By Amatullah
Aminah
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Raheem
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| Borrowed from http://lisanaldin.blogspot.com |
The Attributes of Messengers
Messengers of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) have been described with most lofty adjectives, ‘sidq’ being one of them. ‘Sidq’ means being truthful; and to this characteristic their message is attributed. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has called His messengers ‘Siddiqoon’ in various places in the Quran, thereby confirming their status and giving us no reason to distrust them. They should be especially trusted in regard to the knowledge they gave us about Allah’s Names and Attributes, in opposition to what is told by the deviants and heretics who narrate from their whims and fancies, or hallucinations, caused by the shaytaan.
Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power. He is free from what they attribute to Him. And peace be upon the Messengers and all the praise and thanks to be Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. [Sura As-Saaffaat 37:180-182]
Several lessons can be derived from the above verses:
1. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is exalted above what the misguided and ignorant describe Him with, from amongst things that do not befit His Majesty.
2. The truthfulness of the Messengers and the obligation to accept what they inform us about Allah (and His Names and Attributes)
3. The legislation of sending peace (salaam) upon the Messengers (upon them be prayers and peace) and showing reverence and respect to them.
4. A refutation of everything which opposes and differs from what the Messengers came with.
5. The legislation of praising Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), and showing gratefulness for His favours and bounties, the best and most magnificent of which is tawheed.
The Straight Path of the Prophets, Truthful, Martyrs, and Righteous
“...the Straight Path of those upon whom Allaah has bestowed favours from amongst the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous.” – Ibn Tayimyyah in Aqeedah Al-Wasitiyyah
Each day we pray for guidance to the ‘straight path’ in Surat Al-Fatihah; we specifically ask to be guided to the path of those upon whom Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has bestowed His favours.
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray. [Surah Fatihah 1:7]
So, who are those on whom Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has bestowed His absolute favour to which everlasting happiness is attached? They are broadly divided into four categories:
1. The Prophets (nabiyyoon, pl. of nabiy): they are the ones whom Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has chosen to be prophets to deliver His Message.
2. The Truthful (siddeeqoon, pl. of siddeeq): a siddeeq is marked with absolute truthfulness and strong faith. He offers unquestioned submission to the messenger (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and along with that shows perfect sincerity towards Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala).
3. The Martyr (shuhadaa, pl. of shaheed): a shaheed is the one who is killed in the path of Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala). He is named as such because Paradise is attested for him and the Angels of mercy take his soul and give testimony for him.
4. The Righteous (saalihoon, pl. of saalih): a saalih is one who fulfills and performs the rights of Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala) and the rights of His servants.
All of us, at some point in time, have felt, or will feel, a certain degree of alienation. There are times when we feel ‘strange’ and ‘different’ from others while mingling with the mainstream. Such situations usually confront us in school, college, and the work place, where peer pressure becomes too strong to resist. At times like these, we should perceive the path we are walking on and the company it has to offer (that of the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs, and the Righteous). Our journey will not only be easier thereon, but also extremely comforting and blissful.
May Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala) grant us the company of those with whom He is pleased and may we always be on the right path, ameen
Surah Ikhlaas
An independent section is dedicated to Surah Ikhlaas in the scrolls of Aqeedah Al Wasitiyyah to mark the importance of tawheed. The first step towards the ‘path’ we have been talking about starts with tawheed, which is perfectly illustrated in Surah Ikhlaas.
Say, “He is Allah, [Who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.” [Surah Ikhlaas 1:4]
According to authentic narrations, Surah Ikhlaas is one third of the Quran[1]. The contents of the Quran are predominantly divided into three parts
1. Tawheed - The Oneness of Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala) and His Right to be worshipped alone
2. Narratives- of past, present, and future occurrences
3. Rulings - that which constitute the Sharee’ah
Surah Ikhlaas is the pinnacle of excellence in terms of Tawheed, and hence is equivalent to one third of the Quran. Al Ikhlaas means ‘the purity’ or ‘the refining,’ as it purifies the reader of all concepts of shirk and clarifies the status of the Most Exalted Being - Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala) - in terms of His Attributes.
The companions of Allah’s Messenger would give nicknames to surahs they liked and recited a lot. Surah Ikhlaas has over twenty nicknames, which very clearly illustrates the importance of the message this Surah holds.
A few of these include:
1. Al Mukashkish – that which removes diseases.
2. Surah at-Tafreed – Fard [Individual] – the surah that tells us Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala) is Unique, with none like Him.
3. Surah at-Tajreed – the surah which removes all false misconceptions about Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala).
4. Surah at-Tawheed – the surah which Unifies (wahhada) all of Allah’s Attributes and emphasizes Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala) is One.
5. Surah al Ma’rifah – meaning to know, recognize, and be well acquainted with someone/thing. So if you do not know this surah, you do not really recognize Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala).
6. Surah as-Samad – this word (and its root) is exclusively used in this surah in the Qur’an. So it is called as-Samad.
There are some explanations of the word as-Samad, in the verse “Allah-us-Samad” as reported from the Companions. Hadrat AIi, Ikrimah, and Ka’b Ahbar said “Samad is he who has no superior.” Ibn ‘Abbas said “Samad is he to whom the people turn when afflicted with a calamity.” Another one of his views regarding the meaning of Samad is, “The chieftain who in his chieftaincy, in his nobility and glory, in his clemency and forbearance, in his knowledge and wisdom is perfect.” Hadrat Abu Hurairah said as-Samad is “he who is independent of all while all are dependent upon him.” There are many more commentaries on the word ‘As-Samad,’ all of which bear testimony to the oneness and perfection attributed to this name.
7. Surah al Assaas – the Essence/Core. The core mission of Allah’s Messenger is this surah – the Tawheed of Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala).
In Al-Ikhlaas, Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala) liberates Himself from any assumed similarities with His Creation. He is Unique in every imaginable sense. He declares that He is the only Eternal One and everything else is perishable. He has no beginning and no end as is explained in the ‘begotten and beget’ clause.
Having a good understanding of tawheed is the first step towards being upon this path of righteousness; the path which Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’ala) has bestowed His favor upon.
Hence, the core of this Aqeedah is based on principles of tawheed, and this includes how Allah’s Names and Attributes should be understood and interpreted.
To be continued...
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