The Three Fundamental Principles Explained by Shaykh Salih al Fawzan

Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān explains in Sharḥ al-Uṣūl ath-Thalāthah that the three fundamental principles every Muslim must know are: knowing Allah, knowing Islam, and knowing the Prophet ﷺ. Knowing Allah means affirming His lordship, worshipping Him alone without shirk, and recognizing Him through His names, attributes, and signs. Knowing Islam is to submit to Allah with tawḥīd, obey Him, and disavow shirk and its people, while understanding the levels of the religion: Islam, īmān, and iḥsān, all proven by the Qurʾān and Sunnah. Knowing the Prophet ﷺ is to know his lineage, message, and mission, to believe in what he informed, obey his commands, avoid what he forbade, and worship Allah only according to the Sunnah he brought, since guidance is not attained except through following him.