The Pillars of Faith
As we are now aware that the pillars of Islam are its apparent rituals that a Muslim should accept and perform to indicate his acceptance of Islam, we should also know that there are other pillars pertaining to the heart, in which a Muslim should believe in order for his Islam to be sound. They are called “the pillars of faith”. The greater they are in a Muslim’s heart, the higher he goes up the ranks of faith and the worthier he becomes of being one of the believing servants of Allah, a degree higher than that of being a mere Muslim. Every believer is a Muslim, but not every Muslim has reached the degree of believers.
He certainly has the basis of faith, but he may not possess perfect faith.
The pillars of faith are six:
It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and destiny, the pleasant and unpleasant aspects thereof.
First Pillar: belief in Allah, and as a result one’s heart gets filled with love and reverence for Allah Almighty, with humility and submission towards Him, and with obedience to His commands alone, with no partner. Likewise, one’s heart becomes full of fear from Allah and hope for His mercy and reward. Thus, one becomes from the pious servants of Allah who adhere to His straight path.
Second Pillar: belief in the angels; that they are servants of Allah who were created from light, that they are in the heavens and the earth, and are great in number that none can count them except for Allah, and that they are innately disposed to engage in worship, Dhikr, and glorification of Allah. They glorify Him day and night tirelessly.{Who never disobey whatever Allah commands and do whatever they are commanded.}[Surat at- Tahrīm: 6]Each angel has his special task for which Allah Almighty created him. Some of them are entrusted with bearing the Throne, some with taking out souls, and some with bringing down the divine revelation from heaven, which is the task of Gabriel (peace be upon him), the best among them all,
in addition to the keepers of Paradise and Hell. There are other angels who love the believers and frequently supplicate Allah and ask forgiveness for them.
Third Pillar: belief in the books revealed by Allah
A Muslim believes that Allah Almighty revealed books to whomever He wills from His messengers, containing true information and just commands from Him. This includes the belief that Allah revealed the Torah to Moses, the Gospel to Jesus, the Pslams to David, and the Scrolls to Abraham; and that these books no longer exist today in the way they were originally revealed. The Muslim also believes that Allah revealed the Qur’an to the final Prophet, Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him); that its verses were sent down successively over a period of 23 years; and that Allah has preserved it from distortions and alterations:{It is We Who have sent down the Reminder, and it is We Who will preserve it.}[Surat al-Hijr: 9]
Fourth Pillar: Belief in the Messengers
We have already talked about this in detail. Prophets were sent to all nations throughout history, calling people to one religion and one God Who is the only deity worthy of worship, and warning them of disbelief, polytheism, and disobedience to Allah.{There has never been any community except that a warner came to it.}[Surat Fātir: 24]They were humans, just like other people, who were chosen by Allah to convey His message:{We have sent revelation to you [O Prophet] just as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him. We also sent revelation to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and his descendants, and to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and We gave David the Psalms. There are messengers whose stories We have already mentioned to you, and messengers We have not mentioned to you. And Allah spoke to Moses directly. These messengers were sent as bearers of glad tidings and as warners, so that the people may have no excuse before Allah after [the coming of] the messengers. For Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.}[Surat an-Nisā’: 163-165]A Muslim believes in, loves, and supports all prophets, without making any
distinction between them. Whoever disbelieves in one of them or curses or reviles him has indeed disbelieved in all of them.
The best and most meritorious among them and the one with the highest rank in the sight of Allah Almighty is Muhammad, the final Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).
Fifth Pillar: Belief in the Last Day
and that Allah Almighty will resurrect people from their graves and gather all of them on the Day of Judgment so as to hold them accountable for their deeds in worldly life:{The Day when the earth will be changed to another earth and so will the heavens, and all will appear before Allah, the One, the Subjugator.}[Surat Ibrāhim: 48]
{When the sky breaks apart, and when the stars fall, scattered, and when the seas burst forth, and when the graves are overturned, then each soul will come to know what it has done or what it has left undone.}[Surat al-Infitār: 1-5]
{Does man not see that We have created him from a sperm drop, then he becomes a clear adversary, producing arguments against Us while forgetting his own creation. He says, “Who can give life to the bones after they have crumbled to dust? «Say, “The One Who created them in the first place will give life to them, for He has full knowledge of every created being; the One Who made for you fire out of the green tree, with which you kindle your fires. «Is not the One Who created the heavens and earth able to create the like of these [people]? Yes indeed, for He is the Creator of all, the All-Knowing. Whenever He wills something to be, He only says to it, “Be”, and it is.So glory be to the One in Whose Hand is the dominion of everything, and to Him you will all be returned.}[Surat Yasīn: 77-83]
{We will place the scales of justice on the Day of Resurrection, and no soul will be wronged in the least. Even if a deed is the weight of a mustard seed, we will bring it forth. Sufficient are We as Reckoners.}[Surat al- Anbiyā’: 47]{So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.}[Surat az-Zalzalah: 7-8]
The gates of Hellfire will be opened for those who deserve Allah’s wrath and painful punishment, and the gates of Paradise will be opened for the believers who act rightly and do good.{And the angels will receive them [saying], “This is your Day that you were promised”.}[Surat al–Anbiyā’: 103]
{Those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups, until when they reach it, its gates will be opened and its keepers will say to them, “Did there not come to you messengers from among you, reciting the verses of your Lord and warning you of your meeting of this Day?” They will say, “Yes indeed, but the decree of punishment has come to pass against the disbelievers.” It will be said, “Enter the gates of Hell, abiding therein forever.” What a terrible abode for the arrogant! But those who feared their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups, until when they reach it, its gates will be wide open, and its keepers will say to them, “Peace be upon you. You have done well, so enter it, abiding forever. «They will say, “All praise be to Allah Who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us inherit the land to dwell wherever we please in Paradise.” How excellent is the reward of those who do [good]!}[Surat az-Zumar: 71-74]Paradise has such bliss that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and no human mind has ever imagined.{No soul knows what delights are kept hidden for them as a reward for what they used to do. Is one who is a believer like one who is an evildoer? They are not equal. As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, they will have gardens to dwell in, as an accommodation for what they used to do. But those who are rebellious, their abode will be the Fire. Every time they try to escape from it, they will be driven back into it, and it will be said to them, “Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny.”}[Surat as-Sajdah: 17-20]
{The likeness of Paradise promised to the righteous is that of a [garden which has] rivers of fresh water; rivers of milk the taste of which never changes; rivers of wine delicious to drink; and rivers of pure honey. They will have therein all kinds of fruit and forgiveness from their Lord. Can they be like those who will abide in the Fire forever and will be given
boiling water to drink that tears apart their intestines?}[Surat Muhammad: 15]
{Indeed, the righteous will be in gardens and bliss, enjoying what their Lord has given them, and their Lord protected them from the punishment of the Blazing Fire. «Eat and drink pleasantly for what you used to do, reclining on lined up couches”. And We will marry them to houris of wide beautiful eyes.}[Surat at-Tūr: 17-20]
May Allah make us all among the dwellers of Paradise.
Sixth Pillar: Belief in destiny; the pleasant and unpleasant aspects thereof,
and that every movement in the universe is predestined by Allah Almighty.{No calamity befalls the earth or yourselves, but it is already written in a Record before We bring it into existence. That is indeed easy for Allah.}[Surat al-Hadīd: 22]
{Indeed, we have created everything according to a determined measure.}[Surat al-Qamar: 49]{Do you not know that Allah knows all that is in the heaven and on earth? That is all [written] in a Record. This is indeed easy for Allah.}[Surat al-Hajj: 70]Whoever believes in and properly fulfills these six pillars becomes one of the believing servants of Allah. People generally have varying degrees of faith, with some higher than others. The highest degree of faith is Ihsān (excellence), which is to “worship Allah as if you could see Him; if you cannot see Him, He indeed sees you.” [5]Those are the elite among people who will reach the highest ranks in Paradise, in Al-Firdaws.
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