AL WALA' WAL BARA'
ACCORDING TO THE AQEEDAH OF THE SALAF
(Love and Hate for
Allah's Sake)
by Muhammad Sa'eed Al
Qahtani
THE EFFECTS OF
THE DECLARATION OF FAITH ON THE HEART
~ Chapter 5 of the Book,
entitled: 'Al Wala' wa'l Bara' Authored by: Muhammad Sa'eed Al Qahtani ~
Abu A'la al-Mawdudi mentions in his
book, Fundamentals of Islam, nine effects of the declaration of faith
upon the heart.
First, as a believer you are not narrow
minded like those who believe in many gods or who dispute the existence
of God altogether.
Second, as a believer you feel a sense
of your own worth and dignity, since it is Allah alone who brings
benefit and harm, and He alone who brings life and death. Wisdom, power
and authority are His. Because of this the heart feels no fear of
anything other than Him. No head bows to another, no one is humbled
before anyone else. No one may fear another or be intimidated by human
power or majesty, since Allah is the Majestic and the Omnipotent over
all things. In contrast to this we see the subjucation of the
disbelievers, the Christians and the Jews, and the pagans and the
atheists, to one another.
Third, as a believer your sense of
honour and self esteem are inspired by faith. The Muslim knows humility
without humiliation, and pride without vainglory. Shaytan can not affect
his pride or inspire conceit in him since he is well aware that it is
Allah Who has given him all that he has and Who is capable of stripping
him of everything at any time. Yet you see the atheist bursting with
pride whenever some worldly benefit comes his way.
Fourth, as a believer you have the
knowledge and the certainty that it is only through purification of the
self and the performance of good works that success may be had. As for
the disbelievers they have only the falso hope that the 'son' of God
will wash away the sins of the world, or that since they are themselves
the 'sons' of God and His high priests they will not be punished for
their sins, or that they will benefit from the intervention of the noble
and pious, or that their offerings and sacrifices to their gods will
give them licence to do as they please. As for the atheist who supposes
that his existence in this world is without purpose and unguided by any
higher plan, his gods are his own passions and desires. To these things
he has dedicated his life.
Fifth, the believer in this Aqeedah
will not know hopelessness or despair, because he believes that Allah is
Master of all that the heavens and earth contain. So his heart is
reassured in peace and in hope. Even when weak in himself and defeated,
when life closes in around him, he knows that those whom Allah takes
into His protection will not be neglected or abandoned so long as they
depend upon Allah and trust in Him. The disbelievers prefer to depend
upon their own feeble resources, yet how quickly despair overtakes them,
plunging them into desperation, and even driving them to suicide.
Sixth, belief in this Aqeedah develops
in the individual great determination, fortitude, patience, confidence
and trust, since you are engaged in the greatest of enterprise, the
quest for the pleasure of Allah. Indeed you feel that what supports you
is the power of He Who possesses the heavens and the earth. In this way
the strength and determination of the believer, with his resolute will
inspired by this confidence, becomes like a mountain that no human force
may move. Could there ever be such a strength and confidence as this to
inspire a person's disbelief?
Seventh, the believer derives both
strength and support from the declaration of faith, since it puts you
out of reach of the two things that can undermine your strength, love of
the world and fear of it. Love of the world is to place love of
yourself, your spouse or your money before love of Allah. Fear of the
world is fear of an unknown force, not under the power of God, waiting
to destroy you. The believer knows that there is no god but Allah, and
so neither of these things can gain any power over the heart, because it
is reassured by the fact that Allah is the Sole Possessor of both life
and property. Once you dedicate yourself to the pleasure of your Lord
regardless of the cost, you suddenly realise that no one can deprive you
of your life, neither man nor beast: the gun, the swordand the stone do
not kill; it is God alone Who brings death.
There is no stronger determination than
that of someone who believes in Allah. No man can intimidate him and no
army frighten him, neither flashing swords nor bullets falling like
rain. Whenever a believer presents himself for battle in the path of
Allah, his strength is multiplied tenfold. So where does this leave the
Christians and the Jews, the disbelievers and the atheists.
Eighth, by believing in the declaration
of faith you can take command over your own life, take pride in
yourself, in your confidence and determination, and in this way purify
your heart from the influence ofavarice, jealousy, cowardice, spite, and
all other vices.
Ninth, and by far the most important of
these effects on the heart, is the knowledge that the declaration of
faith guides you to understand the law of Allah, and helps you to keep
carefully to it. Thus you are awakened to the fact that Allah is totally
aware of every thing, and that He is nearer to you than your jugular
vein; and although you may be able to escape from most kinds of danger,
there is no escaping from Allah. The degree to which faith pervades the
human mind determines in turn the extent of the believer's obedience to
the laws of Allah, his keeping to Allah's limits and not coming near to
what Allah has forbidden, and his hastening to do good works and to
fulfill Allah's commands.
The declaration of faith is the first
of the five essential pillars of Islam. It is also the most important of
these when it comes to ascertaining the extent of a person's faith. The
Muslim is the obedient servant who keeps near to Allah. We can not do
this until we believe from teh depths of our hearts that there is no god
but Allah. The declaration of faith is the source of Islam and the basis
of its strength. Regardless of the details of our belief or the
different shades of legal opinion, everything ultimately rests upon this
one statement: the power of Islam relies upon nothing else. If this
should ever be lost, then nothing at all would be left of our deen.(1)
Ibn Rajab, when commenting on the
declaration of faith, quotes Sufyian ibn Uyaynah: "Allah did not bestow
upon His servants a greater blessing than the knowledge that there is no
god but Allah. For the people of Paradise these words are the same as
fresh water is to a people who live on the parched Earth. By it the
scales of Heaven and Hell are set. Because of it the Messengers were
sent into battle. Whoever declares it to be so, his wealth and his life
are protected, but whoever denies it shall find himself destroyed. It is
the key to paradise, and the single call of all the Messengers." (2)
Notes
1) Abu A'la al-Mawdudi, Mabadi' al-Islam, p.87.
2) Ibn Rajab, Kalimat al-Ikhlas, p.53
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