The Importance of the Three Fundamental Principles

“Before us is the treatise 'Three Fundamental Principles' which is an important text for every Muslim.

Our scholars would focus on it when explaining the earliest books of knowledge, for two reasons:





The first reason is that it is one of the summarized texts.

Knowledge cannot be attained all at once, rather it is attained gradually over days and nights as Ibn Shihab Az-Zuhri رحمه الله said:

“Whoever seeks knowledge all at once, it will slip away from him all at once.

Upon You Is Gatherings of Remembrance

Ibrahim ibn Adham رحمه الله said:

“Whoever wants to repent should refrain from injustices and stop accompanying those he used to accompany, otherwise he will not attain what he wants (repentance).”

Beware of sins, for they are ominous. Their consequences are despicable, their punishments are painful, hearts that love them are diseased, and souls that incline towards them are crooked.

𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀, 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه said:

I and a man entered upon ‘Aishah رضي الله عنها.

Then the man said: “O Mother of the believers, narrate a hadith to us about the zalzalah (earthquake).”

Then she turned her face away from the man.

So I said to her: “Narrate to us, O Mother of the believers, about the earthquake.”

So she said: “O Anas, if I narrate it to you, then you will live in sorrow, and you will be resurrected, when we will be resurrected,

𝗔𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲, 𝗢 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗯

Habib bin Muhammad al-Farsi's wife would rouse him at night, saying:

“Arise, O Habib, for the road is long and our provisions few; the caravans of the righteous have marched ahead while we remain behind.


يا نائما بالليل كم ترقد ... قم يا حبيبي قد دنا الموعد
O you who sleep through the night, how long will you slumber? Arise, my beloved, for the appointed time draws near;

𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗮’

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:

“Al-Wara’ (piety) purifies the heart of its impurities, just as water cleanses a garment of impurities.

There is an apparent and hidden connection between clothes and hearts,

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so a person's garments in dreams symbolize the state of their heart.

Each of them affects the other, and for this reason, there is a prohibition against wearing silk, gold, and the hides of wild animals due to their influence on the heart which opposes humility and servitude.

𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗮𝗾𝘄𝗮

My brother, you with piety are like a man aboard a ship battered by waves!

Its only salvation lies in its captain.

If he is skilled in steering it, it will be saved, otherwise it will sink.

Many have misunderstood the reality of Taqwa.

So grasp its essence through these concise yet profound words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله:

“Complete piety is to know the better of two goods and the lesser of two evils.

𝗗𝗼 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝘀

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:

“Your rebuke of your brother for his sin is a greater evil than his sin, and more severe than his disobedience.

For it contains arrogance in obedience, self-praise and gratitude, and proclaiming innocence from the sin.

Your brother is the one affected by it, and you may have caused his brokenness due to the fault, and the humiliation, submission, disgrace upon himself,

𝗗𝗼 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗕𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱

Hatem al-Asam رحمه الله said:

“Do not be deceived by a righteous environment, for there is no place more righteous than Paradise, yet Adam [عليه السلام] suffered there what he suffered.

Do not be deceived by much worship, for Iblis suffered what he suffered after long worship.

Do not be deceived by much knowledge, for Balaam bin Ba'ura suffered what he suffered despite knowing the Greatest Name. ¹

𝗥𝗮𝘇𝗶 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘆𝗮𝗵

Ibn Kathir said:

“In this year [595 ه‍ـ] a great turmoil occurred in the lands of Khurasan.

Its cause was that Fakhr al-Din Muhammad ibn Umar al-Razi, the foremost 𝘔𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘮 of his time, visited King Ghiyath al-Din Ghuri,

the ruler of Ghazna, who honored him and built a school for him in Herat.

Most of the Ghurids were Karramiyya; they hated al-Razi and wanted him estranged from the king.

So they gathered a group of Hanafi and Karrami jurists against him, as well some Shafi'is,

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗲

Ibn Kathir says:

In it [543 هـ], the Franks who numbered seventy thousand fighters along with the King of Germany with an army beyond count besieged Damascus, whose ruler was Mujir al-Din Abaq

and his deputy Mu'in al-Din, who administered the kingdom.

This was on Saturday the sixth of Rabi al-Awwal.

Its people came out against them, one hundred thirty thousand in number, and they engaged in a tremendous battle.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗹-𝗡𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗶

Ibn Kathir رحمه الله said:

“In this year [303 هـ] Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb al-Nasai, the author of «Sunan al-Nasai», passed away.

[...]

It is said that he would fast one day and break his fast the next.

He had four wives and two concubines.

He used to intercourse frequently, was handsome, and was brightly colored.

[...]

He was appointed as the ruler of Homs.

I heard from our shaykh, the 𝘔𝘶𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘩 Abu al-Hajjaj al-Mizzi رحمه الله quoting al-Tabarani's narration in his

𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗯𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗱𝗶'𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻'𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿

Ahmed bin Mahdi:

The '𝘈𝘣𝘪𝘥 [pious worshipper], the 𝘡𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘥 [ascetic].

He had spent 300,000 dirhams in pursuit of knowledge and went 40 years without sleeping in a bed.

Al-Hafidh Abu Nu'aym narrated with his chain that one night a woman came to Ahmed and said:

“I am in distress, having been forced to commit adultery and am now pregnant from it.

I have taken shelter in you and claimed that you are my husband and that this pregnancy is from you.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮'𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝗯𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝗯𝗮𝘆𝗿 رحمه الله 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗹-𝗛𝗮𝗷𝗷𝗮𝗷

Abu Nu'aym mentioned in his book Al-Hilyah that:

When Sa'id ibn Jubayr was brought to al-Hajjaj, he said to him:

“Are you the wretched son of Kusayr?”

He replied: “No! I am Sa'id ibn Jubayr.”

Al-Hajjaj said: “I will surely kill you.”

Sa'id said: “Then I am as my mother named me, Sa'id (happy) [For martyrdom]!”

Al-Hajjaj said: “Wretched you and wretched your mother!”

𝗕𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗱𝗮𝗱 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀

Ibn Kathir رحمه الله said:

“And likewise from after him until our time, especially during the days of Hulagu, son of Tolui, son of Genghis Khan the Turk, who destroyed its [Baghdads] landmarks,

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killed its caliph and scholars, demolished its houses, razed its palaces, and exterminated the elite and the commoners of its inhabitants in that year [656هـ].

He seized the wealth and possessions, looted the children and women, and caused grievous sorrow recited at daybreak,

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗢𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗱𝗮𝗱

Ibn Kathir رحمه الله said:

Hafidh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said:

“Baghdad had no equal in the world in terms of the grandeur of its status, the magnificence of its affairs, the multitude of its scholars and famous personalities,



the distinction of its elite and commoners, the vastness of its regions, the extent of its outskirts, the large number of its houses, roads, dwellings, streets, its mosques, public baths, caravanserais, the pleasantness of its air, the sweetness of its water,

The final moments of the Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Abu Zur'ah Ar-Razi

Abu Abdillah Muhammad Ibn Muslim Al-Badi said:

“I was alongside Abu Hatim Muhammad Ibn Idris, and we were with Abu Zur’ah ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Abdil-Karim Ar-Razi while he was at the point of death.

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So I said to Abu Hatm:

“Come, let us encourage him with the shahadah.”

Abu Hatim said:

“I am too shy in front of Abu Zur’ah that I should prompt him with the shahadah, but let us revise some hadith with him.

Perhaps if he hears it, he will say it.”