﷽
The following are some notes from our new Dīn intensive class for the summer, 80 Principles of Islām in the Declaration of Faith (العقائد الثمانون في شهادتي الإسلام) by Dr. ʿAbd al-ʿĀlim al-Quraydī.
Session 1 — Introduction
تُدرَّسُ هذِهِ العَقائِدُ في المَناراتِ العِلمِيَّةِ المَشْهُورَةِ في العالَمِ الإِسْلامِيِّ مُنْذُ دُخُولِ الإِسْلامِ إِلَيْها إِلى الآنَ، كَجامِعِ الأَزْهَرِ وَجامِعَتِهِ بِمِصْرَ، وَجامِعِ الزَّيْتُونَةِ وَجامِعَتِها بِتُونُسَ، وَجامِعِ القَرَوِيِّينَ وَجامِعَتِهِ بِفاسَ، وَالجامِعِ الأُمَوِيِّ بِدِمَشْقَ وَكُلِّيَّةِ الشَّرِيعَةِ فيها، وَكُلِّيَّةِ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ بِبَغْدادَ، وَالجامِعَتَيْنِ السَّنُوسِيَّةِ وَالأَسْمَرِيَّةِ بِلِيبِيَا، وَمَنارَةِ تَرِيمَ اليَمَنِيَّةِ، وَمَراكِزِ العِلْمِ بِمَكَّةَ المُكَرَّمَةِ.
“These creeds have been taught in the well-known centers of Islamic learning throughout the Islamic world since Islam first entered those lands up to the present day—such as al-Azhar and its university in Egypt; al-Zaytūnah and its university in Tunisia; al-Qarawiyyīn and its university in Fās; the ‘Umayyad Masjid in Damascus and its College of Sharīʿah; the Abū Ḥanīfah College in Baghdad; the Sanūsiyyah and Asmariyyah universities in Libya; the Tarīm learning center in Yemen; and the centers of knowledge in Makkah.”
وَهِيَ العَقِيدَةُ السَّائِدَةُ الَّتِي يَعْتَنِقُهَا عُلَمَاءُ المَغْرِبِ الإِسْلَامِيِّ، وَبِلَادِ الشَّامِ وَالعِرَاقِ وَمِصْرَ وَالسُّودَانِ، وَدُوَلِ الخَلِيجِ العَرَبِيِّ، وَأَقْطَارِ القَرْنِ الإِفْرِيقِيِّ العَرَبِيَّةِ، وَبُلْدَانِ أَفْرِيقِيَا السَّوْدَاءِ الإِسْلَامِيَّةِ، وَدُوَلِ شَرْقِ آسِيَا الإِسْلَامِيَّةِ، وَعَقِيدَةِ دُورِ الإِفْتَاءِ فِي أُسْتُرَالِيَا وَأَنْدُونِيسِيَا، وَدُوَلِ أُورُوبَّا وَأَمْرِيكَا.
“This is the prevailing creed embraced by the scholars of the Islamic Maghrib, the al-Shām (the Levant), Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, the Arab Gulf states, the Arab regions of the Horn of Africa, the Muslim countries of Black Africa, the Islamic nations of Southeast Asia, and the official creed of the Fatwa Councils in Australia, Indonesia, and the countries of Europe and America.”
رَوى البُخاريُّ في تَاريخِهِ الكَبيرِ وَالصَّغيرِ، وأَحْمَدُ في مُسْنَدِهِ، وَالبَزَّارُ, وَابْنُ خُزَيْمَةَ, وَالطَّبَرانيُّ, وَالحاكِمُ, وَالسُّيُوطِيُّ في مُصَنَّفَاتِهِم حَديثَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ عَنْ فَتْحِ القُسْطَنْطِينِيَّةِ - وَقَدْ صَحَّحَهُ الحاكِمُ وَالسُّيُوطِيُّ وَالذَّهَبِيُّ
« لَتُفْتَحَنَّ القُسْطَنْطِينِيَّةُ، فَلَنِعْمَ الأَمِيرُ أَمِيرُهَا، وَلَنِعْمَ الجَيْشُ ذَلِكَ الجَيْشُ »
وَكانَ الأَمِيرُ وَجَيْشُهُ عَلَى هذِهِ العَقائِدِ.
“al-Bukhārī narrated in his al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr and al-Tārīkh al-Ṣaghīr, and Aḥmad in his Musnad, and also al-Bazzār, Ibn Khuzaymah, al-Ṭabarānī, al-Ḥākim, and al-Suyūṭī in their compilations, the ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ regarding the conquest of Constantinople (al-Ḥākim, al-Suyūṭī, and al-Dhahabī authenticated it):
“Verily, Constantinople shall be conquered. How excellent is the commander who will conquer it, and how excellent is that army!”
And the commander and his army were upon these very creeds.”
وَرَوى ابْنُ ماجَةَ في سُنَنِهِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ لأَنَّهُ قالَ
افْتَرَقَتِ اليَهُودُ عَلى إِحْدى أَوْ اثْنَتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً، وَتَفَرَّقَتِ النَّصَارى عَلى إِحْدى أَوْ اثْنَتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً وَسَتَفْتَرِقُ أُمَّتِي عَلى ثَلاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً، كُلُّهُمْ فِي النَّارِ إِلَّا واحِدَةً، وَهِيَ الجَماعَةُ
وَفِي رِوايَةِ الطَّبَرانيِّ في الأَوْسَطِ
قالُوا: وَما تِلْكَ الفِرْقَةُ؟ قالَ: ما أَنا عَلَيْهِ اليَوْمَ وَأَصْحابِي
وَفِي رِوايَةِ الطَّبَرانيِّ في الكَبيرِ
كُلُّها فِي النَّارِ إِلَّا السَّوادَ الأَعْظَمَ
“And Ibn Mājah narrated in his Sunan from the Prophet ﷺ (Hadith no. 3993):
‘The Jews split into seventy-one or seventy-two sects. The Christians split into seventy-one or seventy-two sects. And my ummah will split into seventy-three sects—all of them will be in the Fire except one: the Jamāʿah (the main body).’
And in a narration of al-Ṭabarānī in al-Awsaṭ (no. 4886):
They asked: “And which is that group?”He replied: “That which I and my companions are upon today.”
And in a narration of al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr (no. 8035):
“All of them are in the Fire except the sawād al-aʿẓam (the great majority).”
وَقَدْ أَجابَ ﷺ عَنِ السَّوادِ الأَعْظَمِ، فَقالَ:
« مَن كانَ عَلى ما أَنا عَلَيْهِ وَأَصْحابِي، مَن لَمْ يُمارِ في دِينِ اللهِ، وَمَن لَمْ يُكَفِّرْ أَحَدًا مِن أَهْلِ التَّوْحِيدِ بِذَنْبٍ غُفِرَ لَهُ »
الطَّبَرانيُّ في الكَبيرِ بِرَقْم ٧٦٥٩.
“And the Prophet ﷺ answered as to what the sawād al-aʿẓam was as follows:
“Whoever is upon what I and my companions are upon; who does not dispute in the religion of Allah; and who does not declare any of the people of tawḥīd to be disbelievers on account of a sin—for him is forgiveness.”
Narrated by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr, no. 7659.
والسَّوادُ الأَعْظَمُ عَلى مَرِّ عُصورِ الإِسْلامِ هُمُ الَّذِينَ كانوا عَلى عَقيدَةِ الإِسْلامِ الَّتي فَصَّلَ مَسائِلَها وَنَظَّمَ تَفْريعَاتِها أَبُو الحَسَنِ الأَشْعَرِيُّ وَأَبُو مَنْصُورٍ الماتُرِيدِيُّ، وَنُسِبَتْ إِلَيْهِما، وَتَلَقَّتْها الأُمَّةُ بِالقَبُولِ، فَكانَتْ سِراجًا يُضِيءُ مَناراتِ العالَمِ الإِسْلامِيِّ طِوالَ العُصورِ
The great majority throughout the ages of Islam have been those who upheld the creed of Islam—the creed whose issues were detailed and its branches organized by Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī and Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī, and which was ascribed to them. The ummah received it with acceptance, and it became an illuminating lamp that lit up the beacons of the Islamic world throughout the ages.
Imam Marc’s First Takeaway
In the study of faith and creed the first thing that often comes to mind is one must believe this or that. Seldom do we associate faith and creed with behavior, manners, and etiquette. So when the Prophet ﷺ said (من لم يُمارِ في دين الله) we should take this not only to heart but take it as a part of creed itself.
Commentary on miryah (مِرْيَةٌ):
Allāh mentions this word in the Qur’ān in several places. Let’s take a look to give us an indication of not only its meaning but the tone with which the Qur’ān employs it.
Some Qur’ānic references to the use and definition of miryah (مِرْيَةٌ):
أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ فِى مِرْيَةٍۢ مِّن لِّقَآءِ رَبِّهِمْ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ مُّحِيطٌۢ – سورة فصلت ٥٤
“They are truly in doubt of the meeting with their Lord! But He is indeed Fully Aware of everything.” — Fuṣṣilat v. 54
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ فَلَا تَكُنْ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْ لِقَائِهِ وَجَعَلْنَاهُ هُدًى لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ – سورة السجدة ٢٣
“Indeed, We gave the Scripture to Moses—so let there be no doubt that you too (Muḥammad ﷺ) are receiving revelations—and We made it a guide for the Children of Israel.” — al-Sajdah v. 23
وَلَا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ حَتَّى تَأْتِيَهُمُ السَّاعَةُ بَغْتَةً أَوْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَقِيمٍ – سورة الحج ٥٥
“Yet the disbelievers will persist in doubt about this revelation until the Hour takes them by surprise, or the torment of a terminating Day comes to them.”—al-Ḥajj v. 55
Shaykh al-Quraydī continues,
الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على سيد الأنبياء والمرسلين، إمامِنا وحبيبنا ونبينا محمد ﷺ وعلى آله الأنقياء الأطهار، وصحبه العُدُولِ الأخيار، وأتباعه الأتقياء الأبرير، صلاةً وسلاماً دائمين متلازمين إلى يوم العرض واللقاء.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Master of the Prophets and Messengers, our leader, our beloved, and our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, and upon his pure (anqiyā’) and righteous family, his just (ʿudūl) and virtuous companions, and his pious (atqiyā’) and righteous followers — a continuous and inseparable peace and blessing until the Day of Presentation and Meeting.
فَإِنَّ هذِهِ العَقائِدَ الثَّمانِينَ الَّتي ٱشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْها شَهادَتا التَّوْحِيدِ:
(أَشْهَدُ أَلَّا إِلهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ)،
هِيَ العَقائِدُ المُنْجِيَةُ مِن عِقابِ اللهِ في يَوْمٍ لا نَجاةَ فِيهِ إِلَّا بِفَضْلِهِ وَكَرَمِهِ عِندَ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَالجَماعَةِ.
فَهِيَ الَّتي ٱجْتَمَعَتْ عَلَيْها كَلِمَةُ الأُمَّةِ المَعْصُومَةِ، الَّتي أَخْبَرَ بِعِصْمَتِها الهِلالِيُّ فِي حَديثِهِ الَّذي يَقولُ فِيهِ: عَنْ ٱبْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ: أَنَّ نَبِيَّ اللهِ ﷺ قالَ:
« لا يَجْمَعُ اللهُ أُمَّتِي عَلَى ضَلالَةٍ أَبَدًا، وَيَدُ اللهِ عَلَى الجَماعَةِ، هَكَذا، فَٱتَّبِعُوا السَّوادَ الأَعْظَمَ، فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ شَذَّ شَذَّ فِي النّارِ. »
وَالسَّوادُ الأَعْظَمُ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ — وَهُوَ تِسْعَةُ أَعْشارِهِم — عَلَى هذِهِ العَقِيدَةِ السَّمْحَةِ،
فَأَتْبَاعُ المَذاهِبِ الأَرْبَعَةِ يَدِينُونَ بِهذِهِ العَقِيدَةِ، وَلا يَرْضَوْنَ غَيْرَها مُعْتَقَدًا، مُنْذُ أَنْ تَلَقَّتْها الأُمَّةُ بِالقَبُولِ؛ مِمَّا جَعَلَها تُصْبِحُ عَقِيدَةَ السَّوادِ الأَعْظَمِ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ،
وَالعَقِيدَةَ المُعْتَمَدَةَ فِي مَناراتِهِمُ العِلْمِيَّةِ وَجامِعاتِهِمُ الكُبْرَى عَلَى مَرِّ القُرُونِ،
بَلْ هِيَ الأَساسُ الَّذي تَدُورُ عَلَيْهِ الفَتْوَى فِي دُورِ الإِفْتَاءِ فِي العالَمِ الإِسْلامِيِّ اليَوْمَ.
“Indeed, these eighty tenets contained within the two testimonies of tawḥīd
“I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and I bear witness that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ”
are the beliefs that save from the punishment of Allah on a Day when none will be saved except by His grace and mercy, according to Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah.
They are the beliefs upon which the unified word of the infallible ‘Ummah has gathered — the ‘Ummah whose infallibility was affirmed by al-Hilālī in his report of the ḥadīth in which the Prophet ﷺ said, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him):
“Allah will never gather my ‘Ummah upon misguidance. Ever. And the hand of Allah is over the Jamāʿah (main body). So follow the great majority (al-sawād al-aʿẓam), for whoever isolates himself will be cast into the Fire.”
The great majority of Muslims — nine-tenths of them — are upon this moderate creed. The followers of the four madhāhib adhere to this creed and accept no other in belief since the ‘Ummah received it with acceptance. This has made it the creed of the great majority of Muslims, the creed upheld in their major bastions of knowledge and great universities across the centuries. Indeed, it is the very foundation upon which fatwā is based in the fatwa councils throughout the Islamic world today.
وَنَظَرًا لِأَنَّ مِفْتاحَ الإِسْلامِ هُوَ الشَّهادَتانِ، وَهُما الَّتَيْنِ تَحْمِلانِ بَيْنَ طَيَّاتِهِما ما يَجِبُ أَنْ يَعْتَقِدَهُ المُؤْمِنُ مِنْ عَقائِدَ في حَقِّ اللهِ وَرُسُلِهِ – كَما تَقَرَّرَ لَدَى عُلَماءِ الأُمَّةِ – فَإِنَّ ما قُمْتُ بِهِ في هذَا الكِتابِ لَمْ يَتَجاوَزْ ذِكْرَ هذِهِ العَقائِدِ وَشَرْحَها وَتَوْضِيحَها.
And given that the key to Islam is the two testimonies of faith (the Shahādatān), which encompass within them what a believer must hold as belief concerning Allah and His Messengers — as established by the scholars of the ummah — then what I have done in this book does not go beyond simply mentioning these beliefs, explaining and clarifying them.
وَلَيْسَ لِي في ذَلِكَ فَضْلُ السَّبْقِ، فَقَدْ حازَهُ مِنْ قَبْلِنا عالِمُنا الجَلِيلُ القاضِي عِياضٌ اليَحْصُبِيُّ، إِذْ نُسِبَ إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ أَوَّلُ مَنْ قامَ بِتَبْيِينِ عَقائِدِ الإِسْلامِ في الشَّهادَتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ تَبِعَهُ في ذَلِكَ كَثِيرُونَ عَلَى مَرِّ العُصُورِ.
I do not claim any merit of precedence in this regard, for that was earned before me by our great scholar Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ al-Yaḥṣubī, as he is credited with being the first to articulate the beliefs of Islam contained in the two testimonies of faith. Many others followed him throughout the ages.
وَلَكِنِّي حَسِبْتُ مِنْ عَمَلِي هذَا أَنْ أُنَظِّمَ ما تَبَعْثَرَ في هذَا المَوْضوعِ، لا سِيَّما وَأَنَّ أَمْرَ التَّنْظِيمِ وَالتَّرْتِيبِ اجْتِهادِيٌّ كَما يَظْهَرُ مِنْ أَعْمالِ مَنْ سَبَقَنِي، سائِلًا اللهَ لِي وَلَهُمْ المَغْفِرَةَ، وَأَنْ يَجْعَلَ ما قُمْتُ بِهِ وَقامُوا بِهِ في مَوازِينِ الحَسَناتِ يَوْمَ العَرْضِ.
But I considered it part of my task in this work to organize what had been scattered on this topic — especially since the act of organization and arrangement is a matter of ijtihād (personal scholarly effort), as is evident in the work of those who preceded me. I ask Allah to forgive me and them and to place what we have done in the scales of good deeds on the Day of Presentation.
وَلا يَفُوتُنِي أَنْ أُشِيرَ إِلَى أَنَّ مَعْرِفَةَ هذِهِ العَقائِدِ وَأَدِلَّتِها بِالتَّعَلُّمِ عَلَى يَدِ العُلَماءِ تُخْرِجُ المُسْلِمَ مِنَ الخِلافِ حَوْلَ صِحَّةِ إِيمانِ المُقَلِّدِ، حَيْثُ عُدَّ تَعَلُّمُها إِعانَةً لِلْعَقْلِ في التَّأَمُّلِ وَالتَّفَكُّرِ، وُصُولًا إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ اللهِ لِمَنْ كانَ لَهُ أَهْلِيَّةٌ في النَّظَرِ.
It should not be left unsaid that learning these beliefs and their evidences at the hands of scholars removes the Muslim from the dispute concerning the validity of the faith of the muqallid (the one who imitates without full understanding), since learning them is considered an aid to the intellect in reflection and contemplation, ultimately leading to knowledge of Allah — for those who possess the capacity for reflection.
وَأَمَّا العَوامُّ فَقَدِ انْعَقَدَ الإِجْماعُ عَلَى صِحَّةِ إِيمانِهِمْ، إِذْ إِنَّ فِطْرَتَهُمْ مَجْبُولَةٌ عَلَى تَوْحِيدِ اللهِ وَقِدَمِهِ وَحُدُوثِ سِواهُ مِنَ المَوْجُوداتِ، فَلا يَلْزَمُهُمُ التَّعْبِيرُ بِعِبَاراتِ المُتَكَلِّمِينَ وَتَفْصِيلاتِهِمْ، فَقَدْ جاءَ في الخَبَرِ أَنَّ العَامَّةَ مُؤْمِنُونَ، وَأَنَّهُمْ حَشْوُ الجَنَّةِ.
As for the common people (ʿawāmm), there is scholarly consensus on the validity of their faith, as their natural disposition is inherently inclined toward the oneness of Allah, His pre-eternality, and the originated nature of everything else that exists. They are not required to express their faith using the technical terms or detailed formulations of the theologians.
Indeed, it has been reported that “the common people are believers, and they are the majority of the people of Paradise.”
وَمِمَّا يُؤَيِّدُهُ قَوْلُ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ:
مَنْ صَلَّى صَلاتَنا، وَاسْتَقْبَلَ قِبْلَتَنا، وَأَكَلَ ذَبِيحَتَنا، فَذَلِكَ المُسْلِمُ الَّذِي لَهُ ذِمَّةُ اللهِ وَذِمَّةُ رَسُولِهِ، فَلا تُحَقِّرُوا اللهَ في ذِمَّتِهِ.
And among the supporting evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
“Whoever prays our prayer, faces our qiblah, and eats from our slaughtered meat — then he is a Muslim who has the protection (dhimmah) of Allah and His Messenger, so do not belittle Allah’s protection.”