What faith means, and the words that carry it
What faith (iman) is, its two parts, who a believer is, and the declarations of faith said with the tongue.
Allah made the whole universe. There is no one else like Him. His name is Allah, the Almighty.
Believing, called iman, means believing in Allah, in His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, and in everything Allah sent us through him. You believe it in your heart, and you say it with your words.
Iman has two parts
- Believing it in your heart.
- Saying it with your words.
Every Muslim must believe in Allah, in His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, and in everything Allah sent through him, believing it in the heart and saying it with the tongue. Someone who says the Kalima and believes it in their heart is a believer.
123456789لَآ إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللهِ
Lā ilāha illa'llāhu Muḥammadur-Rasūlullāh
There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
اٰمَنتُ بِاللّٰهِ كَمَا هُوَ بِأَسْمَائِهٖ وَ صِفَاتِهٖ وَ قَبِلْتُ جَمِيعَ أَحْكَامِهٖ
Āmantu billāhi kamā huwa bi-asmāʾihī wa ṣifātihī wa qabiltu jamīʿa aḥkāmih
I believe in Allah as He is, with all His names and attributes, and I accept all His commands.
اٰمَنْتُ بِاللّٰهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهٖ وَكُتُبِهٖ وَرُسُلِهٖ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَ الْبَعْثِ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرِهٖ وَ شَرِّهٖ مِنَ اللهِ تَعَالٰى
Āmantu billāhi wa malāʾikatihī wa kutubihī wa rusulihī wa'l-yawmi'l-ākhiri wa'l-baʿthi baʿda'l-mawti wa'l-qadri khayrihī wa sharrihī mina'llāhi taʿālā
I believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment, destiny (whether good or bad) as from Allah Almighty, and resurrection after death.
Every Muslim must believe in all six things named in the longer prayer of belief: Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and destiny, with life after death. Refusing even one of them takes a person out of faith.
123Allah is the Creator of the entire universe. He is unique, with no one like Him in His being and His qualities; His name is Allah Almighty.
Faith (iman) means to believe in Allah, in His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, and in everything Allah has sent through His Messenger, believed in the heart and affirmed with the tongue.
The two parts of iman
- Believing it in the heart.
- Affirming it with the words of the tongue.
It is obligatory (fard) to believe in Allah, in His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, and in everything Allah has sent through him, holding it in the heart and affirming it with the tongue. Whoever recites the Kalima and believes it in the heart is a believer (muʾmin).
123456789لَآ إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللهِ
Lā ilāha illa'llāhu Muḥammadur-Rasūlullāh
There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Alongside the Kalima Tayyibah, two further declarations state belief in condensed and in itemised form: Iman-e-Mujmal (concise faith) and Iman-e-Mufassal (detailed faith).
اٰمَنتُ بِاللّٰهِ كَمَا هُوَ بِأَسْمَائِهٖ وَ صِفَاتِهٖ وَ قَبِلْتُ جَمِيعَ أَحْكَامِهٖ
Āmantu billāhi kamā huwa bi-asmāʾihī wa ṣifātihī wa qabiltu jamīʿa aḥkāmih
I believe in Allah as He is, with all His names and attributes, and I accept all His commands.
اٰمَنْتُ بِاللّٰهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهٖ وَكُتُبِهٖ وَرُسُلِهٖ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَ الْبَعْثِ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرِهٖ وَ شَرِّهٖ مِنَ اللهِ تَعَالٰى
Āmantu billāhi wa malāʾikatihī wa kutubihī wa rusulihī wa'l-yawmi'l-ākhiri wa'l-baʿthi baʿda'l-mawti wa'l-qadri khayrihī wa sharrihī mina'llāhi taʿālā
I believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment, destiny (whether good or bad) as from Allah Almighty, and resurrection after death.
It is obligatory (fard) to believe in all six articles named in Iman-e-Mufassal: Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and destiny, together with resurrection after death. Denying any one of them makes a person a disbeliever.
123Allah is the Creator of the entire universe, unique in His Being and His attributes, with nothing resembling Him; His name is Allah Almighty.
Īmān is to believe in Allah, in His Messenger, and in everything Allah has conveyed through His Messenger, together in heart and in speech.
The two constituent parts of īmān
- Taṣdīq bi'l-qalb: affirmation in the heart.
- Iqrār bi'l-lisān: declaration with the tongue.
Īmān in Allah, in His Messenger ﷺ, and in all that Allah has conveyed through him is obligatory (farḍ), and it consists of affirmation in the heart (taṣdīq bi'l-qalb) together with declaration by the tongue (iqrār bi'l-lisān). One who recites the Kalimah and holds it as true in the heart is a muʾmin.
123456789لَآ إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللهِ
Lā ilāha illa'llāhu Muḥammadur-Rasūlullāh
There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Two further formulae state the same belief at different levels of resolution: Īmān-e-Mujmal, a concise affirmation, and Īmān-e-Mufassal, which itemises the six matters of belief individually.
اٰمَنتُ بِاللّٰهِ كَمَا هُوَ بِأَسْمَائِهٖ وَ صِفَاتِهٖ وَ قَبِلْتُ جَمِيعَ أَحْكَامِهٖ
Āmantu billāhi kamā huwa bi-asmāʾihī wa ṣifātihī wa qabiltu jamīʿa aḥkāmih
I believe in Allah as He is, with all His names and attributes, and I accept all His commands.
اٰمَنْتُ بِاللّٰهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهٖ وَكُتُبِهٖ وَرُسُلِهٖ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَ الْبَعْثِ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرِهٖ وَ شَرِّهٖ مِنَ اللهِ تَعَالٰى
Āmantu billāhi wa malāʾikatihī wa kutubihī wa rusulihī wa'l-yawmi'l-ākhiri wa'l-baʿthi baʿda'l-mawti wa'l-qadri khayrihī wa sharrihī mina'llāhi taʿālā
I believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment, destiny (whether good or bad) as from Allah Almighty, and resurrection after death.
Belief in each of the six uṣūl al-īmān enumerated in Īmān-e-Mufassal is obligatory (farḍ): Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and al-qadr in its good and its bad, together with resurrection after death. Denial of any one of them constitutes kufr.
123This is the English translation of Nisab Ahle Khidmaat Sharia, exactly as the book has it, for the passages this page was written from. About 218 words. Switch back to Guide for the rewritten version.
The Faiths Allah
Allah is the Creator of the entire universe. He is unique, with no one like Him in His being and qualities. His name is Allah Almighty.
The Faiths Faith
Faith means to believe in Allah, His Messenger (Prophet Muhammad), and everything that Allah has sent us through His Messenger, with both our hearts and words.
The Faiths Parts of Faith
There are two parts of faith:
1. Believing in our hearts
2. Saying it with our words
The Faiths The Believer
A believer is someone who recites the Kalima (declaration of faith) and believes in it with their heart.
The Faiths The Kalima Tayyibah
لَآ إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللهِ
Translation: "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
The Faiths Iman-e-Mujmal (Concise Faith)
اٰمَنتُ بِاللّٰهِ كَمَا هُوَ بِأَسْمَائِهٖ وَ صِفَاتِهٖ وَ قَبِلْتُ جَمِيعَ أَحْكَامِهٖ
Translation: "I believe in Allah as He is, with all His names and attributes, and I accept all His commands."
The Faiths Iman-e-Mufassal (Detailed Faith)
اٰمَنْتُ بِاللّٰهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهٖ وَكُتُبِهٖ وَرُسُلِهٖ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَ الْبَعْثِ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرِهٖ وَ شَرِّهٖ مِنَ اللهِ تَعَالٰى
Translation: "I believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment, destiny (whether good or bad) as from Allah Almighty, and resurrection after death."
(Note): These are the core foundations of all beliefs. Denying any one of them makes a person a disbeliever. Therefore, to understand these concepts thoroughly, an explanation of each is provided here.
Terms on this page
Related
- Belief in destiny (Qadr) The sixth article of faith: that Allah has written all that happens, while people still choose and are answerable for their own actions.
- The five declarations of faith (kalimas) The five declarations of faith every Muslim learns, in Arabic, transliteration and translation, with what each one means.
- Belief in Allah The first article of faith: what a Muslim believes about who Allah is and the qualities that belong to Him alone.
- Belief in Allah's books The scriptures Allah revealed to His prophets, the four best known among them, and why only the Quran's rulings stand today.