Muslim's Section

THE MEANING OF IMAN

Faith (Iman) is firm belief without any doubts in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, in the Last Day (Day of Judgement), and in Fate (decree/Qadr) – both in its good and evil aspects.

When Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was asked about Iman by the angel Jibreel (a.s), he replied: ”Iman is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in Qadr, and what it brings of good or bad.“ (Muslim)

The place of faith is in the heart, which means that no one can measure faith because only Allah(swt) knows the reality. It is only in Allah’s hands to open one’s heart to faith and as long as you strive and are truthful to Allah, yourself and others, He will guide you, beautify your faith for you in your heart, and gradually increase your love for faith. The fact that only Allah can put the faith in your heart shows how much we are in constant need of Allah, and is a reminder of the abundant favors Allah(swt) has bestowed on each of us.

So if you have a sincere desire to increase in faith, make du’aa to Allah(swt) to open your heart. You will then be drawn towards everything that will make you stronger in faith. For example, when you strive to avoid listening to music, Allah(swt) will put the love of listening the Qur’an in your heart along with the feeling of hatred for the music.

Faith has two parts:

Input————>Knowledge:  When you acquire knowledge about Allah(swt) and each of the pillars of faith, your faith will gradually increase, and your doubts will begin to disappear. For Example, Knowledge of your Creator, His Beauty, His Magnificence and so on, is one of the constant inputs that your heart needs and yearns for. You also need to fill your heart with the knowledge about the Day of Judgement along with the other pillars. These are all necessary nourishments for the heart.

Output——–>Action:  When you fill your heart with this knowledge, it will make your faith stronger and this will show through your actions. This includes the actions of the heart, tongue and limbs. When you fill your heart with knowledge about Allah (input), your heart will have an action- such as the love for Allah(swt), Fear for Him and Hope in Him. When your heart is certain and firm with knowledge, then the worship and the deeds that were once difficult for you will then become easy to act upon.

FAITH= KNOWLEDGE (THE BELIEF) + ACTION

You can call someone Muslim by their outward appearance, such as when you see a person praying, fasting, reading Qur’an etc; however, you cannot call a person a believer (mu’min) by just looking at the outside. Only Allah(swt) knows whether the faith is true in one’s heart or not. Without faith, the heart is like a barren desert. When full of faith, the heart is like a garden.

Faith increases and decreases so we need to recharge (renew) it always. If it wearies, then the heart hardens quickly. Hence, we need to renew the faith all the time. That is why the pillars of faith are mentioned in different places in the Qur’an