The Importance of Correct ‘Aqeedah
‘Aqeedah as defined in Islamic terminology relates to the creed that every Muslim’s should believe in. The principles of Iman (faith) as mentioned in hadeeth of Jibreel constitute the foundation of this ‘Aqeedah. In the mentioned narration, Jibreel enquired about the meaning of Iman, Islam, and Ihsaan. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied that Iman is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the Preordainment. The six principles mentioned here are referred to as the articles of faith of which the most important is the belief in the Oneness of Allah (Tawheed). Due to the overwhelming nature of Tawheed in the belief system of Muslims, ‘Aqeedah is sometimes referred to as Tawheed.
The Qur’aan clearly illustrates that Iman should precede everything else. Many aayaat address the Muslims as “those who believe and do righteous deeds” as aayah below shows. In this and other aayaat, Iman precedes good deeds, which serves as an indication of the precedence of faith should have over all other deeds.
(وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ) (سورة البقرة: ٨٢)
“But they who believe and do righteous deeds – those are the Companions of Paradise they will abide therein eternally.’’ (Soorat Al-Baqarah :82)
عن جندب بن عبد الله رضي الله عنه قال: “كنا مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ونحن فتيان حزاورة، فتعلمنا الإيمان قبل أن نتعلم القرآن ثم تعلمنا القرآن فازددنا به إيمانًا” (ابن ماجة)
Jundub ibn Abdullah said, “We learned Iman (faith) and then we learned the Qur’aan and it increased our Iman.” (Ibn Maajah)
Iman, which is the main subject of the Muslims’ creed, is the most important component in the life of a believer. This is understood from the fact that the Messenger of Allah stayed in Makkah for thirteen years and spent his time in preaching correct beliefs before teaching anything else. The emphasis of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was on teaching faith before the Qur’aan as hadeeth above indicates.
لما بعث النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم معاذ بن جبل إلى نحو أهل اليمن، قال له: “إنك تقدم على قوم من أهل الكتاب، فليكن أول ما تدعوهم إلى أن يوحدوا الله تعالى، فإذا عرفوا ذلك، فأخبرهم أن الله فرض عليهم خمس صلوات في يومهم وليلتهم . . .” (البخاري)
Ibn ‘Abaas said, “Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said to Muaadh ibn Jabal when he sent him to Yemen, ’You will come to the people of Scripture, and when you reach them, invite them to testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah. And if they obey you in that then tell them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers to be performed every day and night…” (al-Bukhaari)
These ahaadeeth and the preceding Aayaat indicate that ‘Aqeedah should precede all other actions. It is the deciding factor between Muslims and non-Muslims; it will therefore decide the kind of treatment both groups will receive from Allah in the Hereafter.
The importance of correct ‘Aqeedah may be summarized into a number of important points derived from the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. The most important of these is that Allah forgives the sins of those who believe and will admit them into Paradise. As for those who continue to disbelieve until they pass on to the next world, Allah will not forgive their sins and He has prepared a painful punishment for them.
“وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَحْسَنَ الَّذِي كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ” (سورة العنكبوت : ٧)
“And those who believe and do righteous deeds – We will surely remove from them their misdeeds and will surely reward them according to the best of what they used to do.” (Soorat al-‘Ankaboot:7)
“إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَظَلَمُوا لَمْ يَكُنِ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ طَرِيقاً * إِلاَّ طَرِيقَ جَهَنَّمَ خالِدِينَ فِيها أَبَداً وَكانَ ذلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيراً” (سورة النساء :١٦٨ – ١٦٩)
“Indeed, those who disbelieve and commit wrong [injustice] – never will Allah forgive them nor will He guide them to a path. Except the path of Hell, they will abide therein forever. And that for Allah is always easy.” (Soorat An-Nisaa’:168- 169)
All the actions and deeds of a person are dependant on the condition of his/her faith. If a person has a correct belief, Allah will accept all his righteous actions and reward him for them. As for those who disbelieve, all their righteous actions are to no avail, because of their disbelief. The Qur’aan speaks in numerous aayaat about the actions of those who believe incorrectly and how these deeds are of no benefit to them in the Hereafter.
“وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالْإِيمَانِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ” (سورة المائدة : ٥)
’’And whoever denies the faith – his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.’’ (Soorat Al-Maa’idah:5)
‘Aqeedah is significant in the lives of Muslims. It is related to the Hereafter,and it permeates every aspect of human life and lends purpose to their existence itself. Muslims live to please Allah and to be of benefit to their fellow believers and to humanity. This is what gives the life of a believer meaning and purpose. Without a proper belief system, peoples’ lives are empty, lonely and purposeless, as many people who converted to Islam have acknowledged. This is because those who do not believe in Allah and the Hereafter have nothing to live for besides the temporal rewards of this world and the fear that death would send them off into nonexistence. The Qur’aan sums up the resoluteness of a Muslim’s life in aayah that follows below.
“قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ” (سورة الأنعام : ١٦٢)
“Say, indeed my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.” (Soorat al-An’aam:162)
Deviation from the Correct ‘Aqeedah
“وَأَنَّ هَذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ ذَلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُمْ بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ” (سورة الأنعام : ١٥٣)
“And [moreover] this is my path which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This He has instructed you that you may become righteous.’’ (Soorat Al-An’aam:153)
The Qur’aan and the Sunnah portray Islam as a straight path. Keeping to this path requires people to obey Allah’s command and that of His Messenger (peace be upon him). Disobedience of any kind sets them on a path that digresses from the straight path. The opening chapter of Allah’s Book mentions this straight path and describes those who keep to the straight path and the ones who digress from it, placing people into three distinct groups. The three groups are those whom Allah blessed among the prophets, the saints, the martyrs,and the righteous, those who have digressed from this path are those who went astray and those who earned Allah’s anger. The Qur’aan has thus warned Muslims against deviating from the straight path.
The various traditions in this regard refer to the means of keeping to the straight path as well as things that lead to straying from it. In one narration, the Prophet (peace be upon him) drew a line to the left and the right of that line he drew more lines and said that the centerline is the path of Allah and each line on the sides has a devil calling to it. The paths that diverge from the straight path are the deviations against which the Prophet (peace be upon him) warned Muslims.
There are many forms of deviation from the ’aqeedah of Islam, and kufr (disbelief) is one of the principal forms. Kufr means to hide or to conceal. In terms of ‘aqeedah, it means to deny the truth and to disbelieve in Allah. People who disbelieve have swerved from the path of Islam, as the natural inclination to affirm the truth and to believe in Allah exists in every person. The hadeeth literature describes this phenomenon as the fitrah that every child is horn with, the natural inclination towards having faith in the oneness of Allah. The child’s parents, who represent society, influence him to reject faith in the oneness of Allah. Thus,humankind is born on the straight path but deviate form it through societal influences Kufr is of two kinds, major and minor kufr. Major kufr is tantamount to apostasy and is further divided into sub-categories. Kufr of denial is the type of disbelief with which most people are familiar. It entails denying the existence of the Allah. Disbelief of arrogance is another form of kufr, and it is when the disbeliever acknowledges the existence of Allah, but refuses to accept His Lordship over him. These are only a few sub-categories of major disbelief. The minor disbelief does not amount to apostasy, rather it relates to action that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) has referred to as kufr as is the case with one who willfully kills another Muslim, hadeeth mentions that swearing at a Muslim is an act of disobedience and fighting him is kufr. Kufr here does not refer to apostasy; it is a stern warning that places this act in the category of major sins.
People deviate from the correct ‘aqeedah by embracing shirk (polytheism). Shirk means attributing partners to Allah . This form of deviation has many categories as well. As with kufr, shirk can be either minor or major. Major shirk is a type of disbelief in which one ascribes partners to Allah . In this type, the person attributes partners to Allah in worship (uloohiyyah), in the lordship of Allah (ruboobiyyah), and in His names and attributes (al-Asmaa’ was-Sifaat).
Minor shirk refers to the actions mentioned in the hadeeth literature as shirk although these actions do not cast those who commit them out of Islam. Performing religious observances with the intention of impressing other people is a part of this category. Polytheism has an apparent category and a hidden category as well. The apparent shirk is clear for all to see, while the hidden form is obscured from the view of others. Prostrating to an idol or performing any type of worship to anyone besides Allah falls into the apparent category while placing ones trust in a human being for cure is a part of the category that remains hidden in the hearts of people.
“الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا ۚ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ ۙ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ” (سورة المائدة : ٢)
“This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as a religion.” (Soorat al-Maa’idah:3)
Allah mentions that He has perfected Islam for the benefit of the believers. This means that Islam, being based on the Qur’aan and the Sunnah does not require any further additions to it. Something that is perfect cannot, logically accept any further improvement as it is complete in every way. In flagrant disregard of this aayah and the idea that it portrays people deviate from the path of Muslims by attempting to append additions to Islam sanctioned neither by Allah nor by His Messenger . This type of deviation is referred to as innovations (bid‘ah).
This only refers to innovations in religion and does not apply to technological and scientific advancement.
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ICO’s Publications – Islamic Studies curriculum – Grade 10/ Part1