بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
اٰمَنْتُ بِاللّٰہِ کَمَا هُوَ بِأَسْمَائِهٖ وَصِفَاتِهٖ ، وَقَبِلْتُ جَمِیْعَ أَحْکَامِهٖ
(المجموع للامام النووي 1/49 ومسائل في طلب العلم للحافظ الذهبي ص213)
Aa-mantu bil-laa-hi kamaa huwa bi-ʾasmaa-ʾi-hi wa ṣifaa-tihi,
wa-qabiltu jameeʿa aḥ-kaamih.
I believe in Allāh as He is with His names and His attributes, and I accept all His commands.
These few words are the verbal expression of what ʾĪmān and Islām entails: belief in the unseen through complete submission and acceptance without questioning or delving into further details regarding Allāh Taʿālā, recognizing Him, His attributes and His commands.
References
- Sayyidunā ʾAbū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: “Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred less one. Whoever counts (or memorises) them will enter Paradise.”[1]
- ʾImām Nawawī (رحمه الله) has written in his introduction of Al-Majmūʿ: “As for the primary thing that is an obligation in Islām which is connected to creed is that it is sufficient for one to affirm the truthfulness of everything that Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) brought and to believe in it with firm conviction without any [form of] doubts. It is not necessary to learn the detailed proofs of the scholars of creed (mutakallimūn).” He further stated: “Do not interpret [the attributes]. Furthermore, refrain from speaking about their meanings. Rather, delegate their knowledge to Allāh Taʿālā and coupled with that, believe in the purity of Allāh [from defects] and negate any created attributes from Allāh.”[2]
- ʾImām Dhahabī’s (رحمه الله) sentiments mentioned in his treatise, Masāʾil fī Ṭalabil ʿIlm wa ʾAqsāmihi, mirror the statements of ʾImām Nawawī (رحمه الله). He also stated: “It is farḍ (compulsory) to recognize Allāh Taʿālā with that which He has stated in His revealed Book, by conveying it on the tongue of the Messenger He sent ﷺ, that Allāh is the Lord of everything, the Creator of everything, the Sustainer of all living things and that He is attributed with that which His revealed Books and His messengers have described Him once it is established from them. And that a servant has to believe in Allāh, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, resurrection after death, in all fate, in Jannah, in the Fire and things like these which the Qurʾān spoke about and the predecessors of the ʾUmmah have agreed upon.”[3]
- Allāh Taʿālā says: “O you who believe, enter into Islām completely.”
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) commented: “Allāh Taʿālā commands His servants who believe in Him and have faith in His Messenger to implement all of Islām’s legislations and laws, to adhere to all of its commandments, as much as they can, and to refrain from all of its prohibitions.”[4]
And Allāh Taʿālā Knows best
[1] Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitāb Tawḥīd #7392, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim #2677. This narration used the word, ‘الإحصاء’ – ‘to count’. The narration in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitāb Daʿwāt #6410 used the word ‘الحفظ’ – ‘to memorise’. See ‘Teaching Guidelines’ for the explanation.
[2] Al-Majmūʿ by ʾImām Nawawī r: Vol.1 pg.49
[3] Masāʾīl fī Ṭalabil ʿIlm by Ḥāfiẓ Dhahabī r: pg. 213
[4] Sūrah Al-Baqarah: 208. Tafsīru Qurʾānil ʿAdhīm by Ibn Kathīr r: Vol. 1 pg.273