On Eemaan, Ibaadah and Tawheed : Their Link and Interrelation.
Lesson 1: Eemaan Consists of Speech and Action
Author: Abu Iyaad as-Salafi

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All Praise is due to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds and Prayers and Peace upon His Messenger, Muhammad.

This lesson will help us to have a proper understanding of the definition and meaning of Eemaan. What is eemaan? How do we understand it? Etc.

"Eemaan consists of Speech and Action"

This is the saying of the Salaf regarding this topic, and this statement needs further clarification and explanation.

What is "Speech" and what is "Action"? What is meant by them? How did the Salaf explain this?

When we say eemaan is speech, we mean two things:

· the speech of the heart

· the speech of the tongue

When we say eemaan is action, we mean three things:

· the actions of the heart

· the actions of the tongue

· the actions of the limbs

For this reason we find that the Scholars of the Salaf (such as Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Taymiyyah etc.) have statements similar to the following:

Eemaan is the speech of the heart and tongue, and the actions of the heart, tongue and limbs.

The following diagram should help us to see this more clearly:

We will now explain precisely what each one is:

As for the ‘speech’ aspect of eemaan:

The speech of the heart: This actually refers to the belief of the heart with respect to Allaah and the other pillars of eemaan (such as the Angels, Books, Messengers, Qadr, the Last Day etc.). In other words it refers to the knowledge that the heart contains and its firm belief in this knowledge. So this would include Tawheed and its two categories of Ruboobiyyah and Asmaa was-Sifaat because both of these are related to knowledge. (The other category of Tawheed, al-Uloohiyyah will come later under the ‘Action’ section).

The speech of the tongue: This refers to the tongue’s confirmation of what the heart contains. In other words the tongue professes what the heart contains. When a person says with his tongue; "I testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah, alone without any partners and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and messenger" then he is confirming what is in his heart. So note how the ‘speech of the tongue’ still relates to knowledge.

As a summary of this first section on ‘Speech’, we should notice that it relates to knowledge and the specific details of faith such as having the correct belief in Allaah, His Tawheed and the matters of the Unseen, such as Hellfire, Paradise, the Bridge over Hellfire etc. and the hearts belief and conviction in these things.

As for the ‘action’ part of eemaan:

The actions of the heart: This refers to the various states and feelings of the heart such as love, fear, hope, sincerity, reliance, submission etc. So you should now realise that the heart is firstly, a place of knowledge and belief (and this is its speech as discussed above) and it is also a place for these feelings and emotions which actually constitute its worship (and these are known as the actions of the heart). You should also now realise how Tawheed ul-Uloohiyyah comes under the ‘actions’ aspect of eemaan. Because these acts of worship should only be for Allaah and for no one else.

The actions of the tongue: This refers to things such as dhikr (remembrance of Allaah), enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, seeking forgiveness from Allaah, etc. This is because these are acts of worship which are performed by the tongue. Notice how this also relates to Tawheed ul-Uloohiyyah because these actions should be for Allaah alone. And notice also, just like the heart, how the tongue has two roles; firstly, to affirm what is in the heart with respect to its belief, so the tongue says what is in the heart (i.e. its belief in Allaah etc.) and secondly to perform the various acts of worship which are specific to it such as remembrance of Allaah, enjoining good and forbidding evil, seeking forgiveness. So this is very similar to what we discussed for the ‘speech’ of the heart and the ‘actions’ of the heart.

The actions of the limbs: And this refers to doing all the commanded things and keeping away from all the forbidden things. And this refers to the physical acts of worship, such as prayer, fasting, giving zakah, performing pilgrimage, removing something harmful from the floor, not stealing, not cheating, not backbiting, not disobeying parents etc. and the other acts which are physical in nature. Notice how the actions of the limbs are also related to Tawheed ul-Uloohiyyah in that they should be performed for the sake of Allaah alone.

As a summary of this ‘Action’ aspect of eemaan, we should realise that it relates to the actual acts of worship, whether internal or external, of the heart, tongue or limbs.

At this stage we should, inshaa’allaah have a good understanding of the definition and meaning of eemaan. We should also be able to see how it relates to the three categories of Tawheed, two of which are related to ‘Knowledge and Belief’ and the third of which is related to ‘Actions’. For this reason Ibn al-Qayyim understood Tawheed to be of two types:

· The Tawheed of Knowledge and Acquaintance (which would be both Tawheed ur-Ruboobiyyah and Asmaa was-Sifaat, because they are both knowledge-based)

· The Tawheed of Purpose and Intent (which is Tawheed ul-Uloohiyyah or Ibaadah because it is related to the sincerity of the actions, what is the reason and motive behind them, who are they done for etc.)

In other words, there is no contradiction when we say that some of the Salaf understood Tawheed to be of two types (like Ibn al-Qayyim) and others understood it to be of three types, because Ibn al-Qayyim simply combined two of the categories of Tawheed and made them into one category - so in essence it is the same understanding. If we go back and revise the diagram we showed earlier, we can include this point in it as well:

Important Note: Be aware that using the terminologies ‘Speech of the Heart’, ‘Speech of the Tongue’, ‘Actions of the Heart’ etc. is to help us to understand the solid principles and concepts that are found in the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. And by using these terminologies we have not innovated any principle or concept into the religion. Rather these terms are simply identifying and labelling the actuals and principles and concepts found in the Qur’aan and the Sunnah, to help us to understand them easily. So don’t be fooled by the meanderings of the foolish!

Now we will move onto another related issue to further increase our understanding.

If we have understood that eemaan consists of these five things (and that we cannot remove any one of them from the definition and understanding of eemaan), i.e.

· the speech of the heart

· the speech of the tongue

· the actions of the heart

· the actions of the tongue

· the actions of the limbs

then we should realise that is possible for eemaan to "increase and decrease" and that for any Muslim or Believer, it will not remain constant. This is because, from year to year, or month to month, or week to week, or day to day, or hour to hour or even minute to minute, a persons strength of belief changes, his feelings of love, fear and hope decrease or increase, his level of sincerity to Allaah changes, how much he remembers Allaah, seeks his forgiveness or enjoins good and forbade evil changes, how perfect he performed his prayers, how many voluntary good deeds he did, all of this changes and therefore a persons eemaan will always be "increasing or decreasing." It will be increasing or decreasing for numerous reasons and factors. For example, a persons success or failure in facing the trials that Allaah has decreed for him A person’s persistence or abstinence from sins and other forbidden actions, and so on.

For this reason we will go back and revise our statement so it now becomes:

Eemaan Consists of Speech and Action, it increases with (acts of) obedience and it decreases with (acts of) disobedience

And this what the Salaf used to say.

Now we shall mention some proofs for all of this - and this is the way of the Salaf - to always mention the proofs and to stick to the Qur’aan, the Sunnah and the Aathaar (sayings) of the Companions and of the two generations after them.

The Speech of the Heart:

Allaah said,

When the hypocrites come to you (O Muhammad SAW), they say: "We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allâh." Allâh knows that you are indeed His Messenger and Allâh bears witness that the hypocrites are liars indeed. [Munaafiqoon 63:1]

Here the hypocrites are treated as liars, even though they expressed with their tongues their testification that Muhammad is indeed the Messenger of Allaah. When someone testifies to something then there must be two conditions present: a) The hearts firm knowledge of, belief, and certainty in that for which it is testifying, b) the tongue’s expression of that which the heart is certain of.

So the hypocrites were liars because their tongues uttered something different to that which their hearts contain. Another proof for ‘the Speech of the Heart’ is the saying of Allaah,

They were that day, nearer to disbelief than to Faith, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And Allâh has full knowledge of what they conceal [Aali Imraan 3:167] See also al-Fath 48:11

So what we understand as ‘Speech of the Heart’ is explained in the Qur’aan

The Speech of the Tongue

Both of the above two verses are also an indication of the requirement of the ‘Speech of the Tongue’.

The Actions of the Heart, Tongue and Limbs

The Qur’aan is overwhelming with descriptions of the acts of worship, whether related to the Heart, Tongue or Limbs and the purpose here is to be brief and not prolong the discussion. See for yourself how Allaah describes, the love, fear and hope of the believers, their enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, their remembrance of Him and seeking forgiveness from Him and also their physical exertion in worshipping Him, such as constancy in prayer, fasting, etc.

Eemaan Increases and Decreases

From the Qur’aan:

The believers are only those who, when Allâh is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Verses (this Qur'ân) are recited unto them, they (i.e. the Verses) increase their Faith; and they put their trust in their Lord (Alone) [Surah Anfaal 8:2]

This is one of many verses mentioning the increase in eemaan. Others are 74:31, 48:4, 3:173, 9:124

From the Sunnah:

The hadeeth: "The most perfect of people with respect to his eemaan, is the best of them in his manners." (Bazzaar, all of its narrators are reliable and al-Haithamee mentioned it in Majmoo az-Zawaa’id)

And the hadeeth: "Whoever loves for Allaah (alone), hates for Allaah (alone), gives for Allaah (alone) and withholds for Allaah (alone), then he has perfected eemaan." (Abu Daawood - saheeh).

These two hadeeth show that eemaan can be complete or incomplete and therefore it can go up (in order to be complete) and it can go down (so that it is incomplete). Notice how the first hadeeth contains actions of the tongue and actions of the limbs (speaking and behving well with people) and how the second hadeeth contains both actions of the heart (loving and hating) and actions of the limbs (giving and withholding).

The hadeeth: "Eemaan consists of seventy-odd branches, the highest of which is to testify ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah’ and the lowest of which is to remove something harmful from the floor, and modesty is a part of eemaan." (Bukhaaree, Muslim Abu Daawood, Ahmad, Ibn Maajah, and others.)

Did you notice how this hadeeth contains "speech" and "action"? It mentions the testification ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah’ which is the speech of the heart and the speech of the tongue (To testify to something means to have firm knowledge of it - which is in the heart - and to believe that this knowledge is true and correct, and then also to speak with it so that you are ‘testifying’ to it). And it mentions some actions, one which is to do with the limbs (removing something harmful from the floor) and one which is to do with the heart (modesty).

From the Salaf:

Al-Laalikaa'ee (d. 418H) reports in his Sharh Usool I'tiqaad Ahl is-Sunnah (5/958) that Abdur-Razzaaq (as-San'aanee) said: "I met sixty two Shaikhs, amongst them were: Ma'mar, al-Awzaa'ee, ath-Thawree, al-Waleed bin Muhammad al-Qurashee, Yazeed ibn as-Saa'ib, Hammaad bin Salamah, Hammaad bin Zaid, Sufyaan bin Uyainah, Shu'ayb bin Harb, Wakee' bin al-Jarraah, Maalik bin Anas, Ibn Abee Laylaa, Isma'eel bin Ayyaash, al-Waleed ibn Muslim and those I have not named, all of them saying: "Faith consists of speech and action, it increases and decreases."

Al-Laalikaa’ee also reports in his Sharh Usool I’tiqaad Ahl is-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah (5/959) that Uqbah bin Alqamah said: "I asked al-Awzaa’ee about eemaan, can it increase? He replied; ‘Yes until it becomes like the mountains.’ I said: Can it decrease? He said: ‘Yes, even until nothing remains of it.’"

So this is proof, from the Qur’aan, Sunnah and the Salaf, that eemaan increases and decreases.

Inshaa’allaah this much is sufficient for a good understanding of this topic…

All praise is due to Allaah, prayers and peace upon His Final Messenger, Muhammad, his family and his companions.

Try to answer the following questions to make sure you have understood all of this;

1. Give the definition of eemaan.

2. What is meant by ‘speech’ and ‘action’

3. Explain each of the following: the speech of the heart, the speech of the tongue, the actions of the heart, the actions of the tongue, the actions of the limbs. Please give an example for each one as well.

4. Why does eemaan increase and decrease.

5. Quote two verses of the Quraan, which highlight the necessity of ‘the Speech of the Heart’.

6. Quote three verses of the Quraan to show that eemaan increases and decreases.

7. Quote two hadeeth to show that eemaan increases and decreases.

8. What is the link between Tawheed and the components of eemaan? (See if you can reproduce the diagram to help you answer this).

9. Finally, an astray sect appeared around the time of the taabieen who claimed that eemaan is constant; it does not increase or decrease. Do you know its name? The effects of the false understanding of this group are still present today so if you think over this lesson, can you recognize some of the signs of this misguided group and can you see how many groups and individuals still have some aspects of the understanding of this astray group?

See if you can answer all of these questions inshaa allaah. If you have follow up questions, you can ask them next time.

30^th October 1997

Lesson 2: How to Believe in the Attributes of Allaah

Author: Abu Iyaad as-Salafi

Article ID : SCL010002  

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All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds and prayers and peace upon His Messenger, Muhammad.

In this lesson we wil learn some of the principles which are linked to having the correct belief in Allaah's Names and Attributes.

Why is this subject important? Quite obviously since it is a part of Tawheed and it is also a part of Eemaan. (Remember the last lesson in which we mentioned that 'the speech of the heart' and 'the speech of the tongue' were related to knowledge). If the knowledge of Allaah is not correct then the actions of the believer will not be correct either (meaning that what his heart feels, how he uses his tongue and what he does with his limbs - all of this will not be correct).

It is also important because a lot of people have gone astray in this subject, and we shall also mention some things about them.

To proceed: Just like in the previous lesson on eemaan where we took a statement which the Salaf used to say (i.e. Eemaan consists of speech and action, it increases with acts of obedience and decreases with acts of disobedience) then, similarly we will take the statement of Shaikh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah for this lesson and expand upon it. He - may Allaah have mercy upon him said, in his 'Aqeedataul-Waasitiyyah': "

"And it is from having faith (eemaan) in Allaah, to have eemaan in whatever He has described Himself with in His Book and in whatever His Messenger, Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) has described Him with - WITHOUT falling into any of the following:

i) denying such attributes for Allaah (ta'teel)

ii) changing the original meaning of these descriptions/attributes (tahreef)

iii) likening these attributes to those of the creation (tamtheel)

iv) enquiring into their true nature (takyeef)"

[Note: in the translation above the order of the four things that it is necessary for us to avoid has been changed, for the purposes of this lesson - to make the discussion follow...]

So this is the statement we will analyse and explain for this lesson because it summarises everything we need to know. We will now take his statement step by step and look into it:

"And it is from having faith in Allaah to have eemaan in whatever He has described Himself with in His Book ..."

Here the Shaikh explains that to have faith/belief in Allaah (properly) then one also needs to have faith/belief in certain things that He has said about Himself in His Book. One cannot be believing in Allaah properly without knowing Him through what He has said about Himself.

When we look in the Qur'aan we find that Allaah has mentioned lots of different things about Himself. To summarise them, they can be put into three categories.

a) His Names

b) His Attributes

c) His Actions

Examples of the Names by which He is known include, ar-Rahmaan, al-Malik, as-Salaam, ar-Razzaaq. However we are not concerned with His Names in this lesson.

Examples of His Actions: for example, He punishes and He forgives, He sends down the rain and He splits the seed which is under the soil, He makes the clouds gather together in a heap and then causes rain or hail to fall, he gives honours someone and He humiliates someone or He guides someone and misguides someone... so these are 'actions' which he mentions about himself. But we are not concerned about this in this lesson.

Examples of His Attributes include, hands[1], shin[2], eyes[3], istiwaa[4] face, anger, pleasure, (ascending) etc. This is what we will discuss.

"...and in whatever His Messenger, Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) has described Him with..."

We also find that in the Sunnah, the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) has described Allaah with certain attributes. Examples include, laughter, amazement, descending, etc...

Now this is what we are concerned with and we want to make sure that we are believing in these things in such a way that we do not commit Shirk and other great sins.

You can easily see how people can be mislead just by looking at what type of attributes we have mentioned above. When someone reads them He might think 'No this cannot be true how can these things befit Allaah?' so he will deny them. Another person will think, 'Allaah has a hand like we do' and so he will make a resemblance between Allaah and His creation. Another person will think, 'No, it can't be the real meanings of these words, they must have different, hidden meanings'. And in fact, in Islamic History this is exactly what happened. Many individuals and groups were led astray because they did not submit to the texts of the Book and the Sunnah in the proper way.

We want to follow in the way of the Companions and the Taabi'een and the Salaf - the way they had in understanding these Attributes. So we will now look at the principles we need to understand:

The First Principle:

That we DO NOT deny them (i.e. do not do ta'teel - which means to deny them)

Why is this. This is because Allaah knows what He revealed and He knows the language better than anyone else. If we deny that He has said such things, then it is like denying the whole of the Book. Denial can be simple and plain, someone just denies them. But denial can also occur by changing and distorting the meanings (which is the next principle)

The Second Principle:

That we DO NOT change the meanings of these things (i.e. do not give them other meanings) This is tahreef (which means 'to change/distort something).

An example of this is like when someone says "Well when Allaah says 'Hand', it really means 'power' or 'favour'. Or when Allaah says 'istiwaa' (i.e. Allaah ascends the Throne), that is really means 'to conquer/control'.

This is something that a group called the Mu'tazilah used to do (and they are the very naughty people which we mentioned earlier - but there are others as well and we will mention them later). Can you see why this is wrong? This is because they are trying to give meanings to these descriptions that Allaah has given Himself based upon their own intellects and understandings. They do not really know whether that is what Allaah meant or not? They have no way of verifying it either. Revelation has stopped and no one after the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) can receive revelation. So how can they know whether the meaning they are trying to give, is what Allaah actually intended or not?

There is actually a word which describes this action of giving other meanings. It is called Ta'weel. This means to give a figurative explanation to a word, or to give an allegorical meaning. i.e. to give it a meaning which is not its obvious meaning in the language. For example if I was to say to you that 'I sat on a table' - its obvious and clear meaning is that I sat on something with four legs and also a flat top - it doesn't mean that I have a table consisting of 3 rows and 5 columns drawn on a piece of paper and that I sat on top of that? This is an unclear meaning - it is not obvious in the language and if I said 'I sat on a table' no sensible person would think other than what it obvioulsy and clearly means. Another group of very naughty people called the 'Asharees' are well known for doing lots of 'ta'weel'(They must really enjoy it since they neverseem to get sick of doing it). And this was never the way of the Salaf

Read the following two quotations:

1. Ibn Attaar, the student of an-Nawawi said in 'al-'Itiqaad al-Khaalis': "…And he, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said, 'Allaah created Firdaus with His Hand, and the Gardens of Paradise with His Hand, and wrote the Taurah with His Hand.' And narrations other than this, it is obligatory upon us to believe that this is the truth. And it is forbidden upon us that we say: that Allaah has addressed us with what we understand, and we do not understand 'hand' except that which possesses a palm and fingers and therefore liken it to the creation and hence arrive at tajseem. Allaah is Exalted above what the unjust say. Or that we say: the meaning is favour and power, because it is unfeasible to take it to mean the 'hand' we understand, so therefore it necessitates taking it to mean this fearing tashbeeh! And this is tahreef (distortion) containing ta'teel, how is this possible when the consensus is that the Attributes are to be stopped at (tawqeefiyyah - i.e. in terms of nature and not likened to creation). And the meaning of what they make ta'weel of is not established, and this is the way of the Mu'tazila and Jahmiyyah, we seek refuge with Allaah from that. And so it is necessary to absolve the Creator, Azza wa Jall, from tashbeeh and ta'teel by distancing from tahreef and takyeef and tamtheel (likening), and taking to His saying, 'there is nothing like Him, and He is the Hearing and Seeing' May Allaah favour us with understanding and cognisance upon the road of tawheed and eliminating anthropomorphism. And this is the saying on all that is affirmed from the Attributes. And Allaah knows that corrupt from those that purify……( pp. 24-26)

….So when the Book and authentic narrations speak with affirming (the Attributes of) Hearing, Seeing, Eye, Face, Knowledge, Power, Strength, Greatness, Will, Desire, Words, Speech, Pleasure, Displeasure, Love, Hatred, Delight, Laughing - it is obligatory to believe in them literally without tashbeeh to the creation. And stopping at what Allaah said (about Himself), without adding or increasing or takyeef or tahreef or tabdeel (changing) or tagyeer, or removing the meaning from the word that the Arab understands from it…. (pp. 26-27)

And some of them negated Nuzool (the descent of Allaah to the lowest heaven at the last third of the night), and weakened the ahaadeeth or made ta'weel of them fearing confinement (tahayyuz - i.e. of Allaah) or movement or transmission which would necessitate a body. And the researching scholars affirmed them and obligated faith in them as Allaah wills….(p.19)…

….And all of the verses and ahaadeeth affirming Coming and Nuzool, and affirming face and other than that from the Attributes, the scholars obligated faith in them, and leaving contemplation of them and or depicting a form for them…..(pg. 19)"

2. Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaanee said, " the one who takes the path of the khalaf (i.e. the later generations after the Salaf who deviated from the way of the Salaf in these issues) cannot be sure that that which he makes ta'weel of is the intended meaning, and it is not possible to be certain of the correctness of the ta'weel." ['Fath al-Baaree' of ibn Hajr (13/436)]

So see how these two scholars are confirming what we mentioned earlier. That whoever does this, how does he know that the meaning he has invented is correct or not?? He cannot know and for this reason, whoever does this is in a way, lying against Allaah, saying about Him that which He doesn't know.

The way of the Salaf however was to take these attributes literally, in accordance with their clear and obvious meanings in the language.

Read the following quotations:

1. Ibn Abdul Barr (d. 463H) said: "Ahl us-Sunnah are agreed in affirming all the Sifaat (Attributes) which are related in the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, having eemaan (faith) in them and understanding them alal-haqeeqah (in a real sense), not alal-majaaz (metaphorically)."[5]

2. Shaikh Abdul-Qaadir al-Jeelaanee (d. 561H) said: "It is essential to carry the attribute of Allaah al-Istiwaa (Allaah's Ascending) upon its apparent sense - without ta'weel, and that He ascended by His Dhaat (Self) over the Throne. Istiwaa does not mean sitting or touching - as the Mujassimah and Karraamiyyah say. Nor does it mean uluww (grandeur and highness) - as the Ash'ariyyah say; nor does it mean isteelaa (conquering and dominating over) - as the Mu'tazilah say. None of this is related in the Sharee'ah. Neither has this been related by any one of the Salaf us-Saalih (Pious Predecessors) from the Sahaabah and the Taabi'een, nor from the Ashaabul-Hadeeth (Scholars of Hadeeth). Rather, it is related from them that they carried the meaning of Istiwaa with its apparent meaning."[6]

3. Qaadee Abu Ya'laa (d. 458H) said: "It is not permissible to repel these narrations - as is the way of the group from the Mu'tazilah. Nor to become preoccupied with ta'weel - as is the way of the Ash'ariyyah. It is obligatory to carry them upon their dhaahir (apparent) meaning; and that the Attributes of Allaah do not resemble any one of His creation, nor do we have an aqeedah (belief) that there is any tashbeeh (resemblance) to them. Rather [we believe] in what has been reported from our Shaikh and our Imaam, Abu Abdullaah, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal, and others from the Scholars of Ashaabul-Hadeeth."[7]

4. Al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee (d. 463H) said: "As for speech about the Attributes of Allaah, that which is authentically related about them in the Sunnah, then the way of the Salaf - may Allaah be pleased with them all - was to affirm them as they are, alaa dhaahir (upon their apparent meaning); negating any tashbeeh (resemblance) to Allaah and not asking how they are. We do not say that al-Yad (the Hand of Allaah) means His Power nor that as-Sama' (Allaah's Hearing) and al-Basr (Allaah's Seeing) means His Knowledge, nor do we say that He has jawaarih (limbs)"[8]

5. Al-Khattaabee (d. 388H) said: "The madhhab of the Salaf (the Pious Predecessors) with regard to the Sifaat (Attributes of Allaah) is to affirm them as they are alaa dhaahir (with their apparent meaning), negating any tashbeeh (resemblance) to them, nor takyeef (asking how they are)."[9]

6. Imaam at-Tirmidhee (d. 279H) said: "It has been stated by more than one person from the People of Knowledge about such ahaadeeth, that there is no tashbeeh (resemblance) to the Attributes of Allaah, and our Lord - the Blessed and Most High - descends to the lowest heaven every night. So they say: "Affirm these narrations, have eemaan (faith) in them, do not deny them, nor ask how." The likes of this has been related from Maalik ibn Anas, Sufyaan ath-Thawree, Ibn Uyainah and Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak, who all said about such ahaadeeth: "Leave them as they are, without asking how." Such is the saying of the People of Knowledge from the Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah. However, the Jahmiyyah oppose these narrations and say: This is tashbeeh! However, Allaah the Most High, has mentioned in various places in His Book, the Attribute of al-Yad (Hand), as-Sama' (Hearing), and al-Basr (Seeing) - but the Jahmiyyah make ta'weel of these aayaat, explaining them in a way, other than how they are explained by the People of Knowledge. They say: Indeed, Allaah did not create Aadam with His own Hand - they say that Hand means the Power of Allaah."[10]

7. Abu Hasan al-Ash'aree (d. 324H) said: "If it is said: Why do you deny that His saying: Do they not see that We have created for them what Our Own Hands have created." [Soorah Yaa Seen 36:71] And His saying: Whom I have created with My Own (Two) Hands [Soorah Sa'd 38:75] are majaaz (metaphorical)? To him it is said: The ruling concerning the speech of Allaah - the Mighty and Majestic - is that it is taken upon its dhaahir (apparent) and haqeeqah (real) meaning. Nothing is removed from its dhaahir (apparent) meaning to majaaz (metaphorical) one, except with a proof ... [Al-Ibaanah an
Usool id-Diyaanah (p.133)]

So all of these narrations prove that the way of the Salaf was to affirm whatever Allaah has mentioned about Himself without fooling and playing around, and without giving them meanings which are unclear.

And if you think about it a bit more , you will realise how this constitutes a big lie and mockery of Allaah. The one who does 'ta'weel' - it is as if he is saying, "well Allaah's words were unclear so I am making them clear by giving them meanings based upon what I think". He is also accusing the Prophet of not having sufficiently fulfilled his task. So he is placing himself at a level higher than Allaah and His Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)

So this is the second principle, that we do not change the meanings and this is known as Tahreef and it can also be called Ta'weel, because someone who gives words other than their obvious meanings and says that they have other unclear meanings - then he is in reality changing and distorting them. Note also that the one who does tahreef, he is also guilty of ta'teel, because the fact that he changes the original meaning of the word means that the actually denies it.

The Third Principle:

That we DO NOT hold or say that the Attributes of Allaah are like the attributes of the creation. i.e. we should not make resemblances between lets say the Hand of Allaah, and the hands of the creation. i.e. we should not say Allaah's Hand is like my Hand. And it is likewise will all the other attributes that have come in the texts of the Book and the Sunnah such as laughter, amazement, fingers, face etc...To do this would make one guilty of having done 'tamtheel' It is also known as 'tasbheeh' which has the same meaning, i.e.to make resemblances between two things.

This is because Allaah has already told us that there is nothing like Him at all:

There is nothing like Him and He is the All-Hearing (as-Samee'), All-Seeing (al-Baseer) [42:11]

Do you know of an equal to Him? [19:65]

And there is none equal or comparable to Him [112:4]

So these verses show that nothing resembles Him.

And from this we know automatically, that if Allaah has described himself with Hand, Face, Eyes, Shin etc... then He indeed does have these Attributes, but they are in no way similar to those of the creation because as Allaah has already told us (in the above three verses) that there is nothing equal to Him or like Him.

One of the heads of misguidance who was called Al-Qaadee Abdul-Jabbaar was one of the founders of the Mu'tazilah (those who use their intellects and put it above the Book of Allaah) and he was the one who claimed that whenever these attributes are mentioned in the Qur'aan they automatically must mean tashbeeh (i.e. resemble the creation) and therefore we must use our intellects to give them other meanings: Read his own words:

"When there are verses in the Qur'aan whose apparent meaning necessitates tashbeeh (resemblance to the creation) it is obligatory to interpret them (ta'weel) because words can carry [many] meanings whereas the proof [derived] by the intellect is far from carrying other possible [meanings]."[11]

So it as if he actually does not believe Allaah when He says:

There is nothing like Him and He is the All-Hearing (as-Samee'), All-Seeing (al-Baseer) [42:11]

If Allaah has already told us that nothing is like Him, then how can anything which Allaah has described Himself be similar to the creation and how can that be tashbeeh??

Look instead to what the Imaams from the Salaf say:

Nu'aym bin Hammaad (d. 228H) (one of the teachers of Imaam Bukhaaree) said: Indeed, all that Allaah has described Himself with, or what His Messenger has described Him with, then there is no tashbeeh in it at all."[12]

This means that we believe in everything Allaah has described Himself and we do not deny it and just because we believe in it, it does not mean that we have now claimed that these Attributes of Allaah are like our attributes. This is because we also have faith in the speech of Allaah, when He says:

There is nothing like Him and He is the All-Hearing (as-Samee'), All-Seeing (al-Baseer) [42:11]

And when He says:

Do you know of an equal to Him? [19:65]

And when He says:

And there is none equal or comparable to Him [112:4]

And therefore we automatically know that anything with which Allaah has described Himself, then it does not resemble the creation at all.

The man who actually claimed that Allaah's Attributes are like those of the creation (He was called Maqaatil bin Sulaimaan d. 150H) only did so because he saw that other people were denying Allaah's Attributes (like the Mu'tazilah as we mentioned above). So to refute them, he actually went to the other extreme and claimed that Allaah's attributes are like those of the creation - and in doing this he was totally wrong.

So we inshaa'allah are in the middle path - we do not deny these Attributes, since Allaah has in fact mentioned them about Himself - we do not start changing their meanings either - and nor do we believe that they are similar to the attributes of the creation - and this is because Allaah has already told us that this is an impossibility.

The Fourth Principle:

That we DO NOT start asking 'How' are these attributes. This is known as Takyeef. That you enquire about how exactly something is.

So we are not allowed to do this - We are not allowed to say: "How is Allaah's Hand, how is His Face etc...."

It is enough for us to know that Allaah has a Face and Hand but we do not know exactly how it is. We already know that it is not like those of the creation - so we cant make comparisons, but then after this we cant try to find out exactly how it is. This is not allowed.

A very famous narration which illustrates this is from Imaam Maalik. It is to do with Istiwaa (that is Allaah's ascending His Throne):

Imaam Maalik (d. 179H) said: "Al-Istiwaa is known, and how is unknown, to have eemaan in it is obligatory and to question it is an innovation." Reported by al-Bayhaqee in al-Asmaa was-Sifaat (p.516) with the wording: "Al-Istiwaa is not unknown and how is unknown, to have eemaan in it is obligatory and to question it is an innovation." Ad-Daarimee also reported it in ar-Radd alal-Jahmiyyah (p.55).

Imaam Malik said these words to one of the people of innovation, who came to him and said: "We know that Allaah ascends His Throne, but How does He do that", so Imaam Malik replied with these words and he also had him thrown out for daring to ask these words.

In the words of Imaam Malik there occurrs "how is unknown". So we do not know how exactly this attribute of Allaah is and we should not enquire into it either. It is the same for all the other attributes. We believe in them, affirm them for Allaah, do not deny them or twist and distort their meanings, or resemble them to the creation, or start asking how they are.

So these are four principles that we understand in order to be on the path of truth and guidance with respect to how to believe in Allaah's Names and Attributes.

Be Careful of this Trick:

Before we finish, we will just mention another trick of the people of innovation and desires. For this we need to discuss another thing which is known as 'Tafweedh'.

What does 'tafweedh' mean? It means 'to submit something to someone'. For example I can say 'I submitted my report to my teacher.' Etc...

What does this have to do with Allaah's Attributes? Another group of very naughty people say the following:

"OK, OK, we accept that Allaah has mentioned Hand and Face and Laughter and other attributes in His Book and in the Messenger's Sunnah, BUT WE DO NOT KNOW THEIR MEANINGS and we leave the knowledge of this to Allaah"

So this is 'tafweedh' which would mean here "to submit the knowledge of the meanings of these attributes to Allaah". See how they are trying to play smarty-pants? So they are saying that the words that Allaah used for His Attributes, that they have no meanings to them, and that we cannot know them either. Only Allaah knows them.

If you think about this a little more, you will realise how dangerous this is. This is because, if this was true, then Allaah would be nothing. i.e. we have nothing by which we know Him, because everything He has used to describe Himself with, then it has no meaning!! This leads to atheism and disbelief in Allaah, because then Allaah, does not even exist - because He has no Attributes and cannot be known.

You might think now, OK well what is the difference between us and those who do tafweedh, because what they are saying sounds very like what we are saying, which is 'that we should submit knowledge of exactly how the attributes are to Allaah - that there is no way that we can know exactly how they are."

The answer is that there is a difference between us and those who are trying to be clever and play smarty-pants.

We AFFIRM the Attributes, with THEIR OBVIOUS AND CLEAR MEANINGS but we submit KNOWLEDGE OF EXACTLY HOW they are to Allaah.

So we are submitting only the knowledge of 'how' they are to Allaah, NOT the meanings.

As for those who do 'tafweedh' they submit the knowledge of THE MEANINGS - whereas we do not.

This is the difference between us. We submit the knowledge of exactly how the attributes are to Allaah and they submit the knowledge of the meanings of the attributes to Allaah - which in reality is exactly the same as denying them!

Look at the following two narrations and see how the Salaf used to affirm the meanings of the Attributes:

1. Imaam Maalik (d. 179H) said: "Al-Istiwaa is known, and how is unknown, to have eemaan in it is obligatory and to question it is an innovation."

i.e. the meaning of istiwaa is known, but exactly how it is is unknown.

2. Muhammad bin al-Hasan ash-Shaybaanee (d. 189H) said: "Hammaad bin Abu Haneefah said: "We said to them: Do you consider the saying of Allaah - the Mighty and Majestic: And your Lord comes accompanied by the Angels, ranks upon ranks" [Soorah Fajr 89:22] They said: "As for the Angels then they come, ranks upon ranks. But as for the Lord - the Most High - then we do not know what is meant by that and we do not know the kaifiyyah (how) of His coming." So I said to them: "We do not oblige you to know how He comes but we oblige you to have faith in His coming. Do you not consider that the one who rejects that the Angels come, ranks upon ranks, what is he to you?" They said: A Kaafir (disbeliever) a Mukadhdhib (rejector)." I said: "Then likewise, the one who denies that Allaah - the Most Perfect - comes then he is a Kaafir, a Mukadhdhib." Aqeedatus-Salaf wa Ashaabil-Hadeeth (p.49) of Abu Uthmaan as-Saaboonee.

See how in this narration those people claimed that they did not know:

i) the meaning of when Allaah says that ''He will come on the Day of Judgement'

ii) the exact nature of how He will come.

So they were told, that no one is asking them to know how He will come (i.e. principle number 4 that we have just been through) However they must believe in the fact that He will come (and to do this they have to affirm the meaning, obviously)

So this narration from one of the Salaf very nicely illustrates the difference between the innovators, those who do 'tafweedh' and and between those upon the way of the Salaf.

And about this tafweedh, Ibn Taymiyyah[13] has said - that it is amongst the most evil of the sayings of the Ahl ul-Bid'ah wal-Ilhaad. This is because, firstly it sounds like it is correct so a lot of people get mislead by it, and secondly it basically means that Allaah is described with nothingness. Also to a lot of people it sounds like it is the 'middle way' in between those who affirm the attributes and those who deny them and those who make resemblances for the from the creation. Therefore it is very dangerous and it merely leads to ta'teel (denial of the attributes). This is why it is very dangerous.

We will finish by listing individuals in our times who have erred in this topic.

1. Hasan al-Bannaa - in his book al-Aqaa'id he claims and tries to argue that the way of the Salaf was to do tafweedh and this is incorrect as you can clearly see. It is surprising that people should fall into these kind of errors considering that the way of the Salaf is well known, especially through the works of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim.

2. Sayyid Qutb, he denied the Attributes of Allaah and claimed that they were merely imaginations, he also denied that Allaah ascends the Throne (Arsh) claiming that this is metaphorical and is not real. Again it is surprising that he should deny these things, especially after he has read the books of the Salaf such as Tafseer Ibn Katheer and others.

3. Nuh Ha Meem Keller - A truly lowly and despicable person who pretends to be really intelligent and knowledgeable. What he is teaching and propagating is that we should do 'Ta'weel' and also 'Tafweedh' and he tries to claim that this was the way of the Salaf, and in saying this he is a filthy despicable liar. You will see many people thinking that this idiot is guided and that he is upon something. In reality, he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Whoever does not know the condition of this innovator, is himself ignorant. So you should be careful of this man and you should warn others of him, because he knows what the way of the Salaf is and he is deliberately opposing it and teaching others to oppose it. But most people will not be aware of this - due to their neglect of and lack of concern with knowledge. He was a lowly and despised person during the days in wich he was at the Islamic University of Medinah, and he will always remain so, so long as his heart is filled with hatred for the Salaf and those upon their way.

4. Hamza Yoosuf - His way is exactly the same as that of Nuh Ha Meem Keller. People think he is very knowledgeable and he has great mastery of the Arabic language and so on… which is a most ridiculous assertion and which anyone with basic knowledge of Arabic can verify for himself. His way basically, is to call to 'ta'weel' and 'tafweedh' and also to the innovations of sufism and tasawwaf. He is also very clear in his hatred of the Salaf and his belittlement and mockery of aqeedah and tawheed etc. But someone who doesn't follow his condition up will not be aware of this... they will not know what he is all about and think that he is a great speaker etc.

5. Dr. Sa'eed Ramadaan al-Bootee. You will probably not have heard of this one, but he is quite popular in Syria. He is basically soofee orientated and is also teaching the same ideas about Allaah's Attributes, that we should do 'ta'weel' and 'tafweedh'. If you read the works of this individual you will realise what a clever little deceiver he is. The way he tries to argue is really deceptive and cunning, but Alhamdulillaah, Allaah always sends scholars to uncover the pretenders and falsifiers. Shaikh Saalih al-Fawzaan has written a beautiful refutation of the book that Bootee wrote in which he attacks the Salafee way and claims that the way of the Salaf never existed?!

6. More broadly, the Asharees are a group who do 'ta'weel' and 'tafweedh'. Similar to them are a group called the Habashees. There are also the Maatureediyyah, who are not as well known as the Asharees. Basically they all share with each other in distorting the Attributes of Allaah, doing lots of ta'weel, tafweedh and other naughty things. If you look at some of the Muslim groups today, such as Ikhwaan ul-Muslimoon and Tablighi Jamaa'at you will find that they are full of people who have these deviated beliefs, such as Asharees, Maatureedees, etc... This is because such groups have no concern WHATSOEVER for aqeedah and tawheed, in fact they attack and destroy Tawheed. Shaikh al-Albaanee said: "It is not to be said that the Ikhwaan are from Ahl us-Sunnah because they wage war against Ahl us-Sunnah", he also said "The ikhwaan wage war against Tawheed". Also about Tablighi Jamaat he said: "They are the soofees of this era." Likewise Abu A’laa Mawdoodi was Ash’ari in his belief and denied some of the Attributes of Allaah. A person can only realise and appreciate this when they have the right belief themselves and good sound knowledge. Then when he looks at such groups and their call, what it consists of and what they are propagating and holding on to, then he will realise the truth of what we have mentioned. Only someone who knows their condition well and is well acquainted with the knowledge will perceive this.

Inshaa'allaah, this should be sufficient for todays lesson.

Before the questions - the following statement should help us to understand our position in this topic. You should repeat it to yourself:

"Allaah has mentioned in His Noble Book Attributes such as Hand, Face, Eyes and His Messenger has mentioned others such as Laughter, Fingers, Amazement, Feet, in authentic and reliable hadeeth. I know that Allaah certainly revealed these in His Book and to His Messenger and therefore I am obliged to believe in them. So I affirm them for Allaah and I do not deny them, since the Salaf never denied them and I am upon their way inshaa'allaah. I do not change their meanings either, by saying such things as Hand means 'power' and so on because none of the Salaf did this, and if I did this I would be uttering a lie against Allaah, saying something about Him which I do not know whether it is correct or not. And also this would negate the fact that Allaah revealed the Qur'aan in a clear Arabic tongue. I also do not say that these attributes are like those of the creation. And I know that it is impossible for there to be any resemblance between the Attributes of Allaah and those of the creation because Allaah has already told me so in His book, in Surah Shooraa verse 11 and in Surah Maryam verse 65 and also in Surah Ikhlaas. So I affirm them for Him and there is no likeness between His Attributes and those of the creation. And I will not ask about His Attributes, 'how exactly are they? How is his Hand? How is his Laughter?' There is no way of knowing this for me and I will stop at simply affirming these attributes for Allaaah with their meanings, as did the Salaf, and not setting up likenesses for them with the creation and not aking about them, as did that innovator in the presence of Imaam Malik concerning the issue of Istiwaa. This inshaa'allaah is my way, the balanced way and this was the way the Salaf took, and I shall guide myself by their way, even if the innovators dislike it."

If this is your position, then you will be rightly guided inshaa'allaah.

Try to answer the following questions to make sure you have understood the lesson

1. Explain what we must believe in, in order to have correct eemaan in Allaah.

2. Give a quotation from one of the Salaf which mentions the principles to do with todays lesson.

3. Explain what is ta'teel

4. Explain what is tahreef

5. Explain what is ta'weel

6. Explain what is tamtheel and tashbeeh

7. Explain what is takyeef

8. Explain what is tafweedh.

9. Of all the ones listed above, which is the most evil of them all and explain why.

10. Give an example of how someone would be guilty of ta'weel

11. Give an example of how someone would be guilty of tamtheel or tashbeeh.

12. Quote three verses of the Qur'aan which show that there is nothing like Allaah.

13. Quote two narrations from the Salaf to show that they used to affirm the Attributes with their apparent (dhaahir) meanings from the language.

14. Quote two narrations from the Salaf to show that they did not used to do ta'weel.

15. List some people who have strayed in these issues, despite the fact that the way of the Salaf is manifestly clear.

Definition of other terms:

• Mu'attilah (those who do ta'teel)
• Muharrifah (those who distort the meanings/words)
• Mushabbihah (the group who do tashbeeh)
• Mukayyifah (those who takyeef')
• Mufawwidah (those who are guilty of tafweedh)
• Jahmee (anyone who follows in the way of Jahm ibn Safwaan, who was executed around 130H, and he was one of the first to deny the Names and Attributes of Allaah. Those who sharein this quality are called Jahmees or Jahmiyyah)
• Mu'tazilah (those who put intellect over the Qur'an and the Sunnah and say it is more decisive)

If you have any questions you can ask them next time inshaa'allaah.

All praise is due to Allaah, prayers and peace upon His Messenger, his companions and his family.

5th November 1997

Notes

1 Refer to Surah Sad 38:75

2 Refer to Surah Qalam 68:42

3 Refer to Surah Qamar 54:14

4 Refer to Surah Taa Haa 20:5

5 At-Tamheed of Ibn Abdul-Barr (7/145)

6 Al-Ghuniyat ut-Taalibeen (1/50) of Abdul Qaadir al-Jeelaanee.

7 Ibtaal ut-Ta'weelaat (p.4)

8 Al-Kalaam alas-Sifaat of al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee (p.19-20)

9 Al-Ghuniyah an Kalaam wa Ahlihi - as quoted in Mukhtasir al-Uluww (no.137).

10 Sunan at-Tirmidhee (3/24)

11 Al-Muheet bit-Takhleef (p.200)

12 Reported by Imaam adh-Dhahabee in al-Uluww (no.217)

Muhammad bin al-Hasan ash-Shaybaanee (d. 189H), the companion of Abu Haneefah said: "All the Fuqahaa , from the east to the west are agreed upon: [The obligation of] having faith in the Qur'aan and the ahaadeeth which the reliable and trustworthy narrators have come with from the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) - in describing the Lord, the Mighty and the Majestic - without explaining them (tafseer) or likening them to the creation (tashbeeh). So whoever explains anything from them today, then he has departed from that which the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) and his Companions were upon for verily, they did not explain them but they gave verdicts with whatever is in the Book and the Sunnah and then they remained quiet. So whoever speaks with the saying of Jahm [bin Safwaan] then he has separated from the Jamaa'ah since he [Jahm] describes Him [Allah] with nothingness." Reported by al-Laalikaa'ee in Sharh Usool il-I'tiqaad (3/432).

13 In 'Dar ut-Ta'aarudh al-Aql wan-Naql' (1/121)

Lesson 3: Love, Hope and Fear

Author: Abu Iyaad as-Salafi

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All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds and prayers and peace upon His Messenger, Muhammad.

In this lesson we shall try to develop an understanding of some of the characterstics of worship (ibaadah) - which begins in the heart. Thus, this lesson is really dealing with the ‘actions of the heart’ - you should remember what this is from the first lesson.

Ibn Taymiyyah (rh) gave the definition of worship as follows:

"Worship is everything that Allaah loves and is pleased with from the inward and outward sayings and actions."

In other words this is very similar to the complete and comprehensive definition of eemaan that we dealt with in Lesson 1. This lesson will deal with the ‘inward actions of the heart’ which really form the basis of a Muslim’s servitude to Allaah.

As usual we shall summarise the lesson with a quotation. Today’s quotation should be easy for everyone. It is the first few verses of Surah Faatihah!