Assalamu’alaikum Warohmatullohi Wabarakatuhu...
Bismillaahirrohmaanirrohiim .......

Loving Allah and His Messenger
Love and hate are among the actions of the heart. It is obligatory upon the pubescent person to use these two emotions in accordance with the rules of the Religion. One must love Allah and what is in accordance with the rules of Islam. Also, one must hate the devil and what he whispers of sinful matters.

1- Loving Allah and His Messenger, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam: The pubescent person is obligated to love Allah, His Qur’an, and His Prophet. This is done by following the orders of Islam and avoiding its unlawful matters.

Allah, ta^ala said:

قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللهُ

Qul in kuntum tuhibbun-allaha fattabi^uni yuhbibkum-ullah.

Ayah 31 of Suratu Al ^Imran means: {Say (O Muhammad): If you love Allah, then follow me, and Allah will love you.}

This is an essential part of believing in Allah, what He revealed, and believing in the Prophet and what he brought. The doubt in Allah, on the other hand, His Qur’an, or His Messenger is among the sins of the heart. In fact it is blasphemy, which takes one out of the Religion of Islam.

2- Loving the companions, relatives (Al) of the Prophet, and the pious Muslims: Among the obligations of the heart is loving the Companions, relatives (Al) of the Prophet and the pious Muslims. Failing to love them is one of the sins of the heart. Mocking or cursing them is among the sins of the tongue.

The Companions: They are the Companions of the Prophet. They supported the Religion of Allah and spread it, especially the earlier ones who immigrated with the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and those who received him in Madinah. The Companions are the people who met the Prophet during his life and believed in him, whether they knew him for a long or a short time, as long as they died on the correct belief.

The Relatives (Al) of the Prophet: This term is given to the wives of the Prophet such as Khadijah and ^A’ishah. It also refers to his Muslim relatives, like Hamzah, al-^Abbas, ^Aliyy, al-Hasan, al-Husayn, and their mother Fatimah (may Allah raise all their ranks). Loving the Al of the Prophet is an obligation because of the merit they have. If one means by the term “Al” the God-fearing pious people, which is one of its meanings, then loving them is an obligation, because they are beloved to Allah due to their ideal behavior in obeying Allah.

The Pious Muslims: They are the ones who have performed all the obligations and avoided all the sins. Among these categories are the scholars, and the highly righteous Muslims.

3- Hating the Devil and Sins: Among what is also obligatory on the heart is hating the devil and the sins. Also, one must regret performing the sins.

Questions:


1. List some of what a Muslim is obligated to love.


2. State from the Qur’an the proof that an indication of a Muslim’s love of Allah is his rightly following the Prophet.

3. Who are the Companions? Why is it obligatory to love them?

4. Who are the Al? Why is it obligatory to love them?

5. Who are the pious Muslims?


6. List some of what a Muslim is obligated to hate?

http://www.sunna.info/Lessons/islam_407.html

Assalamu’alaikum Warohmatullohi Wabarakatuhu...
Bismillaahirrohmaanirrohiim .......

Believe that Allah is the Creator of This World
Allah, ta^ala, said in the Qur’an:

أَفِي اللّهِ شَكٌّ

Afi-llahi shakk.

Ayah 10 of Surah Ibrahim means: {There is no doubt about the existence of Allah.}

The first obligation on the mukallaf person is to know about Allah, ta^ala. Allah is the Creator of all the existent things and is the One Who manages all the creation. If, with our sound mind, we carefully think about all the creations and ponder about their existence, we must know that they have a Creator Who created them.

The mental proof that Allah exists :

With the sound mind, we know irrefutably that every writing has to have a writer, the act of hitting has to have a hitter, and that a building has to have a builder. Therefore, it follows that this universe with all the creations in it has to have a creator Who is Alive, attributed with Will, Knowledge, and Power, and this is Allah. He is clear of all imperfections. He is the One Who does not resemble any of His creations, and nothing resembles Him. The sound mind does not accept the existence of an action without someone who carried it out.

It is not conceivable for nature to be the Creator, because nature has no will. So, how would nature create? It is also not permissible for something to create itself. Finally, something cannot create something that resembles it.

For example, the child is born small; he does not talk or walk. Then he develops. He starts gradually and slowly to talk and walk. Then he matures and becomes a young man, then middle-aged, then old, after which he dies. Who changed him and transformed him from one state to another? Allah is the One Who created and changed him, and willed for him to die.

A story of a man who denied the existence of Allah:

It is related that a man who denied the existence of the Creator came once to one of the caliphs and told him: "The scholars of your time say that there is a creator for this universe, and I am prepared to prove to them that this universe has no creator."

The caliph sent for one of the top scholars telling him of the man's claim and ordering him to come. The scholar was purposely late; then he came. The caliph welcomed him and seated him in the center of the session. Present at this meeting were many scholars and important people. So the man said: "Why were you late in your arrival?" The scholar said: "What if I tell you that a very strange matter occurred to me, and because of it I was late? My house is behind the river of Dijlah (Tigris). I came to cross the river, but I did not find anything other than an old boat with broken planks. When my gaze fell onto it, the planks moved, came together, and reassembled so that the boat became seaworthy. All this happened without the work of a carpenter or a worker. I sat in it, crossed the river, and came to this place.”

The man said: "O people, listen to what your scholar says. Have you heard anything more absurd than this? How can a boat exist without a carpenter to build it? This is an explicit lie."

The scholar said: "O blasphemer, if the mind does not accept the existence of a boat without a builder or carpenter, then how do you say that this entire universe exists without a creator?" The man became silent. He was refuted. The caliph punished him because of his bad beliefs.


Questions:

1. What is the proof from the Qur’an about the existence of Allah?

2. What is the mental proof that Allah exists?

3. Why is it not conceivable for nature to be a creator?

http://www.sunna.info/Lessons/islam_378.html

Assalamu’alaikum Warohmatullohi Wabarakatuhu...
Bismillaahirrohmaanirrohiim .......

WHAT IS ISLAMIC OBLIGATORY KNOWLEDGE?

Islamic Concepts

"The best deed is the belief in Allah and His Messenger." (Al-Bukhariyy)

What is Islam? Linguistically, Islam means submission. According to Islamic terminology, Islam means a specified submission. It is the submission to what the prophet brought. This takes place by uttering the THE TWO TESTIFICATIONS OF FAITH. Belief, on the other hand, linguistically means certitude. According to Islamic terminology, it means a specified certitude. It is to accept as true what the prophet brought. The least of Belief is to belief in the THE TWO TESTIFICATIONS OF FAITH.

Islam and Belief cannot be disassociated. One of them is not accepted without the other, although their original meaning are not identical. Imam Abu Hanifah said in Al-Fiqh Al-'Akbar: "Islam is not acceptable without Belief and Belief is not accepted without Islam. They are like the front of something and its back." Islam is the Religion of all the prophets.


What are the Two Testifications of Faith? The Two Testifications of Faith are: I bear witness that no one is God except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad the son of ^Abdillah is the prophet of Allah. The non-Muslim embraces Islam by believing in the Two Testifications of Faith and uttering them with the intention of leaving out blasphemy. The first Testification means that no one or thing deserves to be worshipped except God Who is the Creator of everything.The second Testification states that Muhammad the son of ^Abdillah who was born in Makkah about 1400 years ago is a messenger of God.

He was sent to convey what God revealed to him so that the humans believe in and work with the Laws he received and brought. He is truthful in all what he conveyed. The Two Testifications reject the Godhood of anyone or anything other than God. They confirm the Godhood of God only with the acknowledgment of the message of prophet Muhammad.

Basic Islamic Belief One has to believe that the Creator, Allah, exists, and is not similar to anything. He is the only Creator and the only One Who deserves to be worshipped. He does not need anything and everything needs Him. God has Attributes of perfection that befit Him and any imperfection is not attributable to Him. Any imperfection, such as ignorance, place, direction, body, soul, organ, children, change or weakness, is not attributed to God.

The rule is simple: Whatever you imagine in your mind, God is different from it. God sent messengers the first of them was Adam and the last one was Muhammad. All the messengers, including Jesus and Moses, were truthful, ordered their people to believe in One God, Allah, and not to associate any partner with Him. Hence, their Religion was the same: Islam.

How Does One Become a Muslim? One becomes a Muslim by believing in the Two Testifications of Faith and uttering them with the intention of leaving out blasphemy. The Two Testifications of Faith are: I bear witness that no one is God except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.

Who is Prophet Muhammad the son of ^Abdillah? Prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah in Arabia in 6th century. His father was ^Abdullah the son of ^Abd al-Muttalib, the son of Hashim the son of ^Abdi Manaf from the tribe of Quraysh- the head of the Arab tribes. His father died while his mother was still pregnant with him. He was raised by his grandfather, the head of Quraysh, after the death of his mother. His uncle Abu Talib, later on took care of him and supported him. He received the revelation in Makkah when he was 40 years old and stayed in Makkah after that for 13 years. He immigrated to al-Madinah and lived there for 10 years before he died there. His age was 63 years old when he died. He was buried in al-Madinah and it is rewardable to visit his grave there.

Prophet Muhammad revived the call for Islam after Jesus was raised and after none of the Muslim followers of Jesus were alive. Prophet Muhammad conveyed that there will be no prophet after him, and Jesus will come back to rule according to his teachings. This was also revealed to the prophet in the Qur'an . Qur'an spoke about other prophets like: Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, and Jesus. All of those prophets were prophets of Islam. Prophet Muhammad exerted successful efforts in calling for Islam and was supported by God with miracles. By that, prophet Muhammad proved to others that he is a prophet and truthful. Before the death of prophet Muhammad his companions reached about 100,000 Muslims. Today, the Muslims are about 1 billion. Since the time of the prophet, Muslims have kept, one generation after the other, conveying the teachings and following the rulings of prophet Muhammad. Believing in Islam is not valid if one does not believe in prophet Muhammad and that he is the final messenger.


What is the Qur'an? The Qur'an is revelation from God to the prophet. Neither angel Gabriel, nor prophet Muhammad composed the Qur'an. The Qur'an was revealed by Allah and conveyed by the prophet. The Qur'an is a long-lasting miracle. The prophet challenged others, Arabs and non-Arabs, to bring something like it. The challenge is still valid. None was able to bring anything like it and no one will be able to do that.God promised to save Qur'an from perversion. This is readily noticed. Today, all over the world, Muslims refer to one Qur'an. Qur'an is written in the book of al-Mushaf. Al-Mushaf is one. Muslims follow today, as always, the same Mushaf. If one goes back in history, one will still see that Muslims had one Mushaf- the same Mushaf which we refer to it today.

As a matter of fact, the original copies of the Mushaf which was written by the companions is still available in Muslim museums in Turkey and other countries. Muslim children and adults memorize all the Qur'an by heart. This is an Islamic tradition which was preserved since the time of the companions of the prophet. One generation of Muslims will convey Qur'an to the next generation. They keep following the methods for reciting Qur'an as these methods were originally conveyed by prophet Muhammad. The lineage to the prophet is extremely strong. From here, one realizes that it is impossible to tamper with Qur'an. The Qur'an is the evidence Muslims use to learn about and rule according to Islam. Muslims also refer to the traditions conveyed by prophet Muhammad called Sunnah which is also revelation. The Muslims also refer to the unanimous agreement of the top Muslim scholars on religious issues. Ruling on new issues is established based on proofs given by Qur'an, Sunnah and consensus following a particular method for deducing judgments. Only individuals who are highly qualified may deduce judgments in Islam.

Some of the Attributes of Allah God has Attributes of perfection which befit Him. Some of these are Existence, Existence without a beginning, Existence without an end, Oneness, Non-resemblance to creations, non-neediness to creations, Life, Will, Power, Knowledge, Hearing, Sight and Speech without letters, sounds or languages.

ISLAMIC OBLIGATORY KNOWLEDGE

“The person whom Allah willed to grant goodness, Allah makes him knowledgeable about the Religion.” (Al-Bukhariyy)

What is Islamic Obligatory Knowledge? Islamic Obligatory Knowledge is the knowledge that every accountable person is obligated to know. It includes the knowledge of Islamic Belief, cases of Islamic Law about Purification, Prayer, Fasting and the like. It also includes knowledge of the rules pertaining to dealings and contracts. One has also to learn the Obligatory Knowledge about the sins of the heart and body organs like the tongue, stomach, hands, private parts and the like. Ask for your copy of: "The Summary of ^Abdullah Al-Harariyy Ensuring Personal Obligatory Knowledge of the Religion", by his Excellency al-Muhaddith, shaykh ^Abdullah Al-Harariyy.

http://www.sunna.info/Lessons/islam_337.html

Assalamu’alaikum Warohmatullohi Wabarakatuhu...
Bismillaahirrohmaanirrohiim .......

How Does One Become a Muslim?

One becomes a Muslim by believing in the Two Testifications of Faith and uttering them with the intention of leaving out blasphemy.

What are the Two Testifications of Faith?

The Two Testifications of Faith are:

In English

I bear witness that no one deserves to be worshiped except Allah

and

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

[Listen]

In Arabic

أشهدُ أنْ لا إلهَ إلاَّ اللهُ

وأشهدُ أنَّ محمّداً رسولُ الله

(ASHHADU ALLA ILAHA ILLALLAH, WA ASHHADU ANNA MUHAMMADAR-RASULULLAH)

The non-Muslim embraces Islam by believing in the Two Testifications of Faith and uttering them with the intention of leaving out blasphemy.

The first Testification means that no one or thing deserves to be worshipped except God Who is the Creator of everything.


The second Testification states that Muhammad the son of ^Abdillah who was born in Makkah about 1400 years ago is a messenger of God. He was sent to convey what God revealed to him so that the humans believe in and work with the Laws he received and brought. He is truthful in all what he conveyed.

The Two Testifications reject the Godhood of anyone or anything other than God. They confirm the Godhood of God only with the acknowledgment of the message of prophet Muhammad.

http://www.sunna.info/Lessons/islam_334.html

Assalamu’alaikum Warohmatullohi Wabarakatuhu...
Bismillaahirrohmaanirrohiim .......

Water is the First Creation

Allah created the heavens, the earths, and the mountains.

Allah created the rivers and the seas.

Allah created the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets.

Allah created the shrubs, the trees, the humans, and the animals.

The first thing Allah created was water. It is above the heavens. Then Allah created the Grand ^Arsh.

The ^Arsh is a platform with pillars. It is the largest of the bodies that Allah created, and it is the ceiling of Paradise.

Allah is the Creator of everything.

The First Human Being, Our Master Adam

After Allah had created the heavens, the earths, the angels, the jinn, the trees, the birds, and the animals, Allah created our master Adam from soil.

Our master Adam was the first human.

Adam was the first of the prophets and messengers.

Allah created Adam without a father or a mother.

Allah created the angels from light. They are the inhabitants of the seven heavens.

Allah created the jinn from fire. The father of the jinn is Iblis.

Paradise

Allah created Adam in Paradise.

Paradise is above the seven heavens.

Paradise is very big.

Paradise is very beautiful.

Paradise has many trees, rivers, and birds with beautiful sounds. It has all what one would like.

Paradise and Hell

Allah prepared Paradise for the believers who followed the prophets (may peace be upon them) and believed them. The pious believers will enter Paradise on the Day of Judgment without punishment.

Also Allah created Hell for the sinners and the blasphemers who belied the prophets and did not follow the true Religion. The blasphemers will enter Hell on the Day of Judgment and they will never go out of it.

Adam Lived in Paradise

Adam (may peace be upon him) lived in Paradise 130 years, eating from its fruits; drinking from its rivers of water, honey, and milk; and living in it enjoyably without getting sick, tired, or sad.

Lady Hawwa' (Eve)

After a period of time Allah created a wife for our master Adam. Her name was Hawwa' .

She lived a kind and peaceful life with Adam in Paradise.

She loved her husband and he loved her.

Adam Was Beautiful

Our master Adam was beautiful. He was tall, with an upright body. He was not like the animals that walk on four legs. He was not ugly.

Hawwa' was beautiful also. She was tall, with an upright body. She was not ugly.

Adam and Hawwa' were not naked. They used to wear clothes.

Adam and Hawwa' and Their Descent to Earth

After Adam and Hawwa' lived in Paradise for a long period, Allah made them descend to earth.

They gave birth to many children.

Adam and Hawwa' started to build and construct things such as homes.

All of their children were Muslim; none of them was a blasphemer.

The Religion of Adam and Hawwa'

Adam and Hawwa' were Muslim. Each of them loved and worshipped Allah. They used to pray, fast, and go to Hajj (pilgrimage).

They both had good manners.

Good manners are for one to tolerate the harm, and to be good to people when talking to them and when dealing with them--whether or not they treat one likewise.

Our Master Adam is a Prophet and a Messenger

When Adam (may peace be upon him) came down to earth, Allah made him a prophet and a messenger to his wife and offspring, to teach them Tawhid and the prayers.

Tawhid is to know what attributes befit Allah and to know the difference between the Creator and the created things.

He taught them the basis for good behavior, truthfulness, trust-worthiness, and sincerity.

An example of good behavior is to be trustful in dealing and not to cheat.

An example of trustworthiness is if someone put money with another person to safekeep it, that person would give it back.

Sincerity means to be obedient (which means to obey Allah's orders) hoping for reward from Allah and not seeking to please people.

Our Master Adam was Articulate

Our master Adam spoke all languages.

Adam was articulate.

He had a beautiful voice.

He knew the names of everything.

Allah, the Exalted, said in the Qur'an:



This Ayah means: [..... and Allah created in Adam the knowledge of the names of everything.]

He used to talk with his children with clear words and not with signs.

Adam knew all the names of the creations such as the name of the sky, the earth, the sea, the air, the angel, the jinn, and the like.

Adam Plants and Harvests

Allah created in our master Adam the knowledge of the matters of earning a living.

Allah created in Adam the knowledge of how to make the instruments for planting, like a shovel and a sickle.

Allah created in Adam the knowledge of how to plant seeds, vegetables, and fruits, and how to harvest.

Allah created in Adam the knowledge of how to make bread out of wheat, and Adam used to make it well.

Adam Builds the Ka^bah

Our master Adam learned how to build.

Adam used to build homes and houses.

He used to make ceilings and doors for them.

He was the first to build the Ka^bah.

During his time, the Aqsa Mosque was built in Palestine.

http://www.sunna.info/Lessons/islam_371.html