Sifats 14-20 (RT 24/2/08)

Risalah Tauhid 24 Feb 2008

The next 7 sifats are associated to the previously discussed sifats. According to ulama, there's a need to reiterate them to impress the point:

14. Kaunuhu Qadiran
God is powerful. While previously discussed "Al-Qudrah" described God's power, "Kaunuhu Qadiran" states that God is indeed all-powerful.

15. Kaunuhu Muridan
God wishes. His wish and will have been described in "Al-Iradah".

16. Kaunuhu 'Aliman
God knows. His knowledge has been described in "Al-'Ilm".

17. Kaunuhu Hayyan
God is alive. Definition of his life has been described in "Al-Hayat".

18. Kaunuhu Sami'an
God hears and listens. His hearing has been described in "As-Sami'".

19. Kaunuhu Basiran
God sees and looks. His vision has been described in "Al-Basor".

20. Kaunuhu Mutakalliman
God speaks. His speech has been described in "Al-Kalam".

Said Ustaz Zakaria: There are many techniques in learning. Sometimes after you go home from lessons, you need to ponder and do revisions. Then it will come to you.

Wallahu a'lam

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Sifats 12-13 (RT 10/2/08)

Risalah Tauhid 10 Feb 2008

12. Al-Basor

Means God sees without eyes. His seeing is eternal and not affected by time whether the object has been, still is, or will exist only in the future. His vision is not reduced by object brightness, distance, or size.

God is able to see:

• Objects that are visible or invisible (to human eyes).
• Objects that are far and near.
• In light or dark.
• Objects that are exposed or hidden.

When we believe that God is all-seeing, then we submit to His commands. We will do as He orders and will stay away from those he forbids. We will not even steal when people are not around.

13. Al-Kalam

God speaks without mouth or voice as creatures do.

This is an eternal sifat that shows the "wajib-aqli" (must) such as what He says in Al-Quran:

I am God, and there’s no God but I

And He also says a verse to show the "mustahil-aqli" (impossible):

…(as the Christians erroneously say) verily God is the third of the three.

Next he also mentions the "jaiz-aqli" (possible):

And God created all of you and those that you do.

So it seems that the sifat “Al-Kalam” is singular, but in fact is multiple if we view it from the perspective of what being said:

• Commands (Amar) e.g. to fast in Ramadan.
• Prohibitions (Nahyu) e.g. gambling is forbidden.
• Information (Khabar) e.g. stories of the Pharaoh (Fir’aun).
• Assurance (Wa’d) e.g. Paradise (Jannah) for those perform good deeds.
• Intimidation (Wa’id) e.g. torture (Hellfire) for the defiants.

Wallahu a'lam

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Sifats Ma'ani (RT 6/1/08)

Risalah Tauhid 6 Jan 2008

10. Al-Hayat

Means God is alive. He is alive but does not breathe and is not in composition of the 4 elements (water, fire, earth and wind). He is in no need of eat or drink..

Al-Hayat is an attribute that had no beginning and has no ending. This sifat forms a basis for the other 6 sifats (some already discussed, some are not):

• Al-Qudrah
• Al-Iradah
• Al-‘Ilm
• As-Sama’
• Al-Basor
• Al-Kalam

Al-Hayat and the 6 attributes are collectively known as “Sifats Ma’ani”.

Said Ustaz Zakaria: God composed men from 4 elements: fire, water, earth, and wind.

11. As-Sama’

God hears without ears. This eternal sifat means God hears clearly whether an object has existed once, still exists, or will exist only in the future.

Nothing escapes His hearing:

• His hearing penetrates through walls and prevails over noise.
• He hears things that emanate sound or things that are silent.
• His hearing does not diminish due to distance or loudness.

When one is aware of “As-Sama’”, one becomes self-consious on what appropriate to say. Things to say should be in accordance with one’s belief. This is manifestation of true faith.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• Making “taqlid jazmi” means that one has faith in Allah, but the faith comes by following others (trend, fashion). This person never learned Allah’s sifats in detail. However, if those he followed waver from their faith, he still upholds his.
• Some ulama say “taqlid jazmi” is already valid, but some others don’t agree.
• Evident (zahir) aspect is a manifestation of the hidden (batin). From this we can deduce that someone who misbehaves means his faith is lacking.
• Jurispundence (syari’ah) is not separable from inner-truth (haqiqah). This is the rule in tasauf.

Wallahu a'lam

Sifat 'Ilm (RT 2/12/07)

Risalah Tauhid 2 Dec 2007

9. Al-'Ilm
God knows everything, existent or not. Including those has existed once and those that will come into existence later. God also knows things that never ends such as the joy of Paradise (Jannah) and the torture of Hellfire (Jahannam).

As we understand from Al-Quran Surah Saba ayat 3:

He is the Knower of the unseen. Not an atom's weight, or less than that, or greater, escapes Him in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clear Record.

God knows what is in our heart. Therefore we should be afraid to commit sin. People who have reached this station (darjat) are truly those who know and believe the 'ilm (knowledge) of God.

Wallahu a'lam

Sifat Iradah (RT 25/11/07)

Risalah Tauhid 25 Nov 2007

8. Al-Iradah
Means God wills. He makes other things and leave other things be, as He wishes. So Muslims have conviction that everything has happened and will happen because God wishes so. Yet all men have been allotted their share in rizq (worldly bounty) - if they put some effort into pursuing it.

In Al-Quran Surah Qasas ayat 77, we understand from God:

...forget not your portion of the world...

With "Al-Iradah" in mind, men still have to perform the good and stay away from the bad. Only then leave things to Allah's will while looking forward to good reward in this world and the Hereafter.

Said Ustaz Zakaria: Allah "wills". This is altogether different meaning from Allah "in need of", because He's never in need of anything.

Wallahu a'lam

Creed - Jabariah,Qadariah (RT 18/11/07)

Risalah Tauhid 18 Nov 2007

There’re 3 forms of creed worthy of discussion regarding God's attribute Al-Qudrah:

Qadariyyah – some people believe that whatever happens is solely an outcome of their own effort. God gave the power to man to initiate, but God has no say in the result.

This creed is rejected and deemed fasiq (defiant). How did the Qadaris come up with the idea that man determine their own destiny? The reality is that so many people live in misery, poverty, and affliction, even though almost all of them make every effort to live well.

Jabariyyah – this is the belief that whatever happens as per will of God. Men have no control over the good or bad. They are merely leaves of casuarina tree, being blown by the wind in any direction.

If this was so, there’d no use of heaven or hell-fire. There’d no need for God to send us His Messengers, Al-Quran, or the past Scriptures. This creed is totally in disagreement with religion, intelligence, and common sense. The Jabaris are judged fasiq as well.

Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama’ah – the literal meaning is that “those who follow the Messenger and the majority”. We have total conviction that men exert effort, while God determines the result. And God rewards (or punishes) men based on his effort.

This creed is the rightful one, and takes the middle ground between the 2 extremes (Qadariah and Jabariah). Rasulullah (saw) also said – from which we understand:

The best of things (position) is the middle one.

Unfortunately, many of the Muslims have become “Jabaris” without them admitting it. We can conclude this from their sayings and actions:

• If we ask a well-to-do person why hasn’t he gone on haj (pilgrimage). He would answer ” Allah hasn’t called me yet”.
• If we ask how come this man and wife are divorced. People would say “it’s written (destined) like that”.
• If we ask why this group of people are naughty, devilish, or so backwards. They answer: “that’s what God has allocated for them”.

o all these are dangerous accusations towards God. People blame God for their misery, while what we gather from what Allah says in Al-Quran Surah An-Nisaa’ ayat 78:

What goodness rewarded upon you is from Allah, and what hardship afflicted upon you is from yourself.

Notes from Ustaz Zakaria:

• Imam Al-Ghazali once said: “some people while learning/teaching suddenly influenced by syaitan”. Meaning some scholars change their intention: Originally they teach to ebb away ignorance, then they turned around to teach for material gain.
• Ulama of old it never crossed their mind to teach for the sake of living.
• Judgment whether somebody has committed sin or not is based on physical evidence.

Wallahu a'lam

Sifat Qudrah (RT 11/11/07)

Risalah Tauhid 11 Nov 2007

7. Al-Qudrah
God has the power and ability. He can create something and He can bring end to something else. Everything is under His domain.

Again, every action we make is just an effort, and Allah determines if the action comes to success or not:

• To break a string into 2 parts, we cut it with a knife. Actually the string was broken by God , not by us, not by the knife.
• Human effort is like a pen dancing on paper. It appears the pen made the writing. The truth is that the writing was made according to the hand (holder of the pen). The hand is Allah - this is the analogy.

Wallahu a'lam

Sifat Wahdaniah (RT 4/11/07)

Risalah Tauhid 4 Nov 2007

Wahdaniah also means that everything (good or bad) we do actually is done by God. We initiate a task, but eventually it’s God’s action that ensures that task complete or not.

Ustaz Zakaria clarified: If you committed a sinful act, in actuality it was commited by God. But it is not an excusable deed, since syara’ (Islamic ruling) prohibits you from having anything to do with sin. All good or bad deeds are actions of Allah, but they originate from your effort.

Therefore we state that Oneness in God encompasses all of His being, attribute, and doings. We should reject any deviant ideology that associates God with anything else.

There’re traditions in our society (Malays in pre-1950 Malaysia) that in contradiction with concept of Wahdaniah. These traditions have been practised for so many generations that we are corrupting our faith (iman) unsuspectingly. Examples are festivals where a buffalo or a goat slaughtered to give “treat” to “spirits of the river” or “spirits of the tigers”. This is idolatry since we confer high position to spirits and jins – just like the musyrikins do.

Added Ustaz Zakaria: Meat from the slaughter is haram because the animal is slaughtered not in the name of Allah.

Wallahu a'lam

Sifats 3-6 (RT 28/10/07)

Risalah Tauhid 28 Oct 2007

I missed many lessons since last note of 9 Sept. Simply transliterating from the kitab:

3. Al-Baqa'
Means God has no end. He has been and will always be. Some other things (like heaven, hell, ruh) also have no end, but they were created so they don't fall under baqa'.

Beings fall under 3 categories:

• The one that had no beginning and will have no end - which is God.
• Those that with beginning but without end - e.g heaven, hell, ruh.
• Those that begin and end - God's creation other than the above.

4. Mukhalafatahu Ta'ala lil Hawadith
God is different from anything created. He does not bear resemblance to anything be it in identity or attribute. He is not composed of flesh and bones or plants or mineral. When He does something, he does not need equipment like people do.

When there are quranic ayat or ahadith mentioning the "face" or "hand" of Allah, we should not think of Allah as having round or square face like men do. Nor should we imagine Allah's hand as muscular or soft. Only Allah know how his face or hand is. This is the position of the sahabahs, tabi'in, and tabi' tabi'in.

5. Qiyamuhu Ta'ala biNafsih
God stands on his own. He doesn't need a creator to create Him. He doesn't need a place to support a body.
He imposes rules on us for our own benefit, not for His. God is not affected regardless of us worshipping Him or defying Him.

6. Al-Wahdaniah
Means singular or one in being, attribute, or doing. God is not composed of multiple components. Nor is he a cluster of multiple identities.

Wallahu a'lam

Sifat Qidam (RT 9/9/07)

Risalah Tauhid 9 Sept 2007

2. Al-Qidam
Which means God has been there earlier since eternity. Nothing preceded Him since He created everything else. There is differing opinion among ulama whether the another word - Al-Azali can be used in place of Al-Qidam.

God is preceded neither in attribute nor being.

Wallahu a'lam

Sifats Wajib of Allah (RT 26/8/07)

Risalah Tauhid 26 Aug 2007

The Fourth Statement

The "Must Have" Attributes (Sifats) of Allah

1. Al-Wujud
Means "God exists". Even the non-muslims admit this is so. The proof is from Quran Surah Luqman ayat 25 translated as:

And if you ask the unbelievers who created the heavens and earth, surely they would say "Allah created them".

Commented Ustaz Zakaria:

• Existence of Allah is not comparable to "existence of creations".
• Allah exists in name, being, identity, power, doing etc.
• People of other religion admit there is God, but they don't know what their God is like. We Muslims should learn and not be negligent like them. Other religion does not teach their followers about their God as Islam does.
• In learning about Islam, we should stick to the old syllabus or methodology, since the older generation were closer to Rasulullah (saw) compared to the later generation.

Wallahu a'lam

Risalah Tauhid July 2007

This kitab was written in November 1952 by Syaikhs Abdul Ghani bin Yahya and Omar Yusuf. Actually this risalah is an enhancement of another document by Haji Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman, the Head of Johor State Islamic Department - written in 1907, then added "syarahs" in 1926. Haji Abdullah originally translated this risalah from Arabic - the version being used for Egypt schools that time.

This kitab is an introduction to the subject of "Tauhid" or "Usuluddin". Talks mainly about the characteristics of Allah and Nabi Muhammad (saw). Of course it is an infinity to talk about who/what/how Allah is, but at least we should know 20 of them. That's what we mean by "The 20 sifats".

I'll try to refrain from saying too much due to its sensitive nature. Allah help me!
Said the syaikhs:

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

I start this risalah in the name of God the Beneficient, the Merciful towards his faithful servants in the Hereafter.

All praise to Allah, the God of the worlds. And mercy and peace upon our Nabi Muhammad (saw) the chief among the Messengers of God, and the seal of them. And mercy and peace upon his family and descendants and companions.

Wallahu a'lam