The Signs of Faith And Beyond. “The dwellers of the desert say we believed. Say (you O Prophet ﷺ to them) you do not believe, but rather say you accepted Islam for belief has not entered your hearts yet.” Al Quran 49:14
With the Name of Allah most Beneficient ever Merciful
In Islam there is a clear distinction between being a Muslim and being a believer or “momin.” There are verses which use the words Muslim and “momin” (believer) in the same verse showing yet again that there has to be a difference between them both.
Once Hazrath Gibriel (AS) came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and asked him questions while he was in a gathering so that his companions could learn their religion. His first question was what is Islam? The Prophet ﷺ said that it is based on five pillars viz. the declaration of the first kalima, praying five times a day, giving of charity (Zakaath), fasting in the month of Ramdaan and performing Hajj at least once in a life time if one has the means to. AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:10 When a person does all of this or at least accepts all of this, then he is a Muslim. Being a believer or having “imaan” (faith) is something else. It is another higher level entirely – a more important part of our religion.
To understand this, one has to first understand what belief is. Belief means to accept something to be true. If I tell you that birds can fly or that you can see through glass then it is easy for you to accept this because this is obvious and everyone can see this for themselves. Having belief in Allah is something that entails more than this. It entails accepting as true what one cannot verify or what is beyond our understanding.
In continuing the above hadith Hazrath Gibrieel (AS) then asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ: “What is “Imaan” (faith or belief). The Holy Prophet ﷺ replied that you believe (accept as true) in Allah, His angels, His books, His Prophets, the Day of Judgment and destiny.” At Hadis” 1:1:2:10 See also Al Hadith 1:1:2:36.
Allah we cannot see, angels we cannot see. Therefore, to believe in them is having faith. Accepting a Day of Judgment that is yet to come and accepting that we would be resurrected from the dead is having faith because this is something that we cannot prove to be true or it is not the norm that we are used to.
To accept that everything that is to happen to us is already known to Allah is having faith because such things are yet to happen.
So to believe in that which we cannot verify by our five physical senses and to believe in that which is going to happen is what “Emaan” is all about.
Saying we believe in these articles of faith is not good enough. We have to believe in them without doubt and from the bottom of our hearts. It is only then that we become believers or “Momin”.
If this is the case then we are all Muslims but not all of us have “Imaan,” or not all of us believe completely from the depths of our hearts. We might say we believe with our mouths and we may think that we believe but our actions tell a different story.
There are many hadith which start off with “You will not believe until ….” and it is these hadith that are not only the indicators of our faith but they also teach us about how we could strengthen our faith. These hadith teach that there are some 70 odd branches to faith.
Let’s take one as an example and see if we fulfil the criteria. “Nobody believes until he loves for his brother what he wants for himself.” AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:39.
When it comes to belief most of these hadith stress caring for others. It does not matter who they are but we must feel for them as we would feel for our own children or ourselves or better still we must feel more for them than ourselves.
Here is one other example. Abu Huraria (RA) reported the Prophet ﷺ as saying: “By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, you will not enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Should I not guide you to that which will cause you to love one another: Spread out salutation among you.” Abu Dawud 5174.
As Muslims today we do not care for others and this comes through in the way we treat our workers, tenants, parents, siblings, fellow Muslims, non-Muslims and those that are seemingly below our social status.
We are greedy and we want to own all the properties and we want to run all the businesses. This is a western way that is alien to Islam. Islam is live and help others to live even better than the way we do and if we achieve this then we have faith.
Lets take another hadith concerning faith and see if we make the grade. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: “You will not believe until you love me more than you love your children, your parents and the whole of humanity.” AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:13.
If we love him then we would obey his every little command. We only follow what suits us and we discard the rest. We follow him when it comes to the length of our beard but we do not follow him when it comes to thinking that we are no better than everyone around us.
We still have this cast mentality. We will rush to the mosque but we will still hold on dearly to our wealth and our good life. The Prophet ﷺ lived on a day to day basis with nothing extra.
Practising half the religion is as good as not practising it at all or even worse because we are making our own religion.
Some other hadith relating to the qualities of a “momin” (believer) is that he will develop certain characteristics such as his good works will please him and his bad deeds will grieve him AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:2w, he will have good manners AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:41, he will be patient and generous AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:5w, he will feel shame and have modesty AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:7w, he will be friendly AL “Hadis 1:1:2:8w, he will care for his neighbors AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:10w, he will love for Allah’s sake and he will hate for His sake AL “Hadis 1:1:2:4w. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: “Belief has got seventy odd branches of which the best is saying (with belief) the first kalima and the most insignificant is the removal of an injurious object from the pathway….” AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:12
In the times we live in there are movements that stress the outward actions of Islam (five pillars) but totally disregard that which brings about true “imaan”. Many are the Muslims with the perfect Islamic regalia yet they are totally inconsiderate of those around them.
“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the east or the west, but righteousness is that one should believe in Allah and the last day and the angels, and the books and the prophets.” Al Quran 2:177
The majority of the “Hadis” pertaining to Imaan, mention caring for everyone around us. Therefore, love is the key to having perfect Imaan because when we love then our hearts become soft and we would automatically be kind and compassionate.
The love we talk about here is not worldly but that which is linked to Allah Subhanatallah. When the companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ fell in love with him, then only did they perfect their faith. They were prepared to sacrifice anything and everything for him and there are plenty of examples in the hadith books about their willingness to do this.
Love for Allah by loving that which is connected to Him is that one singular act that brings about faith. Just as the Holy Quran is the book of Allah, so too is the Holy Prophet ﷺ the Messenger of Allah.
Similarly, we too have to fall in love with an agent of Allah Subhanatallah who is a perfect spiritual guide and a friend of Allah.
So we see that developing our faith is actually called “Tarika” in Sufi terms. When we love our spiritual guide sincerely then we would automatically have complete faith. It is then that “we would be pleased with Allah as our Lord, with Islam as our religion and with Muhammad ﷺ as our Prophet.” AL “Hadis” 1:1:2:15.
This is one of the signs of a believer.
Another sign of a believer is that he is not attached to this world. He does not care for wealth and what this world has to offer because he knows that this is not the purpose of life.
“(His denial of Resurrection is because) a human being likes to continue in his evil ways in (the life) that is before him (without fearing the consequences of his deeds).” Al Quran 75:5.
We may pray all our prayers but if we are attached to this world then we do not have faith. When a believer says “there is no god but Allah” then there is nothing more important to him than Allah and whatever he does is for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.
“Truly, success in this life and in the Hereafter does come to the believers, who turn (to God) in all humility in their Prayer, who keep aloof from all that is vain and idle, who act consciously for the sake of purity (and regularly present the Zakaath), who guard their private parts except from their spouses…, who look after their trusts and their covenants and who are strict in the observance of their Prayers.” Al Quran, Sura Al Muminun 23:1-9.
In continuing the first hadith about Islam and imaan in this article, Hazrath Gibriel (AS) then asks the Holy Prophet ﷺ a third question: What is “Ihsaan” to which he replies that that you serve Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him then He certainly sees you. Mishkaut Al Misabih-chapter on belief.
Now, this is the stage of “Haqika” according to Sufi terminology and it can only be achieved when we have a Pir O Murshid.
Peace and blessings be upon Muhammad Sallallahu Allayhi Wasallam.
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi.
Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi was founded by Dr/Hakim Hazrath Khwaja Sayed Shareef Ahmed Ali Shah RA (fondly known as Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saab RA).
Author: Mohamed Hassan Gaffoor WhatsApp; +27 84 910 1486