Understanding the Perfection of Islam and the Importance of the Sunnah

Yes. Section:

And know that the religion of Islam is complete,

and that Allah has approved it for us,

so He will not accept from any of us a religion other than it,

so He will not accept from anyone a religion other than it.

And all religions are false except Islam,

Allah ﷻ said:

“Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allāh, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islām as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Quran 5:3)

And He said:

“And whoever desires other than Islām as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.” (Quran 3:85)

the losers.

And on the authority of Ubayy bin Ka'b (RA)

that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him:

"Indeed, Allah has commanded me to recite to you."

So he recited to him...

“Those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists were not to be parted [from misbelief] until there came to them clear evidence” (Quran 98:1)

the Book, and he read in it: "Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah

is the upright Islamic monotheism, not Judaism nor Christianity.

'Whoever does good, it will not be denied.'"

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said it is Hasan Sahih, and authenticated by al-Hakim.

And the true religion is what the Messenger ﷺ came with.

Allah the Almighty said: "And, [moreover], this is My path, which is straight, so follow it;

and do not follow [other] ways..." [the verse].

And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah al-Dawsi (RA),

from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said: "By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad,

no one of this Ummah, whether a Jew or a Christian, hears of me

and then dies without believing in that with which I have been sent, but he will be of the companions of the Fire."

Narrated by Muslim.

And Abu Barzah al-Aslami (RA) said: "Indeed, Allah saved you through Islam...

and through Muhammad ﷺ. Narrated by al-Bukhari.

And desires and innovations are not part of his religion ﷺ.

And whoever deviates from guidance is a devil calling to destruction.

On the authority of Abdullah bin Mas'ud (RA), he said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ drew a line with his hand, then said:

"This is the straight path of Allah."

Then he drew lines to its right and to its left,

then he said: "These are paths; on every one of them is a devil calling to it."

Then he recited: "And moreover, this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow other ways."

Narrated by al-Nasa'i in Al-Sunan al-Kubra and Ahmad in Al-Musnad, this wording is his, and its chain is Hasan.

And among the greatest blessings are the blessing of Islam, the Sunnah, and safety from desires.

Mujahid al-Makki (RH) said:

"I do not know which of the two blessings upon me is greater: that He guided me to Islam, or that He saved me from these desires."

Narrated by

al-Darimi.

The author, may Allah protect him, dedicated a section

another [section], in which he calls to another endeavor among the best of endeavors, saying:

"Know that the religion of Islam is complete,"

meaning there is no deficiency in it,

and that Allah has approved it for us.

So the religion of Islam is approved, and any other is disapproved.

He said, "So no religion other than it will be accepted from anyone."

For whatever religion anyone worships Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with other than the religion of Islam,

Allah will not accept it from him.

Then he said, "And all religions are false except Islam."

Allah the Exalted said:

“Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allāh, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islām as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Quran 5:3)

And He, the Exalted, said:

“And whoever desires other than Islām as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.” (Quran 3:85)

the losers."

The religions that creation follows other than Islam, and through which they worship Allah,

are not accepted by Allah ﷻ from them,

for they are false religions, detested by Him, as are their adherents,

and there is no success with Allah except through the religion of Islam.

Then he mentioned the hadith of Ubayy ibn Ka'b (RA) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

"Indeed, Allah has commanded me to recite to you," and he recited to him Surah Al-Bayyinah.

“Those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists were not to be parted [from misbelief] until there came to them clear evidence” (Quran 98:1)

...of the Book." And he recited in it a verse that was part of it, which was then

abrogated in wording while its ruling remained:

"Indeed, the true religion in the sight of Allah is Al-Hanifiyyah, the submissive religion, not Judaism nor Christianity;

whoever does good will never have it denied."

So the religion recognized by Allah is the religion of Islam,

which is the Hanifiyyah, the Muslim religion,

And any other religion besides it, whether Judaism, Christianity, or otherwise,

Allah ﷻ will not recognize it nor accept it from the servant.

Then he said: "And the true religion,"

meaning, that which is binding, established, and obligatory upon us,

is what the Messenger ﷺ brought.

Allah ﷻ said: "And, [moreover], this is My path,"

“And, [moreover], this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This has He instructed you that you may become righteous.” (Quran 6:153)

Allah ﷻ commanded the following of His straight path, which is...

...the religion of Islam, from what the Prophet ﷺ brought from his Lord.

This was explicitly stated in the Hadith of Al-Nawwas bin Sam'an (RA)...

...narrated by Ahmad with a good chain in a long Hadith,

in which he ﷺ said: "And the path is Islam."

Thus, the meaning of the mentioned verse: "And, [moreover], this is My path, which is straight,"...

...is: "And indeed, this is my religion, a straight religion, which is the religion of Islam, so follow it."

Then he mentioned the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah al-Dawsi (RA) in Muslim...

...from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said:

"By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, no one of this nation hears of me..."

...meaning, from the nation of invitation, that is, the nation of invitation to which the Prophet ﷺ was sent...

...calling them to the religion of Islam, including the Jews, Christians, and polytheists.

He said, "No one of this nation, Jew or Christian, hears of me,

then dies without believing in what I was sent with,

except that he will be of the companions of the Fire."

Because what the Prophet ﷺ brought, if a servant follows it,

it will lead him to Paradise.

Likewise, if a servant turns away from it,

his turning away will lead him to the Fire.

So the Prophet ﷺ is a trial for creation,

distinguishing the people of Paradise from the people of the Fire.

Whoever believes him, has faith, and follows him will be of the people of Paradise,

and whoever disbelieves in him ﷺ

and turns away from him will be of the people of the Fire.

And his saying in the hadith, "No one hears of me,"

meaning a hearing that conforms to the religion I am upon, meaning a hearing...

...conforming to the religion I follow.

Then he mentioned the statement of Abu Barzah al-Aslami (RA) in al-Bukhari:

"Indeed, Allah saved you through Islam and Muhammad ﷺ,"

as a report of the good that came to the Arabs.

For Allah saved them through Islam and the sending of Muhammad ﷺ,

and they were guided through him from shirk to Tawhid, and from misguidance to guidance.

Then he said: "And whims and innovations are not part of his religion ﷺ,"

for the religion that he brought to us is what Allah mentioned in His Book,

or what he ﷺ mentioned to us in his Sunnah.

So whatever innovations and whims have been introduced that are not in them,

are not part of the religion of the Messenger ﷺ.

He said, "And whoever deviates from guidance is a devil calling to ruin," meaning to destruction.

And he mentioned the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (RA) that he said:

"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ drew a line with his hand," meaning on the ground,

"then he said, 'This is the straight path of Allah.'"

"Then he drew small lines to its right and to its left, and then said:

'These are paths; there is not a path among them except that there is a devil upon it calling to it.'"

So every path that deviates from what the Prophet ﷺ brought,

there is a devil standing at its gate calling to it.

So every path that deviates from what the Prophet ﷺ brought,

there is a devil standing at its gate calling to it.

And these devils, some of them are human devils, and some of them are devils...

...jinn, who turn people away from the truth brought by the Prophet ﷺ.

Then he recited the words of Allah ﷻ: "And, indeed, this is My path..."

“And, [moreover], this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This has He instructed you that you may become righteous.” (Quran 6:153)

Meaning: no —

Do not follow the paths that deviate from the way brought by the Prophet ﷺ.

Narrated by al-Nasa'i in al-Sunan al-Kubra and Ahmad in al-Musnad, with this wording, and its chain is Hasan.

Then he said: "Among the greatest blessings are the blessing of Islam, the Sunnah, and safety from misguided whims,"

because the blessings bestowed upon a servant are of two types:

one is outward blessings,

which surround the servant outwardly,

such as physical health, abundance of provision,

increase in offspring, and the like.

The other is inward blessings, which the servant enjoys inwardly,

such as Islam and the Sunnah.

and following [the Sunnah], remembering Allah ﷻ, and so on.

Inward blessings are greater than outward blessings.

Inward blessings are greater than outward blessings because they are exclusive to the people of Islam.

Because they are exclusive to the people of Islam. Indeed, outward blessings...

may be granted, out of divine wisdom, to the people of disbelief.

For outward blessings may be granted, out of divine wisdom, to the people of disbelief,

so they enjoy physical health, abundance of provision, and a large number of offspring.

As for inward blessings, they are blessings exclusive to the people of faith.

As for inward blessings, they are blessings exclusive to the people of faith.

Among those blessings is the blessing of Allah ﷻ in granting the servant success

in adhering to Islam, the Sunnah, and safety from whims.

For whoever is guided to that, his inner self is encompassed by a great and grand blessing:

namely, that the servant's heart does not direct any worship except to Allah ﷻ alone,

and that he does not follow anyone among creation except the Prophet ﷺ.

Furthermore, his heart is safe from the desires that sweep him away,

inclining him sometimes to the right and at other times to the left.

This is a great blessing that the servant should appreciate when it reaches him,

in that Allah ﷻ has blessed him with this great blessing,

by making him a Hanif Muslim,

and that he has not followed anyone of creation except the Messenger Allah sent to us

and commanded us to follow, namely Muhammad ﷺ.

Then, He perfected this following for him by freeing his soul from desires,

so that he finds no conflict in himself due to a desire that seeks

to deviate from anything that the Prophet ﷺ brought.

Then the author mentioned the saying of Mujahid al-Makki,

who is Ibn Jabr, the companion of Ibn Abbas (RA),

in what was narrated by al-Darimi, that he said:

"I do not know which of the two blessings upon me is greater: that He guided me to Islam,

or that He spared me from these desires."

Meaning that Allah ﷻ has favored him with two great blessings:

one of which is the blessing of Islam, as He guided him to it and adorned him with it,

and the other is the blessing of being spared from desires, as He emptied his heart of any desire

that would make him deviate from anything that the Prophet ﷺ brought of Islam.

The difference between the two blessings is that the blessing of Islam

is a matter of adornment,

and that the blessing of being spared from desires is a matter of cleansing,

and that the blessing of being spared from desires is a matter of cleansing.

So if the servant is adorned with guidance to Islam,

and his heart is cleared of whims, and emptied of them,

the complete blessing from Allah ﷻ is perfected upon him. Yes.