Faith & Belief Course

Summary

11. Allāh and His Messenger have praised religious knowledge and encouraged
us to earnestly seek it, learn it, and contemplate it.

22. When Allāh Created Ādam, He raised Ādam’s status before the angels by
virtue of knowledge that He gave him.

33. Allāh Says that the people who will understand the Qur’ān and benefit from
it are those who attain knowledge.

44. The only thing our Prophet has been commanded by Allāh to ask more of is
knowledge.
Whoever Allāh wants good for, He grants such a person
HADITH

understanding and knowledge of the religion. [Saḥiḥ

Bukhāri & Muslim, Book 13, Ḥadīth 1376]

55. Knowledge is one of three things that will benefit a person long after they
have died.
The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said,
HADITH

“When a person dies, all action is cut off for him with
the exception of three things: ṣadaqah which continues,
knowledge which benefits, or a righteous child who makes
supplication for him.” [Adab al-Mufrad, Book 1, Ḥadīth 38]

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KNOWLEDGE OF ĪMĀN:

Allāh compares our faith to a beautiful exotic tree

■■ A tree is a symbol of peace

■■ It provides us with oxygen ie. life
■■ It provides shelter, shade on a sunny day and soothes us

Its roots go deep into the ground

■■ Our kalimah (faith) makes us firm in the face of trials and tribulations
■■ It establishes our feet firmly and gives us stability when there is chaos around us
■■ Those who believe sincerely do not give up Islam once they taste the sweetness of īmān

Its branches are towering into the skies

■■ Faith elevates you in terms of respect in this world and the next (as Allāh Says in Sūrat’l-Mujādilah)
■■ It symbolizes might, power, beauty
■■ The greater the tree’s branches, the more far reaching its shade, the greater its quantity of wood
■■ The believer shelters other people – the believer will be a source of strength to others

It gives fruits throughout the year

■■ The tree of belief does not have just one fruit, but it bears multiple varieties of fruits such as
■■ Paradise
■■ Refuge from hell
■■ Protection from Allāh at times of difficulties
■■ Good life in this world, meaning a spiritually content life
■■ It brings about a beautiful death. Allāh sends angels to comfort the righteous person at the time of his/
her death
■■ The people of this tree of īmān will be protected on Judgment Day
■■ The highest fruit of the tree of īmān is Seeing Allāh, a blessing unsurpassed by anything in the hereafter.

(Some) faces, that Day, will be radiant

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Looking at their Lord (Allāh). [Sūrat’l-Qiyāmah, 75: 22 - 23]

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BLESSINGS OF THE KALIMAH:
We have only been created because of the kalimah. Allāh says:

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to

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worship Me. [Sūrat’l-Dhāriyāt, 51:56]

Allāh sent all of the Prophets in order to preach the kalimah. Allāh Says:

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to

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worship Me. [Sūrat’l-Dhāriyāt, 51:56]

■■ The kalimah differentiates between a Muslim and a non-Muslim

■■ It is the statement that is said when a person accepts Islam
■■ It is the first statement that a child hears when he/she is born
■■ It is the last statement we all hope to say when we are departing from this world. The Prophet
(ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “He whose last words are: ‘La Ilāha Illa Ana’ (There is no true god
worthy of worship except Allāh) will enter jannah (paradise).” [Sunan Abu Dāwūd]
■■ ‘Abdullāh b. ‘Amr narrated that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “A man from
my nation will be called before all of creation on the Day of Resurrection, and ninety-nine scrolls will
be spread out for him, each one extending as far as the eye can see. Then Allāh will say: “Do you
deny anything of this?” He will say: “No, O Lord.” He will say: “Have My recording scribes been unfair
to you?” Then He will say: “Apart from that, do you have any good deeds?” The man will be terrified
and will say: “No.” (Allāh) will say: “Indeed, you have good deeds with Us, and you will not be treated
unjustly this Day.” Then a card will be brought out on which is written Ashhadu an la ilāha illa Allāh wa
anna Muḥammadan ‘abduhu wa rasūluhu (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped
but Allāh, and that Muḥammad is His slave and Messenger). He will say: “O Lord, what is this card
compared with these scrolls?” He will say: “You will not be treated unjustly.” Then the scrolls will be
placed in one side of the Balance and the card in the other. The scrolls will go up (i.e., be light) and the
card will go down (i.e., will weigh heavily).” [Ibn Mājah Vol. 5, Book 37, Ḥadīth 4300]
■■ It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
said: “Faith has over seventy branches or over sixty branches, the most excellent of which is the
declaration that there is no god but Allāh, and the humblest of which is the removal of what is injurious
from the path: and modesty is the branch of faith.” [Saḥiḥ Muslim Book 1, Ḥadīth 60]

PROPER TRANSLATION OF THE KALIMAH: THERE IS NO DEITY

WORTHY OF WORSHIP OTHER THAN ALLĀH

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THE NAME ALLĀH MEANS THE ONE WHO IS WORTHY OF BEING
WORSHIPPED

WORSHIP IS A COMPREHENSIVE TERM THAT ENCOMPASSES

ALL APPARENT AND HIDDEN ACTIONS, STATEMENTS, AND
BELIEFS THAT ARE BELOVED TO ALLĀH

IN ORDER FOR WORSHIP TO BE ACCEPTED BY ALLĀH,

2 CONDITIONS MUST BE MET:

11. Sincerity. Allāh Says:

It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
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[Sūrat’l-Fātiḥah, 1:5]

22. Following the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)

WORSHIP IS BASED ON 3 FUNDAMENTAL EMOTIONS:

11. Love: this is the primary emotion of worship. Allāh says:
And [yet], among the people are those who take other than
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Allāh as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should]

love Allāh . But those who believe are stronger in love for
Allāh. And if only they who have wronged would consider
[that] when they see the punishment, [they will be certain]
that all power belongs to Allāh and that Allāh is severe in
punishment. [Sūrat’l-Baqarah, 2:165]

22. Fear: to fear the punishment of Allāh

33. Hope: to have hope in the mercy of Allāh

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 CATEGORIES OF WORSHIP

Pure Actions of Worship Actions that are Actions that are neither
potentially rewarded sinful nor rewarded

Rituals like ṣalāh, reciting Generic deeds such as going Principles:

Qur’ān, fasting, Ḥajj, etc
■■ Must have basis in the sacred
texts of the Qur’ān and
Sunnah in order for it to be
accepted by Allāh
to work, spending time with
family, taking care of parents,
etc.
■■ Once these deeds are linked
to Allāh, the individual is
rewarded and the actions
become a part of worship
11. All matters pertaining to
rituals are forbidden unless
they are clearly found in the
sacred texts of the Qur’ān and
Sunnah. Rituals cannot be
invented.

22. All matters pertaining to

everyday actions are permitted
unless there is clear text in the
Qur’ān & Sunnah that forbid
them

DU‘Ā’ IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ACTS OF WORSHIP WHICH

MUST BE DIRECTED ONLY TO ALLĀH. ALLĀH SAYS:
And the masjids are for Allāh, so do not invoke with Allāh
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anyone. [Sūrat’l-Jinn, 72:18]

And whoever invokes besides Allāh another deity for which

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he has no proof - then his account is only with his Lord.

Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.
[Sūrat’l-Mu’minūn, 23:117]

O people, an example is presented, so listen to it. Indeed,

QURAN

those you invoke besides Allāh will never create [as much
as] a fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose.
And if the fly should steal away from them a [tiny] thing,
they could not recover it from him. Weak are the pursuer
and pursued. [Sūrat’l-Ḥajj, 22:73]

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 DU‘Ā’

Legitimate scenario Illegitimate scenario

Asking a dead saint to uplift suffering or grant

Asking help from other people to carry out chores
blessings

To make du‘ā’ to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa

Visiting a doctor
sallam) for one’s needs

Seeking help from law enforcement

Tawāssul means to draw closer to Allāh by utilizing means that He has sanctioned
in the Qur’ān and Sunnah such as:

11. Calling upon Him by His Names and Attributes:

a. Al-Raḥmān
b. Al-Raḥīm
c. Al-Ghaffār
d. Al-Karīm

22. By mentioning one’s good deeds

33. By mentioning the effects of one’s good deeds

44. It is permissible to ask a righteous living human being to make du‘ā’ on one’s behalf. Asking a dead
saint or a righteous person who has passed away is forbidden. The primary stepping stone to shirk is
venerating righteous people that have passed away

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PROOFS FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE:

11. Self evident

a. Teleological argument ie. argument from design: that there is so much precision, beauty, intricacy
in creation that there has got to be a Creator that made all of this
b. Symbiotic relationship between all creatures and plants found in nature
c. Argument from morality: human beings are aware of right from wrong and the broad guidelines of
morality without being taught
d. Argument from consciousness: human beings are curious and ask questions such as “why are we
here?”, “who are we?”, “where are we?”, etc.
e. Argument from transcendence: every human being searches for higher purpose than just surviving

22. Ingrained within us

a. All human beings are born with an intuition, with understanding of right and wrong, and with a
recognition that an all-powerful entity exists which is God
b. Fitrah: a spiritual DNA. This is the natural state in which human beings are created. It is knowledge,
awareness, and perception that is not taught but we are all born with it. Allāh says:

So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth.

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[Adhere to] the fitrah of Allāh upon which He has created

[all] people. No change should there be in the creation of
Allāh. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do
not know. [Sūrat’l-Rūm, 30:30]

Abu Hurayrah reported the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu

HADITH

‘alayhi wa sallam) as saying:

Every child is born upon the fitrah, but his parents make
him a Jew and a Christian, just as a beast is born whole.
Do you find some among them (born) maimed? [Abu
Dāwūd, Saḥiḥ, Book 41, Ḥadīth 4697]

■■ The fitrah informs us that:

11. There is a God

22. He is all-powerful, perfect, merciful, loving
33. God is One
44. General morality like justice, truth, integrity

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The Prophet’s (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) first 40 years of life is an example of a person upon his pure fitrah.
Allāh says:

And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of

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Ādam - from their loins - their descendants and made
them testify of themselves, [saying to them], “Am I not your
Lord?” They said, “Yes, we have testified.” [This] - lest you
should say on the day of Resurrection, “Indeed, we were of
this unaware.” [Sūrat’l-A‘rāf, 7:172]

33. Prophets of God

44. Miracles of the Prophets

55. Lives of the Prophets

66. Books of the Prophets

77. The Qur’ān

■■ Atheism is denial of God’s existence and it is a modern phenomenon that

dates back around 250 years

■■ New Atheism is a fundamentalist and militant brand of atheism

■■ Refutation of atheism’s primary arguments:

»» Majority of wars and suffering were caused by human greed. World Wars I and II combined have
killed more people than all “religious” wars combined
»» Cherry picking historical events and twisting them to suit their agenda
»» Statistically religious people are more humane, more merciful, moral and ethical
»» Not being able to answer a particular question about God does not mean one must reject Him
completely

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 ■■ Principle: there is never a conflict between true rationality and explicit
Qur’ān and Sunnah

■■ The purpose of utilizing the intellect ie. pondering and thinking is in order to
accept the message of Allāh and not to challenge it

■■ Science is our interpretation of facts around us which keep on changing

and updating as more knowledge is acquired

■■ Muslims firmly believe that human beings are children of Ādam and Ḥawwa
(raḍyAllāhu ‘anhum) because of the presence of explicit verses in the
Qur’ān that state human beings descended from Ādam and Ḥawwa

■■ There is no problem in believing that other species and organisms may

have evolved from previous life forms