Thursday, February 18, 2010

Explanation Of The Creed (Sharh-us-Sunnah) Points 16-20

Point 16---To have Faith in seeing Allah on the Day of Resurrection. They will see Allah with the eyes of their heads1. He will take account of them without anyone acting on His behalf or any interpreter.2

1 Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) says:

Some faces that Day will be shining and radiant. Looking at their Lord. (Al-Qiyaamah 75:22-23).

Suhaib reports that Allah's Messenger ('allayhees salat wassalam) said, "when the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah, the Blessed and Most High, will say 'Do you wish for anything extra that I may give you?' They will say 'Have you not brightened our faces? Have you not entered us into Paradise and saves us from the fire? 'So He will remove the screen and they will not have been given anything as beloved to them as looking at their Lord, the Mighty and Majestic." (Reported by Muslim (eng.trans. 1/114/no.347) and others.)

Hanbal said: I spoke to Abu 'Abdullah, meaning Ahmad (ibn Hanbal) about seeing Allah (ar-Ru`yah). He said, "They are authentic ahadeeth. We have Faith (Eemaan) in them and affirm it. We have Faith in and affirm everything reported from the Prophet ('allayhees salat wassalam) with good chains of narration.

2 'Adiyy ibn Haatim reports that the Prophet ('allayhees salat wassalam) said, "There is not one of you except that Allah will speak to him on the Day of Resurrection, there being no interpreter between Him and him." (Reported by Al-Bukhari (eng.trans. 8/358/no.547), Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi)


Point---17 To believe in the Balance (Meezaan) on the Day of Resurrection, upon which good and evil will be weighed. It has two scales and a tongue.1

1 As for him whose balance (of good deeds) will be heavy, he will live a pleasant life (in Paradise). But, as for him whose balance (of good deeds) will be light, he will have his hoe in a pit (i.e. Hell). (Al-Qaari'ah 101:6-7)

Abu Hurairah radhiAllahu 'anhu, reports that Allah's Messenger ('allayhee salat wassalam) said, "two words are most beloved are dear to the Beneficent (Allah) and very (easy) for the tongue (to say), but very heavy in weight in the balance. they are: 'SubhaanAllahi wa bihamdihi' and 'Subhaan Allahil 'Adheem.'" (eng.trans.9/489-490/no.652)

The 'Hadith of the Parchment':'Abdullah ibn 'amr ibn al 'Aas said: I heard Allah's Messenger ('allayhees salat wassalam) say, "Allah will take out a man from my Ummah before the creation on the DAy of Resurrection and ninety-nine scrolls will be unrolled for him. Each one as long as the eye can see. Then He will say 'Do you deny any of this? Have my watchful scribes wrong you? ' He will reply 'No, O my Lord!' So, He (Allah) will say, ' Do you have any excuse (or any good deed)? So he will reply 'No, O my Lord!' So, He (Allah) will say 'Rather you do possess a good deed with Us and you will not be wronged this day.' So a parchment is brought containing 'I bear witness that none has the right to be worshiped except Allah and i bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.' So He (Allah) will say 'Witness the weighing.' So he will reply 'O my Lord! What is this parchment compared to those great scrolls?' So He (Allah) will say 'Indeed you will not be wronged. 'So the scrolls will be placed on one scale and the parchment on the other scale. So the scrolls will be lighter and the parchment heavier. Nothing will out-weight the name of Allah." (Reported by Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi and ibn Maajah. Shaikh al-Albani declared it sahih in sahih sunan at-Tirmidhee.)


Point 18---To have Faith in the punishment of the grave and Munkar and Nakeer.1

1 To have Faith (Eemaan) in the punishment of the grave has the consensus (Ijmaa') of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamma'ah, as has been declared by Abul-Hasan al-Ash'aree (Risaalah ilaa Ahlilth-Thaghr, p.279), being denied only by the Khawarij and some of the Mu'tazilah. Allah the Most High, says:

In front of the Fire will they be brought morning and evening and on the Day when the Hour will be established (it will be said to the angels): Cause Pharaoh's people to enter the severest torment! (Ghaafir 40:46)

Ibn 'Abbaas said: Allah's Messenger ('Allayhees salat wassalam) passed by two graves and said, "Indeed they are being punished but they are not being punished for something major." Then he said, Rather it is so: one of them did not used to protect himself from being soiled with his urine. The other used to go about telling stories ( to cause enmity..." [Reported by al-Bukhari (eng. trans. 1/141/no.216)]

Abu Hurairah reports that Allah's Messenger ('Allayhees salat wassalam) said, "When the deceased (or 'one of you') is put in the grave, two black angels having blue eyes come to him. One of them is called al-Munkar and the other an-Nakeer and they will say...." (Reported by at-Tirmidhi and declared hasan by Shaikh al-Albani in Saheeh al-Jaami').

There are many ahadith concerning the punishment of the grave. Al-Baihaqee wrote a whole treatise entitled Ithbaat 'Adhaab al-Qabr (proof of the punishment of the grave), consisting of some 240 narrations.

Imam ash-Shafi'ee (d.204) said, "The Punishment of the grave is true, the Resurrection is true, the Day of Judgment is true, Paradise and the Fire are true. Whatever else is reported in the Sunnah and so mentioned by the scholars and their followers throughout the lands of the muslims is true." reported by al-Baihaqee in Manaaqib ash-Shaafi'ee (1/415).

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d.241ah) said, "The principles of the Sunnah with us are: To cling to that which the Companions of Allah's Messenger ('allayhees salat wassalam) were upon and to follow them... to have Faith in the punishment o the grave and that this Ummah will be tested in their graves and asked about Faith and Islaam, who his Lord is and who his Prophet is. Munkar and Nakeer will come to him as Allah wills and however Allah wishes." (From Usool us-Sunnah of Imam Ahmad.)

Imam Ahmad said, "punishment of the grave is true. No one denies it except one who is misguided and astray and leading others astray." (Reported by Ibn Abee Ya'laa in Tabaqaat ul-Hanbaabilah (1/74).


Point---19 To have Faith in the Pool (Hawd) of Allah's Messenger ('allayees salat wassalam). Every Prophet has a Pool, except for Saalih, (allyes salam), because his Pool was the udder of his she-camel.1

1 The explainer of at-Tahaawiyyah said, "The ahaadeeth reporeted about the Pool reach the level of mutawaatir, being reported by more than 30 companions."

Anas ibn Maalik (radiAllahu 'anhu), reports that Allah's Messenger ('allayhees salat wassalam) said, "The size of my Pool is like what is between Jerusalem and San'aa` in Yemen and it has drinking cups like the number of the stars in the sky." [reported by al-bukhari (eng.trans. 8/380/no.582), Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi.]

Samurah reports that Allah's Messenger ('allayhees salat wassalam) said, "There will be a Pool for every prophet. They will vie with regards to who has the greater number of people coming to it. I hope from Allah that I will have the greater number." [Reported by at-Tirmidhi and others. Shaikh al-Albani declared it saheeh in as-Saheehah (no.1589).]

As regards the exception quoted for Saalih, ('alayhees salam) the narrations about that are not authentic.


Point---20 To have Faith in the Intercession (shafaa'ah) of Allah's Messenger ('allayhees salat wassalam) on the Day of Resurrection for those guily of sins, those upon the bridge and to cause them to come out from within the fire. There is intercession for every Prophet. Likewise for their eminently truthful and sincere followers, the martyrs and the pious. After that Allah bestows His grace abundantly upon those whom He pleases and people are taken out of the Fire after having been burnt and reduced to charcoal.1

1 The long hadeeth of the Intercession is reported by al-Bukhari (eng. trans. vol.6 no.236) and Muslim (eng. trans. vol. 1, pp.122-135).

concerning the types of intercession, Shiakh 'Abdul 'azeez ibn Baaz, rahimuAllah, says in his notes on al-'Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah (p.73), "The different intercessions that will occur on the Day of Resurrrection are six and are well-known from the Sharee'ah proofs. From them, three particular to the Prophet ('allayhees salat wassalam). The six types are:

i) The Major intercession, which is for judgment to commence for those gathered for it. ii) Intercession for the people of Pradise to enter it. iii) His ('allayhees salat wassalam) intercession for the punishment to be lightened for his uncle Abu Taalib, so that he isplaced in a shallow part of Hell-Fire. This forom of intercession is particular for the Prophet ('allayhees salat wassalam) for his uncle Abut Taalib. As for other disbelievers, there is no intercession for them. He, the Most High, says:

So no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to them. (al-Mudathir 74:48)

iv) Intercession for some of those who deserve the Fire not to enter it. v) His Intrercession for the raising of the ranks of the people of Paradise. This last intercession is general for the Prophet ('allayhees salat wassalam) and other Prophets, the righteous, the angels and for Muslim children who died whilst they were still young.

All of these are only for the people who were upon Tawheed. As regards the sinful from the peoiple of Tawheed who enter it (the Fire), they will not remain in itbut will be brought out after being purified. it is established in the Saheeh from the Prophet ('allayhees salat wassalam) that the sinful will die in it, then will be brought out like charcoal. Then, they will sprout (in Paradise) like shoots upon a riverbank.

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