Faith
(Iman)
First, consider Iman (faith). It is the decision to take part in that great trial whose beginning is a verbal declaration and whose ultimate end is that a person remains steadfast upon it even to the point of dedicating his life. It is a covenant that a servant makes with his Lord, pledging that he will remain loyal to Him throughout his life. Faith is the state that arises from a correct and sincere awareness of reality. When a person, through reflection and deep thought, comes to realize that there is an infinite power behind this astonishing universe; when he accepts the Messenger of God and willingly submits to all his decisions, when his heart cries out that this magnificent plan of creation is not without purpose but that a day will surely come when all human beings of the past and the future will be gathered and called to account, then the sum of these inner states is what we call faith.
The true spirit of faith is trust. This trust relates to a Being whom we cannot see with our eyes, and this is why the idea of certainty comes into it. In the same way, believing in God along with all His attributes necessarily means fearing His displeasure and being concerned about saving oneself from His punishment; this is why piety and fear must accompany faith. Thus, if we bring together three words to explain the Quranic concept of faith—certainty, trust, and fear—we come very close to its true essence. In its true essence, iman is total trust in God and His Messenger, arising from complete conviction. And fear of God is that inner awareness which compels a person to make obedience to Him binding upon himself, even without any external force such as police or military authority.
Certainty, which is the first component of faith, is not something imported from outside; rather, it is a living awareness of a truth hidden within human nature itself. When a person reflects on the universe, observes the teachings of the Messenger, and listens attentively to the voice rising from within, all three appear as one and the same. It feels as though a single message is being broadcast at the same moment from three different places. The truth conveyed by God’s Messenger seems perfectly in harmony with the entire universe, and the inner voice of a human being fully confirms it. Whatever he reads in the Divine Book, he sees the same reflection in the earth and the sky, and whatever he reads and sees is accepted by his nature as smoothly as an object placed into a compartment made exactly to its size. However, this state of conviction does not arise on its own. Just as every potential within human nature becomes active only when it is nurtured and developed, in the same way, the secrets of the universe are revealed to a believer only when he fully devotes himself to their discovery. Likewise, the contents of a book become clear and beneficial only when a person studies it deeply and draws out its meaning. In the same way, this certainty is attained only when a person applies his willpower toward it. Although it is the clearest reality of the universe, God’s law for this world is that a person receives only that for which he has made an effort.
Faith’s second component is “trust”. The study of one’s own self and of the universe tells a person, on the one hand, that there is a great Creator and Manager who is the real cause behind all the events of this vast system. At the same time, and exactly at that moment, it gives rise to two other powerful realizations. One is the realization of one’s complete helplessness, and the other is the realization of God’s boundless favours. A person sees that his existence depends on countless things, yet he cannot create even one of them by himself. He is born as a weak child and comes to an end with the frailties of old age. He stands on a planet that is suspended in space, where even a slight disturbance in its balance would be enough to destroy him. He finds himself surrounded by a vast universe over which he has no control. In such conditions, his own existence begins to appear utterly powerless and insignificant to him. On the other hand, he sees that everything he needed has been provided for him. He has been given a body that sees, hears, speaks, and thinks, and its faculties function continuously, like a self-operating system, to sustain him. He observes that all the forces of the earth and the heavens are working in perfect harmony for his benefit. His very existence begins to appear to him as a living blessing of God. A deep sense of gratitude wells up within him, and he becomes filled with a deep sense of thankfulness. This experience compels him to declare that Being as his everything who has made all these arrangements for him. The first realization gives him firm conviction of his total helplessness. He feels strongly that there must be a higher power to support him, and the second realization appears as an answer to this need. The same reflection that makes him feel an inner emptiness also turns into a power that fills that emptiness.
The third element of faith is “fear”. This fear is not something separate from the first two elements of faith, certainty and trust; rather, it is their natural result and their completion. On the one hand, a person sees God, who is a treasure of justice and wisdom. On the other hand, when he looks at the universe, his heart cries out that such a vast creative plan can never be without purpose. Then, when he looks at human beings living on the earth, among whom there are oppressors and the oppressed, the good and the bad, he becomes certain that a Day of Accountability must come, where the truthful will be rewarded for their truthfulness and the evil for their evil. Trust in the Lord of the Worlds itself becomes the foundation of fear of the Lord of the Worlds. This fear of God is not like the fear that arises in a person’s heart after seeing something frightening. In reality, it is a feeling that cannot be properly expressed by any single word. It is a mixed state of extreme hope and extreme apprehension, in which a person can never decide which of the two should take precedence. It is the highest sense of considering oneself as nothing despite having done everything, a state in which a person remembers only his responsibilities and completely forgets his rights. It is a station of love and fear in which a person runs toward the very One he fears, from whom he senses the danger of loss and from whom he also hopes to gain. It is an anxiety that is entirely peace, and a peace that is entirely anxiety.
These are the three prominent aspects of faith. Faith, in reality, is the name of the state that arises from fear of God, complete trust in Him, and full certainty about Him. The person who believes in God Most High, in His principles and His commands, hands over everything to Him, and becomes content with all His decisions, is a believer. Faith is guidance and light for the intellect, and purity and cleanliness for the heart. Therefore, it influences both intellect and will together and dominates all thoughts and actions. In the language of the Quran, a believer is the person who is a sincere and loyal servant of God and enters a covenant of obedience to His commands with all the states of certainty and trust.
