SEPI NOTES

Faith and Practice of Islam

 God has created human beings with a purpose
 Humans will live forever, whether it is temporarily on Earth or eternally in Heaven or Hell
 Those granted Aql (Intelligence) must use the guidance of Quran and Shariah to discover the
purpose for which The Creator has created Humans
 Prophets, the ulama, and the sages all mutually agree that God created humans for the purpose
of gaining true knowledge and obedience
 Prophets were sent to teach people the science of gaining true knowledge and the way to obey
Him
 “Science of Faith” and “Science of god-wariness” are two parts that constitute all of religion
 Duty of common people is to have faith in the unseen
 Each person is obliged to believe in God, not their own caprice
 To follow the command of God is to be “obedient”; leads to felicity
 Following caprice is “disobedience”; leads to wretchedness

FIRST ROAD CLEARING

 Nothing can be added to God’s explanation

 Those who dig for proofs of God’s existence are not laudable, rather have “corrupt
constitutions”
 God is too manifest to need proofs ie signs of His presence are everywhere
 It is in humankind’s nature to recognize His Signs
 Allah has all knowledge and all power

SECOND ROAD CLEARING

 He has eternal knowledge of past, present and future

 All-knowing, All-seeing, All-hearing
 Knows what is in the depths of hearts
 Eternal and infinite
 Sole authority who can pass judgment
 Torah, Gospel, Psalms and Quran are all His language/speech
 Therein his command and prohibition, His promise and warning true

THIRD ROAD CLEARING

 He is the Creator of the spiritual and the material (corporeal) worlds

 Humans are a combination of spiritual and corporeal
 Free will vs compulsion
  Humans reap the reward/punishment of what they sow

FOURTH ROAD CLEARING

 He selected a group of humans and elevated them to the status of Prophecy

 Used Angels as a medium of bringing Prophets closer to Him
 Prophets were sent for the sole purpose of teaching fellow humans how to obey God’s
commands

Islam, Iman and Ihsan

 Introduction begins with an event of Angel Jibrail visiting the Holy Prophet, witnessed by the
Companions
 Jibrail asks Muhammad what is/are “Islam, Iman, Ihsan, The Hour, Tokens of The Hour”
 “He was Jibrail who came to you to teach you your din.” –Sahih Muslim

WHAT IS ISLAM

 There is no god but Allah

 Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
 Prayer
 Zakah
 Fasting in Ramadan
 Performing Hajj
 Includes ghusl and wudu
 Following 5 Pillars and confirming Two Shahadahs makes one a true Muslim

WHAT IS IMAN

Iman is belief in

 Allah
 His Messengers
 His Angels
 His Books
 His Decree
 The Last Day/ Meeting Him/ Rising from the Grave

WHAT IS IHSAN

 Be aware of Allah’s presence at all times (Taqwa)

 Either as if you see Him, for He sees you
 Sometimes associated with Iman, as such is the worship that what is Unseen becomes as if it is
being seen
  Sincere worship

WHAT IS THE HOUR AND ITS TOKENS

 Time unknown but numerous signs have been provided

 Every circumstance will be reversed
 Liar will be believed
 Unreliable will be trusted
 Ignorance will dominate
 The Hour is one of 5 things no one but Allah knows

DECREE

1. Allah has prior knowledge regarding what good and evil humans do; who is obedient and who is
disobedient; who will go to Heaven or Hell
2. There is no action Allah has not foreseen as He is All-knowing and to deny this is Kufr and is
equal to denying the Quran

IMAN VS ISLAM

 Islam is defined as outward actions, whereas Iman is classified as internal beliefs

 Used separately, the two may be interchangeable in some scenarios
 Used together, their different nuances are highlighted
 Those who are weak of Iman cannot be called Kafir
 Those who are weak of Iman may be Muslims but they aren’t Mumins

The Vision of Islam

IMAN

 Involves confidence in a Truth, not a supposed truth

 No suggestion that there is faith in a falsehood
 Knowledge in the heart, that is solidified with a verbal proclamation and practice
 To have a “Heart” in Quranic terms means to have Aql (Intellect or Rationality)
 To voice with the tongue is to establish a connection with Allah via Prayers
 Marks our humanity
 Importance of speech is such that God created the universe by speaking
 Those who are physically unable to pray shall do so verbally or mentally
 Iman demands Islam, as activity with the limbs is commanded by God, for eg Salat

KUFR

 Gratitude is the first thing humans owe to God

 ‘Al-Hamdu Lillah’ Praise be to God
  Faith is nothing but a form of gratitude and vice versa
 Kufr literally translates “to Conceal” but is interpreted as “Ingratitude”
 Human nature is to recognize the Signs of God, hence to do Kufr is to go against human nature
itself
 Person with no faith conceals the self-evident truths of Creation
 Those who deny “There is no god but God” deny their humanity

GOD

 First Article of Islamic Faith is God

 If we are to understand who God is, He Himself must tell us
 God tells us who He is by speaking through His prophets
 His words are recorded in the scriptures ie Torah, Psalms, Gospel, Quran
 “God” is the reality that reveals itself through the Quran, hence the first step to understanding
God is to understand the Quran
 Word “ilah” is used negatively, to refer to false gods or idols
 A god can even be your inner caprice (hawa), which is your internal mood which blows you in
different directions
 Caprice is the worst gods and pinnacle of ignorance
 Caprice can also be used to refer to heresies or sects, both of which involve straying from the
command of God and following whims of either yourself or of others

SHIRK

 First principle of Faith is Tawhid: assertion that God is one

 Tawhid governs practical applications (everyday life)
 Shirk means to give God partners and, by implication, worship then alongside or exclusive of
God
 Claiming ignorance of Tawhid is such a grave sin as it denies human nature itself
 Those who do shirk leave humanity; hence they belong in the domain of inhuman creatures,
which is Hell.

SIGNS OF GOD

 Quran is God’s speech directed at human beings

 Nothing in the Quran is insignificant, because Allah speaks with full awareness
 God is not negligent and forgetful like humans
 Ultimately, Islam involves understanding the Quran and embodying its teachings in everyday life
 Miracles and scriptures are gifted to prophets as a sign of God and come with messages from
Him