What is Iman?

The word Iman itself is derived from the stem “Amn”, which refers to the state of safety. Thus, only when Iman and faith overflow the heart of a Muslim can they really feel unshakable safety.

The word Iman can be translated into faith, referring to one’s beliefs, in which we have the ultimate trust. Iman is a stone that keeps one’s heart steady and balanced.

What are the six pillars of Iman?

The six pillars of Iman are the foundation of faith for all Muslims, and a Muslim’s faith isn’t true or valid until the believer has deep belief in all six pillars of Iman.

There are six pillars of Faith, and the prophet (PBUH) in a Hadith has said that “Faith means to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and the Divine Decree, both good and bad”.

1- The belief in Allah:

The belief in Allah is the main pillar of the six pillars of Iman, and it constitutes the essence of belief in Islam; as acknowledging and accepting Allah as our God is at the heart of Islam.

The belief in Allah means the belief in Allah’s existence as the creator of everything else, which asserts his Almighty’s existence is beyond the limits of our own existence; time and place.

The belief in Allah requires believing that his existence is indeed different from all his creations. Allah himself explains that in the Quran, in Surah Al-Ekhlas: “Say, O prophet, “he is Allah—one and indivisible; Allah—the sustainer needed by all. He has never had offspring, nor was He born. And there is none comparable to Him”.

Our belief in Allah should also involve the belief in his Almighty’s Godhead, which entails the constant attempts to obey him, and strictly follow his orders.

2- The belief in the existence of angels:

The belief in the existence of angels is the essence of the second pillar of faith in Islam, and without it, one’s Iman isn’t complete.

Angels have different roles in Islamic history; the revelation of the Quran to Muhammed (PBUH) was done by Jibreel; an angel, blowing the trumpet on the day of judgment is carried out by Israfeel, the questioning of human beings in their graves is carried out by Munkar and Nakeer.

We are also told that death is the responsibility of Azrael, Malik is in charge of the gates of Hell, and Ridwan is in charge of the gates of Heaven.

Therefore, to believe in the day of judgment, the revelation of the Quran, the questioning of human beings after death, Hell, and Heaven, one must believe in the existence of angels.

Allah stresses the importance of believing in the existence of angels in Surah An-Nisa: “Indeed, whoever denies Allah, his angels, his books, his messengers, and the last day has clearly gone far astray”.

The belief in angels entails a strong belief in Allah; as angels are invisible creations of Allah’s, and human beings can’t see them, but to have our hearts full of the belief in Allah and Islam, we need to believe in the existence of angels and believe the attributes bestowed upon them by Allah.

3- The belief in the holy books of Allah:

The belief in the holy books of Allah is the third pillar of faith, and the importance of believing in those holy books lies in their nature and significance.

These books are not the words of human beings but are Allah’s words. Whether Suhof of Ibrahim, Zaboor of Dawood, Torah of Mosa, Injeel of Eisa, or Quran of Mohammed (Peace be upon all of them), they all are Allah’s words, revealed to Allah’s messengers, by Allah’s angels.

These holy books contain the message of Allah to us human beings, consisting of all the commands we need to obey, and the warnings of things we need to be aware of.

Therefore, in order to completely believe in Allah, we need to believe in his words as well, and in order to have the faith required to obey Allah’s order, we have to acknowledge the holiness of these books and their purpose.

Allah Almighty stresses the importance of having a strong belief in his holy book; the Quran, in Surah Al-Baqarah: “This is the Book! There is no doubt about it, a guide for those mindful of Allah”.

4- The belief in the messengers of Allah:

Without the belief that the messengers of Allah are indeed the messengers of Allah and not ordinary man, human beings wouldn’t be able to believe in the holy books revealed to them, or accept to follow them and obey their commands.

Allah’s messengers are the bridge between human beings and Allah; they receive the revelation and offer it to others, and they guide human beings through their journey towards knowing Allah, and not believing in them is equivalent to not believing in the whole religion.

For these reasons, the belief in the messengers of Allah has become the fourth pillar of faith in Islam, and one’s Islam isn’t to be considered complete without a complete belief in all Allah’s messengers.

Allah’s prophets and messengers who are worshiped as Gods by others; such as Mosa and Eisa must not be dismissed and looked over when one is cultivating their belief in Allah’s messengers; as they are originally Allah’s messengers.

They also must receive the utmost respect and admiration as all the other messengers. In fact, verbally disrespecting those false deities is forbidden; as it’s disrespectful to the real persons; Allah’s messengers.

5- The belief in the day of Judgment:

The belief in the day of judgment comes fifth on the list of pillars of Iman. 

The belief in the reasonable is normal, but the challenge lies in the strong Iman that is required for things beyond the understanding of our limited human brains. 

The day of judgment is situated at the end of time, and everything we know of it challenges the natural rules of the world, yet our belief in it must be undying.

The day of judgment inspires us to discipline our hearts and minds, and force ourselves to abide by the rules of Islam; as the day of judgment is when all human beings are held accountable for their actions during their lives. 

So, without a strong and unwavering belief in the day of judgment, human beings wouldn’t have an encouraging reason that keeps them from corrupting the world.

6- The belief in the divine decree:

The final and sixth pillar of Iman is the belief in the divine decree, or Qadar, whether good or bad.

This pillar of Iman holds an eternal question; Are human beings’ choices their actual choices, or are they the unchangeable destiny of Allah? They are both.

While major events of our lives like whether or not we will get sick, when and where we are born, when and where we will die, our spouses, and our future children are inevitable fate and destiny, our own actions are of our own choice.

The belief in the divine decree means the belief that our lives aren’t controlled by us, but are controlled by Allah, who has designed our whole lives for us in advance but is yet giving us the chance to sometimes make choices of our own.

This idea that we have no real major control over our lives can be terrifying for some, but for us Muslims, it inspires an unrivaled sense of relief in our hearts: Allah, our creator, is the one in charge of our lives. Then, all Qadar is good and Khair.