THE SPIRIT OF FAITH
Limitless and Always Growing
THE essence of faith is the realization or discovery of God (Marifah). When a man consciously seeks out and finds God, and thereby has access to divine realities, that is what constitutes faith.
This discovery is no simple matter. God is the Creator and Owner of all things. He will reward or punish people according to their deeds; none is free from His grip. The discovery of such a God shakes to the core the whole life of man. His thinking is revolutionized, for God becomes the centre of all His emotions.
With God as the principal focus of his attention, man becomes God’s servant in the fullest sense of the word. He becomes a man whose living and dying is all for God.
Such a faith ultimately results in all of man’s behaviour and his dealings taking the hue of God. When the believer speaks, he is conscious of the fact that God is listening to him. When he walks, he does so with modesty so that his gait may not be displeasing to God. When he deals with people, he is always worried lest he deal unjustly and be punished by God in the next life.
The impact of this degree of faith makes the entire life of man Hereafter-oriented. In all matters his eyes are focused on the Hereafter. Instead of immediate gain he makes gain in the next life his goal. Whenever there are two aspects of any matter, one pertaining to this world and the other to the next world, he always prefers the latter.
Faith, another name for the recognition of the Supreme God, becomes for the believer a fountainhead of limitless confidence in his Creator. When this recognition takes root in an individual’s heart and soul, his whole personality becomes regenerated. Knowing that in all circumstances he may depend on God, he becomes a new man.
The Arabic word for belief is iman. It literally means ‘to know’, ‘to believe’, ‘to put one’s trust in something or someone’. Iman means putting one’s trust in, or having complete faith in God, His Prophet and His message.
In this world all things fall into two separate categories: those that grow and those that do not. For example, a stone does not grow. It remains in the same state. On the contrary, a tree keeps on growing. The Quran likens the faith and the faithful to the tree (14: 24). That is, unlike the stone, their faith does not remain static, but goes on increasing, never coming to a standstill.
At various places in the Quran, it is said that faith is something which continues to grow:
‘The true believers are those (…..) whose faith grow stronger as they listen to His revelation’. (8: 2)
‘As for those who follow the right path, God will increase their guidance….’. (47: 17)
‘As they (the believers) listen, their humility increases.’ (17: 109)
‘God will increase the guidance to those that have followed the right path.’ (19: 76)
Say: Lord, increase my knowledge. (20: 114)
Those who have had the wealth of true faith bestowed on them will find their faith increasing in the manner mentioned in the Quran. On the contrary, those who have not been lifted up to the heights of true faith will find that their ‘faith’ is something static and does not grow.
One of the Companions of the Prophet Ibn Rawaha said to another Companion: “Lets come together to increase faith in God for a while”.
These words enraged his Companion and he asked, “Aren’t we believers already?” Ibn Rawaha replied, “Yes, that is true. We are believers. But when we remember God, our faith increases.”
To the one Companion, faith meant the recitation of the monotheistic creed. There is no god but the One God, after which he felt that his faith was complete. But so far as Abdullah ibn Rawaha was concerned, he had discovered God the limitless, God with all His forms of perfection. For the former, the recitation of the creed (kalimah) was all that mattered, but, to the latter, kalimah recitation was only the beginning. The concept of God that came to his mind was a treasure house of limitless perfection. This being so, he felt that his remembrance of God should also be endless. He lived in God Consciousness. In other words, he lives in the remembrance of God continuously. He would never have the feeling that he had come to the outermost limit. The third Caliph, Uthman said, “If your hearts are purified, you will never feel that you have had your fill of the remembrance of God.”
Whether a man feels satisfied or dissatisfied depends on his capacity for satisfaction. A small container is soon filled up with just a small quantity of water. But no amount of water will fill up the ocean bed. An ocean requires an unlimited quantity of water, if it is to be filled right up. The same applies to a man. If, like a small container, his desire for God is limited in extent, it will soon be filled. But, if, like the ocean, his desire for God is limitless, it will never come to an end.
A revolution to take place
requires individuals to come
together and work as a team
who possess great enthusiasm
and high character.
