Islam 101 Course - Belief In Allah (1st Lesson)

The Pillars Of Faith ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Islam 101 | Student Course Notes | Written by Bilal Dannoun

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“Every child is born with the pure nature. It is his parents who change him to a Jew, a Christian, or a pagan” (Bukhari & Muslim)

The Prophet (sallalaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) was asked about “Faith” to which he responded: "…It is that you believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in fate (qadar), both in its good and in its evil aspects..." (Hadith Jibreel, Sahih Muslim)

IMPORTANT! A PERSON IS NOT A BELIEVER UNTIL HE BELIEVES IN ALL THE PILLARS OF FAITH

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Islam 101 | Student Course Notes | Written by Bilal Dannoun

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1ST PILLAR |Belief in Allah (Tawheed – Monotheism) “That is Allah, your Lord. There is no (true) god other than Him. He is the Creator of everything, so worship Him. And He also takes care of everything.” [Al-An‘aam, 6: 102]

Introduction




Believing in Allah is the first pillar of faith - All other pillars are useless without the first one




He is the true Lord




He has the best and greatest qualities




No one deserves our complete love and obedience but Allah




Aayat-ul Kursi [Al-Baqarah, 2: 255] contains a beautiful description of Allah

Ways of Knowing Allah 1. Through His Creation 2. Through the Quran 3. Through the Sunnah Belief in Allah consists of three parts

1. That He is the Creator and Master of everything. He is the true Lord. (alRuboobiyyah)

2. That He has the best and greatest qualities. (al-asmaa’ wassifaat)

3. No one deserves our complete love and obedience but Allah. (alUloohiyyah)

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Islam 101 | Student Course Notes | Written by Bilal Dannoun

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His Excellent Names




Only Allah knows how many they are

“99”




Learning them enables us to know Him better

“Surely, Allah has ninety-nine names, one less than a hundred. Whoever counts these names will enter Jannah.” (Bukhari)

Counting Allah’s names means:

1. Know them 2. Understand their meaning 3. Live in a way that shows that we Understanding Allah’s Qualities

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know and believe in them They are not like the qualities of people or other created things

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He does not need a wife, child, or

“Nothing is like Him, and He is the AllHearing, and the All-Seeing.” [Ash-shoora, 42:

helper to take care of the rest of

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creation

Where is Allah?

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He is above the world that we know and above the heavens

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He is above the throne

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Nothing is above Him

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We must believe in Allah’s highness, His highness of respect and honor

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His highness is not only symbolic but that it is true and real, not like the

Allah’s Qualities with Bodily names

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highness of creation Allah tells us He has some qualities that have bodily names. These qualities would not have bodily meaning when they are applied to Allah.

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We cannot imagine how these qualities are for Allah, because this is beyond our human ability.

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Among Allah’s perfect qualities with bodily names are the face, eyes, hands, foot.

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Islam 101 | Student Course Notes | Written by Bilal Dannoun

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More Qualities

Seeing Allah in this life

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Allah speaks

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Allah Loves and Hates

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Allah Laughs

No Human can see Allah in this life

Seeing Allah in the Hereafter “On that Day (of Judgment), some faces will be happy, looking at their Lord.” [75: 22-23] “You will surely be able to see your Lord (in Jannah), just as you can see this full moon. It will not hurt you to look at Him.” (Bukhari)

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Islam 101 | Student Course Notes | Written by Bilal Dannoun

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Shirk (Polytheism) | The Opposite of Tawheed “Surely Allah will not forgive the association of partners with Him, but He forgives (sins) less than that of whomever He wishes.” [An-Nisaa, 4: 48]

Categories of Shirk 1. Shirk in Ruboobiyyah

Sub-Category (i) Shirk by association

The belief that others share Allah’s Lordship over creation as His equal or near equal or to believe that there exists no Lord over creation at all.

Recognising a main God or Supreme Being over creation, but that His dominion is shared by other lesser gods, spirits, mortals, heavenly bodies or earthly objects

(ii) Shirk by negation Denying the existence of God explicitly (Atheism) or implicitly (Pantheism)

2. Shirk in Uloohiyyah (‘Eebaadah) (i) Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar (Major Shirk) Acts of worship are dedicated to other than God and the reward of worship is sought from the creation instead of the Creator.

This occurs when any act of worship is directed to other than Allah.

(ii) Ash-Shirk Al-Asghar (Minor Shirk) This has occurred when an action is done insincerely, out of showing off (Riyaa’), seeking reward from others besides Allah. This category of shirk is also known as the secret shirk.

3. Shirk in al-Asmaa’ was-Sifaat (names and attributes) Giving Allah the attributes of His creation or giving created beings Allah’s names and attributes.

(i) Shirk by Humanisation Allah is given the form and qualities of human beings. E.g. Hindus and Buddhists worship many idols in the likeness of Asian men, considering them manifestations of God in creation. Another example is those who believe that ‘Isa (Jesus) was God incarnate and such as those who paint pictures of God as a naked old European man with long flowing white heair and a beard.

(ii) Shirk by Deification This form relates to beings or things given claim to Allah’s names or His attributes.

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Islam 101 | Student Course Notes | Written by Bilal Dannoun

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