2

Lesson

‫اَ ِاْلمْيَا ُن‬

AL-IMAN
(Belief)

by: Abu Nur Attaki

 ‫بسم هللا الرمحن الرحيم‬
(Below is flowchart for this lesson:)

[1]
 Who are the believers?
Very often do we hear in Ramadhān the khātib (one who delivers
sermon) would mention a verse:

ِ َّ
‫ام‬ ِّ ‫ب َعلَي ُك ُم‬
ُ َ‫الصي‬
ِ
َ ‫آمنُوا ُكت‬ َ ‫َاَي َأَيُّ' َها الذ‬
َ ‫ين‬
"O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."
{QS. Al-Baqarah:183}

However most of them would only explain the matter of fasting (its
ruling, sunan, etc). Rarely do we find them explaining the first part
of the ayah which is Yaa-ayyuhallatheena aamanuu (O you who have
believed / who have iman). "Who are those who have believed"?,
"who are the believers?" While īmān is the first matter every muslim
must know and understand before the obligation of fasting and any
other obligations. So, the first thing we will learn here (in sha Allah)
is matter of īmān (‫ ) الإيمان‬/ belief.

_____________

[2]
 Alhamdulillah,
Allah ‫ ﷻ‬has sent down to this ummah a messanger whom Allāh
blessed with Jawāmi'ul Kalim (‫)جوامع الكلم‬, an ability to deliver words
which are short but are comprehensive in meaning.

In one of hadīth, Rasūlullāh ‫ ﷺ‬said:

َ‫اَ ِِإْلمْيَا ُن بِض ُع َو َسب'عُو َن َأَو بِض ُع َو ِست'ُّو َن ُشعبَة‬
،‫ َوَأَد َاَن َها ِإِ َماطَةُ اَأْلَذَى َع ِن الطَّ ِري ِق‬،ُ‫ضلُ َها قَ'و ُل َاْل ِإِلَهَ ِإَِّاْل هللا‬
َ ‫فََأَف‬
ِ ‫َواحْلَيَاءُ ُشعبَةُُ ِم َن‬
ِ َ‫اِإْلمْي‬
‫ان‬

"O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."Īmān is of 70 and something parts or 60 and something parts.
The greatest of it is the saying of "O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."Lāilāha illallāh"O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting..", the lowest of it
is removing harms off the street, and shyness is part of īmān"O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."
(Muslim)

Bidh'u (‫ )بضع‬is any number between 1-9, or another opinion says it

is number between 3-9.

Hence every good actions ordained by Allah ‫ ﷻ‬and whatever are

from the sunan of Rasūlullāh ‫ ﷺ‬are called Īmān. Like salah
(prayers), zakah, sawm (fasting), hajj, helping parents, doing ta'līm
(learning Islām), all of them are in the categories of īmān in general.

[3]
 From the hadīth we can derive
3 WAYS OF HOW IMAN IS CATEGORIZED:

[A]
IMAN : TO WHOM IT’S RELATED TO

1. Īman which is related to Allāh. The deeds which show the

relation between men and Allāh ‫ ﷻ‬. In the hadīth it was

represented by the kalimah "Lāilāha illallāh".

2. Īman which is related to mankind (‫)الناس‬. In the hadīth it was

represented by "removing harms off the street".

3. Īman which is related to the person himself (‫)النفس‬. In the

hadīth it was represented by "shyness" (‫)الحياء‬. Another example of
this is tazkiyyatun nafs (purification of soul).

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 [B]
IMAN : SAYING AND ACTION

This is an ijmā'. You might find different terms used in expressing the
statement, for example that "īman is the affirmation of heart,
testification by tounge, and action by bodyparts ( ،‫الإيمان تصديق بالقلب‬
‫ وعمل بالجوارح‬،‫")وإقرار باللسان‬.

But you'll find the simplest statement is as mentioned by Shaikhul

Islām Ibn Taymiyyah: ‫ الإيمان قول وعمل‬which means Īman is Saying
and Action.

1. Saying (‫)قول‬

It is of two parts: the saying of heart (‫ )قول القلب‬which is

unapparent / inside the heart, and the saying of tongue (‫قول‬
‫ )اللسان‬which is apparent.

The saying of heart is related to approval of belief (‫)التصديق‬, for

example believing that Allāh is One, and that the books He sent
down are true, etc. So if someone testifies Lāilāha illallāh but his
heart doesn't approve / affirm that then he's a munāfiq
(hypocrite). On the other hand, if someone approves belief in

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 his heart however he doesn't testify it, then his īman is invalid,
just like Abū Thālib who believed to the prophecy of Rasūlullāh
‫ ﷺ‬but he refused to testify his faith (so he stayed kafir).

The saying of heart and tounge, if we go back to the first way of

how īmān is categorised (see point [A] mentioned earlier in this
lesson), it would be included into its 1st point (which is
kalimah Lāilāha illallāh)

2. Action (‫)عمل‬

It is of two parts: the action of heart (‫ )عمل القلب‬which is

unapparent / inside the heart (‫)الباطن‬, and the action of body
parts (‫ )عمل الجوارح‬which is apparent (‫)الظاهر‬.

The action of heart, if we go to point [A], it would be included

into its 3rd point, like shyness (‫)الحياء‬. Other examples of actions
of heart are al-inqiyād (‫)الإنقياد‬/, ar-rajaa' (‫)الرجاء‬, al-khauf (
‫)الخوف‬, tawakkul (‫)التوكل‬, etc.

The action of body parts would be included in point no.2 in the

first categorization [A] which was represented by removing
harms of the street.

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 [C]
LEVELS OF IMAN

This third categorization -Levels of Iman (‫)مراتب الإيمان‬- is the most

important part in this lesson. As we see from the hadith mentioned
earlier, it says that the greatest part of iman (‫ )أفضلها‬is kalimah
"O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."Laailaaha illallah"O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting..", and the lowest of it (‫ )أدناها‬is removing harms off
the street. This shows us that Iman is of levels.

Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah said that just like any
other ibadah, Iman also has levels. He rahimahullah mentioned that
there are 3 levels of Iman:

1. Aslul Iman (‫)أصل الإيمان‬,

It is something that without it, Iman would go away or become

invalid. Just like Salah (prayer) is invalid without Al-Fātihah or
that Hajj is invalid without wuquf, Iman also has things that
leaving part of them would make the Iman becomes invalid, thus
every each part of it must all be fulfilled.

The one who fulfiliss it is a Mu'min, and the one who leaves part

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 of it unfulfilled, his Iman is invalid thus he becomes a Kafir. So
Aslul Iman is a parameter which distinguishes Iman from Kufr.

Aslul Iman is fulfilled by:

(1)Actualising Tawheed / the presence of Tawheed, and
(2)Abandoning / the absence of any of its nullifiers.

2. Kamalul Iman Al-Wajib (‫)كمال الإيمان الواجب‬

or The Perfection of Iman that is Compulsory

It is something that when left unfulfilled, the Iman would be

imperfect. It includes things that when they are done the Iman
would increase, and if left undone the Iman would go down.

This level is fulfilled by:

(1) Practicing the wajibat (what's compulsory) and
(2) Leaving that are haram.

3. Kamalul Iman al-Mustahab (‫)كمال الإيمان المستحب‬

or The Perfection of Iman that is Preferred

When it's done the Iman would increase, and if it's left undone the
Iman would not decrease.

[8]
 This level is fulfilled by:
(1) Practicing what are sunnah, and
(2) leaving the makruh.

____________________

Allah ‫ ﷻ‬said:

‫اد َاَن ۖ فَ ِمن' ُهم ظَ ِامِلٌ لِنَ'ف ِس ِه َوِمن' ُهم‬

ِ ‫الكتَاب الَّ ِذين اصطََفي'نَا ِمن ِعب‬
َ َ َ
ِ ‫ُمُثَّ َأَورث'نَا‬
َ
ِ َِّ ‫ات ِإِبِِذ ِن‬
َ ِ‫اهَّلل ۚ ٰذَل‬ ِ ‫ص ٌد وِمن' ُهم سابِ ٌق ِاِبخْلَي'ر‬
ِ
ُ‫ك ُه َو ال َفض ُل ال َكبري‬ َ َ َ َ‫ُمقت‬

"O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."Then we caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants,
and among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who is
moderate, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by
permission of Allah. That (inheritance) is what is the great bounty.”
{Fatir: 32}

Allah ‫ ﷻ‬mentioned 3 groups, and Ibn ‘Abbas radhiyallahu’anhu said

that they are all from among the mukmineen (believers). These 3
groups / levels of the believers are:

1. The one who Wrongs Himself (‫)ظالم لنفسه‬

It is someone who fulfills Aslul Iman but violates Kamalul Iman Al-
Wajib, and leaves Kamalul Iman Al-Mustahab undone.

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2. The one who is Moderate (‫)مقتصد‬
It is someone who fulfills Aslul Iman and Kamalul Iman Al-Wajib,
however he leaves Kamalul Iman Al-Mustahab undone. His Aslul
Iman is sound, he does all compulsory deeds and leave behind all
that are haram (prohibited). He’s moderate (alright), he doesn’t
wrong himself.

3. The one who is Foremost in Good Deeds (‫يرات‬l‫)سابق بالخ‬

It is someone who fulfills Aslul Iman and Kamalul Iman Al-Wajib
and also perfects them with what are Mustahab (Kamalul Iman Al-
Mustahab). So this person’s Aslul Iman is sound, he does all
compulsory deeds plus the voluntary ones (sunnah), and not only
that he leaves what are haram (prohibited) he also leaves what are
makruh, so perfected is his iman.

The point is that, Aslul Iman is the minimum or the least thing
someone has to fulfill in order to be a Muslim or Mu’min (believer).
If one violates this border then he becomes a Kafir (disbeliever).

[10]
 Shaykh Ali Khudhayr hafidhahullah upon explaining who’s a
Mu’min (believer) he said:

‫من َأتى اِبلتوحيد ومِل أيت بناقضه‬

"(A Mu’min) is someone who came with at-Tawheed and didn’t bring
in any of its nullifiers.”

This is why Aslul Iman is fulfilled by 2 things:

(1)Actualising Tawheed / the presence of Tawheed, and
(2)Abandoning / the absence of any of its nullifiers.

It’s like in salah (prayer). If someone brought in all pillars of salah

(so this guy is praying), but in the same time he also brought in its
nullifiers (say he farted for example or he ate while praying), he is
not a man who’s praying anymore the moment he broke his prayer.
Likewise, if someone comes with At-Tawheed and in the same time
he brought in Shirk or one of nullifiers of iman, he can’t be called a
mu’min (believer).

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 THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING LEVELS OF IMAN

We need to learn levels of Iman so that we know which is Priority.

Because as human being, living in this dunya, we will always meet
choices and options in life. Someone who has no idea of which is
actually priority wouldn’t know which one is more important to be
done first nor would he know which can wait or be delayed., it would
cause a mess in many aspects of his life.

These are some examples:

1. In Seeking Knowledge

Those who understand priority would focus themselves on

studying Aslul Iman first before any other knowledge or sciences.
As for someone who believes that seeking knowledge is a must but
he doesn’t know which knowledge is most priority of all would be
like a person who has time to study computer science but he
claims to have no time in studying tawheed, something he’s being
ignorant of.

I (Abu Nur) met someone once whom I mentioned matters about

Tawheed to (when he came approached Abu Nur to study-ed). He

[12]
said that it was a bit too high in level for him. He said “I better
start from something small. I can’t read Qur’an so I want to learn
reading Qur’an first. I’m not qualified to study this matter yet”.
I said this is a wrong concept. Learning knowledge isn’t meant to
be from the simplest one, but instead it’s meant to start from the
foundation or from the Asl (root) first.

Just like building a house, you start with working on its

foundation, not starting doing the easiest things in building.
Because the easiest thing maybe buying accessories, bits and
peaces like hangers for clothes and stuff, and this is not a first step
in building a house. What would all those accessories mean
anyways without a house built.

This doesn’t mean we don’t study other knowledge at all, no. But
for someone who just started learning Islam, the first thing he
must focus on learning is Aslul Iman. You can study tajweed that’s
good, but do not neglect studying Aslul Iman. As this happens a
lot. People study pillars and conditions for salah even hajj, but
have no idea about the pillars, conditions and nullifiers of
tawheed. While these are things that every single muslim must
know (wajib).

[13]
2. In Da’wah (Calling people to Islam)

For teacher or preacher or a Da’e, upon them is to preach matters

related to Aslul Iman before anything else, especially today when
this most important matter has been neglected. You see the reality
of today, a da'e or shaykh knows that his students don't
understand tawheed, even fall into shirk, he would busy teaching
their students matters related to fasting, prayers even matters
related to deeds that are mustahab or daily sunan., etc. He's
making them practicing that are wajib while abandoning Aslul
Iman. While deeds that are not established upon the foundation
of Tawheed would be ruined, useless.

This is why calling people towards Tawheed (‫ )لا إله إلا الل˜ –—ه‬was the
main and only focus of our prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬in his first 13
years of da'wah in Makkah, before teaching his people any other
shari'ah.

3. In Making Friends / Socializing

A muslim in making friends must always consider the aspect of

Aslul Iman before anything else. If a guy was an ahlus-shirk (he
indulges in shirk) don't take him as a close friend, don't - even if
his prayers are good and he practices what are sunnah. Don't

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make friends by your desires. Believers meet and separate for the
sake of Allah, befriend and be enemies because of Allah.

This standard also applies when it comes to choosing spouse to

marry, or upon choosing which organisation or jama'ah to join,
etc, for:

ِ ‫ وتُ'ب ِغض ِيِف‬،‫هللا‬

(‫هللا‬ ِ ‫ب ِيِف‬ ِ َ‫اِإْلمْي‬
َّ ‫ َأَن ُِحُت‬:‫ان‬ ِ ‫)ِإِ َّن َأَوثَ َق عُ َرى‬
َ َ
"O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."Verily the strongest handhold of Iman (faith) is that you love
for the sake of Allah and that you hate for the sake of Allah"O you who have believed, ordained to you is fasting.."
[Ahmad]

‫والل˜ –—ه أعلم بالصواب‬

‫والحمد لل˜ –—ه رب العالمين‬

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