Know Your Lord the One and Only By Imam Karim Abu Zaid

• Imam Karim Abu Zaid

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KNOW YOUR LORD
The One and Only
IMAM KARIM ABU ZAID
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فاعلم انه
KNOW YOUR LORD
The One and Only
IMAM KARIM ABU ZAID
Edited by
JIMI ABDULLAH
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B
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Title:
Know Your Lord
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Know Your Lord
Foreword
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Foreword
Dr. Bilal Philips
Shaykh Karim Abu Zaid's book Know Your Lord is a worthy addition to the growing body of Islamic literature in English available on Tawhid (Monotheism) and Aqidah (Beliefs), from 40 years ago in the early 80's when I wrote The Fundamentals of Tawhid. In those days, the only available book was the translation of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab's Kitab at-Tawhid (a teaching manual on Tawhid with very little explanation) which he had prepared for his students. It consisted of a concise compilation of Quranic verses and narrations (Ahadith) on various topics of Monotheism which the average English reader at that time would have difficulty following. In fact, when I wrote The Fundamentals of Tawhid, which was based on various commentaries on Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab's teaching manual as well as other works like Sharh al-Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah, I couldn't find any Muslim publisher willing to publish it in either the UK or the USA. Eventually, I had to publish it myself.
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Muqaddimah
مقدمة
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ للهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِيْنُه وَنَسْتَغْفِرُه ، وَنَعُوْذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا ، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَريكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.
يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَائِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ [ سورة آل عمران: ۱۰۲]
كانها النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَتَحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا لِلَّهِ
[سورة النساء: ١]
أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَلَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا ) [سورة الأحزاب: ۷۱-۷۰]
فإن أصدق الحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ الله وَأَحْسَنَ الهَدْي هَدْيُ مَحْمَّدٍ ، وَشَر الأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُها ، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَـ ةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي
النار.
Know Your Lord
Preface
Preface
The title Know Your Lord cannot be understood without defining the scope of the terms involved. The guided way a person may acquire knowledge about Allah is through Revelation. No one can see Allah in this world, so knowledge of Him must come through Revelation, not perception. This statement automatically discounts divinity from objects and humans, and brings us a big step closer to knowing our Lord through the pursuit of knowledge. The Prophet said, “Be informed that none of you can see Allah until you die."(2) The Prophet made that statement in the context of warning us against the Anti-Christ (al-Masih ad-Dajjal) who will try to convince people that he is God. The point of the Prophet's warning is that if a person claims to be God in this life, then that person is automatically a liar. Allah said:
أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَلِقُونَ )
أَمْ خَلَقُوا السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بَل لَّا يُوقِنُونَ :
2 Muslim (7356); Tirmidhi (2235).
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Polytheism (Shirk) in Allah's Lordship
Polytheism (Shirk) in Allah's Lordship
The study of Monotheism (Tawhid) is incomplete without the study of its opposite-polytheism (shirk). It is a critical failure-an infidelity, and consequently a topic of importance which Allah attested to in the Quran. Allah said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ
وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا
"Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed
invented a tremendous sin."(298)
258 Surah an-Nisa' (4:48), Mohsin transl.
Know Your Lord
Linguistically, shirk means a partnership, sharing, or association; from the Arabic roots --. Islamically, it refers to the act of assigning partners to Allah in whatever form it may take, whether implicit
or explicit.
The meaning in common English usage is as a transitive verb: "to go stealthily (sneak) or to evade the performance of an obligation."(299) For the purpose of calling others to Allah, this is useful, as mankind has a responsibility to fulfill in asserting Monotheism (Tawhid), implementing its benefits in our lives, and calling to it with patience.
Polytheism (shirk) in Rububiyah is to believe that others, besides Allah, create or share control over His creation. This belief means that someone other than Allah can bring them benefit or protect
from harm.
A simple example of this type of polytheism (shirk) is to believe an item or object brings good luck. People often have "good luck" rings or similar items they think will instigate good in their lives. Others tie unique strings around themselves or their children, believing that if they recite the Quran over the strings, the talisman will protect them from evil. However, only Allah can protect us from what we identify as evil, and we must seek His protection in ways He mentioned in the Quran, or the means which the Prophet taught us in the Sunnah (Prophetic Tradition), because seeking protection is an act of worship.
Types of polytheism (shirk) in Rububiyah
One must identify two categories of polytheism (shirk) concerning Rububiyah. They are as follows:
I. Polytheism (shirk) by negation (Ta'til)
This is to deny the existence of Allah either explicitly or implicitly. In
Merriam-Webster, 2021. Thesaurus entry.
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Enjoining the Significance of Monotheism
erected and the registers were set up, and the souk of Paradise (Jannah) and the Fire (Jahannam) came to arise, and by way of it, the creation was divided into the believers and the disbelievers, and
the righteous and the wicked."(228)
The calling to this is a calling to accountability and the acknowledgment that our Lord has a Divine right to judge and that the dispensing of justice neither benefits nor harms Him. Rather, the significance of fidelity to Monotheism (Tawhid) is for our own benefit, and calling to it is a mercy.
116
Know Your Lord
The
Belief in Allah's Lordship
Zad al-Ma'ad, extract transl. M. Faruq (1/34).
Evidence of Our Lord
It is sad to consider that the fastest-growing ideology in this world right now is atheism. The breeding ground for atheism is materialist doctrine in the education system and the moral failure of educators in schools and universities. Imagine a human being who was born a Muslim then placed into an environment where the slogan is a separation between God and life. Judeo-Christian democracies may have referred to this as the "separation of church [instituted religion] and state," (229) and by it, they meant to protect the individual right to choose and follow any faith without compulsion or persecution. According to this ideal, faith "lies solely between Man & his God."
This theory is a breeding ground for disbelief (kufr), as without guidance and reminder, even free individuals are at risk of losing Faith (Iman).
229 Thomas Jefferson, in an 1802 letter to some members of Danbury Baptists
Association of Connecticut.
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How to Know Allah
Perceiving our Lord
Both the Quran and the Sunnah (Prophetic Tradition) are explicit that believers will see and hear Allah in Paradise (Jannah). The Prophet, his Companions (As-sahaba), and their successors from the righteous agreed upon this fact that the believers will see Allah in Paradise (Jannah) and on the Judgment Day (Yawm Al-Qiyamah), if Allah
wills. Allah said:
وجوه يوميدنا
"[Some] faces that Day will be radiant-looking at their Lord."54)
Allah also said:
(10)
كَلَّا إِنَّهُمْ عَن رَّبِّهِمْ يَوْمَيذٍ لَمَحْجُوبُونَ (١٥)
Know Your Lord
(57)" The righteous will receive good reward for their deeds and more The word 'more' renders and the Prophet explained that it meant to see the Face of Allah. Suhayb reported that the Prophet said, "When the people of Paradise (Jannah) have entered Paradise (Jannah), Allah, Blessed is He and Most High, will say: 'Do you want anything more?' They will say: 'Have You not brightened our faces, and admitted us to Paradise (Jannah), and saved us from the Fire?' Then He will remove the Veil, and they will not be given anything that is more dear to them than gazing upon their Lord [the Mighty and Sublime]."(58)
Hammad reported similar and added: "Then he recited this Verse (Ayah):
لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا الْحُسْنَى وَزِيَادَةٌ
38
"Nay! Surely, they (evil-doers) will be veiled from seeing their Lord that Day."(55)
Shaykh Al-Fawzan commented on the above Verse (Ayah), "They will be veiled from seeing Allah. So if the disbelievers will be veiled from seeing Allah, it is proof that the believers will see their Lord. This is because the believers believed in Him in this world without seeing Him. So Allah will honor them in Paradise (Jannah) by manifesting to them."(56)
Allah said:
لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا الْحُسْقَ وَزِيَادَةٌ )
Surah al-Qiyamah (75:22-23), Sahih International transl.
Surah al-Mutaffifin (83:15), Mohsin transl.
56 Shaykh Dr. Salih ibn Fawzan ibn Abdullah al-Fawzan in his commentary on
Sharh as-Sunnah (p. 138).
"For those who have done good is the best (reward) and even more."(59)(60) Jarir bin Abdullah Al-Bajali narrated, "We were with the Prophet, and he looked at the moon on a full-moon night and said, 'Certainly you will see your Lord as you see this moon and you will have no trouble in seeing Him.""(61) The vision will be as clear and confident as seeing the full moon on a clear night or the sun on a cloudless day. The goal of our current discussion is to know Allah in this world (Dunya) based on an experienced perception. In a nutshell, we cannot see Allah in this world, based on many pieces of evidence. From the Narrations (Ahadith) mentioned above, the Prophet said,
57 Surah Yunus (10:26), Sarwar transl.
58 Muslim (449).
59 Muslim (450).
60 Surah Yunus (10:26), Darussalam transl.
61 Bukhari (554, 573).
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KNOW
YOUR LORD
IMAM KARIM ABU ZAID
Allah began His revelation with the command for us to read, and the first subject after that is knowledge of our Lord. Following that, we are commanded to arise and warn. Calling to Islam needs a skilled and qualified Da'i to convey wisely and with pleasant teaching. Despite the excellent commodity and enthusiasm, the workers of da'wah in the English-speaking world are deficient in knowledge of our Lord and have poor conduct. Knowledge and character development are linked together in Know Your Lord, the da'wah guide to the implementation of the names and attributes of Allah as the Salaf understood.
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