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Taughtby Shaykh Navaiu Aziz
Light of Guidance
dat

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3
Blessings of Knowledge ............................................................................................................. 5
Etiquettes of Student of Knowledge ........................................................................................ 12
Importance of Iman in General ............................................................................................... 19
Terms of Aqeedah .................................................................................................................. 29
Tawheed Ruboobiyyah ............................................................................................................ 35
Islamic Proofs of Ruboobiyyah .............................................................................................. 37
Western Proof for Existence of God ....................................................................................... 41
Ruboobiyyah Alone is not Sufficient ....................................................................................... 43
Shahadah - Meanings & Conditions ....................................................................................... 47
Meaning of Ilaah Meanings & Conditions .......................................................................... 55
Ibaadah Its Concept .......................................................................................................... 57
Ibaadah Its Three Pillars ................................................................................................... 60
Shirk Definition, Dangers & Types ...................................................................................... 68
Manifestations of Ibaadah ...................................................................................................... 77
Tabarruk .................................................................................................................................. 88
Talismans and Omens ............................................................................................................. 97
Magic and Astrology .............................................................................................................. 100
Exalting Status of Saints ........................................................................................................ 105
Intercession Its Meaning & Types .................................................................................... 109
Tawassul ................................................................................................................................. 112
The Prophets Protection of Tawheed ................................................................................... 117
Minor Shirk Definitions & Examples ................................................................................. 118
Kufr and Nifaq ........................................................................................................................ 121
Manifestations of Kufr .......................................................................................................... 128
Incorrect Perceptions of Tawheed ........................................................................................ 129
Conclusion to Class ................................................................................................................ 131


Light of Guidance
dat

Introduction
Verily all the Praises are due to Allah , we praise Him, we seek His aid and we ask for
His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evil within our souls and from the evils of actions.
Whomsoever Allah guides, no one can misguide him and whomsoever He misguides, no one
can guide him. We bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad
is His final Prophet and Messenger. We thank Allah Who helped us all along the way in
producing this document and it would be no exaggeration to say that without His Help we would have
indeed failed. We also thank Him who preferred us upon many of His believing slaves in
preparing this document.
This document contains the notes from the AlMaghrib seminar Light of Guidance which was
taught by our own Shaykh Navaid Aziz in Qabeelat Nasr on 4th-6th June and 12th -13th June in
the year 2010.
AlMaghrib Institute or its instructors are not responsible for the material inside this booklet.
There is no copyright associated with this work. It is highly encouraged to spread around this
knowledge to everyone however, it should be done without editing.
Aqeedah is the most important branches of Islam that one must study. If one has a correct
Aqeedah alongside with his righteous deeds, then in shaa Allaah Allaah will enter him/her
into Jannah. But if ones Aqeedah has some defect or some corruption, regardless of his righteous
deeds, he will most probably have a bad ending. Thus, we must perfect our Aqeedah and check it from
time to time, making sure it is correct.
Allah says,
and man was created weak
1

So indeed, in this booklet you will find mistakes but since we are weak creatures, we do mistakes so
please accept our apology in advance. JazakAllah khayr. Any mistakes found should be emailed
to:adwj@gmail.com and in shaa Allaah we shall correct them.
We ask Allah to make us of those who will get His shade on the Day when there will be no
shade except His as we, inshaAllah, seek to amongst the youth who grew up in the worship of Allah
which is mentioned in the saying of Prophet when he was telling us about the
seven fortunate people,
"a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic'"
2



1
Surat an-Nisaa 4:28

2
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat

We hope that Allah accepts from us this work and benefits the Muslims and non-
Muslims alike as a source of guidance and away from misguidance, so that it can be a source of hasanaat
for us even after death; as Prophet said,
When a man dies, his good deeds come to an end except three: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge and
righteous offspring who will pray for him.
3
Ameen
Make dua for your brothers who have indeed drowned in the deep ocean of sins so that Allah
would forgive their sins and admit them into Paradise under which the rivers flow wherein they could
reside for eternity.

Ahl Aldhikr wal Jamaah
Those who remember Allah much.













3
Sahih Muslim
Light of Guidance
dat




x Allah has praised knowledge, and raised the status of its people.

Allah says in the Quran,

O you who believe! When you are told to make room in the assemblies, (spread out and) make room. Allah will
give you (ample) room (from His Mercy). And when you are told to rise up [for prayers, or Jihad (holy fighting
in Allah's cause), or for any other good deed], rise up. Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and
those who have been granted knowledge. And Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do.
4


Note that in the above ayah, Allah mentioned belief before knowledge, indicating the
necessity of belief. We may also conclude that knowledge without belief is not sufficient. Among
the virtues of this surah, Surat Al-Mujadilah is that the name of Allah explicitly occurs in
each ayah of the Surah.

During the Khilafah of Umar a Muslim town had an Abyssinian slave who led them in
Salah. He was appointed to this status because he was a haafidh of the Quran and had knowledge of
the laws of Islamic inheritance. This shows the high esteem in which our predecessors held
knowledge.

x Through knowle

dge superiority of Adam over the angels was proven.

4
Surat Mujadalah, 58:11
Light of Guidance
dat

Allah has raised the rank of mankind above the jinn and the angels based on knowledge.
The proof for this follows from the following ayaat in Surah al-Baqarah regarding Allah s
Command to the angels and jinn (Iblees) to bow down to Adam :

(31) And He taught Adam all the names (of everything), then He showed them to the angels and said, "Tell
Me the names of these if you are truthful. (32) They (angels) said: "Glory be to You, we have no knowledge
except what you have taught us. Verily, it is You, the All-Knower, the All-Wise." (33) He said: "O Adam! Inform
them of their names," and when he had informed them of their names, He said: "Did I not tell you that I know
the Ghaib (Unseen) in the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been
concealing?" (34) And (remember) when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam.". And they
prostrated except Iblis (Satan), he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers (disobedient to
Allah).
5


x Because of knowledge, the status of Prophet was established.

x So great is their status, that Allah Himself testifies on their behalf.

Allah says in the Quran,


5
Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:31-34
Light of Guidance
dat

Allah bears witness that La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), and the angels,
and those having knowledge (also give this witness); (He always) maintains His creation in Justice. La
ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.
6


Ibn-Qayyim derives the following from this ayah:
x A person of knowledge is in company of Allah and the angels
x Allah is Testifying on behalf of people of knowledge, indeed that is the
most truthful testimony.
x Allah describes the people of knowledge with two characteristics:
truthful and just.

x It is the scholars who truly understand the Qur'an.

Allah says in the Quran,

And these similitudes We put forward for mankind; but none will understand them except those who have
knowledge (of Allah and His Signs).
7


x It is the scholars who truly fear Allah , and no one can fear Allah like the
scholar.

Allah says in Surah Fatir,


6
Surat Aal-e-Imran, 3:18
7
Surat Al-Ankaboot, 29:43
Light of Guidance
dat

And likewise of men and Ad-Dawabb [moving (living) creatures, beasts], and cattle, are of various colours. It
is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah. Verily, Allah is All-Mighty, Oft-Forgiving.
8


In the Arabic language the word innama is used to show exclusivity. Allah uses it in the
above ayah to further emphasize that true fear of Allah only comes with knowledge.
Another example of this exclusivity is in the famous hadith:


Umar bin Al-Khattab narrated,

8
Surat Fatir, 35:28
Light of Guidance
dat

It is narrated on the authority of Amirul Muminin, Abu Hafs Umar bin al- Khattab, , who said: I heard
the Messenger of Allah, , say:

"Actions are (judged) by motives (Niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose
migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose
migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for
which he migrated
9


The Prophet here uses the word innama to emphasize that actions are based upon
intentions.

At the same time, knowledge necessitates actions and knowledge without action is not considered
true knowledge. This necessity of action is implied in the story of the birth of Isa ,
when Allah commands Maryam :


And shake the trunk of date-palm towards you, it will let fall fresh ripe-dates upon you."
10


It is not beyond the Power of Allah to provide the food directly, however the necessity of
action was required even in the above situation.

x It is the scholars who are not swayed by their desires and are blessed with wisdom.

9
Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 1, Book 1: Revelation, Hadith 001
10
Surat Maryam, 19:25
Light of Guidance
dat

(79) So he went forth before his people in his pomp. Those who were desirous of the life of the world, said: "Ah,
would that we had the like of what Qarun (Korah) has been given! Verily he is the owner of a great fortune."
(80) But those who had been given (religious) knowledge said: "Woe to you! The Reward of Allah (in the
Hereafter) is better for those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and this none shall attain except those
who are As-Sabirun (the patient in following the truth)."
11


In the story of Qarun mentioned above, the people of knowledge were able to protect themselves
from the desires of worldly wealth, by remembering the reward of Allah promised in the
Hereafter. In general, the people of knowledge are able to better prepare themselves before a fitna
strikes the community.

x Knowledge is a sign of Allah 's love for a person.

x The benefits remain after one's death.

Abu Huraira narrated that the Messenger of Allah said,

When a man dies, his acts come to an end, but three, recurring charity, or knowledge (by which people)
benefit, or a pious son, who prays for him (for the deceased).
12


x They are the inheritors of the prophets.

Kathir ibn Qays narrated:

I was sitting with Abu al-Darda' in the mosque of Damascus.

A man came to him and said: Abu Darda, I have come to you from the town of the Apostle of Allah
for a tradition that I have heard you relate from the Apostle of Allah . I
have come for no other purpose.

He said: I heard the Apostle of Allah say: If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge,
on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great Allah will cause him to travel

11
Surat Al-Qasas 28:79-80
12
Sahih Muslim, Book 13: Bequests, Hadith 4005
Light of Guidance
dat

pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep
waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that
of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets,
and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an
abundant portion.
13



13
Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 19: Knowledge, Hadith 3634
Light of Guidance
dat






They used to learn manners just as they used to learn knowledge.
- Muhammad Ibn Sireen (d. 110 A.H.)
It was possible that a person would leave in search of one manner for two or more years.
- Mukhallad ibn al-Husayn to Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak
Good manners are almost two-thirds of knowledge.
- Ibn al-Mubarak

Manners of the student himself

x Sincerity without sincerity seeking knowledge becomes null and void. A proof of this is the
first hadith in Imam Nawawis Forty Hadith and Sahih Bukhari:

"Actions are (judged) by motives (Niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration
(hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was
for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated.
14


Signs of sincerity:
x Deeds done in private are even better than those done in public
x Reading verses pertaining to Heaven & Hell, both created to reward and punish
x Making dua (asking for) sincerity
x Making dua (asking for) acceptance of good deeds

x Seeking knowledge itself will increase sincerity.

Waki ibn al-Jarrah said, When we started learning, we learned for other than Allah. The
e didn't come to us until we did it for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. knowledg

14
Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 1, Book 1: Revelation, Hadith 001
Light of Guidance
dat

x Purifying ones heart from jealousy, hatred of others. Our hearts are vessels; any vessel has a limit
that it can contain. Our hearts will either fill with love, mercy, compassion, etc. or will be filled with
anger, rancour, hatred, etc. Love and hate do not live comfortably together in one heart. A diseased
heart does not develop sincerity. Purifying the heart is necessary to be able to spend time acquiring
knowledge. In this way, Ramadan must be approached with a pure heart.

x Leaving sins. Western education teaches us that it is only our minds and atmospheres that will
affect how we learn: if we have a good teacher, and a good diet/sleep, we will do well. However, in
Islam we have an additional special dimension to look upon this: a student of knowledge must leave
sins to be able to progress in seeking religious knowledge. Imam ash-Shafii reports that he had lost
capacity of his memory after seeing a womans ankle accidentally. He went to complain to his
teacher, who gave him advice, which later was turned into lines of poetry:

I complained to Waki of a lapse of my memory. And Waki advised me to leave sin; knowledge is a light from
Allah and the light of Allah is not given to one who sins.

x Feel importance of knowledge; appreciate its weight, seriousness and sanctity. When it comes to
learning, we are encouraged to have fun and enjoy what we learn. However, Islamic knowledge has
sanctity which is to be respected. Making fun of these issues can push a person outside the fold of
Islam. There were many stories of the hypocrites making fun of the Muslims. One such incident
occurred during the Battle of Tabuk.

Abdullah ibn Umar narrated,

"During the battle of Tabuk, a man was sitting in a gathering and said, `I have never seen like these reciters of
ours! They have the hungriest stomachs, the most lying tongues and are the most cowardice in battle.' A man
in the Masjid said, `You lie. You are a hypocrite, and I will surely inform the Messenger of Allah. This
statement was conveyed to the Messenger of Allah and also a part of the Qur'an was revealed about it.'''
`Abdullah bin `Umar said, "I have seen that man afterwards holding onto the shoulders of the Messenger's
camel while stones were falling on him, declaring, `O Allah's Messenger! We were only engaged in idle talk and
jesting,' while the Messenger of Allah was reciting,

Light of Guidance
dat

(65) If you ask them (about this), they declare: "We were only talking idly and joking." Say: "Was it at Allah
( ), and His Ayat (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations) and His Messenger
that you were mocking? (66) Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed. If We pardon some of
you, We will punish others amongst you because they were Mujrimun (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners,
criminals.).
15


x Good studying habits. One should continuously revise past material to avoid forgetting it. Many
students tend to forget what theyve been taught the year before because they hardly or never
touch their books after they finish a subject.

We are also encouraged to study in the early parts of the day, as Prophet Muhammad
asked Allah to bless this time.

Sakhr al-Ghamidi narrated,

The Prophet said: "O Allah, bless my people in their early mornings." When he sent out a
detachment or an army, he sent them at the beginning of the day. Sakhr was a merchant, and he would send
off his merchandise at the beginning of the day; and he became rich and had much wealth.
16


x Another good time to study is after you have woken up, such as after a nap.
x Studying just after eating is not a good idea, as blood is shunted away from your brain to
your stomach.
x When we start studying, we should start with Bismillah.
x One should get into the habit of teaching people to test their own understanding e.g.
giving a class, khutbah, or one-on-one. If a person is not able to teach something, it means
they do not have a good grasp of it.

x Good companions. Keeping good company is very important. Abdullah ibn Abbas had a
neighbour that often wanted to play rather than study. The very first thing Abdullah ibn Abbas
did in seeking knowledge was to leave this wrong companionship.

Abdullah ibn Abbas also advised his students to:
x Leave bad co

mpany and find the company of those who like to seek knowledge

15
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Surah At-Taubah, 9:65-66
16
Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 8: Jihad, Hadith 2600
Light of Guidance
dat

x Have a tongue that asks good questions

x Have a heart that reflects and contemplates
x Never tire from seeking knowledge

It is good to set a schedule and find someone who will sit and review with you, compete in studying
and memorization, and will push you to excel.

Manners with his teacher

x Choosing the right teacher.
Imam Muslim narrates that Imam Ibn Sirin said,

This knowledge is Religion, so watch from whom you take your Religion

As a standard, one should choose a teacher who has:
x High levels of knowledge
x Piety
x Good character

If these three characteristics are a part of a teachers description, then he will be a good teacher.

x Respect, honour.
The Prophet said, He is not one of us who shows no mercy to younger ones and does not
acknowledge the honour due to our elders.
17


How can this be done?
x The students of Imam Abu Hanifa did not point their feet in the direction of his house
when they went to bed
x The students of Imam Malik would not dare drink in front of him
x These were in light of the customs of the locations and times. Nowadays, it is respectful to
ile your teacher speaks and to raise your hand. not speak wh

17
Sunan at-Tirmidhi, hadith # 1920
Light of Guidance
dat

x Proper etiquette in front of him.

x To love him, make duaa for him due to the benefit that you obtained from him.
Waki said, Any individual who would teach me even one hadith, I would become his servant for a life-time.

This reflects the veneration that students had for their teachers. We can make dua to exalt
their status, to hide their faults to perpetuate love, and etc. The point is that it will be an act of
ibadah and worthy of reward, and will also reap worldly benefits. How you treat your teacher
is how you will be treated as a teacher.

x To sit properly in front of the Shaykh, control laughter, boredom. Controlling laughter means
oppressing laughter that would come out of the blue, such as when one ceases listening and thinks
about a comedic incident, laughing while the shaykh is teaching. Also hiding boredom and trying to
appear engaged is good etiquette. To try to appear engaged if bored in class:
x Excuse yourself, make wudu, and come back
x Think about how you can implement what is being discussed
x Also consider those beside you. If someone is falling asleep, alert them by doing something
such as lightly pinching or tickling them.

x To be patient with the faults of the teacher. Every teacher is human. This will make things a lot
easier. A good teacher is always going to try to improve themselves.
x Make dua for them
x Remind them kindly if they make mistakes
x One should remember that teachers are human just like the rest of us, and are liable to
make mistakes. It would be wrong to place a teacher upon a pedestal of respect, and then
suddenly see a small flaw and lose respect for them.

Manners with his fellow students

Sometimes competitive nature can get in the way of loving one another.

1. To love them with a special love.

2. To avoid feeling jealousy or enmity towards them. Everyone is here to learn. Some will excel in
some areas and some will have shortcomings in other areas.

Light of Guidance
dat

Allah says in Surat An-Nisaa,

And wish not for the things in which Allah has made some of you to excel others. For men there is reward for what
they have earned, (and likewise) for women there is reward for what they have earned, and ask Allah of His Bounty.
Surely, Allah is Ever All-Knower of everything.
18


3. To always think the best of them and avoid evil suspicions.
Umar that he said: Do not think badly of a word uttered by your brother, when you can find a good
interpretation for it.

4. To help them out in their studies and lives.
One of the virtues of helping your fellow Muslim brother/sister is that Allah will help you
in the same way. Salim narrated on the authority of his father that the Messenger of Allah
said,

A Muslim is the brother of a fellow-Muslim. He should neither commit oppression upon him nor ruin him, and
he who meets the need of a brother, Allah would meet his needs, and he who relieved a Muslim from hardship
Allah would relieve him from the hardships to which he would be put on the Day of Resurrection, and he who
did not expose (the follies of a Muslim) Allah would conceal his follies on the Day of Resurrection.
19


5. To make duaa for them (in reality duaa for yourself).
Abu Dharr narrated that Allahs Messenger said,


18
Surat An-Nisaa, 4:32
19
Sahih Muslim, Book 32: Kitab Al-Birr, Hadith 6250
Light of Guidance
dat

There is no believing servant who supplicates for his brother behind his back (in his absence) that the Angels
do not say: The same be for you too.
20



A book recommended by the shaykh on this topic was The Etiquettes of Seeking Knowledge by Shaykh Bakr
Abu Zayd.


20
Sahih Muslim, Book 35: Kitab Al-Dhikr, Hadith 6588
Light of Guidance
dat

Have you not seen how Allah has given the parable of a beautiful kalimah like a beautiful tree whose roots are
firmly established, and whose branches tower in the sky? It gives its fruits at all times by the permission of its Lord
and Allah sets forth parables for mankind in order that they may remember.
21


x Allah gives the analogy of a tree. The most effective way of teaching something is through ways
in which you give engaging parables/ examples/ stories that people can relate to.
x Allah is speaking of Aqeedah (creed) and Allahs oneness.
x Allah speaks of a good word in this ayat, Laa ilaha illaa-Llah. There is no deity worthy of
worship except Allah. This is the good word which is being referred to.
x Roots are established through emaan.
x Fruits are benefits of emaan.
x When true emaan enters the heart, it will never part from it.
'Abdullah bin 'Abbas narrates:
Abu Sufyan bin Harb informed me that Heraclius had sent a messenger to him while he had been accompanying a
caravan from Quraish. They were merchants doing business in Sham (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan), at the
time when Allah's Apostle had truce with Abu Sufyan and Quraish infidels. So Abu Sufyan and his companions
went to Heraclius at Ilya (Jerusalem). Heraclius called them in the court and he had all the senior Roman
dignitaries around him. He called for his translator who, translating Heraclius's question said to them, "Who
amongst you is closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?" Abu Sufyan replied, "I am the nearest
relative to him (amongst the group)."

Heraclius said, "Bring him (Abu Sufyan) close to me and make his companions stand behind him." Abu Sufyan
r to tell my companions that he wanted to put some questions to me regarding
told a lie they (my companions) should contradict me." Abu Sufyan added, "By
added, Heraclius told his translato
that man (The Prophet) and that if I

21
Surah Ibraheem 14:24-25
Light of Guidance
dat

Allah! Had I not been afraid of my companions labelling me a liar, I would not have spoken the truth about the
Prophet. The first question he asked me about him was:
'What is his family status amongst you?'
I replied, 'He belongs to a good (noble) family amongst us.'
Heraclius further asked, 'Has anybody amongst you ever claimed the same (i.e. to be a Prophet) before him?'
I replied, 'No.'
He said, 'Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?'
I replied, 'No.'
Heraclius asked, 'Do the nobles or the poor follow him?'
I replied, 'It is the poor who follow him.'
He said, 'Are his followers increasing decreasing (day by day)?'
I replied, 'They are increasing.'
He then asked, 'Does anybody amongst those who embrace his religion become displeased and renounce the
religion afterwards?'
I replied, 'No.'
Heraclius said, 'Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim (to be a Prophet)?'
I replied, 'No. '
Heraclius said, 'Does he break his promises?'
I replied, 'No. We are at truce with him but we do not know what he will do in it.' I could not find opportunity to say
anything against him except that.
Heraclius asked, 'Have you ever had a war with him?'
I replied, 'Yes.'
Then he said, 'What was the outcome of the battles?'
I replied, 'Sometimes he was victorious and sometimes we.'
Heraclius said, 'What does he order you to do?'
I said, 'He tells us to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything along with Him, and to renounce
all that our ancestors had said. He orders us to pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste and to keep good relations with
our Kith and kin.'
Heraclius asked the translator to convey to me the following, I asked you about his family and your reply was that
he belonged to a very noble family. In fact all the Apostles come from noble families amongst their respective
peoples. I questioned you whether anybody else amongst you claimed such a thing, your reply was in the negative.
If the answer had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this man was following the previous man's
Light of Guidance
dat

statement. Then I asked you whether anyone of his ancestors was a king. Your reply was in the negative, and if it
had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this man wanted to take back his ancestral kingdom.
I further asked whether he was ever accused of telling lies before he said what he said, and your reply was
in the negative. So I wondered how a person who does not tell a lie about others could ever tell a lie about Allah. I,
then asked you whether the rich people followed him or the poor. You replied that it was the poor who followed
him. And in fact all the Apostle have been followed by this very class of people. Then I asked you whether his
followers were increasing or decreasing. You replied that they were increasing, and in fact this is the way of true
faith, till it is complete in all respects. I further asked you whether there was anybody, who, after embracing his
religion, became displeased and discarded his religion. Your reply was in the negative, and in fact this is (the sign
of) true faith, when its delight enters the hearts and mixes with them completely. I asked you whether he had ever
betrayed. You replied in the negative and likewise the Apostles never betray. Then I asked you what he ordered you
to do. You replied that he ordered you to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship any thing along with
Him and forbade you to worship idols and ordered you to pray, to speak the truth and to be chaste. If what you
have said is true, he will very soon occupy this place underneath my feet and I knew it (from the scriptures) that he
was going to appear but I did not know that he would be from you, and if I could reach him definitely, I would go
immediately to meet him and if I were with him, I would certainly wash his feet.' Heraclius then asked for the letter
addressed by Allah's Apostle which was delivered by Dihya to the Governor of Busra, who forwarded it to Heraclius
to read. The contents of the letter were as follows: "In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful (This letter is)
from Muhammad the slave of Allah and His Apostle to Heraclius the ruler of Byzantine. Peace be upon him, who
follows the right path. Furthermore I invite you to Islam, and if you become a Muslim you will be safe, and Allah
will double your reward, and if you reject this invitation of Islam you will be committing a sin by misguiding your
Arisiyin (peasants). (And I recite to you Allah's Statement:)
'O people of the scripture! Come to a word common to you and us that we worship none but Allah and that we
associate nothing in worship with Him, and that none of us shall take others as Lords beside Allah. Then, if they
turn away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims (those who have surrendered to Allah).' (3:64).
Abu Sufyan then added, "When Heraclius had finished his speech and had read the letter, there was a great hue
and cry in the Royal Court. So we were turned out of the court. I told my companions that the question of Ibn-Abi-
Kabsha) (the Prophet Muhammad) has become so prominent that even the King of Bani Al-Asfar (Byzantine) is
afraid of him. Then I started to become sure that he (the Prophet) would be the conqueror in the near future till I
embraced Islam (i.e. Allah guided me to it)."
The sub narrator adds, "Ibn An-Natur was the Governor of ilya' (Jerusalem) and Heraclius was the head of the
Christians of Sham. Ibn An-Natur narrates that once while Heraclius was visiting ilya' (Jerusalem), he got up in the
morning with a sad mood. Some of his priests asked him why he was in that mood? Heraclius was a foreteller and
an astrologer. He replied, 'At night when I looked at the stars, I saw that the leader of those who practice
circumcision had appeared (become the conqueror). Who are they who practice circumcision?' The people replied,
'Except the Jews nobody practices circumcision, so you should not be afraid of them (Jews).
'Just Issue orders to kill every Jew present in the country.'
While they were discussing it, a messenger sent by the king of Ghassan to convey the news of Allah's Apostle to
Heraclius was brought in. Having heard the news, he (Heraclius) ordered the people to go and see whether the
messenger of Ghassan was circumcised. The people, after seeing him, told Heraclius that he was circumcised.
Heraclius then asked him about the Arabs. The messenger replied, 'Arabs also practice circumcision.'
(After hearing that) Heraclius remarked that sovereignty of the 'Arabs had appeared. Heraclius then wrote a letter
to his friend in Rome who was as good as Heraclius in knowledge. Heraclius then left for Homs. (a town in Syria and
stayed there till he received the reply of his letter from his friend who agreed with him in his opinion about the
emergence of the Prophet and the fact that he was a Prophet. On that Heraclius invited all the heads of the
Light of Guidance
dat

Byzantines to assemble in his palace at Homs. When they assembled, he ordered that all the doors of his palace be
closed. Then he came out and said, 'O Byzantines! If success is your desire and if you seek right guidance and want
your empire to remain then give a pledge of allegiance to this Prophet (i.e. embrace Islam).'
(On hearing the views of Heraclius) the people ran towards the gates of the palace like onagers but found the doors
closed. Heraclius realized their hatred towards Islam and when he lost the hope of their embracing Islam, he
ordered that they should be brought back in audience.
(When they returned) he said, 'What already said was just to test the strength of your conviction and I have seen
it.' The people prostrated before him and became pleased with him, and this was the end of Heraclius's story (in
connection with his faith).
22


Some fruits of this tree: THE TREE OF EMAAN
x Jannah
Ibn Taymiyyah said to his student, Ibn al-Qayyim:
In this world there is a Paradise, whoever does not enter it will not enter the Paradise of the Hereafter.
23

x The Paradise of this world is the sweetness of Emaan.
Kahf [18:30-31]:

Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - indeed, We will not allow to be lost the
reward of any who did well in deeds. Those will have gardens of perpetual residence; beneath them rivers
will flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of fine silk and
brocade, reclining therein on adorned couches. Excellent is the reward, and good is the resting place.
24


What does belief entail?

22
Sahih al-Bukhari
23
Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Qaabil, p.69
24
Surah Al-Kahf 18:30-31
Light of Guidance
dat

To have faith in something is to have belief in it. But from an Islamic perspective, it also
consists of:
x Faith in the heart: the crux or root of emaan.
x Deeds/ actions we carry out.
x Statements of the tongue.


The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are
recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely - The ones who establish prayer, and from
what We have provided them, they spend.
25


x Our Imaan fluctuates based on our deeds.

Deeds can increase Imaan:
x fulfill the command of Allah, i.e. establish a prayer;
x staying away from that which Allah has prohibited, e.g. Zina

Deeds can decrease Imaan:
x Disobey Allahs command;
x Embark upon a forbidden act.


x Protection from Fire
x Imaan and fear of Allahs punishment increases when the verses of Allah are recited
x Whoever has the lowest level of Imaan will be saved from the eternal punishment of
hellfire.
What is the minimum Imaan?
x Declaration of Shahadah
x Staying away from major sins
x Following commandments of Allah



25
Surah Anfal 8:2-3
Light of Guidance
dat

x A key to have all deeds accepted

Who are the biggest losers?
Those who have a massive amount of good deeds, but are lacking the kalimah.


And We will regard what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed.
26



x A means for forgiving sins Evil deeds will be turned into righteous deeds.

Except him who repents and believes and does a good deed; so these are they of whom Allah changes the
evil deeds to good ones; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
27


There were two opinions regarding this among the early scholars:

x Said ibn Jubayr of the Tabieen felt that if a person reverts to Islam, they will
have their bad deeds turned into good ones in the sense that a person who used to steal
will now begin to give in charity, someone who used to commit zina will seek out a
pure relationship, etc.

x Abdullah ibn Abbas however felt that, from Allahs mercy, the bad deeds
themselves would be converted to good deeds after sincere repentance. This appears to
be the more widely known and accepted opinion, though both are considered correct.

x Achieving the protection of Allah


26
Surah Al-Farqan 25:23
27
Surah Furqan 25:70
Light of Guidance
dat

x Allah is the Wali of those who have faith

x A source of comfort/ tranquility/ protector.

Allah is the ally [Wali] of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light.
28

x Allah protects the honour of his believers

x Allah often mentions Himself with Rasul Allah , in this way
Allah is testifying that Prophet Muhammad is His Messenger.

x Allah will fight on your behalf Allah will fight on behalf of those who
have belief.

x Allah will guide you

x Guiding you through your emaan. It is a cyclical/circular relationship. More emaan
means more guidance which increases emaan which increases guidance, and so on.
Usually increase in knowledge accompanies this.

Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - their Lord will guide them because of their
faith. Beneath them rivers will flow in the Gardens of Pleasure.
29


x Protection and co

mfort for the believers

28
Surah Al-Baqara
29
Surah Yunus 10:9
Light of Guidance
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x Good always occurs to him

Suhaib reported that Allah's Messenger said:

Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his and this is not the case with
anyone else except in the case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thus
there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (and endures it patiently),
there is a good for him in it.
30


x Exit and escape from all sorrows and problems for those who do good

And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will
gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind." He will say, "My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I
was [once] seeing?" [ Allah ] will say, "Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them; and thus will
you this Day be forgotten." And thus do We recompense he who transgressed and did not believe in the
signs of his Lord. And the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe and more enduring.
31


x Raised up in this life and the hereafter

30
Sahih Muslim
31
Surah Taha 20:124-127
Light of Guidance
dat

O you who have believed, when you are told, "Space yourselves" in assemblies, then make space; Allah
will make space for you. And when you are told, "Arise," then arise; Allah will raise those who have
believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allah is Acquainted with what
you do.
32


x Protection from falling into evil as above re: Wali

x A good life as above

x Angels give him glad tidings Glad tidings come when close to death. Ie. The trials of death

x Khilafah . Islamic rule will return to Earth once Muslims believe and perform righteous deeds.

Allah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely
grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He
will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will
surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with
Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient.
33


x Brotherhood

32
Surah Mujadilah 58:11
33
Surah Noor 24:55
Light of Guidance
dat

x Allah creates a bond between us all despite our differences in language/ culture/
colour/ etc.

x It is stronger than any bond, including bonds of blood.
e.g. pairing up of the Ansar and Muhajirun.

x Love written for him on earth- Other individuals will love those with emaan


x Benefit from advice

And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.
34


x Light on the day of Judgement

x One event of the day of judgement is the crossing of the sirat, which is as thin as a hair,
as sharp as a sword, and in complete darkness the greater the emaan, the more light
will be provided to you.

x Greatest blessing: looking at Allah

x The greatest blessing of Paradise.

x The believers will see the face of Allah as a reward.

x The disbelievers will not see the face of Allah due to their evil deeds.

x The hypocrites will be shown the face of Allah for a very brief period of time, so that
when they enter the greatest depths of Hellfire they will know what it is that they gave
up through their hypocrisy, and they will never see it again. They will never forgive
themselves for what they have done.


34
Surah Dhariyat 51:55
Light of Guidance
dat




x Aqeedah comes from aqada = to bind, tie a knot in, tie down; an aqd is a contract.

x General as a general term, aqeedah means the firm creed

x Specific term Refers to the correct set of beliefs concerning Allah. There are some examples of
erroneous beliefs, such as those who believe we will not see Allah in the Hereafter.
x In Sunan al-Bayhaqi, the Prophet used the term yatiqat = related to aqeedah
(CANNOT FIND)

And is one who was dead and We gave him life and made for him light by which to walk among the
people like one who is in darkness, never to emerge therefrom? Thus it has been made pleasing to the
disbelievers that which they were doing.
35

x Here Allah mentions Emaan as Light.

The primary Quranic term is Emaan.
Others:
x Kitab al-Iman of Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Salaam (d. 213AH)
x Shareeah Imam al-Aajurri
x Al-Fiqh al-Akbar Imam Abu Hanifa (incorrectly attributed to the Imam)
x As-Sunnah The traditions/ sayings of the Prophet ; the Sunnah of Imam al-
Mirwazi
x Usool as-Sunnah Foundations of the Sunnah; Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
x Sharh as-Sunnah Explanation of the proper creed by Imam al-Barbahari

x Al-Mahhajah A Path. The Clear White Path

x Aqeedah, or Itiqad Lumatul Itiqaad by al-Muwaffaq Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi
x At-Tawheed

Kitaab at-Tawheed by Imam Muhammad Ibn Abdil-Wahhab

35
Surah AnAam 6:122
Light of Guidance
dat

Definition of Tawheed
x Tawheed is from the root wa-ha-da which means to ascribe unity to something.

x To make something one or to put things into one is the linguistic of meaning of Tawheed.

x Tawheed is the verbal noun of ascribing unity to something.

x When used in the shareeah, it implies: Believing that Allah is One and Unique in His Lordship, His
Names and Attributes, and His Right to be worshipped.
x Imam As-Safarayni [d. 1188AH] described Tawheed to singlify the Worshipped in His Worship {NOT
SURE WHAT THIS IS TRYING TO IMPLY, Sentence is awkward}, while having the belief in His
Oneness of His Essence, His Attributes and His Actions.
Three essential categories of Tawheed.
x Tawheed ar-Rububiyyah: Every single action that Allah does towards His Creation. Oneness in
His Lordship. This also includes giving and taking of life; sustenance also.

x Tawheed al-Asmaa wa-s-Sifaa: His Names and Attributes

x Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah: His Right to be worshipped

Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them - so worship Him and have patience for His
worship. Do you know of any similarity to Him?"
36


Is Tawheed mentioned in the Sunnah? Yes
x Ibn Abbas narrates :
When the Prophet sent Muadh to Yemen, he said to him, "You are going to a nation from the people of the
Scripture, so let the first thing to which you will invite them, be the Taweed of Allah. If they learn that, tell
on them, five prayers to be offered in one day and one night. And if they pray, them what Allah has enjoined

36
Surah Maryam 19:65
Light of Guidance
dat

tell them that Allah has enjoined on them Zakat of their properties and it is to be taken from the rich among
them and given to the poor. And if they agree to that, then take from them Zakat but avoid the best property of
the people."
37

x Abu Sa'id narrates:
The Prophet said, "Amongst the people preceding your age, there was a man whom Allah had given a lot of
money. While he was in his death-bed, he called his sons and said, 'What type of father have I been to you?
They replied, 'You have been a good father.' He said, 'I have never done a single good deed; so when I die, burn
me, crush my body, and scatter the resulting ashes on a windy day.' His sons did accordingly, but Allah
gathered his particles and asked (him), 'What made you do so?' He replied, "Fear of you.' So Allah bestowed His
Mercy upon him. (forgave him)."
38


x Hadeeth ibn Abbas describes talbiyah during Hajj in which he said that the Prophet
and Sahabah would call out with tawheed (i.e. in Oneness of Allah
).

Importance of Tawheed
x Purpose of creation

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
39



x Reason for sending Prophets

37
Sahih Bukhari
38
Sahih Bukhari
39
Surah Dhaariyat 51:56
Light of Guidance
dat

And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allah and avoid Taghut." And among
them were those whom Allah guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So
proceed through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers.
40


x Reason for revealing books


He sends down the angels, with the inspiration of His command, upon whom He wills of His servants,
[telling them], "Warn that there is no deity except Me; so fear Me."
41



x Differentiates between Muslim and Kafir

It is He who created you, and among you is the disbeliever, and among you is the believer. And Allah , of
what you do, is Seeing.
42


x Following Tawheed is a cause of peace and contentment in this life and Hereafter

Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by
the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured."
43


x First call that we have been commanded to do

40
Surah Nahl 16:36
41
Surah Nahl 16:2
42
Surah At-Taghaabun 64:2
43
Surah Rad 13:28
Light of Guidance
dat

O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous.
44


x Right of Allah over us
'Abdullah narrates :
The Prophet said one statement and I said another. The Prophet said Whoever dies while still invoking
anything other than Allah as a rival to Allah, will enter Hell (Fire)." And I said, "Whoever dies without
invoking anything as a rival to Allah, will enter Paradise.
45


x Cause for entrance to Paradise 70,000 people who will enter Paradise without reckoning
Ibn 'Abbas narrates that Allah's Apostle said,
'Nations were displayed before me.....'This is your nation out of whom seventy thousand shall enter Paradise
without reckoning.' "Then the Prophet entered his house without telling his companions who they (the 70,000)
were......Those people are those who do not treat themselves with Ruqya, nor do they believe in bad or good
omen (from birds etc.) nor do they get themselves branded (Cauterised). but they put their trust (only) in their
Lord " On that 'Ukasha bin Muhsin said. "Am I one of them, O Allah's Apostle?' The Prophet said, "Yes." Then
another person got up and said, "Am I one of them?" The Prophet said, 'Ukasha has anticipated you."
46


x Forgives all sins; prevents fire of hell


x Dangers of Its Opposite - To truly understand hunger, you need to know being full; to know
being satiated you must understand hunger. In this way, we must know the dangers of shirk

Entire Quran is only a call to Tawheed
x Regarding Allah, His Names and Attributes (Surah al-Ikhlas)

x Command to wo

rship Allah (Surah al-Kafiroon)

44
Surah Baqara 2:22
45
Sahih Bukhari
46
Sahih Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat

x Prohibitions or commandments from Allah (perfection of Tawheed and how to worship)

x Narrating the rewards of the people of Tawheed, past (stories of the Prophets) or future
(Paradise)

x Narrating the punishments of the people who rejected Tawheed, past (stories of the nations
before us), or future (Hell)
How do the letters (alif-lam-mim) reflect the Oneness of Allah?
Alif-Lam-Mim. Allah said these letters, and this is part of Ruboobiyyah, as He alone would send
down this Through these letters, in our reciting them, is worship and reward. Finally, Allah is
challenging the Arabs to come up with anything equivalent.


























Light of Guidance
dat



Meaning of Rabb
Lisaan al-Arab by Ibn Mandhoor (1/399 under Rabb defines it as ,to be a king, to be ones master, to be
one who controls/ nurtures/ rectifies/ grants blessings or gifts.
Definition of tawheed ar-ruboobiyyah
x The True and complete Owner

x The One Who is Obeyed from one angle Allah is not always obeyed; this is the Will of Allah
, but Allah has given you the free will to choose to disobey Him. However, some areas
cannot be disobeyed: where/ when we are born, die; our race; etc.

So is it other than the religion of Allah they desire, while to Him have submitted [all] those within the
heavens and earth, willingly or by compulsion, and to Him they will be returned?
47


x The One who nourishes, takes care of everything (al-Qayyoom; Ar-Razzaq)

x To believe that only Allah creates, sustains and owns the entire creation. He alone is the
Master, Controller and Nourisher.

x OR: Tawheed of Allah in His Actions.

All creation under ruboobiyyah
Of the manifestations of this:

x Every object of creation knows that it cannot survive by itself; rather, it needs the help of its
Creator in order to obtain what it needs.


47
Surah Al-Imran 3:85
Light of Guidance
dat

x No object can escape what is decreed for it, or control its own destiny. Rather, every single
object submits itself to the Power and Will of Allah, and whatever happens to it must be borne
by it.

x At times of distress, every person calls out to his Creator

Two types of ruboobiyyah
x General Ruboobiyyah regardless of creed, everyone enjoys the same sun/ snow/ etc.

x Specific Ruboobiyyah these include specific things, miracles that the Prophet is
given; sometimes when we receive something that we do not feel we deserve.

Light of Guidance
dat



x Creation


Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators?
48

O mankind! A similitude has been coined, so listen to it (carefully): Verily! Those on whom you call
besides Allh, cannot create (even) a fly, even though they combine together for the purpose. And if the fly
snatched away a thing from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly. So weak are (both)
the seeker and the sought.
49

- From these ayat it clear that Allah is the sole creator and no one is able to create
but Allah .


x Fitrah

- A natural inclination that we are created to do good. The ultimate good is to worship Allah

48
Surat At-Tur 52:35
49
Surat Al Hajj 22:73
Light of Guidance
dat

So set you (O Muhammad) your face towards the religion of pure Islmic Monotheism Hanifa (worship none but
Allh Alone) Allh's Fitrah (i.e. Allh's Islmic Monotheism), with which He has created mankind. No change let
there be in Khalqillh (i.e. the Religion of Allh Islmic Monotheism), that is the straight religion, but most of men
know not
50

And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from
Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes!
We testify," lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: "Verily, we have been unaware of this."
51


x The proof of this covenant is the fitrah, the feeling of natural inclination that tells us a God
must exist.


x Signs (ayaat) of the Creation




50
Surat Rum 30:30
51
Surat Al Araf 7:172
Light of Guidance
dat

Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, and the
ships which sail through the sea with that which is of use to mankind, and the water (rain) which Allah
sends down from the sky and makes the earth alive therewith after its death, and the moving (living)
creatures of all kinds that He has scattered therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds which are held
between the sky and the earth, are indeed Ayat (proofs, evidence, signs, etc.) for people of
understanding.
52

Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their
sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): "Our Lord! You
have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted are You above all that they
associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire. "Our Lord! Verily,
whom You admit to the Fire, indeed, You have disgraced him; and never will the Zalimun
(polytheists and wrong-doers) find any helpers. "Our Lord! Verily, we have heard the call of one
(Muhammad) calling to Faith: 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us
our sins and expiate from us our evil deeds, and make us die (in the state of righteousness) along
with Al-Abrar (the pious believers of Islamic Monotheism).
53



- A Bedouin said when asked how he knows there is a Lord that he is worshipping:
When I see camel droppings, this necessitates that a camel was there. When I see footsteps in
itates that a person has been through this place. Then what about the the sand, it necess

52
Surat Al Baqarah 2:164
53
Surat Al Imran 3:191-193
Light of Guidance
dat

constellations and what they provide us, and the oceans and their currents, and the land and
its pathways, does this not give us proof of a Creator? / Reflect on the creation of Allah, not so
that you can realize that there is a Lord, but rather that the Lord is worthy of worship. That it
is all created for a purpose: for the purpose of worshipping Allah.

x Innate feeling of helplessness, and turning to a Creator - In times of desperation we feel helpless
and turn towards a superior being for assistance.


Sending of Prophets, Revelation of Books

And We sent not a Messenger except with the language of his people, in order that he might make
(the Message) clear for them. Then Allah misleads whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is
the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.
54





54
Surat Ibraheem 14:4
Light of Guidance
dat




- God is something that which nothing greater can be conceived.
- Which is greater: something that is real or something that is only conceived in the mind?
- Therefore, the notion of the greatest conceivable being cannot be conceived of in thought
alone, but rather must also be conceived of as existing. Otherwise, the concept of god
would actually be contradictory since an existing god would be more perfect than a
conceptual god.
o Very circular logic. Rationalists will destroy this argument
- In other words: GOD MUST EXIST BY DEFINITION.


Has three primary forms:
x Argument from Motion
x Argument from Cause
x Argument from Contingency (existence)

Summary for the argument from motion:
- Every object is either in motion or rest
- An object that is in motion must have been put in motion by another object
- However, an object that is at rest cannot move itself
- Therefore, there must be a mover that caused this object to start its motion.
- There cannot, however, be an infinite series of things causing movement to take place,
otherwise there would not be a first mover.
- Thus, there must be a primary, unmoved mover that is the cause of all motion but does not
itself move, and this is God.

Aristotle claimed that God is the unmoved mover. The Muatilah claimed they saved the world from
atheism by Islamicizing Aristotles approach. However, if Allah were unmoved, He would be void of
His Attributes.

Ibn Taymiyyah stated: while the end conclusion may be of some benefit, the long process you go
through is excessively long and a waste of time. It is like climbing a massive mountain only to find a
morsel of meat, expecting a full-course meal.

Light of Guidance
dat


Problems: Extremely complicated; conclusions have very obviously repercussions that go against
Tawheed (to be discussed in the next Aqeedah series).

x Paleys Watch (Example of walking along a beach and finding a watch)
o A watch necessitates a watch-maker.
x Pure Islamic Proof; has been critiqued extensively by many.

Q&A
As human beings, Allah will not judge us on the basis of the things we cannot control. He will judge us
based on His commandments and prohibitions.
The more knowledge you have the more accountability you have.

There are 4 types of people:
x Believers
x Disbelievers
x Ahl-al-fatrah
x fatrah meaning a period of time [the period of time in which knowledge was not accessible
to them] people who never received a prophets message; on the day of judgement, these
people will be sent a prophet, whoever follows will enter Paradise, whoever resists their
prophet will be entered into Hellfire.
x Ahl-al-Aaraaf
x People whose good deeds and bad deeds cancel out. They are believers, but their account
reads zero 0.

Why did Allah choose one person over the other?
We are not to ask such questions. However, Allah is just and has set unique trials for each
individual. We should not concern ourselves about this matter. Instead we should be concerned
about being asked about our own decision by Allah .

Review Western vs. Islamic view of Lordship of Allah talk about God as proving existence, vs. talking
about God to emphasize need for worship.

Is it enough to recognize that Allah is the only one worthy of worship, or do we need to follow through
with action?
x We need to follow through with our actions!

Light of Guidance
dat






x Clear verses in the Quran which state that the Jahiliyyah Arabs believed Allah created and
sustained everything and was All-Powerful.

And if you were to ask them: "Who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the
moon?" they will surely reply: "Allah." How then are they deviating (as polytheists and disbelievers)? Allah
enlarges the provision for whom He wills of His slaves, and straitens it for whom (He wills). Verily, Allah is the
All-Knower of everything. And if you were to ask them: "Who sends down water (rain) from the sky, and gives
life therewith to the earth after its death?" they will surely reply: "Allah." Say: "All the praises and thanks be to
Allah!" Nay, most of them have no sense.
55

And if you ask them who created them, they will surely say: "Allah." How then are they turned away (from
the worship of Allah, Who created them)?
56


55
Surat Al-Ankaboot 29:61-63
56
Surat Az-Zukhruf 43:87
Light of Guidance
dat

Say: "Whose is the earth and whosoever is therein? If you know!" They will say: "It is Allah's!" Say: "Will you
not then remember?" Say: "Who is (the) Lord of the seven heavens, and (the) Lord of the Great Throne?" They
will say: "Allah." Say: "Will you not then fear Allah (believe in His Oneness, obey Him, believe in the
Resurrection and Recompense for every good or bad deed)?" Say "In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of
everything (i.e. treasures of each and everything)? And He protects (all), while against Whom there is no
protector, (i.e. if Allah saves anyone none can punish or harm him, and if Allah punishes or harms anyone
none can save him), if you know?" They will say: "(All that belongs) to Allah." Say: "How then are you deceived
and turn away from the truth?"
57


x Verses that show the Jahiliyyah Arabs believed in Allah yet committed shirk.

And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him [i.e. they are Mushrikun
i.e. polytheists
58


x Arabs had the idols in the Kabah, made oaths upon them, made tawaf around them,
sacrificed animals to them. These acts are the same acts performed in worshipping Allah
, however these acts were directed towards the idols.


57
Surat Muminun 23:84-89
58
Surat Yusuf 12:106
Light of Guidance
dat

x Excuses of Jahiliyyah Arabs in their worship.
x Worshipping the idols will bring them closer to Allah
x They felt too sinful to be able to directly invoke Allah
x The idols will intercede (Shafaa) on their behalf by talking to Allah for them

And they worship besides Allah things that harm them not, nor profit them, and they say: "These are our
intercessors with Allah." Say: "Do you inform Allah of that which He knows not in the heavens and on the earth?"
Glorified and Exalted is He above all that which they associate as partners (with Him)!
59


x The fact that the mushrikoon would turn to Allah sincerely at times of distress.
x There are times when the mushrikoon were sincere towards Allah . There were
brief glimpses of sincerity, but this did not enter them into the fold of Islam.
x A specific situation is when Ikrimah made dua to Allah when he was in
distress at sea. He pleaded, Save me and I will accept Islam. He was saved and eventually
accepted Islam.



And when they embark on a ship, they invoke Allah, making their Faith pure for Him only: but when He brings
them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to others.
60


x The mushrikoons rejection of the pure worship of Allah (Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah), and not the
existence or Lordship of Allah.


59
Surat Yunus 10:18
60
Surat Al Ankaboot 29:65
Light of Guidance
dat

Truly, when it was said to them: La ilaha illallah "(none has the right to be worshipped but Allah)," they puffed
themselves up with pride (i.e. denied it).
61


x The statement in this aya angered the mushkrik Arabs because they knew the truth but chose
to not follow it. As a result, their fitrah brought them much of their emotional and
psychological distress.

Surely the religion (i.e. the worship and the obedience) is for Allah only. And those who take Auliya' (protectors,
helpers, lords, gods) besides Him (say): "We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah." Verily Allah
will judge between them concerning that wherein they differ. Truly, Allah guides not him who is a liar, and a
disbeliever.
62


x The Jahiliyyah Arabs talbiyyah during Hajj - The Arabs use to chant Labayka-Llahumma
Labayk (O Allah I am responding) as part of their talbiyah. However they added there is no
associate with you except the ones you have placed as associate and you control it.

*Ruboobiyyah necessitates Uloohiyyah*
How can you admit that Allah is the true Rabb, and yet direct acts of worship to other than Him?

What brings a person into the fold of Islam? What are its prerequisites?

61
Surat As-saaffat 37:35
62
Surat Az-Zumar 39:3
Light of Guidance
dat



There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is His
Messenger.

BLESSINGS OF THE SHAHAADAH

x Essence of Tawheed: Ilaah is the one who is worshipped. There is no one who truly deserves to
be worshipped except Allah .

x Creation created: Allah said in the Quran,


I did not create mankind and the jinn except to worship Me.
63


The purpose of our life is to worship Allah alone, and the manifestation of that is
accepting the shahadah by heart, say it in tongue and performing our deeds according to it.

x Prophets sent: Allah says,


And We do not punish a people except that We have sent a Messenger
64

Allah sent the

Prophets to preach to the people the message of shahadah.

63
Ad-Dhariyaat: 56
64
Surat al-Isra': 15
Light of Guidance
dat

x Books revealed: In Surat an-Nahl Allah said,



He sends down the angels, with the inspiration of His command, upon whom He wills of His servants,
[telling them], "Warn that there is no deity except Me; so fear Me
65

Allah revealed the books to "Warn that there is no deity except Me.

x Mankind divided into Muslim & Kafir: Shahadah draws the line of distinction between believer
and disbeliever.

x Paradise and Hell apportioned: In the following ayaat of the Quran Allah evidently
mentioned the appointment of Paradise for believers and Hell for disbelievers.



And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in
Paradise] beneath which rivers flow.
66

But if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones,
prepared for the disbelievers.
67



65
Surat an-Nahl: 2
66
Surat al-Baqarah: 25
67
Surat al-Baqarah: 24
Light of Guidance
dat

x Person enters into Islam: Shahadah is the entrance to Islam. A person needs to have knowledge
of this statement and its implications.

x First phrase that the Muslim child hears when it is born: Adhan is made in the ear of a newborn
child. So shahadah is the first thing a child hears.

x Goal of every Muslim that it be his last phrase as well, heaviest phrase on the Scale:
From the following hadith we can understand the weight of shahadah.

"Whoever breathes his last with the words: la ilaha illallah, enters Paradise."
68


x Forgives all other sins: Allah says,

Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds
with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
69


x Best phrase that all the Prophets uttered: Every single Prophet came with this same message.

x Highest level of Faith: The Prophet said,

"Emaan has seventy odd branches. Its lowest branch is the removal of harm from the road while its
highest is to say: There is no god but Allah."
70


Emaan consists of belief, actions and statements.


68
Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and al-Hakim
69
Surat al-Furqaan: 70
70
Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Ahmad
Light of Guidance
dat


CONDITIONS OF FIRST SHAHAADAH

Someone asked Wahb ibn Munnabih (d. 110)

Is not la ilaha illa Allah the key to Jannah? Yes, but every key has ridges, so if you come with the key that has the
right ridges, the door will be opened for you, otherwise it will not.




Every key needs its ridges. What are the ridges of the key to Paradise?

1. Knowledge [K] : Knowing the meaning and conditions of the shahadah. Allah says,

So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the
believing men and believing women. And Allah knows of your movement and your resting place.
71

Narrated By 'Abdullah

, the Prophet said,

71
Surat Muhammad 47:19
Light of Guidance
dat

The Prophet said one statement and I said another. The Prophet said "Whoever dies while still invoking
anything other than Allah as a rival to Allah, will enter Hell (Fire)." And I said, "Whoever dies without
invoking anything as a rival to Allah, will enter Paradise."
72


2. Certainty (vs. Doubt) [C] : Al-Yaqeen [certainty]. Whoever meets Allah without any
doubt, will enter Paradise.

The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allah and His Messenger and then doubt not but
strive with their properties and their lives in the cause of Allah . It is those who are the truthful.
73


3. Accepting this kalimah, qabool (vs. rejecting it) [A]: Al-Qabuul (acceptance). In the following
ayah Allah SWT says,


Indeed they, when it was said to them, "There is no deity but Allah ," were arrogant. / Therefore a
Muslim is one who is accepting of it.
74


Narrated By Abu Musa , The Prophet said,

The example of guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me is like abundant rain falling on
the earth, some of which was fertile soil that absorbed rain water and brought forth vegetation and grass
in abundance. (And) another portion of it was hard and held the rain water and Allah benefited the people
with it and they utilized it for drinking, making their animals drink from it and for irrigation of the land
for cultivation. (And) a portion of it was barren which could neither hold the water nor bring forth
vegetation (then that land gave no benefits). The first is the example of the person who comprehends
nefit (from the knowledge) which Allah has revealed through me (the Prophets Allah's religion and gets be

72
Sahih al-Bukhari
73
Surat al-Hujurat: 15
74
Surat as-Saffat: 35
Light of Guidance
dat

and learns and then teaches others. The last example is that of a person who does not care for it and does
not take Allah's guidance revealed through me (He is like that barren land.)
75


4. Submitting to this statement, inqiyaad (vs. leaving it and not acting upon it)[S]: Al-Qiyaaq
(compliance).

5. Being truthful to it (vs. lying) [T]: As-Sidq (truthfulness), as opposed to being hypocritical.
Allah says in the Quran about the hypocrites,


And of mankind, there are some (hypocrites) who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day" while in
fact they believe not.
76


Narrated by Abu Dharr ,

I came to the Prophet while he was wearing white clothes and sleeping. Then I went back to him again
after he had got up from his sleep. He said, "Nobody says: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah'
and then later on he dies while believing in that, except that he will enter Paradise.' I said, "Even It he had
committed illegal sexual intercourse and theft." I said. "Even if he had committed illegal sexual
intercourse and theft? He said. 'Even If he had committed illegal sexual intercourse and theft," I said,
'Even it he had committed illegal sexual intercourse and thefts.' He said, "Even If he had committed Illegal
sexual intercourse and theft, inspite of the Abu Dharrs dislikeness. Abu 'Abdullah said, "This is at the time
of death or before it if one repents and regrets and says "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. He
will be forgiven his sins."
77


6. Sincerely stating it with ikhlaas, without any shirk involved (vs. nifaaq or shirk) : Al-Ikhlaas
(sincerity). Allah states,


75
Shahih al-Bukhari
76
Surat al-Baqarah: 8
77
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat

Theii Salat piayei at the Bouse of Allah ie the Kabah at Nakkah was nothing but
whistling anu clapping of hanus Theiefoie taste the punishment because you useu to
uisbelieve
78


7. Loving it and its people, and hating those who oppose it (vs. hating its people) : Al-Mahabbah
(love). The statement of Allah in Surat al-Baqarah,

And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as
they [should] love Allah . But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah . And if only they who have
wronged would consider [that] when they see the punishment, [they will be certain] that all power belongs
to Allah and that Allah is severe in punishment.
79


Narrated By Anas , The Prophet said,

"Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith:
1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle becomes dearer than anything else.
2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake.
3. Who hates to revert to Atheism (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the fire."

Knowledge Can Add Stability To Someones Life: The first letter of each word of this sentence
t shahadah mentioned above. Note: Look at the key. represents the conditions of firs

78
Surat al-Anfal: 35
79
Surat al-Baqarah: 165
Light of Guidance
dat

Or you can memorise with the following Arabic poetry:





Islam linguistically means to submit so that it brings peace and tranquility in their life.
Principle of Dawah: Win the hearts of people and you will win over their minds. Do your duty of
conveying the message.






Light of Guidance
dat



The definition or meaning of the word Ilaah makes a world of difference in your mind. The translation
or meaning of the word decides who is Muslim or not.

Can Ilaah be replaced by

Khaliq? No. Had it been enough to accept Allah as Khaliq, then the mushrikoon of
Makkah would have been Muslim. They accepted Allah as their Creator, but did not
worship Him alone.

Rabb? Lord. But this does not mean in of itself that Allah is alone worthy of worship,
therefore it did not lead to single out Allah for worship.

To translate it to anything than truly worthy of worship will be insufficient.

Ibn Abbaas stated that it means,
one whom everything turns to, and whom everyone worships.

Ar-Raaghib as-Sabahanee (d. 425) stated:
Ilaah is a name given to every object that is worshipped.

Ibn Mandhoor (d. 711), defined it as:

any object that is taken as an object of worship.

Where does the name Allah come from? There are 2 opinions:

Light of Guidance
dat

x The term Allah is a definite derivative of the word Ilaah: Ilaah means one who is worshipped.
Al-Ilaah = The Ilaah or The God Worthy of Worship. This is the opinion of the linguists. In
choosing His Name, Allah combined these words.
x It is an individual term that has no root. It is a name that Allah chose for Himself. This was the
opinion of Imam Ash-Shafii.

NEGATION & AFFIRMATION

The clause Laa ilaha illaa-Llah has two parts to it, negation and affirmation. Height of excellence and
praise will be achieved with both parts present. This is the epitome of praise.

When you want to praise something, you negate the opposite and affirm the positive.
There is no one worthy of worship except for ALLAH.

i.e. There is no one who is smart in class except for Muhammad. Only saying Muhammad is smart is not
the highest level of praise.











Light of Guidance
dat



MEANING OF IBAADAH
Abida means a habit that is constantly passed upon. In other words, Ibaadah can be defined as a state,
and it can also be defined by the actions. There are two ways to look at worship:
1. Spiritual
2. Physical

Ibn Katheer defines worship, or ibaadah, as:]
a state which combines the perfection of love, submission, and fear.

Ibn Taymiyyah defined ibaadah to be:
A comprehensive term, encompassing all
apparent hidden acts and statements that are beloved to Allah.

TWO CONDITIONS OF IBAADAH

1. Sincerity: To perform acts of worship purely to please Allah . Ibaadah that is not done
for the sake of Allah is called Shirk.

Allah says,

Light of Guidance
dat

Say (O Muhammad ): "I am only a man like you. It has been inspired to me that
your Ilah is One Ilah. So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness
and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord."
80


2. Conformity: Performing the act of worship in accordance to the Sunnah.
Some proofs:
x Allah says

Say, [O Muhammad ], "If you should love Allah , then follow me, [so] Allah will
love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."
81


x Aaishah narrated that the Prophet said:

He who does something which is not according to what we (i.e.the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa
sallam and his companions) are upon then it is rejected.
82


x The Prophet said,

Pray as you have seen me praying
83


Ibadah is of 2 types

1. Ibadah in of itself: Salat is an ibadah in and of itself. Other acts of worship like reciting Quran,
rming hajj, tawaf, fasting, etc. paying zakat, perfo

80
Surat ul-Kahf:110
81
Surat al-e-Imran: 31
82
Bukhari & Muslim
83
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat

2. Those things which become acts of worship due to intention: Some things become worship due
to intention. Eating can be an act of worship if the intention is to have the energy to perform
other acts of worship like salah. Besides this working to earn halal living and many other acts
are considered as an act of worship due to intention. However, acts of worship need to be done
for the sake of Allah, otherwise it is considered as an act of shirk.

Abu Dharr, radiyallahu anhu, reported that some of the companions of the Messenger of Allah,
, said to him:

O Messenger of Allah, the rich have taken away all the rewards. They observe the prayer as we do, and
they give Sadaqah (charity) from their surplus riches. Upon this he (the Prophet) said: Has Allah not
prescribed for you (a course) by following which you can also by sadaqah? Verily in every tasbih (i.e.
saying Subhanallah) there is a sadaqah, every takbir (i.e. saying Allahu Akbar) is a sadaqah, everytahmid
(i.e. saying Alhamduallah) is a sadaqah, every tahlil (i.e. saying lailaha illallah) is a sadaqah, enjoying of
good is a sadaqah, forbidding of evil is a sadaqah, and having sexual intercourse with your wife is a
sadaqah. They (the companions) said: O Messenger of Allah, is there reward for him who satisfies his
sexual passion among us? He said: Tell me, if he were to devote it to something forbidden, would it not
be a sin on his part? Similarly, if he were to devote it to something lawful, he should have a reward.
84


Here we see that performing the act of intimacy is rewarding when one performs with his wife,
as opposed to be sinful when it is done in impermissible way.

Objectives of worship

x Every time we commit a bad deed, there is a feeling that we must seek forgiveness. A compass
comes on this is called guilt. One of the primary objectives of worship is to get rid of guilt.
x The second objective/ level is when true worship comes in out of love for Allah . This
is because he loves Allah and wants to please Allah .
x The third level/ objective of worship is to attain Allahs pleasure and Paradise.

What way is Allahs pleasure manifested? By Him granting us Paradise.


84
Sahih Muslim
Light of Guidance
dat




One verse which combines all 3 pillars:

Those whom they call upon desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allah), as to which of them
should be the closest (to Him), and they hope for His Mercy, and fear His Torment. Verily, the Torment of your Lord
is something to be afraid of!
85


LOVE

Signs of Love: To love what Allah loves (love of Prophets, people whom Allah loves), and to
prefer the love of Allah over the love of anything other than Allah , and to avoid
any act that will distance one from the love of Allah.

Categories of Love: 4 categories-

1. Love of the divine the strongest form of love a person should have. Love for His Creator, the
provider of his family, his rizq, his loved ones, etc.
2. Love for the divine love for Allahs sake; loving what Allah loves. Anything which
Allah loves we too should love.

3. A natural love it is praise-worthy; we are encouraged to love our parents and spouses.
a. Anyone that you have a relationship with, i.e. parents, siblings, spouses
b. Love fo

r someone who does an act of goodness towards you

85
Surat al-Isra: 57
Light of Guidance
dat

c. A love which develops between a man and a woman; if it leads to marriage it is

rewarded / it is to be punished if it leads to sin
4. Love which is prohibited that which leads to kufr/ shirk/ sin.
Example of a man who buys something haram for his wife, though he knows it is haram but he
does it out of love for his wife. The man commits a sin.
A Muslim marries a Christian woman. She says When we have children, our children will be
raised as Christians not as Muslims. If he accepts this, then this will be shirk.
If a man wants to marry a Hindu woman, and she asks him to become Hindu, then this is haram,
shirk & kufr.

FEAR

Most fears lead you away from the object which you fear. But fear of Allah is something that
rather helps a person gain Allahs pleasure and raises someone in status before Allah .

That is only Satan who fiightens you of his suppoiteis So feai them not but feai Ne if you aie
inueeu believeis
86


Virtues of fearing Allah : There are so many ayaat and ahadith that manifest the virtues of
fearing Allah .

x The Prophet said:
There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His
Shade. One of them, the Prophet described as,
a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intimacy], but he says: 'I fear Allah
87


x In Surat at-Talaq,

86
Surat al-e-Imran: 175
87
Sahih al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim
Light of Guidance
dat

And when they have [nearly] fulfilled their term, either retain them according to acceptable terms or
part with them according to acceptable terms. And bring to witness two just men from among you and
establish the testimony for [the acceptance of] Allah . That is instructed to whoever should believe in Allah
and the Last day. And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out.
88


Narrated Abu Said , the Prophet mentioned a man from the people of the past,
and told his story saying,Allah had given him wealth and children. When his death approached, he
said to his sons, What kind of father have I been to you? They replied, You have been a good father. He
told them that he had not presented any good deed before Allah, and if Allah should get hold of him He
would punish him. So look! he added, When I die, burn me, and when I turn into coal, crush me, and
when there comes a windy day, scatter my ashes in the wind. The Prophet added, Then by Allah, he took
a firm promise from his children to do so, and they did so. (They burnt him after his death) and threw his
ashes on a windy day.
Then Allah commanded to his ashes. Be, and behold! He became a man standing! Allah said, O My
slave! What made you do what you did? He replied, For fear of You. Nothing saved him then but Allahs
Mercy (So Allah forgave him).
89


x As reward for fearing Allah , He says,


But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens
90


x Allah mentions,


And let me guide you to your Lord so you would fear [Him]?
91



88
Surat at-Talaq: 2
89
Sahih al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim
90
Surat ar-Rahman: 46
91
Surat an-Naziat: 19
Light of Guidance
dat

Categories of Fear:

1. Fear of the divine to fear Allahs punishment
2. Fear for the divine there is no fearing what Allah fears as Allah does not
fear anything; however, we are encouraged to fear our desires, the sins we commit and the
consequences.
3. Natural fear fear that is naturally incited into us, i.e. visiting a zoo, feeling scared when the
lion roars; natural fear from a parent who is angry/ or a person of authority. Phobic fears, i.e.
public speaking/ heights, etc. In and of themselves, these types of fears are neutral there is no
ruling about it. The ruling comes about as a result of this fear. Fighting off a fear to do
something good is able to provide reward.
4. Fear that leads to Allahs disobedience: sin/ kufr/ shirk. This is haram and an example of this
would fear that the dead would harm you.

HOPE

To hope the best, expect ones good deeds to be accepted, and ones sins to be forgiven. We are
encouraged to have hope of Allahs mercy and forgiveness again and again in the Quran and Sunnah,
which is clear from the following ayaat and hadith

Allah states in the Quran,

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah.
Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
92


Also in Surat Yusuf we find,


92
Surat az-Zumar: 53
Light of Guidance
dat

O my sons, go and find out about Joseph and his brother and despair not of relief from Allah. Indeed, no one
despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people.
93


The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said that Allah said:

I am as my slave expects Me to be
94


A great lesson is also derived from the verse mentioned above is that no one despairs of relief from Allah
except the disbelieving people.

Types of Hope:

1. Hope in the forgiveness of sins do not despair of the mercy of Allah .
2. Hope in the reward from Allah for the good deeds which you perform

Ibn al-Qayyim said,

These 3 emotions are like a bird. The head of this bird is love it will be the driving force for worshiping Allah. The
two wings are fear and hope these two wings must be balanced in order for the bird to reach its destination.

The companions of the Prophet would always prefer the wing of fear over the wing of
hope while they were alive. As they got older and closer to death, they would slowly transition towards
being more hopeful about their meeting with Allah and being encompassed by His mercy.

Deviance regarding love, fear an

d hope:

93
Surat Yusuf: 87
94
Bukhari & Muslim
Light of Guidance
dat

x Khawarij they said that anyone who commits a major sin is outside the fold of Islam. This is
over-exaggeration of fear. No one is beyond the mercy of Allah .
x Murjiah all can rely on the mercy of Allah, and have this upon their hearts. No need to fear
the punishment of Allah no matter what sin you commit, it will not affect your
emaan, whatsoever.
x Sufi over-emphasis on love of Allah and love for the Prophet . So engulfed in
that love that they say that Allah is in everything and is everywhere audhubillah, which Allah
does not attribute to Himself.



Moderation in worship:
We are not allowed to come up with ways to worship Allah ourselves. If a person overburdens
himself with worship, this is against Shariah

Prohibition against exaggeration of worship:
x Narrated By Anas bin Malik

A group of three men came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet asking how the Prophet worshipped
(Allah), and when they were informed about that, they considered their worship insufficient and said,
"Where are we from the Prophet as his past and future sins have been forgiven." Then one of them said, "I
will offer the prayer throughout the night forever." The other said, "I will fast throughout the year and
will not break my fast." The third said, "I will keep away from the women and will not marry forever."
Allah's Apostle came to them and said, "Are you the same people who said so-and-so? By Allah, I am more
submissive to Allah and more afraid of Him than you; yet I fast and break my fast, I do sleep and I also
marry women. So he who does not follow my tradition in religion, is not from me (not one of my
followers).
95


x Narrated By 'Aisha ,

The Prophet used to construct a loom with a Hasir at night in order to pray therein, and during the day
he used to spread it out and sit on it. The people started coming to the Prophet at night to offer the prayer
behind him When their number increased, the Prophet faced them and said. O people! Do only those good

95
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat


deeds which you can do, for Allah does not get tired (of giving reward) till you get tired, and the best deeds
to Allah are the incessant ones though they were few.
96


x Narrated By 'Aisha ,

Allah's Messenger said, "Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds will
not make you enter Paradise, and that the most beloved deed to Allah's is the most regular and constant
even though it were little.
97


x Narrated By 'Aisha ,
The Prophet was asked, "What deeds are loved most by Allah?" He said, "The most regular constant
deeds even though they may be few." He added, 'Don't take upon yourselves, except the deeds which are
within your ability.
98


x Narrated By 'Alqama ,

I asked 'Aisha, mother of the believers, "O mother of the believers! How were the deeds of the Prophet?
Did he use to do extra deeds of worship on special days?" She said, "No, but his deeds were regular and
constant, and who among you is able to do what the Prophet was able to do (i.e. in worshipping Allah)?
99


How do we protect our prayers?
Through struggle.

Scenario: Pretend you are in a castle. Every castle will have a fence around it protecting it, then
a wall. And perhaps even a moat with water in it. We have a common enemy, Shaytaan.

96
Sahih al-Bukhari
97
Sahih al-Bukhari
98
Sahih al-Bukhari
99
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat



Level 1:
Castle


Level 3:
Bridge
Level 2:
Wall

Level 1: Fardh prayers
Level 2: Sunnah prayersbefore Fajr, before and after Duhr etc.
Level 3: Nawafil prayersqiyaam-al-layl, salat-al-duha etc.

When Shaytaan attacks you, you need to have strong defences. When our Imaan goes down during
some periods, Shaytaan will be able to knock down one level of our defence. How strongly we have built
up our defences affects which level we will lose in times of hardship. Will it be our qiyam, our Sunan, or
our fardh prayers?


Light of Guidance
dat




DEFINITION OF SHIRK

Shirk is to give to someone other than Allah that which belongs to Allah exclusively. It is a right specific
to Allah given to other than Allah.

The Quran and Sunnah have defined shirk in Surat al-Baqarah as:


So do not make, along with Allah, partners (andaad) while you know (that He is the true Creator)
100


Ibn Masood asked the Prophet , What is the greatest sin? He replied:

To take alongside Allah a partner (nidd) even though it was He that created you.

Importance of Knowing

And thus do We detail th

e verses, and [thus] the way of the criminals will become evident.
101


100
Surat al-Baqarah: 22
Light of Guidance
dat

In this way Allah describes paths of evil so that we can learn to avoid these paths.

1. Acts of worship will not be accepted by Allah unless tawheed is perfected. Allah states
that


And We will regard what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed.
102

[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky,
rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you
know [that there is nothing similar to Him]
103


2. Likewise, the only way that any person will save himself from the Fire of Hell is by avoiding
shirk and dying upon Tawheed; if he is not even aware of the essence of shirk, then how can he
avoid it?
3. The primary incentive to avoid shirk is to appreciate its dangers.
4. Shirk is of many different types and categories. It is only through a critical study of these
categories that a person can ensure that he is free of all types of shirk.

Dangers of Shirk

1. Shirk is the only unforgivable sin in the sight of Allah . He says in the Quran,


101
Surat al-Anaam: 55
102
Surat al-Furqaan: 23

Light of Guidance
dat

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He
wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.
104

Allah also says,

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He
wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly gone far astray.
105


When it comes to the sins we commit, Allah will forgive us for our sins without us asking for it,
however, He will not forgive us for shirk. Disbelief and polytheism requires directly asking for
forgiveness for this.

2. Shirk prohibits a person from entering Paradise, and obligates a permanent abode in Hell. Allah
clarifies in Quran,

They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has
said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allah , my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with

104
Surat an-Nisa: 46
105
Surat an-Nisa: 116
Light of Guidance
dat

Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers
any helpers.
106


3. Shirk is so evil that it destroys all of a persons good deeds.



And it was already revealed to you and to those before you that if you should associate [anything] with
Allah , your work would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers.
107


4. If a person dies in a state of shirk, it is prohibited for his Muslim friends and relatives to seek
forgiveness for him. In Surat at-Tawbah Allah says,



It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they
were relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of Hellfire.
108


5. Allah has described those who commit shirk as being najas, or filthy. Allah
mentions in Surat at-Tawbah, ayah 28,

106
Surat al-Maidah: 72
107
Surat az-Zumar: 65
108
Surat at-Tawbah: 113
Light of Guidance
dat

O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-
Haram after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He
wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise.

Here it is meant that the spiritual filth of their creed is what is najas, and not the person.

Tawheed existed before Shirk

1. The Fitrah and Meethaaq: It is mentioned in the Quran,

And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - 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."
109


2. First shirk to occur was during the time of Prophet Nooh :


And said, 'Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd or Suwa' or Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr.
110


These were righteous men who existed before Nooh . When they passed away, Shaytaan
came to the people encouraged them to build statues to help them remember. They refused;
then he tried to convince them to have pictures, and pray before them. They refused. Then he
advised them to make pictures and keep them behind them. Gradually over time people agreed
and then forgot why these were painted. The first 10 generations after Adam stayed
upon tawheed, there was no shirk.

109
Surat al-Araf: 172
110
Surat al-Araf: 23
Light of Guidance
dat

3. Adam , the first man and father of all peoples, was a Prophet of Allah.

CATEGORIES OF SHIRK

1. Shirk in Ruboobiyyah

a. Shirk by Denial
i. Denying that creation has a Creator generally refers to atheists of our time.
Very little ayaat deal with atheists. Mostly Quran deals with polytheists/
disbelievers. Scholars say that this is because people may deny worshipping
Allah but few will actually deny the existence of a higher being.
ii. Denying the perfect existence of Allah by denying his Names and Attributes-
Aristotle s unmoved mover; in this way Allah was deprived some
of His perfect Attributes.

b. Shirk by Affirmation affirmation of a rival, i.e. one god has the good aspects and the
other god controls evil. Partial action of Allah to other than Allah, i.e. gods of Greek
mythology, separate gods for different aspects.

2. Shirk in Asmaa wa as-Sifaat

a. By comparing Allah to creation: Anthropomorphosis approach. i.e. Allahs hand is like
our hand.

b. By comparing creation to Allah: Excessive praise, sight is so great that it is god-like.
Allah describes Himself,

There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
111


The attributes may be similar in idea, but are in fact different as they are comparing
two very different things. Allahs hearing is not like our hearing. We only affirm for
Allah that which He affirms for Himself. Hearing and seeing is limited in a human

111
Surat as-Shura: 11
Light of Guidance
dat

being; Allahs hearing and seeing are not limited. We do not deny His attributes, but we
say that His Attributes are in a Manner which is befitting to Him.

3. Shirk in Uloohiyyah [sole right to be worshipped]
One may not commit shirk with Allah , but could believe that it is OK to
commit it. Application: any religion is ok so long as I dont do it. No other religion
will be accepted before Allah. He says,

Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did
not differ except after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between
themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah , then indeed, Allah is swift in [taking]
account.
112



And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in
the Hereafter, will be among the losers.
113


Minor shirk

1. Anything that leads to Major Shirk examples:
2. Anything that is called shirk but does not expel one from the fold of Islam.
Examples:
Riya [showing off] is a minor shirk

112
Surat al-e-Imran: 19
113
Surat al-e-Imran: 85
Light of Guidance
dat

As-suma [Reputation, being heard] wanting to be recognized, i.e. Hajji which inflates
the ego
In many customs, when they take an oath, they take an oath by the strangest things;
individuals swearing by their mothers head! though we are only allowed to swear by
Allah, as swearing by something glorify/ exalts it. Taking an oath in which you believe
that which you are swearing by other than Allah is the greatest thing, this is major
shirk, otherwise it is minor shirk.


Major shirk with Allah

To make acts of worship to anyone but Allah is major shirk. For example sacrificing to
anyone but Allah, performing tawaf around graves, and making dua to other than Allah is
major shirk.
Light of Guidance
dat



Tawakkul

Putting ones trust in Allah . Actions of the heart. Its perfection: to cut off hope of any good
from any created object and to hope the best and rely completely on Allah .

How does Tawwakul fluctuate?
Much like Imaan, it goes up and down based on our Imaan.

Does your tawwakul in Allah actually increase when your Imaan increases?
This helps distinguishes between a true and fake Imaan rush. For example, if after attending a
particularly inspirational event you leave and feel motivated up and until a difficulty occurs, and
suddenly you are in a bad mood again. Had your Imaan truly been increased, rather than temporarily
on a high, your reliance on Allah , and therefore your acceptance of his decree, for good or for
perceived ill, would have left you patient, rather than obstinately unhappy, in the face of difficulty.

Putting trust in Allah : Does this merely mean that we put our trust in Allah and we
do not do anything? No. We must act upon this. This is the principle difference between:
x Tawwakul [trust with action] vs.
x Tawaakul [trust without taking appropriate steps forward].

When can misunderstanding tawwakul lead to major or minor shirk?
A person goes to the doctor, gets medicine, takes it, and gets better. He believes the medicine cured
him. Is this major or minor shirk?

This is minor shirk because at the end of the day, you still truly believe that Allah is in charge. You have
simply been deluded by the effect of this medicine.
Light of Guidance
dat

Another example: your home has an alarm system. A person tries to break in, but your alarm system
goes off. If you think the alarm system is the cause of saving your belongings, this is minor shirk.

The Murjiah were a sect who were loose on several things. They did not feel that actions were a part of
emaan, therefore they said such things as: do not need to pray/ fast/ etc. However they were very strict
in saying that this type of shirk, above mentioned, took a person outside the fold of Islam.

What is the proof that a person actually needs to do an action before putting his trust in Allah?


O you who believe! Take your precautions, and either go forth (on an expedition) in parties, or go forth all
together.
114

The Hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known (lunar year) months (i.e. the 10th month, the 11th month and the first
ten days of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, i.e. two months and ten days). So whosoever intends to perform
Hajj therein (by assuming Ihram), then he should not have sexual relations (with his wife), nor commit sin, nor
dispute unjustly during the Hajj. And whatever good you do, (be sure) Allah knows it. And take a provision (with
you) for the journey, but the best provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness). So fear Me, O men of
understanding!
115


Major shirk was the easiest to commit during the time of Ibrahim . They used to create
their own idols, and then believed they could benefit them or harm them.

How does one go about increasing their tawakkul in Allah?

114
Surat An-Nisaa, 4:71
115
Surat Al-Baqara, 2:197
Light of Guidance
dat

Ibn Abbas reports the best statement of tawakkul was said by both Prophet and
Ibrahim (AS). Allah is sufficient for me and He is the best of Disposer of Affairs.

Q. People of other religions make dua to other than Allah, and their supplications are being answered.
How is this possible?
This is a test from Allah . Will they continue to commit shirk or will they repent? Allah
does not sustain us out of our asking for it. Rather He sustains us out of His mercy.
Iblees is the worse of creation, but even when he made dua to Allah , Allah granted
him his request.

To rely on physical and tangible means is minor shirk; to invent means and rely upon them is major
shirk. True Tawakkul necessitates actions.

Sabr

x Patience from a linguistic perspective it means to restrain.

x Islamically, it means: To refrain from doing that which is undesirable to that which is desirable,
meaning to avoid doing something immediately so as to do something better later.




(1) O you (Muhammad SAWS) enveloped in garments! (2) Arise and warn! (3) And magnify your Lord (Allah)! (4)
And purify your garments! (5) And keep away from Ar-Rujz (the idols)! (6) And give not a thing in order to have
more (or consider not your deeds of obedience to Allah as a favour to Him). (7) And be patient for the sake of your
Lord (i.e. perform your duty to Allah)!
116



116
Surath Al-Muddaththir, 74:1-7
Light of Guidance
dat

"O my son! Aqim-As-Salat (perform As-Salat), enjoin (on people) Al-Ma'ruf - (Islamic Monotheism and all that is
good), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief in the Oneness of Allah, polytheism of all kinds and all that
is evil and bad), and bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, these are some of the important
commandments (ordered by Allah with no exemption).
117



So be patient (O Muhammad SAWS), with a good patience.
118


Narrated By Anas bin Malik ,
The Prophet passed by a woman who was weeping beside a grave. He told her to fear Allah and be patient. She said
to him, "Go away, for you have not been afflicted with a calamity like mine." And she did not recognize him. Then
she was informed that he was the Prophet. so she went to the house of the Prophet and there she did not find any
guard. Then she said to him, "I did not recognize you." He said, "Verily, the patience is at the first stroke of a
calamity."
119


x Patience for the sake of Allah is an integral part of Iman.
Three types of patience:
1. Patience in response to a situation that Allah has decreed. This is the lowest level of
patience required in Islam.
2. Patience in restraining ones self from committing sins. When we want our dua to be answered,
we should look to our sins and see if they are preventing us from having our supplications
answered. Refer to Hadeeth below.
3. Patience in constantly worshipping Allah Highest form.

117
Surat Luqman, 31:17
118
Surat Al-Maarij, 70:5
119
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat

Lord of the heavens and of the earth, and of all that is between them; so worship Him, and be constant
and patient in His worship: knowest thou of any who is worthy of the same Name as He?
120


Narrated by 'Abdullah bin 'Umar ,

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Three men from among those who were before you, set out together till they
reached a cave at night and entered it. A big rock rolled down the mountain and closed the mouth of the cave. They
said (to each other), Nothing could save you Tom this rock but to invoke Allah by giving referenda to the righteous
deed which you have done (for Allah's sake only).' So, one of them said, 'O Allah! I had old parents and I never
provided my family (wife, children etc.) with milk before them. One day, by chance I was delayed, and I came late
(at night) while they had slept. I milked the sheep for them and took the milk to them, but I found them sleeping. I
disliked to provide my family with the milk before them. I waited for them and the bowl of milk was in my hand
and I kept on waiting for them to get up till the day dawned. Then they got up and drank the milk. O Allah! If I did
that for Your Sake only, please relieve us from our critical situation caused by this rock.' So, the rock shifted a little
but they could not get out."

The Prophet added, "The second man said, 'O Allah! I had a cousin who was the dearest of all people to me and I
wanted to have sexual relations with her but she refused. Later she had a hard time in a famine year and she came
to me and I gave her one-hundred-and-twenty Dinars on the condition that she would not resist my desire, and she
agreed. When I was about to fulfil my desire, she said: It is illegal for you to outrage my chastity except by
legitimate marriage. So, I thought it a sin to have sexual intercourse with her and left her though she was the
dearest of all the people to me, and also I left the gold I had given her. O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only,
please relieve us from the present calamity.' So, the rock shifted a little more but still they could not get out from
there."

The Prophet added, "Then the third man said, 'O Allah! I employed few labourers and I paid them their wages with
the exception of one man who did not take his wages and went away. I invested his wages and I got much property
thereby. (Then after some time) he came and said to me: O Allah's slave! Pay me my wages. I said to him: All the
camels, cows, sheep and slaves you see, are yours. He said: O Allah's slave! Don't mock at me. I said: I am not
mocking at you. So, he took all the herd and drove them away and left nothing. O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake
only, please relieve us from the present suffering.' So, that rock shifted completely and they got out walking.
121


What is the reward of patience?
x Allah will accompany those who are patient.

120
Surat Maryam 19:65
121
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat

O you who believe! Seek help in patience and As-Salat (the prayer). Truly! Allah is with As-Sabirun (the
patient).
122

x Improvement in character.
x Patience has no direct reward for it.

And endure you patiently (O Muhammad SAWS), your patience is not but from Allah. And grieve not
over them (polytheists and pagans), and be not distressed because of what they plot.
123


Instances when reward is promised due to patience:
x Paradise for a person who loses his sight and is patient.
x Paradise for the mother who loses 2 of her children and is patient.
x Many others


Duaa

Duaa is one of the greatest acts of worship. It is the single most performed act of worship. Dua is of
2 types dua al-ibadah (of worship) and dua at-talab (of request).The proof is the hadith narrated
An-Nu'man ibn Bashir , the Prophet said, Supplication (du'a) is itself the
worship.
124



Since it is the single most performed act of worship, it is unfortunately also the single most
common act of shirk. Dua at-talab, in asking in other than Allah , is the most likely type of
shirk to occur with dua.


122
Surat al-Baqarah, 2:153
123
Surat an-Nahl, 16:127
124
Sunan at-Tirmidhi
Light of Guidance
dat

And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad SAWS) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to
them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any
mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.
125

"And invoke not besides Allah, any such that will neither profit you nor harm you, but if (in case) you did so,
you shall certainly be one of the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers)."
126


x No one has the ability to harm us or benefit us except for Allah .

x The implications of making duaa to other than Allah are many:
x That object loves you and cares about you more than Allah does. Indicates that you
believe that the thing which you are making duaa to looks after you better than Allah
.
x That object can hear your duaa.
x That object has the power to respond to you.

x Etiquettes of making duaa
1. It is recommended that you make duaa whilst in a state of wudu
2. Recommended you face the qibla while making duaa
3. A person should praise Allah before making duaa
4. Whatever you are asking Allah for, you should use His name/ Attribute
accordingly.
5. Send salutations and salam upon the Prophet . Any duaa without this will be
suspended between the heavens and the earth.
6. Any duaa you make, you should not be hasty for its response. Allah promises
will be answered, in one of three ways: every duaa
1. Whatever y

ou want, when you want it;

125
Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:186
126
Surat Yunus, 10:106
Light of Guidance
dat

2. Delay what you are asking for, and deliver it when it is better for you;
3. He will protect you from equivalent harm.


Istiadhah

Alif-seen-ta i-s-t, at the beginning of a word: It is as if you are requesting/seeking something
Istighfar means to seek Allah s forgiveness. Aadhah is to seek protection

And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaitan (Satan), then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-Hearer,
All-Knower.
127


Istiadhah seek protection/ shelter, primarily from Shaytaan and any evil.
It is permissible to say O Allah, I seek refuge with the Quran from Shaytaan.
I seek refuge in the beautiful and complete words of Allah .

Seeking Help (Istianah and Istighathah)

Istianah to seek the help of Allah . Need Allahs help in doing something.


You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).
128


The Prophet taugh

t us to say,

127
Surat Al-Araf, 7:200
128
Surat Al-Fatiha, 1:5
Light of Guidance
dat

O Allah, help me to remember You, and to be grateful to You, and to worship You in the most perfect way.
129


From this concept we understand that:
1. Even to worship Allah properly we need Allah s help. This is because
mankind is always in need of Allah s help.
2. You will never do anything successfully without Allah s help.

Istighathah: it is a type of help that consists:
1. Something supernatural and beyond human capability, e.g. seeking Allah s bounty in
your sustenance, or seeking children;
2. That which is tangible vs. intangible. Istiana is intangible, tangible is istighathah. Asking for
gratitude, being a good worshipper, etc. is istianah. Asking for His help to secure find a career,
a good spouse, etc. is istighathah.


'And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the jinn, but they (jinn)
increased them (mankind) in sin and transgression.

The result of their seeking refuge in anything other than Allah lead to the two meanings of
rahaqaa:
1. Arrogance [the jinn in the ayat];
2. Fear and despair [mankind in this ayat].

Therefore, the usual effect of someone seeking refuge in other than Allah is that this person
becomes arrogant as he believes the trust you place in him is deserved, and you begin to fear and
despair the possibility that he might refuse your request for refuge/ help/ protection, and you may
unjustly fear that this rejection may bring you harm. These are dangerous possibilities for one who
does not understand that Allah alone has power over everything. For this reason, Allah
s choice of the word rahaqaa in this ayat is absolutely perfect as to the 2 meanings mentioned above.

129
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat

Vowing (Nadhr)

x A Nadhr is a religious promise that is allowed to be made with Allah . Not recommended in
and of itself, but if done, must be in Allah s name.

x It is the only act of worship in Islam that is not recommended.

x O Allah, grant me ____, and I will ____. This type of conditional clause or contract made with
Allah was recommended against by the Prophet . He warned that it
increases the miser in his miserliness. A person who is very stingy will be increased in his or her
stinginess in that he will learn to only do good things when there are immediate rewards or
gratification to his or her actions.


They perform (their) vows, and they fear a Day whose evil flies far and wide.
130


Allah praises those who fulfill the act of keeping their promises, but He does not
necessarily praise the act of making such a vow itself. If this vow goes unfulfilled, one must
expiate that sin in one of 3 specific ways.
The kaffaraa for this are:
1. free a slave;
2. feed 10 people or cloth 10 people to your own standard;
3. fast 3 days.

Sacrifice

Dhab = cutting the throat; Nahr = is to take a spear and impale the jugular to drain the blood.

When is sacrifice actually done?
There are two types:

130
Surat Al-Insan, 76:7
Light of Guidance
dat

1. To thank Allah e.g. walima, aqeeqah (1 vs. 2 sheep), etc.

2. Purely for the sake of food whatever we eat.


Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only).
131


Say (O Muhammad SAWS): "Verily, my Salat (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the
Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists).
132


Tawaaf

The angels started tawaaf. They started tawaaf around baytal-mamur, situated above the Kabah in the
heavens.
1. A person makes tawaaf around a grave, wanting to please Allah .
Is this shirk or a sin? It is a sin.
2. The same person makes tawaaf, saying so and so can grant me such and such speaking of the
person in the grave.
3. Or he makes tawaaf trying to please the person in the grave, hoping for that persons
intercession in front of Allah . These are shirk.

Therefore the standard definition of Shirk is: to give a right to other than Allah which
belongs to Allah .


Then let them complete their prescribed duties (Manasik of Hajj) and perform their vows, and circumambulate
the Ancient House (the Ka'bah at Makkah).
133




131
Surat Al-Kauther, 108:2
132
Surat Al-Anaam, 6:162
133
Surat Al-Hajj, 22:29
Light of Guidance
dat

Sajdah

And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Prostrate yourselves not to the
sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you (really) worship Him.
134


Was the Sajdah to Yusuf (AS) by his family shirk? No, it was not shirk because it was a sajdah of greeting
allowed in the Shariah of Yusuf (AS) but later on prohibited in the Shariah of Prophet


134
Surat Fussilat, 41:37
Light of Guidance
dat




Mabrook vs. Mubarak: Linguistically, it is incorrect to say Mabrook to someone who, for example, has
just gotten married. Mubarak would be better.

Linguistically Barakah has two meanings:
1. To remain and linger
2. To nurture and generate

Islamically, it refers to the presence of divine blessings in an object and increasing those blessings.

x All good is only from Allah ALL good is from Allah alone

Say (O Muhammad SAWS): "O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and
You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honour whom You will, and You humiliate
whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able to do all things.
135

And believe no one except the one who follows your religion. Say (O Muhammad SAWS): "Verily! Right
guidance is the Guidance of Allah" and do not believe that anyone can receive like that which you have
received, otherwise they would engage you in argument before your Lord. Say (O Muhammad SAWS): "All the

135
Surat Aal-e-Imran, 3:26
Light of Guidance
dat

bounty is in the Hand of Allah; He grants to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs,
All-Knower."
136


x The word tabarak is found in a few ayaat as well


Blessed be He Who sent down the criterion (of right and wrong, i.e. this Qur'an) to His slave (Muhammad
SAWS) that he may be a warner to the 'Alamin (mankind and jinn).
137



Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the dominion; and He is Able to do all things.
138


x Meaning of tabaarak
1. He is exalted (in His perfection, and His being, and free from all defects)
2. He is holy and blessed
3. All good emanates from Him

x Only Allah decides who, what and when something or someone has barakah.
To claim that someone or something is blessed, it requires proof from Allah .

What is Mubarak?


"And He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat, as long as I
live."
139

.
Therefore Prophet Isaa (AS) is blessed as mentioned here.


136
Surat Aal-e-Imran, 3:73
137
Surat Al-Furqan, 25:1
138
Surat Al-Mulk, 67:1
139
Surat Maryam, 19:31
Light of Guidance
dat

Narrated By Imran ibn Husayn ,

A man came to the Prophet and said: Peace be upon you! He responded to his salutation. He then
sat down. The Prophet said: Ten. Another man came and said: Peace and Allah 's mercy
be upon you! He responded to his salutation when he sat down. He said: Twenty. Another man came and said: Peace
and Allah 's mercy and blessings be upon you! He responded to him and said when he sat down: and
blessings be upon you! He responded to him and said when he sat down: Thirty.
140



Some things which are blessed with barakah

1. The Quran

And this (the Qur'an) is a blessed Book which We have sent down, confirming (the revelations) which
came before it, so that you may warn the Mother of Towns (i.e. Makkah) and all those around it. Those
who believe in the Hereafter believe in it (the Qur'an), and they are constant in guarding their Salat
(prayers).
141


In it is guidance for anyone who looks into it. Its recitation will protect people. Recitation of a
single letter gives 10 rewards. The Quran increases the blessings in ones life.

2. All prophets, especially the Prophet
x Blessings of his teachings. No man is quoted more. His teachings are very concise but
are very profound.
x Blessings of his persona.
x Blessings in his actions and duaas Abu Hurayrah after 3 years of
being Muslim, was one of the people with the most ahadeeth memorized.

140
Sunan Abu-Dawud
141
Surat Al-Anaam, 6:92
Light of Guidance
dat

During times when people were busy working, he would busy himself with
spending time with the Prophet .
x Blessings in his physical persona His perspiration smelled like a beautiful
fragrance. His wudu left wadu [left-over water from wudu], which people used
to race to use for themselves.

3. Angels they bring down the mercy of Allah and His tranquility. Any gathering of
knowledge the angels surround them with Allahs mercy.

4. Pious people Some people are known as as-saliheen, awliya, etc. How are these people
actually blessed? They are blessed in that through their immense worship, Allah will
answer their duaa more than He might answer the duaa of other people. However, they are
not blessed in the sense of having extra-ordinary power; they cannot forgive the sins of
anyone.

Some places which are blessed

1. The Kabah, the city of Makkah and surrounding holy sites.


Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full of blessing,
and a guidance for Al-'Alamin (mankind and jinn).
142


2. Prophet (SWS)s Masjid and the city of Madinah


3. Masjid al-Aqsa specifically, and Shaam (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria) in general

142
Surat Aal-e-Imran, 3:96
Light of Guidance
dat

Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) [above all that (evil) they associate with Him] Who took His slave
(Muhammad SAWS) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at Makkah) to Al-Masjid-al-Aqsa
(in Jerusalem), the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him
(Muhammad SAWS) of Our Ayat (proofs, evidence, lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-
Seer.
143


4. All Masjids (the most beloved places to Allah )

Some timings which are blessed

1. The month of Ramadan, specifically Laylat al Qadr [= 1000 months of worship] 10 last days of
Ramadan = Most blessed nights of the year.

2. The ten days of Dhul-Hijjah Most blessed days of the year.

3. The Sacred Months (Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab)

4. Friday (the best day that the sun rises) half an hour before the sun goes down, or during
middle period between 2 khutbahs.

5. Last third of the night Answer to any prayers/ requests, best time for supplication and
worship.

6. Early morning (especially for obtaining worldly blessings) Work done during the early
morning is blessed.

Factors that bring barakah

x Ikhlaas The more sincere an individual is during an act, the more blessing that act will acquire.
For every good deed that a person does, Allah multiplies that reward 10 to 700 times.
This is relative to their sincerity. The Muwatta of Imam Malik was one of the earliest books of
ahadeeth. During Imam Maliks time, the Umayyid dynasty was ruling and they wanted a fiqh
manual to rule by. Many other scholars tried to write their own Al-Muwatta, up to 40 of them
were written, but none of them remain to this day. It is said that this is due to the sincerity of
e same is said about Imam al-Bukharis Sahih. Imam Malik. Th


143
Surat Al-Isra, 17:1
Light of Guidance
dat

x Mentioning Allah s name at the beginning of any act Saying bismillah before
starting an act, you are insinuating: in your name O Allah, I am doing so-and-so therefore
adding blessing to that thing.


x Following the proper sunnahs

x The more people you invite into that act, the more blessed it will become.

x Making duaa for something to be blessed.

x Nothing elongates ones life more than maintaining ones ties of kinship.

Tabaruk with Prophet after his death

x Allowed The majority say that regardless if the Prophet is dead or alive, if it can
be authentically be proven that it belonged to the Prophet then it is permitted to
seek tabarruk from it. This is difficult to apply given that it is difficult to prove authenticity. /
The minority say that anything that was used during the life of the Prophet is not
permissible to seek barakah in it after his death.

x Prohibited
x Travelling with the intention to visit his grave sole intention is not permissible. A
religious journey can only be taken with three destinations in mind, three masjids:

1. Maskid al-Aqsa;
2. masjid al-Haram in Makkah;
3. Masjid an-Nabi

It is disliked to frequently visit the grave while visiting Madinah, because it may lead to
the forming of a habit which, if observed externally without people realizing the
intention, may be interpreted as an act of worship. An example of this is one who says
Well, my father used to visit the Prophet s grave all the time, therefore I
am going too, while he thinks it is an act of worship, not realizing that his father never
had the intention of worship. In one hadeeth the Prophet warns: Do not
Light of Guidance
dat

make my grave a place of festivity, and supplicate Allah for me, for your supplication reaches me
wherever you are
144


Prohibition necessitates impermissibility. The very fact that the Prophet
s grave was visited by the Companions is proof that it can be done, but that it must
be done in moderation.

x Seeking blessings by kissing or touching the grave there is no blessing in any of this.

x Asking the Prophet to make duaa to Allah Bidah on the
angle that none of the companions did this and the Prophet did not teach
this bidah. The second opinion states that people who are making duaa to the
Prophet are attributing a trait that belongs to Allah , which is
to hear something in this world while he is in the next. This is an act of shirk.


x Seeking the exact places that the Prophet prayed in accidentally (vs. intentionally).
Abdullah ibn Umar often prayed in the same place as the Prophet
, he did it out of love of the Prophet . Now people do it out of love of
the place. They falsely believe that this site is somehow sacred, without having proof.

x Seeking blessings by doing sunnah or bidah acts on the day of his birth. There are
several different opinions as to the birthdate of the Prophet . There are
over 10 different opinions, or more. It was not a significant day when he was born
therefore it was not really well remembered. However, the day of his death is well
remembered. To specify a day of birthday and do specific acts, is haram. Except for
fasting: he mentioned he was born on a Monday, and he continued to fast
on Mondays [and Thursdays]. Therefore it is permissible to fast on this day. Though
really, we have no idea when this day exactly is as it is not recorded authentically in
any source with any level of certainty. If it were very important, the Sahabah surely
would have made an effort to preserve practices relevant to the event.



Tabarruk with

saints

144
Sunan Abi Dawud
Light of Guidance
dat

Ibn Rajab says:
To summarize, these matters are a fitnah for the one who exalts and the one who is exalted, due to the over-
exaltation that will occur, and which will lead to bidah, and maybe even lead to a type of shirk.
145


Because Allah is the source of all barakah, proof is required to claim that something or
someone is blessed. Two conditions:
1. Person has to be proven to be a person of tawheed. This person must pray and be a person of
good deeds.
2. Allah gives the righteous people some clear signs. One of those signs could be that
they regularly have dreams which come true. Its possible that this person might be well known
that their duaa are habitually answered very swiftly. Also, some people have specific miracles.

How do we draw the line with these people? You ask them to pray for you. And that is all they are
permitted to do for you.

Two Important Evidences
1. Hadeeth of Abu Waqid al-Laythi

Abu Waqid Al-Laithi said, We were out with Allahs Messenger (Sallal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam)
on the campaign to Hunain while we had just left disbelief (Kufr) for Islam. The Mushrikin had a
Sidra (lote-tree) that they would stay there and hang their arms on, called Dhat Anwat. When
we passed a Sidra, we asked, O Messenger of Allah, wont you make for us another Dhat Anwat
just like their Dhat Anwat? Allahs Messenger (Sallal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said, Allahu
Akbar! By the One (Allah) who holds my soul in His Hand, verily these are the ways of earlier
nations, you have said exactly as Bani Israel said to Musa:


O Musa (Moses)! Make for us an ilh (a god) as they have lihah (gods)." He said:

"Verily, you are a people who know not (the Majesty and Greatness of Allh and what is
obligatory upon you, i.e. to worship none but Allh Alone, the One and the Only God of all that
exists)." Make for us a god just as their god, He said: Verily you are a people who now not.
(7:138)

you will follow the ways of those who went before you.
146
Certainly

145
al-Hikam al-Jadeerah, p. 55
146
Sunan at-Tirmidhi
Light of Guidance
dat

2. Basis of the two idols, al-Laat and al-Uzza They lived during the time of the Quraysh. They
used to go to this area of the idols, and cook, or rub their clothes, seeking benefit from them.

Is improper tabarruk shirk or bidah?
It becomes shirk when you believe the object in and of itself is blessed, and it can bless you by itself. It
is bidah if you believe this object is blessed by Allah but you have no proof.

Incident of Umar with the Tree of Hudaybiyyah
Where the tree of hudaybiyyah was, some people wanted to get blessing from the place. Umar
destroyed the place to avoid fitnah.

Reasons for this type of bidah
1. Ignorance of the reality of tabarruk Many people do not know that barakah is from Allah
only.

2. Over-exalting the status of saints giving humans attributes which are beyond human.

3. Imitating non-Muslims people see others celebrating birthdays (Christmas), imitating Hindus
in India, etc.

4. Considering non-sacred places to be sacred people think some places become blessed because
of certain events, e.g. a flower growing on a grave. There is no proof for any of this.

5. Analogy between Prophet and saints The scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets. People
think that scholars / ulama are like prophets because of this.

6. Fabricated stories
Light of Guidance
dat





Anything you hang on your body or on your walls seeking supernatural protection from it. This is what
is called a Talisman or Taweedh.
An omen is that which you cannot hang or wear, but rather signs: horseshoe, rabbits foot, shooting
star, etc. Anything a superstition is formed with can be an omen.
RULE: To ascribe any type of supernatural power to other than Allah , or to believe that an object in and
of itself can cause harm or good, is pure shirk.

And verily, if you ask them: "Who created the heavens and the earth?" Surely they will say: "Allah (has created
them)." Say: "Tell me then, the things that you invoke besides Allah - if Allah intended some harm for me, could
they remove His harm? Or if He (Allah) intended some mercy for me, could they withhold His Mercy?" Say:
"Sufficient for me is Allah; in Him those who trust (i.e. believers) must put their trust. "
147


Clearly the answer above is NO. Allah is the one who benefits.

Explicit Narrations on the Topic

These objects would clearly have been prohibited even if explicit ahadeeth did not exist with regards to
them. However, to make it even more clear, we have a hadeeth prohibiting talismans for:

1. Protecting them

selves, their children, or their animals from evil.

147
Surat Az-Zumar, 39:38
Light of Guidance
dat

2. Curing them from sickness

3. Bringing good luck to them

4. Increasing or breaking love between spouses

x Incident of Ibn Masood

It was narrated from Zaynab the wife of Abd-Allaah ibn Masood from Abd-Allaah that he said,
I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, Spells
(ruqyah), amulets and love-charms are shirk. I said, Why do you say this? By Allaah, my eye
was weeping with a discharge and I kept going to So and so, the Jew, who did a spell for me.
When he did the spell, it calmed down. Abd-Allaah said: That was just the work of the
Shaytaan who was picking it with his hand, and when (the Jew) uttered the spell, he stopped.
All you needed to do was to say as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) used to say: Adhhib il-bas Rabb al-naas ishfi anta al-Shaafi laa shifaaa illa shifaauka
shifaaan laa yughaadiru saqaman (Remove the harm, O Lord of mankind, and heal, You are the
Healer. There is no healing but Your healing, a healing which leaves no disease behind.
148


x Prophet himself refused to take oath of allegiance from one who was wearing it.

It was narrated from Uqbah ibn Aamir al-Juhani that a group came to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) [to swear their allegiance (bayah) to him]. He
accepted the bayah of nine of them but not of one of them. They said, O Messenger of Allaah,
you accepted the bayah of nine but not of this one. He said, He is wearing an amulet. The
man put his hand (in his shirt) and took it off, then he (the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)) accepted his bayah. He said, Whoever wears an amulet has committed
shirk.
149


Abdullah ibn Masood was asked what to do if they are sick. I tell you as the Prophet
used to tell people in how to protect themselves. That duaa is:


148
Sunan Abi Dawud & Sunan Ibn Majah
149
Musnad Imam Ahmad
Light of Guidance
dat

O Allah, Lord of Mankind, Make the evil and harm go away. Cure because You are the only Curer. There is no cure
except for Your cure. A cure that, when it comes, it eliminates all sickness and disease.
150


What about Quranic verses?

Ibn Masood said: They used to hate all types of talismans. Quranic ones and non-Quranic
ones.
1. No evidence that the Prophet himself did it.
2. Others will not know the content, so presume it is allowed to wear.
3. The wearer will without doubt expose it to circumstances not befitting.

Omens

What is sinful is to act upon it; to merely feel it is a sign of weakness in Iman.
Examples of superstitions: a black cat, shattering of a mirror results in seven years of bad luck, walking
under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors, etc.

At-tattayyur based on what bird they saw in the sky, the Arabs believed their day would be affected.
Good fortune from a light-coloured bird vs. bad fortune from a dark coloured bird. This was
pronounced shirk.

A righteous man once said, There is not a single one of us who cannot help themselves in feeling
something in their heart upon seeing an omen, but as we increase our tawakkul and decrease that fear
in our hearts these will cease to affect us.

Good omens?
Optimism is a part of Iman, therefore anything that helps one to be optimistic is encouraged.
What does this mean? Glad tidings may come in different forms.
E.g. in the treaty of hudaybiyyah, a messenger was sent, his name was Suhayl. In the Arabic language
this name, Sahl means ease, therefore to have a messenger named Suhayl a small ease was a good
sign which the Prophet felt was a good sign from Allah . This developed
optimism.

150
Sunan Abi Dawud
Light of Guidance
dat





Fake Magic
1. Misdirection
2. Optical Illusion e.g. David Copperfield
3. Technology

None of these things take the Islamic ruling on magic.

Real Magic
x Sihr = magic. Refers to black magic. Magic that has harmful effects.
x Real magic only occurs when involving the jinn.
x Generally speaking, the jinn are invisible to us unless they themselves choose to become apparent.
x They are extremely, extremely fast.
x They are extremely physically strong. They can lift heavy objects with great ease.
x Allah commanded the jinns and the angels to prostrate to Adam (AS).
x Allah gave the jinn physical strength, but gave human beings much greater mental
strength.
x Allah has ennobled the status of mankind over all creation.
x Ibn al-Qayyim said: In this life, the jinn are invisible to us unless they choose to expose
themselves. In the Hereafter, humans will be invisible to jinn except those who choose to
expose themselves to them.

x Reality of magic: seeking help from the jinn.

x Nature of jinns is that they crave attention and adoration. In order for the jinn to work for you, it
must be pleased, i.e. worshipped. Among the jinn there are all sorts of believers, disbelievers,
polytheists, etc. Among them are the Satan worshippers as well. The evil jinn will crave attention. It
Light of Guidance
dat

is very bratty, it wants attention. Even an 800-year-old jinn may be whiny, crying. They will love
that you do great evil.
x Penalty for practicing magic is death The Prophet said: The punishment for the
magician is that he is to be struck by the sword. Allah Says in the Quran,
x

They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaiman (Solomon).
Sulaiman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that
came down at Babylon to the two angels, Harut and Marut, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone
(such things) till they had said, "We are only for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)." And
from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could
not thus harm anyone except by Allah's Leave. And they learn that which harms them and profits them not.
And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed
was that for which they sold their ownselves, if they but knew.
Types of Magic

1. Summon jinns to attack or even kill other people, or take over their bodies. Most common
effects of magic. Jinn can possess a persons body without magic being done. The jinn have laws
as well Among humans, it is a crime to kill another human being. The jinn have a general rule
also: you do not take over a human body. When they do so, they are committing a crime. The
greatest reason for people to do this, mostly because of the laws of attraction. A jinn may fall in
love with a woman and possess her body. The same can happen to a man but it is rarer, though
when it happens it is much more severe. To protect yourself from jinn, the Prophet
advised people not to walk around undressed in your own home. He
encouraged us to remain naked for a minimal amount of time. At times, the jinn just want to be
mischievous. A jinn that is hired to bother a person may cause them issues at night.
2. Summon jinns to break marriages, prevent or hinder intercourse. A jealous person may hire a
magician to try to ruin a relationship.
3. Blow on knots with incantations. This deals with 2 things:
1. taking someones hair, tie knots on it, and say spells over it;
2. take a garment of yours, cut it into pieces, tie knots onto it, read spells on it.

Light of Guidance
dat

Two things may happen

1. Mentally affected, as if you are being dumbed down. Intelligence drops down;
2. May become deluded. This occurred to the Prophet , which is when
suratal-Falaq & Naas were revealed.

4. Those whom others go to with the pretext of lifting magic spells, but who use magic instead
(fight magic with magic). The jinn, amongst themselves, they have some serious ego issues.
Rivalry can occur between them. A person might go to a magician after magic is done upon
them and asks for relief, and revenge - to fight magic with magic.

Two people fall into disbelief when magic occurs:
1. the one who summons the jinn [the magician]
2. the one who goes to a magician.

5. Those whom the Jinn whisper to while pretending to see future; any type of forture-tellers.
6. Look at the stars attempting to predict the future. This is astrology.

Some more points about magic:
x Allah created every human being with a Qareen. He is a jinn who follows you
everywhere you go. His job is to whisper evil suggestions your own personal jinn can often
speak to the jinn of a fortune-teller, and it appears as though the fortune-teller knows things
that are unseen.

x Neither the jinn nor the magician have full control over each other.

x The jinn are usually very vengeful people. If you bother the jinn, they will try to ruin your life.
One of the reasons we make the adhkar of entering the washroom is to protect your from the
jinn.

Astrology vs. Astronomy

Astronomy: Physical science which maps the movement of the stars. Permissible. One of the greatest
creations of Allah is the stars and planets.
One of the bigger planets is Jupiter, it is ~100x bigger than planet earth. It is mostly a planet of gas, it
does not have much physical, solid substance. Allah also created meteors, shooting stars, etc.
Recently a meteor 3 times the size of planet earth was headed for Earth, but rather its trajectory lead it
to hit Jupiter. Despite the fact that this planet is made up of mostly gaseous substance, it completely
broke up the meteor such that the Earth was spared from complete destruction.
Light of Guidance
dat

If you wish to increase your Imaan, two fields which are recommended to study are biology and
astronomy. Both these sciences are extremely humbling.
Astrology: paranormal, metaphysical craft which pretends to predict the future. Zodiacal signs come
under this category. This is HARAM.

Evils of visiting an astrologer, sorcerer, etc

x If you believe in what he says Consensus: this takes you outside the fold of Islam. To do
astrology and believe in it takes you out of Islam.

x If you dont believe in what he says The person has committed a major sin if he reads or
consults this kind of material but does not believe in it this includes reading out of curiosity
his prayers will not be accepted for 40 days, but he is still within the fold of Islam. He will still
have to pray but he will not be rewarded for those prayers for 40 days.


What is the proper way to combat magic?

Allah did not create anything of harm in this world except that Allah has taught us
how to protect ourselves from it.
1. Islam protects against magic in its practice.
2. Learning the duaa of different situations will help to be better protected.
3. The stronger the relationship with the Quran, the greater that person will be protected.
4. Staying away from those things which tempt the jinn.

Removing effects of magic:
1. Reciting Quran over the individual
2. More severe cases require specific surahs,
x Surat Al-fatihah
x The last two ayaat of Surat al-Baqarah
x Ayatul-Kursi
x The 102nd ayah urat al-Baqarah
x Story of Musa (AS) and the magicians in Suratal-Araaf
x Tast three surahs of Quran Ikhlaas, Falaq, Naas.

Light of Guidance
dat

3. If tying of knots is done, then finding the object itself and destroy it, or undoing the knots or
threads.
4. Recitation over water, then bathing in that water.
5. Recitation over olive oil and rubbing this in as well.
6. Athaan is a strong tool to combat magic.
7. The greatest tool against this: tawakkul in Allah .

In certain areas of the world, magicians may place certain objects inside the house.

Magic or Astrology for the fun of it

1. Ones heart becomes attached to them, instead of Allah

2. One believes that they know the ilm al-ghayb

3. In case of magicians, one believes that they have power to bring good or deflect evil

4. Allah and His Messenger have clearly prohibited these deeds in the strongest terms
Punishment is death. Very few things in Islam have this severe punishment.

Why does Islam have such a severe punishment (death) against the practice of magic?
1. The strong impact it has on people, e.g. ruining marriages/ relationships.
2. Distances people from their creator
3. Destroys a persons dunya and their Akhirah

Light of Guidance
dat




The Prophet was the highest saint possible, the most holiest of men possible. If he
himself cannot help us after his death, then how can we expect that anyone else might be able to
intercede on our behalf?

State of any being worshipped besides Allah

Allah describes them as being created themselves (saints/ intercessors)

13) He merges the night into the day (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the night is added to the hours of the day),
and He merges the day into the night (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the day is added to the hours of the night).
And He has subjected the sun and the moon: each runs its course for a term appointed. Such is Allah, your Lord; His
is the kingdom. And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmir (the thin
membrane over the date-stone). (14) If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call; and if (in case) they
were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your
worshipping them. And none can inform you (O Muhammad SAWS) like Him Who is the All-Knower (of
everything).
151

Here Allah is responding to the Quraysh who used to say these things.

151
Surat Faatir 35:13-14
Light of Guidance
dat

True worshippers of Allah

Those whom they call upon [like 'sa (Jesus) - son of Maryam (Mary), 'Uzair (Ezra), angel] desire (for themselves)
means of access to their Lord (Allah), as to which of them should be the nearest; and they ['sa (Jesus), 'Uzair (Ezra),
angels and others] hope for His Mercy and fear His Torment. Verily, the Torment of your Lord is (something) to be
afraid of!
152


Description of the Prophet Muhammad

(187) They ask you about the Hour (Day of Resurrection): "When will be its appointed time?" Say: "The knowledge
thereof is with my Lord (Alone). None can reveal its time but He. Heavy is its burden through the heavens and the
earth. It shall not come upon you except all of a sudden." They ask you as if you have a good knowledge of it. Say:
"The knowledge thereof is with Allah (Alone), but most of mankind know not." (188) Say (O Muhammad SAWS): "I
possess no power over benefit or harm to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (Unseen),
I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner,
and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe."
153



152
Surat al-Israa, 17:57
153
Surat al-Araf, 7:187-188
Light of Guidance
dat

x Death of Abu Talib Prophet could not do anything for him.

x Incident of Warning the Quraysh Prophet invited everyone of his close family to a
meeting, and told them that he could not help them insofar as they could not help themselves. The
Prophet later had a tooth broken in battle of Uhud, and asked How does a people
who have drenched the face of their Prophet in blood [expect to] prosper? Allah
responded in:


Not for you (O Muhammad SAWS, but for Allah) is the decision; whether He turns in mercy to (pardons) them
or punishes them; verily, they are the Zalimun (polytheists, disobedients, and wrong-doers).
154


x Muadh s prostration to him

Origins of Shirk
Originated by over-exalting pious people who lived before the time of Nooh (AS).


"And they have said: 'You shall not leave your gods: nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth, nor Ya'uq
nor Nasr' (these are the names of their idols).
155


x Useful to quote Christians as an example 324 years after the birth of Christ, he was made into a
son of god.

Grave worship and Mausoleums
x Forbidden to worship in a graveyard, or to bury someone in a masjid Umm Salamah (R) went
to Ethiopia and saw a church there with beautiful statues and a grand mausoleum. The Prophet
responded: Beware of those who preceded you and used to take the graves of their
teous men as places of worship, but you must not take graves as mosques; I forbid you to prophets and righ
do that.
156


154
Surat Aal-e-Imran, 3:128
155
Surat Nooh, 71:23
156
Sahih Muslim
Light of Guidance
dat

Aisha (R) narrated,
Um Habiba and Um Salama mentioned about a church they had seen in Ethiopia in which there were
pictures. They told the Prophet about it, on which he said, "If any religious man dies amongst those people
they would build a place of worship at his grave and make these pictures in it. They will be the worst
creature in the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection."
157


x Prophet prayed that his grave not turn into a mausoleum

x Forbidden to build or even write on graves

How about visiting graves?
In early Islam, it was forbidden to visit graves. Gradually as Islam became stronger, the Prophet
allowed Muslims to visit graves. Is this permission for both men and women? It is permissible
for men and generally advised that women should not visit grave sites.












157
Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
Light of Guidance
dat



Linguistic Meaning: to make even, to put things on even terms/ equal terms.
Technical Meaning: asking an intermediary to plead ones request in front of another.
Wisdom of Intercession
Shafaaah is a means of honoring some people, by allowing them to intercede on behalf of others, and it
is a means of showing mercy to others, by allowing certain people to intercede on their behalf.

Types
x Worldly and it is allowed with the following conditions:
1) One should not infringe upon others rights
2) The thing attaining should be halal

x Religious that which deals with Paradise or Hellfire.
a. Paradise: its entrance or increasing in rank;
b. Hellfire: diminishing punishment of Hellfire, or being saved from Hellfire.

"To Allah belongs all intercession. His is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, then to Him you shall be
brought back."
158


For any intercession to be accepted by Allah
1. Allah must allow the intercessor permission to intercede In Ayat-al-kursi Allah
mentions,

158
Surat az-Zumar 39:44
Light of Guidance
dat

And who is the one who will be able to intercede with Allah except for the one whom Allah
has permitted?
159

2. Allah must be pleased with the person on whose behalf intercession is sought We
find the proof for this from Allahs statement,



And how many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession will not avail at all except [only] after
Allah has permitted [it] to whom He wills and approves.
160


How is it that a person who is in Hellfire might also be a person that Allah is pleased with,
that He wills and approves to have enter Paradise?
1. The person has tawheed as a minimum in their heart they believed that Allah is the
only one worthy of worship
2. May have been a believer, but their bad deeds were heavy on the scale; therefore they are in
Hellfire as a means of purification. After a period of time, this person may be pulled out of
Hellfire by the mercy of Allah and admitted into Paradise.

Who can intercede on the Day of Judgement?
1. The Prophet
a. Intercession to start the Reckoning on the Day of Judgment
b. Intercession on behalf of his entire Ummah to enter Paradise
c. Intercession to open the gates of Paradise. The Prophet will be the first to
open the gates and enter. His ummah will be the first ummah to enter Paradise.
d. Intercession exclusive to the Prophet , towards his uncle Abu Talib,
whose punishment will be the minimal amount of punishment in hellfire, that is a fire
up to the ankle that is hot enough to cause the persons brain to boil. The Prophet
said regarding his uncle Abu Talib,


159
Surat al-Baqarah 2:255
160
Surat an-Najm 53:26

Light of Guidance
dat

"He is in a shallow fire, and had It not been for me, he would have been in the bottom of the (Hell)
Fire.
161


2. Martyrs people who have died in the way of Allah .
3. Memorizers of the Quran will be allowed to intercede on behalf of other people.
4. The scholars and righteous people will have privilege to intercede.

Types of Religious Intercession
General for all creation (as long as previous two conditions are met: the conditions for any intercession
to be accepted by Allah )

1. Raise their ranks in Paradise
2. Saved from Fire of Hell before entering it
3. Removed from Fire after having entered it (before their time is completed)

Best Way to Receive Intercession
WARNING: To seek shafaaah from anyone else other than Allah is major shirk. Even if
anyone wants that Prophet would make shafaaah for him/her, that person must ask
Allah for this.


161
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat




LINGUISTIC
That which brings you closer to another object
IN ISLAMIC SCIENCES
General - each & every good deed that brings you closer to Allah .
Specific - ways to increase the chance of duaa being accepted

Allah states in the Quran,



O you who believe! Do your duty to Allah and fear Him. Seek the means of approach to Him, and strive
hard in His Cause as much as you can. So that you may be successful.
162


Types Sanctioned by the Quran and Sunnah
1. With Allah s Names and Attributes Doing dhikr, making dua using the Names and
Attributes of Allah . In this regard Allah mentions,

162
Surat al-Maaidah 5:35
Light of Guidance
dat

And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those
who practice deviation concerning His names. They will be recompensed for what they have been doing.
163


Find the appropriate name of Allah for what you are asking Him.

2. With ones state, past and present (duaa of Zakariyyah) When in a state of hardship, recourse
to Allah and seek His help. Allah likes to hear two things from his slaves:
a. their needs/problems
b. their thankfulness.
Dua of Zakariyyah (AS):

When he called out his Lord (Allah) a call in secret, saying: "My Lord! Indeed my bones have grown feeble, and
grey hair has spread on my head, And I have never been unblest in my invocation to You, O my Lord! And Verily! I
fear my relatives after me, since my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an heir who shall inherit me, and
inherit (also) the posterity of Ya'qub (Jacob) (inheritance of the religious knowledge and Prophethood, not the
wealth, etc.). And make him, my Lord, one with whom You are Well-pleased!".
164


3. With ones good deeds We find the example of this in Surah al-e-Imran,


Those who say, "Our Lord, indeed we have believed, so forgive us our sins and protect us from the
punishment of the Fire,"
165



163
Surat al-Araaf 7:180
164
Surat Maryam 19:3-6
165
Surat `Al-e-Imran 3:16
Light of Guidance
dat

Our beloved Messenger told his companions a story of three men amongst those
who had came before. All three men had set out one day until it was dark till they reached a
cave. Upon entering the cave a rock fell down from the mountain and blocked the entrance.
Each of the three men had a unique situation which they all did something to gain the pleasure
of Allah , and they invoked Allah mentioning those good deeds. The exact
words of the hadith is,

"While three persons were traveling, they were overtaken by rain and they took shelter in a cave in a
mountain. A big rock fell from the mountain over the mouth of the cave and blocked it. They said to each
other. 'Think of such good (righteous) deeds which, you did for Allah's sake only, and invoke Allah by
giving reference to those deeds so that Allah may relieve you from your difficulty. One of them said, 'O
Allah ! I had my parents who were very old and I had small children for whose sake I used to work as a
shepherd. When I returned to them at night and milked (the sheep), I used to start giving the milk to my
parents first before giving to my children. And one day I went far away in search of a grazing place (for
my sheep), and didn't return home till late at night and found that my parents had slept. I milked (my
livestock) as usual and brought the milk vessel and stood at their heads, and I disliked to wake them up
from their sleep, and I also disliked to give the milk to my children before my parents though my children
were crying (from hunger) at my feet. So this state of mine and theirs continued till the day dawned. (O
Allah!) If you considered that I had done that only for seeking Your pleasure, then please let there be an
opening through which we can see the sky.' So Allah made for them an opening through which they could
see the sky. Then the second person said, 'O Allah! I had a she-cousin whom I loved as much as a
passionate man loves a woman. I tried to seduce her but she refused till I paid her one-hundred Dinars. So
I worked hard till I collected one hundred Dinars and went to her with that. But when I sat in between her
legs (to have sexual intercourse with her), she said, 'O Allah's slave! Be afraid of Allah! Do not deflower me
except legally (by marriage contract). So I left her O Allah! If you considered that I had done that only for
seeking Your pleasure then please let the rock move a little to have a (wider) opening.' So Allah shifted
that rock to make the opening wider for them. And the last (third) person said 'O Allah! I employed a
labourer for wages equal to a Faraq (a certain measure): of rice, and when he had finished his job he
demanded his wages, but when I presented his due to him, he gave it up and refused to take it. Then I kept
on sowing that rice for him (several times) till I managed to buy with the price of the yield, some cows and
their shepherd. Later on the labourer came to me and said. '(O Allah's slave!) Be afraid of Allah, and do not
be unjust to me and give me my due.' I said (to him). 'Go and take those cows and their shepherd. So he
took them and went away. (So, O Allah!) If You considered that I had done that for seeking Your pleasure,
then please remove the remaining part of the rock.' And so Allah released them."
166


4. With the duaa of a living person In a hadith recorded by Umar bin al-Khatttab the
Prophet said,


166
Sahih al-Bukhari
Light of Guidance
dat

"Uwais ibn 'Amir will come with a number of the people of the tribe of Mudhar from the region of Qarn as
if he had a sickness on his skin. He had a mother to whom he was most perfectly devoted, and if he asked
anything of Allah it would be granted to him. If you meet him, ask him to ask forgiveness for you."
167


WARNING: All other types are innovations or even shirk
Tawassul through the Prophet
Obligatory:
1. By following his Sunnah
2. By loving him
3. By defending his honor

Innovation
By asking Allah through his status, body or honor
Evidences used by those who justify this

1. The general verse in Surah al-Maaidah
2. The hadeeth of the blind man Prophet makes duaa for the blind man to regain
his sight, and he goes back home and makes the following dua

O Allah ! I ask you by [the duaa of] your Prophet, the Prophet of mercy. O Muhammad, I turn
to you to (go) to my Lord [present tense here used to insinuate the past; here this is an issue of translation/
syntax], so grant me my request O Allah ! Accept his intercession for me [duaa the Prophet
], and my intercession for him [to have his duaa accepted]. Ahmad
Refutation:
He was making dua to Allah to accept the dua of the Prophet , in here this dua
can be categorized as he was seeking Tawassul through the dua of Prophet , when the
Prophet was alive.

When a hadeeth is presented to you, what do you need to do or ask? Ask:
1. Is the hadeeth authentic?
2. Is the hadeeth relevant to what we are discussing?
3. Are there any other evidences or proofs we need to take into consideration regarding this
issue?

167
Sahih Muslim
Light of Guidance
dat

If you do not collect all the different wordings of a hadeeth, you will not know which hadeeth is
authentic and which is not.

x Tawassul is for the duaa of the Prophet
x None of the other companions did it afterwards

3. The incident of Umar with Abbas Umar is khalifah, gathers people during
a draught/ famine to make the prayer for rain, and asks that Allah respond to the
duaa of Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet .
4. Various weak or fabricated hadeeth Make tawassul through my honor as my honor is great
in the sight of Allah . fabricated hadeeth / The Gospel of Barnabas reads that
Adam (AS) read the name of Prophet Muhammad on a gate of heaven
5. On the Day of Judgement, people will ask the prophets to help them, so why cant we ask now?
because the prophets are dead. And even on that day they will not be able to help.
6. Many famous scholars of the past and present allow it Sources of legislation are Allah
[quran], Prophet [Sunnah], and the agreement of the righteous companions.
Scholars are human and may make mistakes in their interpretation.


Light of Guidance
dat




1. The Prophet prohibited mosques over graves.
2. Forbade burying the dead inside mosques
3. Forbade worshipping Allah at places where shirk occurs or had occurred
4. Forbade worshipping Allah at times when shirk occurs sunrise and sunset, as well
when it is at its zenith (highest point).
5. Forbade exaggeration in general
6. Forbade the Muslims from excessively praising him
7. Forbade the Companions to stand up in his presence
8. Forbade image-making
9. Forbade undertaking a religious journey except to the three places that Islam has made sacred
x Masjid Al-Haraam
x Masjid An-Nabawi
x Masjid Al Aqsa

10. Forbade the Muslims from imitating the disbelievers
11. Commanded to level all raised graves
12. Reminded Muslims regarding the true purpose of visiting graves the purpose of visiting
graves is to remember death, not to remember the dead.
13. Forbade certain phrases which lead to shirk
x Phrases what the Mushrikoon use to say when they made tawaf
14. Prohibited making an oath or swearing by any created object
x Only allowed to swear by Allah and absolutely nothing else.

Light of Guidance
dat






Shirk in Uloohiyyat can also be divided into 2 categories: major shirk (shirk akbar) and minor shirk
(shirk asghar).

x Every matter which contains a type of shirk but does not reach the level of major shirk.
x Every matter that the religion has prohibited and which is a means and channel to major shirk,
and which Islamic Law has termed shirk.
x Equating others rather than Allah with Allah in a matter that is specific to
Him, either by attributing it as a means, or by way of accident.



1. Major shirk expels a person from Islam

And they set up rivals to Allah, to mislead (men) from His Path! Say: "Enjoy (your brief life)! But certainly, your
destination is the (Hell) Fire!"
168

2. Major shirk nece

ssitates a persons eternal punishment in the Fire of Hell

168
Surat Ibraheem 14:30
Light of Guidance
dat

Surely, they have disbelieved who say: "Allah is the Messiah ['sa (Jesus)], son of Maryam (Mary)." But the
Messiah ['sa (Jesus)] said: "O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Verily, whosoever sets
up partners (in worship) with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode .
And for the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) there are no helpers.
169


3. Major shirk nullifies all of a persons good deeds
4. Major shirk makes it permissible for a Muslim State to take the life and property of its
practitioner

There is a difference of opinion about whether Allah can forgive minor shirk without punishment.


1. Riyaa: worshipping Allah , based upon the sunnah, but to impress people;
x Ex. Lengthening the prayer so others will believe you are righteous



Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up for As-Salat
(the prayer), they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but little.
170


2. Performing a good deed purely for a worldly benefit

3. Relying on the c

ause instead of the Creator of the cause

169
Surat al-Maa'idah 5:72
170
Surat An Nisaa 4:142
Light of Guidance
dat


x Ex. Believing that medicine will cure you and not Allah , even though the
medicine is just the means to the cure. The power to cure is solely by Allahs will.

4. Making something which Allah has not made a cause into a cause (while believing
that Allah is the Rabb)

A cause must be either something Allah has informed us, or a direct, physical, common-sense
relationship.

1. Swearing by other than Allah while believing that Allah is the rabb.
2. Equating Allah with the creation using the conjunctive and.
3. Naming created objects with names that go against pure tawheed

Minor shirk in actions of the limbs
1. Amulets and charms
2. Certain types of riyaa

Light of Guidance
dat




Definition of Kufr
x To cover up to the extent that something is destroyed.

Definition of Kufr In Islam:
x Absence of Iman from a person, even if his heart believes.

Major kufr is of five types:

1. Kufr of denial
x Reject Allah and the prophet (PBUH)

And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah or denies the truth (Muhammad
and his doctrine of Islamic Monotheism and this Qur'an), when it comes to him? Is there not a dwelling in Hell for
disbelievers (in the Oneness of Allah and in His Messenger Muhammad?
171


2. Kufr of arrogance
x know it is the truth but do not accept it:
Ex. Iblees / Firawn / Abu Talib

171
Surat Ankaboot 29:68
Light of Guidance
dat

And they belied them (those Ayat) wrongfully and arrogantly, though their ownselves were
convinced thereof [i.e. those (Ayat ) are from Allah, and Musa (Moses) is the Messenger of Allah in
truth, but they disliked to obey Musa (Moses), and hated to believe in his Message of
Monotheism]. So see what was the end of the Mufsidun (disbelievers, disobedient to Allah, evil-
doers and liars.).
172



3. Kufr of Doubt. Claims that he is not sure
x Ex. Not sure if Quran is from Allah



His companion said to him during the talk with him: "Do you disbelieve in Him Who created you out of dust (i.e.
your father Adam), then out of Nutfah (mixed semen drops of male and female discharge), then fashioned you into
a man?
173


4. Kufr of turning away.
x He hears basics and fundamentals of Islam, and has capability
x vast majority of mankind

5. Kufr of Hypocrisy (nifaq)
x the worst form of disbelief


Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them.
174



172
Surat An-Naml 27:14
173
Surat Al Kahf 18:37
174
Surat An-Nisa 4:145
Light of Guidance
dat


MINOR KUFR
Any act that the Shareeah has called Kufr, but does not take one outside of the fold of Islam..
x Denying others their lineage

The Prophet (PBUH) said:
Whoever claims to belong to anyone other than his father on him will be the curse of Allaah and the angels and
all the people.
175


x Denying ones father
x Wailing over dead people

It was narrated from Abu Maalik al-Ashari that the Prophet (PBUH) said:
There are four things in my ummah from the jaahiliyyah which they will not give up: pride in ones ancestry,
slandering the lineage of others, seeking rain from the stars and wailing over the dead. If the woman who wails
does not repent before she dies, she will be raised on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of tar and a shirt of
scabs.
176


x Comes from the root nafiqaa, which is an escape hole that the jerboa / gerbil (desert animal)
builds. As if the person secretly escapes from Islam.


Major
x Pretend to be a Muslim while he is not.

Minor

Acts which hypocrites typically do. To perform a permissible act while concealing its opposite
x Break ones trust

x Lie
x Break a promise

175
Ibn Majah
176
Muslim
Light of Guidance
dat

x Use foul language in an argument

x Show off good deeds
x Not care about striving in Allahs path
x Being two-faced






















Light of Guidance
dat




1. Making fun of anything religious
x Characteristic of the Jews

Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of those (Jews) who say: "Truly, Allah is poor and we are rich!" We shall
record what they have said and their killing of the Prophets unjustly, and We shall say: "Taste you the torment of
the burning (Fire)."
177


x Incident of Tabuk

If you ask them (about this), they declare: "We were only talking idly and joking." Say: "Was it at
Allah ), and His Ayat (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations) and His
Messenger that you were mocking?"

177
Surat Al-Imran 3:181
Light of Guidance
dat

Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed. If We pardon some of you, We will punish
others amongst you because they were Mujrimun (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, criminals.).
178


2. Hating or knowingly rejecting anything that the Prophet came with.
Differentiate between disobeying by following desires (sins), and between outright rejection.
3. Believing that any person besides the Prophet has a right to be obeyed in all
circumstances, even if it means disobeying Allah

They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah (by obeying them in
things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allah), and
(they also took as their Lord) Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary), while they (Jews and Christians) were commanded
[in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] to worship none but One Ilah (God - Allah) La ilaha illa Huwa (none
has the right to be worshipped but He) . Praise and glory be to Him (far above is He) from having the partners they
associate (with Him)."
179


4. Legislating by other than Allahs Law
x Two aspects to differentiate between:
i. Judging by other than Allahs Law
ii. Believing that any guidance is better than or equivalent to the guidance that
the Prophet came with (or even believing that it is a permissible
form of guidance)
5. Only Allah has the total right to legislate Both ruboobiyyah and uloohiyyah belongs
to Allah
6. Law of Allah is a Complete Code of Life





178
Surat At-Tawbah 9:65-66
179
Surat At-Tawbah 9:31
Light of Guidance
dat

Does man think that he will be left neglected (without being punished or rewarded for the obligatory duties
enjoined by his Lord Allah on him)?
180


Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous (to His slaves), All-Aware (of
everything).
181



7. All Laws are divided into two categories
x Secularizing or Compartmentalizing Islam

After this, it is you who kill one another and drive out a party of you from their homes, assist (their
enemies) against them, in sin and transgression. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom
them, although their expulsion was forbidden to you. Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture
and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in
the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous
torment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.
182

.

8. Judging by other than the Shareeah Two broad categories:
x Claims to be permissible to apply another set of laws

180
Surat Al-Qiyaamah 75:36
181
Surat Al-Mulk 67:14
182
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:85
Light of Guidance
dat

x Believes that it is impermissible to judge by other laws, yet in a particular instance he

follows his desires (ex. bribe or friendship)
9. Considering non-Muslims as Muslims
x There is only one religion that is acceptable to Allah

Truly, the religion with Allah is Islam. Those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) did not differ
except, out of mutual jealousy, after knowledge had come to them. And whoever disbelieves in the Ayat (proofs,
evidence, verses, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah, then surely, Allah is Swift in calling to account.
183



10. One greatly misunderstood verse



Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and
the Last Day and does righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear,
4
nor shall they grieve.
18


183
Surat Al-Imran 3:19
184
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:62
Light of Guidance
dat



PHILOSOPHERS
The affirmation of an entity that must exist by itself and which cannot be characterized or described
with any affirmatory attribute. An entity which is simple nothing but existence. Doesnt have an
attributes, nor does it deserve any love, fear, hope. Unmoved mover or prime mover.
EXTREME SUFIS
x There is no existence except for Allah
MUTAZILAH
Qadi Abd al-Jabbars definition:
The knowledge and acceptance that Allah is One, and that no one shares with Him what He deserves of Attributes,
either affirmed or negated, and upon the manner which He deserves
185

x What is the issue of concern here? There are no actions mentioned, implying worship from the
heart without necessity of action.
JABARIYYAH
x Belief: There is no one who Wills or Acts except for Allah.
x The belief that there is no free will can leave an individual feeling hopeless. It can also cause the
belief that people are not responsible for their actions.
ASHAIRAH & MATURIDIYYAH
x Shahrastani defines tawheed as:
Allah is One in his Essence, having no partners, and One in His Attributes, having no similarities to Him, and One
in his Actions, having nothing like Him.
186

x Al-Bajuri writes,

185
Sharh Usool p. 128
186
Al-Milal wa an-Nihal p. 42
Light of Guidance
dat

It is essential to ascribe oneness to Allah in His Essence, and His Attributes, and His actions.

x These are also lacking a mention of acts of worship in this.
Some Arguments Used to Deny Categorization of Tawheed
This categorization is an innovation not done by the Quran or Sunnah, but rather invented in the
seventh century of the hijrah.
x Response
i. Categorizing in and of itself is not an innovation
ii. Ask this person, Have you studied fiqh, hadeeth, usool, etc.? Where did these
divisions come from.
iii. This categorization has been implied clearly in the Quran (first verses, last
verses)
iv. Numerous statements from the early scholars implying this as well (Ibn Abbas,
Qatadah, Abu Hanifah, etc.)
v. Explicit statement of Ibn Battah (d. 387) in Ibaanah that tawheed is of three
types

2. This categorization is similar to the Trinity of the Christians
x Response
i. Clear slander intended to abuse anyone who propagates this cagetorization
ii. There is absolutely nothing similar between the two except for the number
three: one is differentiation god-head into three persons, whereas the other is
completely unifying Allah in three areas

3. It is clear that the mushrikoon used to worship idols, ascribe daughters to Allah, etc. Then how
can we call them Muslims of Ruboobiyyah? Or believers in Allahs Ruboobiyyah? The Quran
clearly calls them kaafirs, how can you call them believers?
x Response
i. We are not calling them believers, we are only stating that belief in the
existence or Lordship of Allah is not sufficient to be a Muslim

4. The angels will ask people in the grave: Who is your Rabb? This shows that what Allah wants
from us is belief in His Ruboobiyyah, and what anyone who believes in that is a Muslim.
x Response
i. Must take all texts together
ii. Clearly proved that mushrikoon believed in Ruboobiyyah of Allah
iii. Response: many words in Arabic similar in meaning to each other, so when
they are usd in different contexts they may take the place of each other, and
when the are used in a similar context each one gives a more specific meaning.
Tawbah vs. istighfaar; faqeer vs. miskeen, etc.


Light of Guidance
dat



What should we do when we see someone committing shirk?
x Advise them gently
x Show them the true meaning of the kalimah
x Explain to them the precise meaning of shirk
x Warn them their acts are acts of shirk
x DO NOT pronounce them to be kafirs or mushriks

RULE: a person who does an act of kufr or shirk does not necessarily become a kafir or mushrik
x Does he know what he is doing? (sane, of age, conscious)
x Does he know that the act is an act of shirk?
x Does he have some strong evidence that, in his eyes, justifies that act?
x Was he forced into doing it by someone else?



This the end of Light of Guidance and all Praise is due to Allah