Faith Means
Reaching God while
Living in This World
Faith (iman) is another name for realizing God’s presence. It is like a beam of light that illuminates his whole existence, changing one’s entire lifestyle.
The connection of an electric bulb with a powerhouse is no simple matter. It entails connecting a non-lighting element with something with the exceptional power to light things up. The immediate result of such an action is that an ostensibly ‘dead’ bulb becomes ‘alive’. Somewhat similar is man’s relation to God. Just as a dim bulb will pour forth a fountain of light as soon as it is connected with a power source, so will a man become radiant with divine energy as soon as he makes contact with God.
God is the greatest reality of our world. That is why finding God is not a particularly simple matter. However, once a man has done so, it profoundly affects his whole psyche. It is like a volcanic eruption that shakes up his whole existence, an outpouring of lava that engulfs his entire personality. After the discovery of God, no one can remain the same as he was before. In the true sense of the word, a believer in God is one whose life undergoes a complete transformation the moment he finds the Almighty.
The realization of God, called faith (iman) in the shariah, is the most extraordinary experience of a man’s entire life. To believe in God means that this belief has become the basis for his way of living. It is like a beam of light that illuminates his whole existence. It is the hue that colours every facet of his lifestyle.
Faith is another name for having realized the presence of God. It means losing oneself in the greatness of God and becoming immersed in the knowledge of the divine. So, it moves an individual in such a way that his feelings are transformed into a hymn to God, and his lips spontaneously praise the Almighty. Iman or faith indeed is an earthquake produced within a man through the realization of God. It is a flood that courses through man’s being, replenished as it is by the blessings and inspiration of God. If iman means to find God, then finding God means finding everything. Having once found God, what more is left to find?
