The true faith (Eemaan)

The word, Eemaan literally means, "to know," "to believe," to put
one's trust in something or someone." In Islamic Sharee'ah
(legislation), Eemaan means putting one's entire trust in, and having
complete faith in Allaah, His Prophet andHis message.
Therefore, one who puts his entire trust in Allaah should not only
testify to his faith by word of mouth, but must also accept it with
all his heart and soul and then staunchly adheres to it physically.
Furthermore, he is obliged to do good works in keeping with the
fundamentals of the faith, as coinciding faith with right action is
absolutely vital.
Acceptance of Allaah as your Lord is like making a promise to place
Him atthe center of your life, so that He may become the pivot of your
thoughts and emotions. It means entrusting yourself to Him entirely,
and focusing all your hopes and aspirations, fears and entreaties upon
Him.Then, instead of living forworldly things, you should live for the
serviceof your Sustainer. He, Al-Mighty, will thus become all in all
in your life.
A Muslim declares his faith by saying: "Ash-hadu Allaa Ilaaha
Illallaah, Wa Ash-hadu Anna Muhammadun Rasoolullaah" (testify
thatthere no god (worthy of worship) except Allaah and that Muhammad
is the Messenger of Allaah) Its recital is called the Shahaadah.
For Muslims there are certain requirements, which have to be observed
regarding the Shahaadah. They are as follows:
• It has to be uttered aloud, at least once in a lifetime.
• It's meaning has to befully understood.
• It should be believed in "with the heart."
• It should be physicallyimplemented.
• It should be professeduntil death.
The six basic beliefs
There are six things that are essential for a Muslimto believe in.
These essential beliefs are pillars without which ones faith is not
accepted. They are called the articles (or pillars) of faith.
1. Allaah: To believe in Allaah, to believe that He exists, that He is
One, and that He Alone is the Creator, and Lord over everything, and
that He Alone is Worthy of worship. Additionally, one must believe in
all the beautiful Names and Attributes with which Allaah described
Himself or His messenger described Him with.
2. The Angels: To believe in the angels who alwaysobey Him and are His
creation of Allaah, and that Allaah created them from light.
3. The Revealed Books: Allaah revealed Books to His Prophets for the
guidance of mankind. Wemust believe that all these Books mentioned in
the Quran were revelations from Allaah.
4. The Messengers of Allaah: To believe in Allaah's prophets. We must
believe in all the prophets and give them due respect.
5. The Last Day: To believein the Day of Judgment and to believe that
life in this world will come to an end one day and that everything in
this world will perish. Then Allaah will bring all beings back to life
and will judge them according to all that they did while they lived on
earth.
6. The Predestination andDivine Decree: To believe that everything
comes from Allaah. This means that Allaah knows everything that is
going to happen, whether good or bad, Has predestined for it to happen
and decreed it.
Man too often lives for worldly objectives which come to dominate his
thoughts and emotions and thus resulting in him leading a heedless
life. The life that is truly worth striving for is that which is lived
for the sake of attaining the pleasure of one's Lord.
Man should live in remembrance of Allaah. His name should be on his
lips as he wakens and as he sleeps. As he halts or proceeds on his
way, he should live in trust of Allaah, and when he speaks or remains
silent, it should be for the pleasure of his Lord.

The establishment of the first Islamic state -II

A Charter of Islamic Alliance :
Just as the Prophet had established a code ofbrotherhood amongst the
believers, he was alsokeen on establishing friendly relations between
the Muslims andnon-Muslim tribes of Arabia . He established a treaty
aimed at ruling out all pre-Islamic rancor and inter-tribal feuds. He
was meticulous not to leave any area in the charter that would allow
pre-Islamic traditions to sneak in or violate the new environment he
wanted to establish. Herein, are some of its provisions.
"In the Name of Allaah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. This
is a document from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allaah, concerning the
Emigrants(Muhaajireen) and the residents of Al-Madeenah(Ansaar) and
those who followed and strove with them.
They are one nation to the exclusion of other people.
The Emigrants of Qurayshshall unite together and pay blood money among
themselves, and shall ransom honorably their prisoners. Every tribe of
the Helpers unites together, as they were at first, and every section
among them will pay a ransom for acquitting its captured relatives.
Believers shall not leave anyone destitute among them by not paying
his redemption money or blood money in kind.
Whoever is rebellious or whoever seeks to spread enmity and sedition,
the hand of every God-fearing Muslim shall be against him, even if he
were his son.
A believer shall not kill another believer, nor shall support a
disbeliever against a believer.
The protection of Allaah is one (and is equally) extended to the
humblestof the believers.
The believers are supported by each other.
Whosoever of the Jews follows us shall have aid and succor; they shall
notbe injured, nor any enemy be aided against them.
The peace of the believers is indivisible. No separate peace shall be
made when believers are fighting in the way ofAllaah. Conditions must
be fair and equitable to all.
It shall not be lawful for abeliever, who holds by what is in this
document and believes in Allaah and the Day of Judgment,to help a
criminal or give him refuge. Those who give him refuge and render him
help shall have the curse and angerof Allaah on the Day of
Resurrection. Their indemnity is not accepted.
Whenever you differ about a matter, it must be referred to Allaah and
to Prophet Muhammad .
Killing a believer deliberately with no good reason entails killing
the killer, unless the sponsor deems it otherwise."
It was solely by his wisdom and dexterity, that the Prophet erected
the pillars of the new society. This phenomenon no doubt left its mark
on the virtuous Muslims. He usedto bring them up in the light of
Islamic guidance, he sanctified their persons, enjoined them to
observe righteousness and praiseworthy manners and was keen on
infusing into them theethics of amity, glory, honor, worship and
obedience to Allaah and His Messenger.
The following are some of the virtues that he used to inculcate in the
minds of the Companions:
A man asked the Messenger of Allaah which of the merits is superior in
Islam. He remarked: "That you provide food and extend greetings to
onewhom you know or do not know."
'Abdullaah bin Salaam said: "When the Prophet arrived in Al-Madeenah,
I went to see him and I immediately recognized through his features
that he would never be a liar. Thefirst things he said were: 'Extend
peace greetings amongstyourselves, provide food to the needy, maintain
relations of kinship, observe prayer at night while people are asleep,
then youwill peacefully enter the Garden ( Paradise ).'"
He also said: "A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim; he neither
oppresses him nor does he fail him. Whosoever removes aworldly grief
from a believer, Allaah will remove from him one of the griefs of the
Day of Judgment. Whosoever shields a Muslim, Allaah will shield him on
the Day of Resurrection. "
He also said: "Abusing a Muslim is an outrage and fightingagainst him
is disbelief."
"To remove something harmful from the road, is charity."
He also said: "Charity erases sins just as water extinguishes fire."
He also said: "He is not a perfect believer, who goes to bedfull and
knows that his neighbor is hungry."
He also said: "Show mercy to people on earth so that Allaah will have
mercy on you in heaven."
He also said: "Try to avert fire even by half a date (in charity); if
not, then by tendering a good word."
He also said: "Clothing an under-clad Muslim, entitles you to a
garment from Paradise; feeding a hungry Muslim will make you eligible
(by Allaah's Will) for the fruits of Paradise, and if you provide
water to a thirsty Muslim, Allaah will provideyou with a drink from
'the Sealed Nectar'. "
He also said: "Do not have malice against a Muslim; do not be envious
of other Muslims; do not go against a Muslim and forsake him. O slaves
of Allaah! Belike brothers with each other. It is not allowed for a
Muslim to desert his brother for over three days."
The Prophet used to promote the habit of abstention from asking others
for help, unless one is completely helpless. He used to talk to his
Companions about the merits, virtues and Divine reward in observing
the prescribed acts of worship. He would always bring
forthsubstantiated proofs in order to link them physically and
spiritually to the Revelation sent to him. Hence, he would apprise
them of their duties and responsibilities in terms of the call of
Islam, and atthe same time emphasizethe importance of comprehension
and contemplation.
That was his practice in order to boost their morale and inspire them
with noble values and ideals, so that they could become models of
virtue to be emulated by subsequent generations.
'Abdullaah bin Mas'ood once said: "If you are willing to follow a good
example, then you can take recourse to the tradition of the people who
have passed away, because the living are likely to fall an easy victim
to oppression (so they might waver in faith). Follow the steps ofthe
Companions of Muhammad . They were the best in this nation, the most
pious, the most learned and the least pretentious. Allaah chose them
to accompany the Prophet and establish His religion. Therefore, it is
imperative to get to know their grace, follow their righteous way and
adhere as much as you can to their manners and assimilate their
biographies. They were always on the straight path."
Then, there is the example of the Messenger of Allaah whose moral
attributes, perfection, talents, virtues, noble manners and
praiseworthy deeds, entitle him to occupy the innermost portions of
our hearts, and become the dearest example that the self yearns for.
He would hardly utter a word, and his Companions would race to
assimilate it and work in its light.
Those were the attributesand qualities on the basisof which the
Prophet wanted to build a new society -- the most wonderful and
honorable society ever known in history. On these grounds, he strove
to resolve the longstanding problems, and later gave humankind the
chance tobreathe a sigh of relief after a long wearying journey in
dark and gloomy avenues. Such lofty morals lay at the very basis of
creating a new society, with integrated communities that were immune
to all fluctuations of time and circumstances, and powerful enough to
change the whole course of humanity.

The establishment of the first Islamic state -I

We have already mentioned in the previous article that the Messenger
of Allaah arrived inAl-Madeenah on Friday, Rabee' Al-Awwal 12, 1 AH,
i.e. September 27, 622 CE and took the lower portion of the house of
Abu Ayyoob as a temporary residence.
The first task to which the Prophet attended on his arrival in
Al-Madeenah was the construction of a Mosque,at the very site where
his camel knelt down. The land, which belonged to two orphans, was
purchased. The Prophet himself contributed tobuilding the Mosque by
carrying adobe bricks and stones.
The ground was cleared of weeds and shrubs, palm trees and rubbish;
the graves of the polytheists were dug up and then leveled, and trees
were planted. The Qiblah (the direction in which the Muslims turn
their faces in prayer) wasconstructed to face Jerusalem ; two beams
were also erected to support the ceiling. It was square in form, each
side measuring approximately 100 yards, facing towards the north and
having three gates on each of the remainingsides. Nearby, rooms
reserved for the household of the Prophet were built of stones and
adobe bricks with ceilings of palm leaves. To the north of the Mosque,
a place was reserved for the Muslims who had neither family nor home.
The Athaan (summoning the Muslims to the Mosque by the call for
prayer) was initiated at this early stage of the post-migration era.
The Mosque was not merely alocus to perform prayers, but rather a
place where the Muslims were taught the doctrines of Islam. It served
as a place of assembly and was the headquarters wherein allthe affairs
of the Muslims were administered, and consultative and executive
councils held.
The Prophet instills brotherhood between the Ansaar (Helpers) andthe
Muhaajireen (Emigrants)
The Mosque being thus constructed, the first objective of the Prophet
was to establish law and order and good mutual relations among the
people. He felt right away that the Muhaajireen had come from Makkah
and so theymust not become a source of constant mental stress for the
people of Al-Madeenah. However, he was equally conscious of the stark
reality that the Muhaajireen had migrated from Makkah sacrificing
everything fortheir faith -- their homes,motherland, relatives,
wealth, property, family and clan. They should be treated in a manner
that they were not overtaken by a deep sense of loss, dejection and
frustration.Thus, the Prophet convened a meeting of the Muhaajireen
and the Ansaar and told them about the virtues of Islamic brotherhood.
He then established bonds of brotherhood between the Muhaajireen and
the Ansaar, putting them together in an atmosphere of mutual regard.
It was indeed unique in the history of the world. A gathering of 90
men, half of whom were Emigrants and the others Helpers assembled in
the house of Anas bin Maalik where the Prophet gave the spirit of
brotherhood his official blessing. When either of the two persons who
hadbeen paired as brothers, passed away, his property was inherited by
his brother-in-faith. This practice continued till the following verse
was revealed at the time of the battle of Badr, and the regular rule
of inheritance was allowed to take its usual course (which means):
"But those of(blood) relationship are more entitled (to inheritance.)"
[Quran 8:75]
"Brotherhood-in-faith," to quote Muhammad Al-Ghazaali "was holding
subordinate every distinction of race and kindred and supporting the
Islamic precept: none is superior to the other except on the basis of
piety and being God-fearing."
The Prophet attached to that brotherhood a valid contract; it was not
just a matter of words, but a valid practice relating to blood and
wealth rather than a passing whim.
The atmosphere of brotherhood infused a deep spirit of selflessness in
the hearts of the Companions, and produced very healthy results. For
example, Sa'd bin Ar-Rabee' from theAnsaar (i.e. residents of
Al-Madeenah), said to his fellow brother 'Abdur-Rahmaan bin 'Awf : "I
am the richest man amongst the Helpers. I will be glad to share half
of my property with you. I have two wives, I am ready to divorce one
and after the expiry of her 'Iddah, (the prescribed period for a woman
divorcee to stay unmarried within her house) you may marry her."
However, 'Abdur-Rahmaan bin 'Awf wasnot prepared to accept anything,
neither property nor home. Instead, he blessed his brother and said:
"Kindly direct me to the market so that I may make my fortune with my
own hands." Soon, he prospered in his trade and got married shortly
thereafter, by his own labor.
Each Helper took a Muhaajir as his brother . Abu Bakr's brother in
faith was Khaarijah bin Zubayr Al-Ansaari and 'Umar bin Al-Khattaab
entered the bond of brotherhood with 'Utbaan bin Maalik Al-Ansaari,
Abu 'Ubaydah bin Al-Jarraah with Sa'd bin Mu'aath Al-Ansaari,
'Abdur-Rahmaan bin 'Awfwith Sa'd bin Ar-Rabee', Zubayr bin Al-'Awwaam
with Salamah bin Salamah, 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan with Thaabit bin
Al-Munthir Ansaari . Similarly, Talhah bin 'Ubaydullaah and Ka'b bin
Maalik, Mus'ab bin 'Umayr and Abu Ayyoob Al-Ansaari, 'Ammaar bin
Yaasir and Huthayfah bin Al-Yamaan mutually consolidated their bonds
of brotherhood .
The Ansaar remained faithful to this arrangement with so much caution
and sincerity, that human history is unable to give any other similar
example. The Ansaar treated their Muhaajireen brothers like their own
and entrusted to them their wealth and property in abundance. However,
theMuhaajireen disliked being a burden on their Ansaari brothers and
undertook a life of sweatand toil to shoulder their own burden .

Importance of knowing the Beautiful Names of Allaah.

What is the importance of knowing the Beautiful Names of Allaah?
Praise be to Allaah.
Knowing the Beautiful Names of Allaah is very important indeed, for
the following reasons:
Knowledge of Allaah andHis Names and Attributesis the noblest and best
ofall knowledge, because the level of honour of any kind of knowledge
has to do with the objectof knowledge, and the object of knowledge in
this case is Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, through His
Names, Attributes and Deeds. Occupying oneself with seeking
thisknowledge and studyingit properly is the pursuit of the highest
objective, and acquiring this knowledge is one of the best gifts a
person may be given. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) explained it very clearly and was verykeen to do
so, the Sahaabah never disputed in this matter as they did over some
of the rulings (ahkaam).
Knowing Allaah makes a person love and fear Him, and put his hope in
Him, and be sincere towards Him in his actions. This is the essence of
human happiness. There is no way to know Allaah except by knowing His
Most Beautiful Names and seeking a proper understanding of their
meanings.
Knowing Allaah by His Most Beautiful Names increases one's faith, as
Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahmaanibn Sa'di (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said:"Believing in and knowing the Most Beautiful Names of Allaah
includes the threetypes of Tawheed: Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah (Unity
ofDivine Lordship), Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah (Unity of the Divine Nature)
and Tawheed al-Asma' wa'l-Sifaat (Unity of the Divine Names and
Attributes). These three types of Tawheed form the essence and joy of
faith (the word translated here as "joy" implies peace and relief from
stress), and this knowledge is the basis and purpose of faith. The
more a person learns about the Names and Attributes of Allaah, the
more his faith increases and the stronger his conviction becomes."
(Al-Tawdeeh wa'l-Bayaan li Shajarat al-Eemaan by al-Sa'di, p. 41).
Allaah created His creatures to know Him and worship Him. This is what
is expected from them and what they are required to do, because as Ibn
al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "The key to the call of
the Messengers, the essence of their Message, is knowing Allaah
through His Names and Attributesand Deeds, because this is the
foundation on which the rest of the Message, from beginning to end, is
built." (Al-Sawaa'iq al-Mursalah 'ala al-Jahamiyyah wa'l-Mu'attilah by
Ibn al-Qayyim, 1/150-151). So when a person occupies himself with
learning about Allaah, he is doing what he was created for, but if he
ignores the matter, he is neglecting what he was created for. The
meaning of faith is not merely to utter words without knowing
Allaah,because true faith in Allaah means that the slave knows the
Lord in Whom he believes, and he makes the effort to learn about
Allaah through His Names and Attributes. The more he learns about his
Lord, the more he increases in faith.
Knowledge of the Namesof Allaah is the basis for all other knowledge,
as Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "Knowledge of
the Most Beautiful Names of Allaah is the basis of all other kinds
ofknowledge, for the objects of all these otherbranches of knowledge
were either created or commanded by Him (the various branches of
knowledge either deal with objects created by Him or with the laws
andguidance revealed by Him). The reason for creation and guidance
isfound in His Most Beautiful Names (because He is the Creator, He
creates things; because He is the Guide to the Straight Path, He
reveals guidance, and so on)… Knowing the Most Beautiful Names is the
basis of all objects of knowledge, because all knowledge stems from
these Names…" (Bada'i' al-Fawaa'id by Ibn al-Qayyim, 1/163).