Basic Tenets of Islam

BASIC TENETS OF ISLAM

Harun Yahya- Adnan Oktar

Published by Global Publishing at Smashwords

Copyright © 2011 by Harun Yahya

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Website: http: // www.harunyahya.com

E-mail: [email protected]

CONTENTS

PREFACE

THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH

ALLAH ENCOMPASSES EVERYTHING

ALLAH IS NEAR TO MAN

ALLAH CREATED EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO A FIXED DECREE

ALLAH HAS POWER OVER EVERYTHING

ALLAH SEES AND KNOWS EVERYTHING

ALL BEINGS ARE SUBJECTED TO ALLAH

FALSE BELIEFS ABOUT ALLAH

FAITH IN ALLAH FREE OF IDOLATRY

ASSESSING ALLAH WITH A JUST ASSESSMENT

ALLAH'S INFINITE GREATNESS AND POWER

LOVE OF ALLAH AND FEAR OF ALLAH

THE QUR'AN IS A GUIDE

BELIEF IN THE BOOKS REVEALED BY ALLAH AND BELIEF IN HIS MESSENGERS

FAITH IN THE ANGELS

THE TEMPORARY NATURE OF THE LIFE OF THIS WORLD

IT'S A MAGNIFICENT BLESSING TO LOVE ALLAH WITH PASSION

MAN IS BEING TESTED

DEATH IS NOT THE END

BELIEF IN THE HEREAFTER

FAITH IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

THE RESURRECTION

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

PARADISE AND HELL

EVERYTHING IS POSITIVE IN PARADISE, AND EVERYTHING IS NEGATIVE IN HELL

THE AIM IS TO ATTAIN THE GOOD PLEASURE OF ALLAH

SIN AND REPENTANCE

SCRUPULOUSNESS REGARDING RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES

THE MORALITY OF RELIGION IS IN CONFORMITY WITH THE NATURAL INCLINATION OF MANKIND

BELIEVERS MUST BE TOGETHER AND COOPERATE

THE LAST WORD

THE COLLAPSE OF EVOLUTION

Mankind! The truth has come to you from your Lord.

Whoever is guided is only guided for his own good.

Whoever is misguided is only misguided to his detriment.

I have not been set over you as a guardian.

(Sura Yunus: 108)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adnan Oktar, who writes under the pen-name Harun Yahya, was born in Ankara in 1956. Since the 1980s, the author has published many books on faith-related, scientific and political issues. He is well-known as the author of important works disclosing the imposture of evolutionists, their invalid claims, and the dark liaisons between Darwinism and such bloody ideologies as fascism and communism.

All of the author’s works share one single goal: to convey the Qur'an's message, encourage readers to consider basic faith-related issues such as Allah's existence and unity and the Hereafter; and to expose irreligious systems' feeble foundations and perverted ideologies. His more than 300 works, translated into 63 different languages, enjoy a wide readership across the world.

By the will of Allah, the books of Harun Yahya will be a means through which people in the twenty-first century will attain the peace, justice, and happiness promised in the Qur'an.

TO THE READER

• A special chapter is assigned to the collapse of the theory of evolution because this theory constitutes the basis of all anti-spiritual philosophies. Since Darwinism rejects the fact of creation—and therefore, Allah's existence—over the last 150 years it has caused many people to abandon their faith or fall into doubt. It is therefore an imperative service, a very important duty to show everyone that this theory is a deception. Since some readers may find the opportunity to read only one of our books, we think it appropriate to devote a chapter to summarize this subject.

• All the author's books explain faith-related issues in light of Qur'anic verses, and invite readers to learn Allah's words and to live by them. All the subjects concerning Allah's verses are explained so as to leave no doubt or room for questions in the reader's mind. The books' sincere, plain, and fluent style ensures that everyone of every age and from every social group can easily understand them. Thanks to their effective, lucid narrative, they can be read at one sitting. Even those who rigorously reject spirituality are influenced by the facts these books document and cannot refute the truthfulness of their contents.

PREFACE

This book is written for those who have recently been introduced to Islam. Of course every person has some information and a certain degree of conviction about Islam. However the majority of these may have had their origin in inadequate or invalid sources. Many people know about Islam only through information they gather from their family and their friend circle and they only know about the commandments of the Qur'an as much as they could follow from the media or from various books. . However, the best way to follow in accessing accurate information about Islam is to get to know the Qur'an, the source and the basic of Islam, and to learn the sunnah of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and to get all the information regarding Islam from the Qur'an and the the hadiths.

The Qur'an is the final revelation sent by Allah, as guidance to mankind. While the Torah and the Gospel, the two holy books preceding the Qur'an, were also revelations from Allah, in time, they were distorted and lost their quality as the divine word of Allah. Although they may contain parts of the original word of Allah, their greater part consists of words and interpolations of man. The only book revealed by Allah to have survived completely intact, is the Qur'an. It contains only that which has been revealed by Allah. Allah sent down His message, either by way of Gabriel, or through direct inspiration to the Prophet Muhammad (saas). The Qur'an consists of only that which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (saas), sent down in stages, for a period of twenty-three years.

At every stage, the revelation was immediately recorded in writing, or committed to memory, by the Our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) companions. Today, all Muslims wherever they are, read the same Qur'an. No contradiction or discrepancy can be found in any of the copies. (In our day, the Qur'an of Uthman, the third Caliph, is displayed in Topkapi Museum, Istanbul.) Evidence that the Qur'an is from Allah is the total absence of any sort of contradiction in the Qur'an. In one verse of the Qur'an, Allah reveals:

Will they not ponder the Qur'an? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found many inconsistencies in it. (Surat an-Nisa': 82)

The Qur'an is guidance to lead man to the path of rectitude. It is the revelation of Allah, sent to bring man from darkness to light. By way of the Qur'an, Our Lord, the Creator of man and all living things, directs His servants to the straight path. In a verse, Allah states:

Mankind! Admonition has come to you from your Lord and also healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers. (Surah Yunus: 57)

There is an important point that needs to be remembered here. Muslims can only fully understand and apply the Qur'an into real life with the help of the Sunnah. The Sunnah, on the other hand, is the belief of the Ahl al-Sunnah, which is the totality of our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) authentic hadiths and their subsequent interpretations by the great Islamic scholars.

The Sunnah is the living interpretation of the Qur'an by the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the possessor of great moral values who had such great consideration for believers that he would become distressed when they were troubled and would relieve them of their burdens and chains of bigotry.

Believers look at the Sunnah of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and learn how to implement its precepts and practices in their lives. The Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) entire life reveals a seriousness, responsibility, and sensitivity considering all details. This is the result of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) having taught wisdom, alongside the Qur'an, to his community.

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

The best talk (speech) is Allah's Book, and the best way is the way of Muhammad, and the worst matters are the heresies (those new things which are introduced into the religion)... (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 92, Number 382)

Allah's existence, His unity, the signs of Creation, and the life of the Hereafter, are those basic facts mostly reffered in the Qur'an. In many verses of the Qur'an, Allah invites man to think and to ponder on the divine wisdom in His Creation, and on the transience of the life of this world, and the permanence of the life of the Hereafter. Apart from these, in the Qur'an we can also find passages of the lives of the prophets; their sincerity in faith, their commitment to our Almighty Lord's cause, and their determination in spreading the divine message. Finally, a number of verses in the Qur'an also provide us with insight into how we should conduct ourselves in our everyday lives.

In this book, based on information Allah provided us by the way of Qur'an, and by the knowledge our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) told us , we will discuss Allah, His attributes, the real purpose of our existence in this world, what we need to do to comply with it, the reality of