Series
of Muslim’s Knowledge (3)
A
Knowledge of the Islamic Credos
By: Sayyed
Muhammad Ali Al-Husseini
Introduced by : Ayatullah Sayyed Kamalul Haydari
In The name of Allah the Beneficent , the Merciful
Peace and blessing be upon the master of apostles and messengers , and upon his
pure pleasant family.
Researches of the Islamic credo are
regarded as the bases that straighten Muslim identity. Therefore we find that
the Glorious Qur'an has made the credo ascends toward Allah the Almighty .
Allah the Exalted said: ( To Him do ascend the good words , and the good deeds
lift them up)
. We think that the (good words) are the true credos that are translated by
the mankind into practical behaviors. And the main credo is al-Tawhid (
monotheism) , that on which all of other credos depend . And according to the
theory that says there should be a unity between the believer and the believable
object , we can say the the credo's ascending is the believer's ascending .
The good deed has another rule for establishing and fixing the credo , whereas
the good deed is repeated ; the belief got more stable and more clear and
becomes more influence . So if the good deed has been done for the sake of
Allah , it will help the true credo to ascend toward Allah.
Based on that , I ask Allah the Exalted to make this book useful for my believer
brothers , and to guide the author through this open way , He is Hearing
Responding .
Thursday, 18th Jumadul A’khirah , 1425 A.H
5 August, 2004 A.D
In the Name of Allah , the Beneficent , the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the whole worlds , the Sender of apostles
and messengers to be mercy for people . Who Sealed by the Prophet Muhammad
(P.b.h) the master of the earliest and the latest, and by his guardian Amirul
Mu’minin Ali (P.b) , followed by Hassan and Hussein and the nine infallible
(P.b) , the safety ship , the pure ahlul bayt (P.b) , God bless them and curse
their enemies from the earliest and the latest till the Day of Judgment.
It was supposed to start this blessing series ( Ma’ariful Muslim) with the
credo even before Qur'an and Fiqh, since the credo is the base of the
religion.
Mind could realize the existence of Allah through evidences like ( cause and
effect ) , (organizing and the organizer ), and ( evidence and authority ) ,
since Allah is the Cause , the Organizer, and the Creator of the world . Then
the claimer of prophecy brings the miracle that the mind believe in , then
comes the religion to supports what the mind has realized. Finally we follow
the Prophet (P.b.h) imitating his saying , his deed , and his confirmation , and
working according to Fiqh and Qur'an. Ten come all other things .
Therefore the credo is regarded the first but the noblest of whole sciences and
knowledge.
“Credo” or “theology ” they both give the same meaning, It is the evidence of
Allah's presence and singleness and talking about His positive and negative
characters , His justice, His Prophets and guardians , and the Day of Judgment .
Here are the origins of the religion ( Osul Al- din ): Tawhid (monotheism) , Adl
(justice ), Prophecy , Imamah (Guardian) , and Ma’ad ( the Day of Judgment).
In this book which is titled ' A Knowledge of the Islamic Credos '
We have discussed the origins of the religion from the point of view of mind ,
the Holy Qur'an , the Prophet’s traditions ( Sunna), and his infallible family
(P.b) .
We wish that the God of the worlds accepted it the best acceptance to
intercede for us on the Day of Judgment . We also wish that the honorable
readers forgive us , draw our attention to our mistakes , and not forget us in
their prayer. Especially our teacher , Ayatullah Sayed Kamal Al-Haydari , - God
bless and Guard him – who reviewed and introduced this book. We ask Allah the
Exalted to bless him.
Peace upon all our believers brothers.
The needy for the mercy of Allah , from the neighborhood of the Holy Shrine of
Fatimah Bint Musa Al-Kadhum (P.b)
Muhammad Ali Al-Husseini
Tel: (Lebanon) 009613961846
Friday, 18th Jumadal A’khirah, 1425 A.H
6 August, 2004 A.D
Introduction
1.
What the religion is .
2.
The role of the religion and its importance .
3.
The Islam
4.
The principles and the branches of the religion.
5.
The principles of the religion.
What the Religion is
Religion literally means “obedience” ; He Exalted said :
(And religion is His forever )
Which means , the permanent obedience is for Him.
Also He Exalted said: (… nor follow the religion of truth )
Sometimes the word ( religion ) means ( judgment) as the Almighty Allah said : (
Master of the Day of Judgment )
So the literally meaning of religion is “ obedience” or “ judgment”.
The conventional meaning of the religion is to believe in the creator of the
universe, the mankind , instructions and practical duties that fit for that
faith . Therefore , those who don’t believe by the creator are called
(unbelievers).
The role and importance of religion:
Maybe somebody asks ; What is the profit of a religion? Or he maybe says : A
religion might causes harms to people ! And so on.
We shall say: A religion is a divine rule that organizes the life of individuals
and societies, to have them reach the perfection and promotion in all
significant fields of the humans life .
Here are some of these rules :
1.
Correcting and purifying thoughts and credos from
illusions and superstitions. Indeed a religion explains the fact of the universe
as a creation of an expert creator who created and formed matter , and limited
it by rules and laws. A religion also explains that , the humanity life is not
existed by chance and people are not created without goal , but there is a high
purpose that could be reached by following the directions of prophets whom sent
by Allah.
2.
Promotion the morals principles :
Religious creeds are the source of morals principles , since observance of
values are usually combined by difficulties and pains ,so that man couldn’t bear
them unless he’s got a spiritual factor that eases the pains and removes the
difficulties for him. Believing by Allah the Glorious is the best factor for
easement misfortunes and pains on one side , and to suspense the mankind to
self-sacrifice for the sake of right , justice , and for helping poor people on
the other side.
3.
Improving social relationships:
The religious creed supports social fundamentals , since religious man considers
them as obligatory duties that he is not aloud to oppose , for example :
respecting family and promote relations with relatives and so on.
4.
Abolition of ethnic contrast :
The religion considers humans as they are created for the same principle.
People are as equal as teeth of com, there is no difference between Arabic and
or non- Arabic , white or black.
The previous four points show the clear influence role of religion .After
clarifying these points , nobody should neglect religion either because of
irresponsibility and tendency toward ease and relaxation , or because thinking
that believing in religion can put more restriction on him or deprives him from
some activities that are desirable to his soul.
So that the Holy Qur'an has described those who are inattentive as animals but
worse than animals as the following verse shows:
(And certainly We have created for Hell many of the jinn and the men ; they have
hearts with which they do not understand , and they have eyes with which they do
not see , and they have ears with which they do not hear , they are as cattle ,
nay , they are in worse errors , these are the heedless ones )
The Islam
Islam has two meanings , common and proper.
Common Islam:
It is obeying Allah orders and directions and following His rules and
judgments.
His Almighty says :
( Surly the true religion with Allah is Islam )
A Muslim is the one who follows rules and judgments that Allah revealed .
Depending on that , Islam is founded in the time of Adam , Nuh , Abraham , Moses
, Jesus , and the seal of the prophets and messengers Muhammad (p.b)
Proper Islam :
It is the Islam that the Prophet Muhammad (p.b) came with , and Muslim is the
everybody says : I call to witness that there is no God but Allah , and Muhammad
is his Apostle ) . And that what is known the two witnesses ( Shahadatain).
And everybody testifies this testimony , he shouldn’t deny any of the necessary
creeds of Islam or its judgments , and he shouldn’t deny the prophet hood of any
of the previous prophets who are mentioned in the Qur'an , in another word , he
should not deny what whole Muslims agreed on like the necessity of prayer ,
fasting , hajj (pilgrimage) ,and prohibition of wine , usury , and so
on.
Muhammad’s Islam is the seal of religions because it is the perfect mission that
achieved the willing of heaven to make people follow and obeyed the Almighty
Allah in their behavior.
And that is why none of religions is going to be accepted other than Islam.
( And whoever desires a religion other than Islam , it shall not be accepted
from him , and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers )
The Principles and Branches of the religion
The Islamic religion is a global inclusive religion , it depends on two
essential pillars :
1.The principles of the credo: They are invariable , the don’t change from a
nation to another , they are : monotheism , justice , prophet hood , and the
hereafter.
2. The Branches of religion :
They represent the legislation part of the religion, they consist of some
superior moral directions and information, and general practical legislations
that contribute in reforming individuals and communities and bless them in this
world and in the hereafter, and these legislations do not concern particular
people.
Principles of Religion
As you have known , religion is consisting of two parts :
Principles and branches.
Principle means the base and origin on which religion is built. It is called
principles of religion and they are : Tawhid (monotheism) , Adl (justice) ,
prophecy , Imamate ( leadership ) , Maad ( the hereafter) .
We can put Imamate and prophecy together
and Adl and tawhid together then they will be three: Tawhid , prophecy , and
Mad.
So it is necessary for every adult to know the principles of religion. Next
chapter is going to explain how to know them in details.
Chapter One
1.Knowledge of Allah
2. Proving Allah existence
3. The intellectual evidence
5.
The traditional evidence
Knowledge of Allah
As you have known , it is necessary to know the principles of religion, and this
knowledge should not be by imitation , following others – whatever position they
have – and this is due to many reasons , we mention some of them :
It is known that imitation means following others whether they were right or
not, and we say that : Mind imposed that we should think about the universe -
either because of fear of a probably harm or to thank the Granter – until we
know Allah mind not by imitation . And this what Allah the Almighty has stressed
on in His Book when He commanded us to think and reflect in order to reach Him
:
(We will soon show them Our signs in the Universe and in their own souls until
it will become quite clear to them that it is the Truth. Is it not sufficient as
regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things ? )
Qur'an has maligned those who imitate others and follow them for suspicion in
His saying :
( And when it is said to them; Follow what Allah has revealed , they say ; Nay !
We follow what we found our fathers upon . What ! And though their fathers had
nonsense at all , nor did they follow the right way )
(Surly conjecture will not avail aught against the Truth )
The conclusion is that the principles of religion should be known by mind ,
then come the traditions that support it . And we are not aloud to imitate the
others in the principles of religion.
Proving the existence of Allah
You should know that , the beginning of religion is knowing Allah , and such
knowledge comes by nature
.
If we look attentively at Allah's creatures such as ; the sun, the moon , the
wind , the rains , the mountains , the seas , and the difference between day and
night and all other strange things which Allah the Almighty has created and if
we look at the signs of His mercy , we surely realize that none of the previous
creatures could be found without an old wise expert unique creator ,otherwise he
will need a creator the same as the other things did.
When Amirul Mu’minin (p.b) was asked to prove the existence of Allah , then he
said : Dropping refers to a camel , and dung refers to a donkey , footprints
refer to walking . So an upper structure with this fineness , and lower center
with this density haven't refer to The Most kind the Expert ?!
An old woman was asked about a proof for existence of Allah , then she said :
This is my spindle , it moves when I move it , and it stills if I don’t. And
that is why the holy prophet said : “ hold fast on the religion of the old
women”
Imam Al Sadeq (p.b) was asked about Allah , then he said : O , servant of Allah
, have you ever ride a ship ? He said : Yes . Imam said : Was it being broken
where no other ship to save you nor you could swim to help yourself ? He said :
Yes. Imam said : Have you thought that there was something might help you and
save you from this predicament? He said yes . Imam (p.b) said this thing is
Allah , that could save you whenever nobody else could do , and help you
whenever nobody else could help.
Look at these words which are reported from the master of martyrs and examine
them carefully , he said in Dua’ Arafat :
“ How could You be recognized by things that need you for its existence? Is it
possible that others have the appearance that You don’t have so they could
develop you? When were You absent so You need an indication to indicate you?
And when were You far, so signs could lead to You ? The eye that doesn’t see
You a watcher on it , it should be blind ! ”
How great are these words that shake us from deep inside , and show us our need
to Allah. They show how close we are from him! And show the need of all
creatures to Him , and how to know Him by nature.
But in order to make the speech more eloquent , and the evidence stronger , and
the right clearer ; The speech should follow the intellectual evidences . To
have the disbeliever believes , and to promote the believers' faith.
Intellectual Evidence on Allah Existing
“ The ways that lead to Allah are as many as creatures ”
In this research we are going to choose a intellectual way , we don’t like to
take the hardest one but we are going to take the easiest way to prove the
existing of Allah the Almighty so that we don’t need hard or complicated
introductions. We are going to take an easy clear way so that everybody will be
able to understand it in spite of the differences in the levels of their
cultural .
1.
Organization proof
Everybody could see the world , the sky and earth and the creatures between them
from galaxy to ant , he could see how they are organized in a nice perfect
organization and grate coordination. Which causes mind to decide frankly , and
the conscience to obey intuitively that there is a planner for this system and
organizer for this organization , and there is a wise creator for this fine
motion.
When you look at the sun for example , you see that earth is going to melt if
the sun comes closer , and if it gets farther then earth will freeze. We realize
that there is a wise able expert organizer for this system.
On the other hand , Quraish eloquent and well-spoken people have realized
that the Holy Qur'an is great , and he who brings it is greater too . Take the
computer and its operating system for example , you find that such system needs
an organizer , so that rational people realize that there must be a wise
creator for this fine universal system . He created the universe , designed it
, gave it the continuity, and he put it at best creation and organization.
This creator is Allah the Almighty.
The Conclusion of the Proof :
Mind realizes that for every organization there should be a finder and an
organizer . And the cosmic system that consist of the sky , earth , man , and
other creatures is controlled by a system and this system has an organizer , HE
is Allah the Almighty.
“ How could You be recognized by things that need you to be found ”
2.Cause and Effect Proof :
This way is represented by scrutiny the signs and evidences of Allah . This
proof doesn’t differ from the organization proof , but it comes from the actions
that happens all over the universe through which we can conclude that this cause
of theses effects is Allah the Almighty.
When a Bedouin was asked if he believes in Allah , he said yes. And when he was
asked about the evidence , he said “ the drooping indicates camel and footprint
indicates walking , then don’t the sky and earth indicate the Most Kind the
Expert ?!”
This Bedouin deduced the existence of the cause through the effect.
Also , the woman which was spinning her spindle , when she was asked ; Do you
believe in Allah ? She said yes. When she was asked about the evidence that
makes her believe . She stopped her spindle and said ; This is the evidence. The
spindle doesn’t move without cause , the universe also doesn’t move without
cause.
So , the Bedouin deduced the existence of Allah through the effects that always
need cause to be found. And this meaning has come in Duaa Arafat : “ When were
You far so that effects indicate You?! ”
And the woman has deduced that , no movement should be there without a mover as
well as no foundation should be there without a creator. Nobody could deny that
nonexistence should not turn to the existence without a creator? And such
existence also needs a mover exactly as the old woman said about her spindle .
Disproof the chance suspicion:
In spite of all intellectual and natural evidences that we have mentioned above
to prove the existence of the organizer and the mover of this universe , there
still some people who deny the existence of Allah because of the sins that they
have committed which caused their heart to be veiled from the light of nature ,
and causes the certainty to die inside their chests , so those people need to
something that could arouse their conscience that had been died because of their
sins , and Allah never oppresses His servants:
(And they did not do Us any harm , but they made their own souls suffer the
loss)
Here we narrate a story that happened between a believer scholar and an infidel
man , those two men have agreed to debate about the existence of Allah , but the
scholar didn’t attend on the specific time , which caused the infidel man to
think that the scholar was not able to prove his point of view therefore he
didn’t come for the debate . Few hours later , the scholar arrived . And when he
was asked about the reason of delay, he said ; My house is on the other side of
the river , and when I was crossing the river , a huge storm hit my boat and
shattered it into little peaces of wood. Meanwhile I was thinking how to cross
the river , I saw marvelous thing , suddenly the pieces of wood started to
approach from each other on a form of a boat , soon I had my own boat again so I
rode it , and here I am to start our discussion . When the infidel man heard
this story he mocked the scholar man and told him , I thought you were a scholar
therefore I wanted to debate you , but now I’m sure that you are an ignorant man
, because nobody could believe your saying that a boat has fixed itself by
itself!
Then the scholar man said : The fool is you , and the crazy is you , if a little
boat couldn’t fix itself , so how could this infinite world could fined itself
by itself?! And how could it move without a creator or a mover ?!
Then the infidel man realized the wise of the scholar man and declared his faith
in the presence of the audience.
Next we will start with the traditional evidences that support the intellectual
evidences .
The Traditional Evidence
Proving the existence of Allah
When we use the traditional evidences like the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah ( the
traditions of the Holy Prophet ) to prove the existence of Allah the Almighty,
we only mean to wake up souls and minds , because the Holy Qur'an and the other
traditions are parts of the faith by the prophecy of the Prophet of Islam
Muhammad (p.b) , and it is a subsequent stage for the believing in his prophecy
, his Book , and his Lord . And such believing should come through intellectual
evidences that have been mentioned above , assaying says : “ throne before
sculpture”
That means , first you should believe in Allah , then you believe in His
prophets and so on . And the imitation is not accepted to prove the existence of
Allah because it is a pure intellectual issue.
Anyway, we are going to talk to our dear youth about the traditional texts that
support the intellectual evidences as the following :
1.
The Qur'an Evidence
The Qur'an has given the best explanation , and the perfect prove on the
existence of Allah the Almighty throughout many blessing verses , that Allamah
Majlisi has counted them in his book (Bihar al Anwar ) under the title : Proving
the Creator and deduction His existing throughout His strange creatures by
mentioning 244 verses from the Holy Qur'an. Some of them :
He the Exalted said :
(Most surly in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of
the night and the day, and the ships that run in the sea with that which profits
men , and the water that Allah sends down from the cloud , then gives life with
it to the earth after its death and spreads in it all (kinds of) animals , and
the changing of the winds and the clouds made subservient between the heaven and
the earth , there are signs for people who understand)
This Holy verse consist of seven marvelous signs that show , there is a planer
and a creator who created and gave them the ability to stay and continue .
What a wonderful verse that defends the doubt and keeps the suspicions away from
the existence of the Creator of the sky and earths , which causes everybody to
believe in Allah as soon as he thinks and meditates in it .
2. Sunna (of the Prophet)
Many traditions have been reported from the Prophet of Islam and Ahlu’l-bayt
that prove the existence of Allah , you can find them in the monotheism books ,
these traditions exceed one hundred tradition , there is no need to be mentioned
here.
“You never been hidden so a proof could indicate You , and You never gone away ,
so signs could lead to You , the eyes that couldn’t see You , they must be
blind eyes, and whoever doesn’t like You , he will be loser ”
Chapter Two
·
Monotheism of the Creator
·
The intellectual evidence
·
The traditional evidence
·
Monotheism of the essence
·
Monotheism of the actions
·
Monotheism of the worship
·
Monotheism of the qualities
·
The positive qualities
·
The negative qualities
·
Conclusion
Monotheism of the Creator
After we had proved the existence of the Creator and the Mover of the worlds
throughout intellectual and traditional evidences , Now it's turn to answer the
following question:
Is there only one mover and organizer for this world ?
We believe that , Allah the Almighty is only one God . He created the worlds
where we can see signs of His mightiness , power , experience in every creature
He created like ; human beings , animal kingdom , plants , planets , the
highest worlds, and everywhere.
And such matter doesn’t need an evidence to prove it because of the sound nature
imposes it . Don’t you see that heart and conscious of everybody always seek
help and refugee from only one source whenever he subjects to an emergency case.
The matter that shows ; Heart , mind , and nature have already known that Allah
is the only God Who has no partners , therefore people don’t ask help nut only
from Him , and don’t believe in poly-creators .
The Intellectual Evidence
There are lots of evidences that are used to prove the monotheism , some of them
were philosophical which need to some introductions and understanding to some
terms. And some of them were easy , and that what chose throughout this book .
A.
The wonderful harmony of the universe system indicates
the existence of only one God who supervises that harmony, since if there was
another god or gods , then the form of the universe might be different from the
present one. The greatness order of the universe has amazed the scientists and
led them to confess the existence of the Only One God. How could two authors
write two identical products, so that there is no difference between them? ! And
that is what the Holy Qur'an referred to :
( If there had been in them any gods except Allah , they would both have
certainly been in a state of disorder , therefore glory be to Allah the Lord of
the dominion , above what they attribute ( to Him ) )
B.
The organization and the connection
When the mankind meditate with a sound mind about this huge world and this great
universe , from its highest skies to the deepest earth , he will find that all
those creations are perfectly harmonized and connected to each other as if they
are one unite or one set , which means they all were created by one creator,
and this creator should be knowing and expert by all details that the world
needs.
Reported from Imam Sadeq (P.b) : ( When we saw the organized creation, the
movement of the planets, night and day, sun and moon , which all refer to the
right management , that means the maker is only one.
C. Dividing and Deduction
The saying by poly-gods , it should be only one of three probabilities:
-
Either both of gods have the same ability on creation
and organization or they are different in the ability.
-
So if they both are able , the second one is going to be
useless. And if they were disable , so both of them are going to be useless.
-
And if one of them was able and the second one was
disable , so the first one should be the only god. And the second one will be
useless.
-
Then the divinity will be assigned to the able one with
no partnership nor counterpart.
D.
The partner has no signs :
There is no need to believe by more than one god if we cant find signs of any
god other than Allah such as creatures , a prophet , or a book .
As the effect refers to the influence, it is also true to say that ,
nonexistence of effect refers to nonexistence of influence. In another word , no
effect refers to no influence .
The sound nature and the dogmatic knowledge prove that any god other than Allah
is not existed , since if such god is existed then we had to know him through
his effects , angels , books , or messengers.
After full examination and perfect searching , we ascertain that there is no
effect for any god other than Allah , then we know that there is no god other
than Allah the Almighty.
Also , we can figure out the singleness of Allah the Almighty through the
sayings of prophets and guardians , because they are the true informants , and
they had proved their prophecy by definite evidences , the miracles , so there
is no wonder to accept their saying about Allah, that : He is the One and Only
(God) , Who has no partner to share the creation and producing.
We also see that all prophets had reported about the singleness of Allah , so
if there was any god other than Allah , then he had to send you his messengers
, and that , what Amirul mu’minin (p.b) has meant in his will to his son Imam
Hassan (p.b) : Oh , my son , you have to know that if there was any partner to
your lord , then he had to send you his messengers, and you should see the signs
of his reign and power , and you should know his effects and his qualities, but
he is only one God , as He described Himself , nobody could counter Him in His
rule, and He is the creator of everything.
We satisfied by this mount of evidences on the singleness of the mighty Lord.
The traditional
proof on the singleness of Allah
The Holy Qur'an :
The Holy Qur'an has declared the
singleness of Allah in many verses , they might exceed one hundred verses , We
bless ourselves by mentioning some of them :
1.
He Exalted said :( And you God is one God ! There is no
god but He ; He is the Beneficiate the, Merciful )
2.
He Exalted said: ( And Allah has said : Take not two gods
, He is only one God , so of Me alone should you be afraid .)
3.
He Exalted said: ( So call not upon another god with
Allah , lest you be of those who are punished .)
4.
He Exalted said: ( If there had been in then any gods
except Allah , they would both have certainly been in a state of disorder ,
therefore glory be to Allah , the Lord of the domination , above what they
attribute ( to Him ) )
5.
He Exalted said: ( Say ; He, Allah, is One )
And other holy verses that limit the divinity in Allah the One and Only (God) ,
and deny any partner or the like to the One , the Eternal.
Sunnah ( traditions of the Prophet ) :
There are many traditions of the infallible Ahlul bayt (p.b) which have declared
the singleness of Allah the Almighty . In a speech of the great Prophet (p.b)
he said : Praise be to God , Who was single in His beginning .
Came in the will of Imam Ali (p.b) to his son Imam Hassan (p.b) he said : Oh my
son you have to know that , if there was any partner to your Lord , then he
should send you his messengers.
Imam Hussein (p.b ) said in in Duaa Arafat : Praise be to God , Who never takes
a son for Himself , so He is not inherited.
In a speech of Imam Redha (p.b) he said : The beginning of worshiping is to know
Allah , and the origin of the knowledge is to believe in His singleness .
Unity of Allah’s Nature :
Monotheism literary means ( to unite multi- thing and consider them as single
thing ) , and this word has been used by philosophers , the scholars of :
theology , ethics ,and Gnosticism in many different meanings. And Allah's unity
has been noticed form all of these meanings . Sometimes it is known as ( Parts
of monotheism ) or ( Degrees of monotheism ). Now we are going to talk about the
(Self unity ) then ( actions unity ) and ( unity of worship and qualities ) .
The intellectual proof on the singleness and unity of the divine nature :
At the beginning we should know the meaning of the (unity of the divine nature )
, which means two things :
a.
the divine nature is plain – not compound – He has no
parts.
b.
He is unique , He has no like or similar .
He should be plain since the effective , the organizer , the existed by
necessity, the creator should not be compound , because any kind of compounds
definitely needs its parts to be existed , and every part needs the other parts
, in the same time , every part will be limited by a certain mount or a certain
shape.
And it is obvious that need and limitation are shortage and defect , which both
are impossible to reach the holiness God, the rich and the absolute, it is
Allah , not to need the worlds. Therefore Allah should be Single and Plain.
The second meaning , Allah is unique and has no similar or a like .
As we have explained above , it is obvious that everything in this world is
compound either from a substance and a figure , or from an essence and outward
( external appearance) , or from simple parts. Thus Allah the Almighty has got
unique nature. ( The originator of the heavens and the earth ; He made mates for
you from among yourselves , and mates of the cattle too multiplying you thereby
, there nothing like a likeness of Him ; and He is the Hearing , the Seeing )
The Unity of Actions :
It is known in the convention of philosopher as ( al tawhidul Ifa’li ) it
means that Allah the Almighty doesn’t need help from anybody or anything , and
nothing other than Him could influence this world.
( Allah is the creator of everything , and He has charge over everything. His
are the treasures of the heavens and the earth ; and ( as for ) those who
disbelieve in the communications of Allah , these it is that are the losers )
But that doesn’t mean we are forced on our actions ,indeed we are free in our
will and taking attitudes. ( Surly We have shown him the way : he may be
thankful or unthankful )
The Unity of Worship :
This concept is one of the most known ideological conception in Islam, it sets
apart the monotheist Muslim from the polytheist idolater , because of the great
meaning that are included in this conception, such as the sincerity of
worshiping toward the great creator. Since worship doesn’t fit anybody other
than His Almighty, so He is the Great and Almighty , is the only one who deserve
the worship, whatever loftiness and perfection the other got.
So the unity of worship means , it is absolutely not allowed to adore anything
other than Allah , or to worship anyone beside Allah , no difference if that
worship was obligatory or not , prayers or other worship. And those who did so
are polytheists, and they will be as if they worship someone other than Allah ,
so there is no difference between them and those who adore the idols.
It is mentioned in the Book of Allah the Almighty : ( And We did not sent before
you any apostle but We revealed to him that there is no god but Me , therefore
serve Me )
And His Almighty said : (O followers of the Book ! Come to an equitable
proposition between us and you that we shall not serve any but Allah and ( that
) we shall not associate aught with Him , and ( that ) some of us shall not take
others for lords besides Allah , but if they turn back , then say : Bear witness
that we are Muslims )
And He said : ( And if they call a lair , say : My work is for me and your work
is for you ; You are clear of what I do , and I am clear of what of what you do
)
And said : ( Surly Allah is my Lord and your Lord , therefore serve Him ; This
the right path )
And said : ( Certainly We sent Nuh to his people , so he said : O my people
serve Allah , you have no god other than Him ; Surly I fear for you the
chastisement of a grievous Day )
And said : ( and the Messiah said : O children of Israel ; Serve Allah my Lord
and your Lord . Surly whoever associates (others ) with Allah , then Allah has
forbidden to him the Garden , and his abode is the fire ; and there shall be no
helpers for the unjust . )
( Master of the Day of Judgment )
Unity of Allah's Qualities :
Unity of qualities means to believe that the qualities of Allah are not
additional to the divine self , but they are the same of the holy divine nature.
Amirul mu’min (p.b) said :
“ The beginning of the religion is to know Allah , and the perfection of this
knowledge is to believe in Him , and the perfection of the believing is to
believe in the unity of God , and the perfection of the unity is the loyalty for
Him , and the perfection of the loyalty is to deny the adjectives off Him ,
since whoever describes Allah, he pairs Him , and whoever pairs Him , he
doubles Him , and whoever doubles Him , he divides Him , and whoever divides Him
, he fails to know Him , and whoever doesn’t know him , he points out to Him ,
and whoever points out to Him , he limits Him , and whoever limits Him , he
counts Him ”
Muslims were divided into sect about the qualities of Allah ,and they involved
into serious intellectual conflict . Shi’ah have divided the qualities of
Allah , according to the traditions of Ahlul bayt ,into two parts :
1.
Positive qualities
2.
Negative qualities
Positive qualities :
They are the qualities that prove the
perfection of Allah the Almighty , and all of these qualities are the same of
the self of Allah , they are not additional qualities, and their existence is
the same of Allah's existence. They are also divided into two parts:
1.
The self qualities :
They are the same of His Holy Self , such as : The existence , the knowledge ,
the ability and so on .
2.
The action qualities :
They are qualities that show the ability on creation , giving life , giving
livelihood, and so on . And these are the qualities of His actions but not His
self . The perfection of these qualities is the ability on doing them , and this
ability is the same as the nature of Allah.
The difference between the action qualities and the self qualities is shown in
the saying of the great scholars like Sayed Abdullah Shubbar when he said : “
The self qualities are the characteristics of Allah , and it is not true to be
characterized by their opposites , like knowledge , ability , life and so on .
For it is not true to say that Allah knows something but He doesn’t know
another thing , or He is able to do something but isn’t able to do another
thing and so on ”
For the action qualities , it is true for Allah the Almighty to be characterized
by such qualities or by their opposites. For example , it is true to say that :
Allah has created Zaid and He hasn’t created his son , ( in case Zaid doesn’t
have a son ) , or to say Allah has gave the life to Zaid and put Umar to death
and so on.
Negative qualities:
They are the qualities that disallow the shortage of Allah the Almighty ,
since these qualities are related to the creatures , and it is not true to
compare Allah with His creatures. These qualities are six:
1.
He is not (compound ): He is not compound of structural
parts , otherwise He will need his parts , but Allah is rich ,He is not needy.
2.
He is not (a substance ) : Since the substance is limited
, changeable , evanescent , needs a place for its existences , and such things
are impossible for the divine self .
3.
He is ( unseen ) : He is unseen , otherwise he will be a
limited body and evanescent.
4.
He has no ( place) : Because He has no body to be need
for a place.
5.
He has no ( partner ) : If He has a partner then he will
be limited , because it is impossible for two unlimited creatures to existed
together in one place. On the other hand , the unity of self's laws represent an
evidence on the singleness of Allah.
6.
He is ( not needy) : He is rich because he is the
unlimited creator of the creatures , He is Allah , who doesn’t need anything.
Conclusion of Unity:
We must believe in the unity of Allah according to the following four
stages :
1.
He has no partner in His self : ( And Allah has said ;
Take not two gods , He is only one God ; So of Me alone should you be afraid )
2.
He has no partner in His qualities : ( The originator of
the heavens and the earth ; He made mates for you from among yourselves , and
mates of the cattle two , multiplying you there bye ; Nothing like a likeness of
Him ; and He is the Hearing , the Seeing )
3.
He has no partner in His actions : (This is Allah’s
creation , but show me what those besides Him have created. Nay , the unjust are
in manifest error )
4.
He has no partner in His worship : ( Say ; I am only a
mortal like you ; It is revealed to me that your god is one God , therefore
whoever hopes to meet his Lord , he should do good deeds , and not join anyone
in the service of his Lord . )
Chapter Three
The Divine Justice
The proof of Justice
The Mind
The Book
Al-Sunnah (The traditions of the Prophet)
The Parts of Justice
Chapter Three
The Justice of God
“ The Just is a verbal noun . Adl (the Just) is one of Allah’s names .The just
is the one who never oppresses others in judgment. In the convention of
philosophers it means to research in the sciences that regard with deeming the
Almighty God far above the ugly actions or breaching the obligatory actions ”
Justice literately means the equality, or the settlement . Conventionally it
means protecting the others rights, it is the opposite meaning of oppress or
aggression therefore it is defined as : “ Giving the right to whom deserves ” ,
and the best definition for justice is the saying of Amirul mu’minin Ali (p.b) “
Justice is putting things in their right places ”
Adl (justice) is one of the Allah’s positive qualities but we assigned it an
independent research because it is ramified research, on the other hand it is
considered as one of the principles of the religion at Shi’a Imamiyah’s credo.
We believe that Allah the Almighty is fair , never oppress his creatures, never
does ugly things , never breach , never treat others unjustly , He rewards
obedient ones , and punishes the disobedient ones , He never commands creatures
above their ability , never overdo the punishment , He never punishes the well-
doer , He never forces his servants to do ugly deeds then punishes them.”
The Proofs of Adl ( justice)
1. The Mind :
The Mind says that Allah the Almighty for the following reasons :
- Injustice could happen due to one of the following reasons :
1.
Unknowing the action that causes injustice , but Allah
the Almighty is the Omniscient .(He knows the stealthy look and that which the
breast conceal )
2.
Knowing the injustice deed but , he is forced to do it.
But Allah is the All-Powerful. ( Surly , Allah has power over all things )
3.
Knowing the injustice deed , he isn’t forced to do it ,
but he needs to do. But Allah is above any need . ( then surly Allah is Self-
sufficient above any need of the worlds )
4.
Knowing the injustice deed , he isn’t forced to do it ,
he doesn’t need to do it , but he does it for amusement or to revenge others ,
but Allah is wise and above fun and revenge .
All the above situations are impossible for Allah to be characterized with,
since they involve the shortage , but Allah the Almighty is the Absolute
Perfection, thus we should believe that Allah is far above the injustice
2. The Book
Allamah Majlisi has counted more than thirty verses of Qur'an that show the
justice of Allah the Almighty , for example :
a.( This is for what your own hands have sent before and because Allah is not in
the least unjust to the servants )
b. ( Surly Allah does not do injustice to weight of an atom , and if it is a
good deed He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward. )
c. ( And we do not lay on any soul a burden except to the extent of its ability
, and with Us is a Book which speak the truth , and they shall not be deal with
unjustly)
d. ( Allah bears witness that there is no god but He , and (so do ) the angels
and those possessed of knowledge , maintaining His creation with justice ; there
is no god but He, the mighty , the Wise.
3. Sunna of the Prophet (p.b):
Sunna of the Prophet () has ruled the community , it used the justice to be a
basis for the religion and the other true knowledge. Focusing on the basis of
justice, therefore , Allah’s justice, was one of the principles of the credo
and the religion. It was one of the Allah’s qualities that we should believe in.
Reported from Amirul Mu’minin (p.b):
“ He is truthful with his promises , He is far above the injustice to His
servants ,He performed justice with His creatures , He judged them with His
justice ”
Also reported from Amirul Mu’minin ( p.b) :
“ Justice is the Allah’s balance that He recommended for His creatures and put
it for performing justice ”
And He (p.b) also said : “ Allah the Almighty has made the justice to put
people right , prevent the grievances , and to make Islam brighter ”
We should not forget that our twelfth Imam (Imam Mahdi (p.b)) is going to spread
justice in this world after it has been filled with injustice and corruption.
Parts of Justice :
Justice is divided into different parts , but Allah’s Justice is three parts:
1.
The constituting justice :
It means to give every creature what he deserves of existence, no ability is
neglected , nor any ready for receiving Allah's favor or creation.
Allah the Almighty said : ( He said ; Our Lord is He Who gave to everything its
creation , then guided it (to its goal ))
2.The Legislative Justice:
Allah the Almighty never neglects any duty that contributes in the integrity and
the happiness of humans, which has the basis of moral and physical life ,
worldly and otherworldly , as Allah the Exalted never charges anybody more than
his ability.
The Almighty said : ( Surly Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of
good (to others ) and the giving to the kindred , and He forbids indecency and
evil and rebellion ; He admonishes you that you may be mindful . )
3. The Penal Justice
It means that ,Allah the Almighty, doesn’t equal reformer and the spoiler
person, or the believer and polytheist in the penalty, but He rewards the
reformer and punishes the mistaken. It is necessary to say that , Allah the
Almighty never punishes any mistaken only after explaining and warning.
Allah the Almighty said : ( Whoever goes aright , for his own soul does he go
aright , and whoever goes astray , to its detriment only does he go astray , nor
can the bearer of a burden bear the burden of another , nor do we chastise until
We raise an apostle.)
Chapter Four
The divine kindness and the prophets missions
The prophecy
The prophet
The messenger
Number of prophets
Olul Azm ( the Prophets of the universal missions )
The qualities of the prophet
Isma (infallibility)
How to know the prophecy claimer
The aims of Prophecy
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