I start in the name of Allah, The Merciful. Complete
praise is due to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. Praise be to Allah for
guiding us to this true path, for without His guidance, we would not be
guided. May Allah raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi
wa-sallam, his pure companions, his kind relatives and followers, and
may Allah protect his nation from that which he fears for it.
O followers of Islam; Know that Ahlus-Sunnah
Wal-Jama^ah are the majority of the Muslim nation. They are the people
who rightfully followed the methodology of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu
^alayhi wa-sallam. They include the companions and those who followed
them in the essence of belief. They are the people referred to in the
Hadith of the Messenger of Allah when he said what means:
<<Let the one who seeks the vastness of Paradise remain steadfast to the majority.>>
The Jama^ah are the majority of true followers of
Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa-sallam. It happened that after
the year 260 after Hijrah, the perverted innovative beliefs of the
Mu^tazilah, the Mushabihah and other sects started to spread. The
Mushabihah are those who liken Allah to His creations. Technically they
are known as Anthropomorphist. So by His eternal decree, Allah willed
for two noble scholars to emerge with a mission to refute the
misguidance of the Mu^tazilah, and the Mushabihah, and other sects, and
to reaffirm the true creed. These two scholars are Abu Hasan
Al-Ash^ariyy and Abu Mansurin Al-Maturidiyy, May Allah reward them. They
both rose to clarify and emancipate the creed of Ahlus-Sunnah
Wal-Jama^ah, the creed to which the companions and their righteous
followers held strong to.
Using referential and logical proofs, they asserted
the correct creed and refuted the false creed of the Mu^tazilah, the
Mushabihah, and other sects, most of which resemble Allah to the
creation. As a result Al-Ash^ariyy and Al-Maturidiyy are both referred
to as the ancestors of the people of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama^ah, since
their day onwards. Since then, the people of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama^ah
are known as either Asha^irah, Ash^ariyyah or Maturidiyyah in school of
knowledge. The Hafidh Al-Murtada Az-Zabidiyy in his book Sharh Ihya’
^Ulumid-Din said:
“If the term Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama^ah is used broadly, it refers to the people who took the knowledge from the route of Al-Ash^ariyy named Al-Ash^ariyyah, or the people who took their knowledge from the route of Al-Maturidiyy named Al-Maturidiyyah.”
“If the term Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama^ah is used broadly, it refers to the people who took the knowledge from the route of Al-Ash^ariyy named Al-Ash^ariyyah, or the people who took their knowledge from the route of Al-Maturidiyy named Al-Maturidiyyah.”
So the true creed, the one held by the righteous
Salaf (meaning the Muslims of the first three centuries after the
migration of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa-sallam from Makkah
to Madinah) is the same creed held by the Asha^irah and Maturidiyyah
followers who proceeded. They make hundreds of millions of Muslims and
are the majority. They include the followers of the schools of
Jurisprudence such as; Ash-Shafi^iyyah, Al-Hanafiyyah, the true
Hanbaliyyah and Al-Malikiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon all of them.
The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa-sallam also informed us that
the majority of people from his nation will not go astray. Hence success
will be granted to those who remain steadfast to their true path. This
is why it is important to hold closely to the creed of the majority of
Muslims.
Also the knowledge of the Creed is the best knowledge
one can attain, because it explains the essentials of the faith.
Further to this, when the Messenger of Allah was asked about the best of
deeds, he said what means:
<<To believe in Allah and His Messenger>>
Related by Al-Bukhariyy.
Our Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy exercised precision in
learning this knowledge as did Imam Abi Hanifah, Imam Malik and Imam
Ahmad, may Allah reward them greatly.
Moreover many scholars authored many books
specifically to elucidate the creed of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama^ah. Such is
the book named “Al-^Aqidat-Tahawiyyah” by the righteous Salafi Imam Abu
Ja^far At-Tahawiyy and the book “Hada’iqul-Fusul Wa-Jawahirul-^Uqul” by
Imam Muhammad Ibn Hibatal-Makkiyy. This book came to be known as
“Al-^Aqidas-Salahiyyah” (The Salahaiyyah Creed) after he gave it as a
gift to Sultan Salahud-Din Al-Ayyubiyy who ordered that this book be
taught to the children in the schools and broadcast from the top of the
minarets.
In his book he said:
“And The Maker of this universe is not encompassed by it. Allah is strictly clear of resembling any of it. He existed and no place was brought into existence and He is now as He was eternally of perfection. He is attributed with all proper perfection, not the shortfall of place and is clear of change encompassed by time and space. The one who has attributed to Him the upper direction has exceeded and exaggerated the limits of sound comprehension.”
“And The Maker of this universe is not encompassed by it. Allah is strictly clear of resembling any of it. He existed and no place was brought into existence and He is now as He was eternally of perfection. He is attributed with all proper perfection, not the shortfall of place and is clear of change encompassed by time and space. The one who has attributed to Him the upper direction has exceeded and exaggerated the limits of sound comprehension.”
This creed is taught in the university of Al-Azhar in
Egypt and the University of Az-Zaytunah in Tunis, and by the rest of
the Arabs of the west. As it is taught in Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan,
Turkey, the nations of Ash-Sham which are Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and
Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, India, Africa, Al-Bukharah, Daghistan,
Afghanistan, and the rest of the Muslim nations.
An ayah in the Qur’an means:
“Allah will send forth the people whom He loves and they love Allah”
In their elucidation to this ayah, the Hafidhs Ibn ^Asakir and Al-Hakim said:
“When this ayah was revealed upon the Prophet of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa-sallam in his gathering, he pointed to a companion by the name of Abu Musal-Ash^ariyy and said: “Those people will be the descendants of this man.””
“When this ayah was revealed upon the Prophet of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa-sallam in his gathering, he pointed to a companion by the name of Abu Musal-Ash^ariyy and said: “Those people will be the descendants of this man.””
The Imam Al-Qushayriyy added saying: “The followers of Abul-Hasan Ash^ariyy are among those people.”
More Profoundly, Imam Al-Bukhariyy said in his book
Sahih Al-Bukhariyy and Imam Muslim in the Chapter about the emergence of
the people of Al-Ash^ariyy and Yemen, that Abu Musa said that the
Prophet said what means:
<<They are of my nation and I am for them.>>
Al-Bukhariyy related in his Sahih about ^Umran
Ibnul-Husayn, may Allah reward him that people from Abu Tamim approached
the Prophet one day. He said to them what means:
<<Adhere to the good news I have given you O people of Tamim. They said: “We heard your promises, now deliver them to us.” After saying this twice, the Prophet’s facial expressions changed into sadness to how they chose this world over the Hereafter. Then people from Yemen came to him. He said to them: “O people of Yemen, remain steadfast to the good news I have given you for the people of Tamim have rejected it.” They said what means: “We have accepted it in good faith. O Messenger of Allah, we come to you in search of more knowledge about the Religion, and to ask you about the beginning of existence.” He said what means: “Allah existed eternally and nothing else existed.” >>This means that Allah existed without a beginning to His existence, and before He created the passing of time, the place, the throne (ceiling of Paradise), the heavens, the entity, the mobility, the stillness, nor any other creation, then He created the creation. And after He created the creation, He is as He was, without a place, without a “How” to His existence and without being in any direction.
<<Adhere to the good news I have given you O people of Tamim. They said: “We heard your promises, now deliver them to us.” After saying this twice, the Prophet’s facial expressions changed into sadness to how they chose this world over the Hereafter. Then people from Yemen came to him. He said to them: “O people of Yemen, remain steadfast to the good news I have given you for the people of Tamim have rejected it.” They said what means: “We have accepted it in good faith. O Messenger of Allah, we come to you in search of more knowledge about the Religion, and to ask you about the beginning of existence.” He said what means: “Allah existed eternally and nothing else existed.” >>This means that Allah existed without a beginning to His existence, and before He created the passing of time, the place, the throne (ceiling of Paradise), the heavens, the entity, the mobility, the stillness, nor any other creation, then He created the creation. And after He created the creation, He is as He was, without a place, without a “How” to His existence and without being in any direction.
We praise Allah, The Exalted for the virtue of being
on this Sunnah Creed as was Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi
wa-sallam, his companions and those who righteously followed them and
those whom the Prophet praised for their strong hold to the creed. For
the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa-sallam said in what was
relayed by Imam Ahmed, Al-Bazzar, At-Tabaraniyy, and Al-Hakim what
means:
<<Constantinople will be conquered, a commendable leader is that leader, and a commendable army is that army.>>
It happened that Constantinople was conquered after
900 years by Sultan Muhammad Al-Fatih Al-Maturidiyy who was a Sunni
Muslim holding strong to the creed that Allah exists without a place and
loved the true Sufi and used to perform tawassul by the Prophet of
Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa-sallam. Thus far, millions of Muslims
historically and around the world from east to west hold strong to this
creed. The Ash-^ariyyah and the Maturidiyyah are the people of
Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama^ah, the people who will be saved on the Day of
Judgment.
Exalted is my Lord and all praise is due to The Lord of the Worlds.
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