Faith...What does it mean?
Faith is what we have described in the foregoing discussion
as "Knowledge and belief '. The Arabic word Iman, which we have rendered in
English as faith, literally means 'to know', 'to believe', and 'to be
convinced beyond the least shadow of doubt ',
.Faith, thus ,is firm belief arising out of knowledge and conviction .And the man who
knows and reposes unshakable belief in the unity of God ,in His attributes ,in His Law
and the Revealed Guidance, and in the Divine Code of Reward and punishment is called
Mom'min (faithful). This faith invariably leads
man to a life of obedience and submission to the well of God .And one who lives this life
of submission is known as Muslim.
This should clearly bring home the fact that with out faith (Iman)
no man can be a true Muslim. It is the indispensable essential; rather, the very starting
point, without which no beginning can be made .The relation of Islam to Iman is the
same as of a tree to its seed. As a tree cannot sprout forth without its seed, in the same
way it is not possible for a man who has no belief to start with, to become a Muslim .On
the other hand, just ass it can be happen that, in spite of sowing the seed, the tree may
not grow for a multiple of reasons, or if it sprouts, its growth may be impaired or
retarded, in the same way, a man may have faith, but due a number of weakness, he may not
become a true and staunch Muslim. Thus we find the faiths point an leads matot
life of
submission to God, and that a man cannot become a Muslim without faith. On the co, it is
possible that man may have faith but, because of the weakness of his well-power, poor
training, or bad company, he may not be living the life of a true Muslim. As such, from
the viewpoint of Islam and Iman, all men may be classified into four categories :
Those who have firm faith -a
faith that makes them absolutely and whole-heartedly submit to God .They follow the way of
God and devote themselves heart and soul to seek His pleasure by doing all that He likes
and by avoiding all that He dislikes .In there devotion they are even more fervent than is
the common man in pursuit of wealth and glory. Such men are true Muslims.
Those who do have faith ,who
believe in God, His Law and the Day of Judgment, whose is not deep and strong enough to
make them totally submit to God. They are far below the rank of true Muslims deserve
punishment for their defaultations and misdeeds, but till they are Muslims. They are
defaulters and wrongdoers but not rebels. They acknowledge the Sovereign and His Law and,
although they are violating the Law, they are guilty and deserve punishment, but Muslims
they remain.
Those who do not possess faith
at all. These people refuse to They acknowledge the Sovereignty of God and are rebels.
Even if their conduct is not bad if they are not spreading corruption and violence, they
remain rebels and their apparent good deeds are of little value. Such men are like the
outlaws. And as, even if any action of an loyal and obedient citizen, in the same way the
apparent good of those who revolt against God cannot compensate for the gravity of the
real wrong , revolt, and disobedience.
Those who neither possess faith
nor do good deeds. They spread disorder in the world and perpetrate all kinds of violence
and oppression. They are the worst of the people, for they are rebels as well as
wrongdoers and criminals.
The above classification of mankind clearly shows that the
real success and salvation of man depends on Iman (faith). The life of obedience (Islam)
takes its birth from the seed of Iman. This Islam of a person may be flawless or
defective. But without Iman there can be no Islam. Where there is no Iman
there is no Islam. Where there is no Islam there is a Kufr.
Its form and nature may be different, but in any way it would be kufr
and nothing but kufr.
This brings home the importance of Iman vis- a-vis a life of
true and total submission to God.
*kufr literally
means 'to cover' or 'to conceal'. The man who denies God is called kafir (concealer)
because he conceals by his disbelief what is inherent in his nature and embalmed in his
own soul -for, indeed, his nature is instinctively imbued with 'Islam'. His whole body,
every sinew and very fiber, functions in obedience to that instinct Each and every
particle of existence -living or lifeless- functions in accordance with 'Islam' and is
fulfilling the duty that has been assigned to it. But the vision of this man has been
blurred, his intellect has been befogged, and he is unable to see the manifest. His own
nature has become concealed from his eyes and he thinks and acts in utter disregard of it.
The reality becomes estranged from him and he gropes in the dark -such is the nature of
kufr. Return
