by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali
Commentary on the Second Hadith of Imam Nawawi's
"Forty"
Also from 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, there is that he said,
"While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless with
him and grant him peace, one day a man came up to us whose clothes were
extremely white, whose hair was extremely black, upon whom traces of travelling
could not be seen, and whom none of us knew, until he sat down close to the
Prophet, may Allah bless with him and grant him peace, so that he rested his
knees upon his knees and placed his two hands upon his thighs and said,
'Muhammad, tell me about Islam.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless with
him and grant him peace, said, 'Islam is that you witness that there is no god
but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and you establish the
prayer, and you give the Zakat, and you fast Ramadan, and you perform the hajj
of the House if you are able to take a way to it.' He said, 'You have told the
truth,' and we were amazed at him asking him and [then] telling him that he told
the truth. He said, 'Tell me about iman.' He said, 'That you affirm Allah, His
angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and that you affirm the
Decree, the good of it and the bad of it.' He said, 'You have told the truth.'
He said, 'Tell me about ihsan.' He said, 'That you worship Allah as if you see
Him, for if you don't see Him then truly He sees you.' He said, 'Tell me about
the Hour.' He said, 'The one asked about it knows no more than the one asking.'
He said, 'Then tell me about its tokens.' He said, 'That the female slave should
give birth to her mistress, and you see poor, naked, barefoot shepherds of sheep
and goats competing in making tall buildings.' He went away, and I remained some
time. Then he asked, 'Umar, do you know who the questioner was?' I said, 'Allah
and His Messenger know best.' He said, 'He was Jibril who came to you to teach
you your deen'." Muslim (8) narrated it.
Muslim alone narrated this hadith apart from al-Bukhari. He narrated it by
way of Kahmas from 'Abdullah ibn Buraydah from Yahya ibn Ya'mar who said,
"The first to speak about the Decree in Basrah was Ma'bad al-Juhani. I and
Humayd ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Humayri went on hajj or 'umrah saying [to
ourselves], 'If we meet anyone of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, we will ask him about what these people say
about the Decree.' We were fortunate to meet 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
may Allah be pleased with both of them, as he entered the mosque. We went in
shoulder to shoulder with him, I and my companion, one on his right and the
other on his left. I thought my companion would delegate the talking to me and
so I said, 'Abu 'Abd ar-Rahman, people have appeared among us who recite the
Qur'an and seek out and follow knowledge...'" and he told some of their
story and that they claimed that there is no Decree and that the matter is
happening for the first time without any prior decree. "He [Ibn 'Umar]
said, 'When you meet those people tell them that I have nothing to do with them
and that they are free of me. By the One whom 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar swears by, if
one of them has the like of Uhud in gold and spends it, Allah will not accept it
until he has iman in the Decree!' Then he said, 'My father, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
may Allah be pleased with him, told me, "While we were sitting with the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless with him and grant him peace..."'"
and he mentioned the rest of the hadith completely. Then he [Muslim] narrated it
by other paths some of which return to 'Abdullah ibn Buraydah and some to Yahya
ibn Ya'mar, and mentioned that in some of their narrations there were things
added in and things left out.
Ibn Hibban narrated it in his Sahih from Sulayman at-Taymi from Yahya ibn
Ya'mar, and Muslim had already narrated [that he had] it from this same path but
he didn't mention their wording of it. In it there is some extra about Islam. He
said, "That you perform the hajj and the 'umrah, and that you do ghusl for
purification from sexual intercourse, and that you perfect wudu [and fast
Ramadan]." He asked, "Then if I do that, am I a Muslim?" He said,
"Yes." He said about iman, "and that you have iman in the Garden
and the Fire and the Scales." He asked about it, "Then if I do that,
am I a mumin?" He said, "Yes." He said at the end of it,
"This was Jibril who came to you to teach you your deen. Take it from him.
By the One in Whose hand is my self, he was disguised to me since he [first]
came to me before this occasion, and [so] I did not recognise him until he
turned away."
The two of them narrated in the two sahih books the hadith of Abu Hurairah,
may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, came out to people and a man came to him and asked,
'What is iman?' He said, 'Iman is that you believe in Allah, His angels, His
Books, the meeting with Him, His Messengers and that you believe in the last
rising [from the grave].' He asked, 'Messenger of Allah, what is Islam?' He
said, 'Islam is that you worship Allah without associating anything with Him as
a partner, establish the obligatory prayer, pay the obligatory zakat and fast
Ramadan.' He asked, 'Messenger of Allah, what is ihsan?' He said, 'That you
worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him then He sees you.' He
asked, 'Messenger of Allah, when is the Hour?' He said, 'The one asked about it
knows no more than the questioner, but I will tell you about its signs: when the
female slave gives birth to her lord that is one of its signs. When you see
naked barefoot ones becoming the leaders of men, that is one of its signs. When
the shepherds of lambs compete in constructing tall buildings that is one of its
signs [and it, the Hour, is] among five [things] which none know but Allah,' and
then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited,
'Truly Allah has knowledge of the Hour and sends down abundant rain and knows
what is in the womb. And no self knows what it will earn tomorrow and no self
knows in what land it will die. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.' (Surah Luqman:
33). Then the man went away and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, 'Bring the man back to me,' and so they went to try and bring
him back but saw nothing. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, 'This was Jibril who came to teach people their deen.'"
Muslim narrated it in a more complete form in which there is in the
description of iman, "That you believe in all of the Decree," and he
said about ihsan, "That you fear Allah as if you see Him."
Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad the hadith of Shahr ibn Hushab from Ibn 'Abbas,
may Allah be pleased with both of them [Ibn 'Abbas and al-'Abbas], and also the
hadith of Shahr ibn Hushab from Ibn 'Amir or Abu 'Amir or Abu Malik from the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and in this version of the
hadith there is that he said, "And we heard the replies of the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, but we could not see the one who was
talking to him nor hear his words," but this is refuted by the hadith of 'Umar
which Muslim narrated which is more sound. The [sense of the] hadith of 'Umar
from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has also been
narrated by Anas ibn Malik, Jarir ibn 'Abdullah al-Bajli and others.
It is a hadith of tremendous importance which comprises an explanation of the
whole deen. For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said at the end of it, "This was Jibril who came to you to teach you
your deen," after explaining the degree of Islam, the degree of iman and
the degree of ihsan, all of which he called 'deen'.
The narrations differ on whether Islam comes first before iman or vice-versa.
In the hadith of 'Umar which Muslim narrated, he began by asking about Islam. In
the hadith of at-Tirmidhi and others, he began by asking about iman, as for
example in the hadith of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him. In some of
the narrations of the hadith of 'Umar which Muslim narrated there is that he
asked about ihsan between Islam and iman.
As for Islam, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained
it as the outward actions of the limbs such as words and deeds, the first of
which is witnessing [shahadah] that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad
is the Messenger of Allah, which is an action of the tongue. Then there is
establishing the prayer, paying zakat, fasting Ramadan and hajj of the House for
whoever is able to take a way to it.
They divide into physical actions such as prayer and fasting, actions
involving wealth, which is the production of the zakat, and one compounded of
both of them such as the hajj with respect to those who are far away from Makkah
[since it involves spending a great deal of money and physical worship]. In the
narration of Ibn Hibban he added to that the performance of 'umrah, ghusl from
sexual intercourse or emission, and completing wudu, which draws our attention
to the fact that all of the outward duties comprise that which is named Islam.
But we only mention here the principles of the actions of Islam on which it is
based, as the commentary of that will come in the hadith of Ibn 'Umar,"Islam
is built on five" in its place, if Allah wills, exalted is He.
His words in one of the narrations, "'Then if I do that will I be a
Muslim?' He said, 'Yes.'" These show that whoever completes his performance
of the five pillars of Islam has really become a Muslim, along with the fact
that whoever affirms the two shahadahs has legally become a Muslim. If someone
enters Islam by that means, he is bound to undertake the establishment of the
rest of the characteristics of Islam. Whoever leaves out the two shahadahs has
gone out of Islam. There is a well-known disagreement among people of knowledge
as to whether someone's abandoning the prayer means that he has gone out of
Islam, and similarly with respect to all the rest of the five pillars of Islam,
which we will mention in its appropriate place, if Allah wills, exalted is He.
One of the things which show that all outward actions are comprised under the
name Islam are his words, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "The
Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe." In the
two sahih books there is from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr, may Allah be pleased with both
of them, that a man asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
"Which part of Islam is the best?" He said, "That you feed
[people] food and greet with the greeting of peace whomever you recognise and
whomever you do not recognise."
In the Sahih of al-Hakim there is from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased
with him, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,that he
said, "Islam has signs and waymarks of guidance like those of the roads, of
which there is that you should worship Allah without associating anything with
Him, establish the prayer, produce zakat, fast Ramadan, command the well-recognised
virtues and forbid the repudiated vices, and that you greet the descendants of
Adam when you meet them, and greet your family when you enter where they are.
Whoever is deficient in anyone of them in any way, then it is a portion of Islam
which he has left out. Whoever leaves out [all of] them has cast Islam behind
his back."
Ibn Mardawiyah narrated the hadith of Abu'd-Darda', may Allah be pleased with
him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"Islam has radiance, light and marks like the waymarks on the road. The
head of them and the one which encompasses them is the witnessing that there is
no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, [then there is]
the establishment of prayer, the production of zakat, completion of wudu,
judging by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, obeying those
charged with governance, greeting each other and greeting your families when you
enter your houses, and greeting the descendants of Adam whenever you meet
them." There is weakness in its chain of transmission, and perhaps it is
mawquf [and thus a saying of Abu'd-Darda' which he did not explicitly attribute
to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.]
There is a sound hadith from Abu Ishaq from Silah ibn Zufar from Hudhayfah,
may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, "Islam has eight portions:
Islam is a portion, prayer is a portion, zakat is a portion, hajj of the House
is a portion, jihad is a portion, fasting Ramadan is a portion, commanding the
well-recognised virtues is a portion, and forbidding the repudiated vices is a
portion, and whoever has no portion has failed." Al-Bazzar narrated it as a
marfu' hadith [attributed by Hudhayfah to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace] but it is more authentic to say that it is mawquf [something
Hudhayfah himself said without explicitly attributing it to the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace].
Someone narrated it from Abu Ishaq from al-Harith from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, and that was narrated by Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili and others. However, it
is more authentic that it is a saying of Hudhayfah's, and that was the position
ad-Daraqutni and others took.
When he said, "Islam is a portion" he meant the two shahadahs
because they are the sign of Islam by which a person becomes a Muslim.
Similarly, leaving those things which are forbidden is also comprised under the
name 'Islam', as it has been narrated of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, that he said, "A part of the excellence of a man's deen is
his leaving what does not concern him." That will come in its proper place,
if Allah wills, exalted is He.
What also demonstrates that is that which Imam Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i
narrated from the hadith of an-Nawaws ibn Sam'an, may Allah be pleased with both
of them, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"Allah strikes a similitude: a straight path and on its two sides are two
walls in which there are open doors and over the doors are loose curtains. Over
the door of the path there is a crier saying, 'People! Enter the path, all of
you! And do not deviate.' There is a crier calling out above the path. Whenever
anyone intends to open any of those doors, he says, 'Woe to you! Do not open it,
for if you open it you will enter it.' The path is Islam, the two walls are the
limits of Allah, mighty is He and majestic, the open doors are what Allah has
forbidden, that crier at the beginning of the path is the Book of Allah, and the
crier above the path is the admonisher of Allah in the heart of every
Muslim." At-Tirmidhi added to it, "Allah calls to the Abode of Peace
and He guides whom He wills to a straight path." (Surah Yunus: 25)
In this metaphor which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
struck, there is that Islam is the straight path upon which Allah, exalted is
He, has ordered us to go straight, and has forbidden that we exceed its limits,
and that whoever commits any of the things which are forbidden has crossed over
its limits.
Section - Iman
As for iman, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained
it in this hadith as inward beliefs, saying, "That you have iman in Allah,
His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Rising after death, and that you
have iman in the Decree, the good of it and the bad of it." Allah has
mentioned iman in His Book with these five fundamental principles in many
places, such as in His words, exalted is He, "The Messenger has iman in
what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and so do the muminun. Each one
has iman in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers. We do not
differentiate between any of His Messengers." (Surat al-Baqarah: 285) And
He says, exalted is He, "Rather, those with true devoutness are those who
have iman in Allah and the Last Day, the Angels, the Book and the
Prophets." (Surat al-Baqarah: 177) And He says, exalted is He, "Those
who have iman in the Unseen and establish salat and give of what We have
provided for them; those who have iman in what has been sent down to you and
what was sent down before you, and are certain about the akhira." (Surat
al-Baqarah: 3-4)
Iman in the Messengers requires that one believes in everything of which they
have informed us: the angels, the Messengers, the Book, the Rising and the
Decree, and other things of the details of which they have informed us of the
attributes of Allah, exalted is He, and the attributes of the Last Day, such as
the Sirat [the narrow path laid over the top of the Fire which the muminun pass
across to reach the Garden and from which the kafirun and munafiqun fall into
the Fire], the Scales [for weighing deeds], the Garden and the Fire. Included in
iman in the Decree is the good of it and the bad of it. Because of this phrase
Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, narrated this hadith as a
proof against whoever repudiates the Decree and claims that the affair is only
happening now for the first time without a prior decree from Allah, mighty is He
and majestic. 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar was tough with them and absolved himself of
any connection to them, and he said that their actions would not be acceptable
without belief in the Decree.
Belief in the Decree has two degrees: first, belief that Allah, exalted is
He, has prior knowledge of what good and evil the slaves do, their obedience and
disobedience, before creating them and bringing them into existence, knowing who
of them are people of the Garden and who of them are for the Fire. He created
reward and punishment for them as recompense for their actions before creating
them and making them be, and He wrote that down with Him and enumerated it, and
the slaves' actions run according to what is previously decreed in His knowledge
and in His Book.
The second degree is that Allah, exalted is He, created all of the slaves'
actions, good and bad, kufr, iman, obedience and disobedience, and willed them
for them. This is the degree which the people of the Sunnah and of the Community
affirm, but which the people of free-will (al-Qadariyyah) reject and deny. The
first degree is affirmed by many of the people of free-will, although their
extremists such as Ma'bad al-Juhani, the one about whose words Ibn 'Umar was
asked, 'Amr ibn 'Ubayd and others, deny it.
Many of the imams of the first right-acting generations said, "Reason
with the people of free-will with knowledge, and if they affirm it [the Decree
but deny that Allah creates the slaves' actions] they should be argued with, and
if they reject it [the Decree] they have become kuffar," meaning that
whoever negates the prior and pre-time knowledge of the slaves' actions and that
Allah, exalted is He, apportioned them before creating them to be those who are
grievous [in that their end is the Fire] and those who are happy [in that their
end is the Garden], and that He wrote that down with Him in a well-protected
book, then they have denied the Qur'an and thus become kuffar. If they affirm it
and yet deny that Allah creates the slaves' actions and wills them from them
with a willing which is a decreeing cosmic will then they are to be argued with,
because that which they affirm is a proof against them in this denial of theirs.
In attributing kufr to them there is a well-known disagreement among the people
of knowledge.
As for someone who denies the pre-existent knowledge [of Allah], then both
ash-Shafi'i and Ahmad took the position that he is a kafir, and similarly other
imams of Islam.
If someone says that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
made a distinction in this hadith between Islam and iman, and regarded all the
actions as a part of Islam but not of iman, then [we say that] the well known
position of the right-acting first generations and the people of hadith is that
iman is word, deed and intention, and that all of the actions are comprised
under iman. Ash-Shafi'i recounted that that was the consensus of the Companions
and the Followers and those after them who had reached them.
The first right-acting generations strenuously rejected whoever excludes
deeds from iman. Some of those who rejected and repudiated that and regarded it
as an innovated phrase were Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Maymun ibn Mahran, Qatadah, Ayyub
as-Sikhtiyani, Ibrahim an-Nakha'i, az-Zuhri, Yahya ibn Abi Kathir and others.
Ath-Thawri said, "It is an innovated view, and we found people [before us]
holding another view." Al-Awza'i said, "Those of the right-acting
first generations who preceded us did not make any distinction between action
and iman."
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz wrote to the people of the outlying provinces: "Iman
has obligations, legal matters, [limits] and sunnahs which whoever completes has
completed iman, and whoever does not complete has not completed iman." This
is mentioned by al-Bukhari in his Sahih.
Someone said, "The matter is as he said." What shows that actions
are a part of iman is His words, exalted is He, "The muminun are those
whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned, whose iman is increased when His
Signs are recited to them, and who put their trust in their Lord; those who
establish salat and give of what We have provided for them. They are in truth
the muminun." (Surat al-Anfal: 2)
In the two sahih books there is from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with
both of them, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to
the deputation from 'Abd al-Qays, "I order you to do four things: have iman
in Allah, and do you know what iman in Allah is? [It is] witnessing that there
is no god but Allah, establishing the prayer, producing the zakat, fasting
Ramadan, and giving the fifth of the booty."
In the two sahih books there is from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with
him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Iman
is more than sixty," or, "more than sixty branches, the best of which
is the saying, 'There is no god but Allah,' and the least of which is removing
something that would cause harm from the road. And modesty is a branch of iman."
The wording is taken from Muslim.
In the two sahih books there is from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with
him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The
adulterer does not commit adultery when he does so while being a mumin, nor does
the one who drinks wine do so while he is a mumin. The thief does not steal when
he does so while being a mumin." If leaving these great wrong actions does
not come under the name 'iman' he would not have rejected the application of the
term 'iman' to the one who does any of these things, because the term is only
denied because of absence of the elements of that which is named [by the term]
or its requirements.
As for the aspect of unifying these texts with the hadith of the questioning
of Jibril, peace be upon him, about Islam and iman, and the distinctions the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made between them, and his
including actions under Islam rather than under iman, it becomes clear by the
determination of a principle, which is that some names comprise many named
things when they are used by themselves and unrestrictedly. However, when that
name is paired with another then it comes to designate only some of those named
things while the name which is coupled with it designates the rest of them, for
example, the nouns 'faqir à poor, needy' and 'miskin ÃÊbereft'. If either one
is used singly it designates all those who are in need, but if one is used along
with the other then one of the two designates some of those who are in need and
the other designates the rest of them. It is similar with the terms Islam and
iman. If one of the terms is used alone it comprises the meanings of the other,
and by being used singly it designates what the other would designate if used
singly. If they are coupled one of them designates only some of that which it
would designate if used singly, and the other designates the rest.
A group of the imams have stated this clearly. Abu Bakr al-Isma'ili said in
his letter to the people of the mountain, "Many of the people of the Sunnah
and the Community say that iman is word and deed, and that Islam is doing that
which Allah has made obligatory for the human to do, in the case where the two
terms are mentioned coupled. So it is said that the 'muminun' and the 'muslimun'
together each takes a particular meaning, so that what is meant by one of them
is not what is meant by the other, but that if one of the two terms is mentioned
it comprises everything and is generally true of all of them [the muslims or the
muminun]."
Al-Khattabi also mentions this sense in his book Ma'alim as-Sunan "Waymarks
of the Sunnahs", and a group of the people of knowledge afterwards emulated
him in that. What indicates the correctness of that is that the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained the term iman when he mentioned
it by itself, in the hadith about the deputation of 'Abd al-Qays, in the same
way that he explained Islam when conjoined to iman in the hadith about Jibril.
In another hadith he explained Islam in the same way as he had explained iman,
as it is reported in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad from 'Amr ibn 'Abasah that he
said, "A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
and asked, 'Messenger of Allah, what is Islam?' He said, 'That you surrender
your heart to Allah, and that the muslims are safe from your tongue and your
hand.' He asked, 'Which [part of] Islam is better? He said, 'Iman.' He asked,
'What is iman?' That you believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His
Messengers, and the Rising after death.' He asked, 'What [part of] iman is
better?' He answered, 'Emigration.' He asked, 'What is emigration?' He replied,
'That you give up evil.' He asked, 'Which [type of] emigration is better?' He
said, 'Jihad.'" The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said
that iman is the best part of Islam and included actions within it.
By this detailed statement, the exact determination of the meaning of the
statement as to whether iman and Islam are one thing or two different things
becomes clear.
The people of the Sunnah and of the hadith differ on it, and they have
compiled numerous works about it. Some of them claim that the majority of the
people of the Sunnah agree that they are one thing, among them Muhammad ibn Nasr
al-Marwazi and Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, and this position has been narrated by Ayyub
ibn Suwayd ar-Ramli as that of Sufyan ath-Thawri, but Ayyub has some weakness
[as a narrator]. Some say, among them Abu Bakr ibn as-Sam'ani and others, that
the people of the Sunnah make a distinction between the two. This distinguishing
between the two is narrated of many of the right-acting first generations, for
example Qatadah, Dawud ibn Abi Hind, Abu Ja'far al-Baqir, az-Zuhri, Hammad ibn
Zayd, Ibn Mahdi, Shurayk, Ibn Abi Dhi'b, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Khaythamah, Yahya
ibn Ma'in and others, although there exist disagreements among them as to the
nature of the difference between them [Islam and Iman]. Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin
used to say, "[I am a] Muslim," and they would be in awe of using the
term, "Mu'min."
By means of the detailed explanation we have mentioned above the [apparent]
disagreement is removed, since we are saying that if either term is mentioned by
itself then at that time there is no difference between them, but that if the
two terms are coupled, then there is a distinction between them.
The exact nature of the difference between them is that iman is the
affirmation of the heart, its confirmation, and its recognition, whereas Islam
is the surrender of the slave to Allah, his humility and his compliant
submission, which is expressed in actions, and that is the deen, just as Allah
called Islam 'deen' in His Book. In the hadith of Jibril, the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, called Islam, iman and ihsan 'deen'. This is
another clear indication that when one of the two terms is used singly it
includes [the meanings of] the other, and that a distinction is only made
between them when one of the two terms is coupled with the other, at which time
what is meant by iman is everything that comprises affirmation from the heart,
and by Islam everything that comprises action.
In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad there is from Anas, may Allah be pleased with
him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"Islam is public, whereas iman is in the heart." That is because
actions are manifest publicly, and affirmation, which is in the heart, does not
become manifest. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to
say in his supplication when performing the prayer over the dead, "O Allah,
whomever of us you make to live, let him live in Islam, and whomever of us you
make to die, let him die in iman," because deeds are done by the limbs
which one is only able to do while alive. Then, at death, nothing remains but
the heart's affirmation.
From this the people of knowledge who ascertain the fine details of knowledge
say that every mumin is a Muslim, because whoever makes a reality of iman and it
becomes firmly established in his heart will undertake the actions of Islam, as
he said, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Certainly, in the body
there is a morsel of flesh, which if it is sound then the whole body is sound,
and if it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt. Certainly it is the heart."
If the heart makes iman a reality then the limbs proceed to the actions of
Islam. Not every Muslim is a mumin, since perhaps iman may be weak so that the
heart does not realise it completely, along with the limbs' performance of the
actions of Islam, so that such a person is a Muslim because he is not a mumin
with a complete iman, as Allah, exalted is He, says, "The desert Arabs say,
'We have iman.' Say: 'You do not have iman. Say rather, "We have become
Muslim," for iman has not yet entered into your hearts.'" (Surat al-Hujurat:
14) They were not complete hypocrites according to the more authentic of the two
interpretations, the statement of Ibn 'Abbas and others, but their iman was
weak, which is indicated by His words, exalted is He, "If you obey Allah
and His Messenger, He will not undervalue your actions in any way," (Surat
al-Hujurat: 14) meaning that He will not deprive you of anything of your rewards
which shows they had enough iman for their actions to be accepted.
Similarly, there are the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas when he asked him, "Why did you not give
to so when he is a mumin?" and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "Or a Muslim?" indicating that he had not realised
the station of iman but was only in the station of outward Islam. There is no
doubt that whenever inward iman is weak it necessarily follows that outward
actions will be weak as well, but use of the term iman is precluded for whoever
leaves out any of his duties, just as in his words, "The adulterer does not
commit adultery when he does while being a mumin."
The people of the Sunnah differ over whether such a person is termed 'a mumin
with a shortcoming in his iman' or whether he is said not to be a mumin but a
Muslim, according to two distinct positions both of which are narrated of Ahmad.
As for the term Islam, its use is not precluded because of a person's failure
with respect to some of his duties or his undertaking some of the things which
are forbidden, but it is only precluded if he does something that negates it
completely. There is nothing known in the authentic Sunnah which implies that
someone who gives up one of Islam's requirements is not a Muslim, in the way
that use of the term iman is precluded for someone who gives up any of its
requirements, even though the term kufr has been used categorically for doing
some of those things which are forbidden, and similarly hypocrisy has also been
used categorically.
The people of knowledge differ as to whether someone who perpetrates one of
the great wrong actions is called a kafir with a lesser kufr or a hypocrite with
a lesser hypocrisy, but I know of none of them who permit the unqualified
negation of the application of the term Islam to such a person [i.e. to say that
he is not a Muslim], except for what is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be
pleased with him, that he said, "The one who gives up zakat is not a
Muslim," and it is possible that because of that he regarded him as a kafir
who had gone out of Islam.
Similarly, it is narrated of 'Umar about people who are able to do the hajj
but do not do it, that they are not Muslims, and the apparent outward meaning is
that he believed that they are kuffar. So for that reason he wanted to impose
the jizyah tax on them, saying, "They haven't yet entered into Islam, and
they continue in their condition of being people of the Book." Since it has
become clear that use of the term Islam is not precluded except because of the
existence of something which precludes it [Islam] and which removes someone
entirely from the deen, then if the term Islam is used unrestrictedly or paired
with some praise it also includes all of iman, affirmation and everything else,
as we saw before in the hadith of 'Amr ibn 'Abasah.
An-Nasa'i narrated the hadith of 'Uqbah ibn Malik, "That the Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent a raiding party which attacked
some people, one man of whom said, 'I am a Muslim,' and whom one of the raiding
party then killed. The story was told to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, who spoke to him severely. The man said, 'The man only
said it seeking refuge from being killed.' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said, 'Allah refused me to kill a mumin,' three times." If
it were not that the unqualified use of the term Islam comprises iman and
affirmation of the five principles, one who said 'I am a Muslim' would not
become a mumin by simply saying these words. Allah, exalted is He, told us that
the Queen of Saba entered Islam with these words, "My Lord, I have wronged
myself but I have submitted with Sulayman to the Lord of all the worlds." (Surat
an-Naml: 46). He told us that Yusuf, peace be upon him, supplicated that he
should die in Islam, all of which shows that Islam used unqualifiedly comprises
everything of affirmation which iman comprises.
In the Sunan of Ibn Majah there is that 'Adi ibn Hatim said, "The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to me, 'O 'Adi,
submit [in Islam] and you will be safe.' I asked, 'What is Islam?' He replied,
'That you witness that there is no god but Allah, and you witness that I am the
Messenger of Allah, you believe in the Decrees, all of them, the good of them
and the bad of them, those which are sweet and those which are bitter."
This is a clear textual proof that iman in the Decree is a part of Islam.
Moreover, the two shahadahs are indisputably some of the features of Islam,
but it is not meant that one should merely articulate them without affirming
them to be true, so we know that affirmation of them is comprised under Islam.
The Islam mentioned in His words, exalted is He, "The deen with Allah is
Islam," (Surah Ali 'Imran: 19) is explained by a party of the right-acting
first generations, one of whom is Muhammad ibn Ja'far ibn az-Zubayr, as tawhid
and affirmation.
If use of the term iman is precluded for someone whose Islam is established,
such as the desert Arabs about whom Allah informs us, then what is precluded is
the first establishment of iman in the heart although it is established that he
shares in the outward actions of Islam along with a type of iman which renders
his actions sound for without this measure of iman he would not be a Muslim.
They [the desert Arabs] were only excluded from use of the term iman because
they lacked the tasting of some of its realities and because of shortcomings in
some of its requirements. This is based on the fact that iman which is
established in the hearts has different degrees, and this is the correct answer
and it is also the most authentic of the two narrations related from Abu
'Abdullah Ahmad ibn Hanbal. The iman of the siddiqun [the completely truthful
people who unhesitatingly affirm the truth]Êto whose hearts the Unseen
manifests itself so much that it becomes as if direct witnessing, in so much as
it does not admit of any kind of doubt, is not the same as the iman of others
who have not reached this degree, since if something causes them doubt they come
to doubt. For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
defined the degree of ihsan as that the slave should worship and serve his Lord
as if he sees him, and this is not obtained by the generality of the muminun.
One of them said, "Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, does not have
precedence over you because of a great amount of fasting and prayer, but because
of something which settled in his breast."
Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, was asked, "Did the
Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, use to laugh?" He said,
"Yes, and the iman in their hearts was like mountains." What
relationship does this have to those in whose hearts iman weighs as much as the
egg of an ant or a seed of barley? Or such as those people from among the people
of tawhid who will emerge from the Fire? These are the ones about whom one could
correctly say, "Iman has not entered into their hearts," because of
its feebleness with them.
These issues à I mean the issues of Islam and iman, kufr and hypocrisy Ã
are tremendously important, because Allah, mighty is He and majestic, has
connected [eternal] blessed good fortune and [eternal] misery, and proving
worthy of the Garden or the Fire, to these terms. The disagreements as to what
they designate were the first disagreements to arise in this community, which
was the disagreement of the Khawarij with the Companions, since they regarded
disobedient people possessed tawhid as entirely out of Islam and counted them as
being in the circle of kufr and treated them as they would kuffar, by which they
declared it permissible to shed the blood of Muslims and seize their property.
Then after them there arose the opposition of the Mu'tazilah and their assertion
of the existence of a station between the two stations [of the Garden and the
Fire]. Then there arose the disagreements of the Murji'ah and their taking the
position that corrupt people are muminun with perfect iman.
The people of knowledge, in early times and in later times, compiled numerous
works on these issues, among whom there were Imam Ahmad, Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn
Salam, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Muhammad ibn Aslam at-Tusi from the imams of
the right-acting first generations. All groups after them compiled great numbers
of works on it. In this I have mentioned some comprehensive points which cover
many principles of these issues and the disagreements that there are respecting
them, and there is in it, if Allah wills, sufficiency.
Section - Actions
We have already said that actions are comprised under Islam and also under
iman, and we mentioned what outward actions of the limbs' that includes, and
that also included under it are the inward limbs' actions.
Some of the actions of Islam are: to make the deen purely for the sake of
Allah, exalted is He, and to be sincere to Him and to His slaves, and guard the
heart from deceiving or envying them or being spiteful to them and from all the
other forms of harm. Comprised under iman there is the trembling of the hearts
at the remembrance of Allah, and their humility at hearing His mention and His
Book, and increasing in iman from that, making reliance on Allah, mighty is He
and majestic, a reality, fear of Allah in secret and in public, contentment with
Allah as Lord, with Islam as deen and with Muhammad as Messenger, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, preferring the destruction along with the
greatest types of pain to kufr, being conscious of the Allah's nearness to the
slave and perpetually calling Him to mind, preferring the love of Allah and His
Messenger over the love of everything other than them, love for the sake of
Allah and hatred for His sake, giving for His sake and withholding for His sake,
and to make all of one's movements and moments of stillness for His sake,
generosity of person in obedience both financially and physically, rejoicing and
finding joy in one's good actions, and distress at and grief over one's wrong
actions, the muminun's preferring the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, over themselves and their wealth, extreme modesty and good
character, and loving what one loves for oneself for one's brothers the muminun,
sharing equally with the muminun particularly one's neighbours, supporting and
helping them and grieving over what grieves them.
We will mention some of the texts narrated about that. As for that which is
narrated about what comes under the term Islam, there is in the Musnad of Imam
Ahmad and in an-Nasa'i that Mu'awiyyah ibn Haydah said, "I asked,
'Messenger of Allah, by the One Who sent you with the Truth, what did Allah send
you with?' He answered, 'Islam.' I asked, 'What is Islam?' He replied, 'That you
should resign your heart to Allah, exalted is He, that you direct your self
towards Allah, that you pray the obligatory prayers, and pay the obligatory
zakat.'" In a narration of his there is, "I asked, 'What is the sign
of Islam?' He said, 'That you should say, "I surrender myself to
Allah" and confine yourself exclusively [to that], that you establish the
prayer and pay the zakat, and [remember that] all of the Muslim is sacred to the
Muslim.'"
In the Sunan there is from Jubayr ibn Mut'im that the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said in his khutbah in al-Khayf at Mina,
"[There are] three [habits] which, [as long as he holds to them], the heart
of a Muslim will not become affected by malice or rancour: doing actions purely
for the sake of Allah, giving good counsel to those entrusted with the affairs
of the Muslims, and clinging to the community of the Muslims, because their
invitation encompasses those beyond them." He informed us that these three
things remove malice and rancour from the Muslim's heart.
In the two sahih books there is from Abu Musa that the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, was asked, "Who is the best of the
Muslims?" and he replied, "The one from whose tongue and hand the
Muslims are safe."
In Sahih Muslim there is from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The
Muslim is the brother of the Muslim and so he does not wrong him, forsake him or
despise him. It is sufficient evil for a man that he despise his Muslim brother.
All of the Muslim is sacred for the Muslim: his blood, property and honour."
As for that which is related as being comprised under the term iman, for
example, His words, "The muminun are those whose hearts tremble when Allah
is mentioned, whose iman is increased when His Signs are recited to them, and
who put their trust in their Lord; those who establish salat and give of what We
have provided for them. They are in truth the muminun." Surat al-Anfal:
2-4) And there are His words, "Has the time not arrived for the hearts of
those who have iman to yield to the remembrance of Allah and to the truth He has
sent down, so they are not like those who were given the Book before for whom
the time seemed over long so that their hearts became hard?" (Surat al-Hadid:
15) And there are His words, "It is in Allah that the muminun should put
their trust." (Surat at-Tawbah: 51). And there are His words, "Put
your trust in Allah if you are muminun." (Surat al-Ma'idah: 23). And there
are His words, "fear Me if you are muminun." (Surah Al 'Imran: 175)
In Sahih Muslim there is from al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib that the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "He who is
contented with Allah as Lord, with Islam as deen, and with Muhammad as Messenger
has tasted the savour of iman." Contentment with the lordship of Allah
comprises contentment with worshipping Him alone without any partner, and
contentment with His managing affairs on behalf of His slave and His choosing
for him. Contentment with Islam as deen comprises choosing and preferring it
over all other deens. Contentment with Muhammad as Messenger involves
contentment with everything that he brought from Allah and accepting it with
surrender and joy, as He says, exalted is He, "No, by your Lord, they are
not muminun until they make you their judge in the disputes that break out
between them, and then find no resistance within themselves to what you decide
and submit themselves completely." (Surat an-Nisa': 64)
In the two sahih books there is from Anas that the Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "[There are] three things which whoever has
them within him will find because of them the sweetness of iman: for whomever
Allah and His Messenger are more beloved than any other than them, and whoever
loves a man only loving him for the sake of Allah, and whoever dislikes
returning to kufr after Allah had rescued him from it as much as he would
dislike being cast into the Fire." In a version of it there is, "He
will find by them the savour of iman," and in other versions, "...the
savour of iman and its sweetness."
In the two sahih books there is from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "None of
you have iman until I am more beloved to him than his child, his parent and
mankind altogether." In another version there is, "...than his family,
his property and mankind altogether."
In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad there is from Abu Razin al-'Uqayli that he asked,
"Messenger of Allah, what is iman?" He said, "That you witness
there is no god but Allah alone without partner and that Muhammad is His slave
and His Messenger, that Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to you than
anything else, that you prefer being burnt to associating anything with Allah,
and that you love people without any kinship [to you] only loving them for the
sake of Allah. If you are like that, then the love of iman has already entered
your heart as love of water has entered [the heart of] the thirsty person on a
scorching hot day." I asked, "Messenger of Allah, how can I know
whether I am a mumin?" He answered, "Any of my community à or he said
'this community' Ã who does a good deed knowing that it is a good deed and that
Allah will recompense him with better for it, or who does a bad action knowing
that it is a bad action and so seeks forgiveness of Allah for it, knowing that
only Allah can forgive it, is a mumin."
In the Musnad and elsewhere there is from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be
pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, "Whoever is pleased by his good actions and grieved at his wrong
actions is a mumin."
In the Musnad of Baqi ibn Mukhallad there is from a man who heard the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, "Clear
iman is that when you hurt or wrong anyone, your male or female slave, or
anybody at all, you fast or give sadaqah, and that when you do good actions you
rejoice."
In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad there is from Abu Sa'id that the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "There are three types of
muminun in the world: those who have iman in Allah and His Messenger and then do
not doubt and they struggle with their wealth and their lives in the way of
Allah; then there is the one whom people trust with their wealth and their
lives, and then there is the one who when he is on the point of [achieving] a
desire he gives it up for the sake of Allah, mighty is He and majestic."
In it also there is from 'Amr ibn 'Abasah that he asked, "I asked,
'Messenger of Allah, what is Islam?' He answered, 'Good words, and feeding
[people] food.' I asked, 'What is iman?' He replied, 'Patience and gentle
generosity.' I asked, 'Which Islam is better?' He said, '[The Islam of] him from
whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe.' I asked, 'Which iman is better?' He
said, 'Good character.'" Al-Hasan al-Basri explained 'patience and gentle
generosity' saying, "It is being patient [doing] without what Allah has
forbidden, and gently and generously discharging the obligations of Allah,
mighty is He and majestic."
In at-Tirmidhi and elsewhere there is from 'Aishah that the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The most perfect of the muminun
in iman is the best of them in character." Abu Dawud and others narrate it
as a hadith of Abu Hurairah.
Al-Bazzar narrated in his Musnad from the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mu'awiyyah
al-Ghadiri that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"There are three things which whoever does them will taste the savour of
iman: whoever worships Allah alone because there is no god but Allah, and gives
the zakat of his property while he himself is pleased with that, every year..."
and at the end of it there is, "So the man asked, 'What is a man's
purification of the self, Messenger of Allah?' He replied, 'That he knows that
Allah is with him wherever he is.'" Abu Dawud narrated the beginning of the
hadith but not the end.
At-Tabarani narrated the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn as-Samit that the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The best of iman is that you
know that Allah is with you wherever you are."
In the two sahih books there is from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, may Allah be
pleased with both of them, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "Modesty is a part of iman."
Imam Ahmad and Ibn Majah narrated a hadith of al-'Irbad ibn Sariyah, may
Allah be pleased with both of them, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said, "The mumin is just like a camel which has a
nose-ring and a tender nose; wherever he is led he goes submissively."
Allah, mighty and is He and majestic, says, "The muminun are brothers, so
make peace between your brothers." (Surat al-Hujurat: 10)
In the two sahih books there is from an-Nu'man ibn Bashir, may Allah be
pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, "The simile for the muminun in their mutual affection, mercy and
kindness is [that they are] like a single body; if a single organ or limb of it
has a complaint, the rest of the body collapses in fever and
sleeplessness." In Muslim's version, "The muminun are like one
man." In another version of his, "The Muslims are like a single man;
if his eye has a complaint, all of him complains, and if his head has a
complaint, all of him complains."
In the two sahih books there is from Abu Musa, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The mumin
with respect to the mumin is like a building part of which strengthens other
parts," and he intertwined his fingers.
In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad there is from Sahl ibn Sa'd, may Allah be pleased
with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"The mumin among the people of iman is in the position of the head in the
body: the mumin suffers pain for the people of iman just as the body suffers
pain because of what is in the head."
In the Sunan of Abu Dawud there is from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased
with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"The mumin is the mumin's mirror. The mumin is the mumin's brother: he
keeps destruction away from him, and protects him from behind."
In the two sahih books there is from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "None of
you has iman until he wants for his brother what he wants for himself."
"By Allah, he does not have iman! By Allah, he does not have iman! By
Allah, he does not have iman!" They asked, "Who is that, Messenger of
Allah?" He said, "He whose neighbour is not safe from his
calamities."
Al-Hakim narrated from a hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both
of them, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"He who eats to satisfaction while his neighbour is hungry is not a mumin."
Imam Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi narrated from a hadith of Sahl ibn Mu'adh al-Juhani
from his father that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"Whoever gives for the sake of Allah and withholds for the sake of Allah,
and loves for the sake of Allah and hates for the sake of Allah " Imam
Ahmad added, "and gives in marriage for the sake of Allah, has completed
and perfected his iman." In a version of Imam Ahmad there is that, "He
asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about the best
[part] of iman and he said, 'That you love for the sake of Allah and hate for
the sake of Allah and you exercise your tongue with the remembrance of Allah.'
He asked, 'What else, Messenger of Allah?' He answered, "That you want for
people what you want for yourself, and you dislike for them what you dislike for
yourself.'" In another version of his there is, "and that you speak
well or be quiet." In this hadith there is mentioned that a great deal of
remembrance of Allah is one of the best parts of iman.
He also narrated the hadith of 'Amr ibn al-Jumuh that he heard the Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, "The slave is not fit for
complete and pure iman until he loves for the sake of Allah and hates for the
sake of Allah. When he loves for the sake of Allah and hates for the sake of
Allah he has become worthy of friendship from Allah, exalted is He." He
also narrated the hadith of al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The
strongest handhold of iman is that you love for the sake of Allah and hate for
the sake of Allah." Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them,
said, "Love for the sake of Allah and hate for the sake of Allah, take
friends for the sake of Allah and make enemies for the sake of Allah, for you
will only attain the friendship of Allah by that. The slave will never find the
savour of iman, even if he does a great deal of prayer and fasting until he is
like that. Most of the brotherhood [between] people has become because of
something to do with the world, and that doesn't help His people at all."
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari and Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi narrated it.
Section - Ihsan
As for ihsan, it has been mentioned in Qur'an in many places, sometimes
coupled with iman, sometimes with Islam, and sometimes coupled with taqwa or
right action.
It is coupled with iman in His words, exalted is He, "Those who have
iman and do right actions are not to blame for anything they have eaten provided
they have taqwa and iman and do right actions, and then again have taqwa and
iman, and then have taqwa and do good (ahsanou). Allah loves good-doers (muhsinun),"
(Surat al-Ma'idah: 93), and in His words, exalted is He, "But as for those
who have iman and do right actions, We will not let the wage of good-doers (muhsinun)
go to waste." (Surat al-Kahf: 30)
It is paired with Islam as in His words, exalted is He, "Not so! All who
submit themselves completely to Allah and are good-doers (muhsinun) will find
their reward with their Lord," (Surat al-Baqarah: 111), and in His words,
exalted is He, "Those who submit themselves completely to Allah and do good
(ahsanou) have grasped the Firmest Handhold." (Surah Luqman: 21)
It is paired with taqwa in His words, exalted is He, "Allah is with
those who have taqwa of Him and with those who are good-doers (muhsinun)."
(Surat an-Nahl: 128)
It is mentioned alone by itself in His words, exalted is He, "Those who
do good (ahsanou) will have the best and more!" (Surah Yunus: 26) It is
established in Sahih Muslim from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, that the explanation of the 'increase' is gazing upon the face of Allah,
exalted is He, in the Garden, which is commensurate with His making it a
recompense for the people of ihsan, because ihsan is that the mumin should
worship his Lord in the world in the manner of being present and with fearful
watchfulness as if he sees Him with his heart and gazes on Him during his
worship. The reward of that is gazing upon Allah with the eyes in the next life.
The opposite of this is that which Allah, exalted is He, informs us of the
recompense of the kuffar in the next life, "No indeed! Rather that Day they
will be veiled from their Lord," (Surat al-Mutaffifin: 15) which He makes
their reward for their condition in the world, because their reward for that
state is that they are veiled from seeing Him in the next life.
His words, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on ihsan, "That you
should worship Allah as if you see Him..." indicate that the slave worships
Allah, exalted is He, in this way, which is bearing in his consciousness His
nearness and that he is in front of Him as if he sees Him, and that requires
that one have fear, awe and exaltation [of Allah], as has been narrated in the
version of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, "That you should
fear Allah as if you see Him." It also requires that one be sincere in
one's worship and exert oneself to make it good, whole and complete. The
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, counselled a group of his
companions with this piece of advice, as Ibrahim al-Hijri narrated from
Abu'l-Ahwas that Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "My
intimate friend, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, counselled me to fear
Allah as if I see Him, for if I do not see Him, then He sees me."
It has been narrated from Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them,
that he said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, took hold of a part of my body and said, 'Worship Allah as if you see
Him!'" An-Nasa'i narrated it from a hadith of Zayd ibn Arqam both
attributing it [to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace] as a
marfu' hadith and stopping short [with it at Zayd] as a mawquf hadith, "Be
as if you see Allah, for if you do not see Him He sees you."
At-Tabarani narrated from a hadith of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
that, "A man said, 'Messenger of Allah, tell me something and make it
comprehensive!' He replied, 'Pray the prayer as if you were bidding farewell,
for if you do not see Him, He sees you.'"
The famous hadith of Harithah has been narrated in various ways, in some of
which it is mursal [attributed to the Prophet but without the connecting link of
the person among the Followers who narrated it from the Companion] and also with
a full chain of transmission, but the mursal form is more authentic. There is in
it that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked him, "Harithah,
how are you this morning?" He said, "This morning I have become a true
mumin." He said, "Think about what you are saying! Because every
statement has a reality." He said, "Messenger of Allah, my self
dislikes the world, so that it is sleepless at night and thirsty in the day, and
it is as if I am gazing upon the Throne of my Lord appearing, and it is as if I
am gazing upon the people of the Garden in the Garden and how they visit each
other in it, and as if I am gazing upon the people of the Fire and how they howl
in it." He said, "You have seen, so remain firm. [You are] a slave
whom Allah has illuminated the iman in his heart."
It is narrated of the hadith of Abu Umamah, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with him, advised a man saying, "Be
modest before Allah with the modesty you would have before two right-acting men
of your close family who never leave you." It is narrated in another
version, "Be modest before your Lord."
It is narrated of Mu'adh that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, counselled him when he sent him to the Yemen and said, "Be modest
before Allah as you would be modest before a man of your family of whom you have
some awe.&quo
:: Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali ::