When Allâhu ta’âlâ created man, He granted him aql (intellect) and the power of mind and thought. Islamic scholars (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) called man “Haywân-i nât›q” and the expression in Cartesian philosophy, “I think, therefore I am,” clearly expresses this fact.
The major factors distinguishing man from other creatures are: He has a soul besides his body; he can think, assess all events with his mind; he can decide by using his mind and carry out his decisions; he can distinguish good from evil; and he can realize his errors and repent for them, and so forth. But the question is: Can man use this most powerful weapon given to him without a guide, or can he find the right path and understand Allâhu ta’âlâ by himself?
Allâhu ta’âlâ sent Prophets (’alaihimu’s-salâm) to teach His human slaves how to use the powers of mind and thought, to teach them about His Oneness, and to distinguish good from evil. Prophets (’alaihimu’s-salâm) were human beings like us. They ate, drank, slept and felt tired, too. What distinguished them from us was that their intellectual and assessment abilities were much greater than ours. Moreover, they had pure moral qualities and, hence, the ability to communicate Allâhu ta’âlâ’s commandments to us. Prophets (’alaihi mu’s-salâm) were the greatest guides. The final and highest Prophet (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), who communicated the Islamic religion, is Hadrat Muhammad and his holy book is the Qur’ân al-kerîm.
The guiding utterances of Hadrat Muhammad (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallâm) are called al-Hadîth ash-sherîf. They have been collected in many valuable books. Besides the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Hadîth ash-sherîfs, there are great religious scholars who also provided us with guidance. But there are people who slight and disregard these religious scholars, saying, “Why should such scholars be necessary? Cannot one find the right way and become a good Muslim by reading Islam’s book, the Qur’ân al-kerîm, and by studying the Hadîth as-sherîf?” This presumption is false. A person who has no knowledge about the fundamentals of the religion cannot properly comprehend the deep meanings in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. Even the most perfect athlete will look for a trainer when he prepares to climb a high mountain. A big factory employs master workmen and foremen, as well as engineers. A worker who begins to work in such a factory learns the basic aspects of his job first from this master workman and then from his foreman. If he tries to see the chief engineer before learning them, he will not understand anything from the engineer’s words and calculations. Even the best gun expert cannot correctly use a new gun given to him unless he is first taught how to use it. It is for this reason that in matters pertaining to religion and belief, besides the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Hadîth ash-sherîfs, we should utilize the works of those great religious scholars whom we call “Murshid-i kâmil” (perfect guide). The highest ones of the murshid-i kâmils in Islam are the imâms (leaders) of the four madhhabs. They are al Imâm al-a’zam Abû Hanîfa, al-Imâm ash-Shafi’î, Imâm Mâlik and Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal (rahmatullâhi ’alaihim ajma’în)
These four imâms are Islam’s four pillars. We have to read the books of one of them to learn the correct meanings of the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Hadîth as-sherîf. Thousands of scholars have explained the books of each of them. He who reads these explanations will understand the Islamic religion correctly and well. The beliefs revealed in all these books are the same. This correct belief is called “the belief of the Ahl-as-sunna.”
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Islam and Christianity
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