When the son of Adam dies and he is placed in the grave, the two angels Munkar and Nakeer come to him and asks him about what he used to believe in this world. Their three questions, which are known as “the three questions of the grave” are :
- Who is your Lord?
- What is your Religion?
- Who is your Prophet?
As such, it is obligatory that every Muslim man and woman have a firm, if not basic understanding of these three questions as the foundation of his/her aqeedah.
- The First is Knowledge of Allah :
It is obligatory upon every Muslim, male or female, to know their Lord by His Essence, His Names and Attributes, His Actions and that,
“There is nothing like unto Him. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
[Surah Ash-Shooraa 42:11]The servant must know that Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is his Creator (khaaliq), Sustainer (raaziq) and the controller of his affair. Rather, He controls the entire universe.He is deserving of that, because He is to be worshiped alone without any associate. And every act of worship that is directed to other than Him is a nullified act of worship.And the servant must believe that He has Beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes which have come in the Book of Allaah and in the Sunnah of His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم.Indeed, Allaah سبحانه و تعالى commanded us to take a means of approach (waseelah) in our supplication and submissiveness towards Him, so He said,“And Allaah has Beautiful Names, so supplicate to him by them. And leave alone those who deviate with respect to His Names. They will be recompensed for what they used to do.”[Surah Al-A’raaf 7:180]What every Muslim must know and believe about Allah سبحانه و تعالى forms the basis of Tawheed.
- The Second is Knowledge of the Religion of Islam with It’s Evidences :
This is a wide topic, because the Religion of Islaam comprises within it all obligations, whether related to statements, actions, outward or inward.It comprises everything that Allaah ordained for the world of mankind and the world of Jinn from the duties and obligations and prohibitions and other than that from the Shari’ah. Due to this, Allaah said concerning His Right,“Verily, the Religion with Allaah is Islaam.” [Soorah Aali-’Imraan 3:19]This does not mean that the average Muslim must have in-depth knowledge of the various Shari’ah and Fiqh rulings. No, what is meant here is that the average Muslim must have knowledge about the basic matters of Islam as it relates to him.He must know what is Tawheed and its categories. He must know what Islam means and its pillars. He must know what is Eeman and its pillars. And he must know the evidences for them. He must know the conditions and nullifiers for the various acts of worship such as prayer, fasting etc… and how to perform them correctly.Allaah سبحانه و تعالى has informed that whomever wishes to worship Allaah with a Religion other than the Religion of Islaam, then his worship is false and his statement is rejected. So Allaah said,“And whomsoever seeks other than Islaam as a Religion, then it will never be accepted from him. And in the Hereafter he will be from amongst the losers.”[Soorah Aalí- ’Imraan 3:85]Therefore, the Muslim must know his religion. It is not sufficient to be a Muslim in just name only.
- The Third is Knowledge of the Prophet :
From the obligations from which no one is excused from being ignorant of is knowledge of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and knowledge of what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came with.It is not sufficient for the Muslim, male or female, that everyone from amongst them says, ‘I know about the Messenger of Allaah, and he is Muhammad Ibn ’Abdullaah.’ This is not sufficient. Rather, one must know that he was sent by Allaah.Allaah revealed a Book to him and commanded him to explain it and he commanded him to call upon the Ummah to hold firmly to this Book and to what he صلى الله عليه وسلم came with from his noble Sunnah. So due to this, knowledge of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم can be enumerated within the following affairs:[1]: Knowing him as a person. The Muslim must know who he was, where he came from and how he lived his life.[2]: Loving him more than one loves himself, his wealth, his father and his son.[3]: Loving what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came with, generally and specifically.[4]: Acting upon that in hopes of the mercy of Allaah and in fear of His punishment.Therefore, knowledge of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم means that the Muslim must have a basic understanding of his Seerah, the Book that he came with and the Sunnah that he taught.All Praise and Thanks is due to Allah Alone, the Lord of the Worlds and may He forgive us our sins and make us among His sincere believers.May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and his Companions.Ameen.Reference :– The Three Fundamental Principles (Usool ath-Thalaathah) – by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him)– Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles (Sharh Usool ath-Thalaathah) by Shaykh Zayd ibn Haadee al-Madhkhali (may Allah preserve him)
