Îmân means having belief in the six fundamental principles (Âmantu) of faith, and also accepting by heart all the commandments and prohibitions revealed to Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm) by Allahu ta’âlâ and delivered by him to us, and to state this belief with the tongue.
[That is, I have belief in Allahu ta’âlâ, in His angels, in His books, in His prophets, in the Day of Resurrection and Judgement, and in qadar [that is], that good and (khair) evil (sharr) are from Allahu ta’âlâ. I bear witness that there is no ilâh (being to be worshipped) except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm) is His born slave and His Messenger.]
Îmân itself is without consulting mind, experience or philosophy, to confirm, to believe the facts which Hadrat Muhammad communicated as the Prophet. If one confirms them because they are reasonable, one has confirmed mind, not the Prophet. Or one will have confirmed the Messenger and the mind together, in which case the Prophet has not been trusted completely. When confidence is incomplete, there is not îmân.
Faith in Allah: Having faith in Allahu ta’âlâ means accepting and believing with one’s heart in His existence, His Oneness, His having no partner, His creating everything out of nothing, and there being no creator other than Allah. It means accepting and loving all of the rules of the religion which Allahu ta’âlâ has sent through with the mediation of the Last Prophet Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm) who came as rahmat-al-lil-‘alamîn (grace to all nations).
Faith in His Angels:Angels are nûrânî (luminous, spiritual) creatures. They are neither male or female. It is a condition for us to love their deeds, and to accept, to confirm that they are all sinless and obedient.
Faith in His Books: The faith in the Books has to be as follows: The Zabûr (the original Psalms), the Tawrât (Torah), the Injîl (Latin Evangelium), the Qur’ân al-karîm, and all other books were sent down by Allahu ta’âlâ. All of the Books are just and right; however, with the Last Book, the Our’ân al-karîm, Allahu ta’âlâ abolished the validity of other books. Besides, one must also accept and confirm that the books before Qur’ân al-karîm were defiled by people, and they are no longer The Word of Allahu ta’âlâ.
Faith in His Prophets:One must accept and confirm that all prophets were selected by Allahu ta’âlâ, and they were all devoted, truthful, and did not commit any grave or venial sins. A person who does not certify and who belittles even one of them becomes a kâfir (disbeliever). One must believe, accept and certify that the first prophet is Âdam (‘alaihis-salâm), and the last one is Muhammad (‘alaihis-salâm). One must put faith in this fact that our Master, the Prophet communicated the rules of the religion in the best and precise manner, and one must accept and love all these commandments and prohibitions.
Faith in Qadâ’ and Qadar:Having faith in qadâ’ and qadar necessitate a person to believe that Allahu ta’âlâ has bestowed irâda-i juz’iyya (partial will) upon people, and that people make selections using their partial wills, and that all of their deeds are created by Allahu ta’âlâ in the end. The meaning of khair (good) and sharr (evil) is to know, to accept, to confirm and to esteem highly that all deeds are opted and willed by people, and that Allahu ta’âlâ creates them if He also wills.
Faith in the Last Day:Faith in the Last Day means believing, accepting and esteeming highly that people will resurrect after the annihilation of everything, and that, after Judgement and Mîzân ‘balance,’ The Muslims will be awarded Paradise and the disbelievers will be in Hell eternally.
Believing and loving
Question: It is said that all people who believe in Paradise, in Hell and in the existence of Allah are Mu’mins and they, who believe in this way, will be awarded Paradise. Is it true?
ANSWER : It is plainly wrong! Shaytân, in the same way, believes in Allah, in Paradise and Hell, in the other tenets of belief, in angels, in prophets, in the heavenly books, in the Resurrection after death, and in the Day of Judgement; that is, Shaytân knows them as well. However, it does not suffice only to know and to believe in the six fundemantal principles of belief in the Âmantu. As well as believing in the six fundemantal principles of belief in the Âmantu, it is an additional condition that one must also accept and love all the commandments and prohibitions revealed by Allahu ta’âlâ. One who does not love any of them cannot become a Muslim. Apart from these, there is another issue; namely, hubb-i-fillah and bughd-i-fillah.That is, one must consider Allah’s friends as friends and His enemies as enemies. If one stays away from His friends and loves His enemies, then one is not a Muslim. As it can be seen, even Shaytân believes in Âmantu, and knows it in detail. But Shaytân does not accept and love them, and, what is more, considers the enemies of Allah as the friends and the friends of Allah as the enemies. A person who knows and believes like Shaytân is not a Muslim.
