there is no prophet after Muhammad – so qaadiyani are
kaafir. Nation of islam say allah came to earth no mistaken taweel.

10.6. Sumary of Iman and Kufr

1. The essence (or base, or foundation) of kufr and Iman are mutually exclusive.
2. Both have pillars and foundations, and also branches and subdivisions
3. Both are composed of inner belief and outer actions
4. Some actions and beliefs are intrinsically linked to iman and kufr. Only a muslim prays and only a
kaafir worships idol

5. All good deeds exist as pillars or branches of Iman, and all sins are manifestations of the
branches of kufr.
6. It is possible that a person has the foundation of Iman but some branches of kufr, and vice
versa.
7. Having a branch of kufr does not necessitate becoming a kafir.
And vice versa – A MUSLIM CAN COMMIT KUFR WITHOUT BEING A KAAFIR AND A KAAFIR CAN
DO DEEDS OF EMAN ALLAH WILL REWARD HIM IN DUNYA BUT HE WILL NOT REWARD HIM
WITH ITS BASIS IN JANNAH.

THE TOPIC TO BE DISCUSSED LATER IN ANOTHER CLASS – AL WALAA WAL BARAA –

These are terms found in quran and sunnah – walaa comes from waw lam yu walyu == means proximity,
it can be physical, by blood, kinship, friendship. Baraa – bar uu is the opposite – to distance yourself
from.

Tech – to have affiliation love for allah and messenger and the followers of the deen and baraa is to
dissociate from all those factore –

Terms used more than 30 times in quran and sunnah – awliayaa , ikwatun, hizbullah, bunyaanun
marsoos. Baraa is opposite the beginning verse of taubah, Ibrahim and his followers – surah
mumtahinah – inna nahnu buraaa – it is part of islam and it is logical – if you love anything then you will
hate anyone and anything that threaten your love – its is human nature to love and hate – emotions in
heart –if you have passion for anything - and you will support that cause and oppose those who oppose
it . as muslims we are supposed to love allah and messenger – and to some extent hate those who
oppose them – ( this is topic which requires lot of disclaimers – have to balance the allegiance to the
deen and country)

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Guidelines –

1. Yes we love the truth and hate the opposite – as requisite of islam, in the history of islam only in
our times the progressives have derided this concept – which was so far unanimously agreed on
by every gp – sunni, shia –
2. Even in idealistic Islamic society the govt does not have the right to stop shirk – and practice
their culture – we can only stopthem from extending that to muslims – selling alcohol to musims
–baraa is in the heart-
3. Does our religion teach hatred of non muslims?? This is the cornerstone debate in our society –
quran and sunnah shows –that person can be loved in some aspect and hated for some – the
concept that we are supposed to hate – is the kufr in them and not their person – imp evidence
of abu talib – consensus of sunni – he is kaafir. The prophet loved him – innaka laa tahdee man
ahbabta – so you hate the kufr in your parents but you love them for other reasons and you are
allowed to uphold that love as long as it does not conflict with religion. Muslim marrying ahle
kitab – how can there be successful marriage and flourishing family without love??? Those who
treat us bad and hate for our religion we are allowed to retaliate – but how many are they? In
the entire seerah the prophet did good and responded with praise to those who helped and
sympathized, at times he even forgave those who hated him or did harm him. Mu’tim ibn adiyy
who did things that no pagan did for islam – he plotted a plan to help break the boycott against
muslims, he would go in the middle of night and bring camel loaded food for them, yet he died
as mushrik. In the prisoner of badr – prophet made cryptic comment -if mutim were alive and
requested to return these prisoner I would have handed back all to them. This is the honor and
respect posthumously given to a pagan because of his favors.
4. The key passages to look are the verses in surah mumtahinah 7-9, birr to – justice is the
spectrum and what level you will do depends on the situation and individual cases – another
verses in surah anfal : 72 allah differentiates between political walaa and theological walaa.
They both do not go hand in hand,
5. Yq – believes – any muslim who resides in this land should educate the ppl around in ways that
will not harm him or his family. The countries we live in are modern product and having
citizenship means you will safeguard the existence of it. We need new fiqh and ijtihad and not
apply the rulings by medieval scholars which was for their time. I can be loyal to allah and not be
treacherous to this land. The constitution gives you the right to criticize the constitution.
6. The concept of darulsalaam and darul kufr – there is no verse in quranand hadith – but there is
legit deriving from implicit references in quranand sunnah and based on this they derived rulings
– but that was for a diff world - and times. Hadith in abu daud – if someone trusts you then
fulfill the trust and do not do khiyaanah and if someone is treacherous to you then don’t be
treacherous to him.

11 THE OPPOSING GROUPS

11.1. The History of the Conflict

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 Death of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab

o “Who amongst you has heard the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)discuss fitna…the
ones that are like the tidal waves of the ocean?” Hudhayfa responded, “What do you
have to do with those, O Commander of the Faithful, for between you and it is a closed
door.” “Will the door be broken or will it open?” “No, rather it will be broken.” “Then
it makes sense that it shall never be close after it.” So we asked Hudhayfa if ‘Umar knew
who that door was. He said, “Yes, just like he knows that after today shall come
tomorrow.” *Muslim, Sahih Muslim+
 Discontent during the time of ‘Uthman – Eventual assassination
 Two wars at the time of ‘Ali (‘Battle of the Camel’ and ‘Battle of Siffin’ in 36 AH)
 Formation of numerous groups as direct or indirect result
o Various groups of Companions (at least 3)
o The khawarij
o The shi’ites

11.2. The KHawarij

 Abu Salama related that Abu Sa’id said, “While the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)was
distributing *zakat+, ‘Abdullah ibn Dhi’l-Khuwaysira at-Tamimi came and said, ‘O Messenger of
Allah, be just!’ He said to him, ‘Woe to you! Who will be just if I am not just?’ ‘Umar ibn al-
Khattab said, ‘Give me permission to cut off his head!’ He said, ‘Leave him. He has companions
whose prayer will make yours seem paltry and whose fasting makes your seems paltry. They
will pass through the deen like the arrow passes through game. One looks at his arrowhead and
there is nothing on it. Then he looks at the mount of its head and there is nothing on it. He will
look at its shaft and there is nothing on it. Then he will look at its feather and there will be
nothing on them, for it has been too fast for excrement and blood. Their sing will be a dark
man, one of whose arms is like a woman’s breast, or a piece of meat palpitating. They will
emerge when there are parties among the people.’”
 Camped at a place called Nahawand (around 6 thousand)
 Ibn ‘Abbas was sent to debate with them
 Ali was forced to fight them

 Leaders:
o Nafi b al-Azraq (founded the Azariqa)
o Najda b. ‘Amir
o Abdullah b. ‘Ibad

 Beliefs
o Iman consists of faith, statements, and actions, as an entire whole
o A person either has this entire whole, or he has nothing
o Therefore, if one essential action is missing (or a sin committed), the entire name of
Iman must be taken away
o Any person who commits a sin will be treated as a murtad – life, property and women
will be permissible.
o All of the Companions who participated in the ‘Arbitration’ have committed a sin, hence
are non-Muslims.

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11.3. The First ‘Murji’a’

 Al-Hasan b. Muhammad al-Hanafiyya (grandson of Ali)
o *NOTE: Not related to Imam, but the term was coined

11.4. The ‘Murji’a of the Jurists’

 Founded by: Dharr b. ‘Abdullah al-Harawi (d. ~ 99 AH) or Hammad b. Abi Sulayman (d. 120 AH)
o Iman consists of belief and affirmation of the tongue
o Actions are not a part of Iman, but an indication ( to refute the kharijite belief that
action are whole part of eman)
o People are all the same in their base level of Iman, but not in their actions
o Actual Iman does not increase or decrease, but some emotions of the heart and actions
do
o Did not allow istithna (i.e., saying ‘Inshaa’Allah’ when asked about one’s Iman) since the
essence of Iman is the same, and to doubt it is kufr

11.5. The Jahmiyya

 Founded by Jahm b. Safwan (d. 124 AH)
o Belief was only ‘knowledge’ (ma’rifa)
o Actions do not form a part of Iman or kufr

11.6. The Real Murji’a

 Many different founders of different groups (at least 15 different groups)
o Iman consist of belief of the heart only
o Actions are not a part of Iman – completely independent of it
o People are all the same in their level of Iman
o Iman does not increase or decrease
o The ‘sinner’ is a mu’min with full Iman and shall enter paradise
o Most did not allow istihna’

11.7. The Ash’arites and Maturidites

 Founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari (d. 324) and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 333)
o Iman is ‘belief’ (tasdiq)
o Agreed with the murji’a on all of their premises

11.8. The Evidences of the Opposing Groups

 The ‘Murji’a of the Jursists’
 The creed of al-Tahawi:

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o 57. We do not consider any of the people of our qibla to be unbelievers because of any
wrong action ( here we have to add other than kufr and shirk) they have done, as long
as they do not consider that action to have been lawful.
o 58. Nor do we say that the wrong action of a man who has belief does not have a
harmful effect on him.
o We hope that Allah will pardon the people of right action among the believers and grant
them entrance into the Garden through His mercy, but we cannot be certain of this, and
we cannot bear witness that it will definitely happen and that they will be in the Garden.
We ask forgiveness for the people of wrong action among the believers and, although
we are afraid for them, we are not in despair about them…
o 61. A person does not( may) step out of belief ( if he says or acts things that contradict
eman) except by disavowing what brought him into it.
o 62. Belief consists of affirmation by the tongue and acceptance by the heart…(actions
of limbs)
o 64. Belief is, at base, the same for everyone, but the superiority of some over others in
it is due to their fear and awareness of Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA), their opposition
to their desires, and their choosing what is more pleasing to Allah.

The Murji’a
 Ibn Taymiyya mentions that the term murji’a was applied by the salaf to three groups:
o 1) Those who said that Iman exists only in the heart
 A) Excluded actions of the heart (such as the Jahmiyya) for them eman is only
to know that there is God. Accordingly for them iblees and firawn are also
muslims.
 B) Included actions of the heart (most groups)
o 2) Those who said that it exists in the tongue only (the Karramiyya) these are no more
existing.
o 3) Those who said that it is the belief of the heart and the affirmation of the tongue
(murjiatul fuqaha)
 First Evidence: Fabricated Traditions
o “Whoever presumes that Iman increases and decreases – then its increase is nifaq and
decrease is Kufr. They must repent or be killed; they are the enemies of al-Rahman;
they have left the religion of Allah and accepted kufr…”
o ‘Does Iman increase and decrease?’ “No, its increase is hypocrisy and its decrease is
disbelief.”
 Second Evidence: Linguistic Understandings
o The Ash’arite definition of Iman is that it is synonymous with tasdiq, or merely ‘affirming
the truth’. They based this on two basic premises:
 First Premise: Linguistically, Iman is completely synonymous with ‘faith’, or
tasdiq

               
“And you will never be a mu’min to us even if we are sadiqin” *Yusuf:17+

 Claimed ijma’

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 Second Premise: Tasdiq is purely an action of the heart and exists only in the heart.
 Ahl al-Sunnah’s response:
o Where did you get this unanimous consensus from?
o Even if this definition were correct, it would only be defining the linguistic meaning of the
word, and not its technical, Islamic one.
o The two words are in fact not synonymous [Ibn Taymiyya views the word iqrar as being
linguistically close to Iman].
o There are clear Quranic examples of those who have tasdiq but are not believers
o The Qur’an and Sunnah used the term tasdiq for actions

Third Evidence: Various Texts

1.

             

   
  
    
 
 
  
      
  
        
     
 
   
 
   
    
 
        
 
    

                

          
“For such He has written faith in their hearts…” *Al-Mujadilah: 22].

 Ahl al-Sunnah’s response: The context is evidence against them; Iman settles in the heart.

2. The hadith of the slave girl, for the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)testified that she was a
mu’min just by her shahadah.

o Ahl al-Sunnah’s response: The issue of the relationship between ‘Islam’ and iman; also
the context, for one must free a ‘believing’ slave, so he is not testifying to her high faith
but rather that she is a believer.

3. The hadith of the people of hell…

o Ahl al-Sunnah’s response:

 The hadith is evidence against them in the issue of increase/decrease of iman
 Combining all of the versions
 Linguistically, it is allowed to say ‘he does not have it’ if he does not have the
necessary and acceptable requirements, even if he has some parts of it.
 There might very well be such people – if the hadith is taken at its face value
completely literally – and Allah might forgive them for their ignorance.
 This is the very last group of people, and no matter how one interprets it, it is
not precise to make definitions out of exceptions.

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4. The entire Qur’an, from beginning to ending, always differentiates between Iman and actions.
In over seventy verse this phrase appears. This clearly shows that the two are not the same.

o Ahl al-Sunnah’s response:

 Once again this is evidence against them
 The conjunctive ‘and’ does not necessarily imply difference
 Context of the term
 People who ‘believe’ yet are not Muslims…

The Khawarij and Mu’tazila

 Evidences:

              

              

 
  
 
   
 
 
       
  
    
  
  
 
     
    
         
 

“And whoever does not judge by the revelation of Allah is a kafir” *Al-Ma’idah:44+

 
   
  
  
     
 
 
    
 
      
    
     
 
     
  
    
    

 
 
     
 
 
  
 
  
    
     
  
    

“And Allah has obligated upon mankind the pilgrimage to the House, whoever can afford to do so. But
whoever does kufr – then Allah is not in need of the creation” *Al-Imran:97]

           

              

 
 
 
 
   
 
 
       
   
    
 
      
  
   
  
   
   

“So whoever does kufr after that is indeed amongst the fasiqs” *Al-Nur: 55]

 Response:
o Selection of some verses while ignoring many others…

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FITAN AT THE TIME OF SAHABA – prophecy of trials and tribulations in this ummah –
The prophet spoke a lot of khawaarij and their overzealousness and extremists – seem to be
deceiving by their piety but they are murderers and blood shedders – foolish, overzealous,
eloquent speakers ( sunan abu daud)
What did they believe? The very first controversy in our deen was over eman – what constitutes
it? And are the actions part of eman?? Yes – but khawaarij believe that all actions are part of
eeman so if you do one sin you are a kaafir. Whereas ahulussunnah say that actions are part of
eman but committing sin does not make you kaafir – eman is dynamic state. For the khawaarij
all are murtadd and their blood is legal and their wives are legal – it is imp to note that there
were no sahaba in their camp.
A huge controversy erupted – what is the status of sahaba who participated in the conflict of ali
and muawiyah – al hasan b. Muhammad al hanafiyaa said we delay ( irjaa) and stay away from
it. With every one action there is equal and opposite reaction, so in reaction to khawaarij came
the murjiaa- - murjiaa of jurists founded by hammad b abi sulayman
This gp was composed of righteous ulema and ascetics of iraaq – eventually a famous scholar
wrote a book on the aqeedah of this school – at tahaawiyy –
Another gp came who claimed actions are not even part of iman - jahm ibn safwan who formed
the worst murjia belief – this led to formation of real murjia = many gps atleast 15 gps, for the
murjia iman is tasdiq = believe of the heart only, actions are completely independent of eman –
it is at same level for all ppl so sinner is mumin with full eman even if he is hell one extreme say
my iman is same as that of the prophet –
When abul hasan al ashari tried to form composite aqeedah taking part from mutazila part from
kullabiya - they are our theological cousins. He agrees with most of the premises of most of the
gps. He had to add that sinner is under the threat of punishment – iman is only tasdiq and
actions are not part of eman.
What creed do they hold? Read aqeedah attahawiyy – the murjia have some historical
precedence in tahawiyy.
Ibn taymiyyah said murijia was applied to 3 – eman is only in heart/eman is only on
tongue/eman in heart and tongue.
Evidences of murjia – fabricated hadiths, their main evidence is linguistic defn of eman == just
belief, surah yusuf :17 and they say there is ijma that eman is just belief ( tasdiq) ibn taymiyyah
refutes that the closest term is iqraar. Why restrict onlyeman with ling defn when you don’t
define salah and zakat liniguistically. Allah did not give sharie status of mumin to those who
knew --- iblees refused and rejected, firawn 27:14 had yaqeen that musa was true, 17:102, the
people who knew prophet to be true like yahuud,and lastly the term tasdiq can also be applied
to actions.

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Hadith – sahih muslim – allah takes out ppl from hellfire in batches – lam yamluu qatt -- there
are many ways to respond –1. Clearly this is exception not the rule – only one person did not do
any good for what ever reason and allah has accepted his eman so you cannot take your rule
from the exception but from generality.
Another way to understand is that he did some good actions but it is allowed to negate when
done properly like the hadith of Bedouin who prayed incorrectly.
Another point- this is shaadh narration – there are 5 narrations from other sahaba – this word
not mentioned.
Allahs taking out ppl in batches is proof that iman increases and decreases because if all was one
level then all should be taken out together.

Another verse – those who believe and do good action – they say that eman and action are two
different things
Why is always action always emphasized – to show that it is important manifestation of eman
The conjunction wa--- does not always imply 2 different entity and can be used to emphasise
one important part of the whole – surah baqarah – those who are enemy to angels wa jibreel
wa mikaail – also in haafidhu aslsaati was salaatil wustaa –
Another evidence used - hadith – of bitaana , hadith whoever says kalima with sincerity enters
jannah == response – our method is to use all the evidence as a whole and not in part and
parcel,
There are conditions to the shahada – even the murjia don’t take this hadith literally -
Knowledge- Certainity-Acceptance-Submission-Trust-Sincerity-Love

CONCLUSION
Some of the Characteristics of the People of Iman:

              

               

             

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 Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

             

        

“Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive. And
they who turn away from ill speech. And they who are observant of zakah. And they who guard their
private parts. Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be
blamed – But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors. And they who are to their
trusts and their promises attentive. And they who carefully maintain their prayers. Those are the
inheritors – Who will inherit al-Firdaus. They will abide therein eternally. [Al-Mu’minum: 1-11]

              

           

          

“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His
verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their lord they rely – The ones who
establish prayer, and from what We have provided them, they spend. Those are the believers, truly.
For them are degrees [of high position] with their Lord and forgiveness and noble provision. [Al-Anfal: 2-
4]

            

      

“The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam)and then doubt not but strive with their properties and their lives in the cause of Allah. It is
those who are the truthful. [Al-Hujurat: 15]

51
 Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

          

             

  

“The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid
what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhe
wa sallam). Those – Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exhalted in Might and Wise.” *At-
Tawbah: 71]

      

          

“*Such believers are+ the repentant, the worshippers, the praisers [of Allah], the travelers [for His cause],
those who bow and prostrate [in prayer], those who enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and
those who observe the limits *set by+ Allah. And give good tidings to the believers.” *Al-Tawbah:112]

               

   

“But no, by your Lord, they will not *truly+ believe until they make you, *O Muhammad (sallallaahu
‘alayhe wa sallam)+, judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find
within themselves no discomfort form what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission. [Al-
Nisa: 65]

               

          

           

52
 Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

              

 

“Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or west, but *true+ righteousness is *in+
one who believes in Allah, Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of
love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves;
[and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and
[those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been
true, and it is those who are the righteous. [Al-Baqarah: 177]

            

         

“Do you fear them? But Allah has more right that you should fear Him, if you are *truly+ believers.” *Al-
Tawbah: 13]

                 

  

“Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allah. Among them is he who has fulfilled his
vow [to the death], and among them is he who awaits [his chance]. And they did not alter [the terms of
their commitment] by any alteration. [Al-Ahzab: 23]

“None of you has Iman until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-
Bukhari]

”None of you has Iman until I am more beloved to him than his father, son and indeed all of mankind.”
[Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhair]

“Whoever truly believes in Allah and the last Day – let him say well, or else be silent! And whoever
believes in Allah and the Last Day – let him not harm his neighbor! And whoever believes in Allha and
the Last Day – let him be generous with his guest.” *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]

“The most perfect of believers in his Iman is the one with the most beautiful manners.” *Abu Dawud,
Sunan Abu Dawud]

53
 Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

Abdullah b. Mas’ud said: “A believer can have any characteristic, except for treachery and lying.”

Ubay b. Ka’ab said, “The believer is in one of four scenarios: if he is tested, he is patient, and if he is
given, he is thankful, and if he speaks, he tells the truth, and if he judges, he is just.”

Hasan al-Basri said, “Being in-between a state of fear and hoe is a constant matter for the believer.”

Fudayl b. ‘Iyad said, “The believer speaks little, but does much. And the hypocrite talks a lot, but does
little. The believer’s speech is wisdom, his silence is contemplation, his gaze is pondering, his actions are
righteous. So if this is your state, you shall perpetually be in worship.”

“Malik b. Dinar said, “The believer is like a pearl; wherever he goes, his beauty is ever with him.”

CONCLUSION
Don’t just be donkey laden with books load – we need to increase our eman – seek beneficial
ilm, and let not your tomorrow be same like today – eman increases and decreases and life is
slippery slope so beware of all downfalls
Ways to increase eman
1. Recite quran
2. Study aqeedah and allahs names and attributes
3. Good deeds in general
4. Dhikr of allah – especially dua
5. Pious company
6. Seerah and biography of sahaba and scholars and all the prophets of allah
7. Tadabbur over creation – secular sciences when studied with eman gives eman rush –
8. Decreasing sins
9. Conscious of death and
10. Thinking of herafter
Let not this class be mere academics – check list the verses of the characteristics of the
believers and look in the mirror – are you that person ???

54