The Beliefs of the Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jamaah

 

 The Correct Islamic Beliefs and that which is also incorrect

 

By Sami Zaatari

 

 

 

1- We believe that there is no Ilah (God) but Allah.

 

2- We believe that the prophet Muhammad is the last and final messenger and prophet and that there shall be no prophet to come after him.

 

3- We believe that the prophet Muhammad was given the holy Quran, and that this is the last and final revelation from God to mankind, and that there shall be no new revelations after it.

 

4- We believe that the Quran is free from any mistakes, errors, and contradictions.

 

5- We believe that the Quran is the literal uncreated word of God.

 

6- We believe that anyone who claims the Quran is corrupt, or that it is not the word of God has disbelieved and is thrown out of the religion and must repent.

 

7- We believe that it was the noble angel Jibreel who had the task of teaching the prophet Muhammad the Quran, and reciting it for him to memorize.

 

8- We believe that Allah is the only one who must be singled out for worship and praise.

 

9- We believe that anyone who worships anything besides Allah as a partner, or worships another deity instead of Allah has disbelieved and that if they die upon this belief their abode is the hellfire.

 

10- We believe that Allah is the sole creator of everything, mankind, the animal kingdom, the earth, the heavens, the stars, planets, the sun and the moon, and whatever else is in the heavens and the earth.

 

11- We believe that Allah is in perfect control of everything, nothing can happen except if He wills it, and nothing can happen if he does not will it.

 

12- We believe that Allah is all knowing, he knows everything before they occur, not after.

 

13- Anyone who does not affirm the above 3 attributes (10-12) then he is a disbeliever, anyone who contradicts them then he is also a disbeliever.

 

14- We believe that the true religion in the sight of Allah (God) is Islam, and that no other religion shall be accepted by Allah (God).

 

15- We believe that anyone who dies upon another religion other than Islam shall be a loser in the hereafter.

 

16- We believe that Islam is the religion of all prophets, and that all prophets preached the same message, with regards to only small differences in Fiqh (practical aspects of the religion).

 

17- We believe that Islam has been perfected, and that Islam has come down with 5 main (practical) pillars that must be followed.

 

18- We believe in the 5 (practical) pillars of Islam, they are as follows: The Shahada which is to bear witness that there is no God but God and that Muhammad is his final messenger. The obligatory Salat (the 5 prayers), the Zakat which is what we give from our wealth to the poor. The fourth pillar is that of fasting in the holy month of Ramadan, and the 5^th pillar is making the pilgrimage to the Sacred house in Makkah, the Kaaba.

 

19- We believe that anyone who lacks the first pillar is not a Muslim at all.

 

20- We believe that anyone who does not lack the first pillar, but lacks some of the other 4 pillars then we say his Islam is not perfect and he should strive to do better.

 

21- We believe that missing the prayers is specifically worst than lacking in any of the other 3 pillars (other than the first), and that missing the prayer may result in one becoming an apostate as to the severity of missing the prayer. Many scholars say that indeed it does result in one becoming an apostate, while many other scholars say it does not.

 

22- We believe that one with a valid excuse can make up a missed prayer if he did not intentionally miss the prayer.

 

23- We also believe that one can make up a missed prayer if indeed he has missed a prayer intentionally, however so there are some scholars who differ as regards to this and say that it cannot be made up.

 

24- We believe that differences in some matters of Fiqh as seen above are unavoidable and they are not contradictory, as long as the main belief is not contradicted which is that there is one God, and that he is the only one whom we should worship.

 

25- We believe in the last day, the day of resurrection where men will be raised from the dead and will be called to their actions and deeds while they were alive.

 

26- We believe in the hellfire, and we also believe in the paradise, that they are real, and that they do exist, and that people will be sent to either one of them as a result of their actions, deeds, and beliefs.

 

27- We believe in the bridge (Sirat), the bridge that people will have to cross over that is just above the hellfire, and only the true saved ones shall pass the bridge and into heaven, while the disbelievers and the unsaved ones shall fall into the fire.

 

28- We believe that some Muslims will go to hell.

 

29- We believe that such Muslims will eventually be pulled out of hell, and that they will be granted paradise, however so this is only for a true Muslim, one who indeed believed that there is no Allah but Allah and in Tawhid.

 

30- We believe in intercession, we believe that the prophet Muhammad will indeed intercede for some Muslims to be pulled out of the fire.

 

31- We believe that intercession can only happen if Allah wills and allows it.

 

32- We believe that intercession can only happen if Allah is pleased with the one whom intercession is being made for.

 

33- We believe that intercession can only happen if Allah is pleased with the one who is interceding.

 

34- We believe that intercession can only be made for Muslims, not for none-Muslims (except to start the day of reckoning, because the prophet will intercede on behalf of all of mankind to start the day of judgment).

 

35- We believe in making takfir (pronouncing one becoming an apostate) with certain limits and conditions.

 

36- We believe that the decision to apply the ruling of takfir should be preserved for those who are well grounded in knowledge, such as the Ulema and the scholars.

 

37- We also believe that if ones apostasy is so blatantly obvious, that he insults the religion, and does every action that contradicts it believing it is lawful, then there is no problem for the normal Muslim to call him an apostate as his apostasy is clear and obvious (and the decision to apply takfir is based on sound Islamic evidence).

 

38- We believe that the Muslim who commits major sins, such as adultery, fornication, gambling, and the consumption of alcohol. Then he is considered a sinner, but not an apostate or disbeliever so as long as he does not condone his actions by saying they are lawful.

 

39- We believe that Allah is all merciful, and that he shall accept the sincere repentance of any sin that one commits in this life, even the sin of shirk.

 

40- We believe that if one dies with the sin of shirk, then this sin shall not be forgiven.

 

41- We believe in the 99 names of Allah, and that they are not limited to 99 names only, but many more, and that he (Allah) has only revealed 99 to us.

 

42- We believe in all the attributes of Allah, those which he has affirmed for himself in his book, and that which his noble Messenger has affirmed about him in the Sunnah. We believe in them (Allah's attributes) as they are, when Allah says he has two hands, we say he has two hands, we do not say his two hands means his power, nor do we reject that he says that he has two hands, nor do we add falsehood to it by distorting the text to change it to mean something else. We simply affirm that Allah has two hands, but we do not say his hands are like our hands, having skin and bones and 5 fingers, anyone who says such a thing is guilty of disbelief (having a false belief about Allah). Rather we say he (Allah) has hands that befit his majesty, and we leave them as they are and we leave this subject without delving into how they are, or how they look like, or how they exist, and we don't try to make comparisons.

 

43- We believe that Allah has rose above his throne, we do not delve into how he rose over his throne, but we simply affirm it. We also do not ask how did Allah rise above his throne?  

 

44- We believe in divine decree, that Allah knows what we will do before we do it, and  that Allah knew what we will do before he  created us, and that he  wrote it all down (wrote the divine decrees of everything) in a book.

 

45- We believe that divine decree does not negate our free will and choice, we make the choice of what we do and Allah does not force us to do any of it.  When one writes, one writes of his own free will.  However, Allah knows what one will write and recorded all of this in a book that is preserved in the heavens.

 

46- Anyone who does not believe in divine decree must repent. Denying divine decree is to deny Allah is all knowing, and denying any attribute of God is part of disbelief.

 

47- We believe that the Jews and Christians are disbelievers, as they likewise believe the same about us.  

 

48- We believe that anyone who believes that the Jews and Christians are not disbelievers even after they have made it abundantly clear that they reject Islam with all it's proof's and evidences, then they too have disbelieved.

 

49- We believe that taking none-Muslim as allies/protectors over Muslims and against Muslims is disbelief and makes one an apostate.

 

50- We believe that making political and millitary alliances with none-Muslims in general is to be avoided.  

 

51- We believe that imitating the Jews and Christians and any other group of disbelievers is firmly prohibited. Imitating the ways, practices, celebrations, clothing and customs of the disbelievers involves taking something unique from them, and apply it to our self in our way of life or religion. However so if one does this out of ignorance, and doesn't know that it is a sin to do so, then he may be excused since he is ignorant and hasn't taken the time to learn the religion, since this ruling is something that is known only if one studies the religion.

 

52- We believe in education, formal, and Islamic, we believe all Muslims should strive to educate themselves on general issues, and Islam especially, as it is obligatory to learn the minimum necessary information about Islam.

 

53- We believe that Muslims should obey an upright Muslim leader who follows the Sharia, and any Muslim who does not has committed a sin.

 

54- We believe that a ruler who does not rule by the Sharia must not be followed if he commands disobedience to Allah, if he commands you to do something that is haram then you must not obey.

 

55- We believe that a ruler who rules by something other than Sharia, such as man made laws, and believes that the man made laws are superior to Allah's laws, then we say he is an apostate.

 

56- We believe that a ruler who rules by secularism rather than Sharia due to his feeling that Sharia is out-dated and not ?modern (or adequate)' then we say he has also disbelieved.

 

57- We believe that a ruler who rules by other than Allah's laws out of ignorance has sinned, but not to the level of disbelief as he is ignorant.

 

58- We believe that a ruler who rules by other than Allah's laws due to a desire, while still believing that Allah's laws are superior has committed a major sin, and must not persist in it.

 

59- We believe that an oppressive ruler will meet an oppressive end in the hellfire unless he repents and is forgiven by Allah.

 

60- We believe that Sharia law must be applied in an Islamic society.

 

61- We believe in an upright moral society, forbidding that which is evil, and allowing that which is good.

 

62- We believe that what Allah has made lawful is lawful and that it is unlawful to make that which is lawful to become unlawful. We also believe that that which Allah has made unlawful is unlawful and that it is unlawful to make that which is unlawful to become lawful instead.

 

62- We believe that a Muslim should not become extreme, such as praying 50 times a day, or spending entire nights and days in masajid etc, as Islam encourages moderation and forbids extremism

 

63- We believe that Abu Bakr was the rightly guided successor and caliph after the prophet Muhammad, then Umar, then Uthman, and then Ali bin abi Talib.

 

64- We love all the companions of the prophet, and we believe that hating them is a sign of disbelief, while loving them is a sign of belief.

 

65- We believe in brotherhood and love between fellow Muslims, each Muslim is a brother/sister to the other.

 

66- We believe that righteous (non hostile) disbelievers must also be treated with respect and kindness, as Allah has allowed us to act in this way.

 

67- We believe in Jihad, and that the conditions for Jihad must be suitable for Jihad to take place.

 

68- We believe that the best generations of Muslims are the first three, that of the prophet Muhammad, those who came after him and his companions, and the generation who came after.

 

69- We believe the Quran is the first source of information that we should go to regarding a theological issue, a legal issue, or any other issue.

 

70- We believe that the prophet Muhammad's Sunnah is the second source of information that we should go to concerning theological issues, legal issues, and other issues.

 

71- We believe that the opinions and rulings of the companions of the prophet Muhammad especially what they agreed upon are the third source of information that we should go to concerning various Islamic issues. And after this it then goes to the ones who came after the companions, and then the ones who came after.

 

72- We believe in Ijma (consensus), that is we believe and follow that which the scholars have unanimously agreed upon.

 

73-We believe in Ijtihad, that is a knowledgeable Muslim who has the qualities of a mujtahid can be qualified to make certain legal rulings on certain Islamic issues, such as issuing a fatwa.

 

74- We believe that once Allah makes a ruling, no one can contradict it or bring something else.

 

75- We believe that once the prophet Muhammad makes a ruling that no one can contradict it or bring or follow something else.

 

76- We believe in the authority of the Sunnah, and that anyone who does not believe in the authority of the Sunnah has disbelieved.

 

77- We believe in the authority of the hadiths were the Sunnah is found, and anyone who rejects the hadiths such as the Quranis, then they have disbelieved as major Islamic scholars have ruled.

 

78- We believe that any custom or practice that was not practiced and condoned by the prophet or his companions, and if this practice is done in the name of Islam or is practiced as an act of worship, then we say it is incorrect and a misguided innovation.

 

79- We believe that killing another Muslim is unlawful and the one who dies upon this major sin without repenting will go to the hellfire to compensate for his error.

 

80- We believe that no man is better than another based on skin, or wealth, men are only better to one another by taqwa and good deeds.

 

81- We believe men and women are equal in essence, and that man isn't better than women with regards to reward for good deeds, nor are women better than men with regards to reward for good deeds.

 

82- We believe that men and women are not equal in totality, only in essence, for instance the man is stronger than the lady, the man is in charge of the house, and the wealth that is brought for the family. This is logical; to say otherwise is illogical, if men and women were equal in totality then why is it shunned upon by society to beat women? Because they are the weaker sex! Hence it proves what we say, that men and women are not equal in totality since the man is stronger than the women and so on.

 

83- We believe in all the prophets, we believe in Jesus, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, and David, etc).

 

84- We believe in the angels, generally, and specifically, such as Jibreel, Mikaeel, and Israfil.

 

85- We believe in the previous revelations that were given in general, and believe specifically in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Zabur (Psalms)

 

86- We believe the Torah was given to Moses, and the Gospel to Jesus, and the Zabur to David.

 

87- We believe that the present day editions of the Torah, and Gospel, and Psalms are corrupt, and have been tampered with, and that the original ones (copies of these books) have been lost. For instance today we have Gospels, not a Gospel; we have the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. Yet we Muslims believe in the Gospel of Jesus. Also in the Torah there are many words written by men who came AFTER Moses, yet the Torah was given to Moses during his time. Therefore these words were written by men in the book after his death. As for the Zabur, if one reads this book today one will find poetry written by other men, not David, how can this be the original Zabur when we believe it was given to David alone?

 

88- We believe that anyone who says the present day Gospels, Torah, and Zabur are not corrupt, then we say he has disbelieved since the Quran and Prophetic Sunnah affirm that they were corrupted, instead of, affirms this.

 

89- We believe in the existence of the Jinn (the devils are a type of Jinn).

 

90- We believe in the Ghayb (the unseen).

 

91- We believe that the best Masjid is that at the Kaaba, followed by the prophets Masjid in Madinah, followed by the Aqsa Masjid in Jerusalem.

 

92- We believe that the shedding of blood in Makkah is a major sin and not allowed.

 

93- We believe that making Masjids on graves may lead to shirk, and a major sin, confirmed by Allah and the prophet Muhammad.

 

94- We believe that anyone who believes that Allah is the true Ilah (God), and worships Allah, yet sets up others beside Allah in worship, such as saints, then we say he has committed disbelief and is an apostate.

 

95- We believe that calling upon others besides Allah for help, or rescue, such as saying Oh Ali or Oh Muhammad please save me! Then we say this constitutes an act of disbelief.

 

96- We believe that the heavens and the earth and all that is between them were created in 6 days.

 

97- We believe that the prophet Muhammad is the best example for mankind, and it is his example that we should strive for and imitate.

 

98- We believe that the prophet Muhammad was indeed taken in an overnight journey from Makkah to Jerusalem, where he prayed as the Imam with all the other prophets behind him, and he was then ascended to heaven where he spoke to Allah directly.

 

99- We believe that witchcraft, black magic, and all similar acts are a major sin and disbelief and hold the penalty of death.

 

100- We believe that a Muslim should be kind, caring, and loving to his parents, not raising his voice, or causing them distress, to do otherwise is a major sin.

 

And Allah Certainly Knows Best!

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