The Importance of Aqidah

Jundub Ibn Abdullaah al-Bajaly said, "We learned eemaan (faith) and then we learned the Qur'aan and it increased our eemaan."

Abdullaah ibn Umar said, "We lived during an instant of time in which one of us would receive faith first before receiving the Qur'aan and when the surahs were revealed we would learn what they permitted and what they prohibited and what they forbade and what they ordered and what should be the stance towards them. But I have seen many men from whom one is given the Qur'aan before eemaan and he reads it from the opening of the Book to its closing and he does not know what it orders and what it forbids and what should be his stance towards it. He is like someone who is just throwing out dates [i.e., he does not get any benefit from his recital]."

That is the manner in which the Prophet brought up his companions: Eemaan first and then the Qur'aan. This is similar to what Imaam Abu Hanifa pointed out: Understanding in the religion first (i.e. tawheed) and then understanding in the science (i.e. the sharee'ah).

The beliefs must be corrected first, then follows all of the other aspects of the religion.

And Imaam ash-Shafi'ee said, "That a servant meets allaah with every sin except Shirk is better say than meeting Him upon any of the innovated beliefs."