Al-'Aqīdah Al-Sanūsiyya Sanūsiyya Sanūsiyya
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al-Sanūsiyya alalal-al ---‘Aqīdah‘Aqīdah‘Aqīdahalalalal----SanūsiyyaSanūsiyyaSanūsiyya Abū‘AbdullāhMuAbū‘AbdullāhMuКammadibnYКammadibnYКammadibnYūsufūsufūsuf alalal-al ---SanūsīalSanūsīalSanūsīal----ЙusaynЙusaynЙusaynīalīalīalīal----MālikīMālikī (d.795Hijrah) Translation&Commentaryby AbūĀdamal-Narūjīy Releasedby www.marifah.net 1428H. 1 al-Sanūsiyya TableTableofContentsofContents Introduction:TheDisappearanceofKnowledgeandtheImportanceoftheScience ofBelief.................................................................................................................................3 TheSanūsiyya.......................................................................................................................6 PrefacetotheTranslationofTheSanūsiyya.................................................................6 Thejudgmentsofthesoundintellect............................................................................7 Requiredknowledgefortheaccountableperson.........................................................9 TheAttributesthatAllāhmustbeattributedwith...................................................9 TheattributesthatareimpossibleforAllāh tobeattributedwithandthosethat arepossible......................................................................................................................16 TheproofsofAllāh’sattributes.....................................................................................17 Hisattributeofexistence...........................................................................................18 Hisattributeofnon-beginningexistence..................................................................19 Hisattributeofnon-endingexistence.......................................................................19 Hisattributeofnon-resemblancetocreation..........................................................19 Hisattributeofself-existence....................................................................................19 HisattributeofOneness............................................................................................20 HisattributesofPower,Will,KnowledgeandLife.................................................20 HisattributesofHearing,SightandSpeech............................................................20 WhatmaybetrueofAllāh....................................................................................23 TheMessengersofAllāhandtheirattributes...............................................................23 DefinitionofProphetandMessenger......................................................................23 AttributesthatMessengersmusthave......................................................................24 AttributesthatareimpossibleforMessengerstohave..........................................24 AttributesthatMessengerscouldhave....................................................................25 ProofthatMessengersabsolutelyneverlie..............................................................26 Miraclesandotherextraordinaryevents..................................................................27 TheproofthattheMessengersdonotsin................................................................28 TheproofthattheMessengersareexposedtohumanconditionsthatdonot implyflawintheirrank..............................................................................................28 RelatingeverythingmentionedtothecreedalstatementofIslām.............................28 Themeaningof“thereisnogodbutAllāh”............................................................28 WhatitmeansthatAllāh doesnotneedanything…….………………...............29 WhatitmeansthateverythingelseneedsAllāh..................................................30 TheidentityoftheProphetMuКammad..............................................................31 BelievinginProphetMuКammad entailsbelievingallProphets........................31 AllProphetsandMessengeraretrustworthy...........................................................31 ProphetsandMessengersneversin..........................................................................31 ProphetsandMessengerareexposedtohumanconditionsthatdonotimply flawintheirrank........................................................................................................31 Theimportanceofremembrancebythecreedalstatement...................................32 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................32 Translator’safterword:theproofsofthemindinIslām..............................................32 AbouttheAuthor………………………………………………...……………...……....33 2 al-Sanūsiyya Introduction:TheDisappearanceofKnowledgeIntroduction:TheDisappearanceofKnowledge andthandtheImportanceoftheScienceofBeliefeImportanceoftheScienceofBeliefeImportanceoftheScienceofBelief IntheNameofGod,whoistheMostGracious,MostMerciful IcommencemywritingbysayingthenameofAllāh,appealingforHishelpandblessing.All praisebelongsintruthtoHim,forHeistheCreatorofallandtheiractionslikegiving.Ideclare myself a believer in His Absolute Oneness, and that for those who deny this there is no forgiveness.OGodofAbraham!YouaretheCreatorofall,andbyyourmercyIstandorIfall. Noonecanquestionyouractions,sinceanyoneelseismerelyamongyourcreations.Ibegyou tofurtherraisetherankofthebestofallyouhavemade,theProphetMuКammad andthatin hisintercessionIwillfindshade. ItwasreportedbyAКmad,al-Tirmidhī,al-Dārimīandal-ŢaКāwīthattheProphetwasasked, after telling them that knowledge of the religion will disappear in the future, “ O Prophet of Allāh,howcanknowledgedisappearwhenwehavecopiesoftheQur’ān(al-MașāКif)andwe have learned what they contain, and we have taught our children and our wives and our servants? ”Heraisedhisheadinangerandsaid,“ TheseJewsandChristianshavewiththem theirscriptures,yettheydidnotlearnfromthemwhattheirProphetsbroughtthem.”111 Abū Ja‘far al-ŢaКāwī in Mushkil al-Āthār narrated from the companion of the Prophet , Shaddādibn‘Aws 222thatthefirstknowledgethatwilldisappearis khushū’ ,andthattherewill come a time when one will hardly ever see anyone with khushū’ in the group prayer in the Masjids .al-ŢaКāwīdefined khushū’ assubmissionandhumblenesstoAllāh.Hestatedthat thisappearsonthosewhohaveit,becauseAllāh saidabouttheCompanionsoftheProphet : وَاَِ ََُ أَِاءُ ََ اُْرِ رََُءُ ََُْْ ََاهُْ رُآً ًُا ََُْنَ ًَْ َِ ا ِ وَرَِْاً َِهُْ ِ وُُهِِْ ِْ أََِ اُدِ 3 Meaning: “Thosewhoar“Thosewhoarewithhimshownomercyfortheblaspewithhimshownomercyfortheblasphemersandarhemersandaremercifultowardemercifultoward oneanother(asMuslims).Youseethembowingandprostratinginprayerseekinggraceand rewardfromArewardfromAllllllllāh.Theirmarkisintheirfacesfromthetraceoāh.Theirmarkisintheirfacesfromthetraceoffprostration.”prostration.” Al-ŢaКāwīsaidthatthismarkmentionedinthe Āyah wasstatedbyanumberofthe Salaf tobe theappearanceof khushū’ .444 In Jāmi‘al-‘Ulūmwa-l-Йikam IbnRajabexpandeduponthemeaningof khushū’ andsaidthat therearetwotypesofknowledge,knowledgethatbenefits,andknowledgeofthetongue.The firsttypeofknowledgeisaperson’sknowledgeofAllāh,Hisnames,HisattributesandHis actions which leads to fearing Him, glorifying Him, humbling oneself to Him, loving Him, 111 P.484,V.1,‘Alīal-Qārī. Mirqātal-MafātīК.Beirut,Lebanon:Dāral-Kutubal-‘Ilmiyya,2001. 222 Hewasoneofthecompanionsthatwasknownforknowledgeandextremepiety.Heusedtogo tobedatnight,saying: “OAllāh!TheHellfireispreventingmefromsleep.” Thenhewouldgetupagain andprayuntilmorning. 333 їūratal-FatК,29 444 P.281-282V.1,al-ŢaКāwī, Mushkil al-Āthār ,Mu’assasatal-Risāla,Beirut. 3 al-Sanūsiyya HopingforHisGraceandMercy,askingHimforone’sneeds,relyingonHimandthelike.The secondtypeofknowledgeisthatofthetongue,thatis,apparentknowledgeoftheQur’ānand itsmeanings.ThisknowledgewithoutthefirstiswhatwasmeantbyIbnMas‘ūdwhenhesaid: “somepeoplereadtheQur’ān,butitdoesnotreachbeyondtheircollarbone.” Then Ibn Rajab said: “The first knowledge that is lifted away from earth is the beneficial knowledge,whichisinsideandmixeswiththeheartsandmendsthem.Theknowledgeofthe tongue remains as a proof (i.e. apparent knowledge of the Qur’ān). Then people become carelesswithit,anddonotperformwhatitrequires;neitherthosewhocarrythisknowledge, norothers.Thenthisknowledgedisappearswithitscarriers,andnothingremainsexceptcopies oftheQur’āninbooks,andthereisnoonearoundthatknowsitsmeaning,oritslimitsorrules. Thenthisalsodisappearsattheendofdaysandthereisnothingleftatallofthisknowledge,not incopiesandnotinhearts.AfterthatcomestheDayofJudgment,astheMessengerofAllāh said:‘TheDayofJudgmentcomeswhenthereareonlybadpeople.’” Thebasisforbeneficialknowledgethen,theknowledgethatleadsto khushū’ ,istoknowAllāh astheMessenger taught.ThismeanstoknowAllāh’sattributes,butitalsomeanstoknow whytheymustbetrueofAllāh.Thisisbecausefaithnotfoundedonthereasonofthemindis susceptibletodoubtwhenexposedtotheargumentsofthosewhospreadit.Oncethemindhas accepted that there is no possible alternative to what one believes, no matter what new informationonereceives,thendoubtwillneverhaveaccess.ThisisofcourseunlessAllāh haswilledforonetoacceptfalsehoodduetoasicknessintheheart. TheIslamicSunniScienceofBelief,ortheScienceof Kalām ,servesthispurpose:toremove doubts due to flaws in ones reasoning. This may be flaws in ones premises, arguments or conclusions.Oncethepurposeof Kalām hasbeenachieved,thencombiningitwithperforming one’sreligiousobligationsandavoidingprohibitions,isthepathwaytotrue khushū’ andsuccess in the Hereafter. This is because the mind has been satisfied,