About

Orthodox Islam

There is only one true god, Allah, and He is the creator of all things. Allah Most High has sent Messengers to mankind in order that they be guided. His final messenger is our master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It is to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that Allah Most High revealed the final revelation, the Holy Quran.

The religion of Islam consists of three dimensions:

  1. Islam (submission)
  2. Iman (faith)
  3. Ihsan (spiritual excellence)

Islam has five pillars:

  1. The two testimonies of faith (shahadatain)
  2. The five daily prayers
  3. Paying the alms (Zakat)
  4. Fasting in Ramadan
  5. Performing the pilgrimage (Hajj)

Iman consists of six main points. They are to believe in:

  1. Allah Most High
  2. His angels
  3. His books
  4. His messengers
  5. The last day
  6. Destiny (it’s good and it’s evil)

Ihsan is to ‘worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, to know He surely sees you.’

The beliefs (Aqida) of Orthodox (Sunni) Muslims have been codified in three schools:

  1. The Ashari school (named after Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari)
  2. The Maturidi school (named after Abu Mansur al-Maturidi)
  3. The Athari/Hanbali school (The school of many early scholars who did not delve deeply into certain theological issues. This school is best represented by Ahmed ibn Hanbal.)

These schools are named after their founders (i.e. the individuals who codified/organised the beliefs of Muslims) and are essentially the same, only differing in minor issues which are ultimately inconsequential. The Asharis, Maturidis and Atharis are collectively known as ‘Ahl as-Sunna wa al-jama’ah’ or ‘the people of the Prophetic way and the majority’. These three schools have preserved, defended and codified the beliefs of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions. Any group which differs with the beliefs of the Asharis, Maturidis and Atharis is considered a sect which has departed from the mainstream body of orthodox Muslims.

Islamic law has been preserved via the four Sunni schools of law (madhabs). These are:

  1. The Hanafi school (named after Imam Abu Hanifa)
  2. The Maliki school (named after Imam Malik bin Anas)
  3. The Shafi’i school (named after Imam Muhammad bin Idrees al-Shafi)
  4. The Hanbali school (named after Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal)

A madhab is not a sect but rather a school of law. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ permitted ijtihad (legal reasoning of a scholar) and differences of opinion in Islamic law are permitted. In fact, differences of opinion in Islamic law are considered a mercy (as opposed to differences in beliefs/aqida which are mostly not). In the early years of Islam there were many madhabs, since the Sahaba themselves differed in some matters regarding law. Eventually the only schools of law which remained were the four mentioned above. These schools exist till this day. Every Muslim (who is not capable of ijtihad) is required to follow qualified scholarship. Qualified scholarship only remains within the confines of the four schools; hence it is required of every Muslim to follow one of the four Sunni schools. All four of the schools are correct and any of them can be followed.

A Sunni Muslim is therefore one who agrees with the Ashari, Maturidi and Athari schools in belief and adheres to one of the four madhabs. This constitutes the majority of the Ummah over the centuries, whether scholar or lay person.

Author

My name is Bilal Ahmed Choudhry and I was born and raised in Leicester, England. I began studying Islam part time in 2012. After studying basic Islamic knowledge, I continued studying the sacred sciences at a deeper level, privately with my teachers including Maulana Hafiz Asim Awan (Birmingham) and Sheikh Dr Hafiz Ather Hussain al-Azhari (Leicester). I am currently continuing my studies whilst working full time.

This Blog

If Allah Most High wills, this blog will be used to spread the teachings of classical, orthodox Islam (a.k.a ahl as-Sunna wa al-jama’ah). Writings will focus on the beliefs and practices of Muslims and I will attempt to present these in a manner which is clear and easy to understand.

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