Question: What are the conditions for having the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah?
ANSWER
Some important points of the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah are as follows:
1. Believing in the six pillars of faith. [Believing that everything, good or bad, is from Allah, but humans are responsible for the sins they commit because they have partial will (irada al-juz’iyya).]
2. Deeds are not a part of iman. That is, a Muslim who does not perform acts of worship or who commits sins is not declared a disbeliever (kafir). [Wahhabites claim that deeds are a part of iman so a person who does not perform salat or who commits a prohibited act is a disbeliever.]
3. Either one has iman or not; it does not increase or decrease. [Its brightness increases or decreases.]
4. The Qur’an al-karim is not a creature (makhluq).
5. Allahu ta’ala is not with place. [Wahhabis say that Allah is in heaven or up on the ‘Arsh, which is an act of kufr.]
6. The ahl-i qibla is not declared as a disbeliever. [Wahhabites declare everybody except themselves as disbelievers.]
7. Questioning and torments in the grave are true.
8. Only Allahu ta’ala knows the ghayb. And if He wills, He lets His prophets and His awliya know it as well.
9. Karamat of the awliya is true.
10. All of the Ashab-i kiram will enter Paradise. [Rafidites claim that the Ashab-i kiram, except five of them, are all kafir. But in the 10th verse of Surat-ul-Hadid of the Qur’an al-karim, it is declared that the abode of all of them will be Paradise.]
11. Hadrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq is superior to all of the Ashab-i kiram.
12. The Mi’raj was both a bodily and a spiritual ascent.
13. When a person dies by being murdered or by committing suicide, it is the appointed time (ajal) of his/her death.
14. Prophets do not commit sins.
15. For today, to follow any of the four righteous madhhabs.
16. Of the prophets, the first one is Adam (‘alaihissalam), the last one is Muhammad (‘alaihissalam). [Wahhabites deny the fact that Hadrat Adam, Hadrat Shit and Hadrat Idris are prophets. They say that the first prophet is Hadrat Nuh. In addition, some groups who call their leader a rasul [prophet] assert that a nabi will not come, but a rasul will come. For this reason, some zindiqs who name themselves rasuls have appeared.
17. To believe in the Shafa’at [intercession], the Sirat Bridge, giving accounts of all deeds done in this world, and the Mizan.
18. The soul does not die. The souls of dead disbelievers and Muslims hear.
19. It is permissible to visit graves. Also, it is permissible to do istighasa, that is, to go to visit the graves of the prophets and the awliya, to pray through their intercession, and to ask for their help. [However, Wahhabites consider it to be shirk (polytheism), so they call the Sunnis and Shiites polytheists].
20. To believe in the harbingers and precedents of Doomsday, such as that Dajjal and the beast called Dabbat-ul-ard will appear; Hadrat Mahdi will come; Hadrat ‘Isa will descend from the sky; the sun will rise in the west; and also to believe in the other harbingers that were communicated.
Hadrat Imam-i A’zam stated, “It is necessary to believe in the harbingers and precedents of Doomsday without giving them a figurative sense” (Fiqh-i akbar).
A hadith-i sharif says:
(The Doomsday will not take place until the sun rises in the west. At that time, all people will believe, but it will avail them nothing.) [Bukhari, Muslim]
Interpreting “the sun’s rising in the west” as “The people in Europe will become Muslims” is contrary to the statement of Hadrat Imam-i A’zam. None of the Islamic scholars made ta’wil (choosing, from among the several meanings of a word, the one that is compatible with Islam). Did our Prophet, hasha, talk in riddles? In the same way, there have appeared people saying, “Prayer means supplication. There is no such thing as salat.” In that case, there remains nothing in the name of religion. Besides, when the people in Europe become Muslims, why will iman avail them nothing? The sun’s rising in the west is scientifically possible as well. It is not necessary to have recourse to a contrived interpretation lest disbelievers voice objections against it. Allahu ta’ala may disrupt the Earth’s usual orbit and create a new orbit for it. When its path is changed, then the sun will have risen in the west.
21. Allahu ta’ala will be seen in the Hereafter.
22. Disbelievers will stay in Hell eternally and their torments will not be diminished, but increased gradually.
23. It is permissible to make masah over al-khuffayn.
24. It is not permissible to rebel against the sultan.
(All abovementioned pieces of information have been quoted from the books Fiqh-i akbar, Nuhbat-ul-laali, R. Nasihin, Maktubat-i Rabbani, F. Fawaid.)
The only group to be saved from Hell
Question: I have grown up being bereft of religious knowledge. I want to learn my religion correctly, so I have bought many books. However, there are some opposing pieces of information in the books. In the same way, the translations of the Qur’an are different from each other. It is not possible for me to find the right path by myself. I asked the same question to different men of religion, but all their answers were different. If I die before learning my religion correctly, will I be excused? Or will I be responsible for what I know incorrectly?
ANSWER
Many people are asking the same or similar question. Every sect, every group says that it is the one that is on the right way. Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani declares:
A hadith sharif declares that Muslims will fragment into seventy three groups. Each of these seventy-three groups claims to obey Islam. Each group says that it is the one that will be saved from Hell. It is declared in the fifty-third verse of Surat-ul-Mu’minun and in the thirty-second verse of Surat-ur-Rum: “Each party rejoices thinking that it is on the right path.”
However, among these various groups, the sign of the one that will be saved is declared by our Master the Prophet as follows:
(Ones who are in this group are those who follow the way which I and my companions follow.) [Tirmidhi]
After mentioning himself, our Master the Prophet did not need to mention the Blessed Companions, yet his mentioning means: “My way is the way which my companions follow. The way to salvation is the only way which my companions follow.” Those who follow the way of the Blessed Companions are no doubt the group of the Ahl as-Sunnat wa-l-Jama’at. The group that will be saved from Hell is only this one. (First Volume, 80th Letter)
Today many people say that they are Ahl as-Sunnat. Therefore, it is necessary to know the principles of the creed of Ahl as-Sunnat. After knowing them, it is not difficult to find the truth.
What does “Allah does not forgive shirk” mean?
Question: It is said that Allah forgives all sins. However, I have heard it is written in the Qur’an that He will not forgive shirk, which is the gravest sin. Could you explain this matter?
ANSWER
We have to correct our creed. Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani states:
It is impossible to escape torment in the Hereafter if there is a fluctuation in the creed and iman. If one’s creed is correct but if there is slackness in deeds and worships [in performing acts of worship and abstaining from harams], it may be forgiven with repentance, or maybe without repentance. If one is not forgiven, even if one enters Hell, one will be saved in the end. The chief and main requirement is correcting one’s creed. (First Volume, 193rd Letter)
Again Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani states:
Each Muslim has to learn Ahl as-Sunnat belief and correct their iman accordingly. It is a heart-killing poison to set the heart on those evil, corrupt creeds and beliefs disagreeing with the belief written in the books of the Ahl as-Sunnat scholars. It takes one to eternal torment. If there is slackness in deeds and worships, it may be forgiven, but being slack in belief will never be forgiven. Allahu ta’ala declares:
([In the Hereafter] Allah will never forgive shirk [disbelief, corrupt belief]. He willl forgive all the other sins of those people whom He likes.) [Surat-un-Nisa 48]
Then you have to correct your creed before you die. (Second Volume, 67th Letter)
As is seen, a person who dies in a state of shirk, that is, kufr [disbelief] will stay in Hell eternally. However, if a person who has committed an act of shirk [disbelief] repents in this world, that is, before dying, they are forgiven.
If disbelievers repent of their disbelief, they become pure and sinless Muslims. In the same way, if a Muslim regrets and makes repentance after becoming a disbeliever by doing an action which is a sign of disbelief, they become a Muslim again. To make repentance, it does not suffice only to say the (special expression termed) Kalima-i shahadat. It is necessary to repent and renounce the deed that caused disbelief. The statement “Allah does not forgive shirk” is misunderstood. People who have died in a state of shirk are not forgiven. But if people who have done acts that cause disbelief many times make repentance before dying, then they are forgiven.
In order to be Ahl as-Sunnat
Question: It is written in an authentic book, “Tafdil ash-Shaykhayn, hubb al-khatanayn, and wiping over al-khuffayn are signs of being Ahl as-Sunnah.” What is meant by this?
ANSWER
Tafdil ash-Shaykhayn means believing that Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat Umar are superior to all the other Blessed Companions. Hubb al-khatanayn means loving the Two Sons-in-Law, that is, Hadrat Uthman and Hadrat Ali. Additionally, wiping over al-khuffayn [in ablution] is a sign of being Ahl as-Sunnah. Followers of Ibn Saba do not like the first three caliphs and not consider wiping over al-khuffayn permissible. They wipe over naked feet in ablution. It is understood that one who does not accept them does not belong to Ahl as-Sunnah.
The Creator of everything is Allah
Question: Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani says in his 289th letter, “The sect Jabriyah asserts, ‘That the human does a deed is said in the figurative sense. Humans have no power. They are like a leaf that shakes in the wind. All actions of humans are coerced like the vibration of a tree.’ They also assert, ‘Deeds of humans, good or bad, do not belong to them in reality. It is only Allah who does their optional deeds, too.’ Both cause disbelief.” It is written in the same letter and other letters that it is Allah who creates everything. However, it seems they contradict each other. How should we believe in a correct way in accordance with the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah?
ANSWER
It is certainly Allahu ta’ala who creates everything. Saying the opposite is disbelief. However, He has given partial will to us. He says that if we do so-and-so, it is a sin, and if we do so-and-so it brings blessings (thawab). If we did not have partial will, that is, if He always coerced us into doing a deed, He would not punish us in return for our sins or give us blessings in return for our acts of worship. It is He who has given partial will to us, and it is He who creates everything, too. This is the correct way of believing.
