Foundations of Certitude A Poem on Islamic Beliefs

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Say, He is the First, the Last, the Outward, and the Inward, and He has power over all things. [Quran 57:3]

Certitude is like the fortified wall of a city. When a city has a wall, the enemy has no hope of entering it. But when a breach occurs in the wall and gates and fissures appear in it, the enemy makes haste to enter. The pitfall of Satan and his temptation is a consequence of the defect of the bodys wall which is certitude. So let every intelligent person hasten to maintain the well-being of his bodys wall so that Satan cannot approach him and no human being disturbs him. . . . Certitude is a sign of the people of truthfulness and spiritual realization. We ask Allah Most High by His grace and His generosity to bestow on us His sweetness and secrets! Shaykh Abd al-Aziz al-Dabbagh g (al-Ibriz)

Foundations of Certitude
OPENING

In Allahs Holy Name this poem I start Asking Him humbly that He guide my heart
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By the blessed Prophet, bearer of light By whom servants ascend spiritual heights
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Plentiful prayers and salutations On Ahmad, master of the creation

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He is fairest of all, purest of speech And with knowledge of God he came to teach
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He was mercy to all, tender and kind Hes the closest of all to the Divine
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Pondering deeply and knowing the truth Is your rst duty at onset of youth
THEOLOGY

Allah is without beginning or cause Forever abiding, no end or pause

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Completely unlike all we see and nd He has no likeness to what comes to mind
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Everything in the cosmos stands in need Of His care and provision but Hes free;
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He is independent of place and time And completely Exalted and Sublime

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He is in Essence, Attributes, and acts Unique and unrivaled; understand that

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He is the One, theres no god besides He Allah is alone, the true deity
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To Allah belongs Life, Power, and Will Hearing and Seeing allmoving or still
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His is knowledge without acquisition Divine speech without letters or diction

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These attributes here Allah must possess; And sure faith in them all we must profess
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 he Opposite of these, thirteen in count T Are impossible; lets spell them all out
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Theyre non-existence or contingency; These two are reserved for things that can be
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To have beginning, end, or cessation To bear resemblance to the creation

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To have a partner, a helper, or need Is impossible and against tawhid

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Inability, ignorance, or death To be blind, dumb, compelled, or to be deaf

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Know these words well and understand these lines Those with these qualities cant be Divine
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To do what He wills or leave it undone Both are possibleHes compelled by none

RATIONAL PROOFS

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Do not sufce with poetry or prose; When it comes to creed, were obliged to know
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What we believe, with certainty and truth No doubts or conjecture, only sound proof
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Allahs existence has proofits very clear, For all that has been made needs a maker
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The world didnt emerge all on its own; Each effect has a cause, willed by the One
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If He had beginning, thered be regress A never ending chain, an absurd mess

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If with end, Hed have no eternity; If like the world, Hed have contingency
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And if Allah had not Self-Subsistence Hed be subject to need and dependence
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If not One Hed have no power to act Then the world would perish, shatter, and crack
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 f not a living, knowing, willing Lord I With absolute power, thered be no world
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 f He had no hearing, no speech, no sight I Hed be imperfect and lacking in might

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When possibles undergo conversion We call that realities inversion

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To become impossible or required, Inversion occurs and in falsehood mired

PROPHETOLOGY

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Out of His Mercy to every nation Allah sent Prophets with revelation
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They are the chosen ones, pure and elect; Proofs of their truthfulness He did erect
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The Messengers speak truth in all they say Trustworthy, the message they did convey
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Likewise they possess vast intelligence Healthy features, strength, handsome countenance
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These are the attributes they must possess; And sure faith in them all we must profess
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But the opposite of these, ve in count Are impossible, so lets spell them out
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False words, concealment of truth, treachery Bad traits or form, lacking lucidity
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The Prophets all had human conditions But they did not fail their sacred missions
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Its allowed that they feel sick or unwell, But only so light that they do not fail
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Do not sufce with poetry or prose; When it comes to our creed, we all must know

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What we believe, with certainty and truth No doubts or conjectureonly sound proof
PROOFS

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Were they guilty of prevarication God would have lied in His conrmation
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Their miracles are Gods way of saying They speak truth in all they are conveying
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Were Prophets to hide the truth or betray Bad would turn good, and wed have to obey
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Had Prophets lacked knowledge or lost their way They would have oundered and failed to convey
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Their human states are, in themselves, a proof That theyre possible, harmless to the truth
TRANSMITTED BELIEFS

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The preceding lines involve intellect Though there is more, brought by Prophets elect
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Beliefs taken from sacred, inspired words; Realities about the unseen worlds:
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Angels obedient, never fatigued Vigilant, dutiful, fullling needs

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Some roam the earth, some stand at Heavens door Messengers with wings, two or three or four
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Then theres faith in Books, divinely revealed To Messengers of old, but they are sealed

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Save the Quran, preserved till the Last Day Its the guiding light, showing us the way
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When our time comes, after our nal breath We shall taste the reality of death
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In the Next World, every single slave Will face interrogation in the grave
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Three questions are asked by two Angels stern Answers to these, only now we can learn
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Say! Who is your Lord, and who is this Man? your Prophet sent, and whats your religion?
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After the grave, the quickening occurs All nations silent, not a single word
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That is the time for Divine reckoning Good deeds and bad deeds receive their weighing
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Both are placed rmly on a awless Scale Theres no injustice: its Heaven or Hell
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Mankind, in terror and fright, shall run Begging of Prophets for intercession
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But all shall decline, not one will agree; Then they shall reach the Prophet of Mercy
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Theyll seek shelter under his blessed shade With his intercession theyll have it made
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Just look at his mercy, for now you know On that terrible day where you should go!

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 here is the Pond, the ever-sweet basin T Drink for the believers of all nations
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There is the Traverse, razor sharp and thin Whosoever crosses safely shall win
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 ell, for the losers, the abode of doom H Piercing darkness, ames, punishment and gloom
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Paradise, garden of eternal bliss Pure enjoymentwhatever you may wish

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Believe, we must, in the divine decree: All things are pre-ordained for you and me
CONCLUSION

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 his concludes our poem, a simple outline T About the Prophets sent, and the Divine
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 bout the unseen world, Books, and decree A All of which constitute our faiths rm tree
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Allah! Send prayers and salutations On Ahmad, Intercessor of Nations

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 pon his folk of purest pedigree U And Companions with whom we hope to be