ISLAMIAT LECTURE 6

ARTICLES OF FAITH (1)

• Unity and Oneness of Allah:

Regarding the unity and oneness of Allah, muslims believe that Allah is one. This belief, commonly known as tawhid, means that Allah is the only creator of earth, the celestial bodies, the angels, the humans and everything else that exists. Thus, He is unique and far beyond the imagination and comprehension of humans. Tawhid is primarily of 3 categories. One is that Allah is unique in person which means that Allah is only one and there is none even close in comparison to Him. The other category of tawhid is that Allah is Unique in attributes. This signifies that no other being can be equal to Allah in attributes. For example, man may attain a degree of perfection in the attribute of kindness but only Allah possesses the perfection of the attribute of kindness. Thirdly, Allah is unique in action which implies that no one can do the works which Allah can do, for example neither can man give birth to a human without Allah’s will nor can he take the life of anybody.

Allah is not bound to human characteristics and neither does He need any rest nor any sleep. This has also been mentioned in Ayat-ul-Kursi. He has been there since the beginning and will remain till the end, which suggests that He is eternal. Moreover, Allah does not have any family. He does not have any parents, wife or children. Surah Al-Ikhlas mentions it in these words: “He begets not, nor is He begotten”. This shows that He has no progeny. Thus the Christian belief that Jesus is the son of God is also proven wrong in this verse. Hence, Muslims should only worship Allah and no one else as He is the complete authority. His complete authority is also proven by the fact that had there been more than 1 god, the system of the universe would have halted due to conflicts between the gods as to how to run the universe. But since the system is flawless, it suggests that Allah alone is the master. And all His creations are sub-servient to Him.

Allah’s knowledge is unlimited and infinite, which suggests that He is Omniscient. He knows everything hidden or manifest and He has the knowledge of all the characteristics of each and everything in the whole universe. This means that the unlimited knowledge of Allah encompasses every nook and corner of His domain. And since Allah alone is the All-Powerful, All-Knowing, humans must only seek His help and guidance. This is because Allah is the originator, cherisher and sustainer of all worlds. Therefore, Muslims must always avoid shirk i.e. associating partners to Allah as only Allah is worthy of worship and committing shirk is unfair to both Allah and man. Infact, shirk has repeatedly been condemned in Islam. The Quran says: “Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him”. This shows that shirk is an unforgivable and unpardonable sin despite the fact that Allah is the most merciful!

• Angels:

The 2nd article of Islamic faith is the belief in the existence of angels. Allah created angels from light and did not grant them a free will. Hence, they are subservient to Allah and follow His orders. They are constantly involved in Allah’s worship and service. Unless they appear in human form, they aren’t usually visible. Many times in Islamic history, angels have appeared in human form such as before Hazrat Ibrahim to give him the glad tidings of a son and also before Hazrat Lut to warn him of the impending doom of his wicked people. Angels have been given the necessary qualities and powers to carry out their functions. However, it must be noted that they are not the daughters of Allah nor are they objects of worship. In fact worshipping them is equivalent to committing shirk. Angels are not mortals and so they do not have humanly requirements such as food and sleep. Angels prostrated before Adam when Allah commanded them to do so.

Angels have various functions and duties. They act as Allah’s messengers but do not descend except by Allah’s command. They strengthen the hearts of the believers and are their protectors. At the Battle oh Badr, they helped strengthen the hearts of believers and put terror in the hearts of non believers. They implore forgiveness for the believers but they can offer no intercession for them. They send blessings on the Holy Prophet and the believers. Angels are the guardians of hell fire. They record man’s words and deeds. Some angles and their duties are mentioned below:

·        Munkir and Nakir: record the deeds of man

·        Rizwan: incharge of paradise

·        Malik: rules over hell

·        Mikail: looks after the universe, movement of stars, planets, galaxies and the forces of nature. He is responsible for rain and providing provision to people at Allah’s commands

·        Israfil: will blow the trumpet on the Day of Judgment

·        Izrael: responsible for taking our souls upon death

·        Jibrael: revealed the Quran to the Prophet and bought revelations to other prophets as well.

• Books:

Allah has sent scriptures down as a source of guidance for humanity; these scriptures have been delivered to particular prophets and for particular communities. The message in theses scriptures is basically the same: the belief and recognition of the oneness of Allah – Tauhid. Allah, who has created for man all things that are on the earth and has made subservient to Him all that is in the heavens and the earth, has provided everything for man’s survival, including spiritual guidance. Revelation is the name given to the means of communication employed by Allah for conveying His command and message to Prophets. The prophets then further preached the message of Allah to humans on how to lead righteous lives. These revelations served as a constant source of guidance for they contained in them principles of religion relating to the Unity of Allah, His attributes, prayer, reward and punishment for one’s deeds etc. some of those scriptures are:

·        Sahifas of Hazrat Ibrahim

·        Tawrat of Hazrat Musa

·        Zabur of Hazrat Daud

·        Injeel of Hazrat Isa

Each of the previous Prophets before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sent to a particular nation or tribe and therefore the revelation was intended to be universal. However, by the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the previous scriptures had either been lost or they had been distorted by the people to suit their needs. Hence, Allah sent a final message in the form of the Holy Quran to the Prophet (PBUH). Quran is the only scripture which has been preserved in its true form to date. The Quran is the most comprehensive book revealed by Allah and contains a complete code of conduct for humans to succeed in this world and the hereafter. Unlike other scriptures, Quran is for the entire humanity and not a particular tribe. Allah says in the Quran:

“We have without doubt, sent down the message and we will assuredly guard it from corruption”

This means that Quran will be preserved in its truest for all generations to come so that they can benefit from its message.