The Correct Creed and Its Opposites and Nullifiers of Islam

Author: Sheikh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Bāz (d. 1420 AH)

Translator: Sharaf Adewale Najeem

 

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

All praise is due to Allah alone, and may peace and blessings be upon the Prophet after whom there shall be no other, and upon his family and companions.

 

Introduction

Since the correct creed constitutes the foundation of Islam and the bedrock of its faith, it has been selected as the subject of this discourse. It is evident, through the incontrovertible proofs of the Qur'an and Sunnah, that deeds and utterances are only deemed valid and acceptable when rooted in a sound creed. If the creed is flawed, it nullifies all actions and words derived from it. Allah, the Exalted, says:

"But whoever disbelieves in faith, his deeds will become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers." (Al-Māʾidah: 5)

He also says:

"It has already been revealed to you and to those before you: If you associate [others with Allah], your deeds will surely become worthless, and you will surely be among the losers." (Al-Zumar: 65)

Such verses are numerous and emphatic in their implications. The Qur'an, the clear Book of Allah, and the authentic Sunnah of His noble Messenger—upon whom the finest prayers and complete salutations are conferred—make unequivocally clear that the essence of the correct creed is summarised in the following tenets:

1. Belief in Allah,
2. His angels,
3. His books,
4. His messengers,
5. The Last Day, and
6. Divine decree (al-qadar), both its good and its bad.

These six pillars constitute the essence of the true creed, revealed in the Qur'an and conveyed through the mission of Allah's Messenger, Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him. From these principles emanate all other aspects of faith, including belief in the unseen and every matter affirmed by Allah and His Messenger.

The Qur'an and Sunnah contain abundant evidence for these six principles. Allah states:

"Righteousness is not that you turn your faces towards the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is in one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets..." (Al-Baqarah: 177)

He also says:

"The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and so have the believers. All of them have believed in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers..." (Al-Baqarah: 285)

Allah further commands:

"O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray." (Al-Nisāʾ: 136)

Regarding belief in divine decree, Allah says:

"Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the heavens and earth? Indeed, that is in a Record. Indeed, that, for Allah, is easy." (Al-Ḥajj: 70)

The Sunnah, likewise, abounds with clear affirmations of these tenets. One such narration is the renowned ḥadīth recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, where the Commander of the Faithful, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb—may Allah be pleased with him—relates that Jibrīl (Gabriel), peace be upon him, asked the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—about faith (īmān). The Prophet replied:

"Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in divine decree, its good and its bad."

This ḥadīth is recorded by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim, as narrated by Abū Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him.

From these six pillars stem all beliefs a Muslim must hold concerning Allah, the realities of the Hereafter, and other matters of the unseen.