The Muslim is required to have Imaan in Allah 􀀬, His messengers and the whole of the Islamic ‘Aqeedah; ie the belief in Allah 􀀬, His angels, Books, Messengers, in the Last Day and al-qadhaa wal-qadar, that both good and bad are from Allah 􀀬, and believe in whatever has come in the Kitaab and Sunnah in a decisive manner.

Thus, Imaan is fard ‘ayni (a personal obligation) on every Muslim. He is required to believe in it generally and he must have its foundation.

Thus, he is required to believe in the existence of Allah 􀀬, the Creator of everything and that there is none like Him. The One who has the attributes of perfection and from Whom any deficiency is removed, and that whatever is in the universe, and whatever life is established upon, and needed by man is from Allah al-Qadeer. Nothing on the earth or in the sky can escape Him; nothing can go against His Will and Knowledge. He 􀀬 is the only One to be truly worshipped, in Whom alone is the seeking of refuge, to Whom alone is the submission, and with His Pleasure alone comes tranquillity. When the Muslim possesses this foundation then he has obtained the Imaan in Allah 􀀬. He is also required to believe that Muhammad 􀁕 is the Rasool of Allah, who has come with the deen of Islam as a revelation from Allah 􀀬 and not through his genius or intelligence, and that he is infallible in what he conveyed from his Lord.

He should believe in the rest of the Messengers of Allah and His Books in a general manner, in the angels, the Last Day and in al-qadhaa walqadar.

These are the foundations of Imaan, whoever acknowledged them becomes a believer, even if he has missed some of the details - of course this is as long as he does not undertake or believe in anything that violates his Imaan. This Imaan, however increases and decreases, consequently this requires strong adherence and maintaining an upright behaviour.

Thus, the belief in Allah 􀀬 strengthens and becomes more potent in the realm of life, when the believer contemplates more about the universal signs and the revealed verses of Allah 􀀬. So the more a Muslim thinks about the creation of Allah 􀀬 and the precision of its composition and the power of its Creator, His wisdom and knowledge, the more his Imaan strengthens and his sanctification to this Mighty Creator increases.

The more that man contemplates the bounties that Allah 􀀬 has bestowed upon him, and the more he tries to count them and draw his perception to what he was heedless of, the nearer he draws to this Noble Ilaah, praising Him, thanking Him and obeying Him. The more the Muslim thinks about the deficiency in everything other than the Creator and about his need and weakness, the more he hastens towards worshipping, obeying and submitting to this Creator only.

Likewise the belief in the Rasool of Allah 􀁕 increases and decreases.

So the more the Muslim’s knowledge of the Qur’an increases, the more his conviction that this Qur’an is not from anyone other than Allah 􀀬 increases, and hence his conviction that Muhammad 􀁕 is the Messenger of Allah also increases. Similarly, as he contemplates the Sirah of the Rasool of Allah 􀁕, his life, the suffering he underwent in the Path of Allah 􀀬 and his position, the greater his love for the Rasool of Allah 􀁕, and his attachment to the personality of this great Prophet increases.

Consequently his endeavour to obey him and carry the same concern the Rasool of Allah 􀁕 carried thoughout his life also increases.

The same holds for the belief in the Last Day.When the Muslim thinks more about the conditions of the Day of Judgement, which makes children grey headed, every nursing mother forget her nursing, every pregnant one drop her burden, and the people look as if they are drunk from the fear of what is taking place; this unseen scene which Allah 􀀬 has informed him about terrifies him, and as a consequence he wants to avoid the terror of that day and thus seeks the means of safety on that day. The more the believer contemplates the ayaat and ahadith which talk about Jannah and what Allah 􀀬 has prepared for the believers in terms of the lasting comfort and eternal happiness, then the smaller the delight of the dunya becomes in his eyes and his yearning for that sublime Paradise increases. Also, the more the believer ponders over the ayaat and ahadith regarding the Hellfire and what Allah has prepared for the disbelievers and sinners of painful torment and the eternal fire, the greater becomes his fear of this punishment. Hence fear of life’s punishments and pains diminishes in his eyes, so he starts to avoid the reasons which lead one to enter the Hellfire, even if that led him to the prisons of the zaalimeen (oppressors) and exposed his back to be beaten by theis whips. Thus, when the heart ties itself around Imaan, then the organs of his body respond to Allah 􀀬 in aware obedience and strong commitment. The more the Aakhira becomes prominent in the eyes of the believer, the more the dunya seems immaterial to him. When the Imaan becomes stronger, the adherence consequently becomes stronger, and supports the believer to stay firm in his speech and action, whatever the hardships and difficulties he faces.

Imaan (belief) in Allah needs to be accompanied by rejection (kufr) of all other rivals, whatever forms and images they may take, whether they are idols or thoughts. The Qur’an confronted the idol worshippers, and the carriers of these concepts:

“He said: ‘Do you worship that which you (yourselves) carve?’ And Allah has created you and what you make” [TMQ 37:95-96]; He 􀀬 said; “Have you then considered al-Laat and al-’Uzza, and Manaat, the other third?

Is it for you the males and for Him females? That indeed is a division most Unfair!” [TMQ 53:19-22]; and He 􀀬 said; “And they say: ‘There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live and nothing destroys us except ad-Dahr (time).’ And they have no knowledge of it, they only conjecture. And when Our Clear Verses are recited to them, their argument is no other than that they say: ‘Bring back our (dead) fathers, if you are truthful!’ Say (to them): ‘Allah gives you life, then causes you to die, then He will assemble you on the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. But most of mankind know not.’” [TMQ 45:24-26] So the Imaan (belief) in other than Allah 􀀬 is false. It must be discarded and rejected. Just as Imaan requires thought and contemplation, likewise Kufr as well requires thought and contemplation. The previous ayaat motivate the minds of men to think, and ask them to contemplate the reality of the beliefs of the Kuffar so that they gain certainty that these are all false, and so that they can truly reject the Taghut. He 􀀬 said; “Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All- Knower.” [TMQ 2:256]. Just as thought and contemplation is a means to believe in Allah 􀀬, likewise it is also a means to reject Taghut. Both are required from the Muslim so that he can grasp the firm handle and obtain the correct guidance.

This Imaan, required from every Muslim, makes him committed to it.

Whosoever believes in Allah 􀀬 and discards all that is false, will find himself leaning towards this great Ilaah (God), the Creator, al-Qadeer (the All-Able). Thus, he loves Him, fears Him, desires His Mercy, worships T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f I m a a n i n c o n v e y i n g t h e d a ’ w a h u 4 1

Him and follows His orders. This generates in the Muslim the love of what Allah 􀀬 lives, and the hatred of what Allah 􀀬 hates. The Muslim in his life would then turn to Allah 􀀬 to thank Him for what He bestowed upon him, and the grace that He brought upon him. Why would he not do so, having realised that he is weak and incapable, in need of the One who manages his affairs? If it was not for Allah 􀀬, he would not have been guided, he would not have upon the right path, and his affairs would not have been good. Thus, by following the order of Allah 􀀬 he lives a good life, and by turning away from the zikr of Allah 􀀬 he lives a miserable and wretched life, and he loses this world and the Hereafter. Thus, Imaan inevitably drives towards compliance and taqwa. This makes every Muslim turn to the Creator to worship Him and obey Him, abstain from anything which angers Him, and makes him eager to do whatever will please Him. So what pleases Allah 􀀬 and what angers Him? Indeed, what pleases Allah 􀀬 is the obedience to Him, which is through the many ma’roofaat the Legislator determined for the Muslims and ordered them to comply with. What angers Allah 􀀬 is disobedience, which is through the many munkaraat the Legislator also determined, and ordered them to abstain from.