Creed
Volume 1: Acts of Worship
The document under review systematically sets forth the foundational pillars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'a creed. While emphasizing that faith is not merely verbal affirmation but a heartfelt assent and submission, the document states in definitive terms that God's essence is transcendent above time, place, direction, and bodily attributes. It also analyzes the delicate balance between the risks that the science of Kalām (dialectical theology) poses for the common people and the necessity of combating innovated ideas. The document prioritizes the simplicity and sincerity of the salaf method in preserving belief.
Summary
The document under review systematically sets forth the foundational pillars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'a creed.
Sections
1. The Essence of God and the Principle of Transcendence
According to the source text, God is one and without partner. His existence is not bounded by time and place; rather, He created time and place.
- Transcendence (tanzīh): God is not a corporeal form, a defined substance (jawhar), or an accident (ʿaraḍ). Continents cannot encompass Him, He has no directions, and heaven and earth cannot contain Him.
- Istiwāʾ: His istiwāʾ upon the Throne does not mean settling upon it or touching it; it means dominating it through power and might, bringing it under His rule.
- Vision (ru'yat Allāh): In the Hereafter, God will be seen by the people of Paradise "without modality" (without direction or intermediary). Yet this seeing does not resemble the physical modes of seeing in this world.
2. God's Attributes and Acts
God's attributes subsist in His essence and are eternal. These attributes are realities inseparable from His essence.
| Attribute | Definition and Scope | | :--- | :--- | | Life | God is living; neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. | | Knowledge | He knows everything with His eternal knowledge, from the movement of atoms to the hidden thoughts in the heart. | | Power | He is capable of all things; difficulty or incapacity cannot be ascribed to Him. | | Will | Every event in the universe (good and evil, benefit and harm) occurs through His will and decree. | | Hearing and Sight | He hears without ears and sees without eyes; distance or darkness is no obstacle for Him. | | Speech (kalām) | He speaks without voice or letters. The Qur'an, Torah, Gospel, and Psalms are His eternal speech. |
Acts: God creates whatever He wills. It is not "necessary" or obligatory for Him to do anything. His bestowing blessings upon His servants is grace; His punishing them is justice. Since He does not dispose over another's property, injustice cannot be conceived regarding God.
3. The Hereafter and Sam'iyyāt (Revealed Beliefs)
Beliefs concerning events that will occur after death rest upon scriptural proofs (naṣṣ):
- Munkar and Nakīr: They are the awe-inspiring angels who question the servant in the grave. The first trial and test takes place here.
- The Scale (mīzān): It is the scale of justice on which deeds are weighed, as vast as the heavens and the earth.
- The Bridge (ṣirāṭ): It is a bridge finer than a hair, set over Hell. Believers cross it and reach Paradise.
- Intercession (shafāʿa): Prophets, scholars, and martyrs will intercede, with God's permission, for sinful believers. A person in whose heart there is faith even the weight of an atom will not remain eternally in Hell.
4. The Science of Kalām and Methodological Debate
The text presents the differing views of Islamic scholars on studying the science of Kalām:
- The Condemned Aspect: Early scholars such as Imām al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal regarded Kalām as an innovation and a source of confusion for the heart. For the common people to occupy themselves with Kalām is dangerous, because it may shake their firm beliefs.
- The Praiseworthy/Necessary Aspect: When innovations spread and the minds of Muslims are clouded, the science of Kalām becomes farḍ al-kifāya in order to repel these doubts. Kalām is like a "guard" and a "remedy" that protects the foundations of belief; yet it should be used only by those who are qualified (intelligent, God-fearing, and devoted to knowledge).
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Key concepts
- *ʿAraḍ*
- Qualities that cannot subsist by themselves and can exist only through a body or substance (color, scent, etc.).
- *Jawhar*
- The indivisible smallest building block that occupies space in a void.
- *Jadal*
- The art of silencing an opponent through debate and disputation.
- *Ḥādith*
- Everything that comes into being afterward and has a beginning to its existence.
- *Qadīm*
- That which has no beginning to its existence; eternal.
- *Mutakallim*
- A scholar who engages in the science of Kalām and defends the foundations of belief with rational proofs.
- *Ru'yat Allāh*
- The vision of God by believers in the Hereafter (in Paradise) without modality.
- *Istiwāʾ*
- God's dominion over the Throne and His encompassing it through power (its modality is unknown).
- *Bidʿa*
- A belief or practice that arises afterward although it has no basis in religion.
- *Tanzīh*
- Keeping God free from the attributes of created things and from deficiency and fault.
Study questions
Who is the most virtuous of people after the prophets?
Abū Bakr (may God be pleased with him).
What is the fundamental reason for God's transcendence above place?
That place and directions are created afterward (ḥādith), whereas God is eternal and everlasting and does not resemble created things.
What does the concept of "*kasb*" express?
That the creation of acts belongs to God, while responsibility and the aspect of performance belong to the servant.
What are the names of the interrogating angels in the grave?
Munkar and Nakīr.
What is the fundamental reason for not teaching the science of Kalām to the common people?
The likelihood of harm through confusion of mind, shaking of belief, and lack of capacity to understand the proofs.
Lecture sections
- Creed, Purification, and Worship
- Invitation to Islam and Matters of Belief
- The Necessity of the Science of Kalām