Islam for Muslims
- THE FAITH OF MUSLIMS
- GOOD DEEDS IN PERSONAL LIFE
- GOOD DEEDS IN SOCIAL LIFE
Meaning & Importance of Faith (Iman)
1. Meaning & Importance of Faith (Iman)
Introduction: Faith in God and His religious system is the central pillar of Islam. It is a pre-condition for becoming a true Muslim and the front and center of your Islamic life. Faith has a special meaning in Islam which may be different from what the word ordinarily tends to convey. In short, Faith implies unconditional and total belief in One real God as well as in entire set of religious facts introduced by Him. Within the framework of Faith, you are not allowed to do any cherry picking, “by believing in some (of your preferred items) but rejecting others” (4:150). For example, you cannot have selfish Faith only in your own prophets and scriptures while denying those of other religions or you cannot be an opportunist by believing only in Heaven instead of Hell. In the contemporary world, examples of people having such selective Faiths may be rare but far from being totally absent.
Articles of Faith: Both the Quran and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), came up with the following basics of Faith (4:136): (1) Existence and Attributes of God, (2) His Messengers, (3) His Books, (4) Angels (5) Day of Judgment (6) Afterlife (Heaven and Hell).
The whole range of these items may be summed up into two broad categories-- (i) the Existence and the Attributes of God and (ii) the Revelations of God or everything He said in His Book Quran. Such classification is all-inclusive and does not leave out anything worthy of Faith by virtue of God’s revelations e.g. Kaaba, death etc. The legal basis of such dual classification is located in the verse of the Quran that urges us to believe in “God and His Words (in entirety)” (7:158). Now a discussion about the articles of Faith follows:
(1) Faith in the Existence and Attributes of God: After taking the Existence of One God into confidence, you need to put trust in His Attributes as well. Multiplicity of His Attributes (such as 99 Beautiful Names), however, does not have any problem of matching with His Unity. Existence and Attributes are two different entities and therefore the plurality of His Attributes does not indicate the plurality of His Existence. The main identity of God is that He is "the One and Only" (112:1). This Unity is also reflected in the first part of ‘shahada’ or declaration of Faith (as one of the Five Pillars of Islam)--"There is none to worship except (God)" (28:70). Despite being One, God is an embodiment of numerous Attributes. A true believer must take all of them into trust, without any exception or pre-condition.
(2) Belief in God’s Words or Revelations: Faith in the Existence and Attributes of God has inseparable linkage with Belief in His Revelations or Words expressed in His Books. A person cannot qualify as a perfect believer by only mouthing belief in one God while denying or doubting any of His revelations like scriptures, prophets, afterlife etc. Giving lip-service to the Faith without translating that into action may be likened to the example of a servant who always verbally praises his master but never acts upon his orders. In fact, incomplete or inadequate practice of Islam is bound to incur displeasure of God for your Faith in only “a part of the Book and rejecting the rest” (2:85). You should therefore believe not only in His Being but also in all His Sayings. Though such articles of Faith revealed through His “Words” have no definite number, the core ones are, however, identified as His Messengers, Holy Books, Angels, the Day of Judgment and Afterlife (Heaven and Hell), to name a few.
Importance of Faith: The importance of Faith in the life of a Muslim can never be overstated. While Faith in God should “not impose any burden” or difficulty (4:39), it forms the basis of success for your painstaking good deeds. As a metaphor, the Faith is like a “root” of a “goodly tree” that “brings forth its fruits” of good deeds inspired by Faith in God (14:24/25). What is more, a good deed makes a case for acceptance by God when done with His satisfaction in mind. Otherwise, if you do not believe in God, but perform a good deed as a matter of habit or for public show, then its quality cannot compare favorably with a similar work done by a believer. Accordingly, the Quran remarks that the good deeds like “giving drinks to pilgrims” or “maintaining the sacred Mosque” by the unbelievers are “not comparable” with similar deeds done with belief (9:19). In fact, faithless prayer is “nothing but (futile) wandering (in the mind)" and your deeds become “fruitless” in both the lives if you “die in unbelief” (13:14; 2:217).
If you believe in one God, then you are considered to be “walking in the right path” and therefore God promises to be “with (such) believers” (2:186; 8:19). Faith combined with good deeds entitles you to all kinds of divine “blessings from heaven and earth" and “countless reward” including “Gardens of the Paradise” (7:96; 3:179; 4:122). God is in duty-bound to help the believers with “all good things” like “protection”, “deliverance”, "guidance and mercy", “forgiveness” and "generous sustenance", among others (9:88; 2:257; 10:103; 7:203; 22:50). Apart from material benefits, faith brings “tranquility” or high-value peace of heart and mind as it did for the Prophet and his believers (48:26). Another significant blessing for the believers takes the form of ‘dua’ of the Angels who implore to God from neighboring locations: “Our Lord! Forgive (the believers)” and “protect them from the Penalty of Blazing Fire!” and “(grant them) the Gardens of Eternity” (40:7/8).
By contrast, God does not have any above type of promising news for the non-believers: either here on earth or in the Hereafter. Whatever He grants them without discrimination in earthly life is done out of His general plan of giving (livelihood) for both the believers and non-believers. Likewise, in respect of sufferings on earth both the believers and non-believers may be affected equally. However, the believers have “hope from God” for early deliverance from hardships through ‘dua’ while “they (non-believers) have not” (4:104). In fact, real difference between these two groups starts after their death when significantly greater favor will gravitate toward the believers. To sum up, Faith raises the status of a believer to the level of "the best of creations", far above those who do not believe (98:7).
Conclusion: It appears from the above that you can gain infinite benefits through perfect and complete belief in God’s Existence, Attributes and all His revelations.