Iman (Islam)


Iman in Islamic theology denotes a believer's faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. Its most simple definition is the belief in the six articles of faith, known as arkān al-īmān.
The term iman has been delineated in both the Quran and hadith. According to the Quran, iman must be accompanied by righteous deeds and the two together are necessary for entry into Paradise. In the hadith, iman in addition to Islam and ihsan form the three dimensions of the Islamic religion.
There exists a debate both within and outside Islam on the link between faith and reason in religion, and the relative importance of either. Several scholars contend that faith and reason spring from the same source and hence must be harmonious.

Etymology

In Arabic, iman, means "faith". It is the verbal noun of "to believe."

Meaning

In a hadith, Muhammad defined iman as "a knowledge in the heart, a voicing with the tongue, and an activity with the limbs." Faith is confidence in a truth which is real. When people have confidence, they submit themselves to that truth. It is not sufficient just to know the truth, but the recognition of the heart should be expressed by the tongue which is the manifestation of the intelligence and at last to reflect this confidence in their activities.
Hamiduddin Farahi, while explaining the meaning of imān in his exegesis, wrote:

The Six Articles of Faith

Faith breaks down into six axioms:
  1. Belief in the existence and oneness of God.
  2. Belief in the existence of angels.
  3. Belief in the existence of the books of which God is the author: the Quran, the Gospel, the Torah, and Psalms.
  4. Belief in the existence of all Prophets: Muhammad being the last of them, Jesus the penultimate, and others sent before them.
  5. Belief in the existence of the Day of Judgment: in that day, humanity will be divided into two groups: that of paradise and that of hell. These groups are themselves composed of subgroups.
  6. Belief in the existence of God's predestination, whether it involves good or bad.
Of these, the first five are mentioned together in the Quran and by Muhammad, while including a corollary of belief in Allah – the good and evil of fate ordained by God – has referred to all six together in the following manner in the Hadith of Gabriel:
Another similar narration ascribed to Muhammad is:
Ibn Abbas narrates that the Angel Jibril once asked the Prophet: "Tell me what is Iman?" The Prophet replied: "Iman is to believe in Allah, the Day of Judgment, His Angels, Books and Prophets and to believe in life after death; and to believe in Paradise and the Fire, and the setting up of the Mizan to weigh the deeds; and to believe in the Divine Decree, the good and the bad of it. Jibril then asked him: "If I do all this will I be with Iman?" The Prophet said: "When you have done all of this, you will be having Iman."

Delineation in the Quran and Hadith

In the Quran, iman is one of the 10 qualities which cause one to be the recipient of God's mercy and reward. The Quran states that faith can grow with remembrance of God. The Quran also states that nothing in this world should be dearer to a true believer than faith.
Muhammad is reported to have said that he gained sweetness of faith who was pleased to accept God as Lord, Islam as religion and Muhammad as prophet. He also said that no one can be a true believer unless he loves the Prophet more than his children, parents and relatives. At another instance, he has remarked that it is this love with God and Muhammad after which a person can be aware of the real taste of faith.
Amin Ahsan Islahi, a notable exegete of the Quran has clarified the nature of this love:
... it does not merely imply the passionate love one naturally has for one's wife, children and other relatives, but it also refers to the love on the basis of intellect and principles for some viewpoint and stance. It is because of this love that a person, in every sphere of life, gives priority to this viewpoint and principle... So much so, if the demands of his wife, children and relatives clash with the demands of this viewpoint, he adheres to it and without any hesitation turns down the desires of his wife and children and the demands of his family and clan.

Islahi and Maududi both have inferred that the Quranic comparison of a good word and a bad word in Chapter 14 is actually a comparison of faith and disbelief. Thus, the Quran is effectively comparing faith to a tree whose roots are deep in the soil and branches spread in the vastness of the sky.
Iman is also the subject of a supplication uttered by Muhammad to God:
O God! I have resigned myself to You and I have consigned my matter to you and have taken support from You fearing Your grandeur and moving towards You in anticipation. There is no refuge and shelter after running away from You, and if there is, it is with You. Lord! I have professed faith in your Book which You have revealed and have professed faith in the Prophet you have sent as a Messenger.

The 77 Branches of Iman

The 77 Branches of Faith is a collection compiled by Imam Al-Bayhaqi in his work Shu`ab al-Iman. In it, he explains the essential virtues that reflect true faith through related Quranic verses and prophetic sayings.
This is based on the following Hadith ascribed to Muhammad:
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said: "Iman has more than 70 branches. The most excellent among these branches is the saying of "Laa ilaaha ill Allah", and the smallest branch is to remove an obstacle from the wayside. And "Haya" is an important branch of Iman."

Faith and deeds

In Islam, it is essential that there exist harmony and concord between faith and deeds. Farāhī has explained this aspect in his tafsīr in the following manner:
Righteous deeds are mentioned in the Qurān right after faith in the capacity of an explanation... In the case of faith, the need for its explanation is obvious: the place of faith is the heart and the intellect. In matters of intellect and heart, not only can a person deceive others but also at times he himself can remain in deception. He considers himself to be a mu’min whereas actually he is not. For this reason, two testimonies needed to be required for it: a person's words and a person's deeds. Since words can be untrue, hence a person who only professes faith through words is not regarded as a mu’min and it was deemed essential that a person's deeds also testify to his faith. Thus the Qurān said: O you who believe with the tongue! Believe through your deeds.

Faith and reason in Islam

The relation between reason and faith in Islam is a complex debate spanning over centuries. Ismail Raji al-Faruqi states on this subject:
As for the non-Muslims, they may contest the principles of Islam. They must know, however, that Islam does not present its principles dogmatically, for those who believe or wish to believe, exclusively. It does so rationally, critically. It comes to us armed with logical and coherent arguments, and expects our acquiescence on rational, and hence necessary, grounds. It is not legitimate for us to disagree on the relativist basis of personal taste, or that of subjective experience.

Citations