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Islam and Iman (faith)

‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and one day a man came up to us whose clothes were extremely white, whose hair was extremely black, upon whom traces of travelling could not be seen, and whom none of us knew, until he sat down close to the Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), so that he rested his knees upon his knees and placed his two hands upon his thighs and said, ‘Muhammad, tell me about Islam’.  The Messenger of Allah, (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said:

‘Islam is that you witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and you establish the prayer, and you give the Zakat, and you fast Ramadan, and you perform the hajj of the House if you are able to take a way to it.’

He said, ‘You have told the truth,’ and we were amazed at him asking him and [then] telling him that he told the truth.  He said, ‘Tell me about iman (faith). ‘ He said,

‘That you affirm Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, and that you affirm the Decree, the good of it and the bad of it.’

He said, ‘You have told the truth’.   He said, ‘Tell me about ihsan’ (perfection in worship).  He said,

‘That you worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you don’t see Him then truly He sees you.’

He said, ‘Tell me about the Hour.’  He said, ‘The one asked about it knows no more than the one asking’.   He said, ‘Then tell me about its signs’.  He said, ‘That the female slave should give birth to her mistress, and you see poor, naked, barefoot shepherds of sheep and goats competing in making tall buildings’.  He went away, and I remained some time.  Then the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, ‘Umar, do you know who the questioner was?’  I said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best’.   He said, ‘He was Jibril who came to you to teach you your deen’.”   Narrated by Muslim.

The Qur’an

The Qur’an literally means “a reading or reciting” however the term “Qur’an” has been historically used to refer to the book that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).

Verily, this Qur’an guides (humanity) to that which is most just.” [Qur’an 17:9]

The Sunnah

The Sunnah is the way of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and the Hadith are the transmitted narrations concerning his speech, actions, appearance and approvals.  Hundreds of thousands of these narrations have been carefully preserved through an authentic chain of transmission.  The Hadith form the text of the Sunnah and are an important source of jurisprudence second to the Qur’an.

Knowledge

Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim (male and female)”
And say: ‘My Lord increase me in knowledge’ ” [Qur’an 20:114]

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