Fundamentals of Islam
Usool
-ad-Deen (Roots of Religion)
- Tawheed -
(Oneness of God)
- The most fundamental aspect of all beliefs revolves around the total
acceptance of the Absolute and Perfect Creator. Belief in the
Originator of all causes and effects with no effect on Him and that He
is One, Everliving, Beneficent and Merciful. He has neither a
colleague nor a partner. He begets not, nor is He begotten, and there
is none like Him. The Almighty God is Unique and is Absolute in the
Absolute sense. No entity in His Universe can ever comprehend His true
state and none should even bother to try for it will lead to futility
and insanity. Yet there is no doubt in any sane mind that His
existence precedes all and His presence is Absolutely ubiquitous (everpresent).
For anyone to say that God does not exist is a liar and a fool because
such a person can NEVER disprove His existence, whether scientifically
or philosophically, or for that matter in any method known. Because He
is Absolute and none is like Him, no one in the relative world can
ever physically define Him, and thus all idol worshippers and those
who ascribe a shape or a body to Him are wrong. Ascribing a shape to
the One who is beyond our limited perceptions would be tantamount to
lying and giving a false appearance and a false representation. In
addition, to believe that one can see God in the physical sense of
sitting on a throne like some mythical being is certainly an untrue
statement and should never be accepted. The Almighty Creator brings to
existence everything with utmost Perfection and nothing in His
Universe is imperfect. Thus to state that the Creator has created
imperfect things is certainly a false statement. He is the One and
Only and is Absolutely independent of anything and everything that
exists. Glorified be His names, the Most High!
- 'Adl -
(Justice) -
Essentially part of Tawheed. Belief that God is Just. He will reward
or punish any person according to his deeds and thus the notion of
predestination (where all decisions are God's and not any one else's)
in one's deeds does not exist. It is absolutely forbidden in Islam to
believe that the Almighty, Merciful Allah planned our destiny and that
the good and the bad are just His Will and there is no choice for us
between them (God forbid!). Those who ascribe to such lies do so
because they want to blame their own evils on Allah and claim the good
for themselves! Although the attribute of Allah's Justice is not a
separate entity of Allah for certainly the Almighty God can never be
compartmentalized nor defined in any relative terms, it is nonetheless
absolutely compulsory to believe and fully understand the importance
of this attribute in Islam so as not to allow the evil suggestions of
Iblees (curse of Allah be upon him and his progeny) and his companions
from leading us astray.
- Nubuwwat -
(Prophethood) -
Belief in the Prophets (PBUT) of God who excel all other persons for
whom they are sent for. All prophets of Allah are perfect and sinless
(ma'soom). Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (PBUH&HF) is the last of the
prophets sent by God and the sealer of prophets for NO more are to
come, EVER! The total number of prophets (PBUT) that were sent by God
to mankind is 124,000 and every nation on earth was given guidance
through them. In fact, all major religions today on earth can be
traced to have these divinely guided teachers as their original
propagators of the Truth of Allah. The best of His messengers all came
from the same tree i.e. family lineage and many of them are mentioned
in the Holy Qur'an which describes who they were and what their
mission on earth was. It is important to note that no prophet on earth
ever negated or rejected any of the other divinely ordained prophets
and thus their message was always the same and one in purpose. Each
established the law of the One and Only God and showed the way of life
for humans to observe. From the very first creation of mankind, there
was always a prophet on earth which was Prophet Adam (PBUH). This
guidance from the Merciful Allah to establish His complete laws
continued to the last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF) who exemplified the
letters of the law in his most perfect behavior. He completed and
perfected the one and only True religion, Islam. With the revelation
of the last Holy Book, the Qur'an, which is the most protected and
perfect book of God with us, he established as part of his mission,
every concievable and practical law for mankind to follow in order to
attain spiritual perfection. Great prophets such as Nuh (Noah),
Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaaq (Isaac), Yaqoob (Jacob),
Yusuf (Joseph), Dawood (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Musa (Moses),
Yahya (John), and Isa (Jesus), - (Peace be upon them all) - all came
from the one blessed lineage of Prophet Adam (PBUH) and ended with the
last Messenger, Muhammad (PBUH&HF). It is also important to note that
anyone who ascribes imperfections or mistakes to these divinely guided
personalities is ascribing it directly to Allah who is certainly free
from such. Acceptance of such ideas is also rejection of the message
of Allah entirely. Thus with prophethood, a believer has to accept in
their complete message without any reservations of possible errors or
mistakes.
- Imamat -
(Guidance) -
Belief in the divinely appointed leadership after the death of the
Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF) to protect and guide mankind with the revealed
Truth, the Holy Qur'an and the true practices of the Holy Prophet
himself. The roles of these leaders is an integral part in the
protection of all the Messengers and their divine Messages. The
Almighty Allah appointed through the Holy Prophet himself, twelve
Guides (Imams) to protect mankind from misrepresenting and
misinterpreting the Truth. Belief in this is most important in Islam
and no doubts about their positions should be allowed. They are indeed
sinless (ma'soom) and perfect in the highest sense of the word. The
Imams have direct knowledge from God, and their verdict is the verdict
of God. After the Holy Prophet, only they can interpret and guide
mankind in every aspect of life and death and all believers must
acquire guidance from them or else they will certainly be lost. They
do NOT bring any new laws nor do they ever innovate their own laws.
They always exempliy and elucidate the practical (Sunnah) and the
written (the Holy Qur'an). It is also important to note that they
NEVER disagree with each other in their manners and duties nor in
their representations of the Divine Laws. They are from the best and
the most blessed and purified lineage of the last Holy Prophet
Muhammad (PBUT) and their names are as follows: (1) Imam Ali ibn Abu
Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Holy Prophet who called him
his only brother in this world and in the next, (2) Imam Hasan son of
Ali, (3) Imam Husain son of Ali, (4) Imam Ali son of Husain, (5) Imam
Muhammad son of Ali, (6) Imam Ja'far son of Muhammad, (7) Imam Musa
son of Ja'far, (8) Imam Ali son of Musa, (9) Imam Muhammad son of Ali,
(10) Imam Ali son of Muhammad, (11) Imam Hasan son of Ali, and the
last and living Imam Muhammad son of Hasan, the establisher of the
Truth till the end of this world (PBUT). There is no successor to the
Twelfth Holy Imam Muhammad ibnul Hassan (PBUH) and he is LIVING today
but is in occultation and appears only to those who are most in need
and to those who are most virtuous and pious. By the Command of Allah,
he will reappear to all when he will establish true justice on earth
and will rule mankind compassionately with utmost perfection as is the
Will of the Almighty Allah. He will abolish the evil establishments on
earth and mankind will live under true guidance as should have been
many centuries ago!
- Qiyaamat -
(Resurrection)
- Belief in the Day of Judgement when all human beings shall be raised
from the dead and all their good and bad deeds shall be ultimately
judged and recompensed accordingly. This belief is most essential WITH
the belief in the One True God. The Day of Judgement will prove to all
in this Universe that the Almighty Allah is the Creator of all from
nothing and is the Absolute Master. His divine presence shall be most
apparent on this important Day for all to witness. It is a judgement
Dayfor His creatures to know themselves and their relationship to the
Creator Allah. Just as pursuit for justice is inseperable in any
society on earth, so is the Ultimate Day of Justice inseparable for
mankind.
|