Part 84

On this basis some people have a degree of unbelief and some a degree of Iman as well. Hence, our Prophet (pbuh) named many sins as unbelief even though the sinner has more than an atom’s weight of Iman, because of which he does not abide eternally in the Fire. As the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Cursing a Muslim is a sin and fighting him is unbelief;” he also said: “Do not become unbelievers after me,

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fighting each other.” This, of course, is found in many of the Prophet’s (pbuh) sayings. For example, on his Hujjat al-Wada‘, farewell pilgrimage, he called Muslims who fight each other without good cause unbelievers and he also called this type of action unbelief. Allah says: “If two parties among the believers fall into fighting, then you make peace between them; but if one of them transgresses beyond bounds against the other, then you [all] fight against the one that transgresses until it complies with the command of Allah; but if it complies, then make peace between them with justice, and be fair; for Allah loves those who are equitable. The believers are but a single Brotherhood so make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive Mercy” (49:9-10). He thus makes clear that they had not completely ceased to be believers. But they did have unbelief of the type that the Companions called minor unbelief. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever calls his brother an unbeliever, one of the two becomes one.” If one of them became completely non-Muslim, he would no longer be his brother. However, in the situation described here, his unbelief is the kind that does not exclude Islam.

Similarly we have the reliable hadith that states: “There is no man who has claimed to anyone other than his father while he is teaching him but that he has unbelief.” In another hadith we read: “Whoever repudiates his family origins, even if he is a man of no importance, is an unbeliever.” And among the words in the Quran that were later abrogated we read: “Do not spurn your forefathers, for it is ingratitude on your part to do so; for the rights of parents [over their children] go hand in hand with the rights of Allah [over his servants].” Thus Allah says: “. . . Give thanks to Me and to your parents, to Me is the final destination” (31:14); and He also says: “And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him and that you be dutiful to your parents . . .” (17:23). The father is the source for the creation of his son, while the son is the one who has acquired the benefit. Allah also says: “His wealth and his children will not benefit him” (91:2). Ingratitude toward one’s parents is a type of unbelief against Allah, since it is ingratitude toward being, out of which his Lord created him, which means that he is ungrateful to Allah for having created him. And in the language of those who came before, the Lord was described as a father. Thus, in this respect such a person has shown ingratitude toward Allah; however, he is not like one who utterly repudiates Allah. In what follows we shall speak, Allah willing, of other related hadiths.

THE NECESSITY OF GOING BACK TO THE BOOK AND THE SUNNAH TO CLARIFY THE MEANINGS OF IMAN AND ISLAM

Our intention here is to lay a comprehensive foundation on which knowledge of sayings may be based, and to seek solutions to people’s disputes in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Muslims have different views about the words Iman and Islam because these concepts are mentioned many times, and they have been frequently discussed among Muslims. Any word that is sometimes applied in an individual sense and other times in a restricted sense will lead to controversy. For someone in search of understanding, the more he hears such words, the more obscure their meanings become to him. But he who searches for knowledge, until he knows how such words are used, knows that the best and perfect speech is that of Allah, and that what Muslims have agreed on is much more than what they disputed over.

All Muslims, Orthodox and non-Orthodox, agree that it is required to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Hereafter. Moreover, they agree that it is also required to pray, give zakah, fast, and go on pilgrimage. Furthermore, they agree that whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger enters Paradise without being punished; but whoever does not believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah is an unbeliever. Such bases and rules [of Iman], which constitute the foundation of religion, are agreed on by all Muslims and believers. Their disputes over some matters or the meanings of certain terms are insignificant compared to what they agreed on. Those who oppose the truth of the Qur’an and the Sunnah are well known to the majority as heretics, for such people—like the Kharijites, the Qadrites, and the Rafidites—are neither trusted nor accepted by Muslims in general. Muslim scholars within the Orthodox Muslim community disputed over subtle matters that most ordinary people know nothing about, but these matters should have been referred to Allah and His Messenger. The question of the names Iman and Islam—which both refer to a duty and obligation, since none deserves Paradise unless he is a believing Muslim—must also be referred to Allah and His Messenger. Hence the truth of the matter was made clear by our Prophet (pbuh) in Gabriel’s hadith, where he divided religion and its people into three categories, the lowest of these being Islam, the middle being Iman, and the highest being Ihsan. Therefore, whoever reached the highest category must have passed through the other two. To clarify, muhsin, man of Ihsan, is a believer, and the believer is a Muslim, but the Muslim may not be a believer or a man of Ihsan.

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The Qur’4n classified the Islamic community into three categories, as Allah says: “Then We have given the Book for inheritance to such of Our servants as We have chosen: but there are among them some who wrong their own souls; some who follow a middle course; and some who are, by Allah’s leave, foremost in good deeds; that is the highest Grace” (35:32). So the Muslim who does not fulfill the required Iman is the one who wrongs himself, the one who follows a middle course is the perfect believer who has performed the required Iman and abandoned that which is prohibited, while the one foremost in good deeds is the charitable person who worships Allah as if he saw Him directly. In the Siirahs entitled Wagqi‘ah [The Inevitable Event] and al-Mutafafin [Dealing in Fraud], Allah mentions that in the Hereafter, people will be divided into these three categories.

Abu Sulayman al-Khattabi said that people are often mistaken concerning this matter. For example, al-Zuhni said that Islam is a dual profession of belief, while Iman is works. Others have said that Islam and Iman are one thing, referring to Allah’s verses. Allah says: “Then We evacuated those of the believers who were there, but We found no [Muslim] persons except in one house” (51:35--36). Al-Khattabi said that two scholars of knowledge discussed this matter and one of them [the author] has written a book refuting the second opinion that says that there is no difference between Islam and Iman, whereas al-Khattabi supports the former opinion. For a Muslim could be a believer in some cases but not in others. The believer, however, is always a Muslim, so every believer is a Muslim but not vice-versa.