Islam means obedience to God. And it is common sense that this obedience cannot be complete unless man knows certain basic facts of life and places firm faith in them. What are those facts? And what are the essentials which a man must know to fashion his life in accordance with the Divine Way? This we propose to in this chapter.
First of all, one should have an unshakable belief in the existence of God; without this, obedience to Him is clearly impossible.
Then, one must know the attributes of God. It is the knowledge of the attributes of God which enables man to cultivate the noblest of human qualities and fashion his life in virtue and godliness. If a man does not that there is one and only One God Who is the Creater, the Ruler and the Sustainer of the Universe and there is none else to share with Him even a shred of Divine power and authority, he may fall prey to false gods, and offer his homage to them in search of favours.
But if he knows the divine attribute of Tawhid(Oneness of God), there is no possibility of this.Similary,if a man knows that the god is Omnipresent and Omniscient and sees, hears and knows everything that we do in public or private-including our unexpressed thoughts!-then how can he afford to be disobedient to god? He will feel that he will that t he is under eternal vigil and will, therefore, behave accordingly. But who is not aware of these attributes of God may be led, because of his ignorance, into disobedience. It is the same with all the other attributes of the god.
The fact is that the qualities and the attributes which a man must possess, if he wants to pursue the way of Islam, can be cultivated and developed only out of profound knowledge of the attributes of God. It is the knowledge of God’s attributes which purifies a man’s mind and soul, his beliefs, morals and actions. And a mere cursory acquaintance with or just an academic knowledge of these attributes is not sufficient-there must be an unflinching conviction firmly rooted in the mind heart of man so that he may remain immune from insidious doubts and perversions.
Moreover, one must know in detail the way of living by following which one can seek the pleasure of God. Unless the man knows the likes and dislikes of God, how can he choose the one and reject the other? If a man has no knowledge of the Divine Law, how can he follow it? Thus knowledge of the Divine Law and the Revealed Code of life is essential.
But here, again, mere knowledge is not enough. Man must have full confidence and conviction that it is the Divine Law and that his salvation lies in following this code alone. For knowledge without this conviction will fail to spur man to the Right Path and he may be lost in the blind alley of disobedience.
Finally, man must also know the consequences both of belief and disobedience and of disbelief and disobedience. He must know what blessings will be showered upon him if he chooses God’s way and leads the life of purity, virtue and obedience. And he must also know what consequences follow if he adopts the way of disobedianceand revolt.Thus, knowledge of life after death is absolutely essential for this purpose. Man must have an unwavering belief in the fact that death does not mean the end of life; that there will be resurrection and he will be brought to the highest court of justice, to be presided over by God himself; that on the Day of jugement complete justice will prevail; and that God deeds will be rewarded and misdeeds punished. Everybody will get his due; there will be no escape. This is bound to happen. A sense of accountability is essential for fully-fledged obedience to the Law of God.
A man who has no knowledge of the world to come may consider obedience quiet immaterial. He may think that the obedient and the disobedient will both meet a similar end: after death, both will be reduced to mere dust. With this attitude of mind, how can be expected to submit to all the inconveniences and troubles that are inextricably associate with the life of active obedience committing those sins which do not apparently bring him any moral or material loss in this world? With this mental attitude a man cannot acknowledge and submit to the God’s Law.
Nor can a man who lacks firm beliefs in the hereafter and in the Divine Court of judgment remains steadfast in the turbulent waters of life with its temptation to sin, crime and evil, for doubt and hesitancy rob a man of his will to action. You can remain consistence in your behavior only if you are firm in your beliefs. You can whole-heartedly follow a course only if you are sure of the benefits that will accrue to you by following it and of the losses that will engulf you if you disobey it. Thus, a profound knowledge of the consequences of belief and disbelief and of the life after death is crucial.
These are the essential facts which one must know if one wants to live the life of obedience, that is, Islam.
Faith-What does it Mean?
Faith is what we have described in the foregoing discussion as “Knowledge and Belief”. The Arabic word Iman, which we have rendered in English as faith, literally means “to know”, “to believe” and “to be convinced beyond the least shadow of doubt”.Faith, thus, is firm belief arising out of knowledge and conviction. And the man who knows and reposes unshakable belief in the Oneness God, in his Attributes, in His Law and the Revealed Guidance, and I the Divine Code of Reward and Punishment is called Mu’min(faithful).This faith invariably leads man to a life of obedience and submission to the Will of God. And one who lives this life of submission is known as Muslim.
It is therefore clear that without faith (Iman) no man can be a true Muslims. It is the indispensable essential; rather, the very starting point, without which no beginning can be made. The relation of Islam to Iman is the same as of a tree to its seed. As a tree cannot sprout forth without its seed, in the same way it is not possible for a man who has no belief to start with, to become a ‘Muslim’. On the other hand, as it can happen that, in spite of sowing the seed, the tree may, for many resons, not grow, or if it does grow, its development may be impaired or retarted, in the same way, a man may have faith, but because of number of weaknesses, he may not become a true and staunch Musli
From the view point of Islam and Iman, men may be classified into four categories:
1. Those who have firm faith-a faith that makes them whole-heartedly submit to God. They follow the way of God and devote themselves heart and soul to seeking his pleasure by doing all that He likes and by avoiding all that He dislikes. In there devotion they are even more fervent than is the common man in pursuit of wealth and glory. Such men are true Muslims.
2. Those who do have faith, who believe in God, His Law and the day of judgement,but whose faith is not deep and strong enough to make them totally submit to God. They are far below the rank of true Muslims, deserve punishment for their defaults and misdeeds, but are still Muslims. They are wrongdoers but not rebels. They acknowledged the Sovereign and His Law and, although they are violating the Law, they have not revolted against the Sovereign. They admit His supremacy and their own guilt. Thus they are guilty and deserve punishment, but Muslims do they remain.
3. Those who do not possess faith at all. These people refuse to acknowledge the sovereignty of God and are rebels. Even if their conduct is not bad and even if they are not spreading corruption and violence, they remain rebels man their apparent good deeds are of little value. Such men are like outlaws. Sometimes outlaws may act in accordance with the laws of the land, but this does not make them loyal and obedient citizens; in the same way the apparent good deeds of these who revolt against God cannot compensate for the gravity of the real wrongs, revolt and disobedience.
4. Those neither possess faith nor do good deeds. They spread disorder in the world and perpetrate all kinds of violence and oppression. They are the worst of the people,fot they are both rebels and wrongdoers and criminals. The above classification of mankind shows that the real success and salvation of man depends on faith (Iman).The life of obedience (Islam) takes its birth from the seeds of Iman.This Islam of a person may be flawless or defective. But without Iman there can be no Islam. There is Kufr.Its form and nature may vary, but it remains Kufr and nothing but Kufr.
