Part 58

The fifth aspect is that works of the heart, such as love for Allah and His Messenger and fear and expectations from Allah, are part of Iman, as proven by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the pious ancestors. And people differ widely in their performance of these works.

The sixth aspect is that overt works, as well as covert works, are part of Iman; and people also vary widely with respect to these works.

The seventh aspect is the importance of holding Allah in remembrance and not being inattentive, since the latter opposes perfection of knowledge and acceptance. “Umar Ibn Habib, one of the Companions, said: “If we thank and praise Allah, our Iman increases. However, if we neglect and forget Him, our Iman decreases.” And Mu‘adh Ibn Jabal used to say to his companions: “Let us sit still for an hour so as to strengthen our belief.” Allah says: “. .. Nor obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires...”

(18:28); and “And remind for indeed, reminding profits the believers” (51:55); and “The admonition will be received by those who fear [Allah]: But it will be avoided by those most unfortunate ones” (87:10—11). Hence, it is evident that the more a man remembers what he already knows, and practices his knowledge, he will come to understand something he has never known, such as Allah’s Names and Verses. This is suppotted by the following tradition: “Whoever practices what he knows, Allah will provide him with understanding of what he did not know.” This is a matter that every believer will realize by himself.

Allah says: “Do they not look at the sky above them? How We have made it and adorned it, and there are no flaws in it? And the earth, We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth [in pairs] to be observed and commemorated by every devotee turning [to Allah]” (50:6-8). So the created signs should be observed and commemorated in order to prevent one from blindness and inattention. To illustrate, a man Tecites a Sarah (e.g., al-Fatihah) many times; and each time he recites it, he gains new knowledge, which in tum increases his acceptance and Iman as if the seerah was revealed at that moment. Thus, he believes in these meanings and his knowledge and work increases. This is to be realized by everyone who reads the Qur’an attentively, in contrast with the one who reads it absentmindedly. Thus, whenever one does what he is commanded to do, he becomes aware of these commands and,

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as a result, he affirms his belief. Consequently, at that moment his affirmation in his heart establishes what he was unaware of even when he is truthful.

The eighth aspect is that man may deny or disbelieve things, for he does not know that the Messenger (pbuh) has spoken and ordered them. And if one knew that, he would neither deny nor disbelieve. For his heart strongly affirms that he [the Prophet] told and commanded only the truth. It may happen that when one hears a verse or a hadith or thinks about it or someone interprets its meaning for him or it becomes clear to him what is forbidden, then he will enter a state of new affirmation and new belief. This increases his Iman since before this stage he is not considered as an unbeliever but simply as ignorant. This happens in the case of many believers who ignorantly think that an affirmation or a deed is not required for Iman but when they know the truth, they believe. Many people, including those who are conscious about religious matters, may have, in their hearts, many detailed matters that may contradict what the Messenger brought forward. Yet, they do not know that they are contradictory matters and, when they become aware of this, they reverse their opinions. Thus, anyone who introduces an innovation or a saying [to the religion of Islam] or performs a wrong act, and he is a believer in the Messenger or is aware of what the Messenger said and believes in them and does not reverse his beliefs, he is considered ignorant but not an unbeliever. It follows then that every innovator with good intentions of following what the Messenger brought forward is of this category. Thus, he who has knowledge of what the Messenger brought forward and acts accordingly, is better than he who commits an error concerning this, and anyone who becomes aware of the truth after realizing his own error and acts on it, he will be in a more preferable position than before.

Iman and Islam and the Difference Between Them

The Quran affirms that there is a kind of Islam without Iman. Allah says: “The desert Arabs say: ‘We believe.’ Say: ‘You have no faith, but you [only] say.’ ‘We have submitted our wills to Allah, for not yet has faith entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not decrease anything in reward of your deeds. . .”” (49:14). Further evidence comes from accounts recorded in Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Bukhari that affirm that Sa‘d Ibn Abi Waqqjs said: “The Prophet gave [gifts] to some but not to the whole group present at that time. Among those who were not given anything was one whom Sa‘d thought was the best believer. Therefore, he [Sa‘d] asked in astonishment: ‘Oh, Messenger of Allah, why do you not give something to that man whom I think is a [true] believer?’ Upon this, the Prophet (pbuh) remarked: ‘Or a Muslim.’ Sa‘d repeated his question three times, and every time the Prophet (pbuh) remarked: ‘Or a Muslim.’ Then, the Prophet (pbuh) added: ‘I give to a man, although I love others more than him, fearing that Allah may make him fall on his face in the Hellfire.” In another version of this hadith the Prophet struck his hand between my [Sa‘d’s] neck and shoulder and said: ‘Are you asking for a fight, Oh, Sa‘d?””

The question that may arise is: Is this the Islam [of which Allah states that Iman cannot enter the hearts of its people], something for which people are rewarded for, oris it like the Islam of hypocrites? There are two well-known opinions of the pious ancestors and later Muslims. The first is that this is an Islam for which people are rewarded, and that makes them exempt from unbelief and hypocrisy. This was related on the authority of al-Hassan [al-Basri], Ibn Sirin, Ibrahim alNakh{, and Abu Ja‘far al-Baqir. Also, this was the saying of Hammad Ibn Zayd,

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Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Sahl Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Tustari, Abu Talib al-Makki,' and many other scholars of the hadiths, the Sunnah, and history.

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal said: “It was related to us by Mu’ammal Ibn [Ishaq] on the authority of ‘Ammar Ibn Zayd, who said that I heard Hisham’ say that al-Hassan and Muhammad used to say that someone was a Muslim, yet be afraid to call him a believer. Ahmad Ibn Hanbal also said that it was related to us by Abu Salamah al-Khuza‘i,’ who said that Malik said that according to Sharik, Abu Bakr Ibn “Ayyash,* ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Ibn Abi Salamah, Hammad Ibn Salamah, and Hammad Ibn Zayd said that Iman is al-ma‘tifah, knowledge, al-iqrar, affirmation, and al- ‘amal, work. However, Hammad Ibn Zayd made a distinction between Islam and belief, considering belief to be more specific and Islam to be more general.*

The second opinion is that this Islam is only a surrender that protects one from the fear of being captured and killed. Hence, it is like the Islam of the hypocrites. Such Muslims are considered unbelievers. For Iman did not enter their hearts, and he in whose heart Iman does not enter is considered an unbeliever. This opinion was the preference of al-Bukhari and Muhammad Ibn Nasr al-Marwazi. The pious ancestors had different views concerning this matter.

Abu Talib, Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali al-Makki (?~386 A.H.), was a scholar of hadith, a mystic, and head of Saliymiyyah Madhab in Basrah. His major work is entitled Qar al-Qulab. [E1 2, vol. 1, p. 153 and Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 216.]

Hisham Abu ‘Abd Allah Ibn Hassan al-Firdawsi (2-148 A.H.) was a reciter of the Qur’an and a trustworthy scholar of hadith. [Al-Zirikli, vol. 9, p. 81 and Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 217.] Al-Khuza‘, Abu Salamah Mansiir (2-201 A.H.), was a famous compiler of hadith. [Kitab alIman MZ, p. 217.]

Abu Bakr Ibn “Ayyash (2-193 A.H.) was a commentator and reciter of the Qur’an and one of the leading scholars of hadith. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 217.]

In the MI.2 edition of Kitab al-/man the editor, in a footnote on p. 226, quotes on the margin from the Indian version that: "He considers Islam to be more specific, and belief to be more general,” which is the reverse of the position stated above.

Jarir Ton “Abd al-Hamid (2-188 A.H.) was a trustworthy scholar of hadith from Kifah. [AlZirikli, vol. 2, p. 111 and Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 218.]