The True Believer

And Allah, the Exalted, said,

Today I have perfected for you your religion, and I have perfected for you My favor, and I have made Islam a religion for you.

Sadaqallahu al-Aẓīm. My dear respected brothers and sisters, respected elders, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. It is very important that we understand the difference between deen, iman, and Islam.

And this is not just a theoretical discussion that we learn the meanings of these terminologies, but it has a practical application in our lives. Deen is any way of life that we lead, the life pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, or a life of disobedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Any of the ways of living a life is considered to be a deen.

The Jews have a deen, the Christians and the Jews, and atheism is a way of life. Materialism, worship of material in dunya is also a way of life. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran,

Say, O disbelievers, at the end He mentions, You have your own deen, and we have our own deen. Any way of life is deen. It is a very general term. And from amongst all these deen, plural adhyar, the one deen that is acceptable to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that way of life that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent down the Anbiya a.s., the Prophets of Allah, and they showed the mankind this way of life, this acceptable way of life, is known as the deen of Islam.

So deen is a very general term, and Islam is a specific deen. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, for example, in the Quran,

Amongst all the deens, the only deen that counts in the eyes of Allah is the deen of Islam. Likewise, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,

Whoever adopts any other deen besides the deen of Islam, then that deen will be rejected, will not be accepted in the court of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So Islam is a deen, it is the only deen acceptable to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is the way of life as sent down by the Prophets a.s. throughout the centuries, culminating in Rasulullah s.a.w. as the final Prophet of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And one of the natures of this deen of Islam is that it is complete.

Nothing can be added to it, nothing can be taken away from it.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Today I have completed my deen upon you.

And I have completed my favours upon you, O Rasulullah s.a.w.

And I have chosen Islam as your deen. So nothing can be added to this deen. This is one of the last ayahs from Surah Al-Ma'idah that was revealed upon Rasulullah s.a.w. in the Hajjatul Wada'a, in the final pilgrimage on the day of Arafah. On the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah, it was the day of Friday, and this ayah was revealed.

This is a very monumental ayah. One of the Jewish Rabbis, he came to Umar ibn Khattab r.a and he said that, You have such a beautiful ayah in your Quran, if it was revealed upon us, the Jews, then we would have made it a day of celebration, but you have forgotten about it. You don't even remember when it was revealed.

So Umar ibn Khattab r.a said, Which ayah are you referring to? And he repeated this ayah.

So Umar ibn Khattab r.a said, Why are you saying we do not remember it? Of course we remember it. It was the day of Jum'ah, it was the day of the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah, it was the day of Arafah, in the 10th year of the Hijrah of Rasulallah s.a.w. We very well know the day, we know the date, we know the year when this ayah was revealed, and we have not forgotten it by any means.

And then, this deen, nothing can be added to it, nothing can be taken away. It is complete. Rasulallah s.a.w. said,

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2697)

Whoever innovates and adds something to the deen of Islam, that which does not belong to it will be rejected. Likewise, Rasulallah s.a.w. said,

(Sunan an-Nasa'i, Hadith 1578)

That every new innovation that is made, tried to be made part of the deen which is not part of it, it is a bid'ah, and it is deviation, and it will lead towards the fire of Jahannam. So it does not increase, and it does not decrease. It remains constant.

The Nature of Iman

On the other hand, the third term that we have is Iman. And what is Iman? Iman is the belief in the heart. It is the conviction in the heart, regarding the truth of this message of Islam.

And the nature of Iman is that it is within the heart of the slaves. Allah s.w.t says, the place of Iman, it resides not in the books, not in the speeches, not in the pages of history, but where does Iman reside? In the hearts.

Allah s.w.t mentions the place of Iman where it resides is the heart. And, this level of conviction is different from Islam, in the sense that Islam does not increase and decrease, but Iman most definitely increases and decreases. The Iman of the Anbiya a.s. is continually increasing. The Iman of the angels,

They do not disobey Allah, they do exactly as they are told. That remains constant. But our Iman, it increases based on our environment, and it decreases based on our environment, external factors. If we are in an environment of righteousness, and virtue, and Taqwa, and

invitation towards good and forbidding from evil, and the Dhikr of Allah s.w.t, then our Iman will increase. On the other hand, if we go to an environment where the sins of Allah are taking place, disobedience of Allah is taking place, and all forms of ma'asiyah are taking place, then our hearts will be affected by that environment, and our Iman will decrease. In Sahih Bukhari,

Imam Bukhari r.a. has a whole chapter on this point. The chapter on proving that Iman increases and decreases. And he mentions many ayats to prove this point. And many hadith of Rasulallah s.a.w. One of the ayat he quotes there is that Allah s.a.w. says,

Verily, the true believers are those that when the name of Allah is mentioned, then their hearts begin to tremble out of awe of Allah s.a.w. Their hearts begin to tremble out of awe of Allah s.a.w. And when the ayats of the Quran are recited upon the believers, then their iman increases. And they are those who rely completely upon their Lord Allah s.a.w. They lay their reliance on Allah, they trust in Allah s.a.w. They are those who establish the salah and they spend from that which we have provided them. These are those who are the true believers. They are the only ones who are the true believers in the eyes of Allah s.a.w. So when the Quran is recited, When the ayats of the Quran are recited upon the believers, their iman increases. This is the sifah of the believers.

We have to check ourselves. When the ayats of the Quran are being recited, does that increase our iman or not? And we find that Hanzalah radiallahu anhu In his very famous incident, when he was in the company of Rasulullah s.a.w. He found that his iman was so strong, so strong. He says as if he could see Jannah and Jahannam with his eyes.

And he could see the day of Qiyamah. But then when he went back home, he found himself to be in a different condition. He was not at that same level of higher level of ihsan. And then he was very doubtful about his condition. He was very upset when he found this difference in his condition. And he jumped to the conclusion, perhaps this is hypocrisy.

Perhaps this is nifaq. That I have a different attitude and a different condition in the presence of Rasulullah s.a.w. And then when I'm at home with my wife and kids, then I'm in a different condition. Why is there a change in my condition? So out of an abundance of precaution and doubting his state, he reached this wrong conclusion and he came out into the streets and he started screaming,

That Hanzalah is a munafiq, is a hypocrite, has become a hypocrite. When he came upon Abu Bakr Siddiq r.a, he talked to him and he said, why are you uttering such words? This is the difference between the Sahaba r.a and ourselves. That we are so satisfied with our level of iman, we are so content with whatever condition we are at, that it never crosses our mind to doubt ourselves and to worry whether our actions are worthy of acceptance or not. We feel that we are guaranteed acceptance and everything is fine and well.

Whereas this was a companion of Rasulullah s.a.w. And if there was anyone who could be satisfied, he would be amongst them as they were guaranteed. In the Qur'an, Allah had promised for them gardens underneath which rivers are flowing. Allah had promised that He is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. And He has prepared for them gardens underneath which rivers flow. So they had all of these promises to rely on, to be satisfied with, to be content with. But he was still so doubtful that he reached this conclusion.

And Abu Bakr Siddiq r.a calmed him down and he said, why are you saying this? When he mentioned his fear and he said that this is my condition that I find it different in the presence of Rasulullah s.a.w. and I find my condition different at home. Then he said, well, I do not want to pass any judgment regarding myself the way you did so quickly. But I find the same as well. I find the same could change. Let us go to Rasulullah s.a.w. and ask him and see what he has to say, what is his judgment regarding us. So then they came to Rasulullah s.a.w. and they narrated their condition.

Rasulullah s.a.w. said, that oh Hanzalah, oh Abu Bakr, you are true mu'mins, you have true iman. And this fluctuation of iman is normal. You cannot continue to remain at that same state of the upper level of ihsan as you are in my company. If that would be your condition, then the angels would descend and would be making musafah with you and would be shaking your hands at all times. So do not fear, continue to remain steadfast on your faith.

The Three Elements of Iman

So what is the definition of iman? The definition of iman is that it has three parts. The most important element is the first element, that is tasdeeq al-qalb. Tasdeeq al-qalb means conviction in the heart. At-tazdiqu bi jami'i ma ja'a bihi nabiyu s.a.w. Ijmalan fima 'ulima ijmalan wa tufseelan fima 'ulima tufseelan min ghayri i'maratul taktheeb min haythu annahu Rasulullah s.a.w. That we have the conviction, deep-rooted conviction in the truth of the entirety of the message conveyed to us by Rasulullah s.a.w. Whether in the form of the Quran, whether in the form of the sunnah.

Where he mentioned the details, we believe in all of those details. Where he gave us something in brief, we believe in that in brief. Without adopting any sign of disbelief, min ghayri i'maratul taktheeb. Without adopting any sign of disbelief. A person is not making prostration to an idol and then says, I believe in Allah and Rasulullah s.a.w. That is a sign of disbelief. He is wearing a cross, and then he says that no, I am a believer, a Muslim.

So this is an i'maratul taktheeb. We cannot adopt a sign of taktheeb. And we believe in this message, not because he is a very intelligent person, very wise person, and that is why we think it's best, our best interest to follow Rasulullah s.a.w. because he was a great philosopher, he was a great leader, he was a great general, he was a great genius. But rather we listen to what he said and we believe in his message, min haythu annahu Rasulullah s.a.w. from the perspective that he was a messenger of Allah, speaking on behalf of Allah s.w.t.

There are many people who say, and nowadays when we talk about Islam to non-Muslims, we like to quote these non-Muslims who praised Rasulullah s.a.w. and they said he was a great person. But if they deny his prophethood, then all the praise is of no benefit on the Day of Judgment. All the praise is to say that he was the greatest man, he was the greatest genius, he was the greatest revolutionary leader who brought the downtrodden people and gave them liberty and justice and he established a beautiful state.

These are all sounds nice and great and makes us happy. But if the person does not believe in the Risalah, in the prophethood of Rasulullah s.a.w. that he was a recipient of divine revelation. Allah s.w.t. had selected him from amongst the slaves to receive his divine revelation and convey the message to mankind. Then he has really degraded the position of Rasulullah s.a.w. He has not upgraded him, he has not honored him, he has disgraced him, he has degraded him, he has not believed in that which sets him apart and makes him unique with respect to the rest of humanity and the rest of mankind. So we should never become so impressed with these words and lose sight of the actual maqam and position of Rasulullah s.a.w. He was all of the above of course. Even physically he was the most beautiful human being.

But we believe in him that he was the prophet of Allah, he was the Rasul of Allah s.a.w. So the strength of that belief, that is Iman. And that is the most important element of Iman, is the belief, the tasdeeq. And then as far as Ijraul Ahkam al-Dunyawiyah, worldly injunctions for us to apply and to recognize if the person is a true believer or not. Then there is one shard, one condition. And that is called Iqrar bil-lisan, bil-shahadatayn. One is to testify with the tongue.

So testification with the tongue, this is a condition for worldly injunctions. Meaning if a person in his heart he believes in Allah s.w.t. and he says in his heart he recited the kalima, Ash hadu an la ilaha illallah, wa ash hadu anna Muhammadur Rasulullah. And he believes in all the cardinal aqaid, in the seven articles of faith, amantu billahi, wa malaikatihi, wa kutubihi, wa rasulihi, wa al-yawmi al-akhiri, wa al-qadri khayri, wa al-shari'i min Allah ta'ala, wa al-ba'ti ba'd al-mawt.

So, this is between him and his Creator, baynahu wa bayna Allah. Between him and Allah s.w.t. that person will be a true believer. Because the most important element of Iman has been fulfilled. But with respect to all of mankind and rest of society, how do we know he is a true believer? So if the question comes, is it permissible for a Muslim girl to marry this man? The hukum and the judgment will be, no, it's not permissible. If he slaughters an animal, the hukum would be the animal would be haram. And more greater disaster is if this person dies, then he will not be given a Muslim janaza.

Nor will he be given a ghusl. Nor will he be buried in a Muslim graveyard. No one will pray a salah over him. So whether it comes to nikah, whether it comes to zabiha, whether it comes to any of these injunctions, and most importantly death itself, then he will be treated as a non-believer. He will be treated as a disbeliever, as a kafir. Because he did not testify to his faith and have witnesses to that.

So that is why testification, verbal testification, is a condition for application of worldly injunctions. Between him and Allah, he may be a believer, but you cannot treat that person as a believer because he simply did not inform the rest of the Muslim society. So that is why verbal testification is absolutely important as well. To recite the kalima with the tongue. Ash hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, wa ash hadu anna Muhammad Rasulullah. And the third element of iman is amal bil arkan.

Is that with our body parts, we act in accordance with that iman that is in the heart. Because the reality of iman, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said,

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 35)

The reality of faith is that it resides in the deep recesses of the heart. It penetrates the depth of the heart. But it will be proven through the actions of the body. So the actions of the body will prove that there is iman in the heart. So this is the third element of iman. The amal should be in accordance. The actions of the body should be in accordance with that faith that is in the heart. So that when the person uses his eyes in a manner pleasing to Allah, uses his ears in a manner pleasing to Allah, his tongue, his hands, his feet, he is moving in a direction pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is the third element of iman.

But if there is a deficiency in this, a deficiency in the practice, in the amal, a person ends up missing some of the faraid and obligations. Or a person ends up committing that which is a sin, a kabira. But as far as his heart is concerned, if you ask him, do you believe the salah as far as? He says, yes. Then did you pray your salah? Unfortunately, no. So what is the position of this person? This person is a Muslim or a non-Muslim?

The Aqeedah of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah

So this is our aqeedah of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah that we all believe that a person who believes in Islam and iman, but if there is a deficiency in his actions, we will not expel that person from the fold of Islam. This is very important. Because there was a group that deviated in the past. They were known as the khawarij.

And this group, in one of the aqeedahs that they separated from the vast majority of the ummah of Rasulullah s.a.w., is that they said, al-murtakibu al-kabira, the one who commits a major sin, is mukhalad fil-naar, will enter the fire of Jahannam for eternity. And is expelled from the fold of Islam. And this is an aqeedah that's not just in the history books that the khawarij had.

But they took it the next step further. First of all, they started off by saying the one who commits a major sin is expelled from the fold of Islam. And then when he is expelled from the fold of Islam, that means he becomes a murtad. He's an apostate. And if he becomes an apostate, then the final conclusion is, therefore,

killing that person would be an act of virtue. And they did not believe in the central authority of Islamic government. They believed in vigilante justice as well. That everyone can enact his justice and will be rewarded. So what is the conclusion? Anyone who commits a sin, his blood can be spilled and can be killed by any citizen who is a true Muslim.

So this is a very, very dangerous ideology. And nowadays, we are living in such a time where we have this group called ISIS, the so-called Islamic State. And they are reviving this belief of the khawarij of the past. So that is why they are going into different areas. Whoever does not believe in their khalifa Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, whoever does not follow their understanding of the faith, they believe that spilling their blood and killing them is very much lawful. It's an act of virtue and reward.

So that is why we have to learn our own history. We have to learn about these groups. This group came about in the time of Aliya radiallahu anhu. One of the first groups that came out from the Muslim Ummah. The first deviated sect, the Al-Khawarij. Khawarij comes from the word kharaja, to come out. They came out. They were part of the group of Aliya radiallahu anhu and Muawiyah radiallahu anhu's time. And they were loyal to Aliya radiallahu anhu.

But after Aliya radiallahu anhu made sulah and reconciled with Muawiyah radiallahu anhu and he said that, we will not continue to fight. We will set up a tahkeem. And tahkeem was, we will have arbitrators on our side and your side together. And whatever these arbitrators decide, Amr ibn al-Asr radiallahu anhu, Abu Musa ash-Shari'ah radiallahu anhu, these sahaba, whatever they sit down together and decide, then the entire Ummah will follow that decision. So they said that this is kufr. They're telling, teaching Aliya radiallahu anhu, these new converts, these new Bedouin tribes, who never saw Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, stayed in his tarbiyah.

And they're telling the cousin of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, son of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the first youth who entered the fold of Islam, the third person of this Ummah, after Khadijah and Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu, the third one who accepted Islam is Aliya radiallahu anhu, from the age of nine years, who grew up in the shadow of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. They're telling him that you committed kufr. Why so? Because Allah ta'ala says in the Quran,

All authority lies with Allah alone. So, when Aliya radiallahu anhu sent his other cousin, Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is a cousin, and Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he is Ali ibn Abi Talib ibn Abdul Muttalib radiallahu anhu, and he had another cousin, Abdullah ibn Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib radiallahu anhu. These are all three cousins. They're all grandsons of Abdul Muttalib. He sent his other cousin. He said, you are the ra'isul mufassireen, the leader of the tafsir of the entire Ummah of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

The one Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam made dua. He said, Allahumma faqihu fid deen wa allimhu ta'weel. O Allah, grant him understanding of deen and grant him knowledge of tafsir. Go and debate with them, explain to them. He talked to them, this group of khawarij, and at the end he became despondent. He came back to Ali radiallahu anhu, and he said some very famous words that are often used by the scholars on various occasions to describe how people take statements of the Quran and misuse them. He said,

karimatu haqqin uridabihil batil. They are narrating a statement of truth, the word of Allah, but they have evil intentions with the statement of truth. Karimatu haqqin uridabihil batil. Statement of truth with the evil intention. So they say,

Authority lies with Allah. And now you have given authority to this arbitrary council, so therefore you have committed kufr. Therefore one of the khawarij himself, he had a beautiful name, Muslim name, Abdul Rahman ibn Muljim. He became the assassin and he killed Ali radiallahu anhu when he was going to perform the fajr prayer.

So these khawarij, they killed the khalifa, and they created bloodshed in the ummah, and these khawarij are there today as well. So we have to be very clear that our aqeedah is very unambiguous on this point. That the one who commits a sin is not out of the fold of Islam, nor is that person is someone that can be killed, nor is that person, will be eternally in the fire of jahannam, but that person will be a sinning believer, will be considered a fasiq.

And because the ulema are those who are educating the people this, that is why wherever these ISIS go, the first attack that they do is not yahood, jews, or mushrikun, or killing non-muslims. The first primary people they kill off are the sunni ulema, the ulema of haqq. They have assassinated hundreds of muftis in Iraq, in Syria. They kill off the ulema of haqq, because the ulema are those who are pointing out their faults in their ideology, in their thinking.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from this fitna, and allow us to have the correct aqeedah, and to know the distinction between iman, islam, and deen, and to have a correct understanding of these basic concepts.