In this book, I’tiqâd-nâma, the Prophet’s
(sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) hadîth-i-sherîf telling of îmân and
Islam will be explained. I hope that, through the blessing of this
hadîth-i-sherîf, the faith of Muslims will be perfected, and thereby they will
attain salvation and happiness. And I hope again that it will cause me, Khâlid,
whose sins are so many, to be saved. May Allâhu ta’âlâ, in whom I have the
beautiful belief that He needs nothing and that His favours and blessings are
so plentiful, and who pities His slaves much, forgive this poor Khâlid, whose
stock is so little and heart so black, for his unsuitable words, and accept his
defective ’ibâdât. May He protect us against the evils of the deceitful, lying
satan [and against being deceived by false, erroneous words and writings of the
enemies of Islam] and make us happy! He is the Most Merciful of the merciful
and the Most Generous of the generous.
The ’ulamâ’ of Islam said
that every discreet male or female Muslim, who has reached the age of puberty,
ought to know and believe in the as-Sifât adh-Dhâtiyya[1] and as-Sifât
ath-Thubûtiyya[2] of Allâhu ta’âlâ correctly. It is this which is
primarily obligatory (fard) for everybody. Not to know is not an excuse but a
sin. Khâlid ibn Ahmad al-Baghdâdî write this book not to make a show of
superiority and knowledge to others or to become famous, but to leave a
reminder, a service behind. May Allâhu ta’âlâ help humble Khâlid[3] with His Power and
through His Prophet’s blessed soul! Âmin.
Everything other than
Allâhu ta’âlâ is called the ma-siwâ or ’âlam (the creation, the universe), which is
called “nature” now. All creatures were nonexistent. Allâhu ta’âlâ is the
One who has
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[1] As-Sifât adh-Dhâtiyya of Allâhu ta’âlâ
are six: al-Wujûd, existence; al-Qidam, being without beginning,
and eternal in the past; al-Baqâ’, being without end, and eternal in the
future; al-Wahdâniyya, having no partner or match; al-Mukhâlafatu
li-l-hawâdith, being dissimilar to every creature in every respect; al-Qiyâmu
bi nafsihi, self-existence or being unneedy of anything for His existence.
No creature has any of these six attributes, nor any relation with them. They
belong to Allâhu ta’âlâ exclusively. Some ’ulamâ’ said that al-Mukhâlafatu li
’l-hawâdith and al-Wahdâniyya were the same and that as-Sifât adh-Dhâtiyya are
five.
[2] See pages 13 and 25.
[3] Khâlid-i Bagdâdî passed away in Damascus in
1247 [1826 A.D.].
created them all. They
all are mumkin (that may come into existence out of nonexistence) and hâdith (that came into being out
of nothing); that is, they may come into existence while they are nonexistent,
and they came into existence while they had been nonexistent. The
hadîth-i-sherîf, ‘Allâhu ta’âlâ was existent, anything else did not exist,’ shows that this is true.
A second evidence showing
that the entire universe and all creatures are hâdith is the fact that
creatures are transforming and changing into one another all the time; in fact,
anything qadîm (without a beginning) should never change. Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Dhât
(Person, Essence) and Attributes are qadîm and never change.[1] The changes in creatures
cannot be coming from the eternal past. They should have a beginning and come
into existence from elements or substances, which must have been created out of
nonexistence.
Another evidence for the
fact that the universe is mumkin, that is, it may come into being out of
nonexistence, is that creatures, as we see, are hâdith; that is, they come into
existence out of nothing.
There are two beings: the
mumkin and the Wâjib.[2] If only the mumkin existed, or if Wâjib al-wujûd
did not exist, nothing would exist.[3] For this reason, the mumkin could not come into
existence
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[1] However, in the universe the state of
substances changes in physical events. In chemical reactions, the essence or
structure of substances changes. We see objects or substances cease to exist
and change into other substances. Today, in atomic changes and nuclear
reactions, which have been discovered recently, the matter or element, too,
ceases existing and turns into energy.
[2] ‘Wujûd’ means ‘existence, being.’ There are
three kinds of existence. The first one is Wâjib al-wujûd, the Necessary
Existence. He always exists. He has never been nonexistent before, nor will He
stop existing in the everlasting future. Only Allâhu ta’âlâ is Wâjib al-wujûd.
The second one is mumtani’ al-wujûd, that cannot exist. It should never
exist. Such is sharîk al-Bârî’ (partner to Allâhu ta’âlâ). Another god partner
to Allâhu ta’âlâ or likeness to Him can never exist. The third one is mumkin
al-wujûd, that may or may not exist. So are the universe, all creatures
without any exception. The opposite of wujûd is ’adam (non-existence).
All creatures were in ’adam, were nonexistent, before they came into existence.
[3] For, it is a change,
an event, to come into existence out of nonexistence, and, according to our
knowledge in physics, in order for a change to take place in a substance, the
substance has to be acted upon by an exterior power, the source of which has to
precede the substance.
or go on being by itself.
If some power had not affected it, it would have always remained in
nonexistence and could not have come into existence. Since a mumkin could not
create itself; it could not, naturally, create other mumkins, either. That
which has created the mumkin has to be Wâjib al-wujûd. The existence of the
’âlam shows that a creator who created it out of nothing exists. So, the Unique
Creator of all that are mumkin, the creatures, is the only Wâjib al-wujûd
without being hâdith or mumkin, but always existent and qadîm (eternal). ‘Wâjib
al-wujûd’ means that its existence is not from something else but from itself,
that is, it is always self-existent and is not created by someone else. If this
were not so, then it would have to be a creature (mumkin and hâdith) created by
someone else. And this is contrary to what is deduced above. Persian ‘Khudâ’ (used as a name for
Allah) means ‘always self-existent, eternal.’[1]
We see that the classes
of beings are in an astounding order, and science finds out new laws of this
order each year. The Creator of this order must be Hayy (Ever-living), ’Alîm (All-knowing), Qâdir (Almighty), Murîd (All-willing), Samî’ (All-hearing), Basîr (All-seeing), Mutakallim (All-speaking) and Khâliq (All-creating)[2], for, death, ignorance,
incapability or being disposed under others’ compulsion, deafness, blindness
and dumbness are all defects, imperfections. It is impossible that such defective
attributes be in Him who has created this ’âlam or kâ’inât (all beings) in such
an order and who protects them against annihilation.[3] Moreover, we see the
above attributes of perfection also in creatures. He has created them in His
creatures. If these attributes did not exist in Him, how could He create them
in His creatures, and would not His creatures be superior to Him?
We should also add that
in Him who has created all these worlds of beings there should exist all the
attributes of perfection and superiority and none of the attributes of
deficiency, for, one
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[1] There is more detailed
information in the chapter on page 80.
[2] These are the eight
Sifât ath-Thubîtiyya of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
[3] Every being, from atom
to stars, has been created with some calculations and laws. The regularity in
the known laws of physics, chemistry, astronomy and biology bewilders the human
mind. Even Darwin had to say that when he thought of the order and delicacy in
the structure of the eye, he felt as if he would go crazy. Is it possible that
He who has created all the laws, delicate calculations and formulas taught as
scientific knowledge be defective?
Let alone these
reasonable evidences, âyat-i kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs explain clearly that
Allâhu ta’âlâ has the attributes of perfection. Therefore, it is not
permissible to doubt it. Doubt causes disbelief. The above-given eight
attributes of perfection are called as-Sifât ath-Thubûtiyya. Allâhu ta’âlâ has all the
eight attributes of perfection. There is no defect, disorder or change in His
Person, Essence, Attributes or Deeds.