B. The Six Articles of Faith (Eemaan): Belief in Allah

What are the Six Articles of Faith?

The six articles of faith include: Belief in Allah, Belief in the Angels, Belief in the Messengers, Belief in the Divine Books, Belief in the Last Day and Belief in the Divine Decree.

The Six Articles of Faith (Eemaan): Belief in Allah

The Meaning of Belief in Allah

This means firm belief that Allah ﷻ exists, resolutely affirming His Lordship, Godship and Names and Attributes.

Belief in Allah’s Lordship

This means to firmly believe that Allah ﷻ is the Lord, the Creator, the Sustainer and the provider of everything; that He is the one who gives life and causes death; that He is the only one who can do harm and good; that all power of decision rests with Him; that in His hand is all good; that He has power over everything; and that He has no partner whatsoever in doing all this.Belief in Allah’s Lordship therefore requires a Muslim to believe that:

Allah is the only creator of everything in the universe, as the Qur’an states, “Allah is the Creator of everything.” (Soorat Az-Zumar, 39:62)

The Belief that only Allah is Worthy of Worship

Declaring Allah’s oneness and directing all acts of worship to Him alone is the actual realisation of the meaning of the statement Laa ilaaha illallaah.

This means firm belief that Allah is the only true god who deserves to be worshipped. This entails that all the apparent and hidden acts of worship, such as invocation, fear, reliance, the prayer, the obligatory charity (zakaat), fasting and seeking assistance, must be directed to Him alone, as the Qur’an states,

“Your God is One God. There is no god but Him, the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful.” (Soorat Al-Baqarah, 2:163)

This verse makes it abundantly clear that Allah is only one God, which means that He alone deserves to be worshipped and that no one else must be worshipped besides or instead of Him.

 

 

 

Belief in Allah’s Names and Attributes

This involves belief in the names and attributes which Allah has affirmed for Himself or which His Messenger ﷺ has affirmed for Him in a manner that suits His majesty.

Allah ﷻ has the most beautiful names and perfect attributes. All His names and attributes are unique, as the Qur’an states, “Nothing is like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” (Soorat Ash-Shooraa, 42:11) Therefore, none of whatever He has created has similar names or attributes in any way.

Some of Allah’s Most Beautiful Names

“The Beneficent, the Merciful.” (Soorat Al-Faatihah, 1:3)

“He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” (Soorat Ash-Shooraa, 42:11)

“He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (Soorat Luqmaan, 31:9)

“Allah, there is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining.” (Soorat Al-Baqarah, 2:255)

“All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.” (Soorat Al-Faatihah , 1:2)

 

Some Benefits of Belief in Allah

1. Allah safeguards the believers against harm and adversity and protects them against their enemies’ plots, as the Qur’an states:

“Surely Allah defends those who are true believers.” (Soorat Al-Hajj, 22:38)

2. Belief in Allah brings happiness and is the source of a good life, as the Qur’an states, “To whoever does good deeds, man or woman, and is a believer, We will surely give a good life.” (Soorat An-Nahl, 16:97)

3. Belief in Allah frees the human mind from superstitions. Those who believe in Allah ﷻ completely rely on Him and are wholly devoted to Him, being the Lord of all the worlds and the only true God without any partners. As a result, they do not fear anyone and show their devotion to none but Allah. This frees them from all superstitions and misconceptions.

4.The best benefit of belief in Allah is attainment of Allah’s good pleasure, admission into Paradise and enjoyment of everlasting bliss and Allah’s boundless mercy.

 
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