Part 7

In his hadith to the delegation from the people of ‘Abd al-Qays, he [the Prophet] interpreted Iman in a way similar to his interpretation of Islam (as illustrated above), with only one exception. Pilgrimage was not mentioned in his interpretation of Iman, even though it is generally agreed that the pilgrimage is part of belief. He said: “I command you to have belief only in Allah. Do you really know what belief only in Allah is?” They replied: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: “Testifying that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing prayers, giving zakah, fasting during Ramadan, and paying one-fifth of the spoils that you acquire.”

The Prophet said: “Modesty is a branch of Iman.” This was affirmed by many narrators, such as [Abd Allah] Ibn “Umar,” Ibn Ma‘siid,> and ‘Imran Ibn Husayn. He [the Prophet] also said: “None of you is a believer until | am dearer to him than his child, his parents, and all people.” He said: “None among you truly believes until one loves for his brother that which one loves for himself.” He also said: “I swear by Allah that one never has belief, I swear by Allah that one never has belief, I swear by Allah that one never has belief.” The Prophet repeated it three times. He was asked: “Oh, Prophet! Who is that?” The Prophet replied: “He whose neighbor is not secure from his harmful conduct.” The Prophet also said: “If anyone among you should see something wrong, he should correct it with his hand; and if he is not able to, then with this tongue; if he is not able to, then with his heart. And that is the weakest of Iman.” And the Prophet said: “Never before has a Prophet been sent by Allah to his ummah, community, who among his people had no disciples and companions who followed his ways and obeyed his commands. Then after them come their successors, who say one thing but do another, and practiced not what they were commanded to do. Thus, he who strove against them with his hand is considered a believer; and he who strove against them with his tongue is considered a believer; and he who strove against them

> Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, Sa‘d Ibn Malik (2-74 A.H.), was considered one of the main narrators of hadith from the Prophet. He felt that hadiths should not be written down and forbid his students to do so. [Al-Zirikli, vol. 3, p. 150 and M. M. Azami, p. 39.]

*4 “abd Allah Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn “Umar Ibn al-Khattab (?-73 A.H.) was the son of the second Caliph, an excellent transmitter of hadith and was considered to be a model of a pious person. (E/ 2, vol. 1, pp. 53-54 and al-Zirikli, vol. 4, p. 246.]

25 “Abd Allah Ibn Mas‘dd (?-32 A.H.) was a famous Companion of the Prophet and a reciter of

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IMAN, ISLAM AND IHSAN 27

with his heart, he is also considered a believer. Beyond that there is no belief even to the size of a habbat khardal, mustard seed” (narrated by Muslim only). .

Muslim also narrated that the Prophet said: “By Him in whose hand is my soul, you will never enter Paradise until you believe and you will never believe until you love one another. Should I not direct you to a thing which, if you do it, will foster love among you? Practice frequently saying among you, al-salému ‘alaykum, peace be upon you.” He [the Prophet] said in the hadith whose narration is agreed upon and narrated by Abu Hurayrah. Al-Bukhari reported the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas* that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “The fornicator who fornicates is not a believer as long as he commits it; a drunkard who drinks wine is not a believer as long as he drinks it; no thief who steals is a believer as long as he commits theft; and no plunderer who plunders al-nuhbah, the valuable thing, that which attracts the attention of people, is a believer as long as he commits this act.”

IMAN AND ISLAM AS CITED IN THE QUR?AN

The word Iman is cited in the Qur?dn by itself and not in conjunction with the word Islam nor with the phrase ‘righteous work’ or other such words or phrases. Sometimes the word Iman is cited as being linked to the word Islam as indicated in Gabriel’s hadith: “What is Islam and what is Iman?” and in Allah’s saying: “ Indeed Muslim men and women, and believing men and women . . .” (33:35) and He says: “AI-A ‘rab, the desert Arabs, say: ‘We believe.’ Say: ‘You have no faith’; but you only say: ‘We have submitted our wills to Allah . . .”” (49:14); Allah also says: “So We brought out from therein the believers who were there. But We found only one house with Muslims in it” (51:35~36). The word Iman was also mentioned in conjunction with the phrase “righteous works,” as indicated in the many verses of the Qur’an. For example, Allah, the Exalted, says: “Indeed, those who have belief and do righteous works . . .” (2:277).

The word Iman may also be linked to those endowed with knowledge. Allah says: “But those endowed with knowledge and belief will say . . .” (30:56), Allah also

** Tbn ‘Abbas, Abu al-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah (?~68 A.H.), was considered one of the greatest scholars of the first Islamic generation. He was also regarded as the father of Qur’nic exegesis. [Al-

says: “.. . Allah will raise up, to suitable ranks and degrees, those of you who believe and who have been granted knowledge . . .” (58:11). Whenever He mentions those who believe in Him, those who are endowed with knowledge are included, for they are the best of believers. Allah says: “. . . And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: ‘We believe in it [the Book]; the whole of it is from our Lord . . .”” (3:7). Allah also says: “. . . Those among them who are well-grounded in knowledge, and the believers, believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you . . .” (4:162).

The word al-mu’miniin, believers, is also mentioned in the Qur’4n in conjunction with those who follow the Jewish, Christian, and Sabian [religions]. Allah says: “Indeed! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians,”” whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous work, shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve” (2:62).* Thus [Allah differentiates], in the first part of the verse, between the believers and the other three groups. However, in the second part of the verse, “whosoever believes in Allah,” the word believe is generalized to speak of those who believe in the Qur’an, who follow the Jewish scriptures, the Christians, and the Sabians. This generalization is also cited in Allah’s saying: “Indeed those who believe and do righteous works are the best of creatures” (98:7). This issue will be explained fully later, in sha’a Allah.

The intended difference here is a matter of generalization and particularization of the external and internal aspects of Iman. However, the generalization regarding the milals, religious communities (as cited in 2:62)” is a different issue. Whenever Allah mentions Iman jointly with Islam, He regards the latter as the

2?’ The name Sabians occurs in three different verses in the Qur’&n-2:62, 5:69 and 22:17. It is a religious community whose several thousand probable descendants live in Southern Iraq on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. They dress in white and believe in frequent immersion in water and are often called baptisers. Their religious book is Ginza and is written in the Aramaic language. There was another group also referred to by the name Sabians of Haran, a city today belongs to Turkey. They were star worshipers and famous astrologers and had hellenistic tendencies. E/: Vol.8, 675-79 and Fihrist: Vol.2, 745-72.

28 The text of Kitab al-Iman does not quote the first part of this verse, "shall have their reward with their Lord." However, the discussion that follows makes it necessary to quote the entire verse. Also, in all the recensions of Kitab al-Iman consulted, this verse is cited as Strat al-Ma’idah, verse number 69. The correct reference is Surat al-Bagarah, verse 62, as cited above.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IMAN, ISLAM AND IHSAN 29

external works (i.e., testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, performing prayers, giving zakah, fasting during Ramadan, and performing the pilgrimage). However, He regards Iman as that which is at the heart of belief in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and in the Day of Judgment. This difference is affirmed in the hadith narrated by Ahmad [Ibn Hanbal] on the authority of Anas from the Prophet (pbuh), who said: “Islam is explicit and Iman is in the heart.”

Thus whenever the word Iman is cited alone it implies both Islam and righteous works, as is mentioned in the hadith of the branches of Iman which says: “Iman consists of more than seventy branches, the highest of which is saying, La ilaha illa Allah, there is no god but Allah, and the least of which is the removing of harm from the road.” This applies to all sayings of the Prophet in which all righteous works are mentioned as part of Iman.

If Iman is negated by abandoning [righteous works], then they are considered as obligations for Iman. However, if the virtue of someone whose righteousness is mentioned, provided that his belief is not negated, then these [righteous works] are considered to be desirable for Iman. For Allah and His Messenger do not negate an obligation they command unless one fails to perform part of that obligation. For example, the Prophet said: “No prayer is complete without reciting umm al-Qur’4n, the opening chapter, and no true belief can be ascribed to one who has no loyalty, and no religion is complete for the one who does not abide by his commitment.”