The Concept of Faith in Islam

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful Praise be to God, as the believers praise him; and
may he send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad, and upon all of his forefathers, his
brethren of prophets and messengers, his family, and his companions. God Almighty says: O you who
have faith! Respond to God and the Messenger when He calls you to unto that which gives you life; and
know that God comes in between a man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be mustered (Al‐Anfal,
8:24),

And says,

Those who have faith, and have not confounded their faith with evildoing – to them belongs the true
security; they are rightly guided (Al-An`am, 6:82). And he says: But whosoever turns away from My
remembrance, his shall be a life of narrowness, and on the Resurrection Day We shall raise him blind.’
He shall say, ‘O my Lord, why have you raised me blind, and I was wont to see?’ God shall say, ‘Even so it
is. Our signs came unto you, and you forgot them; and so today you are forgotten’ (Ta Ha, 20:124–126),
and says: By the soul, and Him who shaped it, inspiring it with its lewdness and its God‐ consciousness.
Prosperous is he who purifies it, and a failure is he who stunts it (Al-Shams, 91:7–10).

1. Faith (Iman) in its Lexical and Technical Meanings

The author of Maqayis al-Lugha says: The root letters '‐m‐n have two closely‐related root
meanings: the first is the faithfulness (amana) that is the opposite of treachery, meaning the
heart’s assurance; and the other is belief. The two meanings are close. Al‐Khalil says that al-
amana (security) comes from amn (safety), and that aman means to give safety, whilst amana
means the opposite of treachery.
Iman also means to believe; its opposite is to belie. To have faith is something means to
believe in it, and to be sure (amina) that the one telling it is not lying. Iman also means to show
acquiescence and acceptance to the Sacred Law, and to all that the Prophet (God bless him and
grant him peace) brought, and to accept it and believe in with the heart. The one who does all
this is a believer (mu'min) and a Muslim, having neither misgivings nor doubts; and he is the one
who sees that completing the obligations [of the religion] is incumbent upon him, and has no
doubt about this. The Glorious Revelation says: You are not a mu'min in us  (Yusuf, 12:17),
meaning ‘you do not believe us’; iman means belief. Al‐Azhari said: ‘The basis of iman is to enter
into a state of belief in the trust (amana) that God 13 Almighty has given one.
The technical meaning of faith is firm belief in something real, based on evidence. Experts in
this subject have defined faith as being ‘to believe with the heart and proclaim with the tongue’;
some have added ‘to act with the body.’ Or, in the words of Abu `Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Salam:
‘Faith is to have sincere devotion to God with the heart, to testify this with the tongue, and to
act on it with the body.
2. The Meaning of Faith, and its Articles
The meaning of faith (iman) and its qualities and articles, and its position between surrender
(islam) and spiritual excellence (ihsan), were given in the very famous hadith of our master
Gabriel (peace be upon him) in the two Sahih collections. `Umar ibn al-Khattab said: We were
with the Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace) one day, when there came to
us a man wearing dazzling white clothes, with jet black hair; there were no marks of travel on
him, and yet not one of us knew him. He sat by the Prophet (God bless him and grant him
peace), knee to knee, placed his hands on his thighs, and said: “O Muhammad, tell me about
surrender (islam). The Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace) said: “Surrender
is to testify that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is God's Messenger (God bless
him and grant him peace), to perform the prayer, bestow the alms, fast Ramadan and make, if
you can, the pilgrimage to the Holy House.” He said: “You have spoken truly”, and we were
amazed that having questioned him he should corroborate him. He then said: “Tell me about
faith (iman).” He said: “To believe in God and His angels and His books and His messengers and
the Last Day, and to believe in Providence, the good of it and the evil of it.” “You have spoken
truly,” he said, and then: “Tell me about excellence (ihsan).” He said: “To worship God as if you
saw Him; for if you see Him not, He assuredly sees you.” He said: “Tell me about the Hour.” He
said: “The one questioned knows no more about it than the questioner.” He said: “Then tell me
of its portents.” He said: “That the slave‐girl shall give birth to her mistress; and that those who
were but barefoot naked needy herdsmen shall build buildings ever higher and higher.” Then
the stranger went away, and I tarried a while. He then said to me: “O `Umar, do you know who
the questioner was?” I said: “God and His Messenger know best.” He said: “It was Gabriel. He
came unto you to teach you your religion.”
The articles of faith, then, as the leading scholars of hadith have clarified in the
introductory sections of the works they have authored on the science of the holy prophetic
hadith, are faith in God Almighty, the angels, the revealed scriptures, the messengers and
prophets, the resurrection and the Last Day, and Providence, the good of it and the evil of it.
7. An Explanation of the Six Articles of Faith
Faith in God
The foundation and basis of faith is faith in God Almighty, which is innate to man’s primordial
nature, which all spirits acknowledged from the beginning in the ‘realm of the seed’ before
creation, as God Almighty says:
Remember when your Lord took the seeds of the sons of Adam from their loins and made
them bear wit- ness against themselves, and said: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yea, we
testify.’ This was lest you should say on the day of Resurrection: ‘Of this we were unaware’ (Al-
A`raf, 7:172).
The spiritual void we now see is but a consequence of the yearning of all spirits to relive that
defining moment by reviving their faithful connection to the Almighty Creator. The Muslim
believes, and is certain, and testifies, that there is no god but God, alone with no partner: a
Mighty God, a Glorious King, besides whom there is no other Lord, nor any other object of
worship. He is Eternal, without beginning or end; there is no beginning to His First‐ness, nor any
end to His Last‐ness. He is One, the Self‐sufficient Besought of all, who neither begat nor was
begotten, and none is like him. He has no likeness nor counterpart; there is nothing like unto
Him, and He is the All‐Hearing, All‐Seeing. In His Holiness He is beyond time and space, and the
resemblance of any created thing. Direction does not encompass Him, nor do temporal events
befall Him. He is settled upon His Throne in the way that He said it, according to the meaning He
intended, with a settling that befits the might of His Majesty and the height of His Glory and His
Grandeur. He is near to all things, and nearer to man than his jugular vein. He watches over all
things, and observes them. He is Living and All‐Sustaining. Neither slumber nor sleep overcome
Him. He made the heavens and the earth; and when He decrees a thing, He but says to it ‘Be!’,
and it is. God is the Creator of all things, and the Patron of all things.
Faith in the angels
Another article of faith is faith in the noble and holy angels (peace be upon them), who are
creatures of light, who  do not disobey God when He commands them, and who do as they are
commanded  (Al-Tahrim, 66:6). Qur'anic verses and noble hadiths speak of them with praise
and honour, and indeed with love; for God mentioned those of them who bear the Throne, and
made it clear that the hearts of the believers should be filled with love for them:
Those who bear the Throne, and those around it, hymn the praise of their Lord and have faith
in Him, and ask forgiveness for those who have faith: ‘Lord, You encompass all things in mercy
and knowledge; forgive, then, those who repent and follow Your way, and guard them from the
torment of Hell!’ (Ghafir, 40:7);
The heavens are well nigh rent above them, when the angels proclaim the praise of their Lord,
and ask forgiveness for those on earth. Indeed, God is the Forgiving, the Merciful (Al-Shura,
42:5).
There are also angels who come in turns to mankind by night and by day, and the recording
scribes who abide with every person at all times. There are also angels charged with certain
tasks pertaining to mankind, including:
1. Revelation: Gabriel
2. Provision: Michael
3. Blowing the trumpet [of the resurrection]: Raphael (Israfil)
4. Taking spirits: the Angel of Death
5. Counting good and bad deeds: the Diligent Observer
6. The questions of the grave: Munkar and Nakir
7. The guardian of Paradise: Ridwan
8. The guardian of hell: Malik
Peace be upon them all.
Faith in the scriptures and messengers
Another article of faith, without which the Muslim’s faith is invalid, is faith in the messengers
and prophets (peace be upon them all), and in the revealed scriptures that God Almighty sent
down; these include the scriptures of Abraham, Moses, the Psalms, the Torah, the Gospel and
the Qur'an. none of these scriptures contained a promise from God to undertake to preserve
them, save only the Holy Qur'an, in which the Almighty says:  It is We who have sent down the
Remembrance; and indeed, We are its Guardian  (Al-Hijr, 15:9). Islam is the religion which
includes all the prophets and envoys in faith, belief, allegiance and love; and God Almighty has
made our worship contingent on faith in all the messengers and prophets, may God’s blessings
and peace be upon them. So for us, faith is invalid if one does not believe in the prophethood of
our master Noah, or our master Abraham, or our master Moses, or our master Jesus, or any
other of the prophets whom God mentions in his Glorious Book when he says:
Say: We believe in God, and in what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down to
Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Tribes, and what was given to Moses and
 Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to
Him we surrender (Aal `Imran, 3:84).
From the article of faith in all the prophets and messengers, the Holy Qur'an made a foundation
upon which the Muslim community can base its relations to other communities. The Almighty
says:
O you who have faith! Have faith in God, and His Messenger, and the Book which He has
revealed unto His Messenger, and the Book which He revealed aforetime. Whoso disbelieves in
God, and His angels, and His books, and His messengers, and the Last Day, has indeed wandered
far astray (Al-Nisa', 4:136).

The principal and general basis, then, for our relations with all of our blessed prophets (upon them all be
peace and blessings) is the connection of faith, love, belief and allegiance to their guidance:  It is they
whom God has guided; follow, then, their guidance  (Al-An'am, 6:90), and taking lessons and wisdoms
from their stories and experiences with the communities of old. The best of the prophets are ‘the
resolute (ulu al-`azm) from among the messengers, namely our masters Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus
and Muhammad,25 peace be upon them. Faith in the messengers must make no distinction between
them, for God Almighty says:

The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, as do the believers. Each
believes in God, and His angels, and His books, and His messengers: ‘We make no distinction between
any of His messengers’ (Al-Baqarah, 2:285).

Yet it is valid to believe that some of them are preferred over others, for God has said:

These are the messengers; We favoured some of them over others. Some there are to whom God spoke,
and some He raised in rank; and We gave Jesus son of Mary clear signs, and aided him with the Holy
Spirit (AlBaqarah, 2:253).

The Father of the Prophets and the Friend of the Compassionate, our master Abraham (peace be upon
him) was blessed with a special position, which gives him a certain eminence in our connection to him,
in several ways. These include the ascription of the primordial faith (al-hanifiyya) to him, as well as how
our prophet Muhammad (God bless him and his family and grant him peace) is descended from him,
and is the answer to the prayer he made when he called upon God Almighty, saying:

Our Lord, raise among them a messenger from them, who shall convey unto them Your signs, and
teachthem scripture and wisdom, and cause them to grow in purity; You are the Almighty, the wise (Al-
Baqarah, 2:129).

Our master Moses (peace be upon him) also has a special eminence in his connection to us, which was
manifested when our master Muhammad (God bless him and grant him peace) went back to him several
times during his holy Ascension; each time, he advised him to ask God Almighty to lessen the burden of
the canonical prayer for his community, until finally God decreed it to be five prayers, after it had been
fifty.

As for our master Jesus (peace be upon him), he has a special place with regards to his connection to the
Islamic community in that God Almighty made him one of the most distinctive major portents of the
Hour, and one of the keys of deliverance for this community in the end times, when Jesus (peace be
upon him) will descend, as our Messenger described it:
He will descend by a white tower east of Damascus wearing two robes of pale yellow, his hands placed
on the wings of two angels. When he lowers his head, beads of water will drip from it; and when he
raises it, silver beads like pearls will scatter from it.

How beautiful, then, will be the scene of this descent, and how awe‐inspiring will his appearance be
(peace be upon him). The fact that this description is so detailed only adds to the certainty and the
attachment of mind, understanding and sensibility to the meaning of our connection with this holy man
so ennobled by his Lord. The hadiths which describe the time, place and manner of his blessed descent
are at the level of mass‐transmission.

Therefore, the Muslim believes that he has a special connection with Christ (peace be upon him), and
that he will lead the Muslims after he descends, according to God’s religion that he revealed to his
messengers, and his law that he made the seal of the messages of all his envoys: that of our master
Muhammad (God bless him and his family and grant him peace).

Islam addresses the faithful in a way that gives them a special attachment, great love, firm esteem and
spiritual aptness for following our master Christ (peace be upon him) when he descends. May God make
us among those whom He chooses to love, serve and aid Him – Amin!

Faith in the Last Day

Another article of faith is faith in the resurrection, the Last Day, the reckoning and the requital according
to divine mercy and justice, as God says: Save for those who repent and do good works: God shall
replace their sins with good deeds, and God is forgiving, merciful (Al-Furqan, 25:70), and He forgives
much (Al-Shura, 42:30), Whoso does an atom’s weight of good shall see it; and whoso does an atom’s
weight of evil shall see it (Al-Zalzala, 99:7–8). This is his way of stirring the believer’s aspiration and
strengthening his resolve to take hold of himself and buckle down to acts of obedience and good deeds,
and to forswear indulging caprices and delusions of happiness based on passions and fleeting pleasures.
It also shows the believer how to take the long view of his future, which will stretch out without limit, far
beyond the time he spends in this world.

The life in the hereafter is the true life. The short sighted are unable to see it and the feeble minded do
not believe what they are told about it. But one endowed with vision and possessed of wisdom and
comprehension knows that human life passes through stages.

There was a time when this very man was lying in the womb of his mother in a contracted and shrunken
position and was breathing in this limited world of him. If he could think at that time he would have
considered this state as his real life and would never agree to leave it and emerge from the womb of his
mother.

In the same way we consider death as a banishment from this world although this too is a kind of our
rebirth and progress to a very comfortable life., that is transfer to purgatory or limbo (Barzakh) which is
a temporary halting place between this material and transitory world and the eternal world of the
hereafter.

It is related that a companion once enquired from the Prophet, “O Messanger of God, how will God
raise up his creatures from the dead? Is there anything like it here in this world which may be cited as an
example? The Prophet replied, has it never occurred to you that you may have passed by a stretch of
land in your country and found it dry and bereft of all vegetation and then on coming upon it again after
sometime discovered it that it was covered lavishly with fresh, green grass? The companion replied, “Yes
my Master. It has”. The Prophet S.A.W remarked, this typifies resurrection. God will raise us from the
dead in the same manner.

Faith in Providence
The last of these articles is faith in Providence, both the good and the bad, the sweet and the bitter; and
faith that the universe is never outside the control of the Lord’s mercy, justice and wisdom. This is what
causes the believer to live a life which is refined by contentment, tranquillity, security and patience.

It remains to be said that all the articles of faith are indicators that constitute powerful means of
building a soul that is assured and confident of its connection to God Almighty, its outlook on life, and its
consequent deeds and conduct, especially in light of the breadth of the concept of the branches of faith,
which cover every aspect of human outlook and interaction.

The Branches of Faith

The essential cultural basis of the concept of the branches of faith is the saying of the Prophet (God
bless him and grant him peace): Faith is seventy‐something – or sixty‐something – branches; the
greatest of them is saying “there is no god but God”, and the least of them is to remove harmful objects
from the road. Shyness is a branch of faith.

So there are many means of refinement in the circle of the branches and portals of faith, between the
testimony of Divine Oneness at the top, and removing harmful objects from the road at the bottom. This
means that all the aspects of individual and communal life are included. One of the greatest of them is
to love God, the Messenger and his Family, one’s brother and one’s neighbour; he (God bless him and
his family and grant him peace) said:

Three things which, if they are in a person, he experiences the sweetness of faith: for God and His
Messenger to be more beloved to him than anything else; for him to love a man for no reason other
than God’s sake; and for him to hate to return to unbelief just as he would hate to be cast into fire.’

He (God bless him and his family and grant him peace) also said:

‘By Him in whose hand is my soul, no servant believes until he loves for his brother the goodness he
loves for himself.

He (God bless him and his family and grant him peace) also said:

‘He who has no trust has no faith; he who has no covenant has no religion.’

He (God bless him and his family and grant him peace) also said:

‘The believer is not he who sleeps full while his neighbour goes hungry.’

He (God bless him and his family and grant him peace) also said:
Whoso believes in God and the Last Day, let him honour his guest. Whoso believes in God and the Last
Day, let him not offend his neighbour. Whoso believes in God and the Last Day, let him say what is good,
or be silent.

He (God bless him and his family and grant him peace) also said:

A servant’s faith is not upright until his heart is upright, and his heart is not upright until his tongue is
upright; and no man will enter Paradise whose neighbour is not safe from his harm.

The Levels of Surrender (Islam), Faith (Iman) and Excellence (Ihsan)

Imam Abu Muhammad al-Husayn ibn Mas`ud alBaghawi says:

The Prophet (God bless him and grant him peace) made ‘surrender’ a name for outward actions, and
‘faith’ a name for inward beliefs. This is not because actions are not part of faith, or that belief of the
heart is not part of surrender; rather, it is a detailed explanation of a totality which is in fact one single
thing, the sum of which is called ‘religion.’ Therefore he (God bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘It
was Gabriel; he came to you to teach you your religion.’ Belief and action are both included in the
names of faith and surrender together; this is supported by the fact that the Almighty says Verily,
before God, religion is surrender (Aal `Imran, 3:19), and It has been My good pleasure to choose
surrender for you as your religion (Al-Ma'ida, 5:3). The Almighty is saying here that the religion which
He has gladly chosen, and which He accepts from His servants, is surrender; and religion could not be
acceptable or pleasing unless it included belief alongside action.

The Prophet (God bless him and grant him peace) explained iman as being the faith and submission of
the heart, meaning faith in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, and so on; and he explained
islam as being a particular surrender, namely that of the Five Pillars. The same is the case for the rest of
what he (God bless him and grant him peace) said: he explained faith in that way, and surrender in this;
and that way is the higher one. Therefore the Prophet (God bless him and grant him peace) said:
‘Surrender is public, and faith is in the heart.’ Outward actions can be seen by others, whilst the belief,
knowledge, love, fear and hope of the heart are hidden, although they do have effects which might
indicate them – although effects do not indicate anything unless their cause is certain.

The be‐all and end‐all of spiritual excellence is for the servant to ascend the levels of awareness of God
Almighty and to witness Him in all one’s actions and one’s conduct. This is the third degree, after
surrender and faith, and is higher than them both; and it is built upon them, and not extraneous to
them. There can be no faith without surrender, and no excellence without faith. It is an excellence which
the believer observes in all situations, and in worship in its most comprehensive meaning, which means
more than just rites and supererogatory acts of devotion. Indeed, other narrated versions of the hadith
have it: ‘Excellence is to work for God as though you see Him; for if you see Him not, He assuredly sees
you’,

And also:

‘Excellence is to fear God as though you see Him; for if you see Him not, He assuredly sees you.’

This is what makes excellence a constant conduct of the faithful in all their deeds and situations.
The Relationship Between Excellence (Ihsan) and Surrender (Islam)
and Faith (Iman)
Surrender is a designation attained by all who testify with their tongues that there is no god but God
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. It pertains to this worldly life, and to ruling and
interactions which have to do with its adherent’s connection to the rest of the Muslims: he may marry
from them, inherit from them, be prayed over and buried in their graveyards, and so on the for the rest
of the outward laws. It also requires adherence to the other Pillars: prayer, the alms, fasting, and the
pilgrimage.

But the reality of this, and its fruits in the heart and in the Hereafter, depend on this adherence to the
Pillars being sincerely devoted to God Almighty, without any ostentation, hypocrisy, pretention, self‐
satisfaction or arrogance. This can only be attained when the Muslim adheres to the pillars of Islam
whilst being in a state of awareness of God Almighty with love, desire, fear and hope. This is the
meaning of excellence.

Faith is belief; and this belief might be knowledge, witnessing, or true certainty. Certainty has three
degrees and levels: the knowledge of certainty (`ilm al-yaqin), the vision of certainty (`ayn al-yaqin) and
the truth of certainty (haqq al-yaqin), as God indicates in the Holy Qur'an when He says: Nay! Would
that you knew with the knowledge of certainty (Al-Takathur, 102:5), You shall surely see it with the eye
of certainty (Al-Takathur, 102:7), Indeed, this is the truth of certainty (Al-Waqi`a, 56:95), and And
indeed, it is the truth of certainty (Al-Haqqa, 69:51). Yet faith on the level of the knowledge of certainty
is itself dependable and acceptable; for knowledge pertains to the mind’s perception, and its certainty is
attained by the heart’s assurance and firm belief.

To have knowledge of the articles of faith, and for the mind to accept them, is the lowest level of faith,
and is enough to make the morally responsible person a believer (mu'min); yet faith at this level is
exposed to disturbances, and could be beset by the gales of doubt, disturbed by the winds of
uncertainty, or uprooted by the hurricanes of trial and misfortune. To ascend, however, to a higher level
than the knowledge of certainty makes faith firm and stable so that it is impervious to backsliding. This
can only be attained through a feeling of cognisance of God’s signs which are manifest in existence; and
one of the clearest of these signs are those that exist in the soul of man, as the Almighty says: And in
the earth are signs for the certain; and in your own selves – will you not, then, see? (Al-Dhariyat, 51:20–
21). It can also be through cognisance of how God is watching over the believer’s heart, as He says: We
created man, and We know what his heart whispers; and We are closer to him than his jugular vein
(Qaf, 50:16). This is the level of excellence, which is to worship God as though you see Him; for if you see
him not, He assuredly sees you. Hence, we find the mention of faith in the Holy Qur’an indicating
excellence when God says: Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the
remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured (Al-Ra’d,
13:28). Assuredness is a state of the heart which has to do with certainty and awareness of God’s
presence. Consequently, when excellence is actualized it brings perfection to the realm of action; the
Prophet (God bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘God the Exalted One, loves that if any of you
performs an action, he should do it with perfection’.17 In this way, the connection between surrender,
faith and excellence can be clearly seen.
The Increase and Decrease of Faith
The Proof of Islam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, in his book Ihya `Ulum al-Din, says: Faith is a word with various
meanings, used in three ways: the first is belief with the heart by way of doctrine and imitation, without
there being any personal discovery of expansion of breast; this is the faith of the ordinary people, the
faith of all mankind save for the elite. This doctrine (i`tiqad) is a knot (`uqda) tied around the heart;
sometimes it tightens and strengthens, and at other times it loosens and weakens, just like a knot in a
piece of string. In that sense, God says:

And whenever a surah is revealed, there are among the hypocrites those who say, "Which of you has
this increased faith?" As for those who believed, it has increased them in faith, while they are rejoicing
(Al-Tawbah, 9:124)

The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His
verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely (Al-Anfal, 8:2);

It is He who sent down tranquillity into the hearts of the believers that they would increase in faith
along with their [present] faith(Al-Fath, 48:4);

and  that those who were given the Scripture will be convinced and those who have believed will
increase in faith (AlMuddaththir, 74:31).

The second usage is belief and action together, as the Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him
peace) said: ‘Faith is seventy‐something portals’; and he (God bless him and grant him peace) said:
‘When the fornicator fornicates, he is not a believer.’ When action is included in the meaning of the
word ‘faith’, the fact that it increases and decreases is obvious; as to whether this implies the increase of
the faith which is only belief, that is a matter of debate; we have indicated before that indeed it does.

There are around fifty Qur'anic verses that couple faith with righteous deeds; for example, God says: 
Your guardian can be only Allah; and His messenger and those who believe, who establish regular
prayers and regular charity, and bow down [in worship]  (Al-Ma'idah, 5:55). Hence, God made it clear
that those who believe are those who establish regular prayers and charity (zakah), which are amongst
the highest righteous deeds. In fact, the Qur’an goes so far as to state in the context of describing
believers, that faith – in a sense of attainment and firmness – is confined to those who perform such
deeds:

The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His
verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely. The ones who
establish prayer, and from what We have provided them, they spend. Those are the believers, truly. For
them are degrees [of high position] with their Lord and forgiveness and noble provision (Al-Anfal, 8:2–4).

So, God made here a bond between true faith and the establishment of the regular prayers and charity.

The third usage is that it means certain belief by way of personal discovery, expansion of the breast, and
a beholding of the insight’s light. This is the most unlikely of the three to be subject to increase; but I say
that when it comes to something certain in which there is no doubt, the soul’s assurance of it can differ:
the soul’s assurance that two is greater than one is not the same as its assurance that the world is
created and contingent, even if neither one of them are doubted. Certain matters differ in their level of
clarity, and how assured the soul is about them.

God says:

The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger and, when they are [meeting] with
him for a matter of common interest, do not depart until they have asked his permission. Indeed, those
who ask your permission, [O Muhammad] - those are the ones who believe in Allah and His Messenger
(Al-Nur, 24:62).

This verse affirms that the word Iman [faith] signifies a multiplicity of meanings. It is noted here that the
faithful are defined as those who believe, and this describes the state of heart, and that they do not
depart until they have asked his permission, and this pertains to action. So the Almighty God mentioned
the attribute of faith in defining the faithful The believers are only those who believe, and this does not
make logical sense unless the definition using the same term of the object defined has different usage
from it.

Aspects of the Effect of Faith on Actions and Vice-versa

Faith impacts on action from a viewpoint that faith is the energy on which man draw his activity
towards performing a good deed. Man needs to have an impetus that makes him proceed to work and
endure the discomforts and difficulties facing him while trying to accomplish or avoid something. The
faith of a labourer, for example, in his need for money to obtain food and clothing, attain self-realization
and care for his family constitutes an impetus that drives him to wake up early and accept tiredness and
hardship at work. The same is true of the faith in God as being the impetus that makes the faithful
constantly obey the commandants and avoid the prohibitions of God, even if such a thing is burdensome
on the soul. in addition, faith has its effect on man’s steadfastness and his excellence at work as a result
of the meaning that the work holds for him, clarity of the way he operates, and stability of his decisions
about it, particularly at the intru- sion of feelings of greed and fear, so as to continue to avoid cheating
or deceiving and evade anything that may affect the quality or continuity of the work. The Almighty says:

Who created me, and He [it is who] guides me. And it is He who feeds me and gives me drink. And when
I am ill, it is He who cures me. And who will cause me to die and then bring me to life. And who I aspire
that He will forgive me my sin on the Day of Recompense (AlShu'ara', 26:78-82);

and He says:

Those to whom hypocrites said, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them." But it
[merely] increased them in faith, and they said, "Sufficient for us is Allah , and [He is] the best Disposer
of af- fairs. So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them. And they
pursued the pleasure of Allah , and Allah is the possessor of great bounty (Aal 'Imran, 3:173–174).

Similarly, action impacts on faith. For example, if the soul is accustomed to fail to adhere to a certain
command of God and this state continues for a longtime, then its interest and faith in such command
incline to gradually go down; and perhaps the soul becomes apathetic toward it and its life goes on
without any effect of such faith on it. Therefore, the denial of faith in such command when does not go
along with the soul’s behaviors and desires would be easier than changing what became entrenched
improper conduct.
God says:  No! rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning. No! Indeed,
from their Lord, that Day, they will be partitioned  (Al-Mutaffifin, 83:14-15).

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of God said: ‘When the believer commits a sin, a black dot
will be engraved on his heart. If he repents, refrains and regrets, his heart will be polished again. If he
commits more errors, the dots will increase until they cover his heart. This is the ran (stain) that God
described:  No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning ’. The
Almighty says:  Say, “Then why did you kill the prophets of Allah before, if you are [indeed] believers?” 
(Al-Baqarah, 2:91); so God the exalted One made the act of killing evidence which negates belief.

Conclusion: The Building of the Faithful Soul is the Beginning of the

Building of Faith‐based Society
The building of the faithful soul and its education according to the concept of faith outlined by the
aforementioned articles and qualities, followed by the things the Messenger of God (God bless him and
his family and grant him peace) called the ‘branches of faith’, and the signs explained by the scholars of
faith’s increase and decrease – these all have consequences in real life on the individual, communal and
global level, and on all political, economic, social and cultural levels, which lead to the building of a faith‐
based civilisation. This is because man, as all religious teachings indicate, is composed of a spirit, a soul,
a heart, a mind and a body. If a man understands the meaning of faithful interaction with God with his
entire being – that is to say, with his spirit, mind, heart, soul and body, things will be right between him
and God. And if his connection to God Almighty is healthy, then his connection to all others around him
will also be healthy. What this means is that the turmoil in which we are currently living, and in which
the whole world is living – not only the believers – is simply the natural result of man’s rejection of, and
obliviousness to, the purpose for which God created him, and for which He subjected all existence to
him.