WHAT IS IMAAN?

WHAT IS IMAAN?


The root of the word IMAAN is A-M-N, which primarily means "to trust, be secure, be in safety, confine in". The word IMAAN has the following meanings:

-The believing or Belief or Conviction

-Becoming true to the trust with respect to which Allah Has confided in one, by a firm believing with the heart, not by profession of belief with the tongue only, without the assent of the heart

-The manifesting humility or submission, and the accepting of the Divine Law and the firm believing thereof with the heart

-Faith

-Trust

-Confidence

-Acknowledgement

-Submission

What is IMAAN about?

IMAAN is about having a firm believing with the heart in 5 Realities [2:177]:

1. Allah

2. The Hereafter

3. Malaika

4. The Divine Guidance

5. The Prophets

The one who believes in the above five realities is Momin and the one who denies or rejects them is not Momin [4:136].

The most important point is that IMAAN in the above should be with the concept of these that is given in Quran. IMAAN on the manmade concept of Allah, the hereafter, Malaika, the Divine Guidance and the Prophets, is not the correct IMAAN.

Another reality that is mentioned in context of IMAAN is AL-GHAIB {Unseen} [2:3]. There are different types of UNSEEN described in Quran. The following are some examples:

Allah is UNSEEN [21:49, 35:18, 36:11, 50:33, 67:12]

Life after death is UNSEEN [27:65-66]

Everlasting paradise in the hereafter is UNSEEN[19:61]
AL-SAA'AT [the day of judgment] is UNSEEN [16:77, 32:5-6, 34:3, 72:25-26]

The WAHI [revelation], before it is revealed, is UNSEEN [3:44, 11:49, 81:24]

Something/Someone that is not in front of our eyes [i.e. absent] is UNSEEN [12:52]

The events of the past , of which we do not have knowledge, may be UNSEEN [18:25-26]

IMAAN in the Unseen is the IMAAN in Allah, the Hereafter and the Unseen consequences of our actions which has not yet manifested

There is no mention of IMAAN on TAQDEER or pre-destination in the Quran.
The importance of Reason in IMAAN

And do not follow (blindly) any information of which you have no (direct) knowledge. (Using your faculties of perception and conception, you must verify it for yourself. (In the Court of your Lord,) you will be held accountable for your hearing, sight, and the faculty of reasoning." [17:36]

The Believers (Mu'minin) according to the Qur'an, are:

[25:73] "Those who, when the revelations of their Rabb (Nourisher and Sustainer) are presented to them, do not fall thereat deaf and blind."

[8:22] "The worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not use their intellect to understand."

[7:179] "There are many among Jinns and human beings, who lead such a life as makes it obvious that they are meant for Hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand not, they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not; they are like cattle-nay, are worse; they are the heedless."

Just SAYING that "I am a believer" does not make one a believer

"And there are some people who say: We believe in Allah and the last day; and they are not at all believers." [2:8]

IMAAN is not just "uttering something with the tongue"; it is a strong conviction from the bottom of the heart [5:41, 49:14]

IMAAN is not "saying" something but "doing" something [2:8, 61:2-3]

There are real tests to see whether we are true believers or not [29:2-3]

True believers are those:

-Who bow down or submit themselves with obedience to Allah and follow His Commands [5:55, 32:15, 2:121]

-Who work deeds of righteousness [17:9, 18:2]

-Who strive with their wealth and lives in the cause of Allah [8:74, 49:15]

-Who give themselves and their wealth in the cause of Allah [9:111]

-Who establish As-Salat [8:2-4, 5:55]

-Who set up the system of ZAKAAT [5:55] and spend their wealth (for the welfare of humanity) [8:2-4]


The Increase And Decrease Of Faith

by: Imaam Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-Uthaymeen (Rahimahullah)

According to Ahlus–Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, eemaan (faith) is “belief in the heart, words on the tongue and actions of the body.” This includes three things:

Belief in the heart
Words on the tongue
Actions of the body

As this is the case, then it will increase and decrease. That is because the degree of belief in the heart differs from one person to another. Believing in what someone tells you is not the same as believing something that you see with your own eyes. Believing in what one person tells you is not the same as believing what two people tell you, and so on. Hence Ibraaheem (alayhis-salaam) said,
“ ‘My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead.’ He (Allaah) said, ‘Do you not believe?’ He [Ibraaheem (Abraham)] said, ‘Yes (I believe), but to be stronger in Faith.’ ” [Soorah al-Baqarah (2):260]

Eemaan may increase with regard to belief, contentment and tranquility in the heart. A person may experience that in himself when he attends gatherings of dhikr where he hears a lesson. Remembering Paradise and Hell increases eemaan to the point where it is as if you can see them with your own eyes. But when a person is negligent and leaves those gatherings, this certain faith is reduced in his heart.

Eemaan in the sense of words may increase similarly. Whoever remembers Allaah a few times is not like one who remembers Him one hundred times. The latter is far better in eemaan.
And the one who does an act of worship in a perfect manner will have more faith than one who does it in an imperfect manner.

The same applies to righteous deeds. If a person does good deeds physically more than another, the one who does more will have more eemaan than the one who does less. This is stated in the Qur’aan and Sunnah – I mean the fact that eemaan may increase and decrease. Allaah says,
“And We have fixed their number only as a trial for the disbelievers, in order that the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) may arrive at a certainty and that the believers may increase in Faith.” [Soorah al-Muddaththir (74):31]
“And whenever there comes down a Soorah, some of them (hypocrites) say, “Which of you has had his Faith increased by it?” As for those who believe, it has increased their Faith, and they rejoice. But as for those in whose hearts is a disease (of doubt, disbelief and hypocrisy), it will add suspicion and doubt to their suspicion, disbelief and doubt; and they die while they are disbelievers.” [Soorah at-Tawbah (9):124-125]
According to a saheeh hadeeth, the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) said,
“I have never seen any women lacking in reason and faith who have a more negative impact on the mind of a serious man than you.”
Thus eemaan increases and decreases.



WHAT INCREASES FAITH?


There are several means of increasing faith,
The first means is learning about Allaah through His names and attributes. The more a person learns about Allaah through His names and attributes, the more he will increase in faith, without a doubt. Hence you find that the scholars who know more about the names and attributes of Allaah than others do, are stronger in faith than others in this regard.

The second means is looking at the signs of Allaah in the universe and the signs of Sharee'ah (i.e., verses of the Qur’aan and miracles of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam), etc.). The more a person looks at the signs of Allaah in the universe, the more he increases in faith. Allaah says,
“And on the earth are signs for those who have Faith with certainty. And also in your ownselves. Will you not then see?” [Soorah adh-Dhaariyaat (51):20-21]
The verses which indicate that are many, I mean the verses which indicate that by pondering and thinking about this universe, man can increase in faith.
The third means is doing many acts of worship, for the more acts of worship a person does, the more he will increase in faith thereby, whether those acts of worship involve words or actions. So dhikr increases faith in quantity and quality, and prayer, fasting and Hajj also increase faith in quantity and quality.


WHAT DECREASES FAITH?


The things that make faith decrease are as follows,
Ignorance of the names and attributes of Allaah makes a decrease in faith inevitable, because if a man is lacking in knowledge of the names and attributes of Allaah, he will be lacking in faith.

Neglecting to think about the signs of Allaah in the universe and the signs of Sharee'ah (i.e., verses of the Qur’aan and miracles of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam), etc.). This causes a decrease in faith or at the very least, it causes it to stagnate and not grow.

Committing sins, because sin has a profound effect on the heart and on faith. Hence the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) said,
“The adulterer at the time when he is committing adultery is not a believer.”
Neglecting to do acts of worship, because neglecting to do acts of worship causes a decrease in faith. But if the act of worship is obligatory and a person neglects it with no excuse, then he is to be blamed and deserves punishment. If the act of worship is not obligatory, or it is obligatory but a person does not do it for a valid reason, then he is lacking but is not to be blamed. Hence the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) described women as lacking in reason and in religion, and he explained their lacking in religion as being because of the fact that when they menstruate, they do not pray or fast.

But they are not to be blamed for not praying or fasting during their menstruation; rather they are commanded not to do these things at that time. But because they miss out on doing some of the things that men do, they are regarded as lacking in this regard.
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