Allah did not leave mankind without purpose and sent messengers to guide humanity. Whoever obeys the messengers will be rewarded with paradise and whoever disobeys will be punished in hellfire. Allah sent messengers to past nations to establish proof against them and teach them how to worship in a way that pleases Him. For this Ummah, Allah specifically sent the Prophet Muhammad to relay revelations, purify believers of shirk, and teach the Quran and sunnah. It is not possible to truly worship Allah except by following His messengers.

1. Musallah at-Taqwa
Islamic College of Canberra
Saturday
April 04,
2009
‫ﺑﺴﻢ ﺍﷲ ﺍﻟﺮﲪﻦ ﺍﻟﺮﺣﻴﻢ‬
Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles
Class Notes – Term 1, Week 8
َ ‫ُ َ َ ﹶ ﻨ‬
.‫... ﻭﹶﻟﻢ َﻳﺘﺮﻛﻨَﺎ ﻫﻤَﻼ، َﺑﻞ ﹶﺃﺭﺳﻞ ﹺﺇﹶﻟﻴﻨَﺎ ﺭ ُﻮﻻﹰ، ﻓﻤﻦ ﹶﺃﻃﹶﺎﻋ ُ ﺩﺧﻞ ﺍﳉﱠﺔﹶ، ﻭﻣﻦ ﻋﺼَﺎﻩ ﺩﺧﻞ ﺍﻟﱠﺎﺭ‬
َ ْ َ َ ‫ﹾ ْ َ ﹶ ْ َﺳ ﹶ َ ْ َﻪ َ َ ﹶ ﹶﻨ‬
َ ‫َ ْ ُْ ﹾ‬
.‫ﻭَﺍﻟ ﱠﻟِﻴﻞ ﻗﻮﹸ ُ َﺗﻌَﺎﻟﹶﻰ: ﴿ ﹺﺇﱠﺎ ﹶﺃﺭﺳﻠﻨَﺎ ﹺﺇﹶﻟﻴﻜﻢ ﺭ ُﻮﻻ ﺷَﺎﻫِﺪﹰﺍ ﻋﻠﻴﻜﻢ ﻛﻤَﺎ ﹶﺃﺭﺳﻠﻨَﺎ ﹺﺇﻟﹶﻰ ﻓﺮﻋﻮﻥ ﺭ ُﻮﻻ‬
‫ِ ْ َ ْ ﹶ َﺳ ﹰ‬
‫َﹶْ ﹸ ْ ﹶ ْ َ ﹾ‬
‫ﻧ ْ َ ﹾ ْ ﹸ ْ َﺳ ﹰ‬
‫ﺪ ﹸ ﹶ ْﻟﻪ‬
.﴾‫ﻓﻌﺼَﻰ ﻓﺮﻋﻮﻥ ﺍﻟ ﱠ ُﻮﻝ ﻓﺄﺧﺬﻧَﺎﻩ ﹶﺃﺧْﺬﹰﺍ ﻭﺑﹺﻴﻼﹰ‬
َ
ُ ‫ﹶ َ ِ ْ َ ْ ﹸ ﺮﺳ ﹶ ﹶﹶ َ ﹾ‬
... and He did not leave us without a purpose, rather he sent a messenger to us. So whoever
obeys him will enter Paradise, and whoever rejects and disobeys him will enter the Fire, and
the proof is the Saying of the Most High: “We sent a Messenger to you, O People, as a witness
in favour of you or against you on the Day of Resurrection, just as we sent a Messenger to the
Pharaoh. But the Pharaoh denied and rejected the Messenger, so We seized him with a severe
punishment [al‐Muzzammil; 73:15‐16]”.
Allah (swt) did not leave us without a purpose
•
‫ – ﻭﹶﻟﻢ َﻳﺘﺮﻛﻨَﺎ ﻫﻤَﻼ‬Many people do not know their creator, nor do they know the purpose for
َ ‫َ ْ ُْ ﹾ‬
which they were created. The intelligent individual knows that Allah (swt) has created us for a
specific purpose which He made perfectly clear in the Quran:
∩∈∉∪ Èβρ߉ç7÷èu‹Ï9 ωÎ) }§ΡM}$#uρ £⎯Ågø:$# àMø)n=yz $tΒuρ
And I (Allah) have note created the jinns and mankind except they should worship Me (Alone). [Adh‐
Dhariyaat; 51:56]
•
Allah (swt) also says:
uθèδ ωÎ) tμ≈s9Î) Iω ( ‘,ysø9$# à7Î=yϑø9$# ª!$# ’n?≈yètGsù ∩⊇⊇∈∪ tβθãèy_öè? Ÿω $uΖøŠs9Î) öΝä3¯Ρr&uρ $ZWt7tã öΝä3≈oΨø)n=yz $yϑ¯Ρr& óΟçFö7Å¡yssùr&
Did you think that we created you without any purpose, and that you would not be brought back to us?
High and far removed is Allâh, the True King. None has the right to be worshipped except Him. [al‐
Mu’minoon; 51:56]
•
•
High and far removed is Allah (swt) in creating the creation with no wisdom, for no purpose, or to
create them to be left aimlessly with no objective.
It is not befitting the Wisdom of Allah (swt) to create mankind simply to eat, drink, procreate and
pass the time like cattle and then not to be resurrected.

2. •
•
•
•
•
Oh you deceived individual, do you think you were created in this world to eat, drink and
procreate then you will die and that will be the end of your life‐story? Wallahi, never! Rather, you
have been created for a purpose and Allah (swt) has sent a Messenger to make clear this purpose
which leads you to Allah (swt), for every path to Allah (swt) is blocked except through the
Prophets and Messengers.
It is not possible that Allah (swt) should create the creation, send messengers to them, and then
make lawful the spilling of the blood of those who reject and oppose the messengers, and then
the final result of everything is nothing!
Indeed after your short life there is death, then there is resurrection, then there is accountability,
then there are The Scales, then there is the Siraat and then finally, there is either Paradise or
Hellfire.
If everything did end with death, then mankind would transgress, content in the knowledge that
they will not be called to account for all that they did. As for the person who was oppressed, it is
not in Allah’s (swt) wisdom that they should die never having seen justice, rather any accounts
not settled in this world will most definitely be settled in the Hereafter!
All of mankind will individually stand before Allah (swt) on the Day of Accountability and they will
be asked about the small and the big. Allah (swt) says:
∩∇∪ …çνttƒ #vx© ;六sŒ tΑ$s)÷WÏΒ ö≅yϑ÷ètƒ ⎯tΒuρ ∩∠∪ …çνttƒ #ø‹yz >六sŒ tΑ$s)÷WÏΒ ö≅yϑ÷ètƒ ⎯yϑsù
And whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to
the weight of an atom shall see it. [Az‐Zalzalah; 99:7‐8]
Allah (swt) sent to us a Messenger
•
•
‫ – َﺑﻞ ﹶﺃﺭﺳﻞ ﹺﺇﹶﻟﻴﻨَﺎ ﺭ ُﻮﻻ‬Allah (swt) sent to us, the people of this Ummah, the Messenger
‫ﹾ ْ َ ﹶ ْ َﺳ ﹰ‬
Muhammad (saw) relating the ayaat (signs) of Allah (swt) to us, purifying us from polytheism, and
teaching us the Kitaab and Hikma (sunnah).
Allah (swt) also sent Messengers to the people who came before us:
∩⊄⊆∪ ÖƒÉ‹tΡ $pκÏù Ÿξyz ωÎ) >π¨Βé& ô⎯ÏiΒ βÎ)uρ 4 #ƒÉ‹tΡuρ #Zϱo0 Èd,ptø:$$Î/ y7≈oΨù=y™ö‘r& !$¯ΡÎ)
Verily, We have sent you (o Muhammad) with the truth, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner, and there
was not a previous nation except that Allah sent a warner to them. [Faatir; 35:24]
•
•
•
•
Allah (swt) sent the Messengers to the creation in order for the hujjah (proof or evidence which
removes the excuse of ignorance) to be established upon them, and that they should worship
Allah (swt) in a manner that He loves and is pleased with.
It is not possible to worship Allah (swt) in the manner He is pleased with except by means of
following the Messengers since they are the ones who explained to us what Allah (swt) loves and
what draws us closer to Him.
Therefore it was from Allah’s (swt) wisdom that he sent the Messengers to the creation as
bearers of good tiding and as warners.
Thus whoever believes in Allah (swt) and disbelieves in the Prophet Muhammad (saw) has
committed an act of kufr (apostasy). Similarly, whoever believes in Allah (swt) and all the

3. Messengers, yet disbelieves in the Prophet Muhammad (saw) has committed an act of kufr. Allah
(swt) said about the People of Nuh (as):
∩⊇⊃∈∪ t⎦⎫Î=y™ößϑø9$# ?yθçΡ ãΠöθs% ôMt/¤‹x.
The people of Nûh (Noah) rejected the Messengers. [Ash‐Shu’araah; 26:105]
•
•
•
The people of Nûh (as) only rejected him, yet Allah (swt) described them as having rejected all the
Messengers!
The obedience of the Prophet (saw) is the obedience of Allah (swt) and the disobedience of the
Prophet (saw) is the disobedience of Allah (saw). Thus the Quran and Sunnah go hand‐in‐hand.
Ibnul Qayyim (ra) stated that the relationship between the Quran and Sunnah is at three levels:
(i) That the Sunnah completely confirms that which is stated in the Quran. For example the
Quran orders the enactment of tawheed, salaat, siyaam, zakaat and hajj and the Sunnah
of the Prophet (saw) states that “Islam has been established upon five pillars ...”.
Therefore the Sunnah confirms that which was stated in the Quran on a particular issue.
(ii) That the Sunnah clarifies and explains that which was summarised in the Quran. For
example Allah (swt) says ο4θn=¢Á9$# (#θßϑŠÏ%r&uρ. How do we establish the Salaat? The Sunnah
clarifies this and explains it in the words of the Prophet (saw): “Pray as you have seen me
pray ...”.
(iii) That the Sunnah makes obligatory that which the Quran did not make obligatory, and
forbids that which the Quran did not forbid. For example, the prohibition of eating
domestic donkey was not specified in the Quran, yet is authentically narrated in the
Sunnah of the Prophet (saw). Allah (swt) says about the Prophet (saw).
∩⊆∪ 4©yrθム֩óruρ ωÎ) uθèδ ÷βÎ) ∩⊂∪ #“uθoλù;$# Ç⎯tã ß,ÏÜΖtƒ $tΒuρ
Nor does He (Muhammad) speak of his own desire. It is only an inspiration that is inspired.
[An‐Najm; 53:3‐5]
Obedience is Paradise, Disobedience is Hellfire.
•
Those who believe and act upon that which the Prophet (saw) came with, Allah (swt) has
promised them Paradise.
$yγàÊótã >π¨Ψy_uρ öΝà6În/§‘ ⎯ÏiΒ ;οtÏøótΒ 4’n<Î) (#þθããÍ‘$y™uρ ∩⊇⊂⊄∪ šχθßϑymöè? öΝà6¯=yès9 tΑθß™§9$#uρ ©!$# (#θãè‹ÏÛr&uρ
∩⊇⊂⊂∪ t⎦⎫É)−Gßϑù=Ï9 ôN£‰Ïãé& ÞÚö‘F{$#uρ ßN≡uθ≈yϑ¡¡9$#
And obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad) that You may receive Allah’s mercy. And hasten to
forgiveness from your Lord, and to Paradise whose width is that of the heavens and the earth, prepared
for the pious ones. [Aal‐Imran; 3:132‐133]
•
The wording Allah (swt) uses in this verse is be hasty, compete and rush towards this great
reward.

4. •
As for the one who rejects and disobeys the Prophet (saw), Allah (swt) has prepared for him a
severe torment in the Hereafter.
∩⊄⊂∪ #´‰t/r& !$pκÏù t⎦⎪Ï$Î#≈yz zΟ¨Ψyγy_ u‘$tΡ …çμs9 ¨βÎ*sù …ã&s!θß™u‘uρ ©!$# ÄÈ÷ètƒ ⎯tΒuρ
And whoever disobeys and rejects Allah and His Messenger, then for him is the Fire of Hell, remaining in it
for eternity." [Al‐Jinn; 72:23]
•
•
This indicates that belief in Allah (swt) and the Prophet (saw) is an essential part of our Aqeedah,
for no one remains eternally in the Hellfire except he whose Aqeedah is severely corrupted.
The Prophet (saw) said:
‫ﻛﻞ ﹸﺃﻣِﺘﻲ َﻳﺪﺧﻠﻮﻥ ﺍﳉﱠﻨﺔ ﹺﺇﻻ ﻣﻦ ﹶﺃَﺑﻰ، ﻗﺎﹸﻟﻮﺍ: ﻭﻣﻦ َﻳﺄَﺑﻰ َﻳﺎ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍﷲ ؟ ﻗﺎﻝ: ﻣﻦ ﹶﺃﻃﺎﻋﹺﻨﻲ ﺩﺧﻞ‬
‫ﹶ ﹶ َْ ﹶ َ ََﹶ‬
‫َُ ﹶ‬
‫ََ ﹾ‬
‫ﹶ‬
ْ َ ‫ﹸ ﱠ ﱠ ْ ُﹸ ﹶ ﹶ ﹶ‬
.‫ﺍﳉﱠﻨﺔ، ﻭﻣﻦ ﻋﺼﺎﹺﻧﻲ ﻓﻘﺪ ﹶﺃَﺑﻰ‬
ْ ‫ﹶ ﹶ ََ ْ َ َ ﹶﹶ‬
“All of my Ummah will enter Paradise except those who refuse”. So it was said: “And who
would refuse, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise and
whoever disobeys me is the one who refuses (to enter it).”
[Bukhari: The Book of Holding Fast to the Quran and Sunnah]
•
•
Is there someone who would refuse to enter Paradise? Apparently so! It is he who disobeys the
Prophet (saw) even though the Prophet (saw) prompts, urges and encourages them to enter
Paradise, yet they persist in their disobedience.
There is not an act of good except that the Prophet (saw) has told us about it, or an act of evil
except that he has warned us against it.
Evidence from Surat Al‐Muzzammil
•
The Sheikh (ra) uses verses 15‐16 of Surat Al‐Muzzammil as evidence that obeying the Messenger
(saw) is obligatory for the attainment of Paradise and avoidance of the Hellfire.
tΑθß™§9$# ãβöθtãöÏù 4©|Âyèsù ∩⊇∈∪ Zωθß™u‘ šχöθtãöÏù 4’n<Î) !$uΖù=y™ö‘r& !$uΚx. ö/ä3ø‹n=tæ #´‰Îγ≈x© Zωθß™u‘ óΟä3ö‹s9Î) !$uΖù=y™ö‘r& !$¯ΡÎ)
∩⊇∉∪ Wξ‹Î/uρ #Z‹÷{r& çμ≈tΡõ‹s{r'sù
We sent a Messenger to you, O People, as a witness in favour of you or against you on the Day of
Resurrection, just as we sent a Messenger to the Pharaoh. But the Pharaoh denied and rejected the
Messenger, so We seized him with a severe punishment [al‐Muzzammil; 73:15‐16]
•
•
This verse addresses all of mankind. The verse is saying that you should be wary of denying the
Messenger (saw), lest you be afflicted by that which befell Fir’awn. Allah (swt) destroyed him with
a severe punishment.
Beware, for you will be more deserving of destruction and ruin if you deny your Messenger, for
the Prophet (saw) is more noble and greater in status than the Prophet Musa (as).

5. Review questions
(i) Explain the verse in Surat al‐Mu’minoon which negates the notion that mankind was created with no
purpose.
(ii) Explain the verse which proves that the rejection of one messenger is the rejection of all messengers.
(iii) The relationship between the Quran and Sunnah is at three levels. Briefly explain each level with
examples.
(iv) Which people did the Prophet (saw) describe as refusing to enter Paradise? Why do you suppose the
companions asked the Prophet (saw) asked about such a people?
(v) How does the destruction of Fi’rawn as described in the two verses of Surat Al‐Muzzamil relate to us as
followers of the Prophet (saw)?