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The Importance
rtance of Intentions
The Prophet (saw) said:

Verily, actions are but by intention and every man shall have that which he intended.
“Verily, intended Thus he
whose migration was for Allah and His messenger, his migration was for Allah and His
messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman
in marriage, his migration was for that which he migrated.” [Bukhari, Muslim]

The Prophet (saw) also narrated:

“Indeed
Indeed Allah has forbidden for Hell the person who testifies ‘La ilaha illa Allah’ seeking
thereby nothing but Allah’s Face (pleasure).” [Bukhari, Muslim]

The condition in the Hadith above is that one is seeking Allah’s pleasure when doing deeds.

Before
ore any religious deed is accepted, it must fulfil 2 criteria:

1. Must be purely for Allah’s sake, i.e. have the correct intention.
2. Must be in accordance with Qur’an and Sunnah.

“Sincerity is the musk of our hearts.”

Ibn Al Qayyim (rahimahullah)

Before we proceed, let’s make our intentions purely for Allah’s sake so we obtain maximum
benefit and reward inshaAllah.

On Seeking Knowledge…
Abdullah ibn Mubarak used to say: “The
“The beginning of knowledge is the intention, then listening,
then understanding, then action, then preservation, and then spreading it.”

Knowledge has 3 rights over you:

1. To learn it
2. To act upon it
3. To teach it to others

Some of the blessings of Knowledge

nowledge

• Seeking knowledge
owledge is so important that it is the only thing the Prophet Muhammad
(saw) was commanded to ask for more of,of not wealth or status.

“And say: My lord! Increase knowledge [Surah Ta-Ha: 114]

ncrease me in knowledge.”

• Knowledge is a sign of Allah’s love for a person.

Prophet Muhammad (saw) said:

UCLU Isoc Sisters Aqeedah 101 – The Key to Jannah

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“If Allah wants good for someone, Allah will give that person an understanding of the religion.”
[Bukhari]

Abu Huraryah reported that the messenger of Allah (saw) said:

“Allah makes the way to jannah easy for him who treads the path in search of knowledge.”
[Muslim]

• Knowledge is so blessed that the benefits remain after ones death

''When the son of Adam dies, his good deeds come to an end except three:
Sadaqah Jaariyah
ariyah (continuing charity), knowledge which can benefit others,
others or virtuous
him. [Muslim]
offspring who will pray for him.”

The blessings and benefits mentioned above refer to those who seek Islamic
Islamic knowledge, as
opposed to secular knowledge, which is also praiseworthy but doesn’t come under the same
category of reward as seeking Islamic knowledge.

Introduction to Aqeedah

Definition of Aqeedah:

• Linguistically: Derived
erived from the term 'aqadah' - a verb which means "to hold fast to" or
"to establish". Also described as “that which binds you down.”
• According to our scholars, Aqeedah is the firm creed and beliefs that one's heart is
fixed upon without any wavering or doubt.
• It is the cornerstone off our faith, and the basis for all other good deeds to sprout from.

Definition of Tawheed ‫توحيد‬:

‫توحي‬
• Linguistically, derived from the root verb - ‫وحد‬ - Tawheed is the verbal noun of this,
which refers to the act of ascribing unity to something.
• Islamic, (Shar’ee)
r’ee) definition: The uniqueness of Allah with regards to:
1. His Lordship – Tawheed Ar-Ruboobiyyah
Ar
2. His right to be worshipped – Tawheed Al-Uloohiyyah
3. His names and attributes – Tawheed Al-Asmaa’ wa Sifaat

The division of Tawheed into its categories was not done

done by the Prophet (saw) or by his
companions, as there was no need to do this at the time of the prophet – this was such a basic
principle of faith. However, these categories can be found in verses of the Qur’an and in
ahadith narrated by the Prophet (saw).
(saw

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Due to the vast spread of Islam and thus greater absorption of Islam by various cultures, it was
necessary that the essence of Islam (belief in Allah) remained uncorrupted.

It is reported on the authority of Ibn `Abbas (ra) that Allah's Messenger

Messenger said when he sent
Mu‘adh (ra) to Yemen:

"You are going to a people who are from the People of the Book: So the first thing to which you
call them should be the testimony that no-one
no one has the right to be worshipped except Allah. If
they acknowledge Allah, then inform them that Allah has obligated upon them five prayers
during their days and nights." [Bukhari,
[ Muslim]

This Hadith stresses the importance of Tawheed, and highlights that we must begin with
Tawheed before all else, even Salah.

The first verses of the

he Qur'an in Surat Al-Fatiha,
Al the oft-repeated
repeated verses, encompasses the
three concepts of Tawheed above.

“All
All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
World . The Most Beneficent, the Most
Merciful.. The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the
the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of
Resurrection). You (Alone) we worship, and you (Alone) we ask for help.”

[Surat Al-Fatiha: 2-5]

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Discussion Point Why do we worship Allah?

Because it is His right
 He created us, made us Muslim, and made us among Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa’ah
 It was narrated that Mu‘adh ibn Jabal said: I was riding behind the Prophet (saw) on a
donkey and he said to me “O O Mu‘adh, do you know what is the right of Allah on His
slaves and what is the right of the slaves
s upon Allah?” I responded: “Allah and His
Messenger know best.” He continued, “The right of Allah upon His slaves is to worship
Him Alone and never to associate anything with Him.Him The right of slaves upon Him is
not to punish any person who does not associate
asso anything with Him.”” I said: “O Allah’s
messenger, may I not give the glad tidings to the people?” He replied “No. Do not inform
them lest they rely on (this promise and lapse in their service to Him)..” [Bukhari,
Muslim]
 This Hadith also illlustrates wisdom in imparting knowledge i.e. narrating to those
who would understtand and not misinterpret or abuse certain naarrations.

It is the sustenance to ou ur soul
 Allah is not in need of our worship; rather, we are the ones in need of o Allah.

It is the purpose of our creation
c
 “And I (Allah) h) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me
(Alone).” [Surat Adh-D Dhariyat:56]
 Most explicit verse in the t Qur’an regarding purpose of creation.

Ibaadah (worship) is the e way to freedom and dignity
 The one who is a slave to money or to another human being becomees disgraced.
 The one who is a slave to Allah has the best position.

Allah comes to our rescu ue at times of calamities
 When you feel all yourr options are closed off – you turn to Allah – an nd only then do
you find peace.
 “Verily remembran of Allah do hearts find rest.” [Surat Ar-Raa’d:28]
Verily in the remembrance
 Many people have enteered prison, (of which the main aim is isolatio on from others and
society in general) andd have come out as Muslim, or have come out of prison as
huffadh e.g. Ibn Taymiiyyah (rahimahullah).
 When you are in worsh hip, the entire world is yours.

Because we are longing for f jannah & seeking refuge from hellfire, and longing to
see the face of Allah.
 We do not enter jannaah with our deeds, but we enter due to the rah hma (mercy) of
Allah.

And many more…

UCLU Isoc Sisters Aqeedah 101 – The Key to Jannah

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