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Published on 21st May, 2003
The Believers and the
Qualities of Their Illumination
By Tavis Adibudeen
All
praise is due to Allah, exalted and glorified, and may the peace
and blessings of Allah be upon his Messenger, Muhammad and upon
his pure household, his righteous companions and his loyal
followers.
In
modern times, the word mu`min or believer is often used casually
among the Muslims and non-Muslims alike. But if we examine
the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, we find ample
proof to suggest to us that, to be a believer is something
sacred, honourable, and most importantly, rare. Acceptance
of Islam does not equal iman (belief), and it can even lead
someone into the fire (naar), as in the case of a munafiq
(hypocrite).
Allah
ta’ala says in al-Qur’an:
The
desert Arabs say: “We believe!” Say: “You do not believe,
but rather you say,
‘We have submitted (in Islam)’ for
belief has not yet entered your hearts.
But if you obey
Allah and His Messenger, He will not diminish aught of your
deeds:
for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
(49:14Q)
So,
one who accepts Islam by saying the shahada (testimony of faith)
and outwardly performing the religious acts (i.e. prayer,
charity, fasting, pilgrimage) can be called a Muslim, but he
cannot necessarily be called a mu`min.
Aga
Pooya comments:
“Islam
is the outer circle and iman is the inner core. Islam is
submission and iman is the full realisation of the faith with
complete conviction.”[1]
Many
people make the claim of belief, but when their situation
worsens, they often turn on their heels and show their true
weakness of faith. What then are the characteristics of
believers that all of us should follow? How can we achieve
this station of iman so that we will not be only nominal Muslims
on the Day of Judgment? Allah
has summed up the characteristics of believers in al-Qur’an in
Surat al-Baqara in the first 5 ayaat (verses, signs).
He
Most High, says:
“Alif,
Lam, Mim. This is the book. Without a doubt, in it
is guidance for those who fear Allah;
Who believe in the unseen,
are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have given
them.
And who believe in the revelation sent to you, and
that sent before you, and of the hereafter, they are certain.
They are on true guidance from their Lord, and it is these who
shall be successful.”
(2:1-5Q)
 Someone
who has taqwa (piety) is someone who believes in Allah because
piety is a necessary characteristic of a believer. Whereas there
are other characteristics for the different grades of believers,
piety is found in all of them.
‘Allamah
Tabataba`i mentions that there are 5 characteristics of piety
mentioned in the four verses above:
-
Believing in the
unseen (al-ghayb)
-
Keeping up
prayers (salat)
-
Spending
benevolently out of what Allah has given
-
Believing in what
Allah has revealed to His messengers
-
Being certain of
the hereafter.[2]
 Al-
Ghayb
1)
Ghayb is described in the dictionary as “absence, hidden,
concealed, invisible, that which is hidden, the invisible, that
which is transcendental, the supernatural; divine secret.” [3]
That
which is ghayb cannot be perceived through the normal human
senses. Thus it does not lend itself to the rational mind.
Because one cannot perceive it, one can only come to know of its
existence through revelation. Allah ta’ala, however, has
placed in the earth and in the heavens undisputable ayaat
(signs) that point to the unseen. Ultimately, this points
to Allah, and any sign of Allah is a hujjat (proof ) that the
rational mind can use to reach the conclusion that the ghayb is
real. It is a necessary belief, and it is therefore,
mentioned here.
What
is unique about the mu`min’s belief in the ghayb is that it is
unquestionable. When the mu`min comes to know that Allah
is the Reality (al-haqq) and witnesses the ayaat for himself, he
no longer feels any inclination towards doubt. He does not
then ask where Allah is, how Allah is, when Allah was, or any
such question that would cause Allah to be limited in his
understanding.
Imam
Ali ('a) referred to this when he mentioned the Angel of Death:
“Do
you feel when the Angel of Death enters a house, or do you see
him when he takes out life of anyone?
How does he take out
the life of anyone?
How does he take out the life of an
embryo in the womb of his mother?
Does he reach it through
any part of her body or the spirit responded to his call with
the permission of Allah? Or does he stay with him in the
mother’s interior?
How can he who is unable to describe
a creature like this, describe Allah?[4]
Salat
2)
Salat is the pillar upon which al-Islam stands. So often
is it mentioned in the Qur’an that one might come to think
that a Muslim is to be engaged in it constantly, and that one
who is not is deficient in his worship of the Almighty.
Although
Allah ta’ala is certainly Merciful in only obligating Muslims
to perform salat five times daily, the importance of it and its
significance cannot be diminished. When a believer engages
in salat, the world around him no longer exists. It is, as
the word suggests, a form of “contact” with the Divine
Presence. It is a cosmological link between the physical,
mental, and the metaphysical.
Beyond
what is understood from the rituals themselves, salat is an
intrinsic uplink between the Divine Presence and His servant.
Throughout the course of any given day, a person can become
disconnected and unaware of his Creator. His belief in the
unseen, however, reminds him of his duty to his Lord, and thus
he returns to his Lord through this uplink. Through this
process, salat keeps a true believer away from the ills and
misgivings of his society.
As Allah ta’ala says:
Recite
that which has been revealed to you of the Book and keep up
prayer (salat);
surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency
and evil,
and certainly the remembrance (thikr) of Allah is the
greatest, and Allah knows what you do.
(29:45 Q)
For
the believer, salat is the official uplink, and he also strives
to maintain a spiritual connection with His Lord at all times. As this verse mentions, thikr or remembrance of Allah
plays a crucial role in the life of a believer. His days
are passed in frequent remembrance of Allah. And this
remembrance is not only in reciting certain phrases of praise
and glorification, but also it entails remembering Allah in all
actions and being conscious of Him in every thought that passes
his mind, in every place that he traverses, and in every deed
that his hands bring forth.
Imam
as-Sadiq ('a) said:
“Remembering
Allah often is one of the most important acts that Allah has
made incumbent upon His servants.” He then added:
“Beware that by this I do not mean just reciting, ‘Glory to
Allah, Praise be to Allah, Allah is the Greatest!’ Rather I
mean remembering what Allah has allowed and what He has
forbidden, obeying Allah, and abandoning sins.”[5]
Nafaqa
3)
To spend, in Arabic, is called nafaqa. This has both a
positive connotation in the sense that it is used in the above
mentioned ayat of Surat al-Baqara, and it also has a negative
meaning which is actually the very root of hypocrisy (nifaaq).
Allah
elucidates the essence of spending in al-Qur’an:
"The
parable of those who spend (yunfiqun) their substance in the way
of Allah is that of a grain of corn:
it grows seven ears, and
each ear has a hundred grains.
Allah gives manifold increase to
whom He pleases:
And Allah cares for all and He knows all
things."
(2:261 Q)
The
believer gives completely for the sake of Allah seeking no
worldly reward from it. As a result, the blessings that
manifest from that giving continuously multiply just as the
parable explains. It is this multiplicity of spending of a
believer that makes his spending unique. Anyone can give
charity, and many non-Muslims and Muslims alike give in charity.
But their giving is to be seen of people who will be in awe of
their generosity. They do so only to profit themselves in
this world.
Believing in what
Allah has Revealed to His Messengers
4)
What is unique about the Qur’an in its presentation to
humanity is that it does not condemn the books and prophets that
came before it. The Qur’an instead paints a portrait of
unity and an immaculate chain of revelation from the first
prophet, Adam (a) ending with the final prophet, Muhammad ('s).
In
between this beginning and completion is a plethora of cities,
tribes and nations in which these prophets lived and preached.
Despite this variety of language, custom and tribal
affiliation, the message was the same. The divine unity
was the principle motivation for every prophet and messenger
whom Allah sent to humanity.
The
believer not only professes this belief, but also implements it
in his life. It is beyond the scope of this discourse to
expand on the depths of the believer’s relationship with each
and every prophet, but it is sufficient to note that each
prophet, especially those few mentioned in the Qur’an, left a
lesson for the believer. Each story that we have from each
prophet is a reminder of what became of the nations before us.
Therefore, the true believer travels the world (either
physically or through the books of history) and discovers what
befell those who denied their prophets and what became of those
who obeyed their prophets and heeded the divine call.
"Many
were the Ways of Life that have passed away before you:
travel
through the earth, and see what was the end of those who
rejected Truth."
(3:137 Q)
The
last revelation to humanity, al-Qur’an is the preserved
confirmation of all the books that were revealed before it.
The believer is energized by the Qur’an as one’s body might
become energized through nourishment. His heart is
replenished by its divine words, and his soul is resuscitated
from its dormant state. It is enough for the believer to
hear the words of Allah recited from al-Qur’an to immediately
change his state no matter where he is, as Allah says:
“For,
Believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor
in their hearts, and when they hear His signs rehearsed, find
their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust in their
Lord”
(8:2 Q)
As
if this were not enough of a blessing in itself, Allah has also
made the Qur’an a guide for humanity, and the believers enjoin
what it commands, keep away from what it forbids, and apply its
precepts is all aspects of their terrestrial lives.
Al-Akhira
5)
One belief in the Qur’an that is a common belief pervading all
the teachings of all past prophets is that of the hereafter (al-akhirah).
Allah commanded His prophets and messengers to declare it
obligatory for all people to believe in the hereafter. It
is this belief that motivates us to perform good actions and
refrain from evil actions. It is the knowledge of the
hereafter, which is unseen (ghayb), that encourages us to please
Allah and to worship only Him. Through revelation people
have come to know that all will stand before Allah on the Day of
Resurrection and be judged according to their deeds. If
their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, they will experience
everlasting bliss in the gardens of Paradise. If their bad
deeds outweigh their good deeds, they will agonize in
everlasting perdition in the fire of Hell.
What
separates the true believer from the multitude of common people
who believe in the hereafter is that the believer is certain of
it. Certainty is a degree above simple belief in
something. Many people claim to believe in the hereafter,
but they still commit indecencies, atrocities, and even tyranny
because they forget the hereafter and become entrenched in their
own desires. Certainty, however, debilitates a person’s
inclination toward evil. He becomes disgusted even at the
thought of disobeying Allah, and if he does commit an offence,
he is remorseful and strives to not repeat the sin.
The
consequence of reaching the state of mind that Allah revealed in
the above ayaat is that a believer achieves a sense of awe of
Allah. He cannot deny Allah even if his carnal desires
indicated such, and he cannot escape Allah’s overpowering
presence. As such, he becomes paralysed by such a
realization and cannot function except through Allah’s divine
intervention. He therefore no longer operates on his own
accord, but is rather driven completely through Allah’s divine
will. His inward and outward essence is completely
surrendered to Allah. He recognizes that he, like all of
creation, is powerless, and Allah is All-Powerful.
He
then enters into the realm of ihsan (striving towards perfection
in all aspects of life), and is no longer driven by fear.
His fear of Allah is transformed into love until he no longer
seeks any reward from Allah, but rather only desires to please
Him and ultimately return to him.
Had
Allah not given every person an appointed time and place to die,
the true believer would perish immediately in order to seek
nearness to His Lord and out of fear that if he stayed in this
worldly life, he might slip from his plateau of realization into
evil and illicitness. It
is not enough for us to be content with claiming Islam as our
religion if we hope to be successful in the life to come. We must rise up to the challenge that Allah has laid before us
and accept His call wholeheartedly. Then we will become
true believers who seek His munificence in our lives and who
seek His everlasting mercy in the hereafter.
The
person of the Gnostic (‘arif) is with the people, while his
heart is with Allah. If his heart were to forget Allah for
the time it takes to blink an eye, he would die of yearning for
Him. The ‘arif is the trustee over the happenings of
Allah, the treasury of His secrets, the repository of his
lights, the proof of His mercy to creation, the instrument of
His sciences and the measure of His favour and justice. He
needs neither people, nor a goal, nor this world. He has
no intimate except Allah, nor any speech, gesture, or breath
except by Allah, with Allah, and from Allah, for he frequents
the garden of His sanctity and is enriched by His subtlest favours
to him. Gnosis (ma’rifah) is a root whose branch is
belief.[6]
References
[1]
The Holy Qur’an translated by S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali with
commentary by Agha Mahdi Pooya
[2]
Al-Mizan fi Tafseer al-Qur’an by al-‘Allamah as-Sayyid
Muhammad Husayn at-Tabataba`i
[3]
A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic by Hans Wehr
[4]
Nahj al-Balagha by Amirul-Mu`mineen Ali ibn Abi Talib
('a)
[5]
Mishkat al-Anwar fi ghurar al-Akhbar by Shaykh Hassan ibn Fazl
ibn Hassan Tabarsi
[6]
Misbah ash-Shari’ah wa miftah al-haqiqah by Imam Ja’far ibn
Muhammad as-Sadiq ('a)
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