بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
I haven't had my lunch yet, so let me start off by a hungry analogy. Translating "إيمان (Iman)" as "faith or belief" is akin to translating "food" as "burgers+fries+coke". Granted that "burgers+fries+coke" can be (mis)construed as food, after all even the expression "junk food", does not deny them the much coveted status of "food", albeit of the "junk" nature.
However, the basic (and sometimes overlooked) purpose of food is to provide good, healthy, wholesome nutrition. Secondary objectives could be for food to taste good, look appetizing, be available in a fast and convenient manner and so on.
If it fails to meet its basic purpose of healthy nutrition, we go back and ask, is it really food? In the same vein, if the translation "belief" fails to propel the "believers" towards a state of success in accordance with its definition as laid down by Allah, can it really be "إيمان " ?
The root of the word "إيمان ", is ا م ن which means :
become/feel safe/secure, state of security/safety, trust, become quiet/tranquil in heart/mind, become free of expectation of evil or free of an object of dislike/hatred, promise/assurance of security/safety, become trustful/faithful/confident, to believe/acknowledge it, manifestation of humility/submission.
From the root it becomes apparent that "to believe" or "acknowledge" is just one shade of the meaning, and the greater sense of the word is to be "in an existential state" of tranquility with the object of our "إيمان", in our case Allah ( مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ).
A مؤمن should continuously strive that Allah is pleased (راضي ) with him/her, and at the same time should live in a state of contentment or ridha (رضا ) with Allah, as highlighted in several ayat, for example, in this context Al-Mujadilah (58:22):
لَا تَجِدُ قَوْمًا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ يُوَادُّونَ مَنْ حَادَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلَوْ كَانُوا آبَاءهُمْ أَوْ أَبْنَاءهُمْ أَوْ إِخْوَانَهُمْ أَوْ عَشِيرَتَهُمْ أُوْلَئِكَ كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَأَيَّدَهُم بِرُوحٍ مِّنْهُ وَيُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ أُوْلَئِكَ حِزْبُ اللَّهِ أَلَا إِنَّ حِزْبَ اللَّهِ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
Thou canst not find people who [truly] believe in God and the Last Day and [at the same time] love anyone who contends against God and His Apostle - even though they be their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or [others of] their kindred. [As for the true believers,] it is they in whose hearts He has inscribed faith, and whom He has strengthened with inspiration from Himself, and whom [in time] He will admit into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide. Well-pleased is God with them, and well-pleased are they with Him. They are God’s partisans: oh, verily, it is they, the partisans of God, who shall attain to a happy state!
(Some of the interpreters argue that this state of رضا in this particular ayat refers to the state in the Hereafter, but it could well refer to the state in this world. This understanding is reinforced in (At-Tauba, 9:100), where it should be evident that the state of رضا is achievable in this world.)
So coming back to our argument that a مؤمن is always in a state of رضا with Allah, continuously aware of His Presence, feeling secure (3:173), and in a state of tranquility, (سكينة ) as in (48:4), protecting himself/herself from evil, and avoiding any wrongdoing in general, at the risk of losing this state (even if the wrong act is something apparently simple, such as labeling people derisively Sufi, Wahhabi, Shia, Nasibi, Tablighi etc (49:11) ).
It is pertinent to note that in Islam, this state of contentment does not mean that we are passive, but rather active in our endeavors, manifesting our "إيمان ", in terms of doing good deeds. As highlighted by this narration of ultimate altruism:
لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى يحب لأخيه ما يحب لنفسه
"None of you has إيمان until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
[Reported by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, an-Nasa'i, and Ibn Hibban ]
To look at the concept more extensively, I searched for "إيمان " in the Qur'an, for where else to look for answers, except in the Qur'an?
The term, in its noun form can be found in the following ayat of the Qur'an:
2:93, 2:108, 2:109, 2:143, 3:86, 3:90, 3:100, 3:106, 3:167, 3:173, 3:177, 3:193, 4:25, 5:5, 6:82, 6:158, 6:158, 8:2, 9:23, 9:66, 9:124, 9:124, 10:9, 10:98, 16:106, 16:106, 30:56, 32:29, 33:22, 40:10, 40:28, 40:85, 42:52, 48:4, 48:4, 49:7, 49:11, 49:14, 49:17, 52:21, 58:22, 59:9, 59:10, 60:10, 74:31
Reviewing the above ayat, it is clear that the term "إيمان " indicates not an idea, or a belief, but an attainable state.
It is relevant to point out that only through Allah's favor upon us, can we achieve the RIGHT إيمان . It is Allah Who has allowed us to attain to إيمان and made it dear for us. In the right state, we find inner peace, do good deeds, abhor evil deeds, and do not get disturbed/distressed by whatever Allah decides for us, or for the world.
People can be invited to attain this state. Those who are in this state are quick to follow Allah's commandments and revelations. And every time they receive Signs of God, they become stronger in their state. However, their state is not dependent upon seeing God, or any of His Unseen Creation.
This state is very clear, different from other states, such as the إيمان of the كافرون which are not beneficial (32:29). Only إيمان in the One, Almighty God, is the RIGHT إيمان and will bring with it blessings.
While you are in a state of "إيمان ", your "إيمان ", could increase and decrease, could be further strengthened or weakened. It could also be obscured by wrong-doing.
If there are people cover the truth after attaining إيمان, God condemns such actions and doing this will bring them tremendous suffering (16:106), especially to those who are lost in sin (9:66).
For Muslims, our relationship of إيمان with the Almighty, is also dependent on love of the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam), as stated in the following narration in Bukhari:
لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى أكون أحب إليه من ولده ووالده والناس أجمعين
"None of you has إيمان until he loves me more than he loves his children, his parents, and all people."
In another narration in Bukhari the Prophet(salallahu alayhi wasallam) has reportedly said: "None of you believes until he loves me more than he loves himself."
Those who achieve/attain this state, in the way that it should be achieved, are called "مؤمنين " or " مؤمنات " (singular مؤمن).By accepting Islam, you automatically do not become a مؤمن as Allah deems that in order for us to be مؤمن , it is imperative that إيمان must enter our hearts.Who qualifies to be a مؤمن and what are his/her qualities, is the subject of another blog post, Insha Allah.
