What is Iman ? Iman (Arabic: إيمان) is an Arabic term which denotes certitude to the unseen. In Islamic theology, it refers to the inner aspect of the religion, and denotes a believer’s faith in the metaphysical realities of Islam. According to the Quran, Iman must be accompanied by evidence of righteous deeds, and the two together are necessary for entry into Paradise. Also, since Iman is a qua…lity of the heart / belief, it is impossible for anyone to judge who really is a believer. Iman is one of the three dimensions of the Islamic religion: islam, iman and ihsan. Meaning of word Iman: Word “Iman” (ايمان) is literally translated as Faith or belief, means “to know”, “to believe” and “to be convinced beyond the least shadow of doubt”. Faith, thus, is firm belief arising out of knowledge and conviction. And the man who knows and reposes unshakable belief in the unity of God, in His Attributes, in His Law and the Revealed Guidance, and in the Divine code of Reward and punishment is called Mo’min – مومن(faithful)[1]. The word Iman is based on word peace (الأمن) which means (الطمأنية) tranquility. A truthful person is satisfied (يطمئن) with his news while a liar is not. Like they say in Arabic “الصدق طمانية و الكذب ريبة”, “truth is tranquility while lie is suspicion” [2]. Hence, a Mo’min attains tranquility by believing in true faith and by putting his trust in Allah (swt). This faith (ايمان) on true deen (دين الحق) invariably leads man to be completely obedient to Allah (swt) and submit to His will. Definition The definition of Iman is that to testify all the news brought by the Messenger (pbuh) about the unseen God (Allah) and His attributes (as in الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ)[al-baqara 2:3], and complete obedience to the Shariah He (pbuh) brought. The word Iman and Islam are often interchanged. The salaf agreed that if words Islam and Iman are mentioned together, then Iman carries the meaning of internal beliefs of heart and Islam is outwardly actions. However, if they are mentioned independently, they carry meaning of both. Hence, if word Islam is mentioned independently, it carries meaning of both Islam and Iman. This is proved from vast numbers of verses of Quran and Hadith. If they (Islam and Iman) are mentioned together, as in Hadith Jibreel: In the famous Hadith Jibreel, as the Prophet (pbuh) explained: عن أبي هريرة قال كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بارزا يوما للناس فأتاه جبريل فقال ما الإيمان قال الإيمان أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه وبلقائه ورسله وتؤمن بالبعث قال ما الإسلام قال الإسلام أن تعبد الله ولا تشرك به شيئا وتقيم الصلاة وتؤدي الزكاة المفروضة وتصوم رمضان قال ما الإحسان قال أن تعبد الله كأنك تراه فإن لم تكن تراه فإنه يراك… Narrated Abu Huraira: One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people, (The angel) Gabriel came and asked, “What is faith?” Allah’s Apostle replied, ‘Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection.” Then he further asked, “What is Islam?” Allah’s Apostle replied, “To worship Allah Alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat) and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan.” Then he further asked, “What is Ihsan (perfection)?” Allah’s Apostle replied, “To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you…” (Sahih Bukhari, Book #2 Iman, Hadees # 47.) ثم قال حدثني أبي عمر بن الخطاب قال بينما نحن عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذات يوم إذ طلع علينا رجل شديد بياض الثياب شديد سواد الشعر لا يرى عليه أثر السفر ولا يعرفه منا أحد حتى جلس إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأسند ركبتيه إلى ركبتيه ووضع كفيه على فخذيه وقال يا محمد أخبرني عن الإسلام فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الإسلام أن تشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وتقيم الصلاة وتؤتي الزكاة وتصوم رمضان وتحج البيت إن استطعت إليه سبيلا قال صدقت قال فعجبنا له يسأله ويصدقه قال فأخبرني عن الإيمان قال أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الآخر وتؤمن بالقدر خيره وشره قال صدقت قال فأخبرني عن الإحسان قال أن تعبد الله كأنك تراه فإن لم تكن تراه فإنه يراك قال فأخبرني عن الساعة قال ما المسئول عنها بأعلم من السائل قال فأخبرني عن أمارتها قال أن تلد الأمة ربتها وأن ترى الحفاة العراة العالة رعاء الشاء يتطاولون في البنيان قال ثم انطلق فلبثت مليا ثم قال لي يا عمر أتدري من السائل قلت الله ورسوله أعلم قال فإنه جبريل أتاكم يعلمكم دينكم Ibn Umar said: My father, Umar ibn al-Khattab, told me: One day we were sitting in the company of Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) when there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel on him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with the Apostle (pbuh) He knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs and said: Muhammad, inform me about al-Islam. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: Al-Islam implies that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and you establish prayer, pay Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the (House) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of) the journey. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: It amazed us that he would put the question and then he would himself verify the truth. He (the inquirer) said: Inform me about Iman (faith). He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (the inquirer) again said: Inform me about al-Ihsan (performance of good deeds). He (the Holy Prophet) said: That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you don’t see Him, He, verily, sees you. He (the enquirer) again said: Inform me about the hour (of the Doom). He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: One who is asked knows no more than the one who is inquiring (about it). He (the inquirer) said: Tell me some of its indications. He (the Holy Prophet) said: That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and master, that you will find barefooted, destitute goat-herds vying with one another in the construction of magnificent buildings. He (the narrator, Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: Then he (the inquirer) went on his way but I stayed with him (the Holy Prophet) for a long while. He then, said to me: Umar, do you know who this inquirer was? I replied: Allah and His Apostle knows best. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He was Gabriel (the angel). He came to you in order to instruct you in matters of religion. (Sahih Muslim, Book #1 Iman, Hadees #1) Iman was defined by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as: ■ That you affirm your faith in Allah, ■ in His Angels, ■ in His Books, ■ n His Apostles, ■ in the Day of Judgment, and ■ you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil. And Islam was defined as: ■ to testify (Tawheed), ■ prayers (Salat), ■ charity (Zakat), ■ to fast in Ramadan, ■ pilgrimage (Hajj) Allah (swt) explained in Quran: آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللّهِ وَمَلآئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ وَقَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ2:285 Prophet Muhammad PBUH has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination.” يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ آمِنُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِيَ أَنزَلَ مِن قَبْلُ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللّهِ وَمَلاَئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلاَلاً بَعِيدًا4:136 O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray In another place, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) defined Iman as: “Faith (الإيمان) has over seventy branches or over sixty branches, the most excellent of which is the declaration that there is no god but Allah, and the humblest of which is the, removal of what is injurious from the path: and modesty is the branch of faith”, as mentioned earlier. Here the Prophet (pbuh) expanded the definition of Iman to include all what encompasses in practical Islam. Thus, he included all the actions as part of Iman. Allah (swt) also defined complete Iman as: لَّيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَـكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَالْمَلآئِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُواْ وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاء والضَّرَّاء وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ أُولَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ “Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous”[The Holy Quran, Surah al-baqara 2:177]. These definitions are more for terminologies. Otherwise both Islam and Iman are intertwined, as practically essence of belief at heart produces an obvious outward action, i.e. if some one believes he is thirsty then he will drink water, otherwise he is not really thirsty. Bases of Iman are six: 1. Believe in Allah, Tawheed 2. Believe in His Angles 3. Believe in His Messengers 4. Believe in His Books 5. Believe in Qadar of Allah, that Allah has power over good or bad 6. Believe in Judgment Day and they are the foundations and principles with which all messengers were sent. The Iman (faith) of any person is incomplete without believing in these six, and if some denies any of these he stands outside the boundaries of faith. Iman is “saying” and “action” Iman “ايمان” is both, first “قول” – saying then “عمل” – action. ■ “قول” – Saying in the sense of believing at heart or saying it with tongue, like proclaiming “لا إله إلا الله”. ■ “التصديــق” – The Saying of heart can be understood from the verse – وَالَّذِي جَاء بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ – “And the one who has brought the truth and [they who] believed in it – those are the righteous”[39:33]. ■ Saying of tongue is testifying that “there is no god but Allah” and all that goes with it. As Allah (swt) said, وَقُلْ آمَنتُ بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِن كِتَابٍ – “I have believed in what Allah has revealed of the Quran”[42:15] ■ “عمل” – Action in the sense of both at heart and by limbs. The action of heart includes intention and piety, while the action of limbs would be helping in good cause and refraining from bad. ■ Action of heart can be defined as Taqwa تقوى (piety), ikhlas اخلاص (purity), نية (intentions), حب (love), طاعة (obedience), tawakul توكل(reliance) etc. As Prophet (pbuh) said, أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال الأعمال بالنية – “The reward of deeds depends upon the intention”[Sahih Bukhari, Book 2:51]. Or as Allah (swt) said: وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ أَندَاداً يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلّهِ – “And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah.”[al-baqara 2:165]
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 16:42:29 +0000
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