In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Dr. Naajeh Ibrahim, 'Aasim 'Abdulmaajid & 'Esaam-ud-Deen Darbaalah
(In Pursuit of Allah's Pleasure, al-Firdous Ltd, London 1997)
Iman is a proclamation with the tongue, action with the limbs and belief with the heart. Iman increases with acts of obedience and decreases with acts of disobedience, and accordingly, believers are of varying levels.
Sins and acts of disobedience diminish Iman but do not invalidate its essence, while greater disbelief (al-Kufr al-Akbar) completely eradicates it.
Kufr (disbelief) is of two types: major (akbar) and minor (asghar). The first excludes one completely from the fold of Islam, thus branding him a disbeliever. The second is an act of disobedience given an exaggerated name for purposes of warning and repelling. The same categories of 'major' and 'minor' equally apply to Shirk (polytheism), Nifaaq (hypocrisy), Dhulm (oppression), and Fisq (evil-doing).
A Muslim does not become a kaafir (disbeliever) by committing acts of disobedience, even if they were many and he did not repent from them, as long as he does not approve of them with his heart. The Faasiq who believes in the prohibition of the sins and vices he commits is not considered a kaafir, even if he insists on continuing with his wrong actions and does not repent and dies on such a state of affairs. His fate in the Hereafter is left to Allah who may forgive him or may punish him in the Hell-Fire for a time then take him out of it into Paradise.
When Islam and Iman are mentioned together, the former means believing with the heart and the latter refers to the physical conduct. When mentioned seperately they both refer to the Deen of Islam as a whole.
We do not judge as Kaafir someone who commits acts of 'kufr' (disbelief) unless clear, undisputed evidence has been established against him by those qualified to do so, so that it would become clear to us that he has comitted such acts knowingly, intentionally and by his own free will.
We believe that Allah, Exalted is He, is the Creator and Provider, the Life-Giver and Life-Taker, the resurrector, the Inheritor, the Doer of all good and harm. We seek no lord besides Him, "Say: 'Shall I seek a Lord other than Allah, while He is the Lord of all things?' " [al-An'aam (6), Ayah 164.]
He is Glorified and High, Exalted above having a consort, son, partner or rival, "Say: 'He is Allah, (the) One. Allah as-Samad[1]. He begets not nor is He begotten; and there is none comparable unto Him." [Surah al-Ikhlaas (112).]
Allah, Exalted is He, is rightly worshipped and the One worthy of worship. His slaves should direct everything to Allah Alone: fear, hope, rememberance, supplication, love and submission; assistance and salvation; entreaty; reliance; sacrifices; vows and all other forms of worship.
We seek blessings from neither trees, nor stones, nor graves. We entreat Allah only by using one of His Names or Attributes, through good works we have done or through the supplication of a living, meritorious person. We neither walk around a grave seeking blessings from the dead, nor present sacrifices to a Jinn or to a dead saint, nor make a vow anyone apart from Allah. Whoever does one of these things has indeed committed Shirk.
We accept no source of laws or judgements other than Allah, as we accept no other Lord beside Him. Since Allah is the Creator, He has the sovereignty, and thus rules, commands, prohibits, judges and legislates. Allah is the All-Knower, All-Aware.
Whoever legislates different laws to those of Allah and replaces His Laws with others, has gone against Allah's sovereignty. Such a person has made himself a partner and equal in jurisdiction with Allah, thus (he has) stepped outside the circle of Islam. If this person is a ruler, he should therefore be rebelled against and deposed.
We confirm all of Allah's Names and Attributes which Allah has stated in His Book (the Qur'an) or mentioned through His Messenger Muhammad 
without changing them or ignoring them completely or twisting their meanings or giving resemblance to any of the created things. We do not even claim knowledge of what His Attributes are like, because "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer." [Surah Ash-Shura (42), Ayah 11.]
There is none like Him, whether in His Being, His Names, His Attributes or Actions.
We confirm those Attributes of Allah which He Confirmed for Himself and which His Messenger Muhammad confirmed for Him, such as Knowledge, Capability, Hearing, Seeing, the Face, Hands and other Attributes which are not like any of those of His creatures.
We say as our Lord said (which means):
"The Most Beneficent (Allah) rose over the [mighty] Throne." [Surah Ta-Ha (20), Ayah 5.]
Allah is therefore present on His Throne, over and above His creation. The fact that He is present over the Throne is known, but the manner of it is not. Believing in it is an obligation (wajib), and asking about such a manner is an innovation in religion (bid'ah).
Allah does whatever He wills, whenever He wills and in the manner He wills. He delights, laughs, loves, hates, shows approval and wrath (in a manner that suits His Majesty), as has been stated in the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions. In His actions He is like none of His creation and none from mortals knows how those actions take form.
The Qur'an is the true uncreated word of Allah, not similar in any way to the speech of Mankind; it was spoken by Him in a way that we know nothing about.
We believe in the Angels, the Prophets and the Messengers.
We believe in the books revealed to the Messengers and we make no distinction between any of His Messengers.
We believe that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger; he is the best and leader of all Mankind, the seal of all the Prophets and the leader of the pious.
We believe that Muhammad was taken by night in his bodily form while awake from al-Haram mosque [in Makkah] to al-Aqsaa mosque [in Jerusalem], and ascended through the heavens to whatever heights Allah willed for him.
We have no doubt that the awaited Mahdee (or rightly-guided Imam) will come forth from among the Ummah of the Prophet at the end of time (on earth).
We believe in the Signs of the Hour. The appearance of ad-Dajjal (false Messiah, or Antichrist). The descent from heaven of 'Isa, son of Mary. The sun rising from the West. The emergence of the Beast from the earth. And other signs mentioned in the Qur'an and the authentic Hadeeth of the Prophet.
We believe in the questioning in the grave by the two angels. Munkar and Nakeer, about one's Lord, one's religion and the Prophet Muhammad .
We believe in the punishment in the grave, may Allah save us from it, for those who deserve it. The grave is either one of the meadows of Paradise or one of the pits of the Hell-Fire, and each servant gets what he deserves.
We believe in the resurrection of Mankind from the graves on the Day of Judgement to be set before Allah. We believe in the Reckoning, the reading of the book (account of deeds), the Scale (on which the deeds will be weighed), as-Sirat (the bridge set over Hell-Fire), and punishment and reward.
We believe that the Intercession which the Prophet reserved for his Ummah on the Day of Judgement is true.
We believe in Al-Hawd, the Pool which Allah will grant the Prophet as an honour to quench the thirst of his Ummah on the Day of Judgement.
We believe that Paradise and Hell are both true. They are created and will never vanish.
We believe that the people of Paradise will see their Lord directly, without their vision being all-encompassing and without the manner of their vision being known. As Allah, Exalted is He, said (which means):
"Some faces that Day will be shining and radiant, looking at their Lord (Allah)." [Surah Al-Qiyaamah (75), Ayah 22-23.]
We believe in al-Qadar (Divine Decree), the good of it and the bad of it, and say as Allah said (which means):
"Say: All things are from Allah." [Surah An-Nisa (4), Ayah 78.] Good and evil are therefore both from Allah's Decree. Everything in the universe occurs by His Will.
We believe Allah, Exalted is He, does not command His slaves to be disbelievers or to be disobedient, nor is He pleased with them being so:
"He likes not disbelief for His slaves." [Surah az-Zumar (39), Ayah 7.]
And if He, Exalted is He, preordains infidelity for the infidel, He does so for reasons only He knows: out of justice from Allah, transgression from the servant against his own soul, and as a punishment for previous sins he had committed:
"Whatever of good reaches you (is from Allah), but whatever of evil befalls you, is from yourself." [Surah An-Nisaa (4), Ayah 79.]
All this happens in accordance with Allah's Will. Whatever Allah wills will be, and whatever He does not will, will not be. And Allah is never unjust to any of His servants:
"Surely, Allah wrongs not even of the weight of an atom (or small ant)." [Surah An-Nisaa (4), Ayah 40.]
We believe Allah created the actions of His slaves: "Allah has created you and what you make." [Surah As-Saaffaat (37), Ayah 96.] and the slaves execute their own actions in reality, not metaphorically.
We love the companions of the Prophet , may Allah be pleased with them all; they are the best of all generations. We remember their merits, hold them in high esteem and display Walaa'[2] to them. We also abstain from the things they disagreed upon. Love of them is part of Islam, part of Iman and part of Ihsan (excellent behaviour). Hatred of them is disbelief and hypocrisy.
We confirm the Caliphate first to Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, due to his excellence and superiority over the rest of the Ummah; then to 'Umar bin al-Khattab; then to 'Uthman bin 'Affan; then to 'Ali bin Abee Taalib, may Allah be pleased with them all. They are the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and upright leaders about whom the Prophet said: "So you must keep to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs; cling to it stubbornly."[3]
The scholars of as-Salaf (the first generation of this Ummah and those who followed in their footsteps) must only be spoken about in the best way. Anyone who speaks ill of them is surely not on the right path.
This is our 'Aqeedah which is more precious to us than our own lives. It has stood the test of time and remained firm for fourteen centuries. It will continue to remain so in the face of all the onslaughts of the disbelievers, the spreading of doubt by the hypocrites and the innovations of the heretics. It has also been steadfast despite the remiss and negligence of many Muslims.
Footnotes:
[1] As-Samad: The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need; He neither eats nor drinks.
[2] al-Walaa': Allegiance and loyalty.
[3]Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi on the authority of Abu Najeeh al-'Irbaadh bin Saariyah. (Hadeeth Hasan Sahih).
Source: iisca.org
