Sharh-ul-Usool-ith-Thalaathah : Lesson 08
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan | Dawud Burbank [Audio|English]
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Previous Classes:
[The first matter is that Allaah created us and gave us provision and did not leave us without purpose] – [Rather He sent a Messenger to us]
Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
فَمَنْ أَطَاعَهُ دَخَلَ الجَنَّةَ وَمَنْ عَصَاهُ دَخَلَ النَّارَ
So whoever obeys him will enter paradise, and whoever disobeys him will enter the fire.5
[5]: Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzan’s Explanation
His saying, “Whoever obeys him”: meaning in that which he commands, then he will enter paradise. And his saying, “And whoever disobeys him”: in that which he forbade, then he will enter the fire. This is something for which there is a great deal of confirmation in the Qur’aan. He the Most High said:
مَّن يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ
Whoever obeys the Messenger, then he has indeed obeyed Allaah. [4:80]
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ
And We did not send any Messenger except that he should be obeyed by the permission of Allaah. [4:64]
وَإِن تُطِيعُوهُ تَهْتَدُوا
And if you obey him (the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) you will be rightly guided. [24:54]
وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
And obey the Messenger that you may be shown mercy. [24:56]
So whoever obeys him is guided, and will enter paradise, and whoever disobeys him will be astray and will enter the fire. He sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:
كلكم يدخل الجنة إلا من أبى ، قالوا : يا رسول الله ومن يأبى ؟ قال : من أطاعني دخل الجنة ومن عصاني فقد أبى
“All of you will enter paradise except for those who refuse.” They said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, and who will refuse?’ He said, “Whoever obeys me enters paradise and whoever disobeys me has refused.”[1]
So his sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam saying, “He has refused”: means he will have refused to enter paradise.
And he sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:
لا يسمع بي يهودي ولا نصراني ثم لا يؤمن بالذي جئت به إلا دخل النار
“No-one will hear of me, no Jew nor any Christian, and then not believe in that which I came with except that he will enter the fire.”[2]
So whoever obeys him will enter paradise and whoever disobeys him will enter the fire, and this is the distinguishing factor between the true believer and between the disbeliever.
Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
And the proof is His saying, He the Most High:
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا شَاهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا
فَعَصَىٰ فِرْعَوْنُ الرَّسُولَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُ أَخْذًا وَبِيلًا
We sent a Messenger to you as a witness for or against you, just as we sent a Messenger to the Pharaoh. But the Pharaoh disobeyed the Messenger so we seized him with a severe punishment. [73:15-16] 6
[6]: Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzan’s Explanation
His saying, “And the proof”: meaning for the sending of the Messenger is His saying, He the Most High:
We sent a Messenger to you as a witness for or against you, just as we sent a Messenger to the Pharaoh. But the Pharaoh disobeyed the Messenger so we seized him with a severe punishment. [73:15-16]
His saying, He the Most High, “Innaa”, the pronoun here (meaning ‘We’) refers to Allaah the Perfect and Most High and this is a pronoun of one declaring his own greatness, because He is indeed Tremendous, the Perfect and Most High.
“We sent”, likewise this pronoun is to show greatness, and the meaning of, “arsalnaa”, is We sent him and sent revelation to him.
The word, “ilaykum”, (to you people), meaning O two weighty species (mankind and the jinn). It is an address to the whole of mankind, because the risaalah (messengership) of this Messenger is universal to all of mankind until the Hour is established.
“Rasoolan”, (a Messenger), he is Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
And the phrase:
شَاهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا
As a witness upon you [73:15]
Meaning: with Allaah, the Perfect and Most High, on the Day of Resurrection, a witness that he conveyed to you the message of Allaah, and that he established the proof upon you, just as He the Most High said:
رُّسُلًا مُّبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ
Allaah sent Messengers as bringers of glad tidings for the obedient ones, and as warners for the disobedient ones, so that no plea should remain with the people with Allaah, after the sending of the Messengers. [4:165]
So no-one on the Day of Resurrection will be able to say, “I did not know that I was created for worship, I did not know what was obligatory upon me, I did not know what was forbidden for me”. It will not be possible for someone to say this, because the Messengers ‘alaihimussalaatu wassalaam conveyed the message to them, and this nation of Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, it will bear witness against them. He the Most High said:
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا
And likewise We made you the best and a justly balanced nation so that you should be witnesses against mankind, and the Messenger should be a witness upon you. [2:143]
So this nation will bear witness against the previous nations on the Day of Resurrection that their Messengers conveyed the messages of Allaah to them, based upon what they find in the Book of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, because Allaah has narrated to us the news of the previous nations and of the Messengers and of what they said to their nations. All of this we know from the Book of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, which is not approached by falsehood from in front nor from behind, which is revelation sent down by the One who is All-Wise, the One Deserving of All Praise.
And the Messenger he will be … [2:143]
He is Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, he will be upon you, O nation of Muhammad, a witness, he will witness upon you with Allaah that he indeed established the proof upon you and that he conveyed the message to you and that he sincerely advised you for Allaah’s sake. So no proof will remain on the Day of Resurrection for a person to say, “Nothing reached me. No warner came to me”. Even the unbelievers, they will confess when they are thrown into the fire. He the Most High said:
كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ
قَالُوا بَلَىٰ قَدْ جَاءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِن شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ
Whenever a crowd of them are thrown into the fire its keepers will ask them, “Did not a warner come to you?” They will say, “Yes indeed a warner came to us, but we denied, and we said Allaah did not send down anything, you are upon great misguidance.” [67:8-9]
They said to the Messengers, “You are upon misguidance.” So they denied the Messengers and they declared them to be upon misguidance.
This is the wisdom in the sending of the Messengers – to establish the proof upon the people, and to guide whomever Allaah wished to guide. The Messengers, Allaah guides through them whoever He wishes, and He establishes the proof upon those who obstinately refuse and deny and disbelieve.
كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا
Just as we sent a Messenger to Pharaoh [73:15]
The Messenger here is Moosaa ‘alaihissalaatu wassalaam and the Pharaoh, he was the tyrannical king in Egypt the one who claimed lordship for himself, and the Pharaoh was the title of every king of Egypt – he was called a Pharaoh. And what is meant by it here is the Pharaoh who claimed ruboobiyyah (lordship) for himself.
فَقَالَ أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الْأَعْلَىٰ
That he said: “I am you highest lord.” [79:24]
فَعَصَىٰ فِرْعَوْنُ الرَّسُولَ
So the Pharaoh disobeyed the Messenger [73:16]
He was Moosaa, Pharaoh disbelieved in him just as Allaah has narrated in His Book, narrating what occurred between Moosaa and the Pharaoh, and how the affair of the Pharaoh and his people ended up.
فَأَخَذْنَاهُ أَخْذًا وَبِيلًا
So we seized him with punishment [73:16]
Meaning: We seized Pharaoh with punishement and it was that Allaah drowned him, him and his people, in the ocean. Then he entered him into the fire.
مِّمَّا خَطِيئَاتِهِمْ أُغْرِقُوا فَأُدْخِلُوا نَارًا
Because of their sins they were drowned, and they were entered into fire. [71:25]
So he is in the fire in the Barzakh (the intermediate life after death and before the Day of Resurrection). He the Most High said:
النَّارُ يُعْرَضُونَ عَلَيْهَا غُدُوًّا وَعَشِيًّا
The fire, they are exposed to it morning and evening [40:46]
This is in the Barzakh before the hereafter, they are exposed to the fire morning and evening, until the Hour is established, and this is a proof for ‘Adhaab-ul-Qabr (punishment of the grave), and Allaah’s refuge is sought.
وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ أَدْخِلُوا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ أَشَدَّ الْعَذَابِ
And on the Day when the Hour is established it will be said, “Enter the people of Pharaoh into the severest torment. [40:46]
This is three punishments:
Firstly: that Allaah drowned them and wiped them out, all of them in a simgle moment.
Secondly: that they are being punished in the Barzakh until the hour is established.
Thirdly: that when they are raised up on the Day of Resurrection they will enter the severest torment, and Allaah’s refuge is sought.
And likewise will be the case with those who disobey Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, for his outcome will be more severe than the outcome of the people of Pharaoh, because Muhammad is the most excellent one of the Messengers. So whoever disobeys him, his punishment will be worse.
أَخْذًا وَبِيلًا
With severe punishment [73:16]
It means severe and strong with no leniency.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَخْذُ رَبِّكَ إِذَا أَخَذَ الْقُرَىٰ وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ ۚ إِنَّ أَخْذَهُ أَلِيمٌ شَدِيدٌ
And thus is the punishment of your Lord when He punishes the towns for their wrongdoing. His punishment is painful and severe. [11:102]
So this aayah is a proof for Allaah’s bestowing favour upon us by the sending of the Messenger Muhammad sallallaahu‘alaihiwasallam to us, and that the purpose behind his being sent is that he should make clear to us the way to worship. So whoever obeys him will enter paradise, and whoever disobeys him will enter the fire, just as the people of Pharoah entered the fire when the disobeyed their messenger Moosaa ‘alaihissalaatu wassalaam.
And likewise the enemies of the Messengers, all of them, this is their way and their path.
Footnotes
[1] Reported by al-Bukhaaree as hadeeth 7280 from a hadeeth of Aboo Huraira radiy Allaahu ‘anhu in Kitaab-ul-I‘tisaam with the wording, “Everyone from my Ummah will enter paradise…”
[2] Reported by Muslim as hadeeth 153 from a hadeeth of Aboo Huraira radiyallaahu‘anhu.
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Sharh-ul-Usool-ith-Thalaathah. Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles of Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhaab by Shaykh Saalih ibn Fowzaan al-Fowzaan hafizahullaah. Translated by Daawood Burbank, rahimahullaah
Posted with kind permission from Dawud Burbank rahimahullaah
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Listen to the Full Audio Series:
Sharh Usool-ith-Thalaathah – Shaykh Fawzan | Dawud Burbank
Book Study Resources – Three Fundamental Principles
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