There is no creature on earth or in heaven except Allah
The Glorified, is his Creator. There is no creator beside Him and there is no
Lord other than Him.
With all that, He ordered the creatures to obey Him and
His messengers, and He forbade them to disobey Him.
He, The Glorified, loves the pious, the doers of good and
the just. He is pleased with those who believe and do good deeds; He does not
like unbelievers; He is displeased with transgressors; He does not ordain
immorality; He does not wish disbelief for His creatures; And He does not like
corruption.
Creatures are the performers in reality, but Allah is the
Creator of their deeds; The 'abd (human being) is the believer and the
unbeliever, the righteous and the wicked, the praying and the fasting; The 'ibad
(human beings) have power over their actions and they have their own will; But
Allah is their Creator and the Creator of their power and their will, as He, The
Exalted, has said:
"To whomever of you wills it, follow the Straight
Path. You have no will unless Allah ,The Lord of the Universe, so wills."
(at-Takwir 81/28-29)
This degree of predestination is rejected by most of the
Qadariyah - those whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) called the Fire
Worshipers (Majus) of this Ummah (Islam). Others who affirm this Attribute of
Allah exaggerate it to the extent of stripping the human being of his power and
his choice, taking the wisdom and advantage from Allah's acts and rules.
Iman (Faith)
Among the fundamentals of the people of the Sunnah is that
religion and faith are utterance and action - the utterance of the heart and the
tongue and the action of the heart, the tongue and the limbs - and that faith
increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience.
In spite of this, Ahl al-Qiblah (Muslims) are not to be
considered unbelievers as a result of their committing faults and sins (Ma'asi
and Kaba'ir) as the khawarij consider them. Rather, brotherhood in faith remains
firm despite faults, just as Allah, The Exalted, has said in the punishment
Verse:
"If the heir of a murdered person forgives his
brother (in faith)33, it is preferred that he follow his forgiveness with
leniency (in collecting the blood-money"34 (al-Baqarah 2/178)
And He has said:
"If two groups of believers fight each other, try to
make peace between them. However, if one of them attacks the other (and refuses
to make peace), fight the attackers until they return to the Ordinance of Allah;
Then, if they return, make peace between them justly, and act equitably. Indeed,
Allah loves the equitable. Believers are indeed brothers, therefore make peace
between your brothers." (al-Hujurat 49/9)
The people of the Sunnah do not completely strip the
Muslim transgressor from the faith. And they do not believe that he will stay in
Hell forever as the Mu'tazilah claim. Rather (they believe that) the
transgressor enters under the name of the faith just as Allah has said:
"And liberate a slave who is a
believer."(an-Nissa' 4/92).
He may not enter under the name of absolute faith as
Allah, The Exalted, has said:
"Indeed, the believers are those whose hearts, when
Allah is mentioned (in their presence), fill with piety, and whose faith, when
His Words are recited to them, increases." (al-Anfal 8/2).
As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"The adulterer is stripped of faith while committing
adultery, the thief is stripped of faith while stealing, the drinker is stripped
of faith while he is drinking and anybody who puts a show of greatness to
attract the people's eyes is stripped of faith." (al-Bukhari and
Muslim)
And it is said: He is a believer with incomplete faith;
Or he is a believer by his faith and transgressor by his sin. So he is not given
absolutely the name (of faith), nor is he stripped completely of the name.
The Prophet's Family, The Prophet's Wives and the
Companions of the Prophet
As-Sahabah (The Prophets
Companions)
Among the fundamentals of the people
of the Sunnah and the community is purity of heart and tongue toward the
Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) just as Allah has
described them:
"Those who came after them (the Sahabah) say: 'Our
Lord forgive us. Forgive our brethren who preceded us in faith. Purify our
hearts of any rancor toward the believers. Our Lord, You are Gentle,
Compassionate." (al-Hashr 59/l0)
Obey the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
"Do not revile my companions. By (Allah) in Whose
Hand my soul is!, if any one of you spends gold (piled up) like (mount) 'Uhud it
will not equal a pint of any one of them, nor its half." (al-Bukhari,
Muslim, Abu-Dawud, at-Tirmidhi Ibn Majah, Ibn Hanbal)