Our Aqeedah:
عقيدتنا:۔
الإيمان بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الآخر والقدر خيره وشره
Our Aqeedah (Creed) is: belief in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day and Pre-decree – it’s good and it’s evil.
Explanation:
This point is the summarized Aqeedah. The evidence for this is the Hadith of Umar رضي الله عنه when Jibreel عليه السلام came to Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and asked him about Islam so Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم answered him about that. Then he asked about Eemaan, so Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“It means believing in Allaah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, and believing in al-Qadar (the divine will and decree), both good and bad.” (Narrated by Muslim, Hadith Number 8)
فنؤمن بربوبية الله تعالى، أي بأنه الرب الخالق الملك المدبّر لجميع الأمور
So we believe in the Ruboobiyyah of Allaah Most High – that He is the Lord, the Creator, the King, the Disposer of all the Affairs.
ونؤمن بأُلوهية الله تعالى، أي بأنه الإله الحق وكل معبود سواه باطل
And we believe in the Uloohiyyah of Allaah Most High – that He is the only One who truly deserves to be worshipped, and that everything else which is worshipped besides Him is false.
ونؤمن بأسمائه وصفاته، أي بأن له الأسماء الحسنى والصفات الكاملة العليا
And we believe in His Names and Attributes – that He has the most Beautiful Names and Perfect Lofty Attributes.
Explanation:
Scholars have divided the Tawheed into three categories:
1. Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah (Oneness of Divine Lordship): means believing in Allaah as One and Unique with regard to His ACTIONS such as creation, sovereignty & control.
2. Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah means devoting all acts of worship, both inward and outward, in word and deed, to Allaah Alone, and not worshipping anything or anyone other than Allaah, no matter who he is. It is also called as Tawheed al-‘Ibaadah (oneness of worship)
3. Tawheed al-Asma’ wa’l-Sifaat (Oneness of the Divine Names and Attributes), this means affirming the names and attributes of Allaah and believing that there is none like unto Allaah in His names and attributes. We believe in “Lofty Attributes (of Allaah)” because Allaah says, “And for Allaah is the highest (lofty) attribute (Surah Nahal, Verse 60)”. This Tawheed is based on two principles:
a. – Affirmation: i.e., affirming that which Allaah has affirmed for Himself in His Book or that His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has affirmed of His beautiful names and sublime attributes in a manner that suits the Majesty and Greatness of Allaah, without distorting them, twisting their meanings, denying their reality or discussing how they are.
b. – Denial: i.e., denying that Allaah has any faults and denying any shortcomings that He has denied Himself. The evidence for that is the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):
“There is nothing like Him, and He is the All‑Hearer, the All‑Seer” [al-Shoora 42:11]
Evidence for categorizing the Tawheed:
This division is taken from study and analysis which is in harmony with the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, so worship Him (alone) and be constant and patient in His worship. Do you know any who is similar to Him?”
His (Allaah’s) saying, “Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them” is Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah.
His (Allaah’s) saying, “so worship Him (alone) and be constant and patient in His worship.” is Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah.
His (Allaah’s) saying, “Do you know any who is similar to Him?” is Tawheed al-Asma’ wa’l-Sifaat because it’s meaning is that you don’t know anyone similar and worthy like Him in His Divine Names and Attributes.
Answer to those who say Categorization of Tawheed is bidah:
There are many things which were categorized by the scholars and this categorization was not present during the time of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم e.g., the Shuroot of Salah (it’s Arkaan, Waajib, Sunnah, Mustahab etc.). It’s nothing more than the demonstration and explanation. Those who categorized it neither bought something new nor they denied which is proven! It’s just to make the things easy for the student of knowledge.
Difference between Names & Attributes (of Allaah):
The Names: Allaah is called by these Names.
The Attributes: Allaah has described Himself by these attributes.
The Attributes are more general than the Names because each Name includes the Attribute but each Attribute doesn’t embody the Name (i.e., The Name of Allaah can’t be derived from His Attributes.)
The Names of Allaah refer to His Essence & also to His Attributes.
e.g., The Name, “الله”, refers to His Essence (الذات) & the meaning derived from the Name “الله” is divinity (الألوهية) i.e., everything worships Him.
AN IMPORTANT FUNDAMENTAL REGARDING THE BELIEF IN THE BEAUTIFUL NAMES OF ALLAAH:
Indeed, the belief in the Names of Allaah doesn’t complete except by three conditions, if the Name is Transitive (المتعدي) or by Two conditions, if the Name is In-Transitive (اللازم)
When the Name is Transitive, then the three conditions are:
Affirming that the Name belongs to Allaah.
Affirming the Attribute which the Name contains.
Affirming the verdict which follows the Attribute.
e.g., Regarding The Name of Allaah “البصير”:
We believe that البصير is the Name of Allaah.
We believe in the Attribute of Aware (البصير) that the Name contains.
We believe that Allaah is well-aware of EVERYTHING & nothing is hidden from Him.
When the Name is In-Transitive, then the two conditions are:
Affirming that the Name belongs to Allaah.
Affirming the Attribute which the Name contains.
e.g., Regarding the Name of Allaah “الحي”:
We believe that الحي is the Name of Allaah.
We believe in the Attribute of Life (الحي) that the Name contains.
Paraphrased and Translated by: Nimer Habib
Source: تهذيب عقيدة أهل السنة و الجماعة للشيخ محمد سعيد رسلان
