Important Injunctions On Aqidah - 2.0

This short series provides a rather detailed explanation on the tenets of ALL Muslims - i.e. adherents of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah. I invite all of us to read this series with due care, concern, importance and urgency, so that we double-check our stance with regards to our Basic Tenets of Faith; as laxity in doing so may cost us the difference between Jannah and Jahannam.

Bismillah.


(DISCUSSION CONTINUED)


ALLAH'S MESSENGER

Allah Most High sent Muhammad SAW, the Qurayshite unlettered prophet, to deliever His inspired message to the entire world, Arabs and non-Arabs, jinn and mankind, superseding and abrogating all previous religious systems with the Prophet's Sacred Law, except for the provisions of them that the new revelation expicitly reconfirmed. Allah has favoured him above all the other prophets and made him the highest of mankind, rejecting anyone's attesting to the divine oneness by saying "There is no god but Allah", unless they also attest to the Prophet SAW by saying "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." He has obliged men and jinn to believe everything the Prophet SAW has informed us concerning this world and the next, and does not accept anyone's faith unless they believe in what he has told us will happen after death.


The Trial of The Grave

The first of these matters is the questioning of Munkar and Nakir, two tremendous, awe-inspiring personages who sit a servant upright in his grave, body and soul, and ask him about the unity of Allah and the messengerhood of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, saying, "Who is your Lord, what is your religion, and who is your prophet?" It is they who try people in the grave, their questioning being the first ordeal after death. It is Obligatory to believe in the torment of the grave, that it is a fact, is just, and affects both body and soul, in the way Allah wills.


The Scale

It is obligatory to believe in the scale (Mizan), which consists of two scalepans and a balance indicator between them and is as great in size as the thickness of the heavens and earth. It weighs a servant's deeds through the power of Allah Most High, and the weights placed on it are as fine as an atom or mustard seed, that justice may be perfectly done. The pages recording one's good deeds will be placed in a form pleasing to behold on the side of the scale for Light, weighing it down according to their rank with Allah through His generosity, while the pages recording one's bad deeds will be placed in an ugly form on the side of Darkness, diminishing the weight of the opposite side through Allah's justice.


The Bridge Over Hell

It is obligatory to believe in the bridge over hell (Sirat), a bridge spanning the breadth of hell, sharper than a sword and finer than a hair, which unbelievers' feet shall slip from by Allah's decree and plunge them into hell, and the feet of believers shall be made fast upon by Allah's generosity, and from thence they shall be conducted to the Final Abode - Paradise.


The Watering Place

It is Obligatory to believe in a watering place people will come to, the watering place of Muhammad SAW, which believers will drink from before entering paradise, after having crossed the bridge over hell. Whoever drinks from it will never thirst again. Its width is month's journey across, its water whiter than milk and sweeter than honey, and there are as many pitchers around it as stars in the sky. Two aqueducts pour into it from Kauthar, a spring in
Paradise.


The Final Reckoning

It is obligatory to believe in the Final Reckoning and the disparity in the way various people are dealt with therein, some made to answer, others pardoned, and some admitted to paradise without reckoning, being the intimaters of Allah (muqurrabun). Allah Most High shall ask whomever He wills of the Prophets if they have conveyed their message, ask unbelievers why they denied the messengers, ask those of reprehensible innovation (bid'ah) about the sunnah, and ask Muslims about their works.


Believers Shall Depart from Hell

It is obligatory to hold that true sinful believers who believe in the oneness of Allah, who follow the prophet of their time will be taken out of hell after having paid for their sins, through the generosity of Allah Mighty and Majestic. No one who is a true monotheist will abide in the fire forever.


The Intercession of the Prophets and Righteous

It is obligatory to believe in the intercession of first the prophets, then religious scholars, then martyrs, then other believers; the intercession of each one commensurate with his rank and position with Allah Most High. Any believer remaining in hell without intercessor shall be taken out of it by the favour of Allah, no one who are believers remaining in it forever, and anyone with an atom's weight of faith in his heart will eventually depart from it.


The Excellence of the Sahabah RA - the Prophetic Companions

It is obligatory to believe in the excellence of the prophetic Companions RA. One must think best of all of the Companions RA of the Prophet SAW and praise them just as Allah Almighty and Majestic praised in the Qur'an (Surah 3: Ayat 110); and His messenger have praised them too. May Allah SWT be pleased with all of them. Ameen.


CONCLUSION

Allah SWT has been conveyed by prophetic hadith and attested to by the words of the early Muslims. Whoever believes it with deep conviction belongs to those of the truth, who follow the sun, and distinguishes himself from the faction who have strayed, the sect adhering to repehensible innovation (bid'ah). We ask from Allah through His Mercy for perfect certainty and steadfastness in religion, for ourselves and all Muslim; He is the Most Merciful of the Merciful.


(This is the end of this mini-series)