Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) writes in his book Kimya-i Saadat: "When someone becomes a Muslim, it will primarily be fard for him to know and believe in the meaning of the phrase La ilaha ill-Allah, Muhammadun Rasul-Allah. This phrase is called the kalimat at-tawhid. It is sufficient for every Muslim to believe without any doubt what this phrase means. It is not fard for him to prove it with evidence or to satisfy his mind. Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) did not command the Arabs to know or to mention the relevant proofs or to search and clarify any possible doubts. He commanded them to believe only and not to doubt. It is enough for everybody also to believe superficially. Yet it is fard kifaya that there should exist a few 'alims in every town. It is wajib for these 'alims to know the proofs, to remove the doubts and to answer the questions. They are like shepherds for Muslims. On the one hand, they teach them the knowledge of iman, which is the knowledge of belief, and, on the other hand, they answer the slanders of the enemies of Islam.

Qur'an al-karim stated the meaning of the kalimat at-tawhid and Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) explained what is declared in it. All the Sahabat al-kiram learned these explanations and conveyed them to those who came after them. The exalted scholars who conveyed to us what the Sahabat al-kiram had conveyed, by committing them to their books without making any alterations in them, are called the Ahl as-Sunnat. Everybody has to learn the itiqad of the Ahl as-Sunnat and to unite and love one another. The seed of happiness is in this itiqad and in this unification.

The 'ulama' of the Ahl as-Sunnat explain the meaning of the kalimat at-tawhid as follows: Men were nonexistent. They were created later. They have one Creator. He is the One who has created everything. The Creator is one. He does not have a partner or a likeness. There is no second He. He has been ever-existent; His existence did not have beginning. He will be ever-existent; there is no end to His existence. He will not cease to exist. His existence is always necessary. His nonexistence is impossible. His existence is of Himself. He does not need any means. There is nothing that will not need Him. He is the One who creates everything and makes it go on existing. He is not material or a thing. He is not at a place or in any substance. He does not have a shape and cannot be measured. It cannot be asked how He is; when we say 'He,' none of the things which occur to the mind or which we can imagine is He. He is unlike these. All of them are His creatures. He is not like His creatures. He is the creator of everything that occurs to the mind, every illusion and every delusion. He is not above, below or at one side. He does not have a place. Every being is below the 'Arsh. And the 'Arsh is under His Power, under His Omnipotence. He is above the 'Arsh. Yet this does not mean that the 'Arsh carries Him. The 'arsh exists with His Favor and in His Omnipotence. He is the same now as He was in eternity, in eternal past. He will always be the same in the everlasting future as He had been before creating the 'Arsh. No change occurs in Him. He has His own attributes. His attributes called as-Sifat ath-Thubutiyya are eight: Hayat (Life), 'Ilm (Omniscience), Sam' (Hearing), Basar (Seeing), Qudra (Omnipotence), Irada (Will), Kalam (Speech, Word) and Takwin (Creativeness). No change ever occurs in these attributes of His. Change implies deficiency. He has no deficiency or defect. Though He does not resemble any of His creatures, it is possible to know Him in this world as much as He makes Himself known and to see Him in the Hereafter. Here He is known without realizing how He is, and there He will be seen in an incomprehensible way.

Allahu ta'ala sent prophets ('alaihim us-salam) to His human creatures. Through these great people, He showed His human creatures the deeds that bring happiness and those which cause ruination. The most exalted prophet is Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam), the Last Prophet. He was sent as the Prophet for every person, pious or irreligious, for every place and for every nation on the earth. He is the Prophet for all human beings, angels and genies. In every corner of the world, everybody has to follow him and adapt himself to this exalted Prophet".[24]

Sayyid 'Abdulhakim-i Arwasi[25] (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) said: "Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had three tasks. The first one was to communicate and make known (tabligh) the rules of Qur'an al-karim, that is, the knowledge of iman and of ahkam fiqhiyya, to all human beings. Ahkam fiqhiyya is composed of actions commanded and actions prohibited. His second task was to transmit the spiritual rules of Qur'an al-karim, the knowledge about Allahu ta'ala Himself and His Attributes into the hearts of only the highest ones of his Umma. His first task, tabligh, should not be confused with this second task. The la-madhhabi reject the second task. But, Abu Huraira (radi-Allahu 'anh) said, 'I learned two types of knowledge from Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam). I have told you one of them. You would kill me if I explained the second one.' These words of Abu Huraira's are written in the books Bukhari, Mishqat, Hadiqa, and in the letters of Maktubat, numbers 267 and 268. The third task was directed towards those Muslims who did not obey the advice and sermons concerning carrying out the ahkam fiqhiyya. Even force was employed to get them to obey the ahkam fiqhiyya.

"After Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam), each of the four Khalifas (radi-Allahu 'anhum) accomplished these three tasks perfectly. During the time of hadrat Hasan (radi-Allahu 'anh), fitnas and bidats increased. Islam had spread out over three continents. The spiritual light of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) receded away from the earth. The Sahabat al-kiram (radi-Allahu 'anhum) decreased in number. Later, no one was able to do all these three tasks together by himself. Therefore, these tasks were undertaken by three groups of people. The task of communicating iman and ahkam fiqhiyya was assigned to religious leaders called mujtahids. Amongst these mujtahids, those who communicated iman were called mutakallimun, and those who communicated fiqh were called fuqaha'. The second task, that is, making those willing Muslims attain the spiritual rules of Qur'an al-karim, was assigned to the Twelve Imams of the Ahl al-Bait (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim) and to great men of tasawwuf. Sirri (Sari) as-Saqati (d. 251/876 in Baghdad) and al-Junaid al-Baghdadi (b. 207/821 and d. 298/911 in Baghdad) were two of them (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihima).[26]

"The third task, having the rules of the religion implemented by force and authority, was assigned to sultans, i.e. governments. Sections of the first class were called Madhhabs. Sections of the second one were called Tariqas, and the third one was called huquq (laws). Madhhabs that tell about iman are called Madhhabs of itiqad. Our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had explained that Muslims would part into seventy-three groups in respect to iman, and that only one of them would be right and the others wrong. And happen it did. The group that was given the good news of being on the right way is called the Ahl as-Sunnat wal-Jamaat. The remaining seventy-two groups, which were declared to be wrong, are called the groups of bidat, that is, heretics. None of them are disbelievers. All of them are Muslims. But, if a Muslim who says he belongs to any of the seventy-two groups disbelieves any information that has been declared clearly in Qur'an al-karim, in Hadith ash-Sharif or that has spread among Muslims, he becomes a disbeliever. There are many people today who, while carrying Muslim names, have already dissented from the Madhhab of the Ahl as-Sunnat and have become heretics or non-Muslims." Quotations from hadrat Abdulhakim Effendi end here.

Muslims have to keep on learning from the cradle to the grave. The knowledge which Muslims have to learn is called al-'Ulum al-Islamiyya (Islamic sciences), which consist of two parts:

I) al-'Ulum an-naqliyya, II) al-'Ulum al-'aqliyya.

I) Al-'Ulum an-naqliyya (also called 'religious sciences'): These sciences are acquired by reading the books of the 'ulama' of the Ahl as-Sunnat. The 'ulama' of Islam derived these sciences from four main sources. These four sources are called al-adillat ash-Shariyya. They are al-Qur'an al-karim, al-Hadith ash-Sharif, ijma' al-Umma and qiyas al-fuqaha'.

Religious sciences consist of eight main branches:

1) 'ilm at-tafsir (the science of interpretation of Qur'an al-karim). A specialist in this branch is called a mufassir; he is a profoundly learned scholar able to understand what Allahu ta'ala means in His Word.

2) 'ilm al-usul al-hadith. This branch deals with classification of hadiths. Different kinds of hadiths are explained in Endless Bliss, second fascicle, sixth chapter.

3) 'ilm al-hadith. This branch studies minutely the sayings (hadith), behavior (sunnat), and manners (hals) of our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam).

4) 'ilm al-usul al-kalam. This branch studies the methods by which 'ilm al-kalam is derived from al-Qur'an al-karim and al-Hadith ash-Sharif.

5) 'ilm al-kalam. This branch covers the study of the kalimat at-tawhid and the kalimat ash-shahada and the six fundamentals of iman, which depend on them. These are the teachings to be believed in by heart. Scholars of kalam usually wrote 'ilm al-usul al-kalam and 'ilm al-kalam together. Therefore, the layman takes these two branches of knowledge as one single branch.

6) 'ilm al-usul al-fiqh. This branch studies the derivation of the methods of fiqh from Qur'an al-karim and Hadith ash-Sharif.

7) 'ilm al-fiqh. This branch studies afal al-mukallafin, that is, it tells how those who are sane and pubescent should act on matters concerning the body. This is the knowledge necessary for the body. Afal al-mukallafin has eight sections: fard, wajib, sunnat, mustahab, mubah, haram, makruh and mufsid. However, they can be briefly classified into three groups: actions commanded, actions prohibited and actions permitted (mubah).

8) 'ilm at-tasawwuf. This branch is also called 'ilm al-ahlak (ethics). It explains not only the things we should do and we should not do with the heart but also helps the belief to be heartfelt, makes it easy for Muslims to carry out their duties as taught in 'ilm al-fiqh and helps one attain marifa.

It is fard-i 'ain for every Muslim, man or woman, to learn kalam, fiqh and tasawwuf as much as necessary out of these eight branches, and it is a guilt, a sin, not to learn them.[27]

II) Al-'Ulum al-aqliyya (also called 'experimental sciences'): These sciences are divided into two groups: technical sciences and literary sciences. It is fard kifaya for Muslims to learn these sciences. As for Islamic sciences, it is fard 'ain to learn as much as is necessary. To learn more than is necessary, that is, to become specialized in Islamic sciences is fard kifaya. If there is no alim who knows these sciences in a town, all of its inhabitants and government authorities will be sinful.

Religious teachings do not change in the course of time. Making a mistake or erring while commenting on 'ilm al-kalam is not an excuse but a crime. In matters pertaining to fiqh, the variations and facilities shown by Islam can be utilized when one has the excuses shown by Islam. It is never permissible to make alterations or to make reforms in religious matters with one's own opinion or point of view. It causes one to go out of Islam. Change, improvement and progress in al-'Ulum al-'aqliyya are permissible. It is necessary to develop them by searching, finding and even by learning them from non-Muslim, too.

The following article is quoted from the book Al-majmuat az-Zuhdiyya. It was compiled by an ex-minister of education, Sayyid Ahmad Zuhdu Pasha (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih):

The word 'fiqh', when used in the form of 'faqiha yafqahu', that is, in the fourth category, means 'to know, to understand.' When it is used in the fifth category, it means 'to know, to understand Islam.' A scholar in 'ilm al-fiqh is called a faqih. 'Ilm al-fiqh deals with the actions which people should do and those which they should not do. The knowledge of fiqh is composed of Qur'an al-karim, Hadith ash-Sharif, ijma' and qiyas. The consensus of the as-Sahabat al-kiram and the mujtahids who came after them is called ijma' al-Umma. The rules of the religion derived from Qur'an al-karim, Hadith ash-Sharif and ijma' al-Umma are called qiyas al-fuqaha.' If it could not be understood from Qur'an al-karim or Hadith ash-Sharif whether an action was halal (permitted) or haram (forbidden), then this action was compared to another action which was known. This comparison was called qiyas. Applying qiyas required the latter action to have the same factor which made the former action permitted or forbidden. And this could be judged only by those profound 'ulama' who had attained the grade of ijtihad.

'Ilm al-fiqh is very extensive. It has four main divisions:

1) 'ibadat, composed of five subdivisions: salat (namaz), sawm (fast), zakat, hajj, jihad. Each has many sections. As it is seen, it is an 'ibada to make preparations for jihad. Our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) explained that jihad against the enemies of Islam was of two kinds: by actions and by words. It is fard to learn how to make and use new weapons in preparation for jihad by actions. Jihad is done by the State. It is fard for the people to join the jihad by obeying the State's laws and orders concerning jihad. Nowadays, enemy assault through publications, motion pictures, radio broadcast and every means of propaganda -the second kind of war- has tremendously increased; therefore it is also jihad to stand against the enemies in this field.

2) munakahat, composed of subdivisions, such as marriage, divorce, alimony and many others [written in detail in the book Se'adet-i Ebediyye].

3) muamalat, composed of many subdivisions, such as purchase, sale, rent, joint-ownership, interest, inheritance, etc.

4) uqubat (penal code), composed of five main subdivisions: qisas (lex talionis), sirqat (theft), zina (fornication and adultery), qadhf (accusing a virtuous woman of incontinence) and ridda (the case of becoming an apostate).

It is fard for every Muslim to learn the 'ibadat part of fiqh sufficiently. It is fard kifaya to learn munakahat and muamalat; in other words, those who have anything to do with them should learn them. After 'ilm at-tafsir, 'ilm al-hadith and 'ilm al-kalam, the most honorable ilm is 'ilm al-fiqh. The following six hadiths will be enough to indicate the honor of fiqh and the faqih: 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain'

'If Allahu ta'ala wants to bestow His blessing on a slave of His, He makes a faqih of him.'

'If a person becomes a faqih, Allahu ta'ala sends what he wishes and his sustenance through unexpected sources.'

'The person about whom Allahu ta'ala says 'most superior' is a faqih in the religion.'

'Against Satan, a faqih is more stoic than one thousand 'abids (those who worship much).'

'Everything has a pillar to base itself upon. The basic pillar of the religion is the knowledge of fiqh.'

'The best and most valuable 'ibada is to learn and teach fiqh.'

Superiority of al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) is also understood from these hadiths.

Rules of Islam in the Hanafi Madhhab were transmitted through a chain beginning with 'Abdullah ibn Masud (radi-Allahu 'anh), who was a Sahabi. Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), the founder of the Madhhab, acquired the knowledge of fiqh from Hammad, and Hammad from Ibrahim an-Nakhai. Ibrahim an-Nakhai was taught by Alqama, and Alqama studied under Abdullah ibn Masud, who was educated by Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam).

Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad ash-Shaibani, Zufar ibn Hudhail and Hasan ibn Ziyad were al-Imam al-azam's disciples (rahimahum-Allah). Of these, Imam Muhammad wrote about one thousand books on Islamic teachings. He was born in 135 A.H. and passed away in Rayy, Iran, in 189 (805 A.D.). Because he was married to the mother of al-Imam ash-Shafi'i, one of his disciples, all his books were left to Shafi'i upon his death, thus Shafi'i's knowledge increased. For this reason, al-Imam ash-Shafi'i (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) said, 'I swear that my knowledge of fiqh increased by reading Imam Muhammad's books. Those who want to deepen their knowledge of fiqh should be in the company of the disciples of Abu Hanifa.' And once he said, 'All Muslims are like the household, children, of al-Imam al-azam.' That is, as a man earns a living for his wife and children, al-Imam al-azam took it upon himself to find out the religious knowledge which people needed in their affairs. Thus, he spared Muslims of a lot of hard work.

Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) compiled the knowledge of fiqh, classified it into branches and sub-branches, and set usuls (methods) for it. He also collected the knowledge of itiqad as Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and the as-Sahabat al-kiram (ridwan-Allahi 'alaihim ajmain) had preached, and taught them to hundreds of his disciples. Some of his disciples became specialists in 'ilm al-kalam, that is, in the teachings of iman. Of them, Abu Bakr al-Jurjani, one of Imam Muhammad ash-Shaibani's disciples, became famous. And Abu Nasr al-'Iyad, one of his pupils, educated Abu Mansur al-Maturidi in 'ilm al-kalam. Abu Mansur wrote in his books the knowledge of kalam as it came from al-Imam al-azam (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih). By contending against heretics, he consolidated the itiqad of the Ahl as-Sunnat. He disseminated it out far and wide. He passed away in Samarqand in 333 (944 A.D.). This great alim and another alim, Abu 'l-Hasan al-Ashari, are called the imams of the Madhhabs of itiqad of the Ahl as-Sunnat.

The fiqh scholars are grouped in seven grades. Kamal Pasha Zhada Ahmad ibn Sulaiman Effendi (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), in his work Waqf an-niyyat, explained these seven grades as follows:

1. The mujtahids of Islam, who constructed the methods and principles of deriving tenets from the four sources of the religion (Adilla-i arba'a), and derived tenets in accordance with the principles they established. The four aimmat al-madhahib were of these.

2. The mujtahids in a Madhhab, who, following the principles formulated by the imam of the Madhhab, derived rules from the four sources. They were Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad, etc. (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain).

3. The mujtahids of matters (masala), who for the matters that were not dealt with by the founder of the Madhhab, derived rules using the methods and principles of the Madhhab. Yet in doing this, they had to follow the imam. They were at-Tahawi (238-321 A.H., in Egypt), Hassaf Ahmad ibn 'Umar (d. 261, in Baghdad), 'Abdullah ibn Husain al-Karkhi (340), Shams al-aimma al-Halwani (456, in Bukhara), Shams al-aimma as-Sarahsi (483), Fakhr-ul Islam 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Pazdawi (400-482, in Samarqand), Qadi-Khan Hasan ibn Mansur al-Farghani (592), etc. (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain).

4. Ashab at-takhrij, who were not able to employ ijtihad. They were scholars who explained in brief, unclear rules derived by mujtahids. Husam ad-din ar-Razi 'Ali ibn Ahmad (d. 593 A.H., in Damascus) was one of them. He (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) wrote a commentary to Al-Quduri.

5. Arbab at-Tarjih, who preferred one of the several riwayas (narrations or opinions of the mujtahids as narrated) coming from mujtahids. They were Abu l'Hasan al-Quduri (362-428 A.H., in Baghdad) and Burhan ad-din 'Ali al-Marghinani the author of Al-hidaya, who was martyred by the soldiers of Genghis in the Bukhara Massacre of 593 A.H. [1198 A.D.].

6. Those who wrote various riwayas about a matter in an order with respect to their reliability were called muqallids. They did not include any refused riwaya in their books. Abu 'l-Barakat 'Abdullah ibn Ahmad an-Nasafi (d. 710 A.H.), the author of Kanz ad-daqaiq; 'Abdullah ibn Mahmud al-Musuli (d. 683), the author of Mukhtar; Burhan ash-Sharia Mahmud ibn Sadr ash-Sharia 'Ubaid-Allah (d. 673), the author of Al-wiqaya; and Ibn as-Sa'ati Ahmad ibn 'Ali al-Baghdadi (d. 694), the author of Majma' al-bahrain, are of these (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain).

7. They are also muqallids[28] incapable of distinguishing weak riwayas from genuine ones.

FOOTNOTES

[24] Kimya' as-Saada. Muhammad al-Ghazali (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) was one of the greatest Islamic scholars. He wrote hundreds of books. All his books are very valuable. He was born in 450 (1068 A.D.) in Tus, i.e. Meshed, Persia, and passed away there in 505 (1111 A.D.).

[25] He was born in Baskal'a in 1281 (1864 A.D.) and passed away in Ankara in 1362 (1943 A.D.).

[26] The 'ulama of Ahl as-Sunnat collected 'ilm at-tasawwuf by learning this second task of our Prophet ('alaihi 's-salam) from the Twelve Imams (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim). Some people do not believe in awliya', karamat or tasawwuf. This shows that they have no connection with the Twelve Imams. If they had followed the Ahl al-Bait, they would have learned this second task of our Prophet from the twelve Imams and there would have been many scholars of tasawwuf and awliya' among them. But there have not been any, and besides, they do not even believe that such scholars could exist. It is obvious that the Twelve Imams are the Ahl as-Sunnat's imams. It is the Ahl as-Sunnat who love the Ahl al-Bait and follow the Twelve Imams. To become a scholar of Islam, one has to be an heir of Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) in these two tasks. That is, one has to be an expert in these two branches of knowledge. 'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), one of such scholars, quoted, on pages 233 and 649 in his work Al-Hadiqat an-nadiyya, the hadiths describing the spiritual rules of Qur'an al-karim and pointed out that disbelieving these rules indicates ignorance and misfortune.

[27] Al-Hadiqa, p. 323 and in preface to Radd al-mukhtar.

[28] These were counted among fiqh scholars because they could understand what they read and explained it to the muqallids who could not understand.