Three Steps to Success: Iman, Islam & Ihsan
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In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate
"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon you"
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah
As-Salaam Alaykum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakaatuh
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Three Steps to Success: Iman, Islam & Ihsan
Believing in one God entails the acknowledgment that He deserves to be obeyed by His creation and that He created us with a purpose - to worship Him.
Seeking knowledge has many dimensions, and it can be effectively achieved in a variety of ways.
Fortunately, Islam has endorsed diverse styles of learning and acquiring knowledge, such as reading books in private, and attending classes under a knowledgeable teacher.
In a classroom or group setting, when a student asks an intelligent, relevant question, and the teacher gives the answer, all those present during the exchange benefit greatly from it in the form of useful knowledge that is translated into action.
Archangel Gabriel once visited Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in human form, in order to practically demonstrate to those present around him how to seek knowledge from the Prophet by asking relevant and wise questions.
Belief: The First Step
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On The Levels of Faith - Do You Worship God As if You See Him? - Ihsan: Nothing Heavier in the Scales - Ascending in the Levels of Worship |
A hadith recorded on the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih Al Bukhari describes this visit:
“One day while Allah's Messenger was sitting with the people, a man came walking to him and said:
“O Allah's Messenger. What is Belief?”
The Prophet said:“Belief is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Apostles, and the meeting with Him, and to believe in the Resurrection.”
Faith or “iman” as it is called in the Arabic text of both the Quran and Hadith means: the belief that one harbors in the heart. This belief forms the core or basis of everything else, particularly the outward actions that one performs in order to acquire the pleasure of Allah.
The text of the hadith indicates the importance of believing, in chronological order, in the various core tenets that form the foundation of Islamic creed, or Aqeedah.
First, one has to believe in only one God, Allah.
Next, one has to believe in the angels that Allah has created to carry out His commands, such as sending down Divine revelation as the message of guidance to mankind. This message is in the form of ‘Allah’s “Books”, that is, any scripture that He sent as guidance for mankind, such as the Torah, which was written on tablets, and the Quran, that is Allah’s spoken word.
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It is not just enough to believe in one God, Allah, and then do as we please here on earth. |
Then, one has to believe in all of Allah’s Prophets. That is, the men whom He appointed as apostles to practically embody and convey His message to mankind. Not only did many of Allah’s Prophets receive the message in the form of scripture, but they also met His angels in different forms whilst accomplishing this task, such as the angels who visited Prophets Ibrahim and Lut.
Lastly, belief also includes having absolutely no doubts about being resurrected in the next life.
One might wonder, why is believing in all the above tenets so important?
Is it not enough to just believe in one God?
Religious Practice: The Next Step
It is not just enough to believe in one God, Allah, and then do as we please here on earth.
The answer to the above question, about why belief has many components, and why it is not just enough to believe in one’s heart that there is one God who created everything, without doing anything else outwardly, is, simply put: that believing in Allah entails worshipping Him, submitting to Him, and worshipping nothing else besides Him.
Believing in one God entails the acknowledgment that He deserves to be obeyed by His creation and that He created us with a purpose - to worship Him:
{And I have not created the jinn and men to any end other than that they may worship Me.} (51:56)
The above hadith continues:
The man (then) asked: “O Allah's Messenger. What is Islam?”
The Prophet replied:
“Islam is to worship Allah and not worship anything besides Him, to offer prayers perfectly, to pay the (compulsory) charity i.e. zakah and to fast the month of Ramadan.”
Since believing in Allah involves practical worship, Archangel Gabriel detailed the different forms of worship that embody “Islam”, after listing the basic tenets of belief, or iman: i.e. salah, or offering regular prayers; giving the obligatory charity (zakah); and fasting the month of Ramadan.
All of these are outward acts of worship that signify our submission to Allah, whom we believe to be our one and only Lord and Master.
Perfection and Excellence: The Final Step
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Lack of religious practice stems from weakness of belief, which is caused by a lack of knowledge of Deen. |
Many Muslims do believe in Allah, His Books, Messengers, and the Resurrection of the Hereafter, but they falter when it comes to practicing their beliefs. You will notice that there are Muslims who do not praysalah except the weekly Jumuah, do not fast in Ramadan, and do not perform hajj, despite frequently traveling internationally for leisure or business.
Yet, they say they believe in Allah. Many Muslims today, therefore, suffer from having doubts about Islam.
Lack of religious practice stems from weakness of belief, which is caused by a lack of knowledge of Deen. This knowledge can only be gleaned from the detailed and in-depth study of the Quran and Hadith.
The Quran mentions that belief (iman) becomes strong (and along the same token, also becomes weak):
{And when they hear His signs, find their faith strengthened,} (8:2)
Knowledge of Islam strengthens belief. On the same token, belief becomes weak if left un-fueled over time by the knowledge of Deen.
The next part of the hadith is especially enlightening:
The man again asked:“O Allah's Messenger… What is Ihsan?”
The Prophet said:“Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (that) Allah sees you.”
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In this state of belief and righteous action, a believer walks, talks and does everything as if he or she can actually ‘see’ Allah. |
After a believer strengthens his or her beliefs, and becomes staunch in performing all the obligatory forms of worship (Islam) as outlined in the previous part of the hadith, only then is he able to achieve the level ofihsan (which is an Arabic word meaning ‘perfection’, or ‘excellence’) in his relationship with Allah.
In this state of belief and righteous action, a believer walks, talks and does everything as if he or she can actually ‘see’ Allah.
In order to better comprehend this, recall how you act when you can see someone you love, whether up close or from afar. Are you not constantly riveted by their presence; your eyes transfixed upon them? The way a new mother acts when she sees her baby, or a new husband behaves when he looks at his wife?
Eyes light up, the gaze gets transfixed, attention becomes riveted, happiness is evident upon the body, and behavior becomes nice - when a person can see someone they love right in front of them.
If this level of ihsan can’t be achieved in our actions, then a slightly lower level of it is to worship Allah as if He can see us.
Bring to mind the way one acts when he or she knows they are being watched, e.g. by a camera, or by an audience. Does one not become extra conscious while being watched?
That is the lesser level of ihsan in our relationship with Allah, which can only be achieved after iman and Islam, i.e. to always act with the consciousness that Allah is watching us.
Conclusion: The Timing of the Hour
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The learning session was then over. Gabriel walked away and disappeared... |
The man further asked:
“O Allah's Messenger! When will the Hour be established?”
The Prophet replied:
“The one who is asked about it does not know more than the questioner does, but I will describe to you its portents. When the lady slave gives birth to her mistress, that will be of its portents; when the bare-footed naked people become the chiefs of the people, that will be of its portents. The Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah. Verily, the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah (alone). He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs (31:34).”
Then the man left. The Prophet said:
“Call him back to me.”
They went to call him back but could not see him. The Prophet said:
“That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion.”
In this last part of the hadith, Gabriel asked Prophet Muhammad about the exact time of the establishment of the Hour. The Prophet had no knowledge of this, so he informed him of a few of its signs, reiterating that the exact time of its occurrence is something about which no one except Allah has knowledge.
The learning session was then over. Gabriel walked away and disappeared, as he had taken on a human-male form only for this Q&A session.
The last part of Gabriel’s session teaches us not to dwell upon when the Hour will be established, but to remain focused upon preparing ourselves for it, in the form of strengthening our iman, practicing our Islam, and striving for ihsan in our worship of Allah.
Compiled, edited and adapted by Khalid Latif, www.thekhalids.org