Umm Umar
March 15th, 2008, 16:15
_________________________________________________
Book = Al-Aqeedah at-Tahawiyyah by: Imam Abu Ja'far Ahmed at-Tahawi al-Hanafi (239-321 AH)
Shaykh = Fahad al-Fuhayd (hafidhahullaah)
Class Date = February 2, 2008
Student ID = VA2679
Class #2
_________________________________________________
Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem
Shaykh’s Introduction
Our Shaykh حفظه الله began by praising Allaah and sending the salaat and salaams on our Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم his family and the believers who follow them in righteousness to the Last Day Ameen. He greeted us saying: “hayakumullaah”, and asking Allaah to give all of us Success.
Imaam At-Tahawi started his book by mentioning that: Herein is an explanation of the beliefs of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, according to the school of the jurists of this religion, Abu Hanifah an-Nu'man ibn Thabit al-Kufi, Abu Yusuf Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim al-Ansari and Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, may Allah be pleased with them all, and what they believe concerning the foundations of the deen and what they worship Allaah Ta’Aalaa with. There is a need for the `Aqeedah to be explained based on the Qur’aan and the Sunnah because as time passed innovations occurred amongst the Ummah in regards to the `Aqeedah. It became neceesary for the righteous scholars of this Ummah to explain the foundations of `Aqeedah (based on the irrefutable texts: Qur’aan and authentic ahadeeth) in order to refute these innovations. Since the time of the Sahaabah, the ‘Ulemaa have refuted those who go against correct `Aqeedah and presented works to clarify the misconceptions and falsehoods of the long and misleading interpretations of the Qur’aan brought forth by the innovators. And this goes with the saying of ar-Rasool صلى الله عليه و سلم to his Sahabaah: “Whoever lives long from amongst you will see a lot of controversy.” (part of Saheeh hadeeth recorded by Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhee and others)
Explanation of the Text
Our Shaykh حفظه الله began to explain the text of Aqeedatut-Tahaawiyyah by stating: And we say concerning Allaah’s Unity and believing that with Allaah’s Tawfeeq…
1.) He is One
2.) There is nothing like Him
3.) Nothing is beyond His Ability
4.) There is nothing worthy to be worshipped beside Him
These short sentences carry a heavy meaning:
1.) He is One means that we believe in Allaah’s Tawheed: the tawheed of worship and the tawheed of Lordship and the tawheed of His Names and Attributes and that Allaah has no partner in any of these areas of tawheed. Tawheed means “making one singular.” When we say tawheed in worship, it means worshipping Allaah Alone, tawheed in Lordship, that Allaah Alone is the Lord of all that exists, and tawheed in Asma was-Sifaat, that there is nothing like Him, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. We believe in all of this with absolute certainty - without any doubt -and this is with Allaah’s Tawfeeq, and occurs only if Allaah ta’Aalaa grants us the success for that. Asking Allaah for His Tawfeeq here is a request to Allaah to keep us correct in all affairs of `Aqeedah whether they be words or deeds. This is unlike the Ahlul-Bidah who say that it is sufficient to believe only in tawheed ar-ruboobiyyah (tawheed of Lordship). But this is not sufficient, for even the polytheists of Quraysh believed this. What is more important is to worship Allaah Alone and single Allaah out alone for this worship. Ar-Rasool صلى الله عليه و سلم called to this aspect of Tawheed. We believe that Allaah has no partners in any aspect of Tawheed. And the proof for this comes from the noble aayah:
رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فَاعْبُدْهُ وَاصْطَبِرْ لِعِبَادَتِه ِِ هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَه ُُ سَمِيّا
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). [There is nothing like unto Him and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer]. (Maryam 19:65)
This aayah covers all three aspects of tawheed.
2.) There is nothing like Him and the proof for this is in the Qur’aan where Allaah says:
[color=blue][center] لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِه ِِ شَيْء ٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
[/color] there is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer. (Ash-Shura 42:11) [/CENTER]
And where Allaah says:
[color=blue][center] فَلاَ تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الأَمْثَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ
[/color] So put not forward similitudes for Allaah (as there is nothing similar to Him, nor He resembles anything). Truly! Allaah knows and you know not.
(An-Nahl 16:74) [/CENTER]
So Allaah Ta’Aalaa has Names and Attributes that are not like the attributes of His creation. the creation is defective whereas Allaah is Complete and Perfect in every way, as Allaah says:
[color=blue][center]... وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الأَعْلَى وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
[/color] ... and for Allaah is the highest description. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.
(An-Nahl 16:60) [/CENTER]
And:
[color=blue][center] كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَان {26} وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلاَلِ وَالإِكْرَامِ
[/color] Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish.{26} And the Face of your Lord full of Majesty and Honour will abide forever. (Ar-Rahmaan 55: 26, 27) [/CENTER]
We also know that since there is nothing like Him, He Alone knows the unseen. No one arranges affairs of creation in this life or the Next. This statement is utter destruction of shirk and the people who worship the graves thinking their inhabitants know the unseen and can arrange the affairs of the creation. These are people of mushabbahah (making resemblance) - those who liken Allaah to His creation. They affirm Allaah’s qualities but they also apply them to His creation. At the other end there are the Jahmiyyah – those who deny the qualities of Allaah altogether. This is a methodology of disbelief because it is in opposition to the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. It is a requirement for those from Ahlus-Sunnah wal-jama’ah to affirm Allaah’s Names and Attributes without likening them to the creation and without denying them. We deny the similitude but affirm the fact the He – Allaah azza wa jall – has Names and Attributes.
3.) Nothing is beyond His Ability and the proof for this is in Surah al-Faatir where Allaah says:
[color=blue][center] الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ رُسُلاً أُولِي أَجْنِحَة ٍ مَثْنَى وَثُلاَثَ وَرُبَاعَ يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْء ٍ قَدِير ٌ
[/color] All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, the (only) Originator [or the (only) Creator] of the heavens and the earth, Who made the angels messengers with wings, - two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Verily, Allaah is Able to do all things. (Fatir 35:1) [/CENTER]
And among the Qualities are two types: Those that are affirmed and those that are negated.
Among Allaah’s affirmed qualities are: Knowledge, Ability, Hearing, Sight, Istawaa (His ascending the Throne in a manner that suits His Majesty) and from those that are negated: sleep, tiredness, inability, and having children.
Our Shaykh mentions two important principles for understanding the Qualities of Allaah:
First: That the affirmation of qualities are broader and more wide then the negation. This is because they are praiseworthy. This is the opposite the people of polemics – those that use alot of negation by saying: “allaah is not this”, and Allaah can’t do that” etc. Whereas, the more correct way to speak of Allaah’s Qualities is by following the way of the Qur’aan - using affirmation!
Second: That the negations that we find in Qur’aan are used to affirm their opposites. For example: saying that Allaah does not sleep shows that He is perfectly ever-Aware, All-Knowing and Able to do all things. So a negation affirms His Self-Sufficiency. A simple negation alone is not something praiseworthy (such as those of polemics do), rather we adhere to the understanding of Allaah’s Qualities according to Ahlus-Sunnah, and that is affirming the opposite of what is being negated.
4.) There is nothing worthy to be worshipped beside Him . This statement of the author: “Laa ilaha illa ghayruhu” – is the statement of Tawheed, the statement of our Deen. No prophet was sent before our Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم but he said the same thing: “Laa ilaha ila Allaah” (nothing deserves to be worshipped other than Allaah). The proof of this statement is in the Qur’aan where Allaah mentions:
[color=blue][center] ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ الْبَاطِلُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ
[/color] That is because Allaah, He is the Truth, and that which they invoke besides Him is al-Baatil (falsehood, Satan and all other false deities), and that Allaah, He is the Most High, the Most Great. (Luqman 31:30) [/CENTER]
When we explain this we must know that there is no diety worthy of being worshipped other than Allaah. Some say that this means there is no diety besides Allaah or there is no creator besides Allaah, but this is incorrect because other things are worshipped besides Allaah. The correct saying is that they do not deserve to be worshipped. The proof for the correct meaning of this statement is in the noble aayah:
[color=blue][center] قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَى كَلِمَة ٍ سَوَاء ٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلاَّ نَعْبُدَ إِلاَّ اللَّهَ وَلاَ نُشْرِكَ بِه ِِ شَيْئا ً وَلاَ يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضاً أَرْبَابا ً مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ …
[/color] Say (O Muhammad - صلى الله عليه و سلم ): "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allaah, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allaah…” (Aali Imran 3:64) [/CENTER]
This verse explain the meaning of “laa illaaha ilAllaah”. This is the way of Ahlus-Sunnah – whereas the `Ashaariyyah say: what is intended by “laa ilaaha ill Allaah” is that there is no creator other than Allaah. But this verse clearly refutes their belief because in the Qur’aan, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’Aalaa explains it as meaning: “there is no diety which deserves to be worshipped other than Allaah.”.
Walhamdulillaahi Rabbil`alameen was-Salaatu was-salaam `alaa Muhammadin Ameen. This is what I was able to comprehend from the lecture by Allaah’s Leave. That which is correct is from Allaah and whatever is false is from my nafs and Shaytaan.
Book = Al-Aqeedah at-Tahawiyyah by: Imam Abu Ja'far Ahmed at-Tahawi al-Hanafi (239-321 AH)
Shaykh = Fahad al-Fuhayd (hafidhahullaah)
Class Date = February 2, 2008
Student ID = VA2679
Class #2
_________________________________________________
Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem
Shaykh’s Introduction
Our Shaykh حفظه الله began by praising Allaah and sending the salaat and salaams on our Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم his family and the believers who follow them in righteousness to the Last Day Ameen. He greeted us saying: “hayakumullaah”, and asking Allaah to give all of us Success.
Imaam At-Tahawi started his book by mentioning that: Herein is an explanation of the beliefs of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, according to the school of the jurists of this religion, Abu Hanifah an-Nu'man ibn Thabit al-Kufi, Abu Yusuf Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim al-Ansari and Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, may Allah be pleased with them all, and what they believe concerning the foundations of the deen and what they worship Allaah Ta’Aalaa with. There is a need for the `Aqeedah to be explained based on the Qur’aan and the Sunnah because as time passed innovations occurred amongst the Ummah in regards to the `Aqeedah. It became neceesary for the righteous scholars of this Ummah to explain the foundations of `Aqeedah (based on the irrefutable texts: Qur’aan and authentic ahadeeth) in order to refute these innovations. Since the time of the Sahaabah, the ‘Ulemaa have refuted those who go against correct `Aqeedah and presented works to clarify the misconceptions and falsehoods of the long and misleading interpretations of the Qur’aan brought forth by the innovators. And this goes with the saying of ar-Rasool صلى الله عليه و سلم to his Sahabaah: “Whoever lives long from amongst you will see a lot of controversy.” (part of Saheeh hadeeth recorded by Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhee and others)
Explanation of the Text
Our Shaykh حفظه الله began to explain the text of Aqeedatut-Tahaawiyyah by stating: And we say concerning Allaah’s Unity and believing that with Allaah’s Tawfeeq…
1.) He is One
2.) There is nothing like Him
3.) Nothing is beyond His Ability
4.) There is nothing worthy to be worshipped beside Him
These short sentences carry a heavy meaning:
1.) He is One means that we believe in Allaah’s Tawheed: the tawheed of worship and the tawheed of Lordship and the tawheed of His Names and Attributes and that Allaah has no partner in any of these areas of tawheed. Tawheed means “making one singular.” When we say tawheed in worship, it means worshipping Allaah Alone, tawheed in Lordship, that Allaah Alone is the Lord of all that exists, and tawheed in Asma was-Sifaat, that there is nothing like Him, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. We believe in all of this with absolute certainty - without any doubt -and this is with Allaah’s Tawfeeq, and occurs only if Allaah ta’Aalaa grants us the success for that. Asking Allaah for His Tawfeeq here is a request to Allaah to keep us correct in all affairs of `Aqeedah whether they be words or deeds. This is unlike the Ahlul-Bidah who say that it is sufficient to believe only in tawheed ar-ruboobiyyah (tawheed of Lordship). But this is not sufficient, for even the polytheists of Quraysh believed this. What is more important is to worship Allaah Alone and single Allaah out alone for this worship. Ar-Rasool صلى الله عليه و سلم called to this aspect of Tawheed. We believe that Allaah has no partners in any aspect of Tawheed. And the proof for this comes from the noble aayah:
رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فَاعْبُدْهُ وَاصْطَبِرْ لِعِبَادَتِه ِِ هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَه ُُ سَمِيّا
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). [There is nothing like unto Him and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer]. (Maryam 19:65)
This aayah covers all three aspects of tawheed.
2.) There is nothing like Him and the proof for this is in the Qur’aan where Allaah says:
[color=blue][center] لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِه ِِ شَيْء ٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
[/color] there is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer. (Ash-Shura 42:11) [/CENTER]
And where Allaah says:
[color=blue][center] فَلاَ تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الأَمْثَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ
[/color] So put not forward similitudes for Allaah (as there is nothing similar to Him, nor He resembles anything). Truly! Allaah knows and you know not.
(An-Nahl 16:74) [/CENTER]
So Allaah Ta’Aalaa has Names and Attributes that are not like the attributes of His creation. the creation is defective whereas Allaah is Complete and Perfect in every way, as Allaah says:
[color=blue][center]... وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الأَعْلَى وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
[/color] ... and for Allaah is the highest description. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.
(An-Nahl 16:60) [/CENTER]
And:
[color=blue][center] كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَان {26} وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلاَلِ وَالإِكْرَامِ
[/color] Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish.{26} And the Face of your Lord full of Majesty and Honour will abide forever. (Ar-Rahmaan 55: 26, 27) [/CENTER]
We also know that since there is nothing like Him, He Alone knows the unseen. No one arranges affairs of creation in this life or the Next. This statement is utter destruction of shirk and the people who worship the graves thinking their inhabitants know the unseen and can arrange the affairs of the creation. These are people of mushabbahah (making resemblance) - those who liken Allaah to His creation. They affirm Allaah’s qualities but they also apply them to His creation. At the other end there are the Jahmiyyah – those who deny the qualities of Allaah altogether. This is a methodology of disbelief because it is in opposition to the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. It is a requirement for those from Ahlus-Sunnah wal-jama’ah to affirm Allaah’s Names and Attributes without likening them to the creation and without denying them. We deny the similitude but affirm the fact the He – Allaah azza wa jall – has Names and Attributes.
3.) Nothing is beyond His Ability and the proof for this is in Surah al-Faatir where Allaah says:
[color=blue][center] الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ رُسُلاً أُولِي أَجْنِحَة ٍ مَثْنَى وَثُلاَثَ وَرُبَاعَ يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْء ٍ قَدِير ٌ
[/color] All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, the (only) Originator [or the (only) Creator] of the heavens and the earth, Who made the angels messengers with wings, - two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Verily, Allaah is Able to do all things. (Fatir 35:1) [/CENTER]
And among the Qualities are two types: Those that are affirmed and those that are negated.
Among Allaah’s affirmed qualities are: Knowledge, Ability, Hearing, Sight, Istawaa (His ascending the Throne in a manner that suits His Majesty) and from those that are negated: sleep, tiredness, inability, and having children.
Our Shaykh mentions two important principles for understanding the Qualities of Allaah:
First: That the affirmation of qualities are broader and more wide then the negation. This is because they are praiseworthy. This is the opposite the people of polemics – those that use alot of negation by saying: “allaah is not this”, and Allaah can’t do that” etc. Whereas, the more correct way to speak of Allaah’s Qualities is by following the way of the Qur’aan - using affirmation!
Second: That the negations that we find in Qur’aan are used to affirm their opposites. For example: saying that Allaah does not sleep shows that He is perfectly ever-Aware, All-Knowing and Able to do all things. So a negation affirms His Self-Sufficiency. A simple negation alone is not something praiseworthy (such as those of polemics do), rather we adhere to the understanding of Allaah’s Qualities according to Ahlus-Sunnah, and that is affirming the opposite of what is being negated.
4.) There is nothing worthy to be worshipped beside Him . This statement of the author: “Laa ilaha illa ghayruhu” – is the statement of Tawheed, the statement of our Deen. No prophet was sent before our Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم but he said the same thing: “Laa ilaha ila Allaah” (nothing deserves to be worshipped other than Allaah). The proof of this statement is in the Qur’aan where Allaah mentions:
[color=blue][center] ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ الْبَاطِلُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ
[/color] That is because Allaah, He is the Truth, and that which they invoke besides Him is al-Baatil (falsehood, Satan and all other false deities), and that Allaah, He is the Most High, the Most Great. (Luqman 31:30) [/CENTER]
When we explain this we must know that there is no diety worthy of being worshipped other than Allaah. Some say that this means there is no diety besides Allaah or there is no creator besides Allaah, but this is incorrect because other things are worshipped besides Allaah. The correct saying is that they do not deserve to be worshipped. The proof for the correct meaning of this statement is in the noble aayah:
[color=blue][center] قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَى كَلِمَة ٍ سَوَاء ٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلاَّ نَعْبُدَ إِلاَّ اللَّهَ وَلاَ نُشْرِكَ بِه ِِ شَيْئا ً وَلاَ يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضاً أَرْبَابا ً مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ …
[/color] Say (O Muhammad - صلى الله عليه و سلم ): "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allaah, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allaah…” (Aali Imran 3:64) [/CENTER]
This verse explain the meaning of “laa illaaha ilAllaah”. This is the way of Ahlus-Sunnah – whereas the `Ashaariyyah say: what is intended by “laa ilaaha ill Allaah” is that there is no creator other than Allaah. But this verse clearly refutes their belief because in the Qur’aan, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’Aalaa explains it as meaning: “there is no diety which deserves to be worshipped other than Allaah.”.
Walhamdulillaahi Rabbil`alameen was-Salaatu was-salaam `alaa Muhammadin Ameen. This is what I was able to comprehend from the lecture by Allaah’s Leave. That which is correct is from Allaah and whatever is false is from my nafs and Shaytaan.