Iman - Belief
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Iman is the unshakable belief, without a shadow of doubt, arising out of knowledge and firm conviction, in:
the existence of one and only true God with all His attributes,
all the true Prophets of the past, Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) being the last Prophet,
all the revealed unaltered Holy Books of God,
the angels of God
life after death and the Day of judgment, and
Qadr - destiny
Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: "Faith is that which resides firmly in the heart and which is proven by deeds."
1. Faith in the existence of one and only true God with all His absolute attributes:
He must believe in God with all His attributes as described in the chapter titled 'God the Creator' and obey His commandments. Believing in God without any doubt and obeying His commandments without any hesitation, guides a person to follow the path that leads to eternal life and salvation.
2. Faith in all the true Prophets of the past, Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) being the last Prophet
All the true Prophets of God are Prophets of Islam. They were special people chosen by God. They were protected by God and were sinless, truthful, and righteous. The guidance from a Prophet assures guarantee of its truth. All Prophets taught the same religion; to recognize God the creator, to submit to His will and obey Him. There will be life after death. The Prophets differed only in their method of teaching and the extent of God given worldly laws, which depended on the social development at that time and their need.
A Muslim must believe and accept all the Prophets of God. The Qur'an says that no one of them is to be distinguished above the rest (2:285).
He must show respect to each and every Prophet of God, even when the followers of other Prophets do not show any respect to Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam). You will not find a Muslim on the earth who will say one disrespectful word against Prophet Moses, Jesus (alayum salam) or any other Prophet.
Besides Christianity, Islam is the only religion on earth which accepts the miraculous birth of Prophet Jesus (alayhis salam) in the Qur'an.
The belief that Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) is the last of the prophets and there will be no more Prophet till the Day of Judgment.
3. Faith in all the revealed Holy Books of God:
Holy Books of revealed religions are guidance from God to mankind. A Muslim must believe in all the original revelations of God to the earlier prophets (alyhum salam).
The earlier revelations were not recorded by the Prophets properly. In later years they were mixed up with legends, false stories, pagan rituals, and man-made laws. The earlier Books did not have complete guidance for mankind. Also, they were lost and then re-written from stories circulating in the communities. What we have today are not in the language of the Prophets. They all are translations. The exact words of the Prophets in his original language is extremely important. In most cases the translated words do not carry the same meanings. Earlier messages were also addressed to a specific group of people of a specific period in time. The only exception is the Holy Qur'an.
A Muslim is obliged to believe in the existence of Holy Books from God in the past. All commandments and stories that agree with the accurately recorded and unaltered Holy Book of Qur'an, is acceptable to him. This revealed unaltered Holy Book from God should be standard for determining the accuracy and authenticity of the contents of other revealed Holy Books.
4. Faith in the angels of Allah
Angels are invisible creation of God, created from spirit. God conducts the affairs of the universe through them. They do not have any freedom of choice and are incapable of disobedience. In contrast to the angels, there is another invisible creation of God called Jinn. They are created from smokeless fire and have freedom of choice like the human. Satan belongs to Jinn.
5. Faith in life after death & Day of judgment
A very firm and unshakable belief in life after death and Day of judgment is the single most important factor that determines the behavior of a person in this life.
There is always extra effort and hardship on every person who wants to lead a righteous and just life on this earth. If a person is told that, on the "Day of Judgment", he will not be accountable for all his deed on this earth, will he care to undergo the hardship of a righteous and just life? If he is further told that someone else has already paid in advance for all his past and future sins, will there be any limit to his unjust and immoral behavior on this earth? If one looks at the life of people around him, who do not believe in the accountability on the "Day of Judgment", he will notice how immoral life these people lead and how unjust are their deeds.
Many of the evils of the society stem from the belief that someone else has already paid in advance for all their sins that they already have committed and will commit in the future!
Every person who has firm faith in (1) life after death, (2) Day of Judgment, and (3) accountability for his deed in this life, has to try to live a righteous and just life. He will always try his best to avoid evils and be fair to others. Every pious and righteous person wants to please God. Anything that pleases God is good.
One day this world will end. There will be resurrection of the dead, followed by the Day of Judgment. People will be rewarded, punished or forgiven according to their life in this world and will end up in heaven or hell. The precise time and date of the end of the world is known only to God.
6. Faith in Destiny
A Muslim must believe that everything in the universe that has happened in the past and that will happen in the future are within the knowledge of God and with His permission. We have a freedom of choice. Many things will depend on our choice. Whatever we shall choose and the results, good or bad, are already within the knowledge of God and He permits it to happen.
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