2.3 Sūrat al-Baqarah: The Meaning of Īmān (الإيمان)
Read in Arabic: https://salamchinese.blogspot.com/2025/05/3.html
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
Peace be upon you, dear brothers and sisters in faith! All praise is due to Allah, the Most High and Most Glorious, and endless blessings be upon our Seal of the Prophets, Muḥammad ﷺ. May Allah be pleased with all of his noble Companions.
Today I would like to share the topic: the meaning of faith — الإيمان (al-Īmān).
Three Explanations from the Companions (Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī)
Regarding الإيمان (al-Īmān), scholars have offered different explanations. We will combine the explanations of the Companions mentioned in Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī to provide a brief introduction.
When Surah al-Baqarah speaks about their faith, Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) explained it as certainty; al-Zuhrī (may Allah be pleased with him) explained it as good deeds; and Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) considered their faith to mean fear. These are three different explanations.
The Six Articles of Faith
Īmān has six foundational beliefs: belief in Allah, belief in the Hereafter, belief in the angels, belief in the scriptures, belief in the messengers, and belief in divine decree (Qadar).
From a linguistic perspective, it expresses pure belief; but from the perspective of Islamic law, it includes sincerity and the content of speech and action. I want to combine the meanings of faith as understood by the three Companions, to understand the meaning of faith that we must recognize as hidden within.
The Foundation: Why Sound Faith Matters
Human beings were created to worship their Lord—the Exalted, the Most Great Allah, the Lord of all worlds. Correct belief is the basic and foundational matter. How should one worship? If a person does not have the most basic correct belief, then there is no foundation. The Exalted, the Most Great Allah granted humanity a blessing by giving us correct belief, so that we may obtain blessings in both worlds. Our Lord created the worlds not only so that His creation may receive benefit, but also so that through creation He brings forth signs, so that we may recognize the attributes, virtues, and beautiful names that belong to Him—thus He is testified to as possessing those realities.
1) Faith as Certainty — اليقين (al-yaqīn)
Certainty as Pure Belief (Ibn ʿAbbās)
First, we take the statement of Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) that faith includes the meaning of certainty. Certainty refers to pure belief. Why does a person need certainty? To reach a state with no doubt or questioning.
Within the six articles of faith are matters of recognizing the Lord and firmly believing in the Lord. For example, believing in Allah, the Exalted, the Most Great, means of course believing that He is real and that He exists. In what manner is He real, and in what manner does He exist? He created creation, and regarding His essence He described Himself: He says that nothing resembles Him. We must not only believe that He exists, but also not associate partners with Him through what exists.
He granted us correct belief so that we believe in this world and the Hereafter. In this world, we can learn and come to know through scriptures: the seven heavens and the similar seven earths, and the creation contained within. In the Hereafter there will be resurrection; humans and jinn will have abodes of Paradise, lofty ranks, and the Fire—these involve changes related to space. He also tells us that between this world and the Hereafter there is the Final Hour, and resurrection; and that everything in the worlds besides Him will perish. After the resurrection, He grants those who enter Paradise the rewarding favor of seeing Him. From this, we must be certain that our Lord’s essence is not confined by space; He created creation, and He is not restricted by space. We must have this certainty.
Belief in the Angels — الملائكة (al-malāʾikah)
He grants us to believe in the angels—this creation are purely His servants. They carry out His commands and will, conveying His commands and will to humankind, and completing what the Lord entrusted to them as a blessing. Different angels guard different gates; there are limits and domains, each with a باب (bāb) and an area under their management. These angels cooperate through division of tasks to complete what the Lord has assigned to them, containing within that the Lord’s command and will.
So when we believe in the angels, we come to know that all things are regulated within defined domains: whether knowledge, actions, or moral qualities, creation is limited and not free. Angels are so pure; from one perspective their abilities are strong, yet they still work by division of labor, and different gates are constrained by their assigned domains. When we believe in the angels, we must know that the Exalted, the Most Great Allah granted this creation various domains, granting them the ability and authority to manage, and conveying this to humankind. Because the Nurturing Lord—the true God of all worlds—is all-knowing, perfect in virtue, all-powerful, and is not restricted by any domain; regarding His essence it cannot even be said that there are domains. When we believe in angels, we must have this certainty.
Belief in the Scriptures — الكتب (al-kutub)
He grants us correct belief, making us believe in His scriptures—whether the earlier scriptures of the People of the Book or the preserved Qur’an. His scripture is eternal and uncreated, because His speech is from Him. He is the Creator of all worlds, so the speech He possesses is certainly uncreated. It is His guidance to humankind; these are eternal and belong to His attribute-characteristics. If His speech is altered due to human desires, it is abandoned; but the Qur’an is preserved. The Qur’an will not be eliminated by time, because its guidance for us is eternal.
Therefore, when we believe in the scriptures, we must firmly believe that our Lord possesses Ever-Living, Self-Sustaining spirit that is transcendent, perfect, and free from deficiency. The spirit that belongs to Him contains mercy toward all worlds, guiding us to pursue goodness in both worlds. When we believe in the scriptures, we must use the scriptures to regulate our actions, to attain remembrance and praise of Him, and to obtain a pure and tranquil soul. In this world, this is goodness; and in the Hereafter there is the reward of Paradise—an eternal reward without end. This also testifies that our Lord Himself is not restricted by time; He is without beginning and without end.
Belief in the Messengers — الرسل (ar-rusul)
He grants us to have correct belief: believing that He sent messengers to guide us to the straight path. Following the path of the messengers is obedience to Him; and obedience to Him means not associating partners with Him. Regarding His Lordship in nurturing, we testify that only He is the One Creator and the Nurturing Lord. Regarding His sovereignty, we testify that He is the Controller; He is the only Master of the Day of Recompense with no partner; and He is the true God worshipped by all worlds, and we do not associate partners with Him in worship.
Only by strictly following the messengers—because certainty includes action—must we, when believing in the messengers, have this certainty: certainty that Allah, the Exalted, the Most Great, is the only Nurturing Lord, the only Master of the Day of Recompense, and the only true God worthy of worship—without comparison and without partners.
Belief in Divine Decree — القدر (al-qadar)
He grants us Īmān, so that we believe in divine decree, because He created this world, created prosperity and adversity, and guided us so that from both prosperity and adversity we can obtain a good ending. For example, when facing calamity, we can be patient and thereby obtain good from it. The Lord granted human beings the drive to pursue survival and fulfillment; they will overcome various difficulties, even making difficulty easier. In order to solve difficulties, they will also find various blessings from the creation of Allah, the Exalted, the Most Great.
When facing the various blessings the Lord gives us, He requires us to correctly increase good deeds, showing the pursuit of goodness and reward. Thus, belief in divine decree itself has these benefits, because He created human beings with desires—whether our material and bodily desires such as appetite and sexual desire, and the spiritual هوى (hawā) that seeks satisfaction in power, reputation, and honor; and even our love carries strong desire. This life also seeks to testify that it has existed—for example, disbelievers want children so that lineage continues. Believers believe in the Hereafter; life seeks fulfillment and resurrection. With such strong desires, humans will, amid disasters and blessings, seek the blessings within the decree created by Allah, the Exalted, the Most Great—most simply put, pushing human civilization to its peak.
Precisely because humanity is constrained by divine decree, it continually strives for goodness and thereby attains development. The Lord of decree Himself is not constrained; the miracles manifested through the messengers He sent—transcending ordinary causality—are clear proof of this. Only He is not constrained by any decree; He is absolutely free, because He is not constrained by desire. Allah, the Exalted, the Most Great, is self-sufficient; unlike any creation, He does not have the limitation of need; He is free. When we believe in decree, we must be certain that our Lord is truly the only absolutely free One: He says “Be,” and it is.
2) Faith as Fear and God-Consciousness — التقوى (at-taqwā)
Now we understand that scholars considered faith to include the meaning of fear, meaning reverent fear and awe. When speaking of fear, we must guard against the Lord’s punishment, keep away from what He has forbidden, and in our real lives carry out the various acts of worship He has required—whether duties toward people, duties toward Allah, or personal cultivation—while being regulated by the many great laws of Sharīʿah. Fear contains these meanings.
Speaking of fear and reaching the station of the God-fearing, the Lord tells us that He is with the God-fearing. If Allah is with the God-fearing, what characteristics does such a person have? Allah’s servant can obtain an experience of the blessing of His speech—for example, receiving revelation, or even Allah speaking to His servant from behind a veil, and angels conveying speech. The humanity of these servants is a state of tranquil soul, possessing a purified spirit.
These servants can perfectly manifest the guidance of Allah, the Exalted, the Most Great—Islam—His true religion, His dīn, and His Sharīʿah —so that it becomes a lived and observable reality, with the human being manifesting it through the state of servitude. Therefore, these servants must have certainty: certainty that the Lord possesses His own uncreated and eternal essential realities—His spirit, His speech, and the great law that belongs to Him; including His commands and will—certainty regarding all of these in a perfect manner. The feature of these God-fearing people is that they have certainty in the six articles of faith, and they issue a testimony—affirming the oneness of the Lord.
3) Faith as Righteous Deeds — العمل الصالح (al-ʿamal aṣ-ṣāliḥ)
Now we read the third matter: scholars explain faith as referring to good deeds. In Qur’anic verses, faith الإيمان (al-Īmān) and righteous deeds are mentioned together. For example, in Surah at-Tīn (The Fig), verse 6:
{إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُون}[التين:6]
6. except those who believe and do good—they will have a never-ending reward (Translation: Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran).
So from the verse, some scholars understand that righteous deeds are a complete explanation of faith. Regarding a person’s good deeds, sometimes a person does good, then later commits a sin, and may even have an unstable state of doing good. From the perspective of Islamic law, scholars state that faith increases and decreases, because a person’s speech and actions themselves protect faith and serve as testimony.
A disbeliever will never believe that prayer as a form of worship is a good deed, because there is no correct belief in his heart. And some people, even if they believe that acts of worship are obligations the Lord has prescribed, they do not pray—this also testifies that their faith is fragile. They have not reached certainty in the reckoning of resurrection in the Hereafter, and that the first deed to be accounted for when crossing the bridge is prayer. Their belief in the Hereafter is weak. These phenomena prove that their faith is not firm and has not reached certainty.
Our Lord, Allah the Exalted, the Most Great, not only gave us faith الإيمان (al-Īmān), so that we believe and reach recognition of the oneness of the Lord and belief in His oneness; He has also given us concrete actions—acts of worship expressed through speech and conduct—and He has enabled humankind, through the religion of Islam, to pursue good reward. Various duties toward people are also good deeds. Within these good deeds, there must be one essential principle: not associating any partners. We perform good deeds seeking only His reward, that He may grant us blessings in both worlds—especially in pursuit of the joy of seeing Him, that is, the vision of the Lord in the Hereafter—and in order to attain the highest state of excellence: worshipping the Lord as if you see Him; and if you do not see Him, He sees you. Any good deed that reaches this state attains certainty.
Those who worship Allah alone are certain in the unseen. For example, Surah al-Baqarah mentions that those who believe in the unseen establish worship, and they spend from what they have been given. These people with the characteristics of worshipping Allah alone are certain about the reckoning in the Hereafter and the reckoning in human dealings; therefore, in human dealings they will not commit injustice. Their five daily prayers will certainly be perfect when reckoned at the bridge. Of course, they also know that it is by the mercy of the Most Merciful that one enters Paradise, and they also know the elevation of Paradise, and that acts of worship can raise one’s rank—so they certainly have this certainty.
Those who worship Allah alone believe in angels; angels are real because they themselves are those who obey commands. These people are those who strictly follow the path of the messengers, elevate the speech of Allah the Exalted, the Most Great, and pursue goodness in both worlds through divine decree. They turn adversity into blessing, and blessing into greater blessing. They are doers of good. Therefore, when scholars explain Īmān as faith, they say they believed because they contained good deeds. Because only servants who reach the attribute of excellence—worshipping the Lord as if you see Him; if you do not see Him, He sees you—such people have abundant good deeds, and of course they are certain in the six articles of faith.
Summary and Closing
Now we summarize: our Lord grants the chosen among humanity to worship Him, and gives us Īmān الإيمان (al-Īmān)—faith. To reach certainty, one must have the characteristic of fearing Him, and must pursue His pleasure through all forms of good.
To obtain Īmān and to possess Īmān not only brings blessings in both worlds, but also testifies that our Lord has no partner in existence, achieving recognition of the oneness of the Lord; testifies that the essential realities He possesses—His spirit, His speech, His command, His will, and so on—have no partner, achieving belief in the oneness of the Lord; and testifies that He is the Lord of ultimate goodness and mercy, enabling us to do good and achieve worshipping the Lord alone. With these three testimonies, we have the certainty of correct belief, and due to certainty we can obtain a good ending in both worlds.
This is my brief explanation of faith الإيمان (al-Īmān). I share this as a slight introduction to this meaning. If there are mistakes in speech or unclear explanation, I ask Allah the Exalted, the Most Great to forgive, and I ask the readers for understanding. Thank you all for sharing.
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
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