The document provides an explanation of the three fundamental principles of Islam according to the Islamic College of Canberra. It discusses that the Lord alone deserves to be worshipped as He is the creator of all things. It provides evidence from the Quran to support this, including a verse from Surat Al-Baqarah that commands people to worship Allah alone. The document also defines and discusses the concept of taqwa (piety, fear of Allah), stating that taqwa is the objective and fruit of worshipping the Lord alone.

1. Musallah at-Taqwa
Islamic College of Canberra
Saturday
September 5,
2009
‫ﺑﺴﻢ ﺍﷲ ﺍﻟﺮﲪﻦ ﺍﻟﺮﺣﻴﻢ‬
Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles
Class Notes – Term 3, Week 4
‫ﻭﺍﻟ ﱠ ﱡ ﻫﻮ ﺍﹾﻟﻤﻌﺒﻮﺩ ، ﻭﺍﻟ ﱠِﻟﻴﻞ ﻗﻮﹸﻟﻪ َﺗﻌﺎﹶﻟﻰ : ﴿ َﻳﺎ ﹶﺃﱡﻬﺎ ﺍﻟﱠﺎﺱ ﺍﻋﺒﺪﻭﺍ ﺭﱠﻜﻢ ﺍﱠﺬﻱ ﺧﻠﻘﻜﻢ ﻭﺍﱠﺬﻳﻦ ﻣﻦ‬
ْ ِ َ ِ ‫ﻳ َ ﻨ ُ ْ ُ ُ َﺑ ﹸ ُ ﻟ ِ َ ﹶ ﹶ ﹸ ْ َ ﻟ‬
َ ُ ْ ‫َ ﺮﺏ ُ َ َ ْ ُ ُ َ ﺪ ﹸ ﹶ‬
‫ﻗﺒﻠﻜﻢ ﹶﻟﻌ ﱠﻜﻢ َﺗﱠﻘﻮﻥ ، ﺍﱠﺬﻱ ﺟﻌﻞ ﹶﻟﻜﻢ ﺍﻷﺭﺽ ﻓﺮﺍﺷﺎ ﻭﺍﻟ ﱠﻤﺎﺀ ﹺﺑﻨﺎﺀ ﻭﹶﺃْﻧﺰﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟ ﱠﻤﺎﺀ ﻣﺎﺀ ﻓﺄﺧﺮﺝ‬
َ َ ْ ‫ﹶ ْ ِ ﹸ ْ َﻠ ﹸ ْ ﺘ ﹸ ﹶ ﻟ ِ َ َ ﹶ ﹸ ُ َ ْ َ ِ َ ً َ ﺴ َ َ َ ً َ َ ﹶ ِ َ ﺴ َ ِ َ ً ﹶﹶ‬
: ‫ﹺﺑﻪ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﱠﻤﺮﺍﺕ ﺭﺯﻗﺎ ﹶﻟﻜﻢ ﻓﻼ َﺗﺠﻌﻠﻮﺍ ﷲ ﹶﺃْﻧﺪﺍﺩﺍ ﻭﹶﺃْﻧﺘﻢ َﺗﻌﻠﻤﻮﻥ ﴾. ﻗﺎﻝ ﺍْﺑﻦ ﻛﺜﲑ ﺭﺣﻤﻪ ﺍﷲ َﺗﻌﺎﹶﻟﻰ‬
َ ُ َ ِ َ ‫ِ ِ َ ﺜ َ َ ٍ ﹺ ْ ﹰ ﹸ ْ ﹶ ْ َ ﹸ ِ َ ً َ ُ ْ ْ ﹶ ُ ﹶ ﹶ ﹶ ُ ﹶِ ﹴ‬
. ‫ﺍﹾﻟﺨﺎِﻟﻖ ِﻟﻬﺬﻩ ﺍﻷﺷﻴﺎﺀ ﻫﻮ ﺍﹾﻟﻤﺴﺘﺤ ﱡ ِﻟﻠﻌﺒﺎﺩﺓ‬
ِ َ َ ِ ‫َ ُ َ ِ ِ َ ْ َ ُ َ ُ ْ َ ِﻖ ﹾ‬
The Lord is the one who is worshipped, and the proof is the Saying of Allah, the Most High: ‘O
mankind! Worship Your Lord (Allah), who created you and those who were before you so that you
may become Al‐Muttaqoon. He who has made the earth a resting place for you, and the sky as a
canopy, and sent down water (rain) from the sky and brought forth therewith fruits as a provision for
you. Then do not set up rivals with Allah (in worship) while you know (that He alone has the Right to
be worshipped) [Al‐Baqarah; 2:21‐22]. Ibn Kathir (ra) said: “The creator of these things is the one who
deserves to be worshipped”.
I worship my Lord
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In our previous lessons we touched upon the point that my Lord who nurtures me is most
deserving of my worship. In that lesson (T3, L2) we illustrated the great difference between the
muwahhid and the mushrik. This lesson we will inshallah go over it in more detail.
When the Sheikh (ra) says: ‘And the Lord is the one who is worshipped’, he is referencing the
term ‘Lord’ from the verse in Surat Al‐A’raaf which we gave a brief tafseer of last lesson.
The meaning of this statement made by the Sheikh (ra), is that Allah (swt) alone has the right to
be worshipped because He (swt) is the one true Lord. The statement does not mean that
everything which is worshipped is a Lord, because as we now know, those who are worshipped
besides Allah (swt) are not Lords and are not deserving of worship.
Rather, the Lord (ar‐Rabb) is the creator, the sovereign and the One in control and command of
all the affairs, i.e. Allah (swt).
This is the objective of thinking, contemplating and pondering over Allah’s (swt) signs, both in the
creation and the sharee’ah. The objective of all this is simply to single out Allah (swt) in all
worship.
The One who created all these creations and signs with magnificence and beauty, who controls all
their affairs, is alone deserving of worship.

2. Evidence from Surat Al‐Baqarah
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The Sheikh (ra) uses evidence from Surat Al‐Baqarah to justify his statement ‘The Lord is the one
who is worshipped’.
You will find verses in the Quran where Allah (swt) addresses specific types of people (e.g.
believers, disbelievers, the Prophet (saw) etc.), however this verse addresses mankind in its
entirety due to the universality of the message, i.e. what Allah (swt) is ordering in this verse is
incumbent upon all of mankind.
The command which Allah (swt) gives to all mankind in this verse is to worship Him alone, having
no partners, so they are not to attribute rivals in their worship with Allah (swt).
Allah (swt) makes it absolutely clear that He alone deserves to be worshipped, because He is the
creator having no partner.
The great scholar Ibn Abbas (rah) said: ‘Whatever is mentioned in the Quran relating to worship
(i.e. al‐ibaadah) then its meaning falls under tawheed. We went over this previously when we
discussed the verse relating to the purpose of creation.
It is unavoidably binding (i.e. you can’t have one without the other) upon you that if you affirm
the Lordship of Allah (swt), then you should worship Him alone, otherwise you would simply be
contradicting yourself.
A beautiful point of benefit that can be derived from this verse is that the objective of worship is
outlined by Allah (swt).
As we mentioned previously the objective of creation is to worship Allah (swt):
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I have only created Jinns and men, that they may worship Me (alone). [Al‐Dhariyaat; 51:56]
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If the objective of creation is to worship Allah (swt), then this verse in Surat Al‐Baqarah outlines
the objective of worshipping Allah (swt), and it is so we can obtain and achieve at‐taqwa in Allah
(swt).
As we mentioned previously, Allah (swt) does not order us to worship Him because He is in need
of our obedience. Allah (swt) is independent of the Alameen; their obedience to Him does not
benefit Him in any way and their disobedience to Him does not harm him in any way. Thus
achieving taqwa is purely for our own benefit, nothing else.
What is taqwa?
At‐Taqwa
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Linguistically, ‘at‐taqwa’ is a noun derived from the word ‫( ﻭ ﹶﻰ‬waqaa) which is a verb. Al‐
‫َﻗ‬
Wiqayah (noun) means to protect and guard something from that which will harm it.
Taking from this meaning, the essence of at‐taqwa is that the slave places between himself and
the anger of Allah (swt) a protection which will prevent him from falling into it.
This protection is simply acting upon the orders of Allah (swt) and abstaining from His
prohibitions, i.e. it is worshipping Allah (swt).
Taqwa is a high state of heart, which keeps one conscious of Allah’s presence and His knowledge,
and it motivates him to perform righteous deeds and avoid those which are forbidden. Allah (swt)
says:

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O ye who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die not except in a state of Islam.
[Aal‐Imran; 3:102]
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Allah (swt) has erased all distinctions of racism, cast and colour and made all human beings equal
based on the unique criteria of taqwa.
Based on the verse in Surat Al‐Baqarah, taqwa is the fruit of ibaadah (worship). It is common in
the Quran to find Allah (swt) mentioning tawqa alongside ibaadah. For example in regards to
fasting in Ramadan Allah (swt) says:
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O you who believe! Observing As‐Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those
before you, that you may become Al‐Muttaqûn. [Al‐Baqarah; 2:183]
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Taqwa lives in the heart and it is only within the ability of Allah (swt) to know what the hearts
conceal. Therefore judging peoples righteousness and spirituality is beyond the ability of the
slave.
Evidence from Surat Al‐Baqarah ‐ continued
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The second verse in Surat Al‐Baqarah continues by mentioning further blessings and favours of
Allah (swt).
From these signs is the flatness of the earth, which Allah (swt) describes as a ‘firaash’ or a resting
place, which is spread out for us to use without any difficulty or hardship, i.e. Allah (swt) gave us
the ability to establish ourselves upon it for habitation and agriculture.
Allah (swt) has also made the sky as a canopy for the people of the earth and it is a safe and
protected ceiling.
Allah (swt) also sends down from the clouds pure water for drinking and for the growing of
vegetation which cattle can graze on.
All of these are blessings from Allah (swt) which is why Allah (swt) follows this up with the
prohibition of setting rivals with Him in worship.
Do not set up these rivals which you worship just as you would worship Allah (swt), or which you
love as you should love Allah (swt).
Do not set up these rivals knowingly, i.e. you know that He has no rival in His creation, provision
and control of all affairs.
The statement of Ibn Katheer
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He is Imadudeen Abul‐Fidaa Ismail Ibn Umar Ibn Katheer al‐Qurashee. He was born in 701 H. His
father died when he was young and he was raised by his brother Sheikh Abdul Wahhab. You can
read more on his biography in Volume 1 of his tafseer of the Holy Quran.
Famous books by Ibn Katheer include (but not limited to):
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Tafseer Ibn Katheer: Tafseer of the Noble Quran, which is one of the best tafseer’s which
rely on narrations (hadiths and tafseer of sahabah). It has been abridged by several
scholars.

4. Al‐Bidayah Wan‐Nihaya: This is a history collection of 14 volumes. It contains stories of
the prophets, previous nations and the Prophet’s (saw) seera (life story) and Islamic
history until his time. He also added a book called Al‐Fitan, which is about the signs of the
last hour.
The statement of Ibn Katheer used by the Sheikh (ra) in his text is contained in his tafseer. We
have gone over its meaning previously, and the Sheikh (ra) mentions it to reiterate Allah’s
Oneness in worship.
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Review questions
1. What is the correct meaning of the Sheikh’s (ra) statement ‘The Lord is the one who is
worshipped’? What is the incorrect meaning?
2. Who is Allah (swt) addressing in the verses of Surat Al‐Baqarah used as evidence and what is
He (swt) telling them?
3. What point of benefit can be derived from the first verse of Surat‐Al‐Baqarah used as
evidence?
4. What is the meaning of taqwa? Give an example of how taqwa can be achieved.
5. What are the signs listed in the second verse of Surat Al‐Baqarah used as evidence? Why do
you think they are mentioned in the context of this verse?