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Hadith #2: The Hadith of Jibreel In fact, faith in the faith formula (kalimah), "there is no god except Allah", varies in its radiance from heart to heart. There are, in fact, innumerable degrees of faith's radiance which are known only to Allah. In some hearts it is as bright as the sun, in others it is like stars, in some like a big lamp, in some like a glowing candle, and in some like a flickering light. That is why, on the Day of Judgment, the light of the believers will shine according to the strength of their faith in Allah's unity, and the nobility of their practices. As the light of the kalimah increases, doubts and disbelief burn away till one reaches a stage where all uncertainties and vacillations are completely destroyed. This is the stage of the true believer in tawhid where the heights of his faith are fully secured against the assault of all miscreants. He who knows this would know the meaning of the Prophet s words, "Allah has barred him from the Fire who says, 'There is no god except Allah , and by it seeks no one's pleasure but Allah's,"1 or "No one will enter the Fire who says, 'There is no god except Allah. "'2 There is no doubt that the one who has firm sincerity in his heart, that cannot be overridden by desires or doubts, will not commit sins. If one is not afflicted by desires and doubts, or one of them, one would not commit sins. However, at the time of committing a sin, his heart is occupied with the sin and it loses its sincerity and remembrance of a threatened punishment. Therefore, he sins. 3 Imaan Increases and Decreases Although historically speaking there has been some dispute over this question, it is very clear from the Quran that a person's Imaan increases and decreases.4 For example, Allah says, 1Part of a long hadith recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. 2Muslim has the hadith on the authority of 'Ubaadah that the Prophet (peace be on him) said, "One who witnesses that there is no god other than Allah, and that Muhammad is His messenger, Allah will not let him enter the Fire." Muslim and al-Bukhari have the hadith on the authority of Anas that the Prophet (peace be on him) said, "Allah will not allow the person to enter into the Fire who has testified that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger." However, these hadith should not be taken alone, without taking into consideration what other texts state; various verses of the Quran and a number of the Prophet's hadith state that the sinners among the faithful will be punished for a time in the Fire and then released. They should be qualified and interpreted to mean that those who witness to God's unity and Muhammad's prophecy and act righteously will not enter the Fire. lbn Abu al-Izz, vol. 2, pp. 460-462. 4 Those scholars who equated imaan with tasdeeq (affirmation, belief) argued that there is no such thing as affirmation going up or down. Their argument has two flaws to it. First, imaan is not equivalent to tasdeeq. Second, tasdeeq itself can vary, as shall be noted shortly in a reference from ibn Taimiya. It is usually said that Abu Hanifah believed that imaan does not increase or Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Ջ;u .,Ռ1; r:1 c .2 : i; j "And when His verses are recited to them they [the verses] increase their faith" (al-Anfaal 2). !!. / ,,.. .J. o.,. ,,.. ,,,. .,. ,.,, .... ,.,, --*,.,, J l>Ȋ IJ I _J I .uil ঍Y..J "And Allah increases in guidance those who seek guidance (Maryam 76). ;:i.,.. .:' ;;Ii ;:; " 'i;-,,,. ,.,.. ;;Ii ;;Ii ,.,, ,,.. ,. B ;..W 4ĉ :9 I !" # ðj $ I ).I դi Tĉ1;? ðj / / ,,,. , \- v ... , , ,.. Սl;-·1:11 i1; :-:i.:J\ ;1;yj >\ ip_,t ;.:J\ :,,.( /M'" .஦ i_,? ' u .. ,. ,,.. ,,,. '-',.. ,,. "We have set none but angels as guardians over the fire. We have fixed their number [at nineteen] only as a trial for the disbelievers and in order that the people who were given the book [before] would be certain [that this is the truth], and so that the believers may increase in faith" ( al-Mudaththir 3 1 ). Ji ., ,,,. /_ : K • 1:11 த t-".1Վ1 i)@l;};J $%J-1\ y _JIJ . . . , I.$6 . _r.?J U"J ঊ Saad reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) bestowed [some gifts] upon a group of people and I was sitting among them. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) left out a person and did not give him anything. I thought that he was the best of the group. So I stood up before the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), what about so and so.