FIKH-I AKBER

  (Imam-i A'zam Abu Hanifa)                            

                                       (Hijri: 80-150—-Gregorian:679-767)

         In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

         Fundamentals of Faith:

1- The basis of the oneness of Allah, and the most correct expression of believing in it and without a doubt:
     “To Allah,
     To your angels
     To your books
     To their prophets
     To resurrect after death
     It means, “I believe in fate, that is, that good and evil are by the will of Allah, in the Account, the Balance, Heaven and Hell - all of these are true.”

       Attributes of Allah Almighty

2-Allah is one. (This oneness) is not in terms of number but in terms of having no partner (equal). (As evidence) say: “Allah is one. Allah is the Eternal.1 He is not begotten and He does not give birth. He has no partner or equal.”2

3- God Almighty does not resemble anything from His creations, and nothing from His creations resembles Him.

4-He is eternal and everlasting with His names and attributes specific to His essence and actions. (His existence has no beginning or end.)
      a) The essential attributes of Allah: Life, power, knowing, speaking, hearing, seeing and will.3
      b) Physical attributes: Creating, providing sustenance, making, creating without any example, creating with art (and inventing arts) and others like these are also physical attributes.

5-The Almighty God, with His names and attributes, is eternal and everlasting. No name or attribute has come into being for Him.) The Almighty God always knows with His knowledge, His knowledge is an eternal attribute.
     b) He is always powerful with His power; power is an eternal attribute of His.
     c) He speaks with His words - speaking is an eternal attribute of His.
     d) He always creates through His creation (creativity); creation is an eternal attribute of His.
     e) He always does by doing; doing is an eternal attribute of His.
     f) The doer is Allah Almighty. His doing is an eternal attribute. What is done is something created. What Allah Almighty does is not created.
    g) The attributes of Allah Almighty are eternal; they are not created or created. Whoever says, “They were created or came into being” or whoever doubts or hesitates about them (whether they were created or came into being) has denied Allah Almighty.

6-The Quran is the word of Allah. It is written in the Mushafs, kept in hearts (memorized and memorized) and recited on tongues. It was revealed to our Prophet (pbuh).

7- Our speaking of the word of the Qur'an, our writing of it and our reading of it are created (it is a creature), but the Qur'an (itself) is not created (since it is the word of Allah).

8- All that Allah Almighty mentions in the Qur'an as news from Moses and the other prophets -peace be upon them-, from Pharaoh and Satan are the words of Allah. The words of Allah Almighty are not created. The words of Moses and the other creatures are created. The Qur'an is the word of Allah Almighty and is eternal (not created). Their words are not eternal.

9- Moses heard the speech of Allah. Indeed, Allah Almighty has mentioned in the Qur'an: "Allah spoke to Moses in truth."4 Surely, Allah had the attribute of speech before He spoke to Moses. Allah Almighty was the Creator from eternity before He created creation. Nothing is like it. He knows and sees everything. When He spoke to Moses, He spoke with His eternal attribute of speech.

10-All of His attributes are different from the attributes of created beings.
        a) He knows, but not like we know.
        b) He has power, but not like our power.
        c) He sees, but not as we see.
        d) He hears, but not like we hear.
        e) He speaks, but not in the way we speak. We can speak with some limbs and letters; Allah Almighty speaks without any limbs or letters. Because letters are created, but the word of Allah is uncreated.

11-Allahu Ta'ala is a thing (an entity), but not something like an object. The meaning of His existence is that He is bodiless, substanceless, accident-free, limitless, oppositeless, unique and incomparable.

12- As Allah Almighty has mentioned in the Quran, He has a hand, face and soul (heart) specific to Himself. The face, hand and soul that Allah Almighty mentions in the Quran are His attributes specific to Him and we do not know how they are. It cannot be said that what is meant by hand is His power or His favor. Because, in saying this, there is a situation of nullification of the attribute. Saying this is the word of the Qadariyya and Mu'tazila schools. However, "hand" is an attribute whose nature is unknown to us (known to Him). Allah's wrath and pleasure are two attributes that we do not understand.

13-Allahu Ta'ala created things from nothing (and from nothing).

14-Allahu Ta'ala is the one who knows and predetermines things before they are created and carries out His judgment (according to His predetermination).

15-Nothing happens in this world or in the Hereafter except with His will, knowledge, decree, judgment and His writing in the Preserved Tablet. But His writing is from a feature7 and not from a judgment (compulsion)*.

16-Fate, destiny, and will are eternal attributes of Allah that we cannot understand.

17- Just as Allah Almighty knows the non-existent as non-existent in its state of non-existence, He also knows how it will be when He brings it into being.

18- Just as Allah Almighty knows the existent as existing, He also knows what its non-existence will be like.

19-Allah knows the standing person in the same way when standing as He knows the sitting person in the same way when sitting. In all these cases, Allah's knowledge does not change or (new knowledge) does not come to Him later. However, change and disagreement occur in the created (states and knowledge).

20-Allah Almighty created people (first) free from disbelief and faith (i.e. He did not create them as believers or disbelievers), but then He addressed them and gave them commands and prohibitions. (After this): Those who disbelieve became disbelievers through their own actions, their denial of the truth, their rejection of it, and Allah's stopping helping them. And those who believe believed through their own actions, their acknowledgement, their confirmation, and Allah's success and help in them.

21-Allah Almighty brought forth the descendants of Adam as atoms (human atoms) before his loins, then gave them reason, spoke to them, commanded them to believe and forbade disbelief. They confessed that He is Lord. This (first confession) was faith for them. They are born upon this nature. And whoever disbelieves after this (confession) has changed and corrupted (his faith, his original nature). And whoever believes and confirms (after coming into the world and reaching puberty) has remained steadfast and persistent in his nature (which is faith).

22-Allah Almighty has not forced any of His servants to disbelieve or believe, nor has He created them as believers or disbelievers, but He has created them as individuals. Believing and disbelieving are the work of the servants.

23-Allah knows the disbeliever as a disbeliever during his disbelief. If he believes after that, He knows him as a believer during his belief and loves him. There is no change in His knowledge or attributes (with the change of the servant's disbelief and belief states and Allah's knowledge of them).

24-All the actions of the servants, such as their movements and their resting, are in reality their own earnings. And the One Who creates them is Allah. All of those actions are by the will, knowledge, decree and judgment of Allah.

25-All good and useful deeds are made obligatory by Allah's command, love, consent, knowledge, will, decree and predestination.

26-Although all sins (evil deeds) are determined by Allah's knowledge and will, they are not with His love, consent and command.

27-All prophets (peace and blessings be upon them) are free from minor and major sins, disbelief and indecency. However, they also sometimes made minor (temporary) mistakes and errors.

28- Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is Allah's beloved, servant, messenger, chosen and purified. He never worshipped idols, never associated partners with Allah even for the blink of an eye, and never committed any sin, neither small nor big.

29- The best of people after the prophets are Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, then Omar al-Faruq, the son of al-Khattab, then Osman al-Din-ureyn, the son of Affan, then Ali al-Murtaza, the son of Abu Talib. (May Allah be pleased with them all.) They are the ones who are on the truth and worshipped truly. We love and respect all of them. We remember each of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) for nothing but goodness.

30-We cannot consider a Muslim as a disbeliever and remove the name of faith (Islam) from him, unless he commits one of the sins, even a major sin, and we do not consider it permissible. We give him the name of a true believer, because a Muslim can be a sinful believer, even though he is not a disbeliever.

31-Making masah over the socks and performing tarawih prayers on the nights of Ramadan are sunnah.10

32-It is permissible for every believer, whether good or sinful, to pray behind the imam. (However, it is disliked.)

33- We cannot say, “Sins do not harm a believer.” We cannot say, “He (the sinful believer) will not go to hell.” We cannot say, “He will spend eternity in hell” about someone who leaves this world as a believer, even if he is a sinner.

34- We cannot say, as the Murji'ah said, "Our good deeds have been accepted and our bad deeds have been forgiven." However, we say, "If a person performs a deed that complies with all its conditions, is free from corruptive faults and false meanings, does not nullify it with disbelief and apostasy, and finally departs from this world as a believer, then surely Allah the Almighty will not waste his (good) deed, but will accept it and give him reward for it."

35-The case of a person who commits sins (major or minor) without associating partners with Allah and without being a disbeliever, but dies as a believer without repenting, is up to Allah to decide. If He wills, He will punish him in Hell, or if He wills, He will forgive him and not punish him at all.

36-If there is hypocrisy in any of the deeds, then this (hypocrisy) will surely destroy its reward. The same is true for considering oneself and one's deeds superior (due to worship). (It will also destroy the reward of that deed.)

37- Miracles are proven for the prophets. Miracles are true for the saints. As for the extraordinary events that happened to the enemies of Allah, such as Iblis, Pharaoh and the Antichrist, these events have happened and may happen, as stated in the news. However, we cannot call them miracles or miracles; we only say that they are the fulfillment of their needs (and desires). Because, Allah Almighty fulfills the wishes of His enemies as an “Istidraj” for them and (in the end) to punish them. Thus, they become arrogant and deceived (after performing miraculous deeds), and increase their rebellion and disbelief. All of these are possible and permissible.

38-Allahu Ta'ala was the Creator before creation, and the Provider of sustenance before providing sustenance. (Because His attributes are eternal.)

39-Allahu Ta'ala will be seen (by the believers) in the Hereafter. The believers will see Him in Paradise with their own eyes, without any distance between them, in a state that is incomprehensible, indescribable and incomparable.

40-Faith consists of confession (with the tongue) and confirmation (with the heart). The faith of those in the heavens (angels) and those on the earth does not increase or decrease in terms of what is believed in, but it increases and decreases in terms of certainty and confirmation.

41-Believers are equal in faith and monotheism (the oneness of Allah), but they differ in deeds.

42-Islam is to submit and bow to the commands of Allah. In terms of its literal meaning, there is a difference between faith and Islam. However, there is no faith without Islam, and there is no Islam without faith. They are like the inside and the outside (of a person).

43-Religion is a name given to faith, Islam and sharia.

44-We can know Allah Almighty only to the extent that He describes Himself with all His attributes in His book (we cannot know the reality of His essence).

45-No one is able to worship Allah Almighty in the way that He deserves. He can only be worshipped as He has been commanded in His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger.

46-All believers are equal in faith, in knowing Allah, in being pleased with Him, in fearing Him, and in putting their hope in Him. But they differ from each other in practice, except in believing in all these.

47-Allah the Almighty is gracious and just to His servants. Sometimes He gives the reward many times more than the servant deserves. This is from His grace. Sometimes He punishes (the servant) for his sins; this is from His justice. Sometimes He forgives him. This is from His grace.

48-May peace and blessings be upon their Prophet, whose intercession is true. The intercession of our Prophet (pbuh) is certainly for the sinful believers and those who have committed major sins and deserve punishment.

49-On the Day of Judgement:
       a) It is right to weigh deeds on a scale.
       b) The pool of the Prophet (pbuh) is true.
       c) On the Day of Judgement, retaliation is right between the defendants for good deeds (taking from the wrongdoer and giving it to the righteous). If there is no good deed, it is right and permissible for the sins of the righteous to be abolished (making the burden fall on another).

50-Paradise and Hell are still created. Neither of them will perish forever. The large, black-eyed houris will never die. Both the punishment and reward of Allah Almighty continue eternally.

51-Allah, the Almighty, guides whom He wills as a favor to Himself. And He leaves whom He wills astray as a requirement of His justice. Leaving in error is His hastening. The meaning of hastening is that Allah does not enable that servant to succeed in a task that pleases Him and cuts off His help. This is also a justice of Allah. Thus, it is a requirement of His justice that Allah punishes those who are in error for their sins.

52- We cannot say, “Satan takes away faith from a believing servant by force.” However, we say, “If the servant tells him to abandon faith, then Satan takes faith from him at that moment.”

53- The questioning of Munkar and Nakir in the grave is true.

54-It is true that the soul in the grave is returned to the body.

55-The squeezing and torment of the grave are real. This will apply to all disbelievers and some of the rebellious believers.

56-It is permissible for Iranian scholars to say in Persian (i.e. in a language other than Arabic)12 the attributes of Allah, the Almighty, other than the word “el”. It is permissible to say in Persian: “Beruy-i Huda (Allah’s face)” without thinking of any similarity or similarity.

57- Closeness and distance to Allah are not in terms of the length or shortness of the distance, but in terms of being honored or humiliated (in the sight of Allah). The obedient (servant) is close to Allah, although its quality is unknown. The disobedient (to Allah's commands) is far from Allah, although its quality is unknown. Closeness, distance and turning (to Allah) are the expressions of the one who calls upon Him. Being Allah's neighbor in Paradise and standing in His presence are also expressions of which we do not know how.

58-The Quran was revealed to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and this is also written in the Mushafs. All the verses of the Quran are equal in virtue and greatness in the sense of the word of Allah. However, for some of them, there is both the virtue of reciting and the virtue of what is recited. Ayat al-Kursi is an example of this. Because what is recited here is the greatness, grandeur and attributes of Allah. In this verse, two virtues have come together, both the virtue of reciting and the virtue of what is recited. In some (verses), there is only the virtue of reciting. As in the case of the disbelievers. Since those mentioned in these verses are disbelievers, there is no virtue (and no greatness) in them. All of Allah's names and attributes are equal to each other in honor and majesty, and there is no difference between them.

59-The mother and father of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) died in the age of ignorance (without knowing the true religion).

60-Qasim, Tahir and Ibrahim are the sons of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Fatima, Ruqiyya, Zeynab and Umm Kulthum are the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh).

61-If a person finds it difficult to understand something from the subtleties of the science of Tawhid (belief), he should believe in the correct form in the sight of Allah until he finds a scholar to ask and learn from. There is no permission to delay this search. Hesitating about this matter (comes from not giving importance to it, and) it is not excused, and if he leaves it, he becomes a disbeliever (by default).

62-The news of the Miraj is true. Whoever denies it is a heretic who remains in error.

63-The emergence of the Antichrist, Gog and Magog, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus from the sky and other signs of the Day of Judgment reported in authentic news are true. Almighty Allah guides whom He wills to the right path. (O Lord, make us among those You have guided to the right path. Amen.

              FOOTNOTES
(1) His glory and honor are sublime, everything is in need of Him, and He is in need of nothing.
(2) Surah Ikhlas.
(3) Arabic: Life, power, knowledge, speech, hearing, seeing, seeing, will. In the subuti attributes, the attribute of takvin is also included. (See Izmirli Yeni İlmi Kelam, v. 2/104)
(4) (4) Surah An-Nisa, 164
(5) Accident: It is something that cannot stand on its own and needs something else to be seen and held on to. Such as color etc.
(6) Had: To describe the nature of something by mentioning its parts.
(7) Small and big, many, hot and cold, sin and good deed, will and action, and attributes related to state and morality.
(8) “Let so and so be a believer, let so and so be an unbeliever.”
(9) Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar, Li-Abi'l-Muntahas-
(10) The reason why these two sunnahs are mentioned here is because they are also important in terms of belief. Because the permissibility of wiping over the socks is proven by a hadith close to the mutawatir degree, it is feared that the one who denies it will become a disbeliever. Again, Imam A'zam's mention of tarawih is to reject the Shiites. Because they deny tarawih and wiping over the socks and wipe their feet while performing ablution. (A. ges 18)
(11) Istidraj: A rise that leads to debauchery and disaster.
(12) (Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar. Abu'l-Munteha, p:28) Nizameddin DEMİR