The first principle of Islam is monotheism – to know Allah Almighty, His attributes, His beautiful names and so on and to this end we have been getting acquainted with Allah Almighty through His attributes from a chapter in the book, Shajarat al Maarif by Imam Al-Izz bin Abdus Salam. He talks about how we…
The first obligation of every human being is to know his Creator. Some people accepted this invitation from Allah Almighty to find out about Him and truly knowing Him can only lead to gratitude towards Him. Allah called them to His message through different prophets and messengers, and a variety of means, yet unfortunately some…
The major principles of Islam (kulliyaat al Kubra) are the main principles which we cannot live without. The first main principle is to know Allah Almighty, but it is hard to do justice to this topic because Allah Almighty is beyond our comprehension. What we know about Him is from the Quran and what we…
How did the idea of compiling the major principles come about? Every Monday evening I hold an Arabic class, and at the end students ask questions. One of the questions a student put to me was ‘What are the major principles of Islam?’ There are plenty but I could not count them off the top…
Islam is not theoretical, it’s practical. Our obligations are towards Allah Almighty and towards the people with whom we inhabit the world. Our relationships with people begin with our immediate families. Our immediate families are composed of those with whom we are related by blood. There are many verses in the Quran and hadith about…
Honour and dignity Allah Almighty mentioned in the Quran, We have dignified or honoured the children of Adam. (17:70) This is the only ayah in the Quran which has the word ‘karramna’ (honoured). Allah Almighty has therefore given dignity and honour to the children of Adam, all of them. This honour is a given from…
The concept of freedom In our old literature, we don’t find the word freedom as a stand-alone topic. It’s a new expression. The word hurriyya (freedom or liberty) is not a word you even find in the Quran. There’s no ayah that talks about ‘hurriyya’. However you will find the concept. Is it one of…
The General Principles series This is the third in the series on General Principles of Islam- which every Muslim should know. This series started when one of my students in my Arabic class said, ‘You have mentioned the main principles of Islam many times, but what are they? Where can I read about them?’ I…
Throughout my studies of Shariah, over 30 years now, we keep referring to the general principles of Islam. The general principles are an expression that is referred to widely by my shuyukh teachers, their teachers and their shuyukh and throughout our literature. One day, in the Monday circle I deliver, I was asked by some…
Main principles in Islam: Tranquility (part 4) Indeed in the remembrance of Allah, hearts find tranquility. (13:28) Engage the heart Tranquility descends on the heart when it’s pure, and to purify it we need to engage it in dhikr (remembrance) of Allah. Not from lip service dhikr. If you are reciting dhikr quickly, you won’t…
Main principles in Islam: Know Allah (part 3) What does it mean to know Allah, love Allah, and call on Allah? What does remembering Him entail? Obligation to know Allah Knowing Allah is an obligation for every human. We know this but we need to dig deeper for it to impact our lives. In his…