Allah’s Names and Attributes in the Qur’an
Shaykh  Ibn Taymiyah

Chapter One

The following is included in this idea of how Allah describes Himself in Surat al-Ikhlas, (chapter 112) which equals a third of the Qur’an11, where He says:

“Say He is Allah The One, Allah The Eternal. He never begot, nor was begotten. There is none comparable to Him.”

And He described Himself in the greatest Ayah (verse) in His Book (i.e., Ayat al-Kursi):

“Allah, there is no god save Him, The Living, The Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtake Him. Unto Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth. Who is he who intercedes with Him except by His permission? He knows that which is before them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His Knowledge except what He wills. His seat (kursi) contains the heavens and the earth, and He is never weary of preserving them. He is The Sublime, The Great.” (al-Baqarah 2/255)

Therefore, Allah protects whoever reads this Ayah at night and no devil can get close to him until morning. Allah has also said:

“Depend on The Living One, He Who will never die.” (al-Furqan 25/58).

And He, the Glorified, has said:

“He is The First (al-Awwal) and The Last (al-Akhir), The Outward (as-Zahir) and The Inward (al-Batin)12; He is The Knower of All Things.” (al-Hadid 57/3)

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Articulating the Intention
by Shaykhu-l-Islâm Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE)

Shaykh al-Islaam ibn Taymiyyah was asked:

Question 1: Concerning the one who causes confusion in the lines of prayer and those around him by articulating the intention loudly. This was objected to but it did not deter him from persisting in this. A person said to him, ‘what you are doing is not from the religion of Allaah and you are contradicting the Sunnah.’ He replied, ‘this is from the religion of Allaah which He sent His Messengers with and it is obligatory upon every Muslim to do this and similarly the Qur’aan should be recited loudly behind an imaam.’ So did the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) or any one of his Companions use to do this? Or any one of the four Imaams or any of the Muslim scholars? And if the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) and his Companions and the scholars did not do this in prayer then what is obligatory upon the one who attributes this to them and does this? Is it permissible for a Muslim to come to his aid with even one word if he does this and attributes this to the religion by saying to those who are objecting, ‘everything that he is doing in his religion is what he desires and your objection is based upon ignorance!’ So are they correct in this or not?

The Answer:

All praises and thanks are due to Allaah. Articulating the intention in a loud voice is not legislated according to the opinion of all the Muslim scholars. The Messenger of Allaah (SAW) did not do it and neither did his Khaleefs, Companions, or the Salaf of this nation and their Imaams do it. Hence whosoever claims that this is part of the Religion of Allaah and that it is obligatory then it is necessary to teach him the Sharee’ah and ask him to repent from this opinion and if he still persists in this saying then he is to be killed. Rather the intention that is obligatory for the actions of worship such as wudu, ghusl, salaah, siyaam and zakaah etc. finds its place in the heart by agreement (ittifaaq) of the Imaams of the Muslims.
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