Part 57

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the traditional prayer says: “Oh, Allah, we kindly ask you to send down of Your fear [into our hearts] that which prevents us [like a barrier] from disbelieving You of Your obedience [into our hearts] that which brings us closer and closer to Your Paradise, and of certainty that which enables us to endure with ease the world’s calamities.”

And in the hadith of [Abu Bakr] al-Siddiq, narrated by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi, and others from the Prophet (pbuh), he said: “Ask Allah for good health and certainty. Besides certainty one can be given nothing better than good health. Therefore, ask Allah for them.” Hence, certainty in times of calamity and holding firmly to the belief that calamities happen with Allah’s knowledge and permission, produces tranquility and peace in the heart, and reliance on Allah. This is the most perfect Iman in Allah’s predestination of both good and evil, as illustrated in Allah’s saying: “No kind of calamity can occur, except with the permission of Allah: and ifanyone believes in Allah, He [Allah] guides his heart the right way .. .” (64:11). “Ulqamah said: “Ibn Mas‘iid narrated: ‘He is a man who when a calamity befalls him, knows that it happens with Allah’s knowledge and permission, feels content, and accepts it.’”” Allah’s saying: “Allah guides his heart the right way,” refers to the increase of his Iman, as illustrated in the following saying of Allah. Allah says: “But to those who receive Guidance, He increases the [light of] Guidance .. .” (47:17). Allah also says: “. .. They were youths who believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in Guidance” (18:13).

The term “belief,” of all the terms mentioned in the Quran, is the one most frequently used in a muqayyad, conditioned, sense. When used in this manner, it does not include everything that Allah commands. However, when Iman is used in an absolute sense it encompasses [all] of those attributes or actions that are necessarily associated with it and the perfection of all that has been commanded. Allah says: “Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and spend of that whereof He has made you trustees. And such of you as believe and spend, theirs will be a great reward. And what is wrong with you is that you believe not in Allah! While the Messenger invites you to believe in your Lord has indeed taken your covenant, if you are real believers. It is He Who sends down His Manifest Verses to His Slave [Muhammad] that He may bring you out from darkness to light . . .” (57:7-9). Toward the end of the same chapter He also says: “Oh, you who believe! Fear Allah, and believe in His Messenger [Muhammad], He will give you a double portion of His Mercy, and He will give you Light by which you shall walk

[straight], and He will forgive you. And Allah is All Forgiving, Most Merciful” (57:28). Some Qur’anic interpreters explain the first verse as being addressed to the Quraysh tribe, and the second verse as being addressed to the Jews and Christians. However, this cannot be the case, for Allah never addresses unbelievers as: “Oh, you who believe.” After this Allah says: “So that the people of the Scriptures [Jews and Christians] may know that they have no power whatsoever over the Grace of Allah . . .” (57:29). It is agreed that this chapter of the Quran is among those revealed during the time when the Prophet was in Madinah; hence, it was not used to address the polytheists in Makkah. Allah says, “And what is the matter with you that you believe not in Allah! While the Messenger [Muhammad] invites you to believe in your Lord, and He has indeed taken your covenant, if you are real believers” (57:8). It is clear that this verse is not addressed to an unbeliever. Moreover, no covenant had been made with the unbelievers in Makkah, but rather with the believers who pledged their allegiance to the Prophet. All the Muslims who emigrated [to Madinah] acknowledged the Prophet (pbuh) as their leader, as did his Supporters on the night of al-‘Aqabah. However, the Prophet simply called them to realize and perfect their belief by performing those actions required of them both outwardly and inwardly, just as we ask Allah in every prayer we pray to guide us along the Straight Path. And although Allah guides believers to acknowledge [the truth of] the Prophet’s message as a whole, the detailed guidance in all that they say and do has not yet been realized. However, all this specific, detailed guidance is now a part of the belief that believers are commanded to have, and through it Allah brings them out of darkness into light.

Aspects of Increasing Iman

Increasing the Iman which Allah commands us to have, and which is a trait of His believing worshipers, can be achieved through different means. The first aspect in increasing Iman is through practicing ijmal, total, observance and tafsil, detailed, observance of Allah’s commands, for it is the obligation of all mankind to believe in Allah and His Messenger, and of every community to commit itself to all that the Messenger (pbuh) has ordered. It is well known that what was obligatory at first differs from what was required after the revelation of the whole Quran. Hence, unlike one who does not know about Islam, he who knows the Quran, the Sunnah, and their meanings is obliged to have a detailed Iman. That is, if a man, inwardly as well as outwardly, believed in Allah and the Messenger (pbuh) and died before he knew the laws of religion, he would die as a believer. His obligation and what he did are different from the Iman of the one who knew the Islamic laws and who believed in them and worked to fulfill them. The Iman of such a person is more complete, in accordance with the obligatory and the actual deeds. Indeed, of what he performed in accordance with the obligation is of a more complete Iman and what he did is also considered more complete.

Allah says: “. .. This day I have perfected your religion for you . . .” (5:3). In this verse, the word “religion” refers to the legislation of commanded and forbidden actions, but does not mean that everybody is obliged to do what the whole community is ordered to do. It is recorded both in Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (pbuh) described women as diminished in intellect and religion. This diminution in intellect made the witness of two women equal to that of one man; the diminution in her religion is due to the fact that she does not pray and fast when she is menstruating. Indeed, this diminution is not a diminution of what she is commanded to do and so she will not be punished

because of it. However, if someone is commanded to pray and fast and does so, his religion is complete compared to the one of diminished religion.

The second aspect [of increasing one’s Iman] is the total and detailed acts of people. To illustrate this, let us compare the Iman of the following three men. The first absolutely believed in what the Messenger (pbuh) came with and asked for, but was neither concerned about what the Messenger (pbuh) commanded and prohibited nor sought the required knowledge of religion so as to act accordingly. The second sought and obtained this knowledge and acted on it. The third man acquired knowledge, became well acquainted with it, and believed in it but did not act accordingly. These three men shared the same obligation, but the one who looked for detailed knowledge and acted on it had a more complete Iman than the one who knew and believed but did not practice his knowledge. Likewise, he who believed in the message, confessed his sins, and feared punishment was a better believer than the one who did not seek to understand what he was asked to do, and did not fear punishment; on the contrary, he later was negligent and careless, although [overtly as well as covertly] he believed in Muhammad (pbuh) as the Messenger of Allah.

Accordingly, the more the heart knows, believes in, and practices [what Allah and His Messenger have ordered], the more a person’s Iman increases even if that person has a general adherence and general verbal confession.

Similarly, if someone knows Allah’s Names as well as their meanings and believes in them, his Iman is more perfect than that of someone who does not know but believes in them generally, or someone who knows only some of them. Hence, the more one knows Allah’s Names, Attributes, and Verses, the more perfect his Iman.

The third aspect is that knowledge and assent are differentiated among people. That is, some people have stronger, more enduring Iman and assent than others whose Iman is subject to doubt. Indeed, this is something experienced by each one of us. For example, people differ in the way they see the new moon, hear the same sound, smell the same smell, and taste the same food. So it is with the heart’s knowledge and assent. People differ widely in their belief in the meanings of Allah’s Names and His Words.

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The fourth aspect is that the assent which requires the work of the heart is more complete than that which does not. So, knowledge which is accompanied by works is better than that which is not. Suppose that two men knew that Allah, the Messenger (pbuh), Paradise, and Hell are true. The knowledge of the first man obliged him to love and fear Allah, wish for Paradise, and avoid Hell. However, the knowledge of the second man did not lead him to do so. Thus, we can say that the knowledge of the first is more complete than that of the second. For the strength of the result signals the strength of the cause, and all these matters stem from knowledge. So knowledge of the “beloved” requires one to seek him; and knowledge of the “frightened” requires one to flee from him. However, absence of the required results signals the weakness of the cause or prerequisite. That is why the Prophet (pbuh) said: “One who is informed [indirectly] of something is not like the one who sees it for himself.” To illustrate this, when Allah told Moses that his community worshiped the calf, he did not throw the al-Alwah, Tablets; but when he himself saw them practicing that, he did. This is not because Moses doubted Allah’s words but because the man who is told something, although he does not report the news of the teller, does not perceive the situation in the same way he does if he sees it for himself. Since his mind is occupied with something else, other than what the informer said, he still believes him. Certainly seeing something will give one a clearer understanding of the situation and this assent is better than the other.