The basis of any religion is faith. Faith is not merely a conviction of the truth of a given principle. Without faith, a man is like a car without a steering wheel, drifting aimlessly upon a sea of doubt and confusion. Faith in the context of religion is very defining for a person. It places the person in a belief system that develops into a way of life and provides its unique system of logic to explain the phenomena of life around us. Allah says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْكَبِيرُ
“Verily, those who had faith and had done righteous deeds will have gardens beneath which rivers flow. That is a great achievement.” (Surah Al-Buruj 85:11)
Faith in Allah enables humans to be thankful for the blessings they enjoy and to be patient in times of difficulty, for they believe that nothing can happen without His will. Faith in Allah means that when we hear a command, we obey it. We recognize that we are limited and that Allah has no limits. He knows what we do not know. We accept and obey. This is faith and trust. Allah says:
وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِن رِّزْقٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ آيَاتٌ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ
In the changing of night and day and in what Allah sends down from the sky of provision and gives life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and in His directing the winds are signs for people who reason.” (Surah Al-Jathiya 45:5)
The true Muslim believes that the Quran is the word of God revealed to Muhammad through the agency of the Angel Gabriel. The Quran was revealed from God piece by piece on various occasions to answer certain questions, solve certain problems settle certain disputes, and be man’s best guide to the truth of God and eternal happiness. Every letter in the Qur’an is the word of God, and every sound in it is the true echo of God’s voice. The Qur’an is the First and most authentic Source of Islam.
There are six pillars of Faith in Islam:
- Belief in Allah (God)
- Belief in His Angels
- Belief in His Books
- Belief in Divine Destiny
- Belief in His Messengers
- Belief in the Last Day
- Belief in Allah – Allah is the One God, to whom worship is due; that He is the Creator and the Sustainer of everything; that it is He who gives life and causes death, and that He is Unique in His Names and Attributes.
- Belief in His Angels – Angels are pure and spiritually obedient creatures. God created them to fulfil His commands and worship Him tirelessly.
- Belief in His Books – Muslims believe in the revelations sent by Almighty God to His prophets and messengers including the Quran, the Torah, the Gospel, the Scrolls of Abraham and the Psalms of David.
- Beliefs in His Messengers – All of the messengers and prophets of God such as Noah, Moses, Solomon, Jesus, and Muhammad were mortal human beings who were endowed with Divine Revelations and appointed by God to teach humankind how to submit to His will and obey His laws.
- Belief in the Last Day – After the world ends, Muslims believe that all people will be brought back to life to face the Judgment of Almighty God. Muslims believe in an appointed Day of Judgment and heaven and hell.
- Belief in Divine Destiny – Muslims believe in God’s eternally preexistent knowledge and that nothing in existence lies outside of His eternal control. This belief means we accept and are patient with what Allah has decreed for us.
Here are some ways that we can brighten up our Faith starting from today:
- Faith free to no longer slaves to fashion, or consumerism
- Faith emancipates from superstitions and uncertainties
- Faith itself is inherent with inner peace and tranquillity
- Faith allows a person to truly experience God’s love
- Faith trends to a believer to trust and hope in God
- Faith teaches us to live in an Islamic way of life
- Faith teaches that ultimately we will be judged
- Faith will help and go to Heaven Inshaa’Allah
- Faith teaches that God is the most Justice
- Faith is to develop a peaceful society
- Faith considers to rights of others
- Faith in the future of the world
- Faith makes our life better
- Faith is the true way of life
- Faith bend to mutual caring
- Faith is the source of all peace
- Faith teaches us true happiness
- Faith provides equal opportunity
- Faith having complete trust in Allah
- Faith forgive those who do you wrong
- Faith repent frequently for your mistakes
- Faith trends to a believer to sincerely seek
- Faith rules being Muslim is important in life
- Faith is commitment means striving for peace
- Faith has a message that applies to all people
- Faith is giving charity needy and helping others
- Faith encourages a balance of hope in God’s mercy
- Faith teaches us that good and bad luck does not exist
- Faith is following the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad
- Faith opens the Quran and sees what Allah wants to tell you
Faith and taqwa are two things that must be owned by humans to carry out the command of Allah SWT as well as possible. Righteous deeds are an important manifestation of faith, but they are not the reason Allah admits people into Paradise. We can never repay Allah or do enough good to deserve Paradise. Rather, we only enter Paradise because of the mercy of Allah.
لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لِأَخِيهِ أَوْ قَالَ لِجَارِهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ
“None of you has faith until he loves for his brother or his neighbour what he loves for himself.” (Sahih Muslim 45)
Faith is not simply to believe in the existence of Allah. Iblees, or Satan, believes in the existence of Allah, he knows Allah exists, yet he does not have faith in Him. For that, we must continue to sharpen our minds so that we are subject to the right things. The salah connects us with our Creator and, along with obedience to Allah, helps us to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil.
Allah Almighty says in The Holy Quran:
- “Call upon your Lord humbly and in secret.” (Quran 7:55)
- “Remembrance of Allah indeed is the greatest virtue.” ( Quran 29:46)
- “…Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” ( Quran 13:28)
- “Seek forgiveness of your Lord and then turn to Him in repentance.” (Hud : 3)
- “The Messenger only must convey (the message) in a clear way. ” (Quran 29: 18)
- “Indeed, this Qur’an guides to that which is most suitable.” (Quran: Chapter 17, Verse 9)
- “O ye who believe let not your wealth and your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah.” (Quran 63:10)
- “…They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.” (Quran: 66:6)
Faith always leads a man to a life of obedience and submission to the Will of Allah. The person who lives a life of submission is known as a Muslim. So, we find that faith is the starting point that leads man to a life of submission to Allah and that a man cannot become a Muslim without faith. The best Muslims are those who inspire people to practice Islam and attract people towards Islam with their good character and manners.
أَنْ تُؤْمِنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَتُؤْمِنَ بِالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ
“Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in providence both its good and its bad.” (Sahih Muslim 8)
There are many rewards in trusting Allah, paradise. There is sin in distrusting Him. We need to stop relying on our desires our minds our version of logic and realize that Allah is the one who knows while we know not. We can not see everything in every issue as Allah can, so why do we insist on believing that our minds can be trusted before or instead of Allah? Allah says:
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّه فَأُولَئِكَ هُمْ الْكَافِرُونَ
“Whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, then those are the unbelievers.” (Surah Al-Maidah 5:44)
A true Muslim man is characterized by a balance of all of the virtues taught by Islam. Hence it becomes very important for a Muslim to take steps not only to preserve his faith but also to increase it. Anyone can be a Muslim. Many people have accepted Islam with their tongues, but haven’t become believers in their hearts. When a Muslim accepts these six articles of faith, then they have gone beyond just Islam. May Allah help us to practice in our daily lives to strengthen and increase our Iman, Ameen.
