Part 65

In all other hadiths the Prophet (pbuh) interpreted Islam as submission in the heart to Allah as well as overt works. An example is the account narrated by Ahmad [Ibn Hanbal] by Bahz Ibn Hakim, on the authority of his father, who said that his

grandfather said: “By Allah! Oh, Messenger of Allah! I swore by all the fingers on my hand that I would not come to you! So, in the name of the One who sent you in truth, what did He send you with?” The Prophet (pbuh) replied: “Islam.” Then he asked the Prophet (pbuh): “What is Islam?” The Prophet (pbuh) answered: “To submit your heart to Allah, to tum your face to Him, to pray the required prayers, and to give obligatory zakah.” The Prophet (pbuh) then added: “Allah does not accept the Islam of a slave who became an unbeliever after being a Muslim.” In another place, the same hadith was narrated as follows: “To say that you have submitted your face to none but Allah, to establish prayer, to give zakah, and not to kill a Muslim.” In another place, the same hadith was narrated as follows: “To say I submitted my soul to none but Allah and I turned my face to Him.” Similarly, Muhammad Ibn Nasr narrated, on the authority of Khalid Ibn Mu‘dan, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Islam is like the light and a sign like the light on the road. Therefore you are to worship Allah and not to associate with any but Him, to establish prayer, to give zakah, to fast during Ramadan, to command good and to abandon evil, to pay salutation to people you know and do not know [if they answer your salutation]; if you do, the Angels will answer both of you. However, if they do not, the Angels will answer you and will put a curse on them, and to pay salutation to your family when you enter your home. Whoever does not fulfill any of these requirements, abandons his share in Islam; and whoever abandons this, abandons Islam itself.”

Allah says: “Oh, you who believe! Enter into Islam wholeheartedly . . .” (2:208). Mujahid and Qatadah said that this verse was revealed to order Muslims to fully accept and obey all Islamic legislation. This saying does not seem to contradict that this verse was revealed concerning the People of the Book [whether they had converted to Islam or not], since all of them were commanded to do likewise. A group of people stated that this means obedience and their statement is related to what Ibn ‘Abbis said that the phrase “enter into Islam” means to obey Allah and His Messenger, and this is considered part of the works of Iman. However, in this verse the word kaffah, whole, has different interpretations. Some said it means that all of you enter Islam. Others said it means enter into Islam as a whole, which is the right interpretation. For no human being is commanded to do anything other than “enter into all of Islam,” but is commanded only to do what he is capable of. In His saying, “enter” is addressed to all of them; however, if what the word kaffah, all, conveys is the idea that they are all to enter it together, then this would

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For Allah commands people to enter into the whole of Islam. That is, if it is an obligation for each person, one has to do it; if it is an obligation for a group of people, one has to believe that it is something he must do if he becomes able to, and if it is desirable, he has to believe in its goodness and be disposed to do it. Supporting this is a hadith narrated by Jarir in which a man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said: “Oh, Messenger of Allah, could you kindly describe Islam for me?” The Prophet (pbuh) answered: “It is to testify that there is no god but Allah, to acknowledge what Allah reveals, to establish prayer, to give zakah, to fast during Ramadan, and go on pilgrimage to the House.” To this the man replied: “I confess,” in a long story in which it says that a large rat fell in a large hole in the ground and was killed. It was hungry and two angels put some of the fruits of heaven in its mouth. So his saying “and you admit of what Allah came with” means the confession that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and he is the one who came with it.

'' In MI.2 (p. 253) and DKI (p.229) this verse is referenced as 4:165. However, the correct reference is 4:136, as in MI.1 (p. 225), as it occurs in the middle of the verse. It also occurs as above,

In a hadith narrated by Abu Sulayman al-Darani,” a delegation said: “We are believers.” The Prophet (pbuh) asked: “What is your evidence?” They said: “Fifteen traits. Five of them the Messenger of Allah commanded us to do, five he commanded us to believe in, and five are customs we adopted before we converted to Islam, and we will maintain them unless you disapprove of any of them.” The Prophet asked: “What are the five you are commanded to do?” They replied: “To testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, to establish prayer, to give zakah, to fast Ramadan, and to go on pilgrimage.” The Prophet (pbuh) asked: “What are the five that my messengers commanded you to believe in?” They said: “We are commanded to believe in Allah, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, and in Resurrection after death.” The Prophet (pbuh) then asked: “What are the five customs you adopted before you converted to Islam and that you still keep?” They said: “Patience when afflicted, gratitude in case of abundance, acceptance of ill fate, honesty in fighting, and not gloating over the affliction of one’s enemy.” To this, the Prophet (pbuh) replied: “You are knowledgeable and wise men who [because you are true and sincere] are nearly prophets.” He added: “I will tell you about five more traits to add to your fifteen so that you will have twenty if you are what you say you are: Do not gather what you will not eat; do not build what you will not dwell in; do not compete over what you will leave behind [when you die}; fear Allah, to Whom you will return and be presented in front of; and desire what you undertake and will abide in forever.”

In this hadith the delegation differentiated between the five things that they were to do, Islam, and the five that they believed in, Iman. Indeed, many hadiths of the Prophet (pbuh) support this distinction.

And in the hadith narrated by Ahmad, based on that of Ayyib, on the authority of Abu Qilabah, on the authority of a man from Syria, on the authority of his father, the Prophet (pbuh) told him: “Embrace Islam and you will be in peace.” The father inquired: “What is Islam?” He [the Prophet] said: “To commit your heart to the Will of Allah and to protect other Muslims from your tongue and hand.” He [the inquirer] asked: “Which part of Islam is best?” He [the Prophet] replied: “Iman.” He [the inquirer] asked: “What is Iman?” He [the Prophet] replied: “To affirm your belief in Allah, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers and in the life

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after death.” He [the inquirer] asked: “Which of Iman is best?” He [the Prophet] replied: “Hijrah.” He [the inquirer] asked: “What is Hijrah?” He [the Prophet] replied: “Abandoning evil.” He [the inquirer] asked: “Which part of the Hijrah is best?” He [the Prophet] remarked: “jihad.” He [the inquirer] asked: “What is jihad?” He [the Prophet] replied: “To fight against unbelievers wherever you find them, not to be a miser, and not to be a coward.” The Messenger (pbuh) then added [three times)] “There are two deeds [or their like] that are considered the best of all deeds: a righteous pilgrimage and ‘Umrah [going on pilgrimage at a time other than that usually set aside for pilgrimage].” It is worth mentioning here that these two deeds are the best two [after jihad]. For the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Then there are two deeds.” Moreover, this hadith clarifies the fact that Islam is a more global concept than Iman, which in tum is a more global concept than hijrah, which in turn is a more global concept than jihad. Islam means that you worship Allah alone and that you do not associate anyone with Him and sincerely believe in the religion of Islam. Islam is the only accepted religion and Muhammad is the last Messenger of Allah. Hence, one is not considered a Muslim unless he testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Through these two affirmations of belief, one enters into Islam. Afterward, other obligations [e.g., establishing prayer and giving zakah] are to be fulfilled. If anyone abandons an obligation, his Iman decreases accordingly. However, if he wholeheartedly confesses that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger and faithfully performs all the obligations in order to please Allah, he will be rewarded. A great number of Muslims are born having Islam [outwardly and inwardly], with its requirement of Iman. However, they have not attained certainty or reached the rank of jihad. Therefore, they will be rewarded for their Islam and their general acceptance of what the Prophet (pbuh) commanded. For it may be that they are ignorant about the details of Islam. For example, they may not know that the Book was revealed unto him [the Prophet] or that an Angel [Gabriel] used to teach him about religion. Thus, if the message does not reach some people, then they are not required to know it in detail. However, they must confirm that the Prophet is the Messenger of Allah and that he is telling the truth about everything that he informs about Allah.