The Correlative Relationship Between Creed And Way

The Correlative Relationship Between Creed And Way

All praise is due to Allâh, the Lord of the Worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the one Allâh sent as a mercy to the Worlds; and on his family, companions and fellow brothers till the Day of Recompense. To proceed:

For what follows, before the answer to the first question, from what is known is that the use of the word ’Aqîdah (Creed) was not mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah, nor in the major lexicons of the language. The previous imams used what indicates it like Sunnah, îmân (Faith), and Sharî’ah (Islamic Law); and many of the imams used the two words: I’tiqâd (Belief) and Mu’taqad (Doctrine) like Ibn Jarîr at-Tabarî, al-Lâlikâ’î, and al-Baihaqî.

So from the terminological aspect, the word creed is used to indicate “what the servant ties his heart to, of truth or falsehood” according to its general [usage]. As for its restricted usage with an attribute like the term “Islamic creed”, then some of them have defined it as “the definite Faith in Allah and what is obligated for Him regarding His Worship, Lordship, His Names and Attributs; faith in the Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, Qadar (Divine Preordainment -its good and its evil; all of what the authentic texts came with regarding the Fundamentals of the Religion, the matters of Ghaib (the Unseen, Absent, Invisible etc,) what the Salaf (Righteous Predecessors) came to consensus on; submitting to Allah in Ruling and Command, Qadar and Legislation, and to the Messenger in obedience, arbitration, and adherence.”

Thus, creed in Islam matches the Islamic Law, because the intent of Shari ̀ah is the practical commandments that Islam came with regarding acts of worship and mutual conduct whereas creed is the knowledge-related matters the Muslim is enjoined to believe in his heart, because Allâh تعالى informed him of them by way of His Revelation to His Messenger . The connection between them is very strong, both combining in the [meaning of] Faith when [it is mentioned] individually, because it has two halves: immaculate deeply-rooted creed that resides in the heart, and another half is visible in the deed that manifests on the parts of his body. Thus, faith is a creed which the heart of its owner is pleased with. He confesses it by his tongue and is satisfied with the clear way that Allâh made it connected to. Due to that, it has come from the statements of the scholars of the Salaf that Faith is to believe in the heart, to confess by the tongue, and to act with the parts of the body.

Furthermore, certainly the confirmation of the correctness of this creed is only by harmony with a sound way established upon the authentic transmitted [reports] confirmed by the Book, the Sunnah, the reports mentioned from the Companions رضي الله عنهم and the Followers from the imams of guidance and the luminaries of the gloom who were on their footsteps, just as he, , said: «خَيْرُ النَّاسِ قَرْنِي، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ»

«The people of my century (generation) are the best, then those who follow them, then those whom follow the latter»([1]).

Thus this proper path is from the greatest of what distinguishes Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama ̀ah (the adherents of Sunnah) from the adherents of Desires and Division; and is represented in the quest of knowledge with the Allâh's Requests for deduction by Qur’anic Verses and Prophetic Ahadîth, and [in] the [seeking of] direction through the understanding of the Companions, the Followers, and [those] from the scholars who abide by their way.

From their greatest distinguishing characteristics are their lack of opposition to the Revelation by intellect, opinion, or Qiyâs (Verdicts and Judgements given by the Islamic religious scholars) their giving precedence to the legislation over the intellect, although the unadulterated intellect does not oppose the authentic text, but, is rather consenting to it; their refusal of rhetorical interpretation of the legal texts with [different] types of metaphors; and their adoption of the Book and the Sunnah as a scale for the acceptance and refusal [of texts]. These are the most important principles of the Salaf way and its greater characteristics, which no one other than them are qualified by. That is because the origin of acceptance according to their opponents from the People of Desires and Heresies is the intellect which the sham of philosophy corrupted, the nonsense of the logicians, and the schemes of the theological rhetoricians. So they were excessive in the intellect’s judging, rejecting the texts, opposing them with it (i.e., the intellect), and other than that from what is known from the successive generations’ school of thought.

Furthermore, from the outcomes of the proper way are unity of the word of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama ̀ah in their Lord’s Monotheism, [in] their meeting with adherence of their Prophet and [in] their conformity in the issues and matters of belief; as a single word, it does not vary no matter how [far] the places keep them away and the times vary.

Thus, the sound way leads to the sound belief. So soundness of way is deduced by correctness of creed for it is from the deduction of the cause by the effect, like deducing something by the existence of its effect and its (i.e., the thing’s) absence by its (i.e., the effect’s) absence. According to the Usûliyun (Fundamentalist scholars), it is from the Qiyâs deduction of the indication. The creed could be sound in some of its aspects, corrupt in some of its other [aspects]. So its correct aspect is deduced by the correctness of the way in [that aspect], and the corrupt by the corruption of the way in [that aspect]; similar to when one believes in the creed of the Salaf regarding the Names and the Attributes (i.e., Allâh’s), while believing in rebellion, partisanship, and other issues. Thus, the correctness of his creed in the Names and the Attributes of Allâh is deduced by the correctness of methodology in it, which is compliant in deduction by the Book and the Sunnah, [seeking] direction through the understanding of the Righteous Salaf, just as the corruption of his creed in the other aspect is deduced by his leaving the way of the Salaf in it.

As for the second question, it is necessary to differentiate between one whose intent was the truth, then erred and between one who was obstinate after the truth in the issue became obvious to him; or [one who] persisted in opposing the authentic texts and confirmed or preferable evidences; or [one who] spoke without knowledge; or [one] whose heresy is established, he calls to it and defends it; or [one who] fell short in seeking the truth; or [one who] turned away from seeking it (i.e., the truth); or [one] who concealed it for reasons that hindered him and the likes of that from the [possible] situations.

Allâh knows best. Out final prayer is all praises to Allâh, the Lord of the Worlds. Peace and blessings of Allâh be upon our Prophet Muhammad, on his family, companions and fellow-brothers till the Day of Recompense.

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