The Creed

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: A man came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and talked to him about some matter and then said: It is as Allah wills and you will. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you make me an equal to Allah? Say: 'It is as Allah alone wills.'"

‘Ā’ishah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah'sAllah's peace and blessings be upon him) came into my place, and there was a curtain with some images on it that I had hung along a platform of mine. On seeing it, he tore it up, and the colour of his face changed, and he said: "O ''Ā’ishah, the people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Judgment will be those who try to emulate Allah'sAllah's creation." ''Ā’ishah said: "So, we tore it and made one or two cushions out of it."

Buraydah ibn al-Husayb al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Whenever the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) appointed a man to lead an army or a military detachment, he would advise him to fear Allah and treat well those Muslims who are with him. He would say: "Fight in the name of Allah and in the cause of Allah. Fight those who disbelieve in Allah. Fight, but do not steal from the spoils of war, do not be treacherous, do not mutilate, and do not kill children. When you meet your enemy from among the polytheists, call them to one of three things. Whichever of them they respond to, accept it from them and refrain from fighting them. Invite them to accept Islam, and if they respond, accept it from them and refrain from fighting them. Then invite them to leave their land and move to the land of the Emigrants (Madīnah). Tell them that if they do so, they will have the same rights and duties as the Emigrants. If they refuse to move, tell them they will be like the Muslim Bedouins, subject to the rulings of Allah, and they will have no share in war booty or spoils of war, unless they fight alongside the Muslims. If they refuse to enter Islam, ask them to pay the Jjizyah (poll tax paid by non-Muslims). If they do so, accept it from them and refrain from fighting them. But if they refuse, seek the help of Allah against them and fight them. If you besiege a group and they want you to give them the covenant of Allah and His Prophet, do not give them the covenant of Allah and His Prophet, instead give them your own covenant and the covenant of your companions, for if you violate your covenant and the covenant of your companions, that is easier than violating the covenant of Allah and the covenants of His Prophet. If you besiege a group of people and they want you to apply the judgment of Allah upon them, do not offer them that, but rather offer them your own judgment, because you do not know whether you would apply correctly the judgment of Allah upon them."

Abu al-Hayyāj al-Asadi reported: 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "Shall I not send you with the same instructions as the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sent me with? Do not leave any statue without blotting it out or any raised grave without leveling it."

Bajālah ibn ‘Abadah reported that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote: "Kill every sorcerer and sorceress." Bajālah said: "So we killed three sorceresses." Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "A maid-servant of Hafsah (the Prophet’s wife) bewitched her and admitted practicing sorcery. So Hafsah ordered ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Zayd to kill her." Also, Abu ‘Uthmān An-Nahdi said: "Al-Walīd had a magician who used to perform shows before him. He once slaughtered a man, cutting off his head, and we were astonished. Then he returned the head to its proper place, so Jundub al-Azdi came and killed him."

Ibn Ad-Daylami reported: 'I went to Ubayy ibn Ka‘b and said: "There is something in my heart about predestination, so tell me something in the hope that Allah will remove it from my heart." He said: "If you spend the like of Uhud in gold, Allah will not accept it from you until you believe in predestination, and know that what has befallen you would not have missed you and what has missed you would not have befallen you. If you die on other than this, you will be among the people of Hellfire." He added: "Then, I went to ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān, and Zayd ibn Thābit, and each of them told me the same thing on the authority of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).''

‘Ubādah ibn As-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) said to his son: "O Son, you will not taste true faith until you know that whatever has come to you would never have missed you, and that whatever has missed you would never have come to you. I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'The first thing Allah created was the Pen. He commanded it to write. It said: 'My Lord, what shall I write?' He said: 'Write down what has been ordained for all things until the establishment of the Hour.'" O Son, I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Whoever dies believing otherwise does not belong to me.'" In a narration by Imām Ahmad: "Verily, the first thing Allah, the Almighty, created was the Pen. He said to it: ‘Write.’ So in that very hour it wrote down all what was to occur up to the Day of Judgment." In a narration by Ibn Wahb, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "So, whoever disbelieved in fate, the good and the bad thereof, Allah will burn him with the Hellfire.”

‘Imrān ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is not one of us who seeks bad omens or has it done for him, or who practices soothsaying or has it done for him, or who practices sorcery or has it done for him; and whoever ties a knot, and whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes in what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)."

Some of the Prophet's wives reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to a soothsayer and asks him about something and believes him, his prayer will not be accepted for forty nights."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever acquires a branch of the knowledge of astrology acquires a branch of magic, of which he acquires more as long as he continues to do so."

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The gravest major sins are: associating partners with Allah in worship, feeling secure from Allah's plan, despairing of Allah's mercy, and losing hope in relief coming from Allah.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah, the Exalted, said: 'Glory is My Izār and Pride is My Cloak. I will punish whoever contends with Me over either of them.'"

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A person who attributes his fatherhood to anyone other than his real father, knowing that he is not his father, commits an act of disbelief. And he who makes a claim of anything which in fact does not belong to him, is none of us, and he should make his abode in Hell. And he who labels anyone as disbeliever or calls him the enemy of Allah while he is in fact not so, his charge will revert to him."

Abu Mūsa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were on a journey with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and whenever we ascended from a valley we would say "there is no god but Allah" and "Allah is the Greatest" and we would raise our voices. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people, do not trouble yourselves too much. He Whom you are calling is not deaf or absent. Verily, He is with you, He is All-Hearing and Ever Near."

Shaddād ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: There are two things which I learned by heart from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): "Indeed, Allah is benevolent and He loves benevolence to everything. So, if you kill, kill benevolently, and if you slaughter, slaughter benevolently. Let one of you sharpen his blade and relieve his animal of suffering."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah said: The son of Adam tells a lie against Me and he has no right to do so; and he insults Me and has no right to do so. His lying against Me is his saying: He will not resurrect me as He created me for the first time,' although the first creation was not easier for Me than resurrecting him. His insulting Me is his saying: 'Allah has begotten a son,' while I am The One, The Eternal Refuge, Who begets not nor was He begotten, and there is none like unto Me."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has appointed an angel in charge of the womb, and the angel says: 'O Lord, (it is) a sperm drop! O Lord, (it is now ) a clot! O Lord, (it is now) a piece of flesh.' Then, when Allah wills to complete its creation, the angel asks: 'O Lord, (will it be) a male or female? Wretched (an evil doer) or blessed (doer of good)? How much will his provisions be? How long will he live?' All that is written while the fetus is still in his mother's womb."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When Allah wants to punish a people, the punishment befalls whoever is among them, then they will be resurrected according to their deeds.”

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Kursi is the resting place of the feet, and the size of the Throne cannot be estimated."

Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: One morning, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stayed home and did not come out to offer the Fajr prayer until the sun almost rose. Then he came out in a hurry and led us in the prayer, which he performed quicker than at his usual pace. After the prayer was over, he asked us to remain in our places, and then he said to us: "I will tell you what caused me to be late. I got up at night to pray. I made ablution and then prayed as much as Allah willed me to pray. I dozed off while praying and fell into a deep sleep, whereupon I saw My Lord, Glorified and Exalted, in the best appearance. He said to me: 'O Muhammad.' I said: 'Here I am, my Lord.' He said: 'Do you know what the higher assembly (of angels) argue about?' I said: 'My Lord, I do not know.' He asked me three times, and then I saw Him put His Palm between my shoulders until I felt the coolness of His fingertips between my breasts. Consequently, everything became clear to me and I had knowledge. He asked me: 'O Muhammad.' I said: 'Here I am, my Lord.' He said: 'Do you know what the higher assembly (of angels) argue about?' I said: 'About acts of expiation (for sins).' He said: 'What are they?' I said: 'Walking to join congregational prayers, sitting in the mosques after prayers, and performing ablution properly when it is difficult (to do so).' He asked me: 'Then about what else?' I said: 'Feeding people, lenient speech, and offering prayer at night while the people are asleep.' He said: 'Ask Me anything.' I said: 'O Allah, I ask You to help me do good deeds and abstain from evil ones, to grant me the love of the poor and needy, and to forgive me and have mercy on me. And if it is Your Will that You put some people to trial (regarding their faith), then make me die without being put to that trial. I ask You to grant me Your Love, the love of those who love You, and the love of deeds that bring me closer to Your Love." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then said: "These words are true, so study them and then learn them."