Understanding Islam

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Faith and Obedience

Islam means obedience to Allah (click to see who is Allah). And it is a matter of common sense that this obedience cannot ensure in full measure unless man knows certain basic facts of life and possesses firm faith in them. What are those facts? And what are the primary essentials which a man must know to fashion his life, in accordance with the Divine Way? This is discussed below.

First of all, one should have unshakable belief in the existence of Allah, for unless a man has a firm faith in Allah's existence, how can he render obedience to Him?

Then, one must know the attributes of Allah. It is the knowledge of the attributes of Allah which enables man to cultivate in him the noblest of human qualities and to fashion his life in virtue and godliness. If a man does not know that there is One and only God Who is the Creator, the Ruler, and the Sustainer of the universe and there is none else to share with Him even shred of the Divine power and authority, he may fall a prey to false gods, and offer his homage to them to solicit their favour. But if he knows the divine attribute of tawheed (oneness of God), there is not the least possibility of his falling a prey to this illusion. Similarly, if a man knows that Allah is Omnipresent and Omniscient and He sees, hears, and knows everything that we do in public or in private -- even our unexpressed thoughts! -- then how can he afford to be indulgent and disobedient to Allah? He will feel that he is under eternal vigil and will, therefore, behave in the most appropriate way. But he who is not aware of these attributes of Allah may be misled, because of his ignorance, into Allah's disobedience. So is the case with all other attributes of Allah. The fact is that the qualities and attributes which a man must possess, if he wants to pursue the way of Islam, can be cultivated and developed only out of profound knowledge of the attributes of Allah. It is the knowledge of Allah's attributes which purifies a man's mind and soul, his beliefs, morals, and actions. And a mere cursory acquaintance with or just an academic knowledge of these attributes is not sufficient for the task ahead -- there must be an unflinching conviction firmly rooted in the mind and heart of man so that he may remain immune from insidious doubts and perversions.

Moreover, one must know in detail the way of living so that by following it, one can seek the pleasure of Allah. Unless a man knows the likes and dislikes of Allah, how can he choose and adopt one and reject the other? If a man has no knowledge of the Divine Law, how can he follow it? Thus the knowledge of Divine Law and Revealed Code of Life is also extremely essential.

But here, again, mere knowledge will not suffice. Man must have full confidence and conviction that it is the Divine Law and that his salvation lies in following this code alone. For knowledge without this conviction will fail to spur man to the Right Path and he may be lost in the blind alley of disobedience.

Finally, one must also know the consequences of belief and obedience and those of disbelief and disobedience. He must know what blessings would be showered upon him if he chooses Allah's way and leads a life of purity, virtue, and obedience. And he must also know what evil and harrowing consequences would follow if he adopts the way of disobedience and revolt. Thus the knowledge of life after death is absolutely essential for this purpose. Man must have an unwavering belief in the fact that death does not mean the end of life; that there will be resurrection and he will be brought to the highest court of justice, to be presided over by Allah Himself; that on the Day of Judgment complete justice will prevail; and that good deeds will be rewarded and misdeeds punished. Everybody will get his due and there is no escape. This is bound to happen. This sense of responsibility and accountability is quite essential for the full-fledged obedience to the Law of Allah.

A man who has no knowledge of the world to come may consider obedience and disobedience quite immaterial. He may think that the obedient and the disobedient will both meet a similar end: for, after death both will be reduced to mere dust. With this attitude of mind, how can he submit to all the inconveniences and troubles that are sometimes associated with the life of active obedience, and shun the sins. With this mental attitude a man cannot acknowledge and submit to Allah's Law. Nor can a man, who lacks firm belief in the life hereafter and in the Divine Court of Judgment, remain firm and steadfast in the turbulent waters of life with its attraction or sin, crime, and evil; for doubt and hesitancy rob a man of his will to action. You can remain firm in your behaviour only if you are firm in your beliefs. If you carry a wavering mind you cannot remain firm and steadfast. You can whole-heartedly follow a course only if you are sure of the benefits that will accrue to you by following it and of the losses and grievances that will engulf you if you disobey it. Thus, a profound knowledge of the consequences of belief and disbelief and of the life after death is extremely necessary for canalising life into Allah's obedience.

These are the essential facts which one must know if one wants to live the life of obedience, i.e. Islam.

Faith: What does it mean?

Faith is what we have described in the foregoing discussion as "Knowledge and belief". The Arabic word "Iman", which we have rendered in English as faith, literally means "to know", "to believe", and "to be convinced beyond the least shadow of doubt". Faith, thus, is firm belief arising out of knowledge and conviction. And the man who knows and possesses unshakable belief in the Unity of Allah, in His Attributes, in His Law and the Revealed Guidance, and in the Divine Code of Reward and Punishment is called "Momin" (faithful). This faith invariably leads man to a life of obedience and submission to the Will of Allah. And one who lives this life of submission is known as Muslim.

This should clearly bring home the fact that without faith (Iman) no man can be a true Muslim. It is the indispensable essential; rather, the very starting point, without which no beginning can be made. The relation of Islam to Iman is the same as of a tree to its seed. As a tree cannot sprout forth without its seed, in the same way it is not possible for a man, who has no belief to start with, to become a 'Muslim'. On the other hand, just as it can happen that, in spite of sowing the seed, the tree may not grow for a multiple of reasons, or if it sprouts, its growth may be impaired or retarded, in the same way, a man may have faith, but due to a number of weaknesses, he may not become a true and staunch Muslim. Thus we find that faith is the starting point and leads man to the life of submission to Allah, and that a man cannot become a Muslim without faith. On the contrary, it is possible that a man may have faith but, because of the weakness of his will-power, poor training, or bad company, he may not be living the life of a true Muslim. As such, from the viewpoint of Islam and Iman, all men may be classified into four categories:

1 Those who have firm faith -- a faith that makes them submit to Allah, absolutely and whole-heartedly. They follow the way of Allah and devote themselves, heart and soul, to seek His pleasure by doing all that He likes and by avoiding all that He dislikes. In their devotion, they are more fervent than a common man. Such men are true Muslims.

2 Those who do have faith, who believe in Allah, His Law and the Day of Judgment, but whose faith is not deep and strong enough to make them totally submit to Allah. They are far below the rank of true Muslims deserve punishment for their defaultations and misdeeds, but still they are Muslims. They are defaulters and wrongdoers but not rebels. They acknowledge the Sovereign and His Law and, although they are violating the Law, they have not revolted against the Sovereign. They admit its supremacy and their own guilt. Thus they are guilty and deserve punishment, but they remain Muslims.

3 Those who do not possess faith at all. These people refuse to acknowledge the sovereignty of Allah and are rebels. Even if their conduct is not bad and even if they are not spreading corruption and violence, they remain rebels and their apparent good deeds are of little value. Such men are like the outlaws. And as, even if any action of an outlaw is in consonance with the law of the land, he does not become a loyal and obedient citizen, in the same way the apparent good of those who revolt against Allah cannot compensate for the gravity of the real wrong, revolt, and disobedience.

4 Those who neither possess faith nor do good deeds. They spread disorder in the world and perpetrate all kinds of violence and oppression. They are the worst of the people; for they are rebels as well as the wrongdoers and criminals.

The above classification of mankind clearly shows that the real success and salvation of man depends on Iman (faith). The life of obedience (Islam) takes its birth from the seed of Iman. This Islam of a person may be flawless or defective. But without Iman there can be no Islam. Where there is no Iman there is no Islam. Where there is no Islam there is "Kufr" (disobedience to Allah). Its form and nature may be different, but in any way it would be Kufr and nothing but Kufr.

This brings home the importance of Iman vis-à-vis a life of true and total submission to Allah.

How to acquire the knowledge of Allah?

Now the question arises: How to acquire the knowledge and belief in Allah, His attributes, His Law, and the Day of Judgment?

We have already referred to the countless manifestations of Allah around us and in our own selves, which bear witness to the fact that there is One and only One Creator and Governor of this universe and it is He Who controls and directs it. These witnesses reflect the divine attributes of the Creator: His great wisdom, His all-embracing knowledge, His omnipotence, His mercy, His all-sustaining power, His force -- in short, His attributes can be traced everywhere in His works. But man's intellect and his capacity to attain knowledge have erred in observing and understanding them. These are all manifest and clear and our eyes are open to read what is written large on the creation. But here men have erred. Some have declared that there are two gods, others began to profess belief in trinity, and still others succumbed to polytheism. Some began nature-worship and others divided divinity into multifarious deities: gods of rain, air, fire, life, death etc. As such, although the manifestations of Allah were quite clear, human reason has faltered on various counts and failed to see the reality in its true perspective. It met deception after deception and resulted in nothing but confusion of thought.

Similarly, with regard to life after death men have put forward many erroneous notions; for instance, that man is reduced to dust after death and will not rise to life again; or that man is subject to a process of continuous degeneration / regeneration in this very world and is punished or rewarded in the oncoming cycles of life.

Even greater difficulty arises when we come to the question of the code of life. To formulate a complete and balanced code of life that should conform to Allah's pleasure merely with the help of human reason, is an extremely difficult task. If a man is equipped with the highest faculties of reason and intellect and he possesses matchless wisdom and experience of many years of deliberation, even then the chances of formulating right views on life and existence are not very promising. And even if, after a lifelong deliberation he succeeds in that, he will still lack in the confidence that he has really discovered the truth and adopted the right path.

Although the fullest and fairest test of man's wisdom, reason, and knowledge might have been to leave him to his own resources without any external guidance so that he might find out the right way of living in this world, those who, through their own sagacious siftings and strivings, might have reached truth and righteousness would have won success and salvation, while those not reaching them would have failed. Allah, however, spared His human creatures such a hard test. Through His Grace and Benevolence He raised for mankind men from among themselves to who He imparted the true knowledge of His attributes, revealed to them His Law and the Right Code of Living, gave them the knowledge of the meaning and purpose of life and of the life after death and thus showed them the way, by pursuing which, man can achieve success and eternal bliss. These chosen men are the Messengers of Allah -- His Prophets. Allah has communicated knowledge and wisdom to them by means of "Wahy" (revelation), and the book containing the Divine Communications is called the Book of Allah, or the Word of Allah. Now the test of man's wisdom and intellect lies in this: does he recognise Allah's Messenger after thoroughly observing his pure and pious life and carefully studying his noble and flawless teaching? The man who possesses right wisdom and sound common sense would verify truth and accept the instructions given by the Messenger of truth. If he denies the Messenger of Allah and his teachings, his denial would signify that he was devoid of the capacity to find out truth and righteousness. On account of this denial he would fail in his test. Such a man will never be able to discover the truth about Allah and His Law and the life after death.

Faith in the Unknown

It is an everyday experience that when you do not know a thing, you look for somebody who knows it and you repose faith in his word and follow him. If you get ill and you cannot treat and cure yourself, you look for the doctor and accept and follow his instructions without question. Why? Because he is properly qualified to give medical advice, possesses experience, and has treated and cured a number of patients. You, therefore, stick to his advice, do whatever he asks you to do and avoid whatever he forbids. Similarly, in matters of Law you believe in whatever your legal adviser says and act accordingly. In educational matters you have faith in your teacher or instructor and you accept his instructions as true. When you want to go to some place and do not happen to know the way to it, you ask somebody who knows it, and follow the way he points out. In short, the reasonable course that you adopt in the whole of your life about matters which you do not or cannot know is that you approach one who knows them, accept his advice, and act accordingly. As your own knowledge of that matter or problem is inadequate, you carefully search for one who knows that and then silently accept his word. You take every pain to select the proper person. But after selecting the right man, you accept his advice. This kind of belief is called "belief in the unknown". For here you have relied upon one who knows, in matters you do not know. This exactly is Iman-bil-ghaib. Thus believing or having faith in what was previously unknown to you is called "faith in the unknown" (Iman-bil-ghaib).

Iman-bil-ghaib, therefore, signifies that you achieve the knowledge of what was not known to you from one who knows. You do not know Allah and His real attributes. You are not aware that his angels are directing the machinery of the whole universe according to His orders, and that they surround you on all sides. You have not the proper knowledge of the way of life through which you can seek the pleasure of your Creator. And you are in the dark about the life that is to come. The knowledge of all these matters is given to you by the Prophets, who had direct contact with the Divine Being and had been endowed with the correct knowledge. And they are the persons whose sincerity, integrity, trustworthiness, godliness and absolute purity stand as irrevocable witnesses to the truth, of their claim to knowledge. And above all, the very wisdom and force of their message makes you admit that they speak the truth and their preachings deserve to be believed and followed. This conviction of yours is Iman-bil-ghaib. Such truth-discerning and truth-acknowledging attitude (i.e. Iman-bil-ghaib) is essential for obedience to Allah and for acting in accordance with His pleasure, for you have no other medium than Allah's Messengers, for the achievement of true knowledge. Without accurate and true knowledge you cannot proceed rightly on the path of Islam.