 Assalamu alaikum dearest respected brothers and sisters, respected viewers wherever you are. Welcome to this new series, The Faithbook, A Journey Through Ideology, where we seek to discuss our purpose in this universe. Is there a life after death? Do we just die and disappear? And above all of this, is there a creator? And what are the characteristics of this creator if he exists? Insha'Allah to clear all of this up, joining me live from London. Sheikh Mohammed Abbas Panju. Sheikh Nassalamu alaikum. Aleykum salam wa rahmatullah. Thank you for having me on the show and it's an honor to be with you here today. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. So Sheikh Nassal, as I mentioned, we want to explore our purpose in this universe. We want to explore, you know, why are we here? And I think the most important question to ask is, what is the importance of studying Aqa'id? It's a very good question and it's a very vital question that each and every human being needs to ask himself. What is the purpose of my existence? In reality, a person cannot get the accurate answer to this question in regards to the purpose of his existence if he is not well-grounded in the science of the Ilm of Usuluddin or Aqa'id, as we say. These five basic tenets of our faith, the fundamental tenets of our faith, Tawheed, Adala Nabua, Imamah, and Ma'ad, a person needs to be able to believe in this with full conviction in order to then set the foundation to actualize the purpose of his creation. Therefore, when you look into the importance of studying Aqa'id, for example, the importance of studying Aqa'id is that it has a direct impact on your lifestyle choices. And for example, at a very basic level, you take two individuals or you take three individuals. You have one individual who is absolutely convinced about the Day of Judgment and we are talking about total conviction. You have a second person who doesn't believe Aslan that there is a Day of Judgment, doesn't believe that he will be accountable for his actions in this dunya. You take a third person, he believes in the Day of Judgment, but that conviction, that belief is not stamped with total conviction. If you have these three categories of people, you can imagine the lifestyle choices that they would make on earth over here, how they decide to live their life. A person who doesn't believe in the concept of accountability would not think twice or would not hesitate to commit sin, to violate the rights of others, to oppress other people. He lives a life in which there is no element of accountability. Aqid, do what you want, how you want, where you want, what you want, there is, you are not held to any form of accountability, as opposed to somebody who lives a life of conviction, that for every statement he utters, for every action that he performs, he is accountable for these. So a person who has this belief, as opposed to a person who doesn't have this belief, the first thing we see is the impact on the lifestyle choices. That a person makes on this earth and hence the belief system which we subscribe to, a person who has a full conviction in understanding in these five core tenets of monotheistic faith, tawheed, adala, nabuwa, imama, and ma'ad, the manner in which he lives his life, the lifestyle choices that he makes are absolutely different as opposed to somebody who doesn't even believe in this concept to begin with, and then you have the person in the middle, believes in the day of judgment, but that conviction is not there, and hence you find him in a tasa, parts of his life, he becomes prone to making sins, and the other times he refrains, but the more and stronger and stronger his conviction becomes, the more he adheres to this discipline or this way of life known as religion or deen. This is number one. For the first answer to this question, when a person comes and asks you why study aqa'id, why study ilmul qalam, why study usulud deen, the first answer is that based on the ma'arif, based on your ma'arifa, based on your understanding of these five concepts, it has a direct impact on your lifestyle choices. This is number one. Number two, in this day and age, to abide by the right ideology is of utmost importance, particularly in the Muslim world. I'll tell you why. I have a look at the Nawasib, at the likes of Daesh and Boko Haram and Taliban, and with all their names that they have come through, they go and commit crimes and spill blood, promote bloodshed on earth under the guise of what? Ideology. Their faith system dictates this. This faith system dictates this. So I as an individual, I have to sit back and I have to go and I have to really study what are the five aspects of my religion. For example, from the usulud deen, that is one aspect of usulud deen which is mustaraka or a common denominator between the itna'ashari imamiyah and for example, the mukhalifeen is the aspect of Nabuwa. Nabuwa is an asal from the usulud deen. No Muslim will refute this or disagree on this. No problem. However, baba, the difference is that what is the character of this Nabi that you believe in and the character of the Nabi that I believe in. And it is concept of Nabuwa, understanding not only who the messenger is but what the characteristics of the messenger of God is because a lot of the violence that is committed in one way is justified because they feel that they are following in the sunnah and in the sunnah of a prophet of God. So I need to ask myself, is it possible? Is it rational? Is it logical that a prophet of God designated appointed by Allah, the creator of the universe can advocate such type of violence in the name of ideology? Is there proof for this? Is there proof that refutes it? Again, you see now this is also connected with lifestyle choice. Somebody who understands the holy prophet or understands the concept of Nabuwa, based on his understanding, either he adapts a violent way of life, or he comes and he takes a peaceful way of life. So studying usulud deen has an impact on our lifestyle choices as we said number one, number two, understanding the right ideology from all these ideologies that exist, you could say within the market. Number three, and I would say over here, these are very summarized answers by way of index and inshallah it opens the, it sets forth the platform for more discussion and to focus both from my side, your side, and from the side of the respected viewers. For the third, which I believe, again, more specific to us now, we have a hadith by Imam al-Baqir, in Kitab al-Kafi where he says, your actions, your acts of worship, have no benefit if they are accompanied with doubt or if they are accompanied with rejection, of what of the fundamental principles of Islam, which we say within this usulud deen five, the issue is very, very sensitive and crucial, meaning what? If we were to contemplate on the words of Imam al-Baqir, a person's Salat, a person's Salat is not valid. So long as he doesn't understand his Lord correctly. And you think about it, Imam has said something extremely logical. Imagine Habibi Minhal, I am reciting my Salat on time, five Salat three times a day, on spot, Salat al-Fajr, Ya Ahi, I'm up even before the time of Fajr and I've recited Nawafil day in day out, Salat al-Duhar, I recite Pinpoint at the time of Zawwal, in fact before that I do the Nawafil, Salat al-Maghrib, I am reciting my Salat again on time, but imagine I recite my Salat on time, but I do not believe my God is just. I doubt in his Adal. How do I believe Allah is not Rahman? I believe he's not Rahim. Is there any benefit of my Salat? What's the point of the Salat? This is what Imam al-Baqir a.s is saying. The acts of worship have no validity if we do not understand our Creator in the right way. What is the point of Salat? I'm reciting Salat my entire life and I'm praying to a God who I believe has legs and Daniel Mulkiyama is going to put his leg in the fire, like some of the Muslim scholars, Muslim scholars and we will talk about this in Tawhid. Muslim scholars have attributed this, well-known, revered, books are published, printed all over the world, multilingual in all these things. So Ani, I ask you the way contemplating on the words of Imam al-Baqir. Is there any benefit in my Salat praying to an Allah, praying to a Creator who has legs? That's like saying you're giving attributes, you're giving the attributes of Allah to us because we have legs. We have legs, giving Allah human attributes. So our point over here is this, a person fasts, a person can pray, a person goes for Hajj, but have we understood the Creator whom we are supposed to worship? If we don't get this point right, we don't understand Allah, the Creator of the universe. This is on the assumption that the Creator exists. Today being an introductory session, inshallah, we're just laying out a general conversation, but when we come to the text, inshallah, the Baha'at will be very murattab, inshallah, it will be sequential in the chronology as per the scholars. But our question over here is this, the validity of our acts of worship, what is the purpose of this Hajj and this Salat, if I do not even understand my Creator the way He wants me to understand Him? It could be that I'm worshiping a pigment of my own imagination. I could be worshiping an opinion of mine. So if I'm praying Salat and hoping this Salat will be accepted by a God who is a pigment of my imagination, a creation of my imagination, a Lord who I have understood, for example, through opinion. Am I truly worshiping Allah or worshiping something other than Allah as a Wajjal? Yes, I could be praying, I could be fasting, but who is this Lord that I'm praying to? Why His characteristics? I believe in the Prophet and I will be asked in the grave, who was your Prophet? And we all know by name Muhammad Salallahu alayhi wa alayhi wasalam wa rahmatullahi wa ala Muhammad wa ala Muhammad wa ajil farajah. But who is this Prophet? Is he infallible? Is he not infallible? Imam, for example, as an Imam, can he be appointed? Is he appointed by Allah as a Wajjal? Or is it possible that the successor of a Prophet be appointed through election? These are questions. The issue of Imam has led to bloodshed for years. More than a day of judgment, will I be resurrected in my body and soul or am I just resurrected through my soul? So all these questions are important for us. The answers we can get is by studying usuluddin or ilmul kalam or akhaid in the right way. Studying these subjects are very important, so we are able to answer these questions. And number one, it leads the platform as a summary, leads the platform for us to figure out the purpose of our existence. Number two, the right akhid, the right faith system. Number three, for the validity of the act of our worship. InshaAllah. Thank you very much, Sheikh. Now, I just want to remind the viewers that if you want to call in and have a question for the Sheikh, please call in on 0203 515 0199. And alternatively, if you want to WhatsApp in your questions, then the number will be at the bottom of your screen. Sheikh, going back to, so we discussed the importance of akhaid, but what is the actual definition of akhaid? Sure. When we come and we look at the definition of the term akhaid, the science. You see, this science of studying, this science of studying, understanding these five principle tenets of our monotheistic faith. Scholars have named this science, have given this science different names. Some call this akhaid, the science of akhaid or ilmul akhaid. Some call it usuluddin. Some call it ilmul kalam. Three names that have been given to the science that essentially point towards the same reality. And each one has a reason behind it. Again, really quick by way of invoice, by way of index of one. Akhaid is derived from the verb akada or the word akd. Tite knot. Why is it known as a knot? A knot which is tightly tied together. You can't undo it. So the reason why this science of these five principle tenets is known as akhaid because the result is supposed to be because of your conviction. This belief is so firmly rooted in your mind and your heart that you cannot compromise and you will not give up or turn back on your principles. So you see, there is a logical connection behind why this science is known as akhaid. On the other hand, it is also known as ilmul kalam. So some people, scholars, they've got a number of reasons as to why debate and proof of these five tenets is known as ilmul kalam. Kalam because they used to say kalam, the debate is in. The debate is in the oneness of God, the debate is in the day of judgment. For example, and usuluddin, from the word assal, the roots of the religion, the foundation of the religion. If this is correct, everything is based upon this as opposed to Salat and Hajj and zakat, they are known as furuddin, the branches of the religion. And these five, the asal, the roots, hence the strength of the branches can only be in accordance to the strength of the roots. So if the roots are strong, then the branch yields fruit. Of course, of course. Thank you very much for enlightening us on this. I do want to remind the viewers that if you do want to call in and ask the sheikh a question, the number is 0203-515-0199. It will appear on the bottom of your screen. And alternatively, if you want to WhatsApp in your questions, the number will be at the bottom of your screen. InshaAllah, we'll go to a short break and we'll see you on the other side. As-salamu alaykum. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Thank you very much for joining me back with Sheikh Mohammed Abbas Panja as we discussed the Facebook, a journey through ideology. So, Sheikh Mohammed, before the break, we were discussing, you know, the importance of studying Aqqa'id and the definition of Aqqa'id. But the book, what is the book for Haqq-ul Yaqeen? Sure. So, building on this definition, as we explain the different names that are given to this science, Aqqa'id, al-mulkalaam, usuluddin, the definition in itself of this science is the science in which we establish the science in which we establish the core principles of the religion through proof or evidence that necessitates certainty and conviction. Okay. So, it's an analytical science in which proof is evidence is presented, this evidence is then analyzed to reach to a certain conclusion and belief in that conclusion is fostered with certainty and conviction because of the strength of the proof. The fact that the proof is irrefutable, your conviction in that concept which is proved through this irrefutable proof is also strong if it makes sense. So, the stronger the evidence, the stronger your certainty or the stronger your level of conviction. So, you talked about strong evidence. Right. What makes strong evidence? Because there's a lot of people out there who, whatever you bring forth to them, they will always have something to question. They'll always say, well, why is this that way or why is that this way? And, you know, how can we get people to reach that level of certainty and how can we get them to reach that level of confidence that, you know what, we actually do have a creator that exists out there? Of course. And this is an issue that we will see when it comes to, when we enter into the Baha'at of Tawheed or the Wujud of Allah Azza wa Jalla, the existence of God. The proof that is brought to us through this textbook, we are blessed with the faculty of intellect, which was one of the things I wanted to speak about while introducing the book. But these are proofs according to what we say the oqala would not refute. Oqala, the normal intellectual person would not reject the caliber of the proof because the intellectuals have this norm and have these, you could say, guidelines when it comes to validating and refuting proof. So just like in every science, when you go, for example, in the chemistry lab, you know, there's a certain procedure, there's a certain protocol in which a certain experiment is validated or invalidated. So the same thing when it comes to the science of ideology, there are certain governing rules through which ideology or the proof, sorry, is either validated or invalidated. And then according or in addition to this, there's a science of mantik as well, the science of logic, which teaches us how to create and designate and to align the right arguments in order to receive or in order to deduce the right conclusions. And just one final point is, you know, who is the author of the book Haqqul Yaqeen? Of course, the book that we want to use over or through this series is known as Kitab Haqqul Yaqeen. It is authored by Sayyid Abdullah Shabbar. Now, one of the reasons that we selected the text Haqqul Yaqeen in addition to the fact that it was very highly, highly recommended by a number of the Maraja and Mujtahideen inside of Najaf Al Ashraf as a text to depend on in order to correct and to strengthen our belief system. But you find that this book Haqqul Yaqeen has got a very beautiful style when it comes to presenting proof and evidence for each one of these five subjects, Tauheed, Adalah, Nabua, Imamah and Ma'ad. These proofs are divided into two categories. What we have Dalil Aqli and Dalil Naqli. Dalil Aqli, meaning evidence which can be processed and validated by the intellect as the intellect. The intellect has a capacity of Idrak. It has the capacity to understand, recognize and accept certain truths such as the existence of God. And then on the other hand, you find that the Sayyid in his book, in addition to the Dalil Aqli, he has Dalil Naqli. So Dalil Naqli, I mean textual evidence. What is the evidence of the existence of Allah from within the Quran? What are the characteristics of Allah Azza wa Jal from the Quran? I mean, leave non-Muslims, but even us as Muslims, even us as Shia, itna ashari, how much of Tauheed do we know from the Quran that we recite? This is one part of Dalil Naqli. The second part of Dalil Naqli is understanding these five concepts from the Hadith of Ahlul Bayt. Ya Akhi, what does Amirul-Mu'mininah have to say about Tauheed? What does Imam Sadiq and Bakir and Qadim and Jawad have to say about the sifat, the characteristics of Allah Azza wa Jal? How does Imam Zaynul-Abideen or Imam Sadiq describe Rasulullah? How does Amirul-Mu'minin describe Rasulullah? How do they talk about the day of judgment? How do their words complement or align with, for example, the words within the Quran? Thank you very much, Sheikh. Thank you very much for enlightening us on this topic and actually giving us a very, very amazing introduction to the book Haqqul Yaqeen. Insha'Allah we'll go to Adhan right now. Thank you for joining us live from London and insha'Allah we'll see you next episode where we will discuss this topic further. Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh