Iman According To Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah And Groups

Date: Safar 07, 1434, December 22, 2012 Edition: 2012 Author: Abu Ammaar Saeed Ahmed Copyright: Free to republish with authorization Islamic Research Foundation New York www.irfny.com info@irfny.com

About Author Abu Ammaar Saeed Ahmed Founder of IRFNY Islamic Research Foundation New York A businessman by profession and student of international Dawah program and training who choose to spread the word of Allah, whos journey into the world of comparative religion and Dawah started at the age of 30 started in 2007 as a participant of the Dawah Training Programme conducted by several international orators. The desire within him in clarifying misconceptions about Islam was kindled by Sheikh Ahmed Deedat & Dr. Zakir Naik and this exposure to these world renowned scholars resulted in him choosing Dawah over business. Being a passionate fulltime Daee since 2007, specializing in inter-faith dialogues, Saeed has participated in numerous one-on-one sessions & group discussions with non-Muslims as well as Muslims and, has clarified a number of misconceptions about Islam with non-Muslims as well as Muslims amongst television viewers

as well as live audiences in various parts of the USA. He has been delivering talks on Islam and Comparative Religion for the last couple of years and some of his topics which are popular amongst Muslims are Islamic Theology, Tawheed, Imaan, Innovation and with nonMuslims are Is Jesus God, Is the Bible Word of God. He is also an accomplished trainer with experience in imparting Dawah training to students of comparative religion and is a founder of IRFNY Dawah training programme. Over and above the numerous lecture tours, talks, dialogues and discussions to his credit in states in USA he has also delivered lectures across over the internet in several Islamic websites. Saeed Ahmed became a founder of IRFNY Islamic Research Foundation New York in 2010, to help other Muslims to join Dawah training programme and learn doing Dawah with non-Muslims as well as Muslims to

remove misconceptions about Islam. Currently Saeed is attending Islamic education conferences and discussions from international orators, to gain more knowledge and heading towards higher education in Islam and comparative religions. Saeed has successfully completed studying Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Tirmidhi, Sunan Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah and Fiqh. Currently Saeed is a student of Christianity on the topics Is Jesus God or Son Of God, Is The Bible Word Of God, Was Jesus Crucified, Trinity. Remember Saeed in your prayers, May Allah increase our knowledge of Islam. Ameen

Abu Ammaar Saeed Ahmed

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and seek His Help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from our souls' evils and our wrong doings. He whom Allah guides, no one can misguide; and he whom He misguides, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad (PBUH) is His Messenger. Quran 20:25-28

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"O my Lord! Expand me my breast;" (25) "Ease my task for me; (26) "And remove the impediment from my speech. (27) "So they may understand what I say: (28)

The word Iman was best defined at the time of Muhammad (pbuh) and then Sahaba (ra) that had best understanding of the Iman because it was the time of direct revelation from Allah. As the time moved on till next generations, there were many groups appeared in parts of Arabia and parts of the world where many groups started having different opinions of Iman and many differed among them in understand of Iman. Many groups differed in defining the term Iman except Ahl us Sunnah, had misinterpreted the word Iman that it should be defined through linguistic perspective. Even we have clear understanding of the term Iman from Quran and Hadith. According to Oxford Dictionary, they translated the word Iman to English word faith or Belief which is considered as general meaning according to English Dictionary. If we realize every religion do believes that God exist and

messengers came with revelations. But according to Islamic meanings of the term Iman means agree to a commitment of action, a lifechanging commitment after believing whatever The Prophet (pbuh) had told us through Hadith. Having Iman resulted in Arabic word Aman English meaning Safety and leads the individual towards Peace which is complete Islam. Iman can be stated as acknowledging God with full sincerity of heart whilst accepting all His attributes. There are three basic levels of Iman. 1. Tongue 2. Heart 3. Practical Testifying through the tongue is not enough if there are no actions according to what an individual testifies through the tongue. It goes in order, First a person has to testifies through the tongue and acceptance in the heart and do

actions according to statements. Practicing more good deeds increases Iman and doing less goods and committing any sins decreases Iman, depending on the levels of the sins from major to minor. In Surah Baqarah Chapter two, Allah is giving statements about His Messenger. Quran 2:285

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The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His Messengers "We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His Messengers." And they say: "We hear and we obey; (We seek) Thy forgiveness, Our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys." (285)

There were some groups came up with their philosophy depending on just the linguistic meaning of the word Iman. There was group called Jahmite, the founder of the group was Jahm ibn Safwan. He was the first person to talk about creedness of Quran. They believed the speech of God is created. According to them Pharoah and his people were believers because they knew Moses and Aaron (as) were true prophets even though they denied them. They also deny about Ibrahim friendship with Allah and Moses (as) spoke to Allah. The only attributes the groups accepted was creating and power, they knew the sole creating power is from Allah alone and all power witnessed among the creatures is metaphorically theirs, not literally. They come up with another philosophy regarding Iman that Iman is just a basic knowledge only. Many orthodox Muslim scholars of Hadith wrote refutations of Jahm ibn Safwan's doctrines, particularly Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-

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Bukhari, and al-Darimi and declared this group as disbeliever. Ibn Taymiyyah identified the jurists who excommunicated Jahmites as follows: As for Ahmad ibn Hambal, Wakee, and others, they declared all who supported Jahms and alAsharees views of belief to be unbelievers. To Ahmad ibn Hambal and his followers, Jahms view on belief was even more abhorrent than that of the Murjiites.(Kitab Al-Iman, p. 133) Ibn Taymiyyah (ra) said in his book "Sarim ul Maslool" that linguistically Iman means Tasdeeq wal Iqrar. And in the Istalah (the terminology of Islam) it is utterance by the tongue; believe in the hearth and actions with the limbs. Except if someone is Murjiyyah or Jahmiyyah because the Jahmiyyah says indeed the Iman is only Ma'rifah (knowledge or awareness), so this is the definition of Iman to Jahmiyyah as for Muslims there must be conditions for Iman to be fulfilled.

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Quran 2:208

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O ye who believe! Come, all of you, into submission (unto Him); and follow not the footsteps of the devil. Lo! he is an open enemy for you. (208) From the above verse we can understand in order to be complete Muslims one has to submit his will to Allah completely not partially and dont leave any gap for shaitan to whisper in heart with new philosophy about Islam Quran 5:92

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Obey Allah and obey the messenger, and beware! But if ye turn away, then know that the

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duty of Our messenger is only plain conveyance (of the message). (92) That we have to believe whatever the Messenger commands us or preach His message from Allah. A Muslim is not considered a Muslim until he believes whatever the Prophet (pbuh) talks about regardless of any confusion. According to Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) had been to Isra and Miraj. So if the Prophet (pbuh) explained the whole story on Night journey and Ascension it duty of every Muslim to believe it 100% without any new philosophy or searching for logical answers, like how, when, what. There are about 85 verses in The Quran where Allah called upon believers.

O ye who believe!

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These verses are especially for the believers who truly believe and have practices according to commandments of Allah and Prophet (pbuh). There are six pillars of Iman to believe in. Belief in Allah Belief in the angels Belief in the revealed books Belief in the Messengers (pbu them) Belief in the resurrection and the events of Qiyamah Belief in the predestination by Allah of all things, both the good and the bad Leaving anything outside of the list does not make a individual complete Muslim and it effects Aqeedah of a person and that individual could be a unfortunate person could belong to groups of 72 as it said in Hadith, 72 groups

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among the 73 groups in Islam will be entered into hell only one will be accepted. Hadith Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "Whoever said "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of a barley grain will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of a wheat grain will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of an atom will be taken out of Hell." (Bukhari Vol 2, No 42)

There was another group called Karraamites founded by Abdullah Muhammad ibn Karram was from Banu Nazar. They belief was through the tongue only but affirming in the heart. His

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teachings was based on Ahmad ibn Abdillah Jawbaaree and Muhammad ibn Tameem Faryaanaanee who were the fabricators of the Hadith. He spread his doctrines in Khurasan and Naysabur. Theyhave many false doctrines clearly contradics Quran and Hadith, among them was that is constituted by a single utterance of the two declarations of faith, and involves neither conviction nor works. Their philosophy was like a hypocrite and according them the hypocrite is the perfect believer which still doesnt satisfy the requirements of the Iman. They also believe that the hypocrite will be punished on judgment day, their statements regarding Iman contradicts themselves. Quran 4:60

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Have you seen those (hyprocrites) who claim that they believe in that which has been sent down to you, and that which was sent down before you, and they wish to go for judgement (in their disputes) to the Tght (false judges) while they have been ordered to reject them. But Shaitn (Satan) wishes to lead them far astray. (60) Tafsir Ibn Kathir Allah chastises those who claim to believe in what Allah has sent down to His Messenger and to the earlier Prophets, yet they refer to other than the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger for judgment in various disputes. Hadith It was reported that the reason behind revealing this Ayah was that; a man from the Ansar and a Jew had a dispute, and the Jew said, "Let us

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refer to Muhammad to judge between us.''However, the Muslim man said, "Let us refer to Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf (a Jew) to judge between us. ''It was also reported that; the Ayah was revealed about some hypocrites who pretended to be Muslims, yet they sought to refer to the judgment of Jahiliyyah. Other reasons were also reported behind the revelation of the Ayah. However, the Ayah has a general meaning, as it chastises all those who refrain from referring to the Qur'an and Sunnah for judgment and prefer the judgment of whatever they chose of falsehood, which befits the description of Taghut here. This is why Allah said, (and they wish to go for judgment to the Taghut) until the end of the Ayah. There was another group called Murjia and followers and the movement was called Murjites. They testify on tongue, and accepted in their hearts but have removed good deeds from the requirement of Iman to be completed. Their philosophy concerning Islamic Creed and Iman that only God has the authority to judge

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who is a true Muslim. Murjites doctines stress on more on belief and submitting to God rather than stressing on acts of piety and good deeds. They believed Muslims committing grave sins would remain Muslim and be eligible for paradise if they remained faithful. The Murjite opinion on the issue of whether one committing a grave sin remains a believer was adapted with modifications by later theological schools. According to their philosophy Ibless, Pharoah and other disbelievers even though they believe in their hearts,they have been obliged to adoptthe view of Jahm. Quran 98:5

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And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allh, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him), and perform As-Salt (Iqmat-as-Salt) and give Zakt: and that is the right religion. (5)

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In the above verse word perform is used to prove that it is obligated to every Muslim, other than testifying through the tongue, and affirming in heart there should be practical done to complete ones Iman. Hadith It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) said: faith has over seventy branches or over sixty branches, the most excellent of which is the declaration that there is no god but Allah, and the humblest of which is the, removal of what is injurious from the path: and modesty is the branch of faith. (Muslim, Vol 1, No. 56)

Increasing and Decreasing in Iman is a fundamental positions of Ahl us Sunnah because we all experience every day and every moment of our life. Quran 8:2

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For, believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts, and when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust in their Lord. (2) Hadith It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira: A fornicator who fornicates is not a believer as long as he commits fornication, and no one who steals is a believer as long as he commits theft, and no one who drinks wine is a believer as long as he drinks it, and repentance may be accepted after that. (Muslim, Vol 1, No. 109) Quran 48:4

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He it is Who sent down As-Sakinah (calmness and tranquillity) into the hearts of the believers, that they may grow more in Faith along with their (present) Faith. And to Allh belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allh is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise. (4) Hadith He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand( activism, organization, movement ); and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue( by seeking out against it ), and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart( by always disliking what is evil or harmful ), and that is the least of faith(Muslim, Book 1, No 79). Ibn Taymiyyah clarified how Iman increases and decreases in Book of Iman. 1. The details of what believers have been commanded varied from time to place. The details varies with knowledge.

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2. The level of commitment and action that believers undertake, those who do bare min is not same as those who do more Nawafil Ibaadah 3. Actual affirmation of truth is in fact of various levels. There are decimal points between 0 and 1. Abu Bakr given title of Sideeq in the incident of Isra and Miraj, one who witnesses and sees is not the same as one who hears, he gives an interesting story, after Moses (as) spending 40 days and Allah says his people worshipped calf but his anger exploded when he saw the golden calf. 4. Detailed knowledge of a matter adds levels of perception and certainty that summarized knowledge does not. 5. A belief that causes one to act upon it is necessarily stronger than a belief that does not cause any action. How many believes in Jannah and Hell but how many struggles to achieve it or stay away.

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6. The actions of the heart (humility, love, modesty etc), which are an integral part of Iman, very widely between people. 7. The outward actions vary widely between people. This is similar to point 2. 8. States of Ghafila ( heedlessness, lapse of Iman) are more frequent for some than others. Ihsan is absence of Ghafila. A Tabeyeen said to be conscious of Allah increases Iman and neglecting Dhikr decreases Iman. 9. It is possible that a matter or belief is denied because of ignorance, and when someone learns of its truth, he accepts it. This shows something has changed in him internally. Quran 1:6

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straight path (6)

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Straight path is the path to Jannah by holding Quran and Sunnah without making any exit towards any new innovation in Islam. And Allah Knows Best May Allah give us understanding of Quran and increase our knowledge of Allahs Deen Islam. May Allah remove our problems and worries and send His blessings. May Allah accept my work and increase our knowledge, Ameen Quran 2:127 )( .. "Our Lord!accept (this service) from us, for thou art the All-Hearing the All-Knowing. Ameen