Foreword
Allâhu ta’âlâ has mercy upon all people on the earth. He creates useful things and sends them to everybody. He shows the way to Endless Bliss. He guides to the right path whomever He wishes among those who left the true way and followed the way to kufr (infidelity) and heresy as a result of being deceived by their own nafs (human desires), bad friends, harmful books, and the media. He saves them from eternal calamity. He does not bestow this blessing upon those who are cruel and exceed the limits. He lets them stay on the way of kufr, which they like and desire. In the next world, He will forgive whomever He wants of those guilty Believers who are to go to Hell, and He will admit them to Paradise. He alone creates every living creature, keeps every being in existence every moment and protects all against fear and horror. Trusting ourselves to the honourable name of Allâhu ta’âlâ, that is, expecting help from Him we begin to write this book.
May hand[1] be to Allâhu ta’âlâ. Peace and blessings be upon His beloved Prophet Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm). May all auspicious prayers be on his Ahl al-Bait and on each of his just and devoted Companions (as-Sahâbat al-kirâm).
Thousands of precious books have been written on the tenets of the Islamic faith and its commands and prohibitions, and many of them have been translated into foreign languages and distributed to every country. On the other hand, ill-willed and short-sighted people have continuously attacked the useful, bountiful and lightsome rules of Islam and have striven to blemish and change it and to deceive Muslims.
It is still seen with gratitude that in almost every country scholars of Islam are striving to disseminate and defend this path. Unsuitable speeches and articles, however, are still being witnessed, which are claimed to have been taken from – but out of misunderstanding of – the Qur’ân al-karîm and the hadîth ash-sherîf by a few people who have not read or understood the books by the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna. Yet these speeches and articles are ineffective against the firm îmân of Muslim brothers and have no influence, but indicate the ignorance of their agents.
A person who claims to be a Muslim and who has been seen performing salât in jamâ’a must be regarded as Muslim. If, later on, in his speech, writing or behaviour something is seen disagreeing with the knowledge of îmân as conveyed by the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna, he will be told that this is disbelief or heresy. He will be told to cease from it and repent. If, with his short mind and coarse reasoning, he answers that he will not, it will be understood that he is a heretic or disbeliever. Even if he continues performing salât, performs hajj and does all kinds of worship and good deeds, he will not escape this disaster unless he gives up the things or acts which causes kufr and unless he repents; he will not be a Muslim. By learning well the things that cause disbelief, each Muslim should protect himself from becoming a disbeliever and should know well the disbelievers and those liars who pretend to be Muslims and keep away from their harm.
Rasûlullah (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) said in a hadîth-i-sherîf that wrong, false meanings would be extracted from the Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth, and thus seventy-two heretical groups would appear. This hadîth sherîf is explained in the books Berîqa and Al-hadîqa, which derived it from the Sahîhain of al-Bukhârî and Muslim. We should not be taken in by the books and lectures of the men of these groups who come forward under such names as ‘great scholar of Islam’ or ‘professor of religion’, and we should be very alert not to fall into the traps of these thieves of faith and belief. Besides those insidious enemies, communists and freemasons, and also Christian missionaries and Jewish zionists try to decieve the Muslim youth through made-up and deceitful articles, motion pictures, theatre, and radio or television broadcasts. They spend millions for this purpose. The ’ulamâ’ of Islam (rahimahumullah) have given necessary responses to all of them and have shown Allâhu ta’âlâ’s religion and the way to happiness and salvation.
From among them, we have chosen the book I’tiqâd-nâma by Mawlânâ Diyâ’ ad-dîn Khâlid al-Baghdâdî al-’Uthmânî (quddisa sirruh), who was a distinguished scholar of Islam. I’tiqâd-nâma was formerly translated into Turkish by the late Hâji Faizullâh Effendi of Kemah, Erzincan, with the title Farâ’id al-fawâ’id and was printed in Egypt in 1312 A.H. This translation is simplified under the title Belief and Islam. Our own explanations are given in blocked brackets. We thank Allâhu ta’âlâ for vouchsafing the lot of publishing this book for the 16th time in English. The original of this book, I’tiqâd-nâma, is in Persian and exists in the Istanbul University Library (İbnül Emin Mahmud Kemal Dept. F. 2639).
It is written at the end of the subject about ‘disbeliever’s marriage’ in Durr al-mukhtâr, “If a Muslim girl with nikâh (marriage contract as prescribed by Islam)[2] does not know Islam when she reaches puberty, her nikâh becomes void [she becomes a renegade]. The attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ must be told to her, and she must repeat them and say, ‘I believe these.’ ” In explaining this, Ibn ’Âbidîn (rahimah-ullâhu ta’âlâ) said, “If the girl is little, she belongs in her parents’ faith; she is a Muslim. When she reaches puberty, she does not belong to her parents’ faith any longer. When she reaches puberty, because of her unawareness of Islam, she becomes a renegade. Unless she learns and believes the six tenets of Islam and believes that it is necessary to live up to Islam, she will not continue to be a Muslim even if she utters the Kalimat at-tawhîd, that is, says, ‘Lâ ilâha illa’llah Muhammadun Rasûlullah.’ She has to believe the six tenets expressed in ’Âmantu bi-’llâhi ...,’ and she has to say, ‘I accept the commands and prohibitions of Allâhu ta’âlâ.’ ” This explanation of Ibn ’Âbidîn shows that a disbeliever becomes Muslim as soon as he says the Kalimat at-tawhîd and believes its meaning. But, like any other Muslim, when he has the chance he has to memorize the following words and learn their meaning precisely: “Âmantu bi’llâhi wa Malâ’ikatihi wa Kutubihi wa Rusûlihi wal-yawm-il-âkhiri wa bil-qadari khairihi wa sharrihi minallâhi ta’âlâ walbâ’thu ba’d-al-mawt haqqun ash-hadu an lâ ilâha illallâh wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ’abduhu wa Rasûluhu.” Also, if a Muslim boy does not learn these six tenets and say that he believes them, he becomes a renegade when he reaches puberty. This work, Belief and Islam, contains detailed information on these six tenets. Every Muslim should read this book well and do his best to get his children and all his acquaintances to read it.
In the text, the meaning of âyat-i karimas are given as ma’âl, which means ‘meaning as reported by the scholars of tafsîr’; for, the meanings of âyat-i karimas were understood only by Rasûlullah (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), who, in his turn taught these meanings to his Sahâba. The scholars of tafsîr (science of interpretation of the Qur’ân al-kerîm) differentiated these hadîths from those made up by munâfiqs, mulhids and zindîqs, and, for those hadîth-i-sherifs they could not find, they themselves gave meanings to those âyats by following the (rules and principles of the) knowledge of tafsîr. What is understood by those people who are unlearned in the Islamic scientces, who speak Arabic but have no knowledge of tafsîr, is not called the tafsîr (interpretation) of the Qur’ân. That is why a hadîth sharîf says, ‘One who gives meanings to the Qur’ân al-kerîm according to his own understanding becomes a disbeliever.’ A glossary of Arabic and other non-English terms foreign to the English reader is appended.
May Allâhu ta’âlâ have us all keep to the right path shown by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunna! May he protect us from believing in the false, deceitful, insidious lies of the enemies of Islam and of the non-madhhabî people using the name ‘great scholar of Islam’!
Mîlâdî - Hijrî Shamsî - Hijrî Kamarî
2001 – 1380 - 1422