Page 51 - The Importance of the Ahl Al-Sunnah

THE BELIEF (I`TIQAD) AND
ESSENTIALS OF THE

AHL AL-SUNNAH

No school of thought (madhhab) was needed during the Age
of Happiness and the time of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs,
because people learned the faith directly from Prophet
Muhammad (saas) and his Companions.
As heretical movements and divisions based on un-Islamic
ideas and practices (bid`ah) gradually emerged, devout schol-
ars still following the path of the Prophet (saas) and his com-
panions began to identify various measures in beliefs and
deeds. They presented people with a purified form of Islam by
distinguishing between truth and error. One outgrowth of this
effort was the Ahl al-Sunnah schools.
Several important elements separate the Ahl al-Sunnah from
heretical movements, some of which attracted gullible persons
by opposing the Ahl al-Sunnah’s criteria. Therefore, those who
follow our Prophet’s (saas) path must always be on guard
against such types of corruption. Among the first things one
needs to do is to learn about and bear in mind the essence of
the Ahl al-Sunnah’s belief (i`tiqad).

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