Section 1: The Meaning of 'Aqidah and Its Importance as the Foundation upon which the Religion is Established

The linguistic meaning of 'Aqidah: Its root word is al-'Aqd, which means to fasten something. When you have an 'Aqd, you have fixed it to your heart and mind. So, 'Aqidah is what a person believes. When it is said: ‘He has a good 'Aqidah, ’ this means that his belief is free of doubt. 'Aqidah is an action of the heart; it is the faith of the heart in something and its affirmation of it. The Juristic meaning of 'Aqidah: It is to have faith in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgment and faith in Pre-ordainment, be it good or evil. These are known as the Pillars of Faith. The Shari'ah consist of two categories: Belief-related matters and Action- Beliefs: These are matters which do not have association with the manners of deeds. An example is the faith in the Rububiyyah (Lordship) of Allah, the obligation of worshipping Him and faith in the remaining pillars of Faith as mentioned earlier. These Pillars are known as the Fundamentals. Actions: These are those matters associated with the manners of deeds, such as the Prayer, the Alms-Due, Fasting and all the rulings regarding deeds. They are known as Secondary because their validity or otherwise is based upon the Belief-related So, the right 'Aqidah is the basis upon which the religion is established and along with it, deeds become valid. Allah- the Most High- said: “So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as partner in the worship of his Allah- the Most High- also said: “And indeed it has been revealed to you [O Muhammad Is,), as it was to those (Allah’s Messengers ) before you: ‘If you join others in worship with Allah, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be amongst the losers. ” (Qur’an 39: 65) Allah- the Most High- also said: ““So worship Allah (Alone) by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allah’s sake only, (and not to show-off, and not to set up rival with Him in worship). Surely, the religion (i.e. the worship and obedience) is for Allah only. ” (Qur ’an 39: 2-3) These noble verses and others with similar meaning - and they are numerous - show that deeds are not accepted, except when they are devoid of Shirk (association of partners with Allah - i.e. Polytheism). This is why the Messengers (Sallawatullah wa salamuhu 'alavhim) paid great attention to reforming the 'Aqidah first and foremost. The first thing they invited their peoples to was to the worship of Allah Alone and the abstention from the worship of others beside Him, as Allah the Most High said: “And verily, We have sent amongst every Ummah ( community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): ‘Worship Allah (Alone) and avoid (or keep away from) taghut (all false deities, etc. i.e. do not worship Taghuts besides Allah). ” (Qur’an 16: 36) The first time a Messenger addresses his people, he says: “Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (God) but Him. (La ilaha illallah: none has the right to be worshipped but Allah). ” (Qur’an 7: Nuh (Noah), Hud, Salih, Shu 'ayb and all other Prophets, said this to their peoples. The Prophet remained in Makkah for thirteen years inviting people to Tawhid and the reformation of their beliefs, because it is the basis upon which the religion is established. Callers to Islam and reformers in every generation have exemplified the methodology of the Prophets and Messengers; they would commence with the invitation to Monotheism and the reformation of the 'Aqidah. It is only thereafter that they turn attention to ordering the remaining commandments of the religion.