search

Iman

hashtag
﷽

Iman (faith), which in Arabic means belief which is committed to submission. In Islamic terminology its meaning varies according to usage and it may mean one of two things:

(1) When the word is used on its own and is not accompanied by the word Islam, it refers to the religion as a whole, as in the verses where Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

hashtag
“Allah is the Wali (Protector or Guardian) of those who believe. He brings them out from darkness into light.” 

Al-Baqarah 2:257]

hashtag
“and put your trust in Allah if you are believers indeed.” 

[Al-Ma’idah 5:23]

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

“No one will enter Paradise except the believers.” 

(Narrated by Muslim, 114)

Hence the Salaf were unanimously agreed that iman means

“affirming in the heart – which includes actions of the heart – and saying with the tongue and acting with one’s physical faculties. It increases by doing acts of obedience and decreases by committing sin.”

Hence Allah limited the word iman to those who adhere to His religion in full, inwardly and outwardly, when He said (interpretation of the meaning):

hashtag
“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Verses (this Qur’an) are recited unto them, they (i.e. the Verses) increase their Faith; and they put their trust in their Lord (Alone); Who perform As-Salaah (Iqaamat-as- Salaah) and spend out of that We have provided them. It is they who are the believers in truth. For them are grades of dignity with their Lord, and forgiveness and a generous provision (Paradise)”

And Allah referred to iman as including all of that when He said (interpretation of the meaning):

“but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets and gives his wealth, in spite of love for it, to the kinsfolk, to the orphans, and to Al-Masaakeen (the poor), and to the wayfarer, and to those who ask, and to set slaves free, performs As-Salaah (Iqaamat-as-Salaah), and gives the Zakât, and who fulfil their covenant when they make it, and who are patient in extreme poverty and ailment (disease) and at the time of fighting (during the battles). Such are the people of the truth and they are Al-Muttaqoon (the pious.”

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) referred to iman as including all of that in the hadith about the delegation of ‘Abd al-Qays which is narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhari (53) and Saheeh Muslim (17), where he said:

“I enjoin you to believe in Allah alone. Do you know what belief (or faith) in Allah alone is?” They said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: “To bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish regular prayer, to pay zakaah, to fast Ramadaan, and to give one-fifth of the war-booty (the khums).”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) described fasting the month of Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward as being part of faith; he also said the same concerning spending the night of Laylat al-Qadar in prayer, fulfilling one's trusts, jihad, Hajj, attending funerals, etc. In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (9) and Saheeh Muslim (35) it says:

“Faith has seventy-odd branches, the highest of which is saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allah (there is no god except Allah) and the least of which is removing a harmful thing from the road.”

(2) When the word iman is used in conjunction with the word Islam. In this case it is understood as referring to inward beliefs as in the hadith of Jibril etc., and as in the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) concerning the funeral du’aa’:

“O Allah, whomever among us you cause to live, cause him to live in Islam, and whomever among us you cause to die, cause him to die in faith.”

That is because physical actions can only be accomplished during life, but when one is dying all that is left is the words and actions of the heart.

PreviousIslamNextIhsan

Last updated