The correct belief and preservation of it
Question: Upon which thing is it conditional to achieve salvation in the Hereafter?
ANSWER
Misleadingly, some people suppose that every person having belief in the existence of Allah will go to Paradise. However, this is a complete fallacy. The îmân [belief, faith] of a person who does not believe in any of the six tenets of belief in the Âmantu is not valid. For this reason, what matters is not to have belief but to have a correct belief. To achieve salvation in the Hereafter is conditional upon having a correct belief, not upon the amplitude of acts of worship. Those with the tiniest correct belief in their heart will enter Paradise in the end, even if they have a few or no acts of worship performed with ikhlâs [sincerity, doing everything to please Allahu ta’âlâ]. It is stated in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(He who has a mote of îmân in his heart will not remain in Hell.) [Bukhârî, Muslim]
Getting on a vehicle, all people are traveling on a way destined for the Hereafter. While traveling, what is important is not to get on a vehicle but to get on a right vehicle. People who get on a wrong one will head for the place where it is en route, not where they want. For example, those who board a plane to Paris with the intention of going to Kâ’ba cannot arrive at Kâ’ba no matter how pure intentions they may have.
Allahu ta’âlâ has promised that He will grant the right path, Islam (in its pristine correctness), to those who have been prompted by simple curiosity over it and who are in search of the truth [Sûrat-ul-‘Ankabût 69, Sûrat-ush-Shûra 13]. Allah never breaks His promise. [Sûrat-u Âl-i ‘Imrân 9].
From this, we can draw the inference that people following the aberrant ways do not ask for the truth, let alone have little curiosity. Allahu ta’âlâ has guaranteed the sustenance for His creatures. However, He is not the Guarantor of the îmân [belief]. Before rectifying one’s credal state according to the Islam’s true credal teachings termed “Ahl as-sunnat belief,” performing acts of worship will be of no avail. We can conceive of the true belief (the belief of Ahl as sunnat) as the number 1. Acts of worship performed with sincerity are like number 0 placed on the right of number 1. When placed one 0, it is 10. If placed two zeroes, then it is 100. The more zeroes we place on the right of it, the more valuable it will become. However, when we remove the number 1, the result is 0. By the same token, acts of worship performed with insincerity, that is, for ostentation, are worthless like zeroes placed on the left of 1. After people have corrected their i’tiqâd [belief] in accordance with the true credal teachings of Ahl as-sunnat, to increase their acts of worship is up to their perseverance, sincerity, and knowledge. They can indulge themselves to their hearts’ content. But, if they do not have correct belief, namely, Ahl as-sunnat belief, their acts of worship are worthless like zeroes on the left.
According to the Mu’tazila and such rationalistic groups, worships are part of îmân. They assert that a person who does not perform the fards [obligatory acts of worship] or who commits sins becomes a disbeliever. In other words, they establish such a link between îmân and acts of worship: îmân x acts of worship. In this multiplication, they say, if one of them is zero, then the result is zero. That is to say, îmân without acts of worship or acts of worship without îmân are not valid. However, according to the Ahl as-sunnat belief, îmân without acts of worship is valid, but acts of worship without îmân are not valid. In terms of the Ahl as-sunnat belief, it can be defined as: acts of worship x ikhlâs [sincerity]. Without doing the deed itself, if one thinks of sincerely, “If I had money, I would help that poor person,” one will earn thawâb due to one’s sincere intention, even if one does not perform that act. More ikhlâs in one’s heart will bring in more thawâb when it is multiplied by one’s acts of worship. For example, if our ikhlâs is symbolized by the number 1, and if we give a loaf of bread to 1,000 poor people each, the result is 1×1,000 = 1,000 (thawâb). Since the ikhlâs of the Ashâb-i kirâm [the blessed Companions of our Prophet] is so strong, for example, suppose it is one million, if one of them gives a loaf of bread to a poor person, he earns one million thawâb.
Therefore, it is declared in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(I swear that if one gave a piece of gold as big as Mount Uhud in the name of alms one would not earn the thawâb equal to the amount that one of my Ashâb would be given for alms worth a handful of barley.) [Bukhârî]
As the îmân of the Ashâb-i kirâm is so strong and their ikhlâs is so much, they gain such amounts of thawâb. Among the Ashâb-i kirâm, some of them have superiority over the others. For example, the thawâb of a handful of dates given in the name of alms by Hadrat Abû Bakr and the thawâb earned by any other Sahâbî with the same alms are poles apart.
Again, it is declared in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(I asked about the matters over which my Ashâb would fall into disagreement with each other. My Rab [Allahu ta’âlâ] informed me, “Your Ashâb are like the celestial stars in My Sight. Some of them are more luminous than the others. He who adapts himself to any one of them is on the right way.”) [Daylamî]
Question: In order to have a correct belief, what are the requisites?
ANSWER
Some of the requisites of a correct belief are as follows:
1. To remain steadfast in your îmân: Anyone who desires to become a disbeliever three years later will become a disbeliever as soon as one says this.
2. To take a middle path between khawf [fear] and rajâ’ [hope]: That is, one must have fear of Allahu ta’âlâ’s punishment as well as hope of His mercy.
3. To have îmân before the soul reaches to the throat: When submitting the soul, upon seeing the events pertaining to the life to come, the then îmân of a disbeliever is not valid. However, at that time, the tawba [repentance] of Muslims for their sins is acceptable.
4. To have îmân before the sun rises in the west: When the sun rises in the west, the door of repentance will be closed.
5. Only Allahu ta’âlâ knows the ghayb: If Allah informs His prophets or His dear slaves, then they also know it.
[ghayb: things that are not communicated by Islam, by calculations, or by experiments are called ghayb (unknown).]
6. You must avoid using or saying things which Islam dictates as signs of kufr [disbelief]: For example, a Muslim must not wear a cross or must not say, even as a joke, “I am a disbeliever.”
7. Not to have doubts about things that are to be believed: For example, one must not have such doubts as, “Is it fard [obligatory] to perform namâz?”or “Is it harâm [prohibited] to drink wine?”
8. You must base your belief on Islam: Your belief must be as Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm) communicated, not as historians and philosophers stated.
9. To love for the sake of Allah [hubb-i fillah] and to dislike for the sake of Allah [bughd-i fillah]: One’s love and hatred must be only for the sake of Allah. It is a sign of kufr [disbelief] to feel hostility towards the friends of Allah and to love and make friends with the enemies of Allah, e.g. to love Socrates but to have hatred towards Hadrat Imâm-i Ghazâlî.
10. You must rectify your i’tiqâd according to (Islam’s true credal teachings termed) Ahl as-sunnat wa’l-jamâ’at.
Some credal tenets of Ahl as-sunnat belief are as follows:
1. Allahu ta’âlâ is not with time or with place. He does not resemble anything.
2. It must be believed that Muslims will see Allahu ta’âlâ in Paradise.
3. Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm) is the Last Prophet. No prophet will succeed him.
4. You must not call Ahl-i qibla [a Muslim who performs namâz] a disbeliever on account of his or her sins.
5. Acts of worship are not part of îmân. That is, it is not permissible to call a Muslim who does not perform acts of worship and who commits sins a disbeliever. If Allahu ta’âlâ wills, He will torture for a merely venial sin. Again, if He wills, He will forgive a Muslim for the grave sins committed.
6. A person either has îmân or not. Both together are not possible. There is not littleness or muchness in îmân. [What is little or much is îmân’s brightness and strength.]
7. It is permissible to make masah over masts. [That is, rubbing one’s wet hands on one’s masts [waterproof shoes covering the part of the foot which is fard to wash] while performing an ablution.]
8. To believe in the Mi’râj [Hadrat Muhammad’s ascent to the Heavens] to be both a bodily and a spiritual ascent. A person who denies the part (of the Mi’râj ) up to the Aqsâ Mosque in Jerusalem becomes a renegade. However, a person who denies the events which took place after the Aqsâ Mosque will be separated from Ahl as-sunnat; that is, one becomes a bid’at [heresy] holder.
9. Like the mu’jiza [miracles] of the prophets, karâmat [wonders] of the awliyâ [dear slaves of Allahu ta’âlâ] people are also true.
10. To love and respect all of the Ashâb-i kirâm and not to speak ill of any of them.
11. It is permissible to visit graves.
12. It is permissible to ask help from a prophet or a walî [a dear slave of Allahu ta’âlâ] who is in the grave.
13. It is permissible to send the thawâb of the Qur’ân al-karîm that has been read and the alms that has been given to the souls of the dead. It is presented to the dead, and it causes their torments to decrease.
14. It is true that there is questioning in the grave.
15. Torments in the grave will be inflicted on both the body and the soul.
16. In the Hereafter, there will be a bridge called Sirat.
17. It must be believed that, in the Hereafter, there will be shafâ’at [intercession], questioning and settlement of accounts on every action, and Mîzân [balance] for weighing deeds and conduct.
18. Both Paradise and Hell exist now.
19. Sinful Muslims will not dwell in Hell eternally, but disbelievers will stay there eternally.
20. Both Paradise and Hell will exist eternally.
21. To believe the harbingers and precedents of Doomsday: ad-Dajjal and the beast called Dabbat-ul-ard will appear, Hadrat al-Mahdî will come, Hadrat ‘Îsâ will descend from heaven, the sun will rise in the west and so on. (Riyâd-un-nâsikhîn, Farâid, I’tiqâdnâma)
Doubt and Fear
Question: Is there any difference between having such doubts as, “Do I have îmân now?” or “Will my îmân continue?” and being fearful of dying without îmân at one’s last breath?
ANSWER
Yes, there is a difference. It is not permissible, rather, it is an act of kufr [disbelief] to have doubts as to whether one has îmân or one’s îmân will be permanent. Mu’mins [Believers] must not be dubious about their îmân, and they must resolve that they will have îmân until they die.
As for their last breath, they must be between hope and fear. It is not a doubt but a sign of îmân to be fearful of dying without îmân at one’s last breath.
The preservation of our îmân
Question: Now that the most valuable blessing that has been granted is îmân, what should we do to preserve it?
ANSWER
To preserve the îmân, you have to comply with the following:
1. You have to believe in the ghayb. If we saw angels, Paradise and Hell with our eyes, it would not be îmân to say “There are Paradise and Hell” because we would see them with our eyes. Seeing Paradise and Hell at the time of death, all disbelievers will say, “We believe them,” but their îmân will not be valid. When Mu’mins are praised in the Qur’ân al-karîm, it is purported, “They believe in the Unseen” (Sûrat-ul-Baqara 3)
2. You have to believe that only Allahu ta’âlâ knows the ghayb. Prophets, angels, or genies cannot know the ghayb. However, if Allahu ta’âlâ wills, He lets them know. Therefore, it is not permissible to deny the mu’jiza and the karâmat.
3. You have to believe, that is, accept a harâm [a prohibited act] as harâm, and a halâl [a permitted act] as halâl. A person who calls deliberately a prohibited act permissible or a permissible act prohibited becomes a renegade.
4. You must be very fearful of the Wrath Allahu ta’âlâ and must not feel secure from His torment. It is declared in the Qur’ân al-karîm that those who are fearful of the chastisement of their Lord are not secure from it. (Sûrat-ul-Ma‘ârij 27-28)
5. Whatever the number of your sins, you must not consider that your abode will certainly be Hell. Allahu ta’âlâ declares in a hadîth-i qudsî [that is, through the Prophet’s (‘alaihis-salâm) blessed tongue]:
(If My slave commits so many sins as to reach skies, but if he does not despair of My Mercy and if he begs My forgiveness, I forgive him.) [Tirmudhî]
It is purported in an âyat:
(O My slaves who have committed a great many sins! Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Allah forgives all the sins of His slaves. He is the Forgiver and the Merciful.) [Sûrat-uz-Zumar 53]
6. You must not feel secure from the torment of Allah, but at the same time, you must not despair of His Mercy! It is purported in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(If a Mu’min takes a middle path between khawf [fear] and rajâ’ [hope], Allahu ta’âlâ gives him the hoped-for and makes him secure from the feared-for.) [Tirmudhî]
7. To love for the sake of Allah [hubb-i fillah] and to dislike for the sake of Allah [bughd-i fillah]. It is the essence of îmân. It is purported in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(The basis of îmân is to love Muslims and to have a dislike for the enemies of Allah.) [I. Ahmad]
Allahu ta’âlâ declared to Hadrat ‘Îsâ [Jesus ‘alaihis-salâm]:
(Even if you do acts of worship that equal those done by all creatures on the earth and in heavens, it will be of no value unless you love My friends and unless you feel hostility towards My enemies.) [Kimya-i sa’âdat]
In order for the îmân to be acceptable and for us to protect it, some of the necessary conditions are as follows:
Allahu ta’âlâ is the Wâjib al-wujûd [the Necessary Existence] and the Real Ma’bûd [the One Worshipped], and the Creator of all things. It must be believed for certain that Allahu ta’âlâ alone creates everything in both this world and the next world without material, time or similarity, out of nonexistence.
Allahu ta’âlâ is not with time or with place. (It is an act of kufr [disbelief] to say, like the people called Najdîs and Salafîs, Allah is up on the Arsh or in heaven.)
In the next world, Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen in Paradise.
It is fard [obligatory] to put your tawakkul in Allahu ta’âlâ.
[tawakkul: trust in, expectation of everything from Allahu ta’âlâ exclusively; expecting from Allahu ta’âlâ the effectiveness of the cause [sabab] after working and holding on to the cause. ]
It is not permissible to perform qiyâs in those religious fields that have been communicated through ijmâ’ and which are indispensably believed. To do wrong ijtihâd or qiyâs in those religious fields is an act of kufr. However, though one who does wrong ijtihâd in those religious fields that have not been communicated through ijmâ’ and which are not indispensably believed does not become a kâfir [disbeliever], one becomes a bid’at [heresy] holder.
[qiyâs: (conclusion drawn by a mujtahid through) likening or comparing a matter not clearly stated in the Nass [âyats and hadîths] and ijmâ’ to a similar one stated clearly; ijmâ’: the Sahâbat al-kirâm’s and the Tâbi’ûn’s common act or unanimous comment on an affair; such unanimity or consensus; ijtihâd: (meaning or conclusion drawn by a mujtahid through) endeavouring to understand the hidden meaning in an âyat or a hadîth.]
Îmân does not increase or decrease. That is, it does not increase or decrease with respect to tenets of belief that are to be believed, but its brightness and strength increase or decrease with respect to yaqîn and confirmation. All Muslims are equal in îmân and tawhîd, but they are different in their acts of worship.
[yaqîn: absolute belief; belief which is as positive as the conviction you feel when you have seen something you are to believe; tawhîd: (belief in) the Oneness of Allahu ta’âlâ.]
You must not have a doubt as to your own îmân. You must not say, “Do I have îmân?” but instead you should say, “Alhamdulillah, I am a Muslim.”
You must base your belief on Islam. Your belief must be as our Prophet communicated.
You must have îmân before the soul reaches to the throat. The then îmân of a disbeliever is not valid.
You must have îmân before the sun rises in the west. When it rises in the west, the door of repentance will be closed.
Allahu ta’âlâ, if He wills, tortures for a merely venial sin, and if He wills, He forgives one for one’s grave sins. If one commits any sin and has died without repentance (if that person dies as a Muslim), Allahu ta’âlâ, if He wills, will torture that person in Hell, or if He wills, He forgives and does not torture at all.
Angels are not Allahu ta’âlâ’s partners, nor are they His daughters as disbelievers suppose. They do not commit sins. They are neither male nor female.
You must not have doubts about a religious rule declared in the Qur’ân al-karîm or in our other religious books. For example, You must not have a doubt like, “I am not sure whether it is fard [obligatory] to cover oneself (tasattur).”
No matter through which means (prohibited or permitted) one obtains, it is still one’s rizq [sustenance]. Everyone eats his or her own rizq. No one can eat the rizq which is alloted to anyone else.
One who says something which Islam dictates as a sign of disbelief becomes a disbeliever even though one does not accept its meaning. [That is, statements which are made to amaze others or to make others laugh still result in disbelief. For example, if one says, as a joke, “I am a prophet,” one becomes a disbeliever.]
If a drunk says something which is a sign of disbelief, we should not consider that person as a disbeliever.
The universe has been created out of nonexistence. [Philosophers do not accept this fact, and they become disbelievers saying, “This is the way it has been and this is the way it goes.”]
You must not call people who perform namâzes (named ahl-i qibla) disbelievers due to their sins. [However, if a tenet of belief of a person who is named ahl-i qibla is the opposite of a definite source whose meaning is clear, then this belief is kufr. This one is a disbeliever, even if one performs namâzes and carries out other acts of worship.]
You must not deny ‘ilm-i tasawwuf. (Awârif-ul-ma’ârif)
[‘ilm-i tasawwuf explains the things to be done or avoided with the heart, and the ways to purify the heart and the soul. This is also called ‘ilm-i akhlâq or ‘ilm-i ikhlâs.]
It is true to visit graves. It is permissible to ask help [tawassul] from prophets and the pious who are dead. (Irshâd-ut-tâlibîn, At-tawassul-u bin Nabî wa bis-Sâlihîn)
After prophets, the highest and the most auspicious of all human beings that have come and that will come is Hadrat Abû Bakr (radiy-Allahu ta’âlâ ‘anh), and after him, the highest of all human beings are the other three caliphs in successive order.
All the Ashâb-i kirâm will go to Paradise. (Sûrat-ul-Hadîd 10)
It is purported in the Qur’ân al-karîm that Allahu ta’âlâ is pleased with the Ashâb-i kirâm. It would be a distrust of Qur’ân al-karîm to speak ill of any of them. (Tathîr-ul-janân)
Good and evil, advantage and harm coming upon human beings are all by Allahu ta’âlâ’s Will.
Qadar means Allahu ta’âlâ’s knowing (with His Eternal Knowledge) and willing all deeds of human beings and other creatures to be done. Qadâ means the [instance] creation of anything just compatibly with qadar. Both are termed qadâ and qadar.
Allahu ta’âlâ guides whom He wills to the right way as a favor to that slave of His. Similarly, He misleads whom He wills into aberration in accordance with His Justice. For all deeds of human beings are created by Allahu ta’âlâ. Yet He has bestowed partial will upon His slaves and has thus held them responsible for what they have done.
The time of death of a person who is killed or who has committed suicide is the moment when that person has died. A death does not take place before the appointed hour comes. It is purported in the Qur’ân al-karîm:
(Nobody can prevent the time of death, nor can anyone delay it.) [Sûrat-ul-A’râf 34]
The salât [ritual prayer] of janâza [funeral] of a Muslim who has committed suicide is performed. (Durr-ul-mukhtâr)
After death, all people will be resurrected.
Questioning, the return of the soul to the body, and torments for disbelievers and sinful Muslims are all true and will take place in the grave.
Torments in the grave will be inflicted on both the body and the soul. One who disbelieves it becomes a bid’at [heresy] holder. [But one who says “I do not believe in the torment of the grave, whether it is written in hadîths or not. Mind and experiments do not confirm it” becomes a kâfir (disbeliever).]
All Mu’mins [Muslims] enter Paradise by the Grace of Allah, because no one can deserve it thanks to their acts of worship.
On the Day of Resurrection, all people will give accounts of their deeds, and their deeds will be weighed on the Mîzân [it means balance, but it does not resemble worldly balances].
It must be believed that there will be shafâ’at [intercession] in the Hereafter. Prophets, scholars, pious Muslims will intercede for the forgiveness of the sins of Muslims. Likewise, the shafâ’at of our Prophet is for the Muslims committing grave sins. People who have committed numberless sins will benefit from the shafâ’at, whether little or much. All sinners, except those who are forgiven and who benefit from the shafâ’at, will be penalized for their sins. It is declared in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(Every prophet has an accepted du’â [prayer]. I have saved my du’â for the Hereafter for my Ummah.) [Bukhârî]
You must not deny the shafâ’at [intercession]. For it is stated in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(A person who does not believe in my shafâ’at will not benefit from it.) (Shir’a)
Sinful Muslims will not stay in Hell eternally, but disbelievers will stay there eternally. (Sûrat-ul-Baqara 81)
There is the Sirat Bridge over Hell. (Nuhbat-ul-laâlî)
[When mentioning the Sirat Bridge, we should not suppose that it is like bridges we know. We say “the bridge of examination.” However, an examination is in no way similar to a bridge. Likewise, the Sirat Bridge is not like worldly bridges or the bridge of examination.]
You have to believe in the harbingers and precedents of Doomsday.
It is stated in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(As long as these signs do not appear, the end of the world will not come: the sun will rise in the west; three places will sink into the earth; ‘Îsâ (Jesus ‘alaihis-salâm) will descend from heaven; the sky will be covered with smoke; Dâbbatulard, ad-Dajjal, Ya’jûj [Gog] and Ma’jûj [Magog] will appear; a fire will break out in Aden [in Yemen].) [Muslim]
It is also a tenet of Ahl as-sunnat belief to believe that Hadrat Mahdî will appear.
It is declared in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(Before Doomsday, Allahu ta’âlâ will create one of my descendants, whose name and father’s name will be the same as those of mine, and who will fill the world with justice. The earth, which will have been filled with cruelty before him, will be filled with justice during his time.) [Tirmudhî, I. ‘Asâkir]
[All the aforementioned information has been quoted from the books Fiqh al-akbar, Amâlî, R.Nâsihîn, Maktûbât-i Rabbânî, Farâid-ul-fawâid. The sources of the excerpts from other books are specified following the item in question.]
The importance of correct belief
Question: What is the reason for your laying great emphasis on the importance of correct belief?
ANSWER
Because acts of worship will be of no avail unless people correct their beliefs. The correct belief is the Ahl as-sunnat belief. We can conceive of the true belief (the belief of Ahl as sunnat) as the number 1. Acts of worship performed with sincerity are like number 0 placed on the right of number 1. When placed one 0, it is 10. If placed two zeroes, then it is 100. The more zeroes we place on the right of it, the more valuable it will become. However, when we remove the number 1, the result is 0. By the same token, acts of worship performed with insincerity, that is, for ostentation, are worthless like zeroes placed on the left of 1. If people do not have a correct belief, namely, “Ahl as-sunnat belief,” their acts of worship are worthless like zeroes on the left. This matter being so crucial, Hadrat Ubaydullah-i Ahrâr “quddisa sirruh” said, “If they gave me all the karâmats, yet if our creed were not correct, I would deem myself destroyed, ruined. If they piled up all the disasters and desolations upon me, yet if my creed were correct, I would never worry.”
A person with a correct belief
Question: It is said that the Muslims who have correct belief will not go to Hell. What will their sins be then?
ANSWER
A person who avoids prohibited acts and who carries out acts of worship is a friend of Allah. Allah does not put His friend into Hell-fire. It is purported in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(I swear (by Allah) that Allah does not put His friend into Hell-fire.) [Jâmi’us saghîr]
If one does not commit an act of kufr, sufferings one has endured in this world will be atonement for one’s sins. Also, one benefits from the shafâ’at, and so one does not enter Hell at all.
