Part 99

THE CONCEPT OF IMAN AND RELATED ISSUES 409

It may be affirmed of the hypocrite that outwardly, he is both a Muslim and a believer while, on the other hand, they may deny that the sinner is a Muslim or a believer, whether outwardly or inwardly.

Someone might ask, if each and every believer is a Muslim, yet not every Muslim is a believer [with perfect Iman}—as indicated in the hadith of Gabriel, other hadiths, and the Qur’an, and the sayings of the pious ancestors [for Islam is outward obedience as well as submission, while Iman also connotes the meaning of acceptance and tranquility, which is more than mere submission}—then what do you say about the person who performs what Allah orders, and forbids what Allah prohibits, and is loyal and faithful to Allah in his outward deeds and inner intent? Is not such a man considered a Muslim, outwardly as well as inwardly, and will he not enter Paradise? If so, and if only believers enter Paradise, then he is a believer.

We say that elsewhere in this book we have mentioned that such a man must have the required Iman; for if he did not perform the requirements, he would be exposed to the threat of punishment. However, there may be Iman that is not required of him; either he has not been presented with it or he is incapable of performing it. For the Iman and Islam described in the hadith of Gabriel were not considered requirements in the early stages of Islam. Nor were they considered requirements of previous communities who followed the Prophets [the people of Paradise], although they were believing Muslims, and although Islam is the religion of Allah and the only religion that is accepted. Islam is also the religion of Allah, both in the present life and in the Hereafter. For Islam is the worship of Allah only, with no partners, and obedience to Him. Allah’s commands may vary in a single Shari‘ah, Js/amic law, not to mention in more than one such law. Accordingly, Islam may include some requirements of Iman that may be excluded in another time. An illustrative example is the prayer toward the Rock [namely, when Muslims used to pray toward Jerusalem in the early period of Islam, before the Qiblah was transferred to Makkah]. This kind of prayer was part of Islam, when Allah orders it to be so, but was no longer part of Islam after He prohibits It.

It is a well-known fact that the five pillars of Islam, which are mentioned in the hadith of Gabriel, were not made obligatory in the early stages of Islam. Instead fasting, pilgrimage, and giving zakah were made obligations in Madinah. Also, the

five prayers were made obligatory on the night of [the Prophet’s] ascension. Moreover, many of the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh) make no mention of pilgrimage. For pilgrimage was only made obligatory later, in the year 9 or 10 A.H. When Allah reveals His mission to Muhammad (pbuh), whoever followed him [the Prophet] and believed what was revealed in his message was considered a believer and a Muslim. And if such a person died, he would be among those meriting Paradise. After this stage, Allah adds to and completes Iman and Islam. Allah says: “. .. This day I perfected your religion for you . . .” (5:3). The same is applicable to Iman. For indeed, the detailed Iman mentioned in the hadith of Gabriel was not made obligatory in the early stages of Islam, when Allah revealed the Sirahs entitled al-‘Alaq, The Clot of Congealed Blood, and Muddaththir, One Who Is Wrapped Up. Rather, it was made obligatory in the Madinan Sirahs, such as seerah Baqarah, The Cow, and Siirah al-Nisa” The Women. Hence, detailed Iman was not made obligatory for people who died before that time. Moreover, a man could be a Muslim who worships Allah only, and does not associate partners with Him, who had the obligatory Iman [Iman that was made obligatory for him] and who would be of the people of Paradise, yet without having detailed Iman, which was mentioned in the hadith of Gabriel. Such a man [who was a Muslim at the early stage of Islam] is said to have the Iman and Islam that was made obligatory for him. Hence, he could be a Muslim who worships Allah [as commanded] and who does not worship anyone other than Allah, Whom he fears and from whom he seeks forgiveness; but he may not love Allah and His Messenger more than all other things and people, nor love Allah, His Messenger, and jihad more than his family and his money. Also, he may not desire for his brother what he desires for himself, nor fear and take refuge in Allah alone. But it is these things that, altogether, constitute obligatory Iman. For Islam is the submission that implies obedience to none but Allah, and following and adoring none but Allah. Submission and adoration may include fear [of Allah] and hope in Him. However, tranquility of the heart due to loving none but Allah, love of Allah and His Messenger that is greater than one’s love of anything else, trust in Allah, and desiring for a brother in Islam what one desires for oneself: all these are realities that correspond to Iman, and whoever does not demonstrate them in his life is not considered to be a true believer, even if he is a Muslim. The same is applicable to other phenomenon, such as having a tremor in one’s heart when Allah’s name is mentioned and increasing one’s Iman when Allah’s verses are recited.

THE CONCEPT OF IMAN AND RELATED ISSUES aii

Someone might ask: Is the absence of this Iman considered a sin or not? The answer would be: If a man has not been presented with it, then its absence is not to be considered a sin, even if he is able to attain it. Many people, or even the majority of people [which is true of the masses at all times and places], do not have knowledge about the details included in Iman, although they perform the required obedience of Islam. When they commit a sin, they repent and ask for Allah’s forgiveness, but they do not know either about the requirements of Iman or about the fact that they are parts of Iman. Indeed, many of the people who know about these requirements, if they even believe in their existence, think that they are supererogatory acts of piety, which are desirable but not required.

Islam includes whoever declares his Islam yet does not have any Iman. Such a man is a sheer hypocrite [namely, a hypocrite with regard to belief, who pretends that he is a Muslim, although he is an unbeliever in his heart]. Islam also includes whoever declares his Islam and has inner belief in Islam as a whole, but does not perform all the requirements or obligations. Such a man is considered a sinner who has a “branch” of hypocrisy. Islam also includes whoever performs the required Islam and the Iman that it requires, but fails to attain perfect Iman. Such a man is not considered a sinner who has neglected an obligation or committed a forbidden act; rather, he is dispraised for neglecting some aspects of Iman that are required to be known and fulfilled outwardly and inwardly [in the heart]. Indeed, this is the kind of hypocrisy the pious ancestors used to fear; for whoever has it, has some degree of hypocrisy in his heart. Beyond this there are aspects of belief by which Allah grants those who draw near to Him distinction over other righteous believers. This may include desirable acts, as well as a degree of Iman or Islam that is required of some but not others. That is why the Prophet said: “Whoever of you sees a wrong deed should change it by his hand; if he is unable to do so, then he should change it with his tongue, and if he is unable to do this, then he should change it with his heart, which is considered the weakest form of Iman.” In another hadith the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Beyond this [the mere ability to change a wrong deed with one’s heart] there is no Iman, even the weight of a mustard seed.” By the latter hadith, the Prophet (pbuh) meant that disapproving of something in one’s heart is the best possible expression of Iman. Hence, the saying does not mean that whoever does not disapprove it [in his heart] does not have evena mustard seed of Iman. Thus, the Prophet (pbuh) divided believers into three

ranks, each of which fulfills the required Iman. Believers in the highest rank [who change the wrong deed with their hands], since they are most able, are required to have a more perfect Iman than those in the second rank, who in turn are asked to have a more perfect Iman than those in the lowest rank. Accordingly, it is clear that people differ in the Iman required of them according to their abilities, provided that all of them have been presented with Iman and its necessity.

The question of whether to say, “I am a believer, if Allah wills,”' is indeed a controversial issue, and [Muslim] people have three opinions regarding this: some people consider it obligatory; some consider it forbidden; and some accept the two previously stated opinions under different circumstances, and this is the most correct opinion. Those who use the conditional clause, in sha’a Allah, and forbid making the exception are the Murji’ites, Jahmites, and others who considered Iman as a single entity that one recognizes by himself, such as tasdiq, assent, in the Lord and similar matters in one’s heart. Therefore, if I say that I know that I am a believer in the same way I know that J bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, and in the same way I know that I have read the Fatihah [the first chapter of the Qur’an] and just as I know that I love the Messenger of Allah and hate the Jews and the Christians, then my saying that I am a believer is like my saying that I am a Muslim, that I have uttered the Shahadah, testimony, or read the Fatihah, or that I hate the Jews and the Christians, and other such matters that J know for certain. And although it is unacceptable to say: “I read the Fatihah, if Allah wills,” likewise I cannot say: “I am a believer, if Allah wills.” Nevertheless, if one has some doubts about whether he is a believer, then he should add the phrase, “if Allah wills,” to his statement. Therefore, whoever makes the exception regarding his Iman is one who has doubts about his Iman, and people of this type are called al-Shakkakah, the Doubters.