What is îmân?

Question: What is îmân?
ANSWER
Îmân means believing in the six fundamental principles of faith (Âmantu) along with all the commandments and prohibitions revealed to Muhammad (‘alaihissalâm) by Allahu ta’âlâ and delivered by him to us, and stating this belief with the tongue.

The six fundamental principles of faith (Âmantu) are as follows:
Âmantu bi’llâhi wa malâ’ikatihî wa kutubihî wa rusulihî wal-yawm-il-âkhiri wa bil-qadari khairihî wa sharrihî minallâhi ta’âlâ walba’thu ba’d-al-mawt haqqun ash-hadu an lâ ilâha illallâh wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ’abduhu wa Rasûluhu.
[That is, I believe in Allah, in His angels, in His books, in His prophets, in the Day of Resurrection and Judgement, and in qadar and that good (khair) and evil (sharr) are from Allah. I bear witness that there is no one but Allah worthy of worship and I bear witness that Muhammad (‘alaihissalâm) is His human slave and His last Messenger.]

Îmân itself is, without consulting mind, experience or philosophy, to confirm, to believe the religion which Hadrat Muhammad communicated as the Prophet. If one confirms them because they are reasonable, one has confirmed mind, not the Prophet. Or one will have confirmed the Messenger and the mind together, in which case the Prophet has not been trusted completely. When confidence is incomplete, there is not îmân. Allahu ta’âlâ purports in the third âyat of Sûrat-ul-Baqara: “They believe in the Unseen [they believe in everything My Prophet communicates, even though they do not see it].” His Messenger, too, declares, “There is no one more corruptive than he who measures the religion [religious knowledge] with his mind” (Tabarânî).

If one who does not believe in the effects of “evil eye” says, “Today science explains that rays that are invisible to the eye effect tasks in many fields. For example, we can operate our TVs, radios, and cars by using a remote control machine. For this reason, from now on, I believe that the rays coming out from eyes may cause damage,” this reasoning will have no worth then because this person does not believe in what the religion communicates, but in the rays streaming from a remote control machine. Or one believes in both the rays and the Prophet. In other words, one believes them on account of the fact that science accepts the existence of the rays and that one bears witness to the effects of them, which is not îmân in either case. It is necessary for us to believe all the rules of the religion, even if science cannot prove them and even if we cannot see their benefits and harms with our eyes. The real belief is to believe in the Unseen, that is, to believe in something without seeing it. After you have seen it, it is not îmân any more. In fact, it will be a confession of what you have seen. What is praised in the 3rd âyat of Sûrat-ul-Baqara is to have îmân in the ghayb, that is, to believe without seeing. Likewise, the six fundamental principles of îmân necessitate having belief in the ghayb because we have not seen any of them with our eyes.

Our Master the Prophet explained the îmân by clarifying the following âyats concerning the belief:
(Îmân is to have belief in Allahu ta’âlâ, in His angels, in His books, in His prophets, in the Last Day [that is, to have belief in the Day of Qiyama, Paradise, Hell, Judgement, and Mîzân] in qadar and that good (khair) and evil (sharr) are from Allahu ta’âlâ, and in death and Resurrection. It is to bear witness that there is no ilâh except Allah and that I am a human slave and Messenger of His.) [Bukhârî, Muslim, Nasâî]

It is purported in the Qur’ân al-karîm:
(The real piety is to believe in Allah, in the Last Day, in His angels, in His books, and in His messengers.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara 177]

(They believe in the Unseen [they believe in Allah, angels, the Doomsday, Paradise and Hell, even if they do not see them].) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara 3]

(They believe in that which is revealed to you and that which was revealed [other Divine Books] before you. They have belief in the Hereafter.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara 4]

Having belief in Allah, in the Last Day, in His angels, in His books, in His prophets, and in the Unseen is declared in the above-mentioned three âyats.

(Allah knows what they did and what they will do.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara 255]

(No one can die without Allah’s permission.) [Sûrat-u Âl-i ‘Imrân 145]

(Only Allah decrees the time of death.) [Sûrat-ul-An’âm 2]

The three âyats above communicate that whatever comes upon human beings is by Allahu ta’âlâ’s Will and so indicate that one must believe in qadar.

(If any good reaches them, they say, “This is from Allah,” but if any evil reaches them, they say, “This happened because of you.” Say: “All things are from Allah.” What is wrong with these people that they do not understand any word?) [Sûrat-un-Nisâ 78]

The âyat above notifies us of the fact that good and evil are from Allahu ta’âlâ.

(Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm) is the Messenger of Allah and the last of the prophets.) [Sûrat-ul-Ahzâb 40]

This âyat states that Hadrat Muhammad is the Prophet of Allahu ta’âlâ.

The meaning of Âmantu
The hadîth-i sharîf stating the Âmantu purports as follows:
(Îmân is to have belief in Allah, in His angels, in His books, in His prophets, in the Last Day, [that is, to have belief in the Day of Qiyama, Paradise, Hell, Judgement, and Mîzân] in qadar and that good (khair) and evil (sharr) are from Allah, and in death and Resurrection. It is to bear witness that there is no ilâh except Allah and that I am a human slave and Messenger of His.) [Bukhârî, Muslim, Nasâî]

Belief in Allah
Having belief in Allahu ta’âlâ means accepting and believing with one’s heart in His existence, His Oneness, His having no partner, His creating everything out of nothing, and there being no creator other than Allah. It means accepting and loving all of the rules of the religion which He has sent through the mediation of the Last Prophet Muhammad (‘alaihissalâm) who came as rahmat-al-lil-‘alamîn [mercy to the whole creation].

It is purported in an âyat-i karîma:
(Believe in Allah and His Messenger, the ummî Prophet.) [Sûrat al-A’râf 158]

Belief in His angels
Angels are nûrânî [luminous, spiritual] creatures. They are neither male nor female. We have to love their deeds; and we have to accept and confirm that they are all sinless and obedient.

It is purported in an âyat-i karîma:
(The real piety is to believe in Allah, in the Last Day, in His angels, in His books, and in His messengers.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara 177]

Belief in His Books
You have to believe that the Zabûr, the Tawrât, the Injîl, the Qur’ân al-karîm, and all other Divine Books were sent down by Allahu ta’âlâ and that all of the Books are true. Belief in the Books means knowing, accepting, and confirming the fact that the Books before the Qur’ân al-karîm were defiled and changed by people and that they are no longer the word of Allah. It is necessary to believe that even if all of the Books sent down before the Qur’ân al-karîm were intact and unchanged, Allahu ta’âlâ invalidated them, that is, abolished the validity of them. An âyat purport:
(They believe in that which is revealed to you [Qur’ân al-karîm] and the Books which were revealed before you.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara 4]

Belief in His prophets
You must accept and confirm that all prophets were ed by Allahu ta’âlâ, that they were all devoted, truthful, and that they did not commit any grave or venial sins. A person who does not certify and who belittles even one of them becomes a kâfir [disbeliever]. You must believe, accept and certify that the first prophet is Âdam (‘alaihissalâm) and the last one is Muhammad (‘alaihissalâm). You must put faith in this fact that our Master the Prophet communicated the rules of the religion completely and precisely, and you must accept and love all these commandments and prohibitions.

An âyat-i karîma purports:
(Those who believe in Allah and His messengers and do not make a distinction between any of them will have their rewards from Allah.) [Sûrat-un-Nisâ 152]

Belief in Qadâ’ and Qadar
Having belief in qadâ’ and qadar requires a person to believe that Allahu ta’âlâ has bestowed irâda-i juz’iyya [partial will] upon people, and that people make options using their partial will, and that all of their deeds are created by Allahu ta’âlâ in the end. The meaning of khair (good) and sharr (evil) is to know, to accept, to confirm and to esteem highly that all deeds are opted and willed by people, and that Allahu ta’âlâ creates them if He also wills.

It is purported in an âyat-i karîma:
(The command of Allah is a predestined qadar that will certainly take place.) [Sûrat-ul-Ahzâb 38]

Belief in the Last Day
Belief in the Last Day means believing, accepting and esteeming highly that people will be resurrected after the annihilation of everything; and after Judgement and Mîzân, Muslims will be awarded eternal Paradise and disbelievers will be in eternal Hell.

An âyat-i karîma purports:
(They [Muslims] believe in Yawm al-âkhir.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara 4]

Belief in Kalima-i shahâdat has to be as follows:
I bear witness; that is, I know and utter as if I saw that there is no ilâh save Allah. Again, I bear witness; that is, I know and utter as if I saw that Muhammad (‘alaihissalâm) is human slave, the Messenger and the Last Prophet of Allahu ta’âlâ.

Two âyat-i karîmas purport:
(Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm) is the Messenger of Allah and the last of the prophets.) [Sûrat-ul-Ahzâb 40]

(For those who believe in Allah and His Prophet, there are nûr and rewards with their Rabb.) [Sûrat-ul-Hadîd 19]