Faith (Aqeedah) is the firm creed that a Muslim's heart must be fixed upon, without any wavering or doubt. It excludes any supposition, doubt or suspicion.
The Arabic word “Aqeedah” is derived from the root ‘aqada, which conveys meanings of certainty, affirmation, confirmation, etc.
Allah says:
(Allah will not punish you for what is unintentional in your oaths, but He will punish you for your deliberate oaths) [Qur’an 5:87]
The "deliberate oaths" refers to the determination that someone has deep down in his/her heart. The whole verse means that Allah will not punish people for their unintentional beliefs or deeds, but he will punish them for what they deliberately mean, whether in their deeds or intentions.
Also Allah says:
(O you who believe! Give your response to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which will give you life, and know that Allah comes in between a man and his heart, and it is He to whom you shall all be gathered.) [Qur’an 8:24]
In Islam, faith, (Iman or Aqeedah) is the matter of knowledge. The Muslim must believe in his heart and have faith and conviction, with no doubts or suspicions.
The Islamic “Aqeedah” is established on the principle that "There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah".
The principles of “Aaqeedah” are those which Allah has ordered Muslims to believe in.
Allah (swt) says:
(The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books and His Messengers. They say, ‘We make no distinction between one and another of His Messengers’ – and they say, ‘We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all)) [Qur’an 2:285]
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) described how Jebreel explained faith in Islam to him;
“Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Resurrection."
Allah says:
(And thus We inspired in You (Muhammad) a Spirit of Our command. You did not know what the Scripture was, nor what the Faith (iman) was. But we have made it a light whereby We guide whom We will of our bondmen...) [Qur’an 42:52]
The basic principles that Muslims must believe in and follow are the five pillars of Islam. One will not be called a believer just by knowing and understanding these pillars but he must come to the level where he submits and implements them.
Iman, in this manner, incorporates Islam.
Imam Abu-Hanifa said,
"The understanding of faith is better than understanding of the science."
What he meant by faith here is the “tawheed” (believing that there is no good but Allah (set)) and he meant “shariah” by science. It is clear that he put the understanding of “tawheed”, which is the foundation of the Islamic faith, before the understanding of the “shariah”.
Also, Sheikh Al-Haruwi Al-Ansari said in his book, “Itiqad Ahl Al-Sunnah”;
"The first obligation upon the slave is the knowledge of Allah."
This is also proven in Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) saying;
“You will come to people from the People of the Book. The first thing that you should call them to is to worship Allah. If they gain the knowledge of Allah, then tell them that Allah obligates upon them five prayers during the day and night...” [Al-Bukhari, Muslim]
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very nice to read these.
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