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30-04-2024
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Islamic creed- Miscellaneous topics- Lesson(19): Renewal in Islam - Religion is tawqifi (not permissible unless it's based on authentic text from the Quran or Sunna)
   
 
 
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful  
 

Islamic Creed is the most critical issue in Muslim's life:

 Dear brother, last lecture I clarified to you that renewal in Islam means to remove from it the innovations which are falsely attributed to it. It was narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said that Allah the Almighty would send to this Ummah (Islamic nation) every hundred years missionaries who would renew its religion for it (like bringing the Noble Sunnah to life). According to the this Hadith, Almighty Allah will send missionaries to countries all over the world, and those honest and faithful missionaries will appear from time to time in order to purify Islam from innovations which do not belong to it.
Let me make an analogy to illustrate this point. compare between the source and the mouth of Barada River ; the water in its source is fairly fresh and pure, while the one in its mouth is black due to the wastes which are poured into it. Likewise, if you want to know the pure truth of Islam, go back to its source. The real believer should frequently reconsider whatever is accumulated in his mind about Islam. He should make a separation process in which he keeps whatever is mentioned in the Noble Qur'an and the Noble Sunnah and dismisses whatever contradicts them, because the Islamic Creed is the most critical issue in Muslim's life. If the Creed he believes in is sound, his deeds will be sound (acceptable according to the Quran and Sunnah), and as a result he will be secure and pleased in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. On the other hand, if the Creed is wrong, his deeds will be invalid (contradict the Noble Quran and Sunnah), and accordingly he will be distressed and wretched in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. If man has deviated beliefs, they will be accompanied by deviated behavior. This is considered a rule, but if whatever deviated belief you have do not affect your behavior, then adopt whatever belief you want. Thus, as long as false belief is accompanied by deviated behavior, the Creed is fundamental in Muslim's life.

The human need for the receiving method:

 There are many things said about Islam, so whoever seeks Islamic knowledge should have a receiving method as a standard measuring instrument. To make things clear for you, consider the following example: If you're a dealer in textiles, and you want to buy some goods, you should have a device to measure the length of every textile roll, because the labels on which the length of the goods is written may not have correct information. Therefore, using the length measuring device enables you to make sure of the length of the textiles, and then choose to buy the rolls whose labels have correct information. Similarly, if you want to distinguish the correct information while acquiring Islamic knowledge from the wrong one, you should have a method.

Dear brother, there are tangible things, conceivable things, and things which we were informed about through Revelation. It goes without sayings that we perceive tangible things by our senses. Also, we realize the conceivable things by reasoning. For example, we believe in Allah the Almighty by our reasoning and sound Fitrah, we believe in the Prophet, peace be upon him, by our reasoning as he was granted miracles and we believe in the Noble Quran by our reasoning provoked by the inimitability of the Noble Qur'an. The universe makes you believe in Allah the Almighty using your mind as a tool for reasoning, and the inimitability of the Noble Qur'an makes you believe in Him using your mind as a tool for reasoning. Also, the Noble Quran makes you believe in the Prophet, peace be upon him using your mind for reasoning. to such matters.

 The mind needs tangible things in order to deduce from them the abstract concepts, but after you believe in Allah through His creation and by reasoning, in His Words (the Noble Qur'an) through its inimitability and by reasoning, and in His Messenger, peace be upon him, through the Noble Qur'an which was revealed to him and by reasoning, the role of reasoning is over, and it is the turn of the Divine reporting.

 The Divine reporting is part of the Islamic Creed. It cannot be proved by the mind, but rather Allah the Almighty informed us about it, because human mind is incapable of perceiving whatever is related to the unseen world. For example, Allah the Almighty informed us about angels, Jinn, the Resurrection Day, Paradise, the Hell-fire, the Sacred Fountain, As-Sirat (the Path) and reckoning. Also, Allah informed us that Adam was the first human being He created, and that there were Noble Prophets and Messengers, peace be upon them, and so on. Hence, the matters related to Al-Ghaib (the unseen world) cannot be proved by our mind, but rather we were informed about them by Allah the Almighty. However, man cannot believe in religious matters which are related to Al-Ghaib unless he believes in conceivable matters, and he cannot believe in conceivable matters unless he believes in tangible things. Thus, man should believe in tangible mattes first, then in conceivable matters, and after that in matters related to Al-Ghaib.

Believing in Allah from tangible things to Divine reporting:

  Reflect on the creation of the universe; there are the sun, the moon, and one hundred thousand million galaxies, including our galaxy. The solar system is a spot in our galaxy, and its length is thirteen light hours. Also, the sun is eight light minutes away from the earth. The whole solar system is only a spot in the Milky Way, and there are one hundred thousand million other galaxies. Moreover, in our galaxy there are one hundred thousand million stars. The creation of the universe indicates the Existence, the Absolute Perfection and the Oneness of Allah the Almighty. Thus, you believe in Allah first through material things, second through conceivable matters, and last through the matters belong to the unseen world which Allah the Almighty informed us about.

Allah informed us about whatever is unperceivable:

 When you believe that Allah the Almighty is the Most Perfect, His Promise is true, His Words are true, and He is Absolutely the Most Honest, you will believe whatever He informed you about, such as the existence of Jinn and angels and about creating Adam to be the first human being. Consequently, you will never accept Darwin's Theory of Evolution, because the Creator of mankind, the All-Aware proved it wrong. Allah the Almighty says:

"I (Allah) made them (Iblis and his offspring) not to witness (nor took their help in) the creation of the heavens and the earth and not (even) their own creation, nor was I (Allah) to take the misleaders as helpers."

[Al-Kahf: 51]

 Let me give you an example to make the invalidity of Darwin's Theory of Evolution clearer. Suppose that there is a man sitting in the company of some people and telling them about the shop he owns in Souq Al-Hamidiyeh. He said that he bought that shop many years ago, and it cost him SYP 10.000 or 30 golden pounds. He got married eight years later, then he had a child after two years, and now his child is a young man. As he was telling people about these things, his child interrupted him saying, "That's not true dad!" The father looked at his son and said: "Were you present at that time? You were not born yet!" This is exactly what we should say to the one who claimed that human beings evolved from apes. Allah the Almighty says:

"I (Allah) made them (Iblis and his offspring) not to witness (nor took their help in) the creation of the heavens and the earth and not (even) their own creation, nor was I (Allah) to take the misleaders as helpers."

[Al-Kahf: 51]

 Thus, Allah the Almighty informed us about the beginning of mankind's creation, about the reason why we were created and about the matters which human mind cannot conceive.

Believing in Al-Ghaib is based entirely on the True Revelation:

 The Islamic Creed encompasses tangible things which are perceived by the five senses, conceivable things which are conceived by the mind, and matters related to Al-Ghaib (the unknown world) which Allah the Almighty informed us about. Do not try to convince a disbeliever whose faith in the conceivable objects is shaky of the matters which are related to Al-Ghaib, because he will make fun of you. For example, if you tell an atheist about angels, he will doubt your sanity because he cannot see them, and you may say to him that you doubt the existence of his mind because you cannot see it!

 It is irrational to start calling people (whose faith is shaky) to Allah with telling them about matters related to Al-Ghaib, because those people should first believe in Allah the Almighty. Once they believe in Allah, they will believe that His Word is True, but as long as they disbelieve in Him, they will disbelieve in His Words. Thus, do not mention matters related to Al-Ghaib before someone who lacks true faith in Allah. The matters which belong to Al-Ghaib are such as, Jinn, angels, the reckoning, the torment of the Hell-Fire, Paradise, the Hell-Fire, the Sacred Fountain and As-Sirat, and believing in such matters is based on the True Revelation. Hence, when you believe that Allah is the Most Perfect, and that no one is truer in statement than Allah, you will believe whatever He informs you about.

 I wish that a Muslim does not get confused in these matters; believing in tangible things is based on the five senses, believing in conceivable things is based on the mind and believing in the matters related to Al-Ghaib is based on the True Revelation.

Islam is the religion of Fitrah (natural inclination):

Pay attention to the following rule of reporting in Islam: "When you report an Islamic matter (narration, ruling,…etc), you should prove its authenticity, and when you claim that it is authentic, you should present a proof ". Accordingly, whenever you narrate something you should offer a proof to verify its authenticity, otherwise anyone can claim whatever he wants without a proof. For example, it is easy for anyone to claim that he is fabulously wealthy without presenting any evidence. Had not offering a proof been required, anyone would have claimed whatever he wants. Islam is based on proofs, reasons, knowledge, methodology, reasonableness, Fitrah and humanity.
  Islam is based on Fitrah. For example, man loves justice and he is ordered to be just, he likes mercy and he is ordered to be merciful, he instinctively loves his children and he is ordered to take care of them and bring them up properly and he likes to have a spouse and he is ordered to marry. All matters related to Islam are in harmony with the sound Fitrah, therefore whoever does not follow the orders of Allah the Almighty will lose his internal balance.

 Dear brother, we are in desperate need of the receiving method. Next lecture, insha-Allah, I'll tell you about innovations and how they crept into the Muslim world. Keep away from innovations, because every innovation is misguidance, and all misguidance is in the Hell-fire.

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