Sharh-ul-Usool ath-Thalaathah : Lesson 50 (Part B) – [Final Part of the Series]
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan | Dawud Burbank [Audio|English]
Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
The proof is His saying, He the Most High:
وهذا هو معنى لا إله إلا الله، وفي الحديثِ : « رأسُ الأمْرِ الإسلامُ وعمودُهُ الصَّلاةُ وذروةُ سنَامِهِ الجهادُ في سبيلِ اللهِ »
And this is the meaning of ‘laa ilaaha ill Allaah’ (none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah).
And in the hadeeth:
“The head of the affair is al-Islaam, and its supporting pillar is the prayer, and its highest part is jihaad in Allaah’s cause.” [1]84
[84] : Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan’s Explanation :
The Shaykh said: “And this is the meaning of laa ilaaha ill Allaah…” – Meaning: rejection of at Taaghoot and eemaan (true faith) in Allaah.
And Al-Islaam is: To submit to Allaah with tawheed and to yield to Him with obedience and to free oneself from shirk and its people.
This is the head of the affair of the religion; the two testimonies are the head of Islaam and they are the foundation of Islaam. So a person will not enter into Islaam unless he comes with the two testimonies, uttering them and having knowledge of them and acting upon them and holding them as his creed and belief. He will not be a Muslim except with this.
The religion is likened to a body which has a head and a main support and a highest part. So if the head is cut off or if there is no head, then life cannot carry on. Likewise without tawheed, the Religion cannot remain because it is the head which, if it is cut or passes away, then life passes away and the body is destroyed.
And its main supporting pillar which it stands upon is the Prayer. So without its supporting pillar, Islaam will not stand – like a dwelling made of animal hair or a tent – if it has no pillar which it can rest upon, it will not stand. So a house cannot stand except with a support. Then if the support is lost, the house will not stand. Likewise the Prayer – if it is lost, then Islaam will not stand.
Therefore the scholars have said that whoever abandons the Prayer out of laziness, he becomes a disbeliever, in the correct saying – even if he acknowledges its obligation because there is no benefit in acknowledging its obligation if he does not implement it and he does not act upon it, there will be no benefit in that. And therefore the verifiers from the people of knowledge judge that the person who abandons the Prayer deliberately, even if he acknowledges its obligation, is a disbeliever. As for if he denies its obligation, then he is a disbeliever by consensus of the Muslims.
“…and its highest part is jihaad in Allaah’s cause.”
The highest part of the affair – which is the religion – is jihaad in Allaah’s cause. So jihaad is a proof for the strength of Islaam; when jihaad in Allaah’s cause is found, then that is a proof that Islaam is in a condition of strength because jihaad cannot occur except as a result of strength in eemaan and physical strength.
So the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam mentioned three matters for the Religion: the head, the supporting pillar and the highest part. So without the head, the Religion will not exist at all. So the person who does not establish the head – which is tawheed – will have no religion.
And the person who does not pray, then the Religion will not be established for him even if he bears witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah because it requires a supporting pillar which the Religion can stand upon, and it cannot be found except through the Prayer.
And if jihaad is absent then the strength of Islaam will be absent and it will be an Islaam which is in a condition of weakness and the Muslims will be in a weak state. So there will be no strength for Islaam and the Muslims except through jihaad in Allaah’s cause, He the Mighty and Majestic. So it is a sign of strength and its absence is a sign of weakness.
This is the manner in which the Messenger sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam likened these three affairs with regards to the Religion: a head, a main support and a highest part, just as a camel which has a hump, this shows that it is strong. And if it has no hump, then this shows that it is emaciated and weak.
Likewise the Muslims today are in a state of weakness upon the Earth, and therefore there occurs in the hadeeth:
إذا تبايعتم بالعينة ، وأخذتم أذناب البقر، وتركتم الجهاد ، سلط الله عليكم ذلا لا يترعه منكم حتى ترجعوا إلى دينكم
“When you engage in the ‘eenah (usury/riba) transaction and you take hold of the tails of cows and you abandon jihaad, then Allaah will cause humiliation to overcome you; He will not remove it from you until you return to your religion.”
[Hadith Reported by Aboo Daawood (3462) from the hadeeth of ibn ‘Umar radiyallaahu ‘anhumaa and declared Saheeh by al Albaanee]
So abandonment of jihaad is humiliation and weakness for the Muslims and its presence is a proof of strength and formness, just like the hump of an animal.
And Allaah knows best and may Allaah extol our Prophet Muhammad.
And with this, the explanation of the blessed book, the Three Fundamental Principles, is ended.
Footnotes:
[1] Reported by at Tirmidhee (2616) and an Nasaa.ee from the hadeeth of Mu’aadh ibn Jabal radiy Allaahu ‘anhu and declared Saheeh by al Albaanee.
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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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