Dr. Mufti Syed Ziauddin Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Qadri
Shaykh Ul Fiqh, Jamia Nizamia; Founder - Director
Abul Hasanaat Islamic Research Center
Abul Hasanaat Islamic Research Center
The Sufis say that faith (Imaan) is a radiance which enters the window of the heart. The larger the window of the heart, the more the radiance of faith will enter it. The window of the heart is widened by the recitation of the Holy Quran and the radiance of faith increases, so much so that those who recite the Holy Quran and listen to it become immersed in it.
The reality of faith is to believe whatever the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has brought to be the truth, i.e. to believe that Allah is the One and Only, that there is going to be a Day of Judgment, paradise, hell and walking on the bridge (Siraat), that everything is decided by Almighty Allah, the existence of angels, etc. and to believe Salaat, fasting, Hajj and Zakaat are all obligations. Although these are acts, believing them to be obligatory is also included in faith. One is to offer Salaat, fast, give Zakaat and perform Hajj and the other is to believe that they are obligatory. This is also a part of faith. Without firm belief in their being obligatory, no person be worthy of perfection in faith.
Nowadays, people have made selections in this on their own whims and caprices. Some people don’t consider belief in acts as necessary. Some don’t consider belief the Bridge (Siraat) to be a part of faith. Some are denying fate and some others deny angels and still they consider themselves to be Muslims. Because of modern education, or more appropriately, due to lack of Islamic education or due to lack of love for Islam and lack of company of the scholars, these differences in faith have cropped up and matters are worsening.
The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) says: Some people will have mountains of good deeds on the Day of Judgment, but because of their wrong beliefs, all these good deeds will be rendered wasted, the way sand is blown away by the wind.
In the past also, there would be sinful Muslims, but their condition was that they would bow their head in assent to the scholars. If they were frightened with punishment, they would be frightened. They didn’t consider themselves as knowledgeable. For that reason, their faith was safe. Nowadays, every person considers himself to be a very knowledgeable person and is adamant on his own opinion. Now, only Allah can save their faith. Neither is there greatness of religion nor of the elite of religion.
In our elders, Islamic knowledge was not very prevalent. There would be only a couple of scholars, but they had 2 things which are very valuable: One, the love of religion and the other the company of scholars. In these times, it is as if Islamic knowledge has been abandoned. Along with it, the company of the scholars has also been done away with. This is the reason why the faith is being damaged. When there is no love of religion itself, why would anyone go to the scholars! That’s why their faith and religion are being plagued with various diseases, which they don’t even realize. The greatest disease is that the diseased person doesn’t even realize it and the greatest irony, he considers those who are healthy as ill.
Faith is the prerequisite for acceptance of good deeds. If faith is there, then good deeds will be of any avail. Otherwise, they will be rendered waste.
Tabarani has related on the authority of Ummul Momineen Umme Salma (May Allah be well pleased with her) that one day, Harith, the son of Abu Jahl came to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and said: O Prophet of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)! You instruct us to maintain relations with our relatives, to treat our neighbors well, to raise orphans, to give to the poor. My father used to do all this. Will he be delivered? The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: Those people in the grave who haven’t testified that Almighty Allah is the One and Only, for them the grave is a pit out of the pits of hell. Meaning that if faith is not found, then all good deeds are wasted.
Faith is like a walnut. You know that there are 4 things in a walnut. First, the outer covering, then the inner covering, then the fruit and the last is its oil. In this way, faith is also of 4 categories: One is the faith of the perfect ones, which is like the oil which is pure of all defects. The second is the faith of the Gnostics (A’arifeen) which is like the actual fruit. The third is the faith of the scholars which is like the inner covering and the fourth is the faith of the common folk which is like the outer covering and this is the last degree of faith.
Apart from this, there is the faith of the hypocrites also. There is nothing of it in the heart. It is only on the tongue. Although, they will be considered as Muslims and treated as such, but after death this kind of faith will be of no use.
The fact is that firmness of faith was in the earliest Muslims. As an example, 2 incidents are being described here.
A halter would be placed on the neck of Hadhrat Bilal (May Allah be well pleased with him) and the other end would be given in the hands of children. The children would drag him through the lanes of Makkah and would play. The rope would leave a wound on his neck. Sometimes, he would be made to lie down nude on hot sand and a big stone would be placed on his chest. Then they would beat him with sticks. On every blow, he would cry out: Ahad, Ahad (He is the One and Only)
Why these tortures? Only because he was a Muslim. But he would get such a taste of faith that it wouldn’t allow him to feel any torture as torture.
A lady from the Ummah of Hadhrat Moosa (May peace be upon him) was the attendant of the daughter of the Pharaoh. Once, the comb slipped from her hand. Unwittingly, she uttered: Lord! May those who don’t believe in You be destroyed! The princess got a doubt. She asked her: Do you have any other god apart from the pharaoh? She said: Yes! My Lord is the One who is the Lord of pharaoh as well. What is the pharaoh? He alone is the Lord of all heavens and the earth. He has no associate.
On hearing this, the princess stormed off to the pharaoh and told him everything. He summoned the attendant. She came happily. Why wouldn’t she come? Today her love was to be tested. It is the day when the Beloved is evaluating her. After this, there is nothing but Union (with Him). If life goes, then so be it, but one should get (the proximity) of the Beloved.
The pharaoh asked her: What is this? Do you worship any other god apart from me? If it is so, then abandon that god and believe that I am your god. She retorted: This cannot happen until the Day of Judgment. The pharaoh ordered that she should be punished. Hundreds of scorpions were brought and set upon her. The pharaoh said: I will keep you in this torture for 2 months. She said: Let it be for years, but the love of Almighty Allah in me will increase day by day. Even if you punish me for the whole of my life, this slave of Allah will not leave Him.
This pious woman had 2 daughters. One was 4 years old and the other was of 6 months. The pharaoh ordered that the elder daughter should be laid on her bosom and killed. This command was fulfilled. Then he said: Take heed or I will order the slaughter of the second one as well. She said: Slaughter the whole world, but I will never leave my Almighty Allah, my Ultimate Beloved. The order was given that the infant should also be laid on her bosom and slaughtered. Tears welled up in the eyes of the mother. By the order of Allah Most High, that 6-month old girl called out: O mother! Why are you crying? Just see!
It is mentioned in the Hadith that in the night of Meraj, when the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was going, He smelled the fragrance of paradise from hear
A pleasing life depends on 2 things: To affirm the faith and to perform good deeds. For any one who goes against this, their life will be destroyed. For this reason, no matter if the disbelievers are epitomes of all praiseworthy attributes, all of it will be rendered waste. To get the reward of the good deeds, faith is necessary.
Hadhrat Pir Ghulam ‘Ali Shah (May Allah shower His mercy on him) says: Faith is of 3 kinds. The first is the faith of the Muslims on the unseen (Imaan Bil Ghaib). The second is the faith of the faithful, which is called Imaan-e-Shuhoodi (the faith of perception). Even though they aren’t given the Vision in this world, still it is like the Vision only. The third is the faith of the elite which is greater than the stage of perception. These people have reached the pinnacles of Ittisaal (Lit. meaning conjunction, unitedness, etc.) and their faith also seems like the faith on the unseen, because in Ittisaal, there is no chance of Vision (Mushahada). A person holding his hand behind his back is unseen. If he brings it forward, it is vision, but if he attaches the hand to the pupil, it is again unseen.
Thus, unseen is present even in
Hadhrat Khabbaab bin Art (May Allah be well pleased with him) would be punished with fire so as to make him leave Islam. He would be stripped and his body would be branded with heated stones. His hair would be pulled. His neck would be twisted. However, he wouldn’t care for these difficulties for faith and monotheism. Hadhrat ‘Umar (May Allah be well pleased with him) said: O Khabaab! What difficulties did you have to face from the disbelievers? He said: The disbelievers lit a fire and nothing would put it out except the fat from my body.
The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: Faith is to recognize Allah Most High with the heart and testify with the tongue and to act (on it) with the hands, feet, etc. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) also said: Faith (Imaan) in the heart of a believer is a hidden secret and religion (Islam) is apparent.