Differences Between Madhabs on Salat

- Uttering the niyyah (intention) of salat by mouth is bid’at in the Hanafi Madhhab, sunnat in the madhhabs of Shafi’i and Hanbali, and permissible in the Maliki Madhhab. According to the Hanafi Madhhab, if one’s heart is not satisfied with the niyyah of the heart alone, it is permissible for one to make niyyah by mouth as well. 

- In the Shafi’i Madhhab, one should keep one’s feet about a hand span apart in the standing position (qiyam). They should be kept a four-finger-width away from each other according to the other threemadhhabs. 

- The takbirs of intiqal (takbirs that are uttered when one shifts from one position to another) are wajib in the Hanbali Madhhab and sunnatin the other three madhhabs.

- Reciting Surat al-Fatiha in salat is wajib in the Hanafi Madhhab andfard in the other three madhhabs.

- Reciting Surat al-Fatiha behind the imam is makruh tahrimi in theHanafi Madhhab whereas it is fard in the Shafi’i Madhhab. In themadhhabs of Maliki and Hanbali, reciting it behind the imam is makruh tahrimi if the imam is reciting loudly and mustahab if the imam is reciting quietly. 

- Reciting salawat in the last sitting is fard according to the Shafi’i Madhhab whereas it is sunnat according to the other three madhhabs.

- Salat al-Witr is wajib according to Imam-i A’zam whereas it is sunnataccording to the Imamayn (Imam-i Muhammad and Imam-i Abu Yusuf) and the other three madhhabs.

- To perform the five fard salats in jama’at is sunnat according to themadhhabs of Hanafi, Shafi’i, and Maliki whereas it is wajib according to the Hanbali Madhhab. 

- For Salat al-Jumu’ah to be valid, there should be at least three men besides the imam according to the Hanafi Madhhab, 40 men according to the madhhabs of Shafi’i and Hanbali, and 12 men according to the Maliki Madhhab.

- According to the majority of Hanafi scholars, ta’dil-i arkan is wajib. It isfard according to Imam-i Abu Yusuf and the other three madhhabs.

- According to the Hanafi Madhhab, it is not permissible to combine (jam’) salats during a journey (safar). According to the Maliki Madhhab, it is permissible to combine Salat az-Zuhr with Salat al-‘Asrand Salat al-Maghrib with Salat al-Isha in case of a journey, illness, rain and mud together with darkness. According to the Shafi’i Madhhab, it is permissible during a journey to combine these salats byjamu-t taqdim (performing two salats at the time of the earlier) or byjamu-t ta’khir (performing two salats at the time of the later). In case of rain, it is permissible to combine salats only by jamu-t taqdim. In theHanbali Madhhab, it is permissible to combine salats during a journey, in case of illness, non-menstrual vaginal bleeding (istihada), excuses (‘udhr) that break wudu’ like urinary incontinence or continuous emission of wind, and for a person whose life, property, livelihood, or chastity is in danger.

- In the madhhabs of Shafi’i and Hanbali, it is permissible for a woman to lead another woman in salat. It is makruh in the Hanafi Madhhaband invalid in the Maliki Madhhab. 

- Performing Salat at-Tarawih with a salam after every ten rak’ats is not valid in the Shafi’i Madhhab whereas it is makruh in the other threemadhhabs. 

- Salat al-Eid is fard-i kifaya according to the Hanbali Madhhab, wajibaccording to the Hanafi Madhhab, and sunnat according to the madhhabs of Shafi’i and Maliki.

- A person who abandons a fard salat without a valid excuse is killed in the madhhabs of Hanbali, Shafi’i, and Maliki. He is killed in theHanbali Madhhab because he has become a disbeliever (kafir). He is killed in the other three madhhabs as he has committed a grave sin. In the Hanafi Madhhab, he is put in prison and beaten until he starts to perform the five daily salats. If one has missed one or a few salats due to a valid excuse, the ruling is as follows: According to the madhhabsof Shafi’i, Hanbali, and Maliki, it is haram such a person to performsunnat salats. The sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr, Salat al-Witr, andSalat al-Eid are excluded in the madhhabs of Hanbali and Maliki. In the Hanafi Madhhab, performing such voluntary salats as sunnatsalats, Salat ad-Duha, Salat al-Awwabin, Salat at-Tasbih, Tahiyyat al-Masjid is better than performing one’s make-up salats because one missed these salats due to a valid excuse. As it is not a sin to miss asalat because of a valid excuse, it is not sinful in the Hanafi Madhhabto delay making them up for as long as one performs the above-mentioned voluntary salats. But this ruling does not apply to a person who left out fard salats deliberately without an excuse. Such a person cannot perform sunnat or voluntary salats.

- In the madhhabs of Shafi’i and Hanbali, Salat al-Janaza can be offered on an absentee (gha’ib) who has died in a distant country. It is not permissible in the madhhabs of Hanafi and Maliki. Salat al-Janaza is offered on a martyr in the Hanafi Madhhab, but it is not offered in the other three madhhabs. In all of the four madhhabs, Salat al-Janaza is offered on a person who has committed suicide. In themadhhabs of Maliki and Hanbali, the head of state does not offerSalat al-Janaza on a person who has committed suicide. (Mizan al-kubra)

- The minimum distance of traveling (safar) at which one is considered a traveler (safari) is 104 km in the Hanafi Madhhab and 80 km in the other three madhhabs. One is considered a traveler on the way as well. If one intends to stay less than 15 days in the Hanafi Madhhaband less than 4 days in the other three madhhabs excluding the days when one enters and goes out of the city, one is considered a safari(traveler). In the Hanafi Madhhab, it is wajib to perform four-rak’at-fardsalats as two rak’ats during safar. In the Maliki Madhhab, it is sunnatto perform these salats as two rak’ats on a legitimate journey, that is, the one not undertaken for a sinful reason. In the madhhabs of Shafi’iand Hanbali, one can perform them two or four rak’ats. Either is permissible. 

- If a Shafi’i or Maliki Muslim or anyone who follows the ruling of either of these madhhabs out of necessity performs, when he is muqim(settled), four-rak’at fard salats as two rak’ats behind a safari Hanafiimam during hajj, he must make these salats up as they are not valid.

Continue

Rulings of Menstrual and Postnatal Bleeding in the Shafi'i Madhhab

1. The minimum duration of menstruation is 1 day, and the maximum duration of it is 15 days. If blood flows for more than 15 days, the blood flowing after the 15th day is considered istihada (non-menstrual bleeding; bleeding other than menstrual and postnatal bleeding). 

2. The minimum duration of purity between two periods is 15 days. If a woman starts to bleed again before 15 days have passed, it will not be considered menstruation, but istihada.

3. The blood that is discharged from the vagina of a girl who is under the age of 9 and from a woman on menopause [who is over the age of 60] is not considered menstruation, but istihada. 

4. The maximum duration of nifas (postnatal bleeding) is 60 days. There is not a minimum duration for it. The blood discharged from a pregnant woman is considered to be menstrual blood. 

5. If postnatal bleeding is interspersed by periods of purity that last for less than 15 days, they are considered nifas. If it is interspersed by a period of purity that lasts for 15 days or more, it means that postnatal bleeding has come to an end, so it is not necessary to wait 60 days to elapse. If bleeding restarts after 15 or more days have passed, it is not considered to be postnatal bleeding, but menstrual bleeding.

6. When menstrual or postnatal bleeding stops, it is haram to engage in sexual intercourse before the woman concerned takes a ghusl. [It is permissible according to the Hanafi Madhhab.]

7. It is not permissible for a husband to touch his wife's bare skin that is between her knees and navel when she is menstruating or experiencing postnatal bleeding.

Continue

Is Belief in the Prophet Unnecessary?

Question: A friend of mine says, “In order to have îmân, it is not necessary to say the phrase ‘Muhammadun Rasûl-Allah’ in the Kalima-i shahâdat. Saying only ‘Lâ ilâha ill-Allah’ will suffice.” Is the phrase “Muhammadun Rasûl-Allah” not included in the Kalima-i shahâdat, which is the first of the five fundamentals of Islam? Do we not say “Ash-hadu an lâ ilâha ill-Allah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ’abduhû wa rasûluh” when we are reciting the Âmantu? Is such an îmân valid? What is the meaning of Kalima-i shahâdat?
ANSWER
The meaning of Kalima-i shahâdat is as follows:
(I bear witness, that is, I know and confirm by word of mouth as if I saw, that there is no ilâh save Allah, and again I bear witness that Muhammad “alaihis-salâm” is His human slave and Messenger.)
Belief in prophets is one of the fundamental principles of îmân. A person who disbelieves in even one of the prophets, e.g., a person who says “Hadrat Âdam is not a prophet,” is not a Muslim.

Excluding the part “Muhammadun Rasûl-Allah” is a roundabout way of saying “Do not believe in the rules Islam has communicated,” because such a thought comes to mean ascribing ignorance to Allah (never!). If it were unnecessary, it would not have been stated again and again in the Kalima-i shahâdat, (the prayer) Attahiyyâtu, adhân, âyat-i karîmas, hadîth-i qudsîs.

Yet another meaning of believing is approving. If one disapproves of a rule of Islam though one believes it, this act causes disbelief. For example, if one believes the fact that it is sunnat to grow a beard but does not approve it, one becomes a renegade. The situation being so, we omit to mention the credal state of a person who disapproves the owner, the Prophet of the religion.

Does considering the phrase “Muhammadun Rasûl-Allah” to be unnecessary come to mean that “Allah’s Mercy” is not needed? Or does it come to mean “Do not believe in Allah, the Qur’ân and the Prophet”? The Holy Qur’ân, from beginning to end, exalts our Master Rasûlullah. As a matter of fact, the following three âyats [verses] purport:
(We have sent you as a Mercy to all classes of beings.) [Sûrat-ul-Anbiyâ’ 107]

(Say: “O people! I am the Messenger that Allah has sent to you all.”) [Sûrat-ul-A’râf 158]

(We have sent you to all people as a bearer of good tidings and as a warner, but most of them do not know it.) [Sûrat-u Saba 28]

It is necessary to obey the MessengerDoes excluding the utterance of the second part of the Kalima-i shahâdat come to mean that it is not necessary to obey the Messenger of Allah? However, Allahu ta’âlâ repeatedly orders us to believe in and follow Hadrat Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm) and warns that those who do not follow him cannot be Muslims; they are disbelievers. Some verses from the Holy Qur’ân are as follows:
(Obey My Messenger! So, you will be guided to the right way.) [Sûrat-un-Nûr 54]

(Say: “Obey Allah and His Messenger!” If [if they do not obey] they pay no heed, [they become disbelievers and] surely Allah does not love the disbelievers.) [Sûrat-u Âl-i ‘Imrân 32]

(As for the disbelievers who do not believe in Allah and His Messenger, [they become disbelievers] We have prepared blazing fire for them.) [Sûrat-ul-Fath 13]

(When Allah and His Messenger decreed a matter, from then on, a believing man and woman do not have the right to have personal preferences or options as to that matter.) [Sûrat-ul-Ahzâb 36]

Continue

Ahl as-sunnat belief

Question: What are the conditions for having Ahl as-sunnat belief?
ANSWER
Some of the essential credal tenets of Ahl as-sunnat belief are as follows:
1. To believe in the six tenets of belief in the Âmantu. [To believe that khair (good) and sharr (evil) and all things are from Allahu ta’âlâ. Allahu ta’âlâ has bestowed irâda-i juz’iyya [partial will] upon people. For this reason, they are responsible for their sins.]

2. Acts of worship are not a part of îmân [belief]. That is, it is not permissible to call a Muslim who does not perform acts of worship and who commits sins a kâfir [disbeliever]. [Wahhâbîs say, “Acts of worship are a part of îmân. One who does not perform namâzes [ritual prayers] and who commits a harâm [prohibited act] is a kâfir.”]

3. A person either has îmân or not. Both together are not possible. There is not littleness or muchness in îmân. [What is little or much is îmân’s brightness and strength.]

4. The Qur’ân al-karîm is not a creature.

5- Allahu ta’âlâ is not with place. (Wahhâbîs say that Allah is in heaven or up on the ‘Arsh, which is an act of kufr [disbelief].)

6. You must not call the Ahl-i qibla a kâfir. [Wahhâbîs call everybody disbelievers except themselves.]

7. Questioning and torments in the grave are true.

8. Only Allahu ta’âlâ knows the ghayb. And if He wills, He lets the prophets and the awliyâ know it as well. [ghayb: the unseen. Things that are not communicated by Islam, by calculations or by experiments are called ghayb.]

9. Karâmats [wonders which Allaha ta’âlâ creates outside His law of causation through the hands of His dear born slaves] of the awliyâ are true.

10. All of the Ashâb-i kirâm [the blessed companions of our Prophet “alaihissalâm”] will enter Paradise. [Rafîdîs claim that the Ashâb-i kirâm, except five of them, are all kâfir. But in the 10th âyat of the Sûrat-ul-Hadîd of the Qur’ân al-karîm, it is declared that the abode of all of them will be Paradise.]

11. Hadrat Abû Bakr as-Siddîk “radîy-Allahu ta’âlâ ‘anh” is the highest of all the Ashâb-i kirâm.

12. The Mi’râj [Hadrat Muhammad’s ascent to the Heavens] was both a bodily and a spiritual ascent.

13. The time of death of a person who has been killed or who has committed suicide is the moment when that person has died.


14. Prophets do not commit sins.

15. To follow any of the four righteous madhhabs.

16. Of the prophets, the first one is Âdam (‘alaihissalâm), the last one is Muhammad (‘alaihissalâm). [Wahhâbîs deny the fact that Hadrat Âdam, Hadrat Shît and Hadrat Idrîs are prophets. They say that the first prophet is Hadrat Nûh. In addition, some groups who call their leaders rasûls [prophets] assert that a nabî will not come but a rasûl will come. For this reason, some zindiqs who name themselves rasûls have appeared.

[rasûl: a prophet who brought a new religion is called a “rasûl.” nabî: a prophet who did not bring a new religion but invited people to the previous one is called a “nabî.”]

17. To believe in the Shafâ’at [intercession], the Sirat Bridge, giving accounts of all deeds done in this world, and the Mîzân [it means “balance.” Our deeds will be weighed on the Mîzân. However, it does not resemble worldly balances].

18. The soul does not die. The souls of dead disbelievers and Muslims hear.

19. It is permissible to visit graves. Also, it is permissible to do istighâsa, that is, to go to visit the graves of the prophets and the awliyâ, to pray through their intercession, and to ask for their help. [However, Wahhâbîs consider it to be shirk (polytheism), so they call the Sunnîs and Shiites mushriks, that is, kâfirs.]

20. To believe in the harbingers and precedents of Doomsday, such as that ad-Dajjal and the beast called Dabbat-ul-ard will appear; Hadrat al-Mahdî will come; Hadrat ‘Îsâ will descend from the sky; the sun will rise in the west; and also to believe in the other harbingers that were communicated.

Hadrat Imâm-i A’zam stated, “It is necessary to believe in the harbingers and precedents of Doomsday without giving them a figurative sense” (Fiqh-i akbar).

The purport of a hadîth-i sharîf:
(The Doomsday will not take place until the sun rises in the west. At that time, all people will have îmân, but it will avail them nothing.) [Bukhârî, Muslim]

Interpreting “the sun’s rising in the west” as “The people in Europe will become Muslims” is contrary to the statement of Hadrat Imâm-i A’zam. None of the Islamic savants made ta’wîl. Did our Prophet, hâshâ, talk in riddles? In the same way, there have appeared people saying, “Salât [ritual prayer] is a supplication. There is no such thing as namâz.” In that case, there remains nothing in the name of religion. Besides, when the people in Europe become Muslims, why will îmân avail them nothing? The sun’s rising in the west is scientifically possible as well. It is not necessary to have recourse to a contrived interpretation lest disbelievers voice objections against it. Allahu ta’âlâ may disrupt the Earth’s usual orbit and create a new orbit for it. When its path is changed, then the sun will have risen in the west.

21. Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen in the Hereafter.

22. Disbelievers will stay in Hell eternally and their torments will not be diminished. Moreover, they will be increased gradually.

23. It is permissible to make masah over masts.
[masah: rubbing one’s wet hands on one’s masts (waterproof shoes covering the part of the foot which is fard to wash in ablution).]

24. It is not permissible to rebel against the sultân.

(All abovementioned pieces of information are quoted from the books Fiqh-i akbar, Nuhbat-ul-laâli, R. Nâsihîn, Maktûbat-i Rabbânî, F. Fawâid.)

The only group to be saved from Hell
Question: I have grown up being bereft of religious knowledge. I want to learn my religion correctly, so I have bought many books. However, there are many opposing pieces of information in the books. In the same way, the translations of the Qur’ân are different from each other. It is not possible for me to find the right path by myself. I asked some same questions to different men of religion, but all their answers were different. If I die before learning my religion correctly, will I be excused? Or will I be responsible for what I know incorrectly?
ANSWER
Many people are asking the same or similar questions. Every sect, every group says that it is the one that is on the right way. Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî declares:
A hadîth declares that Muslims will fragment into seventy three groups. Each of these seventy-three groups claims to obey the Sharî’at. Each group says that it is the one that will be saved from Hell. It is declared in the fifty-third âyat of Sûrat-ul-Mu’minûn and in the thirty-second âyat of Sûrat-ur-Rûm: “Each party rejoices in that which is with itself.”

However, among these various groups, the sign, the symptom of the one that will be saved is given by our Prophet “sall-Allahu ’alaihi wa sallam” as follows:
(Those who are in this group are those who follow the way which I and my Sahâba follow.) [Tirmudhî]

After mentioning himself, the owner of the Sharî’at did not need to mention the Sahâba “ridwânullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajma’în”; yet his mentioning them may come to mean: “My way is the way which my Sahâba follow. The way to salvation is the only way which my Sahâba follow.” Those who follow the way of the Sahâba “alaihimurridwân” are no doubt the group of the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at. The group that will be saved from Hell is only this one. (First Volume, 80th Letter)
Today many people say that they are Ahl as-sunnat. Therefore, it is necessary to know the tenets of Ahl as-sunnat belief. After knowing them, it is not difficult to find the truth.

What does “Allah does not forgive shirk” mean?
Question: It is said that Allah forgives all sins. However, it is said to be written in the Qur’ân that He will not forgive shirk, which is the gravest sin. Could you explain this matter?
ANSWER
We have to rectify our i’tiqâd [belief]. Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbâni states:
It is impossible to escape torment in the Hereafter if there is a fluctuation in the creed and îmân. If the i’tiqâd is correct, but if there is slackness in deeds and worships [in performing acts of worship and abstaining from harâms], it may be forgiven with repentance, or maybe without repentance. If one is not forgiven, even if one enters Hell, one will be saved in the end. The chief and main requirement is correcting one’s i’tiqâd. (First Volume, 193rd Letter)Again Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî states:
Each Muslim has to learn Ahl as-sunnat belief and correct his/her îmân accordingly. It is a heart-killing poison to set the heart on those evil, corrupt creeds and beliefs disagreeing with the belief written in the books of the Ahl as-sunnat savants. It takes one to eternal torment. If there is slackness in deeds and worships, it may be forgiven. But being slack in belief will never be forgiven. Allahu ta’âlâ declares:
([In the Hereafter] Allah shall never forgive shirk [disbelief, corrupt belief]. He shall forgive all the other sins of those people whom He likes.) [Sûrat-un-Nisâ 48]

Then you have to correct your i’tiqâd before you die. (Second Volume, 67th Letter)

As is seen, a person who dies in a state of shirk, that is, kufr [disbelief] will stay in Hell eternally. However, if people who have committed an act of shirk [disbelief] repent in this world, that is, before dying, they are forgiven.

If kâfirs repent of their disbelief, they become pure and sinless Muslims. In the same way, if a Muslim regrets and makes repentance after becoming a kafîr by doing an action which is a sign of disbelief, (s)he becomes a Muslim again. To make repentance, it does not suffice only to say the (special expression termed) Kalima-i shahâdat. It is necessary to repent and renounce the deed that caused disbelief. The statement “Allah does not forgive shirk” is misunderstood. People who have died in a state of disbelief are not forgiven. But if people who have done acts that cause disbelief many times make repentance before dying, then they are forgiven.

Continue

The meaning of Kalimat at-tawhîd

Question: What is the meaning of Kalimat at-tawhîd?
ANSWER
When one becomes a Muslim, first and foremost, it obligatory for one to know and believe in the meaning of the phrase “Lâ ilâha ill-Allah Muhammadun Rasûl-Allah.” This phrase is called Kalimat at-tawhîd. The brief meaning of it is as follows: There is no god except Allah, and Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm) is His Messenger.
Ahl as-Sunnah scholars explain the meaning of the Kalimat at-tawhîd as follows:
Human beings were nonexistent. They were created later. They have one Creator. He is the One who has created everything. The Creator is one. He does not have a partner or a likeness. There is no second He. He has been ever-existent; His existence did not have a beginning. He will be ever-existent; there is no end to His existence. He will not cease to exist. His existence is always necessary. His nonexistence is impossible. His existence is of Himself; He does not need any means. There is nothing that will not need Him. He is the One who creates everything and makes them go on existing. He is not material or a thing. He is not at a place or in any substance. He does not have a shape and cannot be measured. It cannot be asked how He is; when we say “He,” none of the things which occur to the mind or which we can imagine is He. He is unlike these. All of them are His creatures. He is not like His creatures. He is the Creator of everything that occurs to mind, every illusion and every delusion. He is not above, below, or at one side. He does not have a place. Every being is below the ’Arsh. And the ’Arsh is under His Power, under His Omnipotence. He is above the ’Arsh. Yet this does not mean that the ’Arsh carries Him. The ’Arsh exists with His Favour and in His Omnipotence. He is the same now as He was in eternity, in eternal past. He will always be the same in the everlasting future as He had been before creating the ’Arsh. No change occurs in Him. He has His own Attributes. His Attributes called as-Sifât ath-Thubûtiyya are eight: Hayât (Life), ’Ilm (Omniscience), Sam’ (Hearing), Basar (Seeing), Qudra (Omnipotence), Irâda (Will), Kalâm (Speech, Word) and Takwîn (Creativeness). No change ever occurs in these Attributes of His. Change implies deficiency. He has no deficiency or defect. Though He does not resemble any of His creatures, it is possible to know Him in this world as much as He makes Himself known and to see Him in the Hereafter. Here He is known without realizing how He is, and there He will be seen in an incomprehensible way.

Allahu ta’âlâ sent prophets (’alaihim us-salâm) to His human creatures. Through these great people, He showed His human creatures the deeds that bring happiness and those which cause ruination. The most exalted prophet is Muhammad (’alaihissalâm), the Last Prophet. He was sent as the Prophet for every person, pious or irreligious, for every place and for every nation on the earth. He is the Prophet for all human beings, angels and genies. In every corner of the world, everybody has to follow him and adapt himself/herself to this exalted Prophet. (Kimyâ-i Sa’âdat)
The virtues of Kalimat at-tawhîdKalimat at-tawhîd, which is said by Muslims on all occasions, has many virtues. It is declared in hadîth-i sharîfs:
(A person who says Lâ ilâha ill-Allah attains salvation from predicaments and afflictions.) [Bazzar]

(Renew your îmân by saying Lâ ilâha ill-Allah many times.) [Tabarânî]

(Out of deeds, the valuable one is saying Lâ ilâha ill-Allah.) [Hâkim]

(The most virtuous dhikr [remembrance of Allahu ta’âlâ] is saying Lâ ilâha ill-Allah.) [Nasâî]

(Saying Lâ ilâha ill-Allah averts ninety-nine predicaments, the lightest of which is distress.) [Daylamî]

(The best of my sayings and of the sayings of all other prophets is Lâ ilahe ill-Allah.) [Tirmudhî]

(The sins of a person saying Lâ ilâha ill-Allah are erased, and an equal amount of thawâb is recorded instead.) [Abû Ya’lâ]

(The phrase Lâ ilâha ill-Allah is the key to Paradise.) [I. Ahmad]

(If a person saying Lâ ilâha ill-Allah is sincere in his word, all his sins are forgiven.) [Imâm-i Ghazâlî]

(Inculcate people who are at the time of death with saying Lâ ilâha ill-Allah and give them glad tidings of Paradise as well. The moment when Shaytan is the closest to a person is this moment.) [Abû Nu’aym]

(Do not force a severely ill person to say Lâ ilâha ill-Allah. Only inculcate him with it.) [Dâra Qutnî]

(If a person’s last saying is Lâ ilâha ill-Allah, his soul departs from his body easily. And this phrase will be light for him.) [Hâkim]

(When the next world is preferred to this world, the phrase Lâ ilâha ill-Allah serves as a buffer against Allah’s wrath. However, when a person who prefers worldly benefits to the next world says Lâ ilâha ill-Allah, Allahu ta’âlâ declares, “You are lying. You are not sincere in your word.”) [Bayhaqî]

(Do not call a person saying Lâ ilâha ill-Allah a disbeliever on account of his sins. Anyone who calls such a person a disbeliever becomes one himself.) [Bukhârî]

(On the Day of Resurrection, the face of a person who says Lâ ilâha ill-Allah one hundred times a day will shine like the full moon.) [Tabarânî]

[When you say the 100th one, you had better add the phrase “Muhammadun rasûl-Allah.” To recite compatibly with tajwîd, you should say “Muhammad-ur–rasûl-Allah.”]

(By abstaining from harâms [prohibited acts], if one says Lâ ilâha ill-Allah with ikhlâs [sincerity], he enters Paradise.) [Khatîb, Tabarânî]

(A person who says Lâ ilâha ill-Allah with ikhlâs enters Paradise. Ikhlâs means its precluding the sayer from harâms.) [Tabarânî]

Ikhlâs is to dispel and clean everything from the heart except the love of Allah.

The following hadîth-i sharîfs state:
(Allahu ta’âlâ will be pleased with anyone who believes in the Oneness of Allahu ta’âlâ and who performs his “salât” and gives obligatory almsgiving “zakât” with sincerity.) [Ibni Mâja]

(Perform your acts of worship with ikhlâs! Allahu ta’âlâ accepts only those acts of worship done with sincerity.) [Dâra Qutnî]

(Perform your acts of worship with ikhlâs. Any worship which is done with sincerity, even if it is not much in quantity, would be sufficient for you on the Day of Gathering.) [Abû Nu’aym]

(Congratulations to those who perform their worships with sincerity. They are the stars of guidance “Hidâyat.” They annihilate the darkness caused by instigations “fitnas.”) [Abû Nu’aym]

(If a person performs acts of worship with sincerity for 40 days, a stream of wisdom will flow from his heart to his tongue.) [Abushshaikh]

Tawhîd and îmân
Question: Could you give us information about tawhîd, that is, believing in that there is no god other than Allah?
ANSWER
Hadrat Imâm-i Ghazâlî states:
Tawhîd is like a fresh walnut. Everybody knows the two shells of a walnut as well as its kernel. And the kernel of its kernel is its oil. Munâfiqs [hypocrites, people who pretend to be a Muslim though being a disbeliever] say “Lâ ilâha ill-Allah” with the tongue only, and they do not believe it with the heart. This is the first grade of Tawhîd.

The second grade: This is the heart’s believing in the meaning of tawhîd. This belief is either by seeing, hearing from others, e.g. the belief of us, the ignorant people, or one believes through proofs, with mind’s proving. So is the belief of the savants of dîn [religion], of the masters of the knowledge of Kalâm.

[knowledge of Kalâm: this is the branch of knowledge that explains the Kalimat ash-shahâdat and the six tenets of îmân relative to it.]

The third grade: This is to see that one Creator creates everything, to realize that all work is done by one agent only and that none else does anything. This seeing and understanding requires a nûr [light, halo] being lit in the heart. Such an îmân [belief] is unlike the îmân of the ignorant or of the savants of Kalâm. For example, there are three kinds of believing that the resident of a house is in the house:
1. To believe it by hearing someone say so. The îmân through imitation is a reminiscence of this.
2. To believe by seeing the things used by the resident every day, such as his mount, his headgear and shoes in the house. This is an example for the îmân of the savants of Kalâm.
3. To believe by seeing the resident in the house. This is an example for the tawhîd of ‘ârifs. Though such tawhîd has a very high grade, its owner sees the creatures and knows that they were created by the Creator. Since the creatures are seen, the tawhîd cannot be perfect.

The fourth grade: Such a person sees one being. It is not seen more than one. Men of tasawwuf call this state “Fanâ in tawhîd.”

Of the four grades above,
The first one is the tawhîd of munâfiqs, and it is like the outer shell of a walnut. As the outer shell of a walnut is bitter and looks ugly from within though a lovely green from outside, and when burned it makes lots of smoke and puts the fire out and is useless except that it protects the walnut for a few days. As to the tawhîd of munâfiqs, since it is not known by people that they are munâfiq, people consider them as Muslims.

The second grade is the tawhîd of the ignorant and of the savants of Kalâm. It is like the wooden second shell of the walnut. As this wooden shell of the walnut does not avail except to protect the walnut for a while, so this grade of tawhîd avails only in protecting people from Hell fire.

The third grade is like the walnut’s kernel. It is the edible and useful part.

The fourth grade is like that the kernel of a walnut is eaten and digested until it has reached to your cells.

Continue