Iman
is the first of the five pillars of Islam. It is the faith,
which is based on intention and action and includes the acts
of worship and also the whole way of life. Prophet Muhammad
described Iman as:
“Iman
is that which resides firmly in the heart and which is proved
by deeds.”
So,
Iman is the feeling of human beings that an invisible power,
bigger than our imagination exists and created the Universe.
This feeling normally resides in the heart; driven by conscience
to make individuals believe that this invisible power is real
and that they are accountable for their own actions.
We
learn in mechanics that every action has a reaction. The action
is seen and the reaction is unseen. We know that every happening
has a cause. The happening is seen and the cause is unseen.
So, our feeling tells us that behind every visible thing there
is an invisible force that created it.
All
these actions and happenings are physical and touchable. There
are some other things not touchable. When a problem exists,
our mind work hard to find a suitable solution to it. What
is behind that? A feeling inside us urges us to believe that
there is a solution to our problem. This means: as there are
physical things touchable, there are also other spiritual
things untouchable.
So,
that is the faith, which as it resides in the heart and soul,
will let us discover the reality of life and believe that
behind all the physical things as well as the spiritual things,
there must be an invisible force or power, which creates,
arranges, co-ordinates, and directs all these things.
Faith
is behind human advancement and is the main cause of all development.
The stronger the faith of individuals, the stronger the influence
they can exert on other people. Their strong believe makes
the truth clear to them and can change things to better and
also change the weakness to strength and the hopelessness
to hopefulness.
The
real faith cannot be developed without understanding all constructive
discussions and arguments, which lead to strengthen the belief
in the hidden power and make individuals discover the secrets
of the Universe and the wonder of creation.
Many
people still cannot understand the meaning of Iman, the real
faith. They know how to perform their religious duties only
because their parents and grandparents performed them this
way, but they don’t know why. They follow the religion
their parents followed. They belong to a religion, Christianity,
Islam, Judaism or others because they were born to parents
belonging to the same religion and raised among the same community.
They follow the tradition blindly without thinking, only because
they are obliged to do so. Qur’an says about the so-called
Muslims:
“The
Arabs of the desert say: ‘We believe.’ Say you
believe not, you have no faith; but rather say: ‘We
have submitted our wills to God by confessing Islam, for
the Iman, the faith, has not yet found its way into your
hearts (49: 14)
A
true believer is the one who is convinced that there is God,
creator of heavens and earth and what is between them, and
does good deeds in the course of life. Qur’an states:
“Those
who believe (in the Qur’an), and those who follow
the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,
any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness,
shall have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be
no fear, nor shall they grieve.” (2: 62)
All
religions brought by the prophets are from the same One God.
They may differ in some aspects or the way they have been
indorsed for action, but they all agree in their whole spirit
to believe and surrender to God. They also urge the believers
to act in a manner showing good deeds.
“Were
you present when death came to Jacob? Behold, he said to
his sons: What will you worship after me? They said: ‘we
shall worship your God and the God of your fathers, of Abraham,
Isma’il and Isaac- the One true God: To Him we have
submitted.’” (2: 133)
“Behold!
His Lord said to him (Abraham): ‘Bow, in submission,
he said: ‘I bow to the Lord of the Universe. And this
was the legacy that Abraham left to his sons, and so did
Jacob; Oh my sons! God has chosen the faith for you, then
die not except in the Faith of Islam.” (2: 131-132)
So,
Islam, which means submission to the will of God, is the religion
of Abraham and also all prophets before and after Abraham.
It is the religion of Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Thus, true
Muslims are they, who believe in God and are sincere in their
actions, with belief, of whatever religion they may have.
The
religion is there to purify the souls, free minds from the
disbelief, reform hearts with good intentions in all actions.
It is also there to urge people to be sincere to all other
people in humanity and to be sincere in worshipping. Bearing
in mind, that God considers all human being’s good activities
as acts of worship.
Read about the actual actions that belief is
comprised of
(Iman
- the first of the five pillars of Islam Pt 2...)
| Authors
Details: Fathy Fares - C/o spiritual.com.au |
(The
five pillars of Islam) |
