Aamir
March 12th, 2008, 02:07
Student Name: Aamir Akmal
Student ID#: None
Class: AQ210; Aqeedah Tahawiyyah Class #1
Lecturer: Shaykh Fahad ibn Sulayman al-Fuhayd(hafidullah)
Vice -Dean of Islamic University in Aqeedah:
Imam Muhammed Islamic University, Riyad, KSA
Imam Masjid al Jahmiyyah, Riyad, KSA
The Shaykh(hafidullah) starts out with Bismillah and praising Allah(azza wajal) and sending salaams on the Prophet(salalahu alaihi wa salaam).
Imam Tahawi(rahimullah) started the Book of Aqeedah: Al-Aqeedah al-Tahawiyyah by saying that the book was in accordance to the madhab of Abu Hanifah al Numan bin Thabit al Kufi(rahimullah), Abu Yusuf Yaqub bin Ibrahim al Ansari(rahimullah), and Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Hasan al Shaybani(rahimullah); and that this is what they believed in the fundamentals of faith and what they believed about the Creator(azza wajal).
The author(rahimullah) points out that there is a need for the aqeedah to be explained and this is done based on the Quran and Sunnah. This continues to this day whenever the Ulemaa want to explain the Aqeedah they do it based on the Quran and Sunnah and they may author works similar to this to explain the aqeedah. They do this because as time passes innovations creep into the religion and this needs to be corrected so they write these books to correct the people. This has been done by Imam Bukhari(rahimullah), Imam Ahmad(rahimullah), Imam Shafi(rahimullah), Tirmidhi(rahimullah), etc.: They write works to refute the innovations in and they compile works to explain the correct Aqeedah and also to refute those with incorrect interpretations of the Quran.
The Shaykh(hafidullah) uses a hadith of the Prophet(salalahu alaihi wa salaam) to show us that this differing was something that was expected to happen:
The Prophet(salalahu alaihi wa salaam) said: “And whoever lives long from amongst you will see great controversy,” [part of hadith narrated from Abu Najeeh al-’Irbaad ibn Saariyah(radiAllahu anhu) found in Imam Nawawee’s 40 hadeeth as hadeeth 28. Related from Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi(Tirmidhi related it Hasan Saheeh)]
The Shaykh(hafidullah) went on and started to explain the text:
And we say considering Allah’s Unity(Tawheed):
1) Allah is One and has no partners
2) There is nothing like Him
3) There is nothing beyond His Ability
4) No one is worthy to be worshipped except Him
These sentences carry a lot of meaning. We the people of Ahl Sunnah wa Jamah believe in the Oneness or Tawheed of Allah(azza wajal). This means singling Him(azza wajal) for worship only and this is divided in 3 categories:
1) Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah
2) Tawheed ar- Ruboobiyyah
3) Tawheed al-Asmaa wa Sifat
We believe that Allah(azza wajal) has no partner in any of these aspects of Tawheed; and Tawheed actually means making something one or singular.
*Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah: All forms of worship are directed to Allah(azza wajal) as He alone deserves to be worshipped and nothing else. Tawheed of Worship of Allah.
*Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah: Allah(azza wajal) alone is the Creator, Sustainer, and Originator of all things and Maintainer of His creations affairs without partners. Tawheed of Lordship of Allah.
*Tawheed Asmaa wa Sifat: Belief in the names and attributes of Allah(azza wajal) based on the Quran and Sunnah, without negating them or interpreting them incorrectly. Tawheed in Names and Attributes of Allah.
We believe in these 3 categories without any doubt in any aspect of Tawheed. This is with Allah’s Tawfeeq: Implies that we are requesting Allah to give us success in this aspect.
The Quraish only talked about the Ruboobiyyah but that was not enough. The Prophet(salalahu alaihi wa salaam) called them towards Tawheed al-Uloohiytaah as well as Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah.
We of Ahl Sunnah and Jamah believe Allah(azza wajal) has no partners in any of these 3 categories. It is binding on the students of knowledge to have awareness of these 3 categories and distinguish themselves from the people of innovation.
In Surah Maryam, ayah 65: Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, so worship Him (Alone) and be constant and patient in His worship. Do you know of any who is similar to Him? (of course none is similar or coequal or comparable to Him, and He has none as partner with Him).
The Shaykh(hafidullah) goes on to explain that this ayah encases the 3 categories of Tawheed, and if we are to break it down: “Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them,” is Ruboobiyah; “so worship Him(Alone) and be constant and patient in His worship” is Uloohiyyah; and “Do you know of any who is similar to Him?” is Asmaa wa sifaat.
The next parts of the text are:
2 - There is nothing like Him.
3 - There is nothing beyond Allah’s ability.
4 - There is no Deity deserving to be worshipped besides Allah.
The shaykh(hafidullah) starts with 2 - There is nothing like Him:
The shaykh(hafidullah) quotes verses from the quran to support this and there are many: "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer” [Surah 42, ayah 11]
“So put not forward similitudes for Allâh (as there is nothing similar to Him, nor He resembles anything). Truly! Allâh knows and you know not.” [Surah 16, ayah 74]
Allah(azza wajal) has Names and Attributes but they are not like that of His creation; the creation is defective while He(azza wajal) is Perfect and so are His Names and Qualities.
"And with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (all that is hidden), none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in (or on) the earth and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but he knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.” [Surah 6, ayah 59]
Allah(azza wajal) alone knows the unseen and no one arranges the affairs of the dunyah like Allah(azza wajal).
This statement is a destruction of shirk and of the people who worship the graves. In the case of the grave worshippers, it is because they make the creation like Allah(azza wajal). They think the people in the grave can see the unseen and that they can arrange their affairs of the dunyah. This makes them a people who liken Allah(azza wajal) to His creation and this is disbelief.
We accept all the Names and Attributes of Allah(azza wajal). As for those like the Jahmiyyah, a group who deny the Qualities/Attributes of Allah(azza wajal), then this is a methodology of disbelief. This is in opposition to the Quran and Sunnah because it is compulsory to accept all of the Names and Attributes of Allah(azza wajal) and not to negate any of them.
We also do not make the Names and Attributes similar to or resembling His(azza wajal) creation, and we do not distort or change their meanings.
Shaykh(hafidullah) proceeds to explain the next point:
3 - There is nothing beyond Allah’s ability.
This is mentioned in the Quran. Allah’s(azza wajal) Qualities have been categorized into 2 broad categories:
1) Those which are affirmed: His Knowledge, Ability, Hearing, Sight, He is above His Throne
2) Those which are negated(which are a few) : Sleep, drowsy, inability, tiredness, having a child.
Looking in the texts we see the affirmation of qualities is broader than the negation; this is because these affirmations are praiseworthy vs. the polemics who uses a lot of negations. The correct way is that of the Quran and Sunnah, which is to follow the affirmations.
As for the negation we find that the way of the Quran and Sunnah is that these are used actually to affirm the opposite of what it is negating. For example sleep, Allah(azza wajal) never sleeps, is all Knowledgeable, and able to do all things. Also the negation of having a child, affirms His(azza wajal) Self-Sufficiency and not having any partners. Negation by itself is not praiseworthy but when it affirms its opposite then you are following the way of Ahl sunnah wa Jamah and then it is praiseworthy.
The next statement:
4 - No one is worthy to be worshipped except Him.
There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; this is similar to the shahadah and what Allah(azza wajal) has revealed in Quran. He has no partners and He alone is worthy of worship.
Allah(azza wajal) is the Truth and what they supplicate to other than Allah(azza wajal) is false.
There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; not that there are no deities other than Allah. This is an important point because there are other things that are worshipped but they are not true and they are not worthy of worship.
Say: "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allâh, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allâh. Then, if they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims." [surah 3, ayah 64]
The Shaykh(hafidullah) explains that in this verse Allah(azza wajal) explains the meaning of la ilaha ill Allah - That Allah alone deserves to be worshipped: We worship none but Him, we associate no partners with Him, and we shall not take others as lords besides Allah(azza wajal). And this is tafseer of the Quran with Quran.
This is in opposition to those groups who claim that La ilaha ill Allah means that there is no creator but Allah(azza wajal). This verse is a refutation to them by stating that there is no deity is worthy of worship except Allah(azza wajal).
Class ends here.
A few questions are taken at the end.
Student ID#: None
Class: AQ210; Aqeedah Tahawiyyah Class #1
Lecturer: Shaykh Fahad ibn Sulayman al-Fuhayd(hafidullah)
Vice -Dean of Islamic University in Aqeedah:
Imam Muhammed Islamic University, Riyad, KSA
Imam Masjid al Jahmiyyah, Riyad, KSA
The Shaykh(hafidullah) starts out with Bismillah and praising Allah(azza wajal) and sending salaams on the Prophet(salalahu alaihi wa salaam).
Imam Tahawi(rahimullah) started the Book of Aqeedah: Al-Aqeedah al-Tahawiyyah by saying that the book was in accordance to the madhab of Abu Hanifah al Numan bin Thabit al Kufi(rahimullah), Abu Yusuf Yaqub bin Ibrahim al Ansari(rahimullah), and Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Hasan al Shaybani(rahimullah); and that this is what they believed in the fundamentals of faith and what they believed about the Creator(azza wajal).
The author(rahimullah) points out that there is a need for the aqeedah to be explained and this is done based on the Quran and Sunnah. This continues to this day whenever the Ulemaa want to explain the Aqeedah they do it based on the Quran and Sunnah and they may author works similar to this to explain the aqeedah. They do this because as time passes innovations creep into the religion and this needs to be corrected so they write these books to correct the people. This has been done by Imam Bukhari(rahimullah), Imam Ahmad(rahimullah), Imam Shafi(rahimullah), Tirmidhi(rahimullah), etc.: They write works to refute the innovations in and they compile works to explain the correct Aqeedah and also to refute those with incorrect interpretations of the Quran.
The Shaykh(hafidullah) uses a hadith of the Prophet(salalahu alaihi wa salaam) to show us that this differing was something that was expected to happen:
The Prophet(salalahu alaihi wa salaam) said: “And whoever lives long from amongst you will see great controversy,” [part of hadith narrated from Abu Najeeh al-’Irbaad ibn Saariyah(radiAllahu anhu) found in Imam Nawawee’s 40 hadeeth as hadeeth 28. Related from Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi(Tirmidhi related it Hasan Saheeh)]
The Shaykh(hafidullah) went on and started to explain the text:
And we say considering Allah’s Unity(Tawheed):
1) Allah is One and has no partners
2) There is nothing like Him
3) There is nothing beyond His Ability
4) No one is worthy to be worshipped except Him
These sentences carry a lot of meaning. We the people of Ahl Sunnah wa Jamah believe in the Oneness or Tawheed of Allah(azza wajal). This means singling Him(azza wajal) for worship only and this is divided in 3 categories:
1) Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah
2) Tawheed ar- Ruboobiyyah
3) Tawheed al-Asmaa wa Sifat
We believe that Allah(azza wajal) has no partner in any of these aspects of Tawheed; and Tawheed actually means making something one or singular.
*Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah: All forms of worship are directed to Allah(azza wajal) as He alone deserves to be worshipped and nothing else. Tawheed of Worship of Allah.
*Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah: Allah(azza wajal) alone is the Creator, Sustainer, and Originator of all things and Maintainer of His creations affairs without partners. Tawheed of Lordship of Allah.
*Tawheed Asmaa wa Sifat: Belief in the names and attributes of Allah(azza wajal) based on the Quran and Sunnah, without negating them or interpreting them incorrectly. Tawheed in Names and Attributes of Allah.
We believe in these 3 categories without any doubt in any aspect of Tawheed. This is with Allah’s Tawfeeq: Implies that we are requesting Allah to give us success in this aspect.
The Quraish only talked about the Ruboobiyyah but that was not enough. The Prophet(salalahu alaihi wa salaam) called them towards Tawheed al-Uloohiytaah as well as Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah.
We of Ahl Sunnah and Jamah believe Allah(azza wajal) has no partners in any of these 3 categories. It is binding on the students of knowledge to have awareness of these 3 categories and distinguish themselves from the people of innovation.
In Surah Maryam, ayah 65: Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, so worship Him (Alone) and be constant and patient in His worship. Do you know of any who is similar to Him? (of course none is similar or coequal or comparable to Him, and He has none as partner with Him).
The Shaykh(hafidullah) goes on to explain that this ayah encases the 3 categories of Tawheed, and if we are to break it down: “Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them,” is Ruboobiyah; “so worship Him(Alone) and be constant and patient in His worship” is Uloohiyyah; and “Do you know of any who is similar to Him?” is Asmaa wa sifaat.
The next parts of the text are:
2 - There is nothing like Him.
3 - There is nothing beyond Allah’s ability.
4 - There is no Deity deserving to be worshipped besides Allah.
The shaykh(hafidullah) starts with 2 - There is nothing like Him:
The shaykh(hafidullah) quotes verses from the quran to support this and there are many: "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer” [Surah 42, ayah 11]
“So put not forward similitudes for Allâh (as there is nothing similar to Him, nor He resembles anything). Truly! Allâh knows and you know not.” [Surah 16, ayah 74]
Allah(azza wajal) has Names and Attributes but they are not like that of His creation; the creation is defective while He(azza wajal) is Perfect and so are His Names and Qualities.
"And with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (all that is hidden), none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in (or on) the earth and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but he knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.” [Surah 6, ayah 59]
Allah(azza wajal) alone knows the unseen and no one arranges the affairs of the dunyah like Allah(azza wajal).
This statement is a destruction of shirk and of the people who worship the graves. In the case of the grave worshippers, it is because they make the creation like Allah(azza wajal). They think the people in the grave can see the unseen and that they can arrange their affairs of the dunyah. This makes them a people who liken Allah(azza wajal) to His creation and this is disbelief.
We accept all the Names and Attributes of Allah(azza wajal). As for those like the Jahmiyyah, a group who deny the Qualities/Attributes of Allah(azza wajal), then this is a methodology of disbelief. This is in opposition to the Quran and Sunnah because it is compulsory to accept all of the Names and Attributes of Allah(azza wajal) and not to negate any of them.
We also do not make the Names and Attributes similar to or resembling His(azza wajal) creation, and we do not distort or change their meanings.
Shaykh(hafidullah) proceeds to explain the next point:
3 - There is nothing beyond Allah’s ability.
This is mentioned in the Quran. Allah’s(azza wajal) Qualities have been categorized into 2 broad categories:
1) Those which are affirmed: His Knowledge, Ability, Hearing, Sight, He is above His Throne
2) Those which are negated(which are a few) : Sleep, drowsy, inability, tiredness, having a child.
Looking in the texts we see the affirmation of qualities is broader than the negation; this is because these affirmations are praiseworthy vs. the polemics who uses a lot of negations. The correct way is that of the Quran and Sunnah, which is to follow the affirmations.
As for the negation we find that the way of the Quran and Sunnah is that these are used actually to affirm the opposite of what it is negating. For example sleep, Allah(azza wajal) never sleeps, is all Knowledgeable, and able to do all things. Also the negation of having a child, affirms His(azza wajal) Self-Sufficiency and not having any partners. Negation by itself is not praiseworthy but when it affirms its opposite then you are following the way of Ahl sunnah wa Jamah and then it is praiseworthy.
The next statement:
4 - No one is worthy to be worshipped except Him.
There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; this is similar to the shahadah and what Allah(azza wajal) has revealed in Quran. He has no partners and He alone is worthy of worship.
Allah(azza wajal) is the Truth and what they supplicate to other than Allah(azza wajal) is false.
There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; not that there are no deities other than Allah. This is an important point because there are other things that are worshipped but they are not true and they are not worthy of worship.
Say: "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allâh, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allâh. Then, if they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims." [surah 3, ayah 64]
The Shaykh(hafidullah) explains that in this verse Allah(azza wajal) explains the meaning of la ilaha ill Allah - That Allah alone deserves to be worshipped: We worship none but Him, we associate no partners with Him, and we shall not take others as lords besides Allah(azza wajal). And this is tafseer of the Quran with Quran.
This is in opposition to those groups who claim that La ilaha ill Allah means that there is no creator but Allah(azza wajal). This verse is a refutation to them by stating that there is no deity is worthy of worship except Allah(azza wajal).
Class ends here.
A few questions are taken at the end.