The Pillars of Iman are six: They are the ones mentioned in the hadith of Jibril when he asked the Prophet about Iman.
So he said: ‚[It is] to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in the good and bad of qadar.
Table of Contents
The strong connection of Iman
The connection of Iman is the greatest kind of connection of all.
Due to the strength of its connection, it has connected the Creator with the creation, the heavens with the earth, the Ummah with its great Messenger, the descendants of Adam on earth with each other, the descendants of Adam with the angels, the descendants of Adam with the jinn, and finally, this worldly life with the hereafter.
Because of this connection, Allah created the heavens, the earth, and all that is therein; as well as Paradise and Hellfire. Also, because of it, Allah has been the ally of the believers.
And finally, because of it Allah sent the messengers, revealed the books, and legislated fighting jihad for His sake.
Now is the time to explain the six pillars of Iman in detail.
1. Iman in Allah is the Main one in Pillars of Iman
Iman in Allah consists of four matters:
The first: Iman in the existence of Allah
Allah created all of mankind to have Iman in their Creator, as He says:
So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the disposition of
Allah upon which He has created all people. No change should there be in the creation of
Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.
Human intellect has proven that this universe has a Creator, for indeed all of creation, from its beginning and afterward, must have a Creator that brought it into existence.
A part of creation cannot bring itself into existence by itself, nor can it be created by chance.
This leads one to realize that there is a Creator, and He is Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
One’s senses also prove the existence of Allah, for we witness the alternating of the day and night, provision for every human and animal, and the management of the affairs of all creation; all of which prove His existence by clear-cut evidences.
The second: Iman that Allah alone is the Lord, without any partners.
The Lord who deserved to be worshipped is the King within Whose Hand is the sovereignty. All affairs and creation belong to Him.
So there is no Creator or Sovereign except Allah, and indeed all affairs belong to Him alone, the creation is His creation, the sovereignty is His sovereignty and the command is His command.
He is the All-Mighty and the Most Merciful, the Self-Sufficient and the Praiseworthy, the All-Knowing and the All-Powerful.
He showers His mercy upon those who seek His mercy, forgives those who seek His forgiveness, gives when asked, answers when called upon, and does whatever He wills.
He is the Ever-Living and the Sustainer who is never overtaken by drowsiness or sleep.
To Him alone belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, to Him belongs everything in the heavens and the earth.
To Him belong the treasures of the heavens and the earth, to Him belong the unseen matters of the heavens and the earth and to Him belong the troops of the heavens and the earth.
Allah says:
‚To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is within them. And He is over all things competent.‛
[Surah al-Ma’idah (5):120]
Slide Share of The pillars of iman
The third: Iman in His servitude.
We know and have full conviction that Allah alone is the true deity Who has no partners and that He alone is the One who deserves to be worshipped. So He is the Lord of the worlds, and we worship Him with what He has legislated with complete humbleness, love and reverence for Him.
Just as we have humbled to His Lordship in creation and maintenance, we must humble to His servitude in commandment and legislation.
We also know and have full conviction that just as He is One in His Lordship without any partner, He is also One in His servitude without any partner.
So we worship Him alone without any partner, and stay away from worship of everything besides Him:
‚And your god is one God. There is no deity worthy of worship except Him, the Entirely
Merciful, the Especially Merciful.‛
[Surah al-Baqarah (2):163]
So Allah is the true deity, and the servitude of anything worshipped other than Him is false, as well as their worship.
The Fourth: Iman in His Names and Attributes.
This means understanding, memorizing, and acknowledging them, using them as a means of worshipping Allah and acting in accordance to them.
Thus, knowledge of Allah’s Attributes pertaining to His grandeur, glory, and majesty, fill the hearts of the slaves with reverence and awe for Him.
Knowledge of the Attributes pertaining to honor, strength, ability, and omnipotence, fills the hearts with humbleness and submissiveness to Him.
Knowledge of the Attributes pertaining to mercy, beneficence, kindness, and generosity, fill the hearts with love of Allah, as well as desire and craving for Allah’s bounties, kindness, and generosity.
Knowledge of the Attributes pertaining to knowledge and encompassment necessitate for the slave to be aware of Allah’s constant observance of him in all his movements and situations.
Finally, knowledge of all these attributes necessitates for the slave to have reverence, love, desire, delight, reliance and nearness to Him by worship of Him alone without any partner.
We also affirm for Allah what He has affirmed for Himself or what His Messenger has affirmed for Him in regards to His most beautiful Names and lofty
Attributes. Likewise, we negate from Him what He has negated from Himself or what His Messenger negated from Him.
We also believe in Allah’s Names and Attributes, and that which they indicate of meanings and effects. So, for example, we believe that Allah is the Most Merciful. This means that He is the possessor of mercy.
From the effects of this name is that He has mercy upon whom He wills. And the same can be said with the rest of His Names and Attributes.
We affirm all of that for Him in a manner that is befitting to His Majesty, without changing their meaning, without negating them, without specifying the exact nature of them and without resembling them to the creation, based on what He says:
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.
2. Iman In The Angels
Iman in the angels is to have the unequivocal belief that to Allah belong angels that are in existence. it’s the 2nd Pillar of Iman.
We believe in whomever Allah has named from among them, such as Jibril.
whoever’s name we do not know, we believe in them generally and believe in whatever we know of their characteristics and actions. As far as rank is concerned: They are noble slaves who worship Allah.
They do not have any of the traits of lordship or divinity. They are a part of the world of the unseen and Allah has created them from light.
Aishaa narrated:
The Messenger of Allah said, The angels were created from light, the jinn were created from a smokeless flame of fire .
As far as actions are concerned: They worship Allah, glorify Him and do whatever they are commanded to do.
As far as obedience is concerned: Allah has bestowed upon them complete submission to His command and strength in executing it. They have the innate nature of obedience.
The number of angels is a number that cannot be enumerated except by Allah. Amongst them are the bearers of the Throne, the keepers of Paradise, the keepers of Hellfire, the guardians, the recorders, and others.
Among them, seventy thousand angels pray daily in al-Bayt al-Maʿmur (the Frequented House); when they leave, they never to return to it ever again.
3- Iman In The Books
Iman in the books is: To have an unequivocal belief that Allah revealed books to His prophets and messengers as a means of guidance for His slaves. They are from His actual Speech and whatever they contain is truth with no doubt in it whatsoever.
Among them are those that Allah named in the Qur’a>n, and there are others that none know of their names or number except Allah.
The number of divine books mentioned in the Qur’an:
Allah has explained in the Qur’an that He revealed the following books:
- The Suhuf (Scriptures) of Ibrahim
- The Tawrah (Torah), which was the book that Allah revealed to Musa.
- The Zabur (Psalms), which was the book that Allah revealed to Dawud.
- The Injil {(Gospel), which was the book that Allah revealed to ʿIsa.
- The Quran, which was the book that Allah revealed to Muhammad for all of mankind.
The ruling concerning having Iman in and acting according to the aforementioned books:
We believe that Allah revealed these books and believe in whatever is authentic of their contents just like the contents of the Quran, as well as whatever contents that have not been changed or distorted from the aforementioned books.
Additionally, we act according to the rulings of whatever has not been abrogated from them with satisfaction and submission. And whatever we do not know of the names of the aforementioned books, we believe in them generally.
4. Iman In The Messengers
Iman in the messengers is To have an unequivocal belief that Allah sent to every nation a messenger, calling them to worship Allah alone and avoid what is worshiped besides Him; to believe that they have all been sent as messengers and are truthful, and that they conveyed fully what Allah sent them with.
Amongst them are those who Allah has taught us their names and amongst them are those who Allah has concealed in His knowledge.
The ruling concerning having Iman in the prophets and messengers:
It is obligatory to have Iman in all the prophets and messengers; whoever disbelieves in even one of them, he has disbelieved in all of them.
It is also obligatory to affirm everything that has been authentically narrated of information regarding them, and to follow them in the truthfulness of their Iman, completeness of their Tawheed, and the exemplary nature of their manners.
We are also obliged to follow the Shariʿah of the one who was sent to us, who is their seal and best among them, and who was sent to all of mankind and the entire world Muhammad.
What is the Difference between Prophet and Messenger:
A messenger is to whom Allah revealed specific legislation and commanded him to convey it to those who did not know of it, or those who knew of it but opposed it.
A prophet is to whom Allah revealed previous legislation, to inform those around him who are members of that legislation and renew its teachings.
Thus, every messenger is a prophet, but not vice-versa. Furthermore, if the terms messenger and prophet are mentioned together, each has its own meaning; but if they are mentioned separately, one term comprises the meaning of the other.
5. Iman In The Last Day
The Last Day is The Day of Judgment in which Allah will resurrect all of creation to be held to account and recompense.
It was named as such because there is no day after it. The inhabitants of Paradise will reside in it forever, and likewise, the inhabitants of Hellfire will reside in it forever.
The most well-known names of the Last Day:
The Day of Judgment, The Day of Resurrection, The Day of Sorting Out, The Day of Emergence, The Day of Recompense, The Day of Eternity, The Day of Reckoning, The Day of Warning, The Day of Gathering, The Day of Loss and Gain, The Day of Regrets, The Deafening Noise, The Great Catastrophe, The Overwhelming, The Inevitable, The Reality, The Calamity and others that Allah has mentioned in the Qur’an.
Its many names indicate the grandeur of the named and its severe horror.
Iman in the Last Day:
It is the unequivocal belief of everything that Allah and His Messenger have informed us of regarding what will happen on that tremendous day of: resurrection, gathering, accountability, the bridge, the scales, Paradise, Hell, etc.
What happens before death is also included, as well as the signs of the Last Hour. In addition to that is what happens after death of the trial of the grave to the punishment and blessings of the grave.
6. Iman In Qadar
Qadar (predestination) is Allah’s knowledge of everything in its appointed measure and written in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz).
Furthermore, qadar is Allah’s secret in creation, and no close angel nor sent messenger has access to it.
It is the unequivocal belief that everything that occurs of good or bad is from Allah’s predestination and divine decree. This is as He () says:
‚Indeed, all things We created with qadar (predestination). And Our command is but one, like a glance of the eye.‛
[Surah al-Qamar (54):49-50]
The pillars of qadar:
Iman in qadar comprises of four matters:
1) Iman that Allah is the All-Knowing of all things, whether they are general or specific.
2) Iman that Allah has written all things that will come to pass in the Preserved Tablet pertaining to creation, the worlds, conditions, provision and lifespans.
He has written its quantity, nature, time and place. Nothing will change or be replaced, nor increase or decrease except by His decree.
3) Iman that whatever takes place is from the will of Allah. Whatever Allah wills shall happen, and whatever He does not will shall never be.
This pertains to His actions, such as creation and organization, life and death, etc. or the actions of creation, such as intentions, speech, actions and conditions.
4) Iman that Allah is the Creator of everything. He created all that exists in their very nature, attributes and movements. There is no creator or lord other than Him.
Now you understand that Pillars of Iman are completely different from Pillars of Islam which we discussed before in another article
so to summarize, What are the 6 pillars of iman that Muslims have to know and Learn?
- Iman in Allah
- Iman in the Angels
- Iman in books
- Iman in the Messengers
- Iman in the last day
- Iman in Qadar
Source is Summarized Islamic Fiqh For Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Toijery
