Obligations of the Heart

Among the obligations of the heart are:

1. To have the belief in Allah and what He revealed;
2. To have the belief in the Messenger of Allah and what he conveyed;
3. To have the sincerity (ikhlas), which is to do the good deeds for the sake of Allah only and not for the sake of people;
4. To regret sinning;
5. To rely on Allah;
6. To fear Allah so as to perform one's obligations and refrain from the unlawful things;
7. To subjugate oneself to Allah and refrain from objecting to Him;
8. To exalt the rites of Allah;
9. To be thankful to Allah for His endowments by not using them in disobedience;
10. To be patient in performing what Allah made obligatory;
11. To be patient in refraining from what Allah, ta^ala, made unlawful;
12. To be patient with what Allah afflicted one;
13. To hate the Devil;
14. To hate sins;
15. To love Allah, His Speech (Kalam), His Messenger, the Companions and the Al of the Prophet, and the righteous Muslims.

Names of Prophet Muhammad

Allah the Exalted, has made the name of His Messenger clear in the Noble Qur’an. In Surah al-Fath, verse 129 Allah said:

قال الله تعالى (مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاء عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاء بَيْنَهُمْ)

It means: “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those with him
are severe against the blasphemers, and merciful among each
other.”

Also, Allah mentioned in the Qur’an that Prophet ^Isa, peace be upon him, informed his people about Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. In Surah as-Saff, verse 6 Allah said:

قال الله تعالى إخبارا عن عيسى عليه السلام (وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ)

It means: “And bringing the good news about a Messenger who will
come after me whose name shall be Ahmad.”

These are indications about the most famous names of the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, Muhammad and Ahmad. “Muhammad” is the name which is repeated many times in the Qur’an, the name “Ahmad” was mentioned by Prophet ^Isa.

The scholars of Islam said that the Prophet was named “Ahmad” because he is the most grateful among thankful people. All of the prophets are grateful but our Prophet is the most thankful and grateful to his Creator.


As for the name “Muhammad” it is derived from the attribute of
“al-Hamd” which means thankfulness. The name “Ahmad” was mentioned in the earlier Divine Books, and the name “Muhammad” was mentioned in the Noble Qur’an. He was named Muhammad because he was thankful to Allah before any of his people did. Also, in the Hereafter he will thank Allah Who will grant him the intercession. Al-Bukhariyy related that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "إن لي أسماء: أنا محمدٌ، و أنا أحمدُ، وأنا الماحي الذي يمحو الله بي الكفر، وأنا الحاشر الذي يحشر الناس على قدمي، وأنا العاقبُ الذي ليس بعده أحد" رواه البخاري

It means: “I have five names, I am Muhammad, I am Ahmad, I am
al-Mahi (The eraser) with whom Allah erases blasphemy, I am
al-Hashir whom people will be assembled after, and I am
^Aqib (the last of all of the prophets.”

In interpreting this hadith Ibn Hajar al-^Asqalaniyy said: “It appears that the Prophet meant that he had five names which no one before him was named with in the past nations.”

The scholars interpreted his saying “al-Mahi (the eraser) with whom Allah erases blasphemy”, that Allah would erase blasphemy in the Arabian Peninsula by Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.

His saying “I am al-Hashir whom people will be assembled after” was interpreted by the scholars that he will be first one to be assembled and the rest of the creations will come after.

As for his saying: “I am al-^Aqib”, the scholars said that it means that our Prophet is the last of all the prophets. Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam is the last of all of the prophets and messengers. Neither there will be a new messenger nor a new prophet after him. This issue is unquestionable as it is mentioned in the Qur’an and in many hadiths. Al- Bukhariyy related that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said:

"لا نبي بعدي" رواه البخاري

It means: “There is no prophet after me.”

At-Tirmidhiyy also related that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said:

"لو كان بعدي نبي لكان عمر" رواه الترمذي

Which means: “If there were to be a prophet after me, it would be ^Umar.”

This hadith shows clearly two things: First that there will be no prophet after Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, second it shows the high status of our Master ^Umar Ibnul Khattab may Allah raise his rank.

So for those who try to alter the meanings of the Qur’an and its verses, they have no foundation to their claims. Neither Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadyaniyy nor any other person is a new prophet.

After Prophet ^Isa peace be upon him descends, he will rule the Earth with the rules (Shari^ah) of Prophet Muhammad which Muslims are ordered to follow until the Day of Judgement.

We ask Allah to keep us on the straight path, grant us a good ending, assemble us with the best of the prophets sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and to bestow on us the bounty of entering Paradise without torture.

(الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى) (طه : 5 )

Copying from Imam al-'Ash^ariyy, Imam al¬Bayhaqiyy, in his book, Al-Asma' was-Sifat, page 488, said: "Allah, ta^ala, is not in a place. Movement, coming to rest, and sitting are among the attributes of bodies."

Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbaliyy explained the term al-istiwa', in SuratTaha, ayah 5:
(الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى) (طه : 5 )
as al-istila', which means subjugating. When al¬istila' is used to explain this ayah it means that Allah subjugated the ^arsh with a subjugation that is without a beginning, like all of the attributes of Allah. If the ayah is explained in this manner, it means that Allah was attributed with subjugating the ^arsh before the ^arsh was created in the same way that Allah was attributed with being the Creator before anything from the creation existed. In this context, the scholars have used the term al-azal, which means the status of existing without a beginning. Thus it can be said that Allah subjugated the ^arsh in al-azal, meaning that Allah subjugated the ^arsh with a subjugation which is without a beginning. Yet the mushabbihah insist on taking the literal meaning, and they say istiwa' means Allah 'sits' on the throne and 'firmly establishes' Himself on it.

Celebrating the Prophet’s Birth An Innovation of Guidance

{we love our prophet}
Celebrating the Prophet’s Birth An Innovation of Guidance
Among the great innovations of guidance is the annual celebration of the Prophet’s birth (Mawlid un-Nabiyy). This event is commemorated by Muslims all over the world who join together for such rewardable deeds as reciting from the Qur’an, chanting Islamic praises, telling the story of the Prophet’s birth, teaching Religious Knowledge, slaughtering animals to feed to the poor, and gathering to thank and praise Allah and ask Him to exalt the honor of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. The honorable, knowledgeable, and righteous ruler: al-Mudhaffar, the King of Irbil{1}, initiated this practice about 900 years ago, and he was praised by Muslim scholars of Islam--among them the Egyptian hafidhs: Ibn Hajar al-^Asqalaniyy and Jalal ud-Din as-Suyutiyy. The famous scholar of hadith, Abul-Khattab Ibn Dihyah, wrote a book for the king especially to be read during the mawlid celebration, and there are no great Muslim scholars who dispraised this innovated celebration.

The basis for commemorating honorable events repeatedly every year is evidenced in the Sunnah of the Prophet. As related by al-Bukhariyy, when the Prophet emigrated to al-Madinah he found the Jews fasting, so he asked them why they fasted on the 10th of Muharram. They told the Prophet they do so to commemorate the day Allah saved Prophet Moses (Musa) and the Tribes of Israel (Isra’il) from the tyranny of the Pharaoh. It was revealed to the Prophet what the Jews said was true, so Prophet Muhammad told them: "We are more deserving of Moses (Musa) than you." He said this because Prophet Moses (Musa) was Muslim. Prophet Muhammad ordered the Muslims to fast the 9th and 10th of Muharram, and this Sunnah is still practiced today.

To celebrate the birth of the Prophet by doing rewardable deeds-- that can be done on any day of the year--is considered an innovated practice because this was not done at the time of the Prophet. Although this innovation was praised by the Muslim scholars of Islam, some people consider any innovation an innovation of misguidance. Those who consider any innovation an innovation of misguidance have been misled, because there are two sahih hadiths which support celebrating such an event. Imam Muslim related, through the route of Jarir Ibn ^Abdullah, the Prophet said:

من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عمل بها إلى يوم القيامة لا ينقص من أجورهم شيء ومن سن في الإسلام سنة سيئة فعليه وزرها ووزر من عمل بها إلى يوم القيامة لا ينقص من أوزارهم شيء
which means: <> There are two types of innovations mentioned in this hadith: the innovations of guidance and the innovations of misguidance.

What complies with the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the Ijma^ (scholarly consensus), and the sayings and practices of the Companions is an innovation of guidance, and what contradicts the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the Ijma^, and the sayings and actions of the Companions is an innovation of misguidance. This definition of the two types of innovations was given by many knowledgeable and trustworthy scholars of Islam; among them Imam ash-Shafi^iyy, Imam an-Nawawiyy, al Bayhaqiyy, and the Hafidh, Ibn Hajar al-^Asqalaniyy.

It is apparent Muslims have not gone astray in celebrating the birth of the Prophet, based upon the aforementioned hadith, because the deeds practiced during this event are considered rewardable by the standards of the Religion, and in line with the definition of innovations of guidance.
Since the time of the Prophet, many innovations have been adopted. Remembering the birth of the Prophet by doing rewardable deeds is a praise-worthy innovation. It is an honorable event and special to Muslims throughout the world. We rejoice in being members of the greatest nation of Islam--the nation of Muhammad--who was the best Prophet and the best creation of Allah. In Surat Al ^Imran, Ayah 110, Allah said:
كنتم خير أمة أخرجت للناس تأمرون بالمعروف وتنهون عن المنكر وتؤمنون بالله
which means: [You are the best of nations brought forth to the people; bidding the lawful (ma^ruf) forbidding the unlawful (munkar), and believing in Allah.] This verse means this nation is the best of nations by virtue of its Prophet," as explained by the scholars of Islam. Muslims are thankful to Allah for the blessings of Islam and for being among the followers of Muhammad. In Surat Al ^Imran, Ayah 31, Allah said:
قل إن كنتم تحبون الله فاتبعوني يحببكم الله
which means [If you love Allah, then follow the Prophet, and Allah will love you.] It is fitting to honor the Prophet. The Mawlid (the celebration of his birth) has a great benefit: it inspires the heart to have a more profound love for the Prophet.