Iman (Islam)

In Arabic, iman (إِيمَان ʾīmān) pronounced [ˈʔiː.maːn] means "faith" or "recognition". It is the verbal noun of آمَنَ, "to have faith" or "to give recognition."

In a hadith, the Islamic prophet 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.[6]

Hamiduddin Farahi, while explaining the meaning of imān in his exegesis, wrote:

The root of imān is iamn. It is used in various shades of meaning.[7] One of its derivatives is mu'min, which is among the noble names of Allah because He gives peace to those who seek His refuge. This word is also an ancient religious term. Hence the certitude which exists with humility, trust and all the conditions and corollaries of adherence to a view is called imān and he who professes faith in Allah, in His signs and in His directives and submits himself to Him and is pleased with all His decisions is a mu'min.[1]

Faith (iman) includes six primary beliefs:[8]

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 (revealed to Muhammad), the Gospel (revealed to Jesus), the Torah (revealed to Moses), and Psalms (revealed to David).
4. Belief in the existence of prophets: Muhammad being the last of them, Jesus the penultimate, and others sent before them [like Moses, Abraham, David, Joseph, Jacob].
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 (qadar, 'Divine Decree') due to God's omniscience, whether it involves good or bad.

Of these, the first four are mentioned and the sixth implied in ayah 2:285 of the Quran.[3] All six appear in the first hadith of the collection Sahih Muslim, where the angel Gabriel asks to be told of iman and Muhammad replies:

That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil.[9]

Another similar narration ascribed to Muhammad is:

Ibn Abbas narrates that the Angel Jibril once asked the Prophet: "Tell me what is Islam?" The Prophet replied: "Iman is to believe in Allah, the Day of Judgment, His (Allah's) 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 (scales) to weigh the deeds; and to believe in the Divine Decree, the good and the bad of it (all). 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."[10]

The three dimensions of Islam including iman.

In the Qur'an, iman is one of the 10 qualities which cause one to be the recipient of God's mercy and reward.[11] The Qur'an states that faith can grow with the remembrance of God.[12] The Qur'an also states that nothing in this world should be dearer to a true believer than faith.[13]

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.[14] He also said that no one can be a true believer unless he loves Muhammad more than his children, parents and relatives.[15][16] At another instance, he has remarked that it is this love with Allah and Muhammad after which a person can be aware of the real taste of faith.[17][18]

Amin Ahsan Islahi, a notable exegete of the Qur'an has clarified the nature of this love:

[I]t 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.[19]

Islahi and Abul A'la Maududi both have inferred that the Quranic comparison of a good word and a bad word in Chapter 14[20] 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.[21]

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.[22]

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:[26]

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 (believer) 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.[26]

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.[27]

• Five Pillars of Islam
• Al-Ikhlas
• Taqwa
• Six Kalimas
• Amin and Amina, names derivant of Iman

• 77 Branches of Iman (Faith)
• Reality of Iman (Faith) – Meaning and Understanding
• Faith in allah