Pillars of Iman and their Benefits
By the great scholar
Shaikh Zaid Muhammad Hadee
(حفظه اللّه)
Q: How many pillars of faith are there, what is the meaning of every pillar, what are their proofs and what are their fruits (benefits)?
A: The pillars of faith are six: they are to believe in Allah, in His angels, in His books, in His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in the divine decree it’s good and bad from Allah be He blessed and High.
The meaning of Iman in Allah the Mighty and Majestic is the belief in His presence, explicit affirmation in His lordship (Ar-Rubûbiyyah), apparent and hidden recognition of His Godhood (Al-Ulûhiyyah), faith upon the true understanding in His beautiful names and lofty attributes (Al-Asma’ was-Sifât), and observing that in a practical workable manner in this life just as Allah wants and His messenger (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) legislated. Allah, be He blessed and High said:
ذَلِكُمُ اللّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ
“Such is Allah, your Lord! Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Creator of all things. So worship Him (Alone), and He is the Wakîl (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian, etc.) over all things.”[1]
And He said glory to Him,
وَإِلَـهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ لاَّ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُ
“And your Ilâh (God) is One Ilâh (God – Allah), Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He), the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.”[2]
And He, be He Blessed and High said,
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.”[3]
And from the fruits of faith in Allah are; freeing the soul from the servitude of other then Allah and making it pure (sincere) and its actions for its creator glorified is He, (obtaining) the happiness of this life and the hereafter.
As for the meaning of Iman in the angels then it is the belief in their presence, that they are from the great creations of Allah, that he fashioned them upon His obedience thusly there is no way for them to violate His order, and that He has entrusted to them important jobs which are not established except by them, and from them; who is sent down with the revelation, who manages the rain and vegetation, who safeguards the children of Adam from evil and disliked things, etc. from that which we know and which we know not.
وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ
“And none can know the hosts of your Lord but He.”[4]
بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُّكْرَمُونَ. لَا يَسْبِقُونَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ وَهُم بِأَمْرِهِ يَعْمَلُونَ
“…are but honored slaves. They speak not until He has spoken, and they act on His Command.”[5]
And faith in this pillar has lofty benefits from them are:
1- Knowledge of the greatness of The Creator glory be to Him, His strength, and powerful reign as He created this creation which is innumerable.
2- The servants gratitude to his Lord for what He has entrusted him with from general and specific fostering, care, and maturing for indeed He has made serviceable for him (man) what is in the heaven and what is in the earth and among that are the angels; their variety of important jobs and great rank.
3- Love of the angles as they are the most sincere (faithful) of creation for the believing worshippers of Allah as He said The Most High,
الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَّحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ. رَبَّنَا وَأَدْخِلْهُمْ جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدتَّهُم وَمَن صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ. وَقِهِمُ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَمَن تَقِ السَّيِّئَاتِ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَقَدْ رَحِمْتَهُ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ.
“Those (angels) who bear the Throne (of Allah) and those around it glorify the praises of their Lord, and believe in Him, and ask forgiveness for those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah) (saying): “Our Lord! You comprehend all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your Way, and save them from the torment of the blazing Fire! “Our Lord! And make them enter the ‘Adn (Eden) Paradise (everlasting Gardens) which you have promised them, and to the righteous among their fathers, their wives, and their offspring! Verily, You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. “And save them from (the punishment, because of what they did of) the sins, and whomsoever You save from (the punishment, because of what they did of) the sins (i.e. excuse them) that Day, him verily, You have taken into mercy.” And that is the supreme success.”[6]
The meaning of Iman in the books is having a decisive belief that they are sent from Allah, he spoke them, sent them down to His messengers as revelation and the people of faith believed in them via their messengers truthfully and honestly, and that Allah ordered all of the Muhammadian nation to declare its faith hidden and apparently with what He sent to his previous prophets as He said glory be to Him,
قُولُواْ آمَنَّا بِاللّهِ وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالأسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى وَعِيسَى وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ
“Say (O Muslims), ‘We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrâhim (Abraham), Ismâ’il (Ishmael), Ishâque (Isaac), Ya’qûb (Jacob), and to Al-Asbât [the twelve sons of Ya'qûb (Jacob)], and that which has been given to Mûsa (Moses) and ‘Iesa (Jesus), and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islam).’”[7]
The meaning of Iman in the messengers is the belief, which contains no doubt, that Allah has send messengers as preachers and warners so that mankind does not have an excuse with Allah after the messengers, the first of them being Noah (alaihi-salaam) and the last of them Muhammad (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam). So whoever is guided by them and answers their call they have indeed been guided and whoever denies their message and disbelieves in it they have indeed gone astray and deviated from what is right. The Most High said,
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَلَمْ يُفَرِّقُواْ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ أُوْلَـئِكَ سَوْفَ يُؤْتِيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَكَانَ اللّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
“And those who believe in Allah and His Messengers and make no distinction between any of them (Messengers), We shall give them their rewards, and Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”[8]
Iman in the messengers has many great benefits and lofty fruits from them:
1- Absolute knowledge of the mercy of Allah the Mighty and Merciful who did not assign the creation to their intellects rather He sent to them messengers and sent down to them books.
2- Holding their messages as a great blessing which Allah bestowed upon his servants in every age and place.
3- The love of those noble messengers, the people of counsel, honesty, trustworthiness, and sincerity.
The meaning of the Iman in the last day is the belief based on knowledge derived from the book of Allah and the Sunnah of his messenger Muhammad (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) that Allah will resurrect the creation after their death then join them together for a day, which there is no doubt their in, and will recompense both (parties) for their deeds,
فَمَنيَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ
“And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.”[9]
And the one who lies (disbelieves) regarding this day or something contained therein including the bridge, the scale, the pond, the paradise and hellfire, the reckoning according to actions, etc. from that which is know from the legislation, then indeed he has gone astray from the straight path as the validity of its occurrence has been substantiated by the book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims (the scholars).
And Iman in this pillar has many benefits from them:
1) Enthusiasm in performing good deeds and persistence in earning rewards via righteous statements, actions, and beliefs hoping for the reward which has been promised in the Noble Qur’an and the pure authentic Sunnah.
2) Refraining from disobedience, its statements and actions those hidden and apparent as commitment of them is a cause for the punishment of Allah which has been promised for the sinners whom go beyond His boundaries, neglect His obligations, and turn away from that which the messengers came with which contains their rectification and success if they were to believe in it and be upright upon it.
The meaning of Iman in the divine decree is the decisive belief that all of the creation; the lofty and lowly, in total and in part, its speaking and silent, its moving and stationary have been decreed by Allah and informed of before existence and they will occur in their times and restricted places upon their specified characteristics according to what He has ordained for them in eternity. The proofs for this great pillar are many in the book and the Sunnah, none is displeased with them except the disbeliever and none interpret them with other than their true interpretation except the ignorant or the heedless,
خَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَقَدَّرَهُ تَقْدِيرًا
“and has measured it exactly according to its due measurements.”[10]
And it has been authentically reported in Sahih Muslim[11] on the authority of `Abdullah ibn `Amr ibn Al-`Aas (radi Allahu anhu) who said, “I heard the messenger of Allah (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) say, ‘Verily Allah has written the quantity of the created beings before He created the heavens and the earth by 50,000 years’”[12] and there are many other proofs for this pillar.
From these explicit texts it becomes clear to the true believer in his faith that every action of the creation, chosen and not chosen, does not exceed (is limited to) the will of Allah be He blessed the Most High, rather everything that happens in the heavens and earth from bringing to life and putting to death, health and sickness, poverty and wealth, long life and short, sending down the fixed time, its term, its place, its reason, unhappiness, happiness, hope, adversity, hardship, ease, disbelief, belief, good, and bad, all of that is by the eternal decree of Allah, written by the pen which was created by Allah ordered to write the decrees of everything until the hour is established, thusly there is no affair nor event from except that the pen has recorded it in that hour until the last hour is established just like what has past you by recently. And it is not necessary from that, that the servants rely upon what has been written and leave acting (performing deeds) which is weakness and deviation from the guidelines of the Noble Qur’an and advice of the truthful trustworthy messenger (salla Allahi alaihi wa sallam), thusly diligence and hard work are inevitable in earning good deeds and leaving evil deeds for that is a reason for the pleasure of the Lord of the earth and the heavens, a substantial cause for entering the gardens, and ascension of its high beautiful levels.
And it has come in a Hadeeth narrated by Ahmad[13] and others on the authority of `Umar ibn Al-Khattab[14] (radi Allahi anhu) that he said to the prophet (salla Allahi alaihi wa sallam), “Do you see what we are doing as a newly invented affair or what has become void? He said (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam), in what has become void O ibn Al-Khattab and all of it is made easy; as for the one who was from the people of happiness then he works for happiness and as for the one who was from the people of misery then he works for misery”[15] and in a narration `Umar said, “now we will strive hard O messenger of Allah”.
From the fruits of Iman in the divine decree its good and bad, its sweet and bitter are as follows:
1) Reliance on Allah, entrustment of all affairs to Him as He is the giver of life, reliever of needs, reliever of anguish, and dealer (ruler) of all His creation with what He likes and how He likes.
2) Weariness and caution from falling into the disease of astonishment when the person acquires his religious or worldly desire, thus he feels that obtainment of every loved thing and the repelling of every disliked thing is indeed a divine decreed blessing from a wise authority thusly praising Allah for it.
Translated by John ‘Eesa’ Starling
Found in:
A Short Compilation for Better Clarification
[1] (Al-An’am 6:102)
[2] (Al-Baqarah 2:163)
[3] (Ash-Shura 42:11)
[4] (Al-Muddaththir 74:31)
[5] (Al-Anbiya 21:26,27)
[6] (Ghafir 40:7-9)
[7] (Al-Baqarah 2:136)
[8] (An-Nisa 4:152)
[9] (Az-Zalzalah 99:8)
[10] (Al-Furqan 25:2)
[11] Muslim: He is Abu Al-Hasn Muslim ibn Al-Hujjâj Al-Quraishy An-Naisabûry author of As-Sahih and one of the Imams (who memorized by heart a vast number of hadeeth) and one of the great authorities of the Muhaditheen, he was born in the year 260 Hijrah and pasted away in the year 315 Hijrah, he was 55 years old. (تقريت التهذيب ج2 ص245).
[12]رواه مسلم في كتاب القدر باب حجاج موسى وآدم عليهما السلام ج16 ص203 بشرح النووي عن عبد اللّه بن عمرو ابن العاص رضي اللّه عنه.
[13] Ahmad ibn Hanbal: He is the Imam of Ahlus-Sunnah of his era and the leader of the scholars of Hadeeth. Ahmad ibn Muhammd ibn Hanbal Ash-Shaibâny, born the month Rabea` Al-Awwal year 164 Hijrah in Baghdad, His father died when he was a child so his mother raised him with the best upbringing. He took knowledge from many scholars from many places; Iraq, Sham, and the Hijaz. He was firm in the days of the trial like an unshakable mountain despite the lengthy injury (and torture) which was no less than 16 years. He pasted away (may Allâh have mercy on him) in the year 241 Hijrah.
(صفة الصفوة ج2 ص236 وما بعدها، حلية الأولياء ج9 ص161 وما بعدها)
[14] `Umar ibn Al-Khattâb: He is `Umar ibn Al-Khattab ibn Nufail ibn Abdil-`Izzi ibn Rabâh ibn Abdillah ibn Qurt ibn Razâh ibn `Addy ibn K`ab ibn Lu’ay Al-Qurashy Al-`Adawi Abu Hafs. He was born after the elephant (year of the elephant) by 13 years, he was appointed to the Khilâfah after (Abu Bakr) As-Siddiq, he was an inspired muhaddith as Allâh made the truth come from his tonque and heart, the Qur’an agreed with him in numerous places, from his virture and strong Imân the Shaitân would flee from him, he died a martyr on the hadn of Abu Lu’luh Al-Majûsy Thursday with four nights remaining in Dhul Hijjah 24 Hijrah, and his Khilâfah was 10 years, 5 months, and 21 days, his age (at death) was 63 according to what is correct.
[15] رواه الترمذي في كتاب القدر باب ما جاء في الشقاء والسعادة ج4 رقم135 ص445 عن عمر بن الخطاب.
