Aqidah: The Six Articles and Sunni Tawhid
The Aqidah section tests the six articles of faith and the Sunni formulation of tawhid, without turning creed into a slogan. You need to define terms, distinguish categories, and show how a belief affects worship and conduct.
The six articles
- Belief in Allah, His angels, His revealed books, His messengers, the Last Day, and qada’ wa qadar.
- Tawhid is analysed as rububiyyah (Allah as Creator and Sustainer), uluhiyyah (worship directed to Him alone), and asma’ wa sifat (His names and attributes as revealed, without likening Him to creation).
- Iman in the Sunni formulation is tasdiq bi’l-qalb, iqrar bi’l-lisan, and ‘amal bi’l-arkan; it increases and decreases.
- Qada’ is Allah’s decree; qadar is His measuring and allotment. Do not use them interchangeably in an answer.
Worked example
A candidate is asked: “A man says he believes in Allah and the Messenger but rejects the existence of angels. Assess.” Reasoning: angels are a separate article of faith, mentioned alongside belief in Allah in Quran 2:285. Denial is not a minor sin; it nullifies iman by ijma’. The answer should state the ruling, cite the article, and avoid declaring the individual’s eternal fate, which belongs to Allah.
Traps
- Reducing tawhid to “Allah is One” and omitting uluhiyyah.
- Explaining Allah’s attributes by human analogy (tashbih) or by denying them (ta‘til).
- Confusing qada’ and qadar, or saying qadar excuses sin.
- Issuing takfir against a named person instead of explaining the ruling on the belief.