Love
is the source of wala' and hate is the source of bara'; it is by this
that both the heart and the hand are moved to act. Wala' inspires
intimacy, concern and help. Bara' provokes obstruction, enmity and
rejection. Wala' and Bara' are both related to the declaration of faith
and constitute essential elements in it. The evidence of this from the
Qur'an and the Sunnah is considerable.
As
for the Qur'an, consider the following ayat: "Let not the believers
take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoever
does this has no connection with Allah unless you are guarding
yourselves against them as a precaution. Allah bids you to beware (only)
of Himself. And to Allah is the journeying." [3:28] And He says: "Say,
(O Muhammad, to mankind), If you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love
you and forgive you your wrong actions. Allah is Forgiving,
Compassionate. Say, Obey Allah and the Messenger. And If they turn away,
then surely Allah does not love the disbelievers." [3:31-32] Speaking
of the aims of the enemies of Allah, He says: "They long for you to
disbelieve even as they disbelieve, so that you may be the same (as
them). so do not choose friends from among them until they go out in the
way of Allah." [4:89]
And
also: "O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for
friends. They are friends of one another. And whoever of you takes them
for friends is (one) of them. Surely Allah does not guide wrongdoing
people." [5:51]
And
lastly: "O you who believe! Whoever of you becomes a rebel against his
Deen, (know that in his place) Allah will bring a people whom He loves
and who love Him, humble towards the believers, harsh towards the
disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and not fearing the blame of
any blamer." [5:54]
We
will mention only a few of the many hadith and reports of the
Companions on this subject. Imam Ahmad reports from Jarir ibn Abdullah
that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made him
swear an oath to 'offer counsel to every Muslim and to steer clear of
every disbeliever.' (1) Ibn Shayba reports that the Prophet said, "The
strongest bond of faith is love for the sake of Allah and enmity for His
sake." (2) Ibn Abbas reports that the Prophet said, "The strongest bond
of faith is loyalty for the sake of Allah and opposition for His sake,
love for the sake of Allah and enmity for His sake." (3)
Ibn Abbas is also reported to have said,
"Whoever loves for the sake of Allah, and hates for the sake of Allah,
and whoever seals a friendship for His sake, or declares an enmity for
His sake, will receive, because of this, the protection of Allah. No one
may taste true faith except by this, even if his prayers and fasts are
many. People have come to build their relationships around the concerns
of the world, but it will not benefit them in any way." (4) Shaykh
Sulaiman ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab explained the words
of Ibn Abbas by saying that the meaning of 'to seal a friendship for the
sake of Allah' indicates the obligation of establishing relationships
of love and trust for His sake; this is friendship for the sake of
Allah. It also indicates that simple affection is not enough here;
indeed what is meant is a love based upon alliance. This entails
assistance, honour, and respect. It means being with those whom you love
both in word and deed.
As
for 'enmity for the sake of Allah', it includes the obligation to
declare enmity for His sake: opposition for the sake of Allah. it is to
declare opposition in deed, to take up arms against His enemies, to shun
them, and to stay far from them both in word and deed. This proves that
simple opposition of the spirit is not enough, and that it must be a
complete honouring of your commitment, for Allah says: "There is a good
example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they told their
people: 'Surely we disassociate ourselves from you and all that you
worship beside Allah. We have done with you. And there has arisen
between us and you enmity and hate for ever until you believe in Allah
only'." [60:4] (5)
All
this leads us to conclude that loyalty for the sake of Allah really
means to love Allah and to come to the assistance of His Deen; it is to
love those who are obedient to Him and to come to their help. Opposition
for the sake of Allah is to feel anger at the enemies of Allah and to
struggle against them. Because of this Allah has called the first group
the "party of Allah" and the second the "party of Satan": "Allah is the
Protecting Guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of darkness
into light. As for those who disbelieve, their patrons are false
deities. They bring them out of light into darkness. Such are rightful
owners of the Fire. They will abide therein." [2:257] And Allah says:
"Those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah; and those who
disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols. So fight the friends of
Satan. Surely Satan's strategy is always weak." [4:76] It is well known
that Allah has never sent a Prophet on His mission without also raising
up opponents against him. Allah says: "Thus have We appointed for every
prophet an adversary - devils from mankind and the jinn who inspire in
one another plausible words that are deceiving." [6:112] It may be that
opponents of Divine Unity possess some learning, a part of Revelation,
and proof.
As
Allah says: "And when their Messengers brought them clear proofs (of
Allah's Sovereignty), they exulted in the knowledge which they
(themselves) possessed. And that which they had become accustomed to
mock befell them." [40:83]
It
is the obligation of every Muslim to learn from Allah's Deen whatever
may serve as a weapon for him in the struggle against the friends of
Satan. In this he should have no fear and no misgivings, since the
devil's strategy is always weak. Allah says: "And surely that Our host
would be the victors." [37:173] To the host of Allah shall be the
victory in discussion and in debate, as in war and strife. In this way
an ordinary man from the party of the One God will overcome a thousand
scholars of the disbelievers. (6)
If
the aim of the enemies of Islam - whether they are atheists or Jews, or
Christians or modernists, or Zionists or Communists - is the
emasculation of the Aqeedah of the Muslims, and the erosion of their
unique character in order to make them 'the ass of the chosen people',
(as it is put in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion), then the urgency
of this issue should become clear to every Muslim. We should all take
heed, for ourselves and for those who are with us, so that we may warn
all the Muslims who are slipping away into the abyss of apostasy, warn
them of the treacherous call of the disbelievers to what they call
'brotherhood and equality', warn them of the false claim that religion
is for Allah but that nationhood is for the masses. We will return to
this point in more detail later.
For the present, the evidence is clear from the Qur'an and the Sunnah
that allegiance is demanded by the declaration of faith since this is an
essential part of its meaning. As Ibn Taimiya has said, "The
declaration of faith, there is no god but Allah, requires you to love
only for the sake of Allah, to hate only for the sake of Allah, to ally
yourself only for the sake of Allah, to declare enmity only for the sake
of Allah; it requires you to love what Allah loves and to hate what
Allah hates." (7) It also requires you to ally yourself to the Muslims
wherever you find them and to oppose the disbelievers even if they are
your closest kin.
NOTES:
Imam Ahmad, Musnad, 4/357-8.
Abu Bakr Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Shaybah, (d.235 AH) Kitab al-Iman.
At-Tabarani, al-Kabir, ascribes it to Ibn Mas'ud as "marfu'", and
classed it as "hasan".
At-Tabarani, al-Kabir. It is mentioned by as-Suyuti, al-Jami'
as-Saghir, 1/69. Al-Albani classes it as "hassan". Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali,
Jami' al-Ulum wal Hikam, p.30.
Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, Sharh Kitab at-Tawhid, p.422. Abridged from
Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, Kashaf ash-Shubuhat, 3rd edition, p.20.
Ibn Taimiya, al-Ihtijaj bil-Qadar, p.62.
THE DECLARATION OF FAITH: ON THE TONGUE AND IN THE HEART
According
to Ibn al-Qayim, belief in Divine Unity is not simply saying that Allah
is the sole Creator and that He is Lord and Master of all things. This
was what the pagans used to say, while at the same time worshipping many
gods. Belief in Divine Unity does not only mean love of Allah, but also
submission to Him, humility before Him, complete obedience to Him, and
devotion to Him in all our words and deeds, in what we hold on to and in
what we give, in our love and in our hate. It can never be confused
with the urge to disobey, or to do as you please in misguided self
interest.
Whoever
takes this to heart will understand the words of the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, "Certainly Allah has forbidden the Fire
from taking whoever says 'There is no god but Allah', and who says this
for the pleasure of Allah.";(1) and in another hadith, "whoever says
'there is no god but Allah, shall not enter the Fire."
So
what do these reports really mean? Many people have misunderstood them,
going so far as to say that these statements were later abrogated, and
that they were made before the completion of the Shariah, before we knew
what we must and must not do. Others have said that the fire they refer
to is the hell of the disbelievers, while others still interpret the
actual entering of the fire to mean entering it for eternity; thus
"..shall not enter the Fire (for eternity)." These are just a few of
their baseless interpretations.
In
fact, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not say
that this would occur merely by pronouncing the declaration of faith;
this would contradict our entire understanding of Islam. The hypocrites
say these words with their tongues, but they are bound for the deepest
pit of Hell, and will be punished even more severely than those who
actively dispute the fact that there is no other god than He. What is
being referred to is, of course, a matter of both the heart and the
tongue.
While
the heart must believe, it must also realise the truth: it must realise
the meaning of the words of the declaration of faith, of what they deny
and what they affirm; realise that there is no other divinity than
Allah; and realise that the attribution of divinity to anything else is
quite impossible. Thus its meaning must be taken to heart consciously
and deliberately, with certainty and urgency. This is what protects you
from the Fire.
This
recalls the story of the man who had murdered a hundred men, and though
faith arose in his heart he took no notice of it, pushing it out of his
breast; but when he came to death's door it again entered his heart and
so he was one of those who entered Paradise. (2) And also the account
about the prostitute whose heart was moved by the sight of a dog dying
of thirst by the side of a well, eating the dust in desperation. With no
higher purpose or hope of reward, she filled her shoe to the brim and
gave it to the dog. Though people usually beat it she took it by the paw
and stilled it until it had drunk, knowing that it could neither reward
her nor even thank her in any way. Her supreme act of love wiped out
all her previous sins and this is how she was forgiven. (3)
Imam
Muslim reports a hadith in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, says, "Whoever says, There is no god but Allah, and
denies whatever he used to worship beside Allah, will find that his life
and his property are protected, and his reward is with Allah." (4)
Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab points out that this is the greatest proof we
have of the real meaning of the declaration of faith, since neither life
nor property are protected simply by pronouncing these words; indeed
there is no significance at all in just saying them, nor in advocating
them, nor in calling on Allah alone. Your life and your property are not
protected until you actually deny whatever you used to worship beside
Allah; and if you have any doubt or hesitation about that, then you are
still outside Islam. (5)
This
should make clear the error of the Murji'a sect (6), who said that
faith was equivalent to knowledge, and disbelief to ignorance, and who
in this way severed deeds from belief. Everyone knows that the pagans of
Makkah understood what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, meant by saying, "There is no god but Allah". They understood it
and they believed it, but they arrogantly refused to acknowledge it; so
their faith in the One God, the Provider, the Bringer of Life and Death,
did not benefit them at all. When the Prophet told them, "Say there is
no god but Allah", they said: "Does he make the gods One God? Surely
that is an astounding thing." [38:5]
The
strange thing is that while the disbelievers know that the declaration
of faith is more than just saying the words, some think that these
reports mean that a simple utterance of the words 'there is no god but
Allah', with none of their meaning entering the heart, is all that is
required. But wiser people understand that it means that there is no
creator other than Allah: no other provider, giver of life, bringer of
death, and no other who holds all things in his hand. However, there is
still no benefit to be gained by knowing what the declaration of faith
means if you are without any belief. This throws new light on the
meaning of those reports in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, mentions the simple repetition of these words, such as,
"I have been ordered to struggle against people until they say 'There
is no god but Allah'." (7)
Some
people hope to imply by this that whoever recites the declaration of
faith is not a disbeliever, and that we should not oppose him,
regardless of whatever else he does. These people should recall that the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fought the Jews and
cursed them even though they said, 'There is no god but Allah'. Not only
this, but also the Companions of the Prophet fought the Bani Hanifa who
not only said, "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allah", but also prayed and claimed to be Muslims; this was the same
for the people whom Ali ibn Abi Talib burned alive for saying that he
was an incarnation of Allah.
However, when you ask these people about the case of someone who denies
the rising of the dead, they say that he has disbelieved and that we
should fight him, even he says, 'there is no god but Allah'. They agree
that whoever disputes any of the five pillars of Islam has disbelieved
and should be opposed with the pen and the sword, even though he may
pronounce the declaration of faith.
The
contradiction here is that none of these denials involve the central
tenet of Islam, which is the affirmation of Divine Unity, and yet these
people are prepared to go to war over them; but when it is a matter of
someone who denies the very essence of belief, the Diving Unity of God,
then they provide him with an excuse for its denial, even though it is
the very source and foundation of the Deen. So it becomes clear that
these people are the enemies of Allah, and that they have not understood
at all the meaning of what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, has said: It is well known that when a man declares himself
to be a Muslim we should act prudently towards him until he does
something that clearly contradicts his claim. Allah says: "O you who
believe! When you go out (to fight) in the way of Allah, be careful, and
do not say to one who offers you peace: 'Your are not a believer',
seeking the chance profits of this life (so that you may despoil him).
With Allah are plenteous spoils. You too were like this once, and Allah
gave you hope, so be careful; surely Allah is well aware of what you
do." [4:94]
This
verse indicates the necessity of restraint until such time as you are
sure about the situation, since Allah says: "be careful". If it becomes
clear that someone is at odds with Islam, then fight him. If this were
not the case, then the command to verify the situation before fighting
would meaningless.
Similarly the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said of
the Kharijites, "Wherever you find them fight them, for were I to
discover them I would destroy them utterly, as the people of Ad were
destroyed." (8)
He said this even though they were meticulously observant in their
dedication and in their worship, so much so that the companions, with
whom they studied, felt humbled before them. Their declaration of faith,
however, did not benefit them, and neither did the fullness of their
worship, nor indeed their service to Islam, once they had abandoned the
Shariah.(9)
Any
intelligent person knows that if this whole matter hinged upon a single
word, a mere word, then it would have been a simple thing for the
Quraish to say it. They would have said, 'There is no god but Allah',
saving both themselves a lot of trouble and their gods from ridicule.
But they knew that the declaration of faith also involved a commitment,
and it was this commitment that threatened their power and status in the
land.
The point here is that Islam is a force that liberates all people from
the unjust slavery of one to another, and places mankind at the service
of the One, the Victorious. The degree of their fear of Allah became the
measure of their worth and excellence among people. Thus the habits and
customs of the jahiliyyah, inherited from parents and grandparents, had
no place. Every good hearted, sincere Muslim must strive towards the
full realisation of the declaration of faith, in order that each and
every one of us may worship Allah with insight, knowledge, and
certainty. This is the real challenge of Islam.
NOTES:
Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Masajid, 1/356.
See Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al-Anbia', 6/512, (3470); and Sahih Muslim, Kitab at-Tawba, 4/2118 (2766)
Ibn al-Qayim, Madarij as-Salikin, 1/330-332.
Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, 1/53, (23).
Ibn Abdul Wahhab, Kitab at-Tawhid, p.115. The Murji'a sect believed
that belief is all that is needed to reach the Garden Sahih Muslim,
Kitab al-Iman, 1/51, (20)
Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Zakat, 2/742, (1064) Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab,
Kashaf ash-Shubuhat, p.40. The Kharijites believed that committing major
wrong actions turns a Muslim into an unbeliever.
THE EFFECTS OF THE DECLARATION OF FAITH ON THE HEART
Abu
A'la al-Mawdudi mentions in his book, Fundamentals of Islam, nine
effects of the declaration of faith upon the heart. First, as a believer
you are not narrow minded like those who believe in many gods or who
dispute the existence of God altogether. Second, as a believer you feel a
sense of your own worth and dignity, since it is Allah alone who brings
benefit and harm, and He alone who brings life and death. Wisdom, power
and authority are His. Because of this the heart feels no fear of
anything other than Him. No head bows to another, no one is humbled
before anyone else. No one may fear another or be intimidated by human
power or majesty, since Allah is the Majestic and the Omnipotent over
all things. In contrast to this we see the subjugation of the
disbelievers, the Christians and the Jews, and the pagans and the
atheists, to one another.
Third,
as a believer your sense of honour and self esteem are inspired by
faith. The Muslim knows humility without humiliation, and pride without
vainglory. Shaytan can not affect his pride or inspire conceit in him
since he is well aware that it is Allah Who has given him all that he
has and Who is capable of stripping him of everything at any time. Yet
you see the atheist bursting with pride whenever some worldly benefit
comes his way.
Fourth, as a believer you have the knowledge and the certainty that it
is only through purification of the self and the performance of good
works that success may be had. As for the disbelievers they have only
the false hope that the 'son' of God will wash away the sins of the
world, or that since they are themselves the 'sons' of God and His high
priests they will not be punished for their sins, or that they will
benefit from the intervention of the noble and pious, or that their
offerings and sacrifices to their gods will give them licence to do as
they please. As for the atheist who supposes that his existence in this
world is without purpose and unguided by any higher plan, his gods are
his own passions and desires. To these things he has dedicated his life.
Fifth, the believer in this Aqeedah will not know hopelessness or
despair, because he believes that Allah is Master of all that the
heavens and earth contain. So his heart is reassured in peace and in
hope. Even when weak in himself and defeated, when life closes in around
him, he knows that those whom Allah takes into His protection will not
be neglected or abandoned so long as they depend upon Allah and trust in
Him. The disbelievers prefer to depend upon their own feeble resources,
yet how quickly despair overtakes them, plunging them into desperation,
and even driving them to suicide.
Sixth,
belief in this Aqeedah develops in the individual great determination,
fortitude, patience, confidence and trust, since you are engaged in the
greatest of enterprise, the quest for the pleasure of Allah. Indeed you
feel that what supports you is the power of He Who possesses the heavens
and the earth. In this way the strength and determination of the
believer, with his resolute will inspired by this confidence, becomes
like a mountain that no human force may move. Could there ever be such a
strength and confidence as this to inspire a person's disbelief?
Seventh,
the believer derives both strength and support from the declaration of
faith, since it puts you out of reach of the two things that can
undermine your strength, love of the world and fear of it. Love of the
world is to place love of yourself, your spouse or your money before
love of Allah. Fear of the world is fear of an unknown force, not under
the power of God, waiting to destroy you. The believer knows that there
is no god but Allah, and so neither of these things can gain any power
over the heart, because it is reassured by the fact that Allah is the
Sole Possessor of both life and property. Once you dedicate yourself to
the pleasure of your Lord regardless of the cost, you suddenly realise
that no one can deprive you of your life, neither man nor beast: the
gun, the sword and the stone do not kill; it is God alone Who brings
death.
There
is no stronger determination than that of someone who believes in
Allah. No man can intimidate him and no army frighten him, neither
flashing swords nor bullets falling like rain. Whenever a believer
presents himself for battle in the path of Allah, his strength is
multiplied tenfold. So where does this leave the Christians and the
Jews, the disbelievers and the atheists.
Eighth,
by believing in the declaration of faith you can take command over your
own life, take pride in yourself, in your confidence and determination,
and in this way purify your heart from the influence ofavarice,
jealousy, cowardice, spite, and all other vices. Ninth, and by far the
most important of these effects on the heart, is the knowledge that the
declaration of faith guides you to understand the law of Allah, and
helps you to keep carefully to it. Thus you are awakened to the fact
that Allah is totally aware of every thing, and that He is nearer to you
than your jugular vein; and although you may be able to escape from
most kinds of danger, there is no escaping from Allah. The degree to
which faith pervades the human mind determines in turn the extent of the
believer's obedience to the laws of Allah, his keeping to Allah's
limits and not coming near to what Allah has forbidden, and his
hastening to do good works and to fulfill Allah's commands.
The
declaration of faith is the first of the five essential pillars of
Islam. It is also the most important of these when it comes to
ascertaining the extent of a person's faith. The Muslim is the obedient
servant who keeps near to Allah. We can not do this until we believe
from the depths of our hearts that there is no god but Allah. The
declaration of faith is the source of Islam and the basis of its
strength. Regardless of the details of our belief or the different
shades of legal opinion, everything ultimately rests upon this one
statement: the power of Islam relies upon nothing else. If this should
ever be lost, then nothing at all would be left of our Deen.(1) Ibn
Rajab, when commenting on the declaration of faith, quotes Sufyian ibn
Uyaynah: "Allah did not bestow upon His servants a greater blessing than
the knowledge that there is no god but Allah. For the people of
Paradise these words are the same as fresh water is to a people who live
on the parched Earth. By it the scales of Heaven and Hell are set.
Because of it the Messengers were sent into battle. Whoever declares it
to be so, his wealth and his life are protected, but whoever denies it
shall find himself destroyed. It is the key to paradise, and the single
call of all the Messengers." (2)
NOTES:
Abu A'la al-Mawdudi, Mabadi' al-Islam, p.87.
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