The Concept of Iman, Its Pillars and Components

Introduction

Alhamdulillah! Infinite thanks and praises are due to Allah, to Whom genuine faith (iman) must be due. I send peace and blessings be upon the best man who ever possessed the most authentic faith (iman), Sayyidina Muhammad, his household, his companions and all those who follow his guided path.

This article comes in an attempt to understand the concept of iman (faith) in Islam. We then make some reflections from it. May Allah grant us guidance and preserve us in all we do and say.

What is Iman (Faith)

Generally, any feeling that can move one’s emotions and shape or direct his attitudes is regarded as faith or belief. Islamic scholars have defined iman as “to believe with one's heart, to confess with one's tongue and to demonstrate in one's physical actions.”

Therefore, Iman is the soul of hearts and bodies. It is the key to happiness. It is the mean of salvation in this life and the next. It brings contentment and satisfaction to the heart. Moreover, the higher a person climbs in the levels of iman, the more he entitled to taste and cherish the sweetness of iman, and his soul (the true soul) gets satisfaction from it.

The Prophet Muhammad ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said in a ḥadīth reported by Imām al-Bukhārī and Muslim:

“three of which, if found in anyone, he gets the sweetness of iman; to make Allah and His Messenger dearer to him than anything else, to love a man just for the sake of Allah, ṣubḥānahū wa ta'ālā, and to hate to be back into disbelief as he would hate to be thrown into the fire.”

That was a brief definition of Iman. Following is the pillars of iman.

Pillars of Iman

Basically, iman has six pillars that every Muslim has to believe in them, accept them wholeheartedly, and be fully convinced with them. Each of these six pillars requires a stand-alone article.

These six pillars are, to believe in:

1. Allah (ṣubḥānahū wa ta'ālā);
2. His Angels;
3. His Messengers;
4. His Books;
5. The Last Day (Day of Resurrection and Judgement); and
6. Fate and Destiny; whether it seems good or bad.

Now let’s briefly touch on the pillars of Iman.

#1: Belief in Allah

Although we are not meant to see God with our naked eyes in this world, the natural feelings in every human tells of the existence of the One God.

That God is One. He is Self-Sufficient. He does not give birth, nor was He born. And there's nothing like Him.

#2: Belief in His Angels

Angels are creatures of God, whom He created to serve Him, and they fail not to obey His commands to them and they are prompt as they are commanded.

God has used Angels to reveal all his commandments to mankind. They are only seen by those Prophets and Messengers to whom they were sent. Only God knows their number.

The famous names among Angels known to us are Jibril (Gabriel), Mikaeel (Michael), Maalik, Ridwan, Israfeel, Azraeel.

#3: Belief in His Scriptures

The Scriptures of God are those descended to His chosen Prophets and Messengers. Those scriptures contain[ed] His commandments to us and our life manual.

Through them and the Prophets, we get concrete and undoubted information about God, the Hereafter and the unseen world.

The Qur'an in our hands today, serves as an example and is the most authentic scripture of God, which is still in use. It's going to remain as such, till the Day of Judgement.

#4: Belief in His Messengers

Messengers are human beings chosen from among humans to communicate with God through Angels and revelations and to then convey the message(s) of God to His servants, and to remind them of their ultimate purpose in this existence, and to guide them towards the Pleasure of God.

#5: Belief in the Last Day (Day of Resurrection)

The Last Day is when everything is going to be eternal. There will be two destinations when the last day starts. Heaven will be for those who chose righteousness in this life, and Hellfire will be for those who chose infidelity and transgression.

#6: Belief in Fate and Destiny whether they good or bad

This world is meant to be the home for all trials and tests. That's why not all incidents are is logical to human understanding. We have the right to choose, but at the same time, we are obliged to believe in Fate and Destiny. Click here to read about “Fate and Destiny.”

Anything to do with faith is best known through a divine revelation. That's why Prophets and Messengers were chosen from among us and sent to guide us and teach what we need to know. Thus, best to learn the concept of Iman from is the Prophet Muhammad ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Components of Iman

The true fact of iman that our beloved Prophet Muhammad brought to us is based on three components, of which if any of it is missing, the iman may not be valid and may not be considered as a genuine one. These three components are:

1. To believe with the heart;
2. To confess with the tongue;
3. And to demonstrate (has been possessed in the heart and uttered with the tongue) in physical action.

In fact, the second and the third parts (components) are true reflections of what the heart is carrying. In other words, [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]the heart is a common ground for what the tongue expresses and what the body physically demonstrates[/inlinetweet].

The first component itself (belief in the heart) consists of two parts:

1. Adoption of the heart, whereby the heart recognizes and accepts that, whatever  Allah and His Messenger have said is true; that God and His Messenger are Just in whatever judgment they make; and that it does not have any doubts in this adoption and acceptance.
2. The work of the heart, which means, the heart is to practice whatever is instructed to by Allah ṣubḥānahū wa ta'ālā, such as having love for God and His Messenger, and the believers; and not keeping love for the non-believers.

For that Allah says in Sūrah al-Hujurah, 14:

“The bedouins say: “We believe.” Say: “You believe not but you only say, ‘We have surrendered (in Islam),’ for Faith has not yet entered your hearts…” 

He also says in Sūrah al-Mujādilah, 22:

“You (O Muhammad) will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad), even though they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred (people). For such He has written Faith in their hearts…”

The verses above actually come to draw our attention to the fact that [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]the heart is the original source of iman[/inlinetweet].

The second component; confess with the tongue: This happens by saying the ‘shahādah’ (witness); there is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger (See: How to Convert to Islam). There is something important about confessing with the tongue (shahādah). That is, it must be intended and meant, and should not be just a fact of pronunciation.

The third component of iman is to demonstrate in physical actions that is what it means to do what Allah ṣubḥānahū wa ta'ālā has commanded, and staying away from what He has forbade. Allah ṣubḥānahū wa ta'ālā says in Surah Al-Hujurat, 15:

“Only those are the believers who have believed in Allah and His Messenger, and afterward doubt not but strive with their wealth and their lives for the Cause of Allah. Those! They are the truthful.”

He also says in Surah Al-Anfāl, 2-4:

“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); (2) Who perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and spend out of that We have provided them. (3) 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). (4)”

Imām al-Bukhāri and Muslim narrate that the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:

“I am ordering you with faith in Allah alone. Do you know what faith in Allah alone is? Said (the sahabah): Allah and His Messenger know best, he, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said: “to certify that there is no god but Allah, to establish prayer, pay zakat, and give away one fifth of your gains (spoils).”

The Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam also says in a ḥadīth narrated by Imān Muslim:

“Faith has seventy-odd branches or sixty-odd Divisions, the best of it is saying: “there is no god but Allah”, and the lowest of it is removing something harmful from the road, and modesty is a branch of faith”

We can find this ḥadīth as an explanation to the fact that iman is a base which has various branches, every branch is also called iman (or a division of iman), Prayer (ṣalāh) for instance is part of iman, as well as fasting, Hajj and Zakat, and other invisible deeds like modesty and inner trust (tawakkul) are also part of iman.

Some of these branches may cause invalidity to the foundation of iman once they are no longer recognized by the person; such as ‘shahādah’. And some may not cause any invalidity to it, such as removing something harmful from the road. And there are various branches in between these two branches (shahadah and removing something harmful from the road) that vary in their strengths and weaknesses, some are in the same strength level as ‘shahādah’ or closer to it, and some are in the same level of weakness as ‘removing something harmful from the road’ or closer to it.

Conclusion

This was a brief discussion about the concept of Iman in Islam. The pillars and components of Iman were also presented. We have learnt, that it is a requirement for faith in (by) the heart to be accompanied with faith in physical actions at all times. This means, the quantity and quality of our physical actions (with faith) reflect the strength of the acceptance of the faith by our hearts, and our tongues will play the part of verbal expressions.

Al-Hasan Al-Baṣrī raḥimahu Allāh once said:

“Faith is not by wish and adornment, but something that settles in the heart and been proved by deed.”

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Allah knows best.
Allahu Hafiz 🙂