2 fundamental beliefs

8/11/2019 2 Fundamental Beliefs

1/23

Fundamental Beliefs and Practices of Islam

The Articles of Faith in Islam:

Islam consists of submission and obedience to Allah, the Lord of the Universe. Since the onlyauthentic source of knowing Him and His Will and Law is the teachings of the true ro!het, wemay define Islam a"hat religion which stands for com!lete faith in the teachings of the ro!hetand steadfast obedience to his ways of life #onse$uently, one who ignores the medium of thero!het and claims to follow %od directly is not a &uslim'.

In earlier e!ochs there had been se!arate ro!hets for different nations, and the history of!ro!hethood shows that evenin one and the same nation several ro!hets a!!eared one afterthe other. In that age Islam was the name of that religion which was taught to a nation by its ownro!het or ro!hets. (hough the nature and substance of Islam was the same in every age and

country, the modes of worshi!, codes of law and other detailed rules and regulations of lifevaried according to local and !articular conditions. It was not, therefore, necessary for any nationto follow another nation's ro!het and its res!onsibility was confined to following the guidancegiven by its own ro!het.

(his !eriod of !oly)!ro!hetism came to an end with the advent of&uhammad *blessings of Allah and !eace be u!on him+. (he teachings ofIslam were made com!lete through him one basic law was formulated forthe whole world and he was made a ro!het for all mankind. His

!ro!hethood was not meant for any !articular nation or country orperiod; his message was for all peoples and for all ages.

The earlier codes were abrogated by the advent ofMuhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him)who gave the world a complete code of life. This meansthere will be no new Prophets and no new religious-code until the ast !ay. Muhammad"s (blessings of Allahand peace be upon him) teachings are meant for all thechildren of Adam# the entire human race.

$ow %slam consists in following Muhammad(blessings of Allah and peace be upon him)# that is#ac&nowledging his prophethood# believing in all that he

has as&ed us to believe in# following him in letter andspirit# and submitting to all his commands andin'unctions# the most fundamental of which is a ilahaillallah There is no deity but Allah.

This brings us to the uestion* +hat has Muhammad (blessings of Allahand peace be upon him) as&ed us to believe in, +hat are the articles of%slamic faith, +e shall discuss these articles and see how simple# how


2/23

true# how lovable and how valuable they are and to what high pinnaclethey raise the status of Man in this world and the world to come.

Tawhid: Faith in the Unity of God

Tawhid means "oneness"# and "uniueness ( )". Theconcept of Tawhid is that od is one and uniue; and that thereis only one od# Allah to be +orshipped and obeyed.

The technical meaning of tawheed*Allah is one in his being and

attributes and he is the only one whois worthy to be worshipped andobeyed.Kinds of tawheed:

1. In being2. In attributes.3. In worship

The doctrine is embodied in "ura %&hlas" in the /oly 0uran asfollows*

-./0 12 345 627 892 .5 627 9:5 62 89;? =- .@ AB9>?*.

ay; /e is Allah the one;

Allah the independent of all;

/e begets not# nor was /e begotten; and

none is comparable unto HimC.

The significance of this concept:

1.Most important teaching of Muhammad(s.a.w.s.)

The most fundamental and the most important teaching ofProphet Muhammad (blessing of Allah and peace be upon him) isfaith in the unit of od, This is e1pressed in the primary 2almah


3/23

of %slam as There is nodeity but Allah (a ilaha illallah). Thisbeautiful phrase is the bedroc& of %slam# its foundation and itsessence. %t is the e1pression of this belief which di3erentiates atrue Muslim from a &a4r (unbeliever)# mushri& (one whoassociates others with od in /is !ivinity) or dahriyah (an

atheist).2.DifferentiatesMuslimfromnon-Muslim.

The acceptance or denial of this phrase produces a world ofdi3erence between man and man) the believers in it become onesingle community and those who do not believe in it form anopposing group. 5or the believers there is unhampered progressand success in this world and in the hereafter# while failure andignominy are the ultimate lot of those who refuse to believe in it.

6ut the di3erence between the believers and the unbelieversdoes not result from the mere chanting of a few words.7bviously# the mere utterance of a phrase or two is not in itselfimportant. The real di3erence lies in the conscious acceptance ofthis doctrine and complete adherence to it in practical life. Mererepetition of the word "food" cannot dull hunger; mere chantingof a medical prescription cannot heal the disease. ..

In the same way, if the Dalimah is re!eated without arty understanding, itcannot work the revolution which it is meant to bring about. (his can occur

only if a !erson gras!s the full meaning of the doctrine and acce!ts andfollows it in letter and s!irit. We avoid fire because we know that it burns wekee! away from !oison because we know that it can kill. Similarly, if the realmeanings of (awhid are fully gras!ed, we avoid, in belief as well as in action,every form of disbelief, atheism and !olytheism. (his is the naturalconse$uence of belief in the Unity of %od.

Primary kalmia of Islam:

=- EFG 9; =- JK 12K JThe Meaning of the Kalimah

In Arabic the word ilah means one who is worshi!!ed', that is, a beingwhich on account of its greatness and !ower is considered worthy to beworshi!!edM to be bowed to in humility and submission. Anything or anybeing !ossessing !ower too great to be com!rehended by man is also calledilah. (he conce!t ilah also includes the !ossession of infinite !owers andconveys the sense that others are de!endent on ilah and that he is notde!endent on anyone else. (he word ilah carries, too, a sense of concealmentand mystery. (he word Dhuda in ersian, Neva in Hindi and %od in Onglishhave similar connotations. Pther languages also contain words with a similar


4/23

meaning.

La illallah Literally Means

(he word Allah, on the other hand, is the essential !ersonal name of %od. La ilaha illallahliterally means C(here is no ilah other than the Pne %reat Qeing known by the name Allah.C, It

means that in the whole of the universe, there is absolutely no being worthy to be worshi!!edother than Allah, that it is only to Him that heads should bow in submission and adoration, thatHe is the only Qeing !ossessing all !owers, that we are all in need of His favors, and that weare all obliged to seek His hel!. He is concealed from our senses, and our intellect cannot!erceive what He is. .

$ow we &now the meaning of these words# let us loo& more closelyat their real signi4cance.Deity and Deities

5rom the earliest &nown history of man as well as from the oldestrelics of antiuity that we have been able to obtain. %t appears that wehave been able to obtain# it appears that in every age man recogni8edsome deity or deities and worshipped them. 9ven today every nation#from the most primitive to the most advanced# believes in and worshipssome deity. /aving a deity and worshipping him is ingrained in humannature. There is something within man"s soul which forces him to doso.

Rational indication of the concept ofTawheed:

Position of Man

6ut the uestion is* what is that thing and why does man feelimpelled to do so, The answer to this uestion can be discovered if weloo& at the position of man in this huge universe. $either man nor hisnature is omnipotent. /e is neither self-su3icient nor self e1isting; norare his powers limitless. %n fact# he iswea frail: needy and destitute.

Success and Failure

/e is dependent on a multitude of forces to maintain his e1istence# butall of them are not essentially and totally within his powers. ometimes

they come into his possession in a simple and natural way# and at timeshe 4nds himself deprived of them. There are many important andvaluable things which he endeavors to get# but sometimes he succeedsin getting them# while sometimes he does not# for it is not completely inhis own power to obtain them. There are many things in'urious to him;accidents destroy his life"s wor& in a single moment; chance brings hishopes to a sudden end; illness# worries and calamities are always


5/23

threatening him and marring his way to happiness. /e attempts to getrid of them# and meets with both success and failure. -

There are many things whose greatness and grandeuroverawe him* mountains and rivers# gigantic animals areferocious beasts. /e e1periences earthua&es# storms andother natural disasters. /e

7bserves clouds over his head and sees them becoming thic&and dar with peals of thunder# ashes of lightning and heavyrain. /e sees the sun# the moon and the stars in their constantmotions. /e reects how great# powerful and grand thesebodies are# and# in contrast to them# how frail andinsigni4cant the himself is

2 fundamental beliefs

Documents