Shall I tell you what the sign of a believing man is? When death comes to his door, a gentle smile is seen upon his lips—and this is the mark of faith.
Preface
Alhamdulillah! All praise belongs to Allah Almighty, Who granted us the opportunity to publish the book Imaner Dabi, written by the gifted author Abbas Ali Khan. Abbas Ali Khan was at once an Islamic thinker, educationist, politician, gifted writer, and translator. I became well acquainted with his writing, scholarship, and knowledge of language in 1994. At that time, I had the opportunity to visit his home once a month for organizational work. Later, in 1997, I had the opportunity to meet him many times to collect writings for Chhatra Sangbad. At that time, he was writing a serialized work in Chhatra Sangbad under the title The Past and Present of Muslims.
One day, during a conversation, I ventured to say, “Sir, I have established a publishing house. Please give me one of your books.” He said, “Come and see me later.” Accordingly, I met him again after a few days. He then said that he would give me the book Imaner Dabi. He also said that the book had once been published and that he would revise it and give it to me. He had indeed begun revising it, but because of his many engagements he could not complete the revision. Therefore, after making only a few revisions, he handed the book over to me. He said, “If Allah grants the opportunity, the book can be enlarged later.”
Now it was time to publish the book. I quickly completed the associated work, including typesetting, proofreading, and cover design. But suddenly I was seriously injured in an accident, and the book could not be published. By February 1999, when I had recovered considerably, Khan Sahib sent for me. I went to him, explained the reason for the delay, and offered to return the manuscript. He then asked me, “If I give you some time, will you be able to publish the book? If not, I will give it to Adhunik Prokashani or the Maududi Research Academy.” I replied, “Yes, if you give me a few months, I will be able to publish it, Insha Allah.” He then said, “Since I gave you the book, I will not take it back. Publish it as soon as possible. My health is not good; I want to see the book published before I die.” But, alas, due to my misfortune I was again unable to publish the book on time. Finally, on October 3, 1999, Abbas Ali Khan departed this fleeting world in response to the call of Almighty Allah and set out upon the path of eternal life. In any case, after overcoming various personal problems and difficulties, I thank Allah for finally enabling me to publish the book. At the same time, I apologize for the unintentional delay.
In Imaner Dabi, the author has skillfully discussed, in the light of the Qur’an and Hadith, the analysis of matters of faith, the identity of a believer, the demands of faith, the qualities of believers, the difference between faith and disbelief, the trials of faith, glad tidings for believers, and various other subjects related to faith in a highly lucid manner. Undoubtedly, this is a foundational work on faith. I hope that by reading the book, a person will receive guidance on becoming a true believer and will gain a clear understanding of the demands of faith. May Allah grant all of us the ability to conduct our entire lives according to the demands of faith. Ameen.
Publisher
Muhammad Lokman Hossain
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
The Meaning and Essence of Faith
To discuss the demands of faith, we must first understand what is meant by faith. Faith means believing in one’s heart and soul that something is accurate and true. In terminology, faith means believing in one’s heart and soul that Allah and the true religion of Islam are true and eternal. Along with this comes belief in the Hereafter, the Prophethood, all of Allah’s angels, and all the heavenly Books He has revealed.
To believe in Allah, or to have faith in Allah, means to believe in Him with all His attributes. That is, He alone is the Creator of all creation, its Lord, the Almighty Owner and Director of the universe, and the sole God, King, Sustainer, Ruler, and Lawgiver of humanity. All forms of praise, worship, servitude, and obedience belong solely to Him. He is the First and the Everlasting, One and Unique. He is All-Knowing. He possesses countless such attributes. He alone possesses these attributes. He has no partner or rival in any of them.
The relationship between Allah and human beings is that of Creator and creation, Lord and servant, King and subject, ruler and ruled. People must obey Allah at every moment, follow His rule, bow their heads before Him with devotion, reverence, and gratitude, and praise Him. To please Him, they must dedicate their lives and wealth.
From another perspective, it must be acknowledged that faith is, in reality, a firm covenant between Allah and His servants, between Lord and servant, and between King and subject. That is, the servant enters into a covenant with Allah, saying: “O Allah! You are my Lord or Master, and I am Your servant; You are my King, and I am Your subject. Therefore, as Your servant and Your subject, I will always obey all Your commands and all Your laws in every sphere of life.” The covenant will not be complete merely by accepting this part of it. One must also say: “O Allah! I will obey no one else’s command or rule and follow no one else’s law besides Yours.” That is, rejecting the domination and obedience demanded by all forces and beings opposed to Allah, I will wholeheartedly accept only Your lordship, authority, obedience, and law. On this condition I enter into a covenant with You.”
Allah says—
(Arabic ************)
That is, the one who rejected the Taghut—that is, the rebellious power against God—and its commands, rule, and obedience, and then believed in Allah. In simple terms, the prerequisite of faith is rejecting ghayrullah—that is, all powers and beings besides Allah. These words have been expressed in a brief sentence: “La ilaha illallah.”
No matter how many hours we discuss faith, if in some areas of life we follow Allah’s commands and rule, while in many other areas we follow the commands and rule of Godless and rebellious forces, that will be contrary to true faith and an open mockery of faith. Alongside believing in Allah as Creator, Provider, and Sustainer, one must also accept Him as the Lawgiver. Allah has given the perfect law by which people can live happily and well in this world and the next. He alone is the author of this perfect law. To abandon His law, follow man-made laws, and thereby regard people as partners with Allah is called shirk, and it is contrary to faith.
Regularly performing prayer in the mosque while unquestioningly and willingly accepting the laws established by people in society is an act contrary to faith.
To follow His law and rule, one must know them well; one must likewise know Him fully. It is also necessary to know how to worship and praise Him, what pleases Him, and what displeases Him. From the very beginning of humanity, Allah has made arrangements to teach these matters. He sent one prophet and messenger after another, in every age, to every land and every nation. Allah granted each of them direct knowledge of these matters, protected them from all error, and guided them at every moment. These prophets and messengers must also be believed to be truthful. That is, one must have complete faith in them as well. This is faith in prophethood.
More than a hundred thousand prophets and messengers were sent to humanity. The final Prophet is Muhammad (peace be upon him). Through him, the true religion of Allah, Islam, reached its complete form. He must be believed in as the final and greatest Messenger.
Similarly, faith means believing in a second life after death. The life of this world is not the only life. Life does not end with death; rather, it will continue thereafter.
Resurrection and Gathering
Just as all creation belongs to Allah, one day, by His command, the heavens and the earth and everything within them will be destroyed. Then Allah Almighty will create another world. Thereafter, by Allah’s will, every person who has died will be brought back to life and gathered before Allah. This is called Qiyamah, the Resurrection. There, every person will be questioned about the account of his life in this world. A detailed reckoning will be made of whether they properly fulfilled the responsibility with which they were sent into the world, whether they lived according to Allah’s guidance, or whether they followed a misguided path. This is called Hashr, the Gathering.
The Hereafter
After this reckoning, those who are proven to be good and righteous will be given an endless place of happiness, where they will dwell forever. It is called Jannah, or Paradise.
On the other hand, those who are proven to be evil, sinful, and rebellious against God will have Hell as their abode—a place of immense sorrow and suffering. From then on, human life will be eternal, without end or limit. This is called the Hereafter.
Angels
Allah has countless angels. They are all obedient servants of Allah. Indeed, obeying commands is their very nature and disposition. They are always absorbed in praising Allah. Many of them have also been entrusted with managing the affairs of the universe. They carry out this management according to Allah’s will. One must have complete faith in them as well.
Heavenly Books
Then Allah Almighty sent His heavenly Books, containing His commandments, to His prophets and messengers. One must also place complete faith in these Books. The final heavenly Scripture is the Qur’an, which was revealed to the final Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad Mustafa (peace be upon him).
Merely believing in faith inwardly is not sufficient; verbal acknowledgment and declaration are necessary. Faith must be declared and acknowledged by pronouncing a sacred statement. In the Qur’an, this statement is called the Kalimah Tayyibah. It is: “La ilaha illallahu Muhammadur Rasulullah.”
Its brief meaning is to declare that there is no one besides Allah who can be a deity; no one before whom one may bow one’s head, whom one may obey, worship, and serve, whose law and rule one may follow, or whom one may regard as Creator, Lord, and Sustainer. This is the meaning and essence of the first part of the Kalimah.
The second part declares that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah. That is, he is the Messenger sent by Allah for the guidance of all humanity. He alone will show the way regarding obedience, worship, servitude to Allah, and following His law and rule. He is the guide on this path. He will lead humanity along the journey of life. In this matter, he represents Allah. He will teach people their nature and character, conduct and behavior, and what is good and bad. On the foundation of the principles and philosophy he taught, human civilization and culture, refinement, arts, taste, and intellectual life will be built. In short, he is the supreme leader of humanity.
All that has been stated above is a brief explanation of faith and of the Kalimah Tayyibah, the central expression of faith.
The Demands of Faith
Our subject now is the demands of faith. This means: what changes are desirable in a person after he embraces faith? Certainly, no physical change is possible or desirable after embracing faith. Before embracing faith, a person had two hands, two eyes, two ears, one nose, and one head; after embracing faith, none of these will increase or decrease. Nor will his complexion change. But there must certainly be a change in his mentality, beliefs, and way of thinking; in his nature, character, conduct, taste, and intellectual outlook.
Faith brings about a mental revolution in a person. The mind of one whose heart and intellect were shrouded in the darkness of ignorance and blind superstition will, after embracing faith, be illuminated by the light of Islam. Before embracing faith, he worshipped many gods; after embracing faith, his head will never bow before anyone except Allah. Rejecting obedience to false and rebellious Taghut, he will devote his entire being to obedience to Allah and His Messenger. After embracing faith, the lecherous, adulterous, liar, embezzler, and wrongdoer will become honest, truthful, pure in character, generous, compassionate, and altruistic.
Prayer, Fasting, and Other Matters: The First Demand of Faith
As soon as a person embraces faith, certain acts become obligatory for a believer. These are expressions of his faith and testimony to his faith: regularly performing the five daily prayers in congregation, fasting during Ramadan, paying Zakat if wealthy, and performing Hajj. But even after doing these things, if there is no change in his mentality, or in his nature and character, then it must be understood that his prayer, fasting, Zakat, Hajj, and other character-building acts have not become beautiful in every respect and have not been accepted in Allah’s presence. Thus, the demands of faith have not been fulfilled at all.
Many people think that merely performing the acts mentioned above—prayer, fasting, Zakat, and Hajj—makes one a complete believer. “This is enough. What more is needed?”
Prayer and fasting have been made obligatory for everyone, and Zakat and Hajj for those who are wealthy. Without these, no one can even be considered a believer. These have been called the foundation pillars of the palace of Islam. It is absurd to imagine a palace without a foundation. But can the foundation itself be the palace? Only when much more is built upon the foundation can it be called a palace. Therefore, a believer’s task is not merely to build the foundation of the palace and then sit back in peace. In other words, his task does not end after performing prayer, fasting, Hajj, Zakat, and the like. His faith demands that he do much more. If he fails to do whatever faith demands, when it is not beyond his ability, then it must be said that considerable deficiency remains in his becoming a complete believer.
What are the demands of faith whose fulfillment makes a person a complete believer? Prayer, fasting, Hajj, Zakat, and the like are undoubtedly among the demands of faith. But its demands do not end there. Therefore, we must move forward.
The Messenger Is the Best Example for Believers
For this, we must first turn our attention to the Noble Qur’an. On every page of the Qur’an, the duties of a believer have been clearly stated. Then Allah’s final Prophet, Muhammad Mustafa (peace be upon him), gave practical form to this Qur’an through the conduct of his life. Thus, the Prophet’s entire life is a complete illustration of the Holy Qur’an. After that comes the life and character of the Companions. Therefore, to fulfill the demands of faith completely, one must acquire full knowledge of these matters from the Qur’an on the one hand, and completely follow the life and character of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Companions on the other. To become a complete believer, emulating the life of the Prophet is absolutely essential. Therefore, Allah Almighty declared—
(Arabic, PDF page 18 *****************************)
—Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example, for everyone who hopes to meet Allah and attain salvation in the Hereafter. (Al-Ahzab: 21)
This verse was revealed immediately after the Battle of Ahzab. In light of the entire situation from Uhud through the Battle of Ahzab, the conduct, character, and method of action of the Messenger (peace be upon him) are declared here to be the finest example. Its purpose was to teach those who, during the Battle of Ahzab, were driven by worldly interests and tried to spread confusion among others. They were being told: You loudly proclaim your faith, Islam, and obedience to the Messenger. But you must understand well what the conduct was of the Messenger whose followers you claim to be. If the leader of a group displays a love of comfort, gives priority to personal interests, and turns his back in times of danger, weakness among his followers may reasonably result. But the state of the Pure Messenger (peace be upon him) was that, just as he encouraged others to face danger, he faced that danger himself. He was at the forefront of everyone in this regard. There was no hardship, suffering, oppression, or persecution endured by others that he did not also endure. He personally took part in digging the trench. During the siege, he always remained at the front of the battle and never retreated from confronting the enemy even for a moment. After the treachery of Banu Qurayzah, just as the families of the Muslims were placed in danger, so too was his family. Although the Messenger (peace be upon him) was the supreme leader of the Muslims, no special arrangement was made for the safety of his family. For the very purpose for which the Prophet demanded immense sacrifice from others, he was always prepared to make that sacrifice himself—and he did so. Therefore, all who claim to obey him should accept every aspect of the Prophet’s conduct as the finest example and model and follow it completely.
In the context of the circumstances of that time, this is the meaning and explanation of the verse. But this meaning is not confined to any particular situation or period. Since the Qur’an is a guide for people of all ages, this verse declares the life of the Messenger to be an example for all people of every age until the Day of Resurrection. In every matter, Muslims will take the Messenger’s life as a model for their own lives and shape their character according to it.
From this it is known that the goal of a believer’s life is to follow and emulate, in every sphere and at every step of his life, the character, conduct, and method of action of the Pure Messenger (peace be upon him) in every detail.
This is the greatest demand of his faith. The Qur’an says elsewhere—
(Arabic, PDF page 20 *****************************)
Whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it; and fear Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment. (Al-Hashr: 7)
The words “whatever he gives you” mean the rulings he gives and the solutions he offers to the problems of life. These rulings and solutions must be accepted and followed by a believer at every moment. Conversely, abstaining from whatever the Messenger tells believers to avoid, or refusing under any circumstances to accept it, is also a demand of faith.
On this subject, the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said—
(Arabic, PDF page 20 *****************************)
“When I command you to do something, carry it out as far as you are able. And whatever I forbid you from, keep away from it.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
This Hadith was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).
It is reported concerning Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that on one occasion, in a sermon, he said, “Allah’s curse is upon such-and-such fashion-conscious women.” On hearing this, a woman asked, “Where did you get such a statement? I have not seen anything of this kind anywhere in the Qur’an.” Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “If you had read the Qur’an, you would certainly have found this in it. Have you not read this verse?”
(Arabic, PDF page 21 *****************************)
The woman said, “Yes, surely I have read it.” Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade such conduct and said that Allah has cursed such fashion-conscious women.”
Nowadays, so-called Muslim women are not merely attracted to ever-new and ultra-modern fashions; rather, their half-naked clothing has crossed every boundary of modesty and shame. When they go outside the home, the fashion of their dress, their sexually alluring half-naked bodies, and their competition to make themselves attractive to men are fueling widespread sexual permissiveness in society. Yet they still call themselves Muslims.
Regrettably, some people can also be seen who are known as pious worshippers, with a mark of prostration on the forehead, a beard on the face, and a cap on the head; yet when they go outside, they are seen accompanied by so-called modern, unveiled young women. Without fulfilling the demands of faith, is such piety worth even a penny?”
The woman said, “Yes, now I understand.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, Musnad Ibn Abi Hatim)
In any case, it has been proven from the Noble Qur’an and the Hadith of the Prophet that, as a matter of principle, the way of life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is to be emulated by believers.
The Trial by Fire of Faith
Now, let us review the Prophet’s twenty-three-year prophetic life and see what inspirations Allah Almighty gave Muslims during those twenty-three years to make them truly beloved to Allah. In brief, what were the indispensable demands of faith?
Allah says—
(Arabic, PDF page 22 *****************************)
Do people think that they will be left alone merely because they say, “We have believed,” and that they will not be tested? (Al-Ankabut: 2)
From the very beginning of the Makkan life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Companions, Allah clearly stated what the demands of faith were for a believer. The circumstances in which the above verse was revealed were these: whoever accepted Islam in Makkah found every kind of calamity descending upon him. If he was poor or a slave, he became the victim of inhuman oppression and persecution. If he was a shopkeeper or merchant, his business was shut down and he faced severe financial hardship. Even a member of a distinguished family was not spared after accepting Islam. His life too was made unbearable through persecution and oppression. The cruelty and persecution of the polytheists and disbelievers created such terror and dread in Makkah that some Muslims had to migrate to Abyssinia in order to preserve their faith.
Some people were afraid to embrace faith even after becoming certain of the Prophet’s truthfulness. Others, after embracing faith, surrendered to the disbelievers under the pressure of persecution. Yet, even in this terrible situation, the firm faith of the Companions kept them steadfast in their resolve. Nevertheless, because of normal human weakness, a terrible sense of fear arose in the hearts of many. Its outward expression is found in an incident.
Khabbab ibn al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “When we had become distressed by the persecution of the Quraysh in Makkah, I saw one day the Prophet (peace be upon him) sitting in the shade of the wall of the Ka‘bah. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, will you not pray for us?’”
“At my words, the Prophet’s face became crimson. He said, ‘Those before you who believed in Allah’s religion were subjected to even more severe persecution. Some of them were split into two with a saw while alive. Sharp iron was driven into the joints of others so that they would be forced to abandon their faith. By Allah, we will certainly achieve success. A time will come when a person will travel fearlessly from Sana‘a to Hadramawt and will fear no one except Allah.’”
This Hadith was recorded by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, and Nasa’i.
To enable believers to endure this terrifying and dreadful situation silently and with boundless patience, Allah Almighty impressed this truth upon their hearts: it is absolutely impossible to attain the success in this world and the Hereafter that He has promised merely by verbally claiming faith. To attain it, one must pass through the trial by fire and prove the truth of one’s faith.
Paradise is not something attained so easily, nor are Allah’s special blessings in this world so readily available that one can obtain them merely by declaring faith. The condition for attaining them is a trial by fire.
As soon as one embraces faith, many things must be accepted and rejected. The first conflict in this process of acceptance and rejection will be with one’s desires. A believer must struggle against his desires and overcome them.
After embracing faith, one must endure hardship and suffering, and the loss of life and property, for Allah’s pleasure. One will be tested through fear, hunger, thirst, and greed. Every beloved object and everything dear to one’s heart must be sacrificed for Allah’s pleasure. Only after doing all this can the truth of one’s faith be proven.
Needless to say, from the very moment the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) preached and accepted the call to faith, they passed their lives amid these trials by fire.
Thus it became as clear as daylight that the first demand after embracing faith is to prove its truth, and this truth must be demonstrated by passing the trial by fire.
Let us mention, by way of example, some of the declarations Allah Almighty made at various times and stages during the Makkan and Medinan lives of the Prophet and the Companions, in order to strengthen their faith and bring faith into practical life.
For a Believer, Love of Allah Must Be Above Everything
It must be remembered that declaring faith through the Kalimah Tayyibah was, in reality, a great challenge to the forces of falsehood. Therefore, conflict between truth and falsehood was inevitable. On one side were the unbelieving, rebellious, Godless forces hostile to Islam; on the other was the Islamic force of the few believers devoted to the truth. Until the Islamic ideal was established and Islam became victorious, fierce conflict and warfare continually took place between these two forces. One was Allah’s beloved party, Hizbullah, and the other was the party of Satan, Hizbush-Shaytan—the party of false philosophies and doctrines.
In this situation, the demand of faith upon Muslims in confronting falsehood was to deepen and strengthen their relationship with Allah. Love, affection, devotion, reverence, obedience, fear, and awe were to be devoted exclusively to Allah. Regarding this, Allah says—
(On page 25 of the Arabic PDF *****************************)
There are also some people who make others besides Allah His partners and rivals, and love them as intensely as Allah ought to be loved. On the other hand, those who have believed in Allah love Allah above everything. —(Al-Baqarah: 165)
That is, the demand of faith is that, for a believer, love of Allah must take precedence over every other love. No love of anything may occupy in a believer’s heart the place reserved for love of Allah; only love that leads to His pleasure may be cultivated. —[Only unbelieving polytheists can be passionately devoted to others besides Allah. Yet this mentality is also found among some people known as Muslims. Many of them perform prayer, fasting, the declaration of faith, remembrance and other such acts, and even put on displays of deep love for Allah and the Messenger. But they maintain relations with the sinful, immoral, unbelieving polytheists. They are always busy keeping them pleased. Since pleasing them secures their worldly interests, they become frantic to please these others besides Allah (those other than Allah), without caring about Allah’s displeasure. In obeying them, they become involved in disobedience to Allah. They must maintain close relations with those who trample Allah’s laws and regulations and introduce laws and regulations of their own into society. Otherwise, they fear that their bread and butter will be cut off.]
Surrendering Life and Wealth to Allah Is a Sign of Faith
Among all things in this world, people love their lives most, and their wealth after that. But a believer will freely sacrifice his life and wealth to attain Allah’s pleasure; this is the demand of his faith.
(On page 26 of the Arabic PDF *****************************)
—Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and wealth in exchange for Paradise. (Surah At-Tawbah: 111)
The relationship established between Allah and His servant through faith is, in this verse, described in reality as a sale and purchase. That is, faith is not merely a doctrine based on belief; rather, it is a sacred covenant through which the servant sells his life and wealth to Allah, his Creator, Owner and Lord. In return, he receives from Allah the promise that he will be granted Paradise in the second life after death. To understand the meaning of this transaction, a detailed analysis is necessary.
The actual fact is nothing other than that Allah alone is the Owner of human life and wealth. For Allah alone is the Creator of human life, wealth, and all material things necessary for sustaining life. From this perspective, there is no question of buying and selling. A human being has nothing that he can sell to another, and Allah cannot purchase anything outside His creation and ownership. What, then, does this transaction mean?
The matter is that there is something within human beings which Allah has entrusted to their responsibility. That is human free will. In other words, it is the freedom to choose or reject anything and the freedom to do or not do anything (freedom of will & freedom of choice). This does not, of course, change the underlying truth: ownership of life and wealth remains Allah’s. But human beings have been given the freedom either to acknowledge this truth—that Allah has exclusive ownership of everything—or to deny it. Yet this freedom of choice cannot mean that a person has actually become the owner of his life, body, mind, their powers, and his wealth, and may then use them however he wishes. Rather, its true meaning is that he has been given only this freedom: without any compulsion from Allah, he may choose to acknowledge Allah’s ownership of his life and all the wealth granted by Allah, or he may set himself up as his own owner and, without dependence on God, use all these things as he pleases. This is the real reason why the question of buying and selling arises.
This purchase does not mean that Allah has bought something that belongs to man. Rather, the real matter is that a person’s life and wealth have merely been placed with him as a trust. He has been given the freedom to fulfill this trust completely. Allah demands of him that, willingly and contentedly, not under compulsion, he acknowledge Allah’s property as belonging to Allah, and throughout his life use it not as its absolute owner but merely as a trustee. He should renounce the freedom to betray the trust that he has been given. Thus, if in this temporary worldly life he surrenders the freedom given by Allah into Allah’s own hands, he will be given a place in Paradise in the Hereafter as a reward. The person who makes this kind of transaction with Allah is truly a believer. Faith is another name for this kind of transaction.
Whoever denies this kind of transaction, or, after accepting it in principle, behaves in a manner equivalent to refusing to make the transaction, is certainly an unbeliever. For without faith, becoming an unbeliever is inevitable.
The matter of this sale needs to be understood a little more clearly.
In this transaction, Allah has subjected human beings to two great tests.
(1) The first test is whether, despite possessing freedom of will and action, a person displays enough decency and courtesy to regard the true Owner as the Owner and refrain from ingratitude and rebellion against God.
(2) The second test is that he receives nothing immediately in exchange for his life and wealth. Rather, he receives only a promise of what he will obtain in the life after death. In such circumstances, can he place enough trust in Allah to willingly and contentedly agree to sacrifice his own will and desires in exchange for a promise of payment in the distant future?
(3) According to the jurisprudence by which Islamic society is formed in this world, faith is merely the acknowledgment and declaration of certain beliefs. Thus, the judge of the Shariah cannot declare someone a nonbeliever or expelled from the Islamic community until evidence is found that he is lying in his declaration of faith. But in Allah’s sight, the true believer is the person who, through his ideas and actions, surrenders his freedom and choice into the hands of his Object of Worship and frees himself from claiming ownership in His favor. Now, if someone acknowledges the Islamic declaration of faith and regularly performs prayer, fasting and the like, but regards himself as the owner of his own body, mind, brain, physical powers, wealth, its components, and everything under his control, then, although he may be called a believer in this world, he will be called a nonbeliever in Allah’s sight. For he has not entered into the transaction with Allah at all—the transaction that the Qur’an identifies as the true essence of faith. Hesitating to sacrifice life and wealth where Allah desires, and sacrificing them where Allah does not desire, are both behaviors proving that the claimant to faith has not sold his life and wealth to Allah. Or, after concluding the sale, he considers the sold property to be his own.
(4) This essence of faith completely separates the Islamic way of life from the unbelieving way of life, from beginning to end. A Muslim is one who has truly believed in Allah, acts in every sphere of life subject to the will of Almighty Allah, and whose actions, conduct and behavior show not the slightest flash of self-will. Similarly, the group formed by believers, collectively, cannot adopt any policy, political decision, cultural and civilizational code, social or economic system, or international treaty or policy contrary to Allah’s will or the law of the Shariah. Acting independently of Allah and leaving decisions about what to do or not do to one’s own will is certainly an unbelieving outlook. Those who hold such an outlook are the same, whether they are called Muslims or non-Muslims.
(5) From the perspective of this transaction, the will of Allah whose obedience is essential for a believer cannot be a will invented or imagined by human beings. Rather, it must be the will that He Himself has declared. To regard something oneself as the will of the Object of Worship and obey it is not truly obedience to Allah’s will; it is obedience to one’s own will or desires. That would be completely contrary to the transaction. The person or group that adopts the outlook of its entire life according to the Book given by the Creator and the Sunnah of the Messenger of God must be regarded as steadfast in the transaction connected with Allah.
I hope the matter is clear now, yet a question remains in a corner of the mind, and we should also know its correct answer.
The question is this: Why was it promised that the price of the believer’s freely selling his life and wealth to Allah would be paid in the Hereafter rather than in this world?
The answer can be nothing other than this: Paradise is not merely the consideration for the contract by which the seller sold his life and wealth to Allah. Rather, Paradise will be in exchange for the conduct whereby, during his worldly life, the seller will abandon arbitrary use of the property he has sold and use it according to God’s will as a true trustee. Therefore, this sale will truly be completed when the seller’s worldly life ends and it is proven that, after entering into the contract, he observed its conditions to the letter until the final moment of his life. Before that, in terms of justice and fairness, he cannot be entitled to receive the price.
Payment for the Purchased Property Is a Special Favor from Allah
A remarkable favor of Allah toward His servant is evident in this transaction and in the payment for the purchased property. He can take back from His servant, whenever He wishes, the property that is already His own. Why, then, should He pay a price or consideration for it? Yet the Merciful Allah takes back His own property from His servant and gives him the highest and finest price for it: Paradise. What can this be other than Allah’s special mercy toward His servant?
How beautifully a passionate poet has expressed this in his own words!
He expressed in poetic language the thoughts of a martyr on Allah’s path:
Jaan de di hui usi ki thi
Haq to yeh hai ke haq ada na hua.
—I dedicated the life that Allah gave me in the path of Allah; there is no heroism or bravery in giving that life back to Him. Rather, the real fact is that, after enjoying His countless blessings throughout my life, I was unable to fulfill their due.
What sublime satisfaction the lover of Allah expresses after spontaneously dedicating his life to Allah! This is the true sign of faith.
The Sale Contract Is Not the Final Matter
What the demand of faith is has become clear from the discussion above. Now there should be no need for any further discussion on this subject. For faith’s greatest demand upon a believer was that he sell everything he has to Allah. What demand of faith could remain after the sale?
The answer is that the discussion above has also shown that selling one’s life and wealth is not the final fulfillment of the demand of faith. For the two things he sold still remain with the seller and will remain with him throughout his life. Therefore, naturally, fulfillment of the demand of faith is still pending. It must now be seen whether he uses the sold property properly, for this determines whether or not he receives its price. Let us briefly discuss some of the demands that faith will continue to make of him again and again in order that he observe the sale contract to the letter.
(On page 32 of the Arabic PDF *****************************)
O you who have believed, spend from what We have provided you before the Day comes when there will be no buying and selling, no friendship or affection, and no intercession will be of any use. (Al-Baqarah: 254)
It is now clear that, after a believer has entered into a sale contract with God, he is urged to spend the property he sold in the path of Allah. For the wealth he sold to Allah must legally be spent only in Allah’s path; he has no alternative. If he does not spend it in the desired way but keeps it hoarded, or spends it in some other way, he has deceived and betrayed the purchaser. Since the purchaser is Allah Himself, who, out of sheer mercy, purchases the property entrusted to him, He can and will impose the severe legal punishment for this betrayal. Allah says—
(On page 33 of the Arabic PDF *****************************)
Those who break Allah’s covenant after confirming it, sever the relationships Allah has commanded to be maintained, and spread corruption on earth are deserving of condemnation, and for them is the worst abode in the Hereafter. (Ar-Ra‘d: 25)
Allah also says—
(On page 33 of the Arabic PDF *****************************)
—The work of the believers is that they fulfill the covenant made with Allah and do not break it after confirming it; they maintain the relationships Allah commands them to maintain; they fear their Lord and also fear that perhaps they may be taken to account harshly and severely. Another aspect of their character is that they become patient solely to attain Allah’s pleasure, establish prayer, and spend openly and secretly in Allah’s path from what Allah has given them, repelling evil with good. The blissful abode of the Hereafter is for them. (Ar-Ra‘d: 20–22)
The two verses above together present ten demands of faith:
• Fulfilling the covenant made with Allah.
• Not breaking the covenant.
• Maintaining the relationships Allah has commanded and desires to be maintained.
• Fearing Allah.
• Fearing the severity of the reckoning in the Hereafter.
• Regarding the attainment of Allah’s pleasure as the goal of life.
• Being patient.
• Establishing prayer.
• Spending Allah’s given wealth in Allah’s path openly and secretly.
• Repelling evil with good.
This passage also states what the abode of the Hereafter will be like for the true believer.
(On page 34 of the Arabic PDF *****************************)
That is, the abode will be a garden (Paradise) that will be their everlasting home. They themselves will enter that Paradise, and among their parents, spouses, children and relatives, those who are righteous will enter it with them. The angels will hasten to them from every direction to welcome them. They will say, “Peace be upon you, because you were patient and worked in Allah’s path in the world. How excellent is the final abode!” How beautiful this abode of the Hereafter is! (Ar-Ra‘d: 23–34)
Man Is Merely a Trustee of His Wealth
The ownership of the wealth Allah has granted to human beings has not been given to them. They have merely been made trustees of it. Allah, the Creator and Owner of wealth, has entrusted it to human beings and made them His representatives on the condition that they spend it according to Allah’s will.
Allah says—
(On page 35 of the Arabic PDF *****************************)
—(O believers!) Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend from the wealth of which Allah has made you trustees or representatives. Thus, those who believe and spend their wealth in Allah’s path will have a great reward. (Al-Hadid: 7)
This verse addresses Muslims themselves with the command to believe. Its meaning is that, after believing, they must continue fulfilling the demands of faith. Then they are commanded to spend their wealth in Allah’s path. This command is entirely just, because he is not the owner of wealth. Allah is the Owner. He is Allah’s representative. The representative’s duty is to fulfill the Owner’s will. This wealth must be spent exactly when, how and in whatever amount will fulfill Allah’s will.
Allah has purchased both the believer’s life and wealth. This was discussed in detail above. Yet greater emphasis has been placed on wealth than on life. This means that suddenly giving one’s life in a moment of impulse is not so difficult, and it is something given only once. Once it is given, it is finished. But spending wealth again and again, throughout one’s life, in Allah’s path is much more difficult. Therefore, it constitutes a severe test of faith.
The Significance of Spending in Allah’s Path
The question now is: What is the meaning and significance of spending in Allah’s path, and what is its necessity? Allah has no need whatsoever for wealth, for He is the Creator and Owner of the entire universe. Why, then, has He urged people in the pages of the Qur’an to spend His own wealth?
Not only that, He has asked His servants for their wealth as a loan. It is stated in the Qur’an—
(On page 37 of the Arabic PDF ****************************)
Who is it that will lend Allah a good loan? Then He will multiply it for him many times over; moreover, the lender will have the finest reward. (Al-Hadid: 19)
(On page 37 of the Arabic PDF ****************************)
And establish prayer, give zakat, and lend Allah a good loan. (Al-Muzzammil: 20)
This is Allah’s immense generosity: when a person spends the wealth He Himself has given in His path, He counts it as a loan to Him. The condition is that it must be a good loan (qard hasan)—that is, it must be given with pure intention and without self-interest. There must be no desire for ostentation, fame or popularity in giving it. Nor may one think that one has shown favor to anyone by giving this loan. It must be given solely to attain Allah’s pleasure, and no reward or pleasure from anyone besides Allah may be intended. Allah has made two promises concerning this loan. First, it will be returned multiplied many times over. Second, He will additionally grant the finest reward from Himself.
A hadith is narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him). It is said that when this verse was revealed and the Companions heard it from the Prophet’s blessed lips, Abu Dahdah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, “O Messenger of Allah, is Allah truly asking us for a loan?”
The Prophet said, “Yes, Abu al-Dahdah.” Abu al-Dahdah said, “Please show me your blessed hand.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) extended his hand toward him.
The Companion Abu al-Dahdah took the Prophet’s hand in his own and said, “I have lent my garden to my Lord.”
Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the garden contained six hundred fine date palms. The Ansari Companion’s house was in the middle of that garden, and he lived there with his family.
After saying this to the Prophet, he went straight home and called to his wife, “Mother of Dahdah, come out, come out. I have lent this garden to my Lord.”
His wife said, “Father of Dahdah, you have made a very profitable bargain.”
Saying this, she left with her son and the household belongings. —(Ibn Abi Hatim)
This event makes clear how much the character, mentality, sacrifice and devotion in Allah’s path of the true believing Companions amounted to. It also makes clear what kind of loan (qard hasan) it was whose repayment multiplied several times over, along with an additional reward, Allah promised. The Qur’an calls people to give such a loan in several other places as well. Giving a loan means spending additional wealth generously and with an open hand in Allah’s path. A “good loan” means giving it not in hope of any worldly interest, but solely with the intention of attaining Allah’s pleasure.
We must now also understand the true meaning of giving a loan. To understand this matter correctly, we must study and understand the life of the Prophet well. If we consider the twenty-three-year life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), we will clearly see that it was a continuous history of struggle against falsehood. The noble Companions also participated in this struggle.
What was this struggle for? It was a struggle to raise Allah’s word high—a struggle to exalt His message.
The Purpose of the Coming of the Messenger
Exalting Allah’s word means striving to make His true religion victorious and established as the only true, eternal, beautiful and beneficial way of life for humanity. Needless to say, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) came solely for this purpose.
(On page 40 of the Arabic PDF ****************************)
He is the One who sent His Messenger with guidance and the true religion, with the purpose that the Messenger would make this true religion prevail over every other religion or way of life, despite the opposition of the polytheists. (As-Saff: 9)
The verse above clearly indicates that, in order for the Messenger to successfully accomplish his life’s mission—that is, to make the true religion victorious and established—struggle and conflict with falsehood are unavoidable.
Those who follow falsehood will never agree to Allah’s religion or law being established in every sphere of human life. At most, they may agree to a compromise in which the worship, servitude and obedience of Allah continue alongside the servitude and obedience of others. They will want to build the foundations of their religious beliefs, character and culture and civilization upon some philosophy, doctrine or outlook. But the Messenger has been commanded to establish fully, in every sphere of life, the guidance and true religion sent to him by Allah, without making any kind of compromise with them. However much the followers of falsehood create obstacles, the Messenger must carry out this task. Even if he must face armed struggle for it, he must do so. It is stated—
(On page 41 of the Arabic PDF ****************************)
—Fight them until persecution is eliminated and the religion becomes entirely for Allah. (Al-Anfal: 39)
It is now clear that the duty imposed upon the Prophet is to continue an unbroken struggle against falsehood. This struggle was not confined to any particular era or period. Allah’s command is for Muslims and applies to all times until the Day of Resurrection. As long as Allah’s religion has not been established completely, this struggle has neither an end nor a pause.
It is also stated in this regard—
(On page 41 of the Arabic PDF ****************************)
O you who have believed, become helpers of Allah. (As-Saff: 14)
Being helpers of Allah means supporting, in every way, the movement to establish the religion of Allah. It has now become even clearer that struggle against falsehood is unavoidable in order to establish the true religion; spending money and wealth freely for it, and dedicating all the powers of body and mind, are what have been called spending in Allah’s path and helping Allah’s religion.
It must be remembered that if money is spent with any intention other than attaining Allah’s pleasure, then no matter how large the amount, and even if it is publicly given for the work of establishing the religion, it cannot be called spending in Allah’s path and will be included among acts of waste.
(Arabic PDF, page 42****************************)
—O believers! Do not render your charity worthless by publicizing it among people or by hurting the recipient. Like one who spends only to be seen by people. (Al-Baqarah: 264)
The word sadaqah is derived from sidq. It means “truthfulness” and “sincerity.” It is called sadaqah because it proves the truthfulness and sincerity of the giver’s faith.
If spending in Allah’s way is done for show or for some personal interest (such as boasting or seeking fame, or, after the establishment of an Islamic state, obtaining a personal position or benefits), then regardless of how much is spent, it will be nothing but complete waste. No return for it will be found with Allah. Rather, one will be punished for the evil intention. From the detailed discussion above, several matters have become clear to us:
• The sole purpose of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) into this world is the establishment of the religion of truth. Struggle and conflict with the opposing forces of falsehood are unavoidable for this purpose.
• To help the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the movement to establish the religion after him, in every possible way—in other words, to participate directly in this struggle—is a demand and condition of faith.
• Sacrificing life and wealth for this work is a demand of faith.
• One’s intention must remain clear when sacrificing life and wealth. The sole objective must be to attain Allah’s pleasure. The fundamental purpose of the creation of humankind is to worship Allah, or to serve and obey Him. This servitude and obedience reaches perfection when it is practiced in every sphere of life. In other words, this is what is called establishing the religion of truth in every sphere of life. This is the fundamental objective of creation. Allah’s other commands have been given around this objective. Every command of the Quran revolves toward that single central objective. To reach this objective, a servant must certainly perform many deeds; without them, the objective cannot be reached at all.
•
(Arabic PDF, page 43****************************)
—Those who believe, know that if you help Allah, He will help you and make you firm against falsehood. (Muhammad: 7)
Here too, “helping Allah” means actively participating in the movement to establish Allah’s religion of truth: devoting one’s money, wealth, labor, effort, talent, and thoughts entirely to this work. This is what is demanded of a believer.
Severing All Relations with Falsehood Is a Demand of Faith
It is also essential for a believer that, when he is a soldier in the establishment of the religion of truth, he must identify the enemy in order to win the battle. His enemy is the partisan of falsehood. He must sever all relations with such people. No kind of friendship may be maintained with them.
(Arabic PDF, page 44****************************)
—(O Muhammad!) You will never find people who believe in Allah and the Last Day maintaining friendship with those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if those opponents are their fathers, sons, brothers, or close relatives. They are the ones in whose hearts Allah has firmly inscribed faith. Then He strengthened them with a spirit from Him. They are Allah’s party. Know that Allah’s party will surely be victorious. (Al-Mujadilah: 22)
Two matters are stated in this verse: one is a principle, and the other is a reference to an actual event.
The principle is perfectly clear: faith in the religion of truth and love for falsehood, which opposes the religion of truth, are mutually contradictory. Their combination is absolutely impossible. Just as it is impossible for a person to love his own self and his enemy at the same time, it is likewise impossible to cherish in one heart love for faith and for the enemies of Islam. If someone claims faith while maintaining friendly relations with people who are enemies of Islam, then his claim to faith must be understood to be false.
Second, after clarifying the above principle, this verse points to certain true events as examples for those who claim faith. These were such clear events that all the people of Arabia witnessed them during the battles of Badr and Uhud.
Those Companions who migrated from Makkah to Madinah solely for Allah and His religion of truth took up arms even against members of their own tribes and families, because they were enemies of Islam.
Abu Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) killed his father, Abdullah ibn Jarrah, with his own hand. Mus‘ab ibn Umair (may Allah be pleased with him) killed his own brother, Ubayd ibn Umair. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) killed his maternal uncle, As ibn Hisham ibn Mughirah. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) killed his close relative Utbah; Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with him) killed his relative Shaybah; and Ubaydah ibn al-Harith killed his relative al-Walid ibn Utbah. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had been ready to kill his own son, Abd al-Rahman.
Regarding the prisoners at the Battle of Badr, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) presented his view to the Prophet (peace be upon him), saying, “Let them be killed, and let each man kill his relative.”
During the Battle of Badr, an Ansari captured and bound Abd al-Aziz ibn Umair, the brother of Mus‘ab ibn Umair (may Allah be pleased with him). Seeing this, Mus‘ab shouted, “Tie him tightly. His mother is very wealthy; she will give you a great deal of money for her son’s release.” Abd al-Aziz said, “You say such a thing while being my brother?” Mus‘ab replied, “You are no longer my brother. The Ansari who is tying you is my brother.”
When Abu al-As, the son-in-law of the Prophet (peace be upon him), was brought as a prisoner in this battle, no special favor was shown to him because he was the Prophet’s son-in-law. He was treated like the other prisoners. Thus the whole world clearly witnessed what a true believer is like and what his relationship with the religion of truth is.
It is necessary to know well with which groups or nations friendly relations are prohibited. Otherwise, misunderstanding may arise on both sides regarding this matter. The Quran has clearly declared the following concerning it:
(Arabic PDF, page 46****************************)
—Allah has forbidden you from befriending those who fight you because of religion, drive you from your homes, or assist in your expulsion. Those who befriend them despite this are wrongdoers.
As for those whose conduct is contrary to the conduct mentioned above, you have not been forbidden to maintain good relations with them, show them kindness, and deal with them justly.
(Arabic PDF, page 47****************************)
—Allah does not forbid you from treating kindly and dealing justly with those who do not fight you because of religion and do not drive you from your homes. Surely Allah loves those who deal justly. (Al-Mumtahanah: 8)
Freedom from Greed for Wealth Is a Demand of Faith
Another demand of faith is that one must not harbor an obsession with acquiring wealth. Those who are greedy for wealth remain absorbed in this thought day and night. Eventually, even through unlawful means, they continue acquiring money and property and become entangled in financial dealings. Enmity, disputes, quarrels, and killings among people are among the poisonous consequences of greed for wealth. Allah says:
(Arabic PDF, page 48****************************)
—O you who believe, do not consume usury multiplied many times over. (Aal Imran: 130)
Although this statement is a principled command concerning usury, it was delivered in the lengthy critical discourse on the Battle of Uhud. Certain conduct of some of the Companions was not pleasing to Allah and was not suitable for establishing the religion of truth, so the Quran strongly criticized it. At one point during the Battle of Uhud, some Companions disobeyed the Prophet’s command and became engaged in seizing the spoils of war. Because of ordinary human weakness, greed for wealth arose among them for a short time. Taking advantage of this weakness, the Quraysh unbelievers, led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, launched a fierce attack against them, as a result of which seventy Companions were martyred.
One must advance in Allah’s way selflessly and solely with the intention of attaining His pleasure. Personal greed for wealth is a great obstacle on this path.
Islam does not prohibit acquiring wealth, nor does it consider it blameworthy. It must be acquired through proper means and spent in the way commanded by Allah. The Companions also acquired wealth. But when establishing the religion required it, they gave it all in Allah’s way wholeheartedly and willingly. An unparalleled example of this was seen on the eve of the Tabuk expedition, and it has been recorded in golden letters in Islamic history.
Wealth: A Fiery Test of Faith
Wealth is not inherently bad. What is bad is greed for wealth and clinging to it. Since it is a sacred trust, it must be used according to the will of Allah, its true Owner. Therefore, this wealth is a great test for human beings. Allah says:
(Arabic PDF, page 49****************************)
—O believers! Remember that your wealth and children must not cause you to become heedless of Allah. (Al-Munafiqun: 9)
(Arabic PDF, page 49****************************)
—And know that your wealth and children are only a test for you, while with Allah is a great reward. (Al-Anfal: 28)
The thing that generally obstructs the sincerity of people’s faith and causes the diseases of hypocrisy, treachery, and betrayal to appear among them is love of wealth and children when it exceeds all limits. Therefore it is said that this wealth and these children, becoming attached to which people generally turn away from the true path, are actually a great test for human beings. What a person considers a son or daughter is in reality a kind of question paper.
Similarly, wealth is a second question paper. These things are given to people so that they must prove whether, after gaining them, they can remain on the true path, keep their hearts pure and untainted by love and greed for them, and deal with them within the limits prescribed by Allah.
This is the demand of faith.
Wealth and children are described as a great test for people, and sacrificing them to fulfill Allah’s will is described as success in this test.
The Worldly Benefits of Establishing the Religion
There is no doubt that all these sacrifices and acts of renunciation are for Allah’s pleasure and for establishing the religion. The work of establishing this religion is not beneficial only for the Hereafter. Rather, in the society and civilization that will be built on the basis of worship and obedience to Allah, complete justice and full security of life and property will prevail.
In this regard Allah says—
(Arabic PDF, page 51****************************)
—O believers! Your duty is to become standard-bearers of justice and equity and witnesses for Allah. (An-Nisa: 135)
It was not merely said here, “Establish justice.” Rather, it was said, “Become standard-bearers of justice and equity.” This means that the work of believers is not only to establish justice; they must carry the banner of justice. They must throw themselves into this worldwide movement so that oppression, tyranny, injustice, and inequity may be uprooted from oppressed human society and happiness, peace, harmony, security, and complete fairness may be established in their place.
Then they must bear witness to this noble work before Allah alone. This verse contains a warning that the work must not be done for any personal or group interest or to gain people’s praise.
Turning One’s Back in Adversity Is Contrary to Faith
It is an inevitable truth that the work of establishing the religion will face various dangers, storms, and trials. The Quran says that turning one’s back after hearing the alarm of these dangers is contrary to faith:
(Arabic PDF, page 52****************************)
—O believers! Know well that if any of you turns away from the religion, Allah will bring forth a people whom He loves and who love Him; who are humble and gentle toward the believers and firm toward the unbelievers; and who strive with the utmost effort in Allah’s way. They will fear no reproach or condemnation from anyone in this matter. (Al-Maidah: 54)
After turning away from the religion, there is no question of faith remaining. In place of these faithless people, those whom Allah brings into the field are certainly believers. A relationship of love develops between them and Allah. They become beloved to Allah, and Allah becomes beloved to them. The identity of a believer is now that he is gentle toward believers and firm toward unbelievers.
“Gentle toward believers” means that a believer will never use his power against another believer. His talent, intelligence, insight, ability, influence, wealth, physical strength, or anything else will not be used to suppress, harass, or harm Muslims. Muslim society will always find him gentle-hearted, compassionate, sympathetic, and patient.
“Firm toward unbelievers” means that, because of the maturity of his faith, sincere devotion to the religion, steadfastness to his ideals, and indomitable strength of character, a believer will be as hard as steel when confronting the enemies of Islam, so that he cannot be dislodged from his position. He will neither be frightened by anyone nor softened by anyone’s words. When facing the opposing side, he will give his life, but he will neither submit nor be influenced at any price.
It has also been stated as a characteristic of faith that he will struggle continuously to establish Allah’s religion. He will not care about anyone’s reproach or ridicule for this. Nor will he ever allow anything to weaken his progress.
The matter has now become even clearer: the greatest sign of faith is to continue struggling without interruption to establish Allah’s religion in human society. As a result, just as a believer becomes Allah’s beloved servant, Allah also becomes the most beloved to him.
It goes without saying that the true test of faith takes place through this struggle. Through this test, Allah selects and distinguishes the true believers and causes the unbelievers to be defeated through them. (Aal Imran: 142)
Without this struggle, it will be possible neither to testify to faith nor to attain Paradise in the Hereafter. Allah says—
(Arabic PDF, page 53****************************)
—Do you think you will enter Paradise without Allah first making evident which of you struggled in Allah’s way to establish the religion and which of you persevered with enduring patience along this path? (Aal Imran: 142)
It has become clear from the preceding discussion, and the past history of Islam also bears witness, that those who began walking on the path of religion, inspired by faith, whose destination is the establishment of the religion of truth and Allah’s pleasure, must face severe obstacles at every step. If an ordinary believer or any worker or leader of the movement to establish the religion, while walking this path, submits to falsehood out of fear that his life and wealth may be endangered, abandons the movement to establish the religion, and eagerly seeks cooperation with falsehood, he will leave the bounds of faith, and such a person can be called nothing but a hypocrite.
Those who work for the movement to establish the religion must be extremely cautious about this. Each of them should receive such training and must pass through such a fiery test that, at any critical moment, no worker in the movement to establish the religion will surrender to falsehood for the security of his life and wealth or for the comfort and happiness of his children. Whoever leads this movement must possess a superior character. Only someone who has the courage and resolve to sacrifice his life, wealth, wife, children, and family—all of them—in Allah’s way, and who has demonstrated at various times that he has passed such tests, can lead the movement to establish the religion. If a person of weak character occupies the leadership, then at any critical moment he will drown the entire movement with himself and leave behind a shameful history.
I hope the matter will not be difficult to understand after this. Likewise, if we examine the whole Quran, we will learn that the demand of faith is not merely the establishment of the five pillars of Islam. According to the demand of faith, this is only the beginning of the work. The construction of a building is not considered complete merely when its doors, windows, and roof have been built. Similarly, the beginning of constructing Islam’s palace is the construction or establishment of the five pillars. Building the entire palace upon these pillars is the next demand of faith. Those demands have been stated one by one in the Quran. Allah’s Prophet (peace be upon him) and his beloved Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) fulfilled all these demands completely. Therefore, to fulfill the demands of faith completely, one must study the Holy Word with deep attention on the one hand, and meticulously follow the pure lives of the Prophet and the Companions on the other.
The Prophet’s Hadith Concerning Faith
I would now like to discuss several examples from the Prophet’s hadith concerning the demands of faith.
(Arabic PDF, page 56****************************)
—Faith has many branches. The highest of them is that you recognize no one besides Allah as your ruler or lord. The least important branch of faith is that, if you see a thorn or other harmful object lying in the road and causing difficulty to travelers, you remove it. Modesty is also a branch of faith.
It is understood from this that the minimum demand of faith is to try to remove every kind of suffering and hardship from people. Modesty is also a demand of faith.
(Arabic PDF, page 56****************************)
A believer is one from whom no one fears for his life or property.
(Arabic PDF, page 56****************************)
“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should honor his guest, not harm his neighbor, and speak good words.”
(Arabic PDF, page 57****************************)
—By Allah, he is not a believer; by Allah, he is not a believer; by Allah, he is not a believer, whose misconduct prevents his neighbor from living in peace.
(Arabic PDF, page 57****************************)
—A person who eats his fill while his neighbor remains hungry cannot be a believer.
(Arabic PDF, page 57****************************)
—He who is not trustworthy has no faith, and he who breaks his promise is irreligious.
(Arabic PDF, page 57****************************)
—If you feel satisfaction from good deeds and remorse over sinful deeds, then you are a believer.
(Arabic PDF, page 57****************************)
—The finest sign of faith is that your friendship and enmity are for the sake of attaining Allah’s pleasure. Your tongue remains engaged in the remembrance of Allah. Whatever you like for yourself, like for others as well; and whatever you dislike for yourself, dislike for others as well.
(Arabic PDF, page 57****************************)
—Purity and cleanliness of the body and clothing are half of faith.
(Arabic PDF, page 58****************************)
The most complete believer among you is the one with the best character and the one who treats his family best.
(Arabic PDF, page 58****************************)
—A believer can never be a mocker, a curser, obscene in speech, or foul-mouthed.
(Arabic PDF, page 58****************************)
A believer may be anything, but he cannot be one who embezzles or lies.
(Arabic PDF, page 58****************************)
If someone extinguishes the fire of anger after it has been kindled, Allah fills his heart with faith and contentment.
(Arabic PDF, page 58****************************)
Whoever knowingly assists an oppressor leaves Islam.
Assisting a tyrannical oppressor has been described here as contrary to faith. It is not merely one of the demands of faith to refrain from assisting an oppressor; resisting the oppression of the oppressor and raising one’s voice against him are also demands of faith. I believe the above discussion has made clear what the demands of faith are. Now, what is the easy method of fulfilling these demands?
Certainly, fulfilling the demands of faith is by no means easy. Rather, it is extremely difficult. However, when a believer firmly resolves to fulfill the demands of faith and prepares to make every kind of sacrifice for it, he must adopt certain methods. For this, we must return to the earlier discussion: by what method did the final Prophet, Muhammadur Rasulullah (peace be upon him), develop the character of the Companions so that they were able to fulfill every demand of faith? It must be remembered that all the demands of their faith were not fulfilled immediately upon their embracing faith. Their course of action in this regard was as follows:
First, as soon as they embraced faith, they raised their voices against Jahiliyyah—that is, beliefs, doctrines, philosophies, and ideas opposed to Islam—and against the worship and obedience of multiple gods. As a result, persecution and oppression descended upon them.
In the second stage, they faced the problem of the demand of faith on one side and the demand of Jahiliyyah on the other. Through oppression and persecution, Jahiliyyah asserted that if they abandoned faith, the oppression would stop, their lives would again become happy and pleasant as before, and the security of their economic interests, lives, and property would be restored.
In contrast, the demand of faith was to remain firm and unshakable upon faith, whatever the consequences might be. We saw this in the life of the Prophet himself (peace be upon him) and in the lives of the Companions. At every step of life they faced the two opposing demands of faith and Jahiliyyah. Those who remained steadfast in the demand of faith passed the fiery test and fulfilled its demand. Some people failed to pass this test and were called hypocrites.
A Matter for Deep Reflection
The discussion above has made it clear that the demand of faith is to remain steadfast upon it and live in every sphere of life as one wholly obedient to Allah, as a true Muslim. This is not required only of one individual; rather, all who knowingly and consciously embrace faith in Islam’s declaration of faith and become Muslims must collectively live like Muslims. It is absolutely impossible for anyone to live as a Muslim in every sphere of life alone. A complete Islamic environment and social system are indispensable for this. Islam’s complete authority and control must be maintained over the entire culture and arts, business and trade, transactions, friendship and enmity, war and peace—in short, every sphere of life.
No Muslim can fully fulfill the demands of faith under a non-Islamic environment or unbelieving rule. For example, fulfilling these demands is entirely impossible under communist rule; nor can anyone practice more of the demands of faith in an unbelieving state than it permits. Yet Allah says—
(On page 60 of the Arabic PDF****************************)
—O believers! Submit your entire lives to Islam, and do not obey Satan by keeping any part of your lives outside Islam. For he is your clear enemy. (Al-Baqarah: 208)
Human life is indivisible. But if someone artificially divides life into many parts, conducts some of them according to Islam’s instructions, and keeps the rest outside Islam, he cannot be called a complete Muslim. In those areas of life, he must obey someone other than Allah. This has been called obedience to Satan, or to anti-God forces.
Allah says—
(On page 61 of the Arabic PDF****************************)
—and that he should not associate anyone with his Lord (Allah) in his obedience. —(Al-Kahf: 110)
Thus, following any other ideology or ideal instead of Allah in any area of life is tantamount to associating another with Allah. Allah Almighty will be obeyed in the mosque, while outside the mosque, in the broader areas of life—politics, economics, business and commerce, education and culture, courts and legal institutions, criminal justice, agriculture, and factories—someone other than Allah will be obeyed instead. This is called complete hypocrisy; it cannot be called an Islamic way of life in any manner. Islam means submitting one’s entire life to obedience to Allah. That is also the demand of faith. So consider when and how a Muslim can become a true Muslim.
A Muslim cannot live a Muslim life under a kufr system of government. In any country, territory, or settlement where human authority governs instead of Allah’s governing authority, the entire society and its social environment remain immersed in rebellion against God. Where corruption, usury and bribery, adultery, drinking alcohol, unrestricted mixing between men and women, the gathering of men and women together in the name of culture, obscene dancing and singing, gambling, character-destroying films, and similar activities are the society’s daily affairs, how can a Muslim preserve his faith?
These things are not occurring only in non-Muslim or kafir states; rather, they are occurring on a large scale in Muslim countries and Muslim societies as well. Those who, within the extremely narrow sphere of life, cling to prayer, fasting, and some remembrance and litanies as their last resource are seeing their children become repelled by Islam and attracted to anti-Islamic ideologies. No trace of Islam can be found in their character and conduct. A powerful anti-Islamic educational system and environment are forcing the youth to adopt a militant attitude against Islam. The reason for all this is that, as Muslims have moved away from Islam as a millah, and as the desire for worldly pleasures and luxury has awakened among them in place of self-sacrifice in Allah’s path and the spirit of jihad, they have become a nation of jackals. Living as slaves for a long time has made them doubtful about Islam. Their thoughts, mentality, values of life, and standards of truth and falsehood and good and evil have changed. Though Muslims, they have begun to think with the minds of non-Muslim masters, see through their eyes, and color themselves in their colors.
Even after gaining independence following several hundred years of slavery, they could not abandon mental slavery; its inevitable consequence is also endless humiliation in worldly life. Today the condition of the entire Muslim world is the same. Instead of regarding Allah as the sole Ilah, protector, and guardian and relying on Him alone, they have come to depend on the mercy of the forces of falsehood, the enemies of Islam. As a result, fire has been set to the palace of Islam built by the Final Prophet (peace be upon him). Muslims are burning to death in that fire—Muslims of Palestine and Lebanon, Muslims of Egypt, Libya, Algeria, and Iraq. The Muslims of Afghanistan are burning fiercely in this fire. The condition of Muslims in other countries is almost the same. Today Muslims are brutally killing Muslims. As Muslims, they are setting fire to Islam’s house. Muslim youth today are displaying a warlike attitude against Islam. A carefully planned conspiracy is underway to raise future generations as anti-Islamic forces. This conspiracy continues through literature, culture, dancing and singing, pornography, and obscene films.
This is one aspect of the painful picture of Muslim society. An even more painful aspect is that, despite seeing the blazing flames of the fire rising fiercely in our own home, no dark clouds of anxiety gather in our minds. We have closed our eyes to everything and remain absorbed in our daily activities. We remain occupied with the conventional, lifeless rituals of religion. We are busy with khanqahs, madrasas, remembrance and litanies, and meaningless demonstrations of teaching the kalimah. Fire is burning in the palace built by the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him), yet instead of thinking about or trying to extinguish it, we merely send blessings and salutations upon it. This cannot be called a sign of love for the Prophet; it must be called the utmost betrayal of the Prophet and of the ideal he established.
What Is the Way to Salvation?
If one is to survive, there is only one way: we call ourselves Muslims on the basis of faith, and we must fulfill the demands of that faith. To fulfill them, we must wholeheartedly accept the following program and make every possible effort to implement it.
One. Each of us must turn to Allah’s Qur’an and the Sunnah of His Final Prophet. We must learn the true form and nature of Islam from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and from the life of the Noble Prophet and the Companions. During the period of the Muslims’ decline, external ideas and erroneous philosophies covered Islam with ignorance. We must properly learn the Islam presented by the Qur’an and established by the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him).
Two. Each of us must become a propagator of Islam. We must present true Islam before people. This will succeed when every propagator becomes a living embodiment of Islam in his personal and family life. For this purpose, more effective methods than ordinary preaching gatherings include widespread dissemination of reliable exegesis of the Qur’an, Hadith, and various Islamic literature, discussions through personal meetings, and so forth. Literature on different aspects of Islam should be written and disseminated in a form suited to the youth.
Three. Students must be organized alongside Islamic education, given practical training in Islam, made capable of confronting false ideologies and ways of thinking, and united together in a jama‘ah. Until people possessing complete Islamic knowledge and character are produced in this manner, the fire that has seized Islam’s palace will not be extinguished. Those among the Muslims who, closing their eyes to every direction and becoming self-centered, put on displays of Islamic practice and character will also be unable to save themselves and their descendants from this fire as long as it continues to burn. Ultimately, this fire will become the fire of Hell.
The greatest obstacle to implementing the above program is the disunity of Muslims, especially the community of the ulama. We must forget petty disagreements centered on individuals and interests and unite to protect Islam and the Muslim millah from the aggression of falsehood. If, God forbid, because of the disunity of the ulama, the forces of falsehood once become firmly established and oppressive, the ulama themselves will be the first victims of the Muslims’ extermination. Its example was seen after the Russian Communist Revolution and, more recently, in Afghanistan. The ulama are the ideological and moral heirs of the Prophet.
The Qur’an has also declared that the distinctive quality of the ulama is fearing Allah alone (Arabic*****). To establish the Prophet’s (Arabic*****) ideal in the world while remaining fearful and awed by Allah, and to struggle to preserve it unsullied—this is the duty of the Prophet’s heirs. If this duty is neglected, there will be nothing with which to answer before Allah.
This responsibility belongs not only to the ulama but to every Muslim. A Muslim breaks all forms of slavery, ends all human rule and lordship, adopts slavery to Allah Almighty alone, and submits himself under His rule, lordship, and authority. He can never accept human slavery or human governing authority. Allah’s law is the only law he must follow, and he will conduct his entire life under the leadership of the Prophet. Therefore, the demand of a Muslim’s faith is that he struggle to implement and enforce Allah’s law alone at every level of society, build his personal, family, and social life according to the example of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and establish the foundations of education, culture, and the state. Only by doing these things can he preserve the dignity with which Allah Almighty has honored him as Allah’s khalifah.
It must be remembered well that Allah Almighty has made human beings owners of wealth, granted them knowledge, intelligence, and conscience, given them the powers of writing, speech, and invention, and honored them with various ranks so that, as Allah’s khalifahs or representatives, they may properly discharge their responsibilities in the world. All these different blessings were given to them so that they could use them according to Allah’s will. By granting these resources, they have been put to the test. If someone spends his wealth, knowledge, intelligence, writing ability, and inventive power in His path solely to attain the pleasure of the Creator, then it must be understood that he has fulfilled the right of representation. Conversely, if these resources are spent to satisfy worldly interests and the thirst of the desires, he will have appropriated the resources given by God and become guilty of betraying the Giver.
The demand of faith is precisely this: whatever Allah has given human beings—including hands, feet, eyes, ears, mouths, and minds and brains—they must use everything to attain the pleasure of the Giver. None of these may be spent in any way or on any path that displeases the Giver. Using them contrary to Allah’s will will, on the one hand, be a great injustice to them and, on the other, an injustice to oneself. On the Day of Resurrection, these limbs will complain before Allah that they were used contrary both to their own purpose and to the will of Allah Almighty. The person to whom these limbs were entrusted as Allah’s representative will then have to suffer severe punishment.
That is what concerns the limbs. Human beings have also been given wealth, knowledge, intelligence, free will, and the power to act, in order to test whether they will use these according to the demands of their desires or for Allah’s pleasure. Faith—which is in reality a covenant of servitude and obedience between a person and Allah—demands that, although a person is free to use whatever has been given to him on other paths, he must use it in Allah’s path alone. That is the work of a khalifah or representative.
Allah Almighty created human beings as His khalifah on earth. The work of a khalifah is to fulfill the will of the One who appointed him, properly observe and enforce His laws—not become a lawmaker himself, not become arbitrary, and not hold the belief that he need answer to no one. Just as throughout the realm of nature Allah’s will alone is being fulfilled according to natural laws and His laws are being followed, so His law will operate in human society as well, though human beings will represent Him. Human beings were not made rulers and lawmakers; they were made representatives of the true Ruler and Lawgiver.
Therefore, humanity’s innate responsibility and duty is to enforce the law of Allah Almighty, its Lord and Creator, in human society. It is because this law has been disobeyed that calamity and destruction have descended upon human society. The history of humanity bears witness to it. Those who do not believe in Allah deny this truth. But the indispensable demand of the faith of those who believe is that, through united struggle, they will enforce Allah Almighty’s laws throughout every level of society and the state, and create among the people the inclination and desire to follow them. Their source of strength and motivation in this work will be Allah’s Qur’an, the life of the Noble Prophet, the method of action of the Companions, and especially the shining example of the Rightly Guided Caliphate.
The statement above about struggling together means that fulfilling all the demands of faith—that is, establishing Allah’s sole lordship and authority, law, and rule in Allah’s earth—cannot possibly be done alone or in isolation. For this, one must join an Islamic jama‘ah whose purpose is to struggle together in Allah’s path, which the Qur’an calls jihad fi sabilillah.
It is a hopeful matter that, in almost every part of the world, united movements have begun for the revival and re-establishment of Islam. May Allah Almighty grant Muslims who claim faith the ability to plunge into this movement. Amen.
— End —