The Absolutes - Part three of four-series

What is Known by Necessity from the Religion: Theological Tenets

So now that we've talked about what is considered to be known by necessity to be from the religion, we said there are those things which are firmly known, unequivocally known from the Qur'an, from the Sunnah, from consensus of the scholars, as well as from rational derivation of what is absolutely considered moral or immoral. We want to go through three main sections now, and جزاكم الله خيراً for allowing us to adjust the schedule.

Now we're going to be talking about things which are theological tenets, issues related to practice, and then issues related to Muslim identity. So theological issues, issues that relate to what we believe as Muslims, fall under the issue of المعلوم من الدين بالضرورة, those that are known, things that are known by necessity from Islam.

Chiefly, the core tenets of Islam that are universally recognized, non-negotiable, and the rejection of constitutes disbelief. Now, there are sources, books on theology that talk a lot about these different topics. In fact, I would say probably if we looked at the authorship on these issues, we would find a lot of early Hanafi scholars wrote considerably about this. You'll find also discussions by Imam al-Haytami, al-Shafi'i, and others.

The Oneness of Allah (Tawheed)

The first and foremost, and it's the core tenet of Islam, it is the reason why Allah created the heavens and the earth. It is the call of the prophets and the messengers and our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and that is the belief in Tawheed or the oneness of Allah. This is the most fundamental belief in Islam, is the absolute oneness, unicity of Allah. We know this from the Quran and from the Sunnah. We know this from the consensus of the scholars.

For someone to come and say, I am a Muslim, but I'm also an atheist, does that make sense? It's a contradiction in terms. Why? Because a Muslim is one who submits to Allah and an atheist is one who denies the existence of any higher power. So to deny the idea that God is one and he should be worshipped is antithetical to Islam. It's completely against Islam.

Say, He is Allah, the One. So Allah is ordering the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and us by extension to say that God is one. God is one and He's the only one deserving of worship.

Allah does not forgive that partners are associated in worship with Him. And He forgives anything less than that to whomever He wills.

So the core tenet of Islam is to worship God alone and to reject the worship of everything else. لا إله إلا الله There's no one worthy of worship, but God Almighty alone.

Expounding on this, Ibn Taymiyyah says, التوحيد هو أصل الإسلام الأعظم ومن أشرك فقد خرج عن دين الإسلام - Tawheed is the greatest foundation of Islam. The oneness of God is the greatest foundation of Islam. And whoever commits shirk, associating partners with God, then he has left the religion of Islam.

Dr. Muhammad Ahmed Othman, who is one of the modern scholars who's written on this topic extensively, he says, لا خلاف في أن إنكار وحدانية الله خروج عن الإسلام بالإجماع - There is no dispute that denying the oneness of Allah is by consensus an act of apostasy.

The Finality of Prophethood

Another very important principle in what we believe as Muslims is the finality of prophethood, خاتم النبوة, meaning that Muhammad ﷺ is the final messenger, and this is a fundamental article of what we believe as Muslims.

Muhammad is not the father of any man amongst you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets. So through him, prophecy was sealed. There is no prophecy after him. There is no messengership after him. If they do, then they are by default false prophets and messengers.

Al-Qadi Iyad, one of the famous scholars of the Malikiyya, he says, "Claiming prophethood after Muhammad ﷺ is an act of apostasy by the consensus of the Ummah."

Belief in the Hereafter

Another issue that is from those issues that must be known by necessity to be from Islam is our belief in the hereafter. Allah praises those people that believe in the unseen and the next life and the day of judgment. The hereafter is part of that unseen.

Those who believe in the unseen. So he praises those people who believe in the unseen. This includes our belief in the day of judgment, in paradise and hell.

Indeed, the hour is coming. There is no doubt about it.

Whoever is removed from the hellfire and admitted into paradise has indeed succeeded.

Divine Decree (Al-Qadar)

And that brings us to the next issue, which is the idea of faith in divine decree. So it's one of the six pillars of faith.

Indeed, we created everything according to a determined measure.

Ibn Taymiyyah says, "Qadar is one of the pillars of faith, and whoever denies it has denied what is necessarily known from the religion."

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 8)

That faith in Islam is that you believe in God, you believe in his angels, you believe in his books, you believe in his messengers, you believe in the day of judgment, and that you believe in divine decree, the good of it and the bad of it, the sweet of it and the bitter of it.

A Case Study: Interpretive Error and Ignorance

What if someone believes in the general precepts of Islam, however, has misunderstandings about the implication of that belief? There was a man that the Prophet ﷺ mentioned, this hadith is mentioned in Bukhari and Muslim, that had his body burned after he passed away. And this hadith is a case study in interpretive issues in the matters of faith, disbelief, and in ignorance.

(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

A man said, if I die, burn me, crush me, and scatter my ashes in the wind. By Allah, if Allah has power over me, He will punish me like He has punished no one else before me.

So God ordered the earth, gather what is in you of him. So he was resurrected. Allah resurrected him and asked him a very simple question. What made you do this? He said, fear of you, O Lord. So Allah forgave him.

So there are a couple of key issues that come up with this hadith. Did this man disbelieve in God? No. He believed in Allah. Did he disbelieve in God's power? He said, "If God has power over me, he will punish me like he will punish no one else." So he's affirming Allah's ability to punish, but he has a misconception about the extent of that power.

Some scholars have said what he said was a statement of disbelief, but it was built on a misconception about God's power. Therefore, although the statement is unacceptable, he didn't disbelieve. Others have said it wasn't a statement of disbelief. This is all hyperbole. He was speaking in an exaggerated tone out of his immense fear of being punished.

Regardless of which position you take, the result is one. Whether he spoke something that was disbelief but didn't disbelieve, or he intimated something that could be interpreted as disbelief out of his great fear, there was a core misconception that he had. And despite that, Allah forgave him. Why? Because the ultimate idea of affirming Allah and his attributes meant that he still knew that Allah was supreme.

When is Interpretive Error Excusable?

If the person genuinely misinterprets religious doctrine and does not intend to reject faith, then they are not classified as a disbeliever. If a person is neither a denier nor stubborn, then ignorance and misinterpretation may prevent them being ruled as a disbeliever. This does not include those that knowingly misinterpret or go against proofs after the proofs have been established.

When is interpretive error not an excuse? When the person deliberately refuses to correct their misinterpretation, despite having access to knowledge, then they are not excused. When there are errors in complex theological issues that are not necessarily clear to all believers, then the errors can sometimes be excused.

What is inexcusable misinterpretation? Where someone denies a fundamental aspect of the faith that's universally known and agreed upon and cannot be excused by interpretation. If somebody says prayer is not obligatory, or riba is not haram, then these matters are known by the religion by necessity, and therefore, these statements are rejected.

The Five Pillars of Islam: Acts of Worship

Those things that are known by necessity from Islam are the acts of worship of Islam. These include the five pillars of Islam, as well as other essential obligations that are explicitly mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah and affirmed by scholarly consensus. Why? Because these actions are known by necessity to be from the foundation of Muslim religious practice.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 8)

Islam is built upon five: The testimony that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, giving zakah, fasting Ramadan, and performing pilgrimage to the house for whomever is able to do so.

Al-Buhuti says in Al-Kashaf Al-Qina: "Whoever denies the obligation of the five acts of worship mentioned in the hadith has committed disbelief without dispute." Ibn Hazm, in his book Al-Fisal, says: "Whoever denies what Allah has made obligatory while knowing that has committed disbelief."

The Prayer (Salah)

And establish the prayer and give zakah and bow along with those who bow. So the Quran repeatedly commands us to observe the salah.

He said: "Muslims have unanimously agreed upon the disbelief of whoever denies the obligation of prayer." Now remember this is not talking about whether you pray or not. That's a whole other thing. Do I believe the prayer to be obligatory? Yes I do. But do I miss my prayer sometimes? Do I falter sometimes? Yes all of the above. That's completely different than the belief of the prayer being something that I'm obligated to do.

Zakah

Allah says you will never find the prayer mentioned in the Quran except that Zakah is mentioned along with it. Al-Dardir, a great scholar of the Maliki Madhhab from Egypt, says: "Whoever denies the obligation of Zakah has committed disbelief because this is known from faith by necessity."

Fasting

O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may attain piety. So as Muslims we are obligated to fast in Ramadan just as Christians and Jews and other faiths were obligated to fast by God before the advent of Islam.

Hajj

And pilgrimage to the house is a duty upon mankind owed to Allah for those who are able to make their way there. And whoever disbelieves that indeed Allah is free of need from the worlds.

Al-Buhuti says: "Whoever denies the obligation of hajj while having the ability to perform it is a disbeliever." This means that if you have the ability to perform hajj and you say I don't have to make hajj, that's different than if you say I don't have the ability to make hajj. Because you're not obligated to make hajj unless you actually have the financial and physical ability.

In essence with each of these five pillars what we are doing is we're saying we are submitting ourselves wholly to God, recognizing their obligation in general and in specific, recognizing our weakness and the fact that we are striving for these goals but also not allowing our desires to dictate what religion is but instead allowing God to dictate to us what religion is. So these are all non-negotiable obligations and the denial of them constitutes an act of disbelief.