15-10-1445
شَوّال
Iman (Faith) in Islam denotes a believer’s belief and faith in aspects of Islam. Iman means to affirm something and to comply with it. There are six pillars of Iman (Faith) in Islam. We, being a Muslim must follow and believe in these six pillars of Iman.
آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِير
(2:285)(The Messenger believes, and so do the believers, in the guidance sent down upon him from his Lord: each of them believes in Allah, and in His angels, and in His Books, and in His Messengers. They say: “We make no distinction between any of His Messengers. We hear and obey. Our Lord! Grant us your forgiveness; to you we are destined to return.”)
The six pillars of Iman (faith) are:
1. Belief that there is only one God “ALLAH”:
It is the core pillar of Iman to believe that there is only one God worthy of worship, i.e. Almighty Allah. He has not given birth, nor was he born. Muslims belief is to submit & surrender themselves to Almighty Allah, this concept is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an in surah Ikhlas. (112:1)
سورة الإخلاص
قُلْ هُوَ اللهُ أَحَدٌ {1}
اللهُ الصَّمَدُ {2}
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ {3}
وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ {4}
(Say: 1 “He is Allah, 2 the One and Unique;3 (112:2) Allah, Who is in need of none and of Whom all are in need;4 (112:3) He neither begot any nor was He begotten,5 (112:4) and none is comparable to Him.”)
2. Belief in the existence of Angels (Malaik):
It is the second pillar of Iman to believe in ALLAH’s angels or malaik which were created from light before human beings, for the purpose to execute the commandments of Allah & to worship Him. Nobody knows the exact number of angels except The Almighty ALLAH, as their numbers are not mentioned in the holy book Qur’an or in hadeeth. As a Muslim it is very important for us to know the names of 10 important angels and their duties.
1. Jibril-The bringer of good news. Angel of revelation.
2. Mikail-Brings rain.
3. Israfil-Will blow the trumpet during the Day of Judgment.
4. Izrail-Angel of death.
5. Maalik-Guardian of Jahannum (Hell Fire).
6. Ridwaan-Guardian of Jannah (Paradise).
7. Munkar-To question the dead in grave.
8. Nakir-To question the dead in grave.
9. Raqib-To record good deeds.
10. Atid-To record bad deeds.
3. Belief in the books of ALLAH:
The third pillar is to believe in the books of ALLAH. These Books were revealed by Allah to His messengers as a form of guidance. A Muslim need to believe in the declaration of 4 books those were divulged to different Prophets at different period.
1. Zaboor-Revealed to Prophet Dawud (PBUH)A. S
2. Tawrath-Revealed to Prophet Musa (PBUH)A. S
3. Injil-Revealed to Prophet Isa (PBUH)A. S
4. Qur’an-Revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)S.A.W. S
But we, Muslims need to follow the guidance of the Holy Qur’an, the last and final revelation to the mankind.
4. Belief in ALLAH’s messengers:
Believing in all prophets (Nabi) and messengers (Rasool) sent by ALLAH is the fourth pillar of Iman and The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the last and the final messenger of almighty Allah. Prophet Muhammed (SAWS) is the head and the imam of all messengers of almighty Allah. A Rasool is always a Nabi while a Nabi may or may not become a Rasool. It is said to believe that near about one lakh twenty-four thousand prophets descended on earth, but in Qur’an only 25 Prophets Name are mentioned.
1. Prophet Adam (A.S)
2. Prophet Idris (A.S)
3. Prophet Nuh (A.S)
4. Prophet Hud (A.S)
5. Prophet Saleh (A.S)
6. Prophet Ibrahim (A.S)
7. Prophet Lut (A.S)
8. Prophet Ismail (A.S)
9. Prophet Ishaq (A.S)
10. Prophet Yaqoob (A.S)
11. Prophet Yusuf (A.S)
12. Prophet Shuaib (A.S)
13. Prophet Harun (A.S)
14. Prophet Ayyub (A.S)
15. Prophet Dhul-Kifl (A.S)
16. Prophet Musa (A.S)
17. Prophet Dawud (A.S)
18. Prophet Suleiman (A.S)
19. Prophet Ilyas (A.S)
20. Prophet Al-Yasaa (A.S)
21. Prophet Yunus (A.S)
22. Prophet Zakariya (A.S)
23. Prophet Yahya (A.S)
24. Prophet Isa (A.S)
25. Prophet Muhammad (A.S)
5. Belief in the Day of Judgment (Qayamah):
The fifth pillar of Iman is to believe in the Day of Judgment. We all are created by The Almighty ALLAH and one day we must return to Him. The whole universe will come to an end. Being a Muslim, we must be concerned about our life after death. On the Day of Judgment, we all must give the answers of our deeds what we did during our lifetime. Whether we make our way to Jannah (Paradise) or Jahannum (Hell), depends upon our actions during our life span in this world. The better the deeds, the more we will be closer to Jannah and vice versa.
6. Belief in the (Destiny) Qadha & Qadr (Doom and Divine Decree):
Last but not the least, Muslims must believe in destiny which is already destined by the almighty Allah. It is our belief in destiny, that Muslims are able to face all difficulties and tests in the life of this world. It is crucial for us to believe in our destiny and know the meaning of two terms associated with it, Qadhaa and Qadr.
Qadhaa is that every soul shall die where as Qadr is, that stipulated date and time already destined by Almighty Allah for us to die.
It is mentioned in Surah Al-Imran verse 185 and in surah Al-Anbiya in verse 35.
(3:185) كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآئِقَةُ الْمَوْت
Every Soul Shall Taste Death!
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآئِقَةُ الْمَوْت
(21:35) Every soul will taste death
May Allah Subhan-O Tala bestow His guidance on us, forgive all our seen and unseen sins and guide us in the straight path towards being a reverent Muslim. “Ameen”.