Question 1

What is Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) and its categories?

Accepted Answer

The reality of Tawheed is that the servant singles Allah out with everything that is exclusively His right: His Lordship over the creation, His sole right to be worshipped, and the perfection of His Names and Attributes. All three categories must be present together — for the polytheists of Quraysh affirmed that Allah was the sole Creator (Ra''d 13:16, Zukhruf 43:9), yet this affirmation alone did not enter them into Islam, because they directed acts of worship — du''a, sacrifice, intercession-seeking — to others besides Him. Whoever affirms Rububiyyah but commits shirk in worship has not realised Tawheed; and whoever speaks of Allah''s Names and Attributes in a way that contradicts what He affirmed for Himself has fallen short in Tawheed of Names and Attributes.

Question 2

What is shirk and what are its major and minor forms?

Accepted Answer

Shirk is of two kinds: greater and lesser. Greater shirk is everything which Allah has named shirk and which expels its doer from the religion — such as worshipping idols, calling upon the dead, slaughtering or vowing for other than Allah, or believing that anyone besides Allah independently controls benefit and harm. Lesser shirk is everything which the Lawgiver named shirk but which does not expel from the religion — such as ar-riya'' (showing off in worship), swearing by other than Allah, and saying ''what Allah and you willed.'' The Prophet (ﷺ) called ar-riya'' "the lesser shirk" because the doer intends in his worship someone other than Allah alongside Him. Lesser shirk is more dangerous to a believer than the major sins, because a believer hates the major sins yet may not even notice when ar-riya'' enters his heart.

Question 3

What are the Six Articles of Faith?

Accepted Answer

They are six articles which a believer must affirm without distinction or partial acceptance: belief in Allah (His existence, Lordship, sole right to worship, and His Names and Attributes); belief in His angels — noble servants who do not disobey Him; belief in His revealed Books (the Tawrah, Injil, Zabur, Suhuf, and the Qur''an which abrogates and supersedes them); belief in His Messengers, the first of whom was Nuh and the last of whom is Muhammad (ﷺ); belief in the Last Day with everything reported about the grave, the Resurrection, the Reckoning, the Sirat, Paradise, and Hell; and belief in al-Qadr — that Allah knew everything before it occurred, wrote it in the Preserved Tablet, willed it, and created it. To deny any one is to step outside Iman.

Question 4

Who are the Salaf and why is following their understanding important?

Accepted Answer

The Salaf as-Salih are the first three generations whom the Prophet (ﷺ) explicitly praised: "The best of people is my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them." (al-Bukhari 2652, Muslim 2533). They are the Companions, the Tabi''un, and the Tabi'' at-Tabi''in. Following their understanding is obligatory because the Qur''an and Sunnah were revealed in their language, in their presence, and they witnessed the contexts of revelation; their consensus is a binding proof, and Allah promised His pleasure to them: "And the first to embrace Islam of the Muhajirun and the Ansar and those who followed them in good conduct — Allah is pleased with them and they with Him." (at-Tawbah 9:100). Whoever interprets the texts in opposition to their understanding has departed from the safe path. This is why we say: every aqeedah, every methodology, every fiqh ruling must be weighed against what was upon among the Salaf. The path of the saved sect is what the Prophet (ﷺ) and his Companions were upon (Tirmidhi 2641, hasan).

Question 5

What is Tawheed in Islam?

Accepted Answer

Tawheed of Allah — that He is singled out with worship — has three divisions which the people of knowledge upon the manhaj of the Salaf have derived from inductive examination of the Qur''an and Sunnah. The first is Tawheed ar-Rububiyyah: affirming that Allah alone is the Lord, the Creator, the Provider, the One who gives life and death and disposes of all affairs. The second is Tawheed al-Uluhiyyah (also called Tawheed al-''Ibadah): singling Allah out with all forms of worship — du''a, sacrifice, vow, hope, fear, reliance, and love — directing none of them to other than Him. The third is Tawheed al-Asma'' was-Sifat: affirming for Allah every name and attribute He affirmed for Himself or which His Messenger affirmed for Him, without distortion (tahrif), denial (ta''til), how-questioning (takyif), or likening Him to creation (tamthil). The disbelief of the mushrikun in the time of the Prophet (ﷺ) was not in Rububiyyah — they affirmed Allah was the Creator — but in Uluhiyyah, by directing acts of worship to others alongside Him.

Question 6

How should one deal with doubts about faith or waswas (intrusive thoughts)?

Accepted Answer

Waswas concerning Iman is a sign of pure faith, not of weakness — for shaytan only attacks a heart that holds something precious to defend. The Companions came to the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: "We find in our hearts what one of us would consider too grave to even speak of." He said: "Have you indeed found that?" They said yes. He said: "That is clear faith." (Muslim 132). The treatment is fivefold: (1) recognise the source — it is from shaytan, not from your true belief; (2) refuse to dwell on it and turn away to remembrance of Allah; (3) seek refuge in Allah from the accursed shaytan and spit dryly to your left three times; (4) say "I believe in Allah and His Messenger" as the Prophet (ﷺ) instructed (Muslim 134); (5) busy yourself with what benefits — recitation, dhikr, beneficial knowledge — for an idle heart is the playground of waswas. Do not argue with the thoughts; treat them as you treat a thief who knocks at the door — do not open and engage, simply ignore until he leaves.

Question 7

What is Shirk and why is it forbidden?

Accepted Answer

Shirk is to assign to other than Allah a share in that which is exclusively His right — whether in His Lordship, in worship, or in His Names and Attributes. Major shirk (ash-shirk al-akbar) takes a person outside the fold of Islam and renders all of his deeds void if he dies upon it; it includes du''a to other than Allah, slaughter for other than Allah, and seeking benefit or warding off harm from the dead. Minor shirk (ash-shirk al-asghar) — such as ar-riya'' (showing off in worship) and swearing by other than Allah — does not expel from Islam but is among the gravest of major sins. Shirk is forbidden because it is the greatest injustice (Luqman 31:13): the servant directs to a powerless creation what is the right of his All-Powerful Creator. Allah forgives every sin for whom He wills upon repentance, but does not forgive that He be associated with partners while the person dies upon it (an-Nisa'' 4:48).

Question 8

What is Qadr (destiny) in Islam?

Accepted Answer

Belief in al-Qadar rests on four levels which together complete the article: (1) al-''Ilm — that Allah knew all things before they came to be, in their totality and detail. (2) al-Kitabah — that He wrote all of that in the Preserved Tablet fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth. (3) al-Mashi''ah — that nothing happens in His dominion except by His will; what He wills is, and what He does not will is not. (4) al-Khalq — that He alone is the Creator of every existing thing, including the actions of His servants. Whoever affirms these four has believed in al-Qadar correctly. Yet this does not negate the servant''s will or responsibility: the servant truly chooses and acts, and Allah is the Creator of his choosing. The Qadariyyah denied Allah''s prior knowledge and decree; the Jabriyyah denied the servant''s will. Ahl us-Sunnah affirm both — and this is the path of the Salaf.

Question 9

What are the six pillars of faith (Iman)?

Accepted Answer

The six pillars of Iman are established in the hadith of Jibril when he asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about Iman and the Prophet (ﷺ) replied: that you believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and that you believe in al-Qadr — its good and its bad. These are the foundations upon which the faith of Ahl us-Sunnah is built; whoever rejects any one of them has rejected Iman in its entirety. Iman, with us, consists of statement of the tongue, action of the limbs, and conviction of the heart — it increases with obedience and decreases with sin, contrary to the Murji''ah who restrict it to belief alone.

Question 10

What is Tawheed in Islam?

Accepted Answer

Tawḥīd is to single out Allah alone in His Lordship, His worship, and His names and attributes. The scholars divide it into three categories: tawḥīd al-rubūbiyyah — affirming that Allah alone creates, sustains, and controls; tawḥīd al-ulūhiyyah — directing all acts of worship (prayer, supplication, sacrifice, vow) to Him alone; and tawḥīd al-asmāʾ wa al-ṣifāt — affirming His names and attributes as He affirmed them, without distortion, denial, asking how, or likening Him to creation. This is the message of every prophet and the very purpose of creation. Whoever fulfils tawḥīd will enter Paradise, and whoever opposes it with shirk has fallen into the gravest of sins.

Aqeedah & Belief

What is Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) and its categories?

What is shirk and what are its major and minor forms?

What are the Six Articles of Faith?

Who are the Salaf and why is following their understanding important?

What is Tawheed in Islam?

How should one deal with doubts about faith or waswas (intrusive thoughts)?

What is Shirk and why is it forbidden?

What is Qadr (destiny) in Islam?

What are the six pillars of faith (Iman)?

What are the major sins in Islam?

What are the 5 pillars of Islam?

Why do Muslims believe Muhammad ﷺ is the final prophet?

What is the concept of the Hereafter?

What are the signs of the Day of Judgment?

What is Barzakh?

What is Jannah (Paradise)?

What is Jahannam (Hell)?

Does Allah forgive all sins?

Why do Muslims believe in angels, jinn, and the unseen world?

Is the God of Islam the same as the God of Christianity and Judaism?

What does the word "Allah" mean?

Explore other topics

Explore other sections