Belief in the Divine Destiny
Belief in the Qadar (Divine Destiny) comprises four things:
First, the belief that Allah knows what has been and what will be; He is Aware of everything concerning His slaves, knows their provision and sustenance, their appointed terms on earth, their deeds, and everything else relating to them. Nothing is hidden from Him. The Qur’aan says:
"Verily, Allah is the All-Knower of everything." (58:7)
"That you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends all things in (His) Knowledge." (Soorah 65:12)
Second, the belief that He keeps all that He decrees in a Clear Book, or Al-Lauh-Al-Mahfuz, as the Qur’aan says:
"We know that which the earth takes of them (their dead bodies), and with Us is a Book preserved (i.e., the Book of Decrees)." (Soorah 50:4)
"And all things We have recorded in a Clear Book." (Soorah 36:12)
He further says:
"Know you not that Allah knows all that is in heaven and on earth? Indeed, it is all in a Book (Al-Lauh-Al-Mahfuz), and that is easy for Allah." (Soorah 22:70)
Third, the belief that His Will is absolute and powerful and that whatever He decrees will be, and whatever He does not decree will never come to pass:
"Verily, Allah does what He wills." (Soorah 22:18)
"Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, 'Be', and it is." (Soorah 36:82)
"And you will not will except as Allah Wills, the Lord of the worlds." (81:29)
Fourth, the belief that He is the Sole Creator of all things, as the Qur’aan says:
"Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs." (39:62)
"O mankind! Remember the Grace of Allah Upon you! Is there a creator other than Allah who provides for you from the sky and the earth? There is no God worthy of worship except He. How then are you turning away (from Him)?" (Soorah 35:3)
Belief in the Divine Destiny, therefore, comprises all these four categories. This is the position of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamā'ah. Only those who yield to innovations in religion deny some of these categories.
The belief in Allah also includes the belief that Faith comprises both words and deeds, that this Faith increases with acts of obedience and decreases as a result of committing acts of disobedience, and that it is not permissible to accuse a Muslim of disbelief, or Kufr, as a result of committing acts of disobedience and major sins, such as adultery, stealing, usury, drinking alcohol, and disobedience to parents, as long as he or she does not regard these sins permissible. The Qur’aan says:
"Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him in worship, but He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases." (4:116)
Authentic Prophetic traditions also state that Allah will ultimately take out of Hell-fire whoever has an atom's weight of Faith.
Belief in Allah also necessitates love for His sake, hate for His sake, and making friends and enemies for His sake. A true believer loves the believers and takes them for friends, and shows hate towards the disbelievers and does not take them for friends. The best of the believers one should love are the Companions of the Prophet !. Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah love them and believe that they are the best of mankind after the Prophets, as the Prophet said in the well-known authentic tradition:
"The best of generations are my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them."
They also believe that the best of them are in the following order: Abu Bakr, then 'Umar bin Al-Khattāb, then 'Uthmān bin 'Affān, then 'Ali bin Abi Tālib. Then there are those Companions who were given the glad tidings of entering Paradise, then the rest of the Companions. They keep their tongue in check regarding the arguments that arose amongst them and believe that they did their best to do only that which they believed was right. Whoever was right in his judgment would get a double reward, and whoever was wrong in his judgment would get one reward. They also love the believing members of the family of the Prophet and his wives the Mothers of the Believers.
They free themselves from the position the Sheite Sect holds in this regard. They (the Sheites) hate the Prophet's Companions, blaspheme them, and place the Prophet's family members in a position higher than that Allah chose for them. They also declare themselves free from the position held by An-Nawāsib who harm the Prophet's family members in word and deed.
What we have mentioned in this brief treatise on the true creed with which Allah sent His Messenger represents the belief of the Saved Sect, that of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamā 'ah, about which the Prophet said:
"A group of my followers will continue to be given victory while holding on to the Truth, no harm will be done to them by those who forsake them until Allah's Command comes to pass."
He also said:
"The Jews were divided into seventy-one sects, the Christians were divided into seventy-two sects, and my followers will be divided into seventy-three sects which will all be (punished) in Hell-fire with the exception of one." When the Companions asked him to identify it, he replied:"Those who are upon that which my Companions and I follow."
Indeed, this is the authentic creed one should follow. Those who contradict and deviate from this belief fall into many categories. They include, among others, those who worship idols, angels, saints, the jinn, trees, and stones. These people have not followed the call of Allah's Messengers; rather they stubbornly rejected their call. This is exactly what the Quraish and some other Arab tribes did when Prophet Muhammad ! came with the Truth from His Lord. They used to beseech their false gods to fulfill their needs, heal their sick, and grant them victory over their enemy. They would also offer sacrifices to them and make vows in their names. When the Prophet disapproved of their foolish beliefs and called them to worship Allah Alone and not to associate any partner with Him in worship, they replied:
"Has he made the gods (all) into one God? Truly this is a strange thing!" (Soorah 38:5)
The Prophet did not yield to despair. He continued calling them to worship Allah Alone, warning them against associating others with Him in worship, and explaining to them the reality of Islam. His efforts eventually paid off when they entered Allah's religion in crowds. Islam then reigned supreme and prevailed over all religions due to the huge efforts made by the Prophet, his Companions, and those who followed them in righteousness. The situation changed again after ignorance dominated and an overwhelming majority of people reverted to their foolish, ignorant practices, including the commission of all forms of Shirk. This phenomenon is increasingly spreading in our present-day society because of ignorance.
The argument these people put forward is not different from that of their predecessors, namely:
"These are our intercessors with Allah." (Soorah 10:18)
And:
"We only worship them in order that they may bring us closer to Allah." (39:3)
Allah refuted this false claim and made it clear to them that worshipping any other person or thing other than Allah is blatant Shirk and disbelief. The Qur’aan says:
"They worship, besides Allah, what can hurt them not nor profit them, and they say: 'These are our intercessors with Allah." (Soorah 10:18)
Allah refuted this claim in the same Verse thus:
"Say: 'Do you indeed inform Allah of something He knows not, in the heavens or on earth? Glory be to Him! And far is He above the partners they ascribe to Him!” (Soorah 10:18)
These Verses clearly indicate that worshipping Prophets, saints and others besides Him is a major form of Shirk, which is an unpardonable sin. Only those who commit it have invented this name. The Qur’aan says:
"We only worship them in order that they may bring us closer to Allah." (Soorah 39:3)
Allah refuted their false claim thus:
"Truly Allah will judge between them in that wherein they differ. But Allah guides not him who is a liar and a disbeliever." (Soorah 39:3)
In this Verse, therefore, Allah makes it crystal clear that the worship they offer to other than Him, whether in the form of invocation, hope, fear or otherwise, is blatant disbelief. He also calls them liars when they claim that their false gods bring them closer to Allah.
There are a number of ideologies and philosophies in our present time which contradict this true belief in every detail. The followers of these ideologies and philosophies, which were invented, by Marx, Lenin and others who call to atheism and disbelief, give their beliefs different names, such as socialism, communism, and Ba'thism. These people are in essence disbelievers, because they do not believe in the Last Day, Paradise and Hell. They also reject all religions because they claim that there is no god and that life is only matter. Those who follow these ideologies and philosophies will certainly bear the worst of consequences both in this life and in the Hereafter.
Other beliefs, which contradict the true belief, include Al-Bātinyyah and Sufism whose followers believe that their socalled saints are Allah's partners in His rule and disposition of the world's affairs. They give them such names as Aqtab, Awtād, and Aghwath. Indeed, this is the worst form of Shirk with relation to Allah's Lordship; it is even far worse than the form of Shirk which was prevalent in Pre-Islamic Arabia, for the Arabs at that time joined partners with Allah only in worship not in His Lordship. As the Qur’aan says:
"And when they embark on a ship, they invoke Allah, making their Faith pure for Him only: but when He brings them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to others.” (Soorah 29:65)
"If you ask them who created them, they will certainly say, 'Allah." (Soorah 43:87)
"Say: 'Who provides for you from the sky and from the earth? Or who has power over hearing and sight? And who brings out the living from the dead and the dead from the living? And who rules and regulates all affairs?' They will certainly say, 'Allah.' Say: 'Will you not then show piety (to Him)?" (Soorah 10:31)
Those who commit Shirk these days are worse than their predecessors in that some of them join partners with Allah in Lordship and that they commit Shirk in both times of ease and hardship. This is quite obvious from their practices at the shrines of Al-Hussein, Al-Badawi and others in Egypt, the shrine of Al-Eidarous in Aden, the shrine of Al-Hādi in Yemen, the shrine of Ibn 'Arabi in Syria, the shrine of 'Abdul-Qadir Al- Jilani in Iraq, and other well-known shrines across the Muslim World. To make matters worse, there are only a few people who take great pains to remind these ignorant people of the reality of TawhId with which Allah sent His Messenger. We pray to Allah Almighty to guide them to the Truth and to help Muslim leaders combat and uproot this phenomenon.
Of the beliefs that contradict the true belief with regard to Allah's Names and Attributes are the beliefs held by Al-Jahmiyah and Al-Mu'tazilah sects and their likes. These sects completely ignore Allah's Lofty, Perfect Attributes as though He is non-existent or an inanimate being! Far is He above what they say about Him!
Al-Ashā'irah is another sect that deny some of the Attributes while confirming others, thus contradicting clear logical as well as textual evidence from the Qur’aan and authentic Prophetic traditions.
The correct and true belief is that of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah who confirm all the Names and Attributes that Allah has confirmed for Himself in the Qur'aan or through His Prophet. They set Him far above His creation, as there is no one who bears resemblance to Him in anything. They refer to all proofs in the Qur'aan and the Sunnah without twisting the meaning thereof in the least. In this way they avoided confusion into which others have fallen. This belief is the way to salvation and bliss in this life and in the Hereafter. It is the Straight Path, which was followed by the pious predecessors and their leaders. The condition of the present-day Muslims
will not be rectified except by following the same path of the predecessors who held tight to Allah's Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger and shunned all that contradict them.