Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Servant of Allah, His Messenger, the best of His Creatures, and His Trustee over His revelation, our Prophet, Imam, Muhammad ibn `Abdullah. May Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon his family, Companions, and those who adopt his way and follow his guidance until the Day of Resurrection!
Dear honorable brothers, my address to you will be on the fundamentals of Iman. This topic was chosen by the university and I agreed to deliver this speech because it is an exceptionally important matter. It is acknowledged that our Deen (Islam) is established upon these tenets, as our Ummah (nation) cannot succeed, live in a state of happiness, security, and glory above other nations except through holding fast to these tenets and acting accordingly in terms of its statements, actions, general conduct, Jihad, and all its affairs.
The Qur'an makes these fundamentals clear in many Ayahs (Qur'anic verses) and are also explained in the Prophet's Hadiths (peace be upon him). The six fundamentals of Iman are themselves the tenets of the Islamic faith, for preaching Iman in Allah is the foremost objective of this Deen which awakens people's inclination towards piety, guidance, and Taqwa (fearing Allah as He should be feared). It is the essence of the Message of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who propagated beneficial knowledge and practicing good deeds. All this falls under the realm of Iman. These six fundamentals have been explained in the Noble Book in different Ayahs, and highlighted in the Prophet's Hadiths. Allah (may He be Praised) states in His Book:
It is not AlBirr (piety, righteousness, and each and every act of obedience to Allâh, etc.) that you turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in prayers); but AlBirr is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allâh, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets
Allah (may He be Praised and Exalted) mentions in this Ayah five
fundamentals of Iman: To believe In Allah, the Last Day, His angels, Books, and Messengers. These are five matters upon which Islam is based in all its aspects. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) also states:
The Messenger (Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ) believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allâh, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say), "We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers"
In this Ayah, Allah mentions four matters in His statement: Each one believes in Allâh, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. Allah makes no mention of the Last Day although He mentioned it in the previous Ayah and others. This is Allah's Law in His Book, as He variegates the discourse about His omnipotence (Glorified and Exalted be He), His Names, and Attributes, the tenets of this Deen, the events of the Day of Resurrection, about Jannah (Paradise) and Hellfire, His messengers and their nations, for the purpose of increasing the Iman and knowledge of those who ponder over the Ayahs of His Book and seek more knowledge with every Surah, even every Ayah of this Glorious Book or every Hadith narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). However, Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) mentions the Last Day at the end of the Ayah, as He states:
(We seek) Your Forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all).
He (Glorified and Exalted be He) also states:
O you who believe! Believe in Allâh, and His Messenger (Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ), and the Book (the Qur'ân) which He has sent down to His Messenger, and the Scripture which He sent down to those before (him); and whosoever disbelieves in Allâh, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, then indeed he has strayed far away.
Allah explains in this Ayah so that whoever disbelieves in these fundamental articles of Iman has strayed far from the Straight Path. There are many Ayahs to the same effect. At some places of the Qur'an, Allah mentions independently believing in Him alone, because all the articles of faith are part and parcel of having Iman in Allah, while in others He mentions belief in Him and His Messenger, or in Him and the Last Day.
This is because believing in Allah naturally includes other matters of Iman mentioned in the other Ayahs, such as believing in angels, Books, messengers, and the Last Day. In this regard, Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) states:
Believe in Allâh, and His Messenger (Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ), and the Book (the Qur'ân) which He has sent down to His Messenger, and the Scripture which He sent down to those before (him)
Allah confined this Ayah to having Iman in Allah, His Messenger, the Book sent down upon Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the Book revealed before. He did not mention the other articles of Iman because they are included in the belief in Allah. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) further states:
Therefore, believe in Allâh and His Messenger (Muhammad ﺻـﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴـﻪ ﻭﺳـﻠﻢ) and in the Light (this Qur'ân) which We have sent down.
He mentioned believing in Allah, His Messenger, and the light revealed to Muhammad, namely the Qur'an and the Sunnah, because the other matters are contained in that light, and so are all that Allah and His Messenger informed about regarding what was and will be. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) also states:
Believe in Allâh and His Messenger (Muhammad ﺻـﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴـﻪ ﻭﺳـﻠﻢ), and spend of that whereof He has made you trustees. And such of you as believe and spend (in Allâh's Way), theirs will be a great reward.
Here, Allah only mentions Iman in Allah and His Messenger because other essential requirements of Iman are basically included in believing in Allah and His Messenger.