“O, Believers! Believe” ?!

“O, Believers! Believe in Allah, His Messenger, the Book He has revealed to His Messenger, and the Scriptures He revealed before” (4:136). This call to have faith after one has already believed is essentially a call to correct, solidify, and deepen one’s faith. It is a call setting one on a continual self-examination of Iman, to preserve and firmly anchor its roots in one’s heart, so that Iman does not become vulnerable to being overtaken by impure elements, leading to the corruption of the heart. Without this effort, Iman would remain shallow, superficial, and easily uprooted when confronted with the storms of desires, whims, or fear. “And the example of a bad word is like a bad tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, not having any stability.” (14:26).

The instability of Iman arises from negligence in exerting effort and sincerity in strengthening its foundation. Such shallow faith, often observed in many people, is merely faith adhered to by imitation, shaped by habits and confined to a set of rituals devoid of spirit and heart. This type of Iman brings no true benefit to its bearer; rather, it is often accompanied by confusion in belief, a constricted chest, anxiety, worries, muddled thinking, and successive harm.

This is the state, indeed, of one who has allowed the heart to become susceptible to corruption due to neglect in securing the roots of faith firmly within. On the other hand, those who strive to establish Iman deeply in their hearts are likened to a “good tree, firmly rooted, whose branches reach the sky, yielding fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord” (14:24-25). The comparison here illustrates the joy of the senses, the delight of the soul, and the constant accrual of benefits — manifested in the steadfastness of the roots, the beauty of the tree’s form, the growth of its branches, and the abundance of its fruit, bringing pleasure in both sight and taste.

Similarly, the impact of the word of Tawheed on the soul is one of joy, happiness, continuous benefit, and lasting pleasure: steadfast faith, stability, contentment, certainty, and divine satisfaction reflected in the servant’s love for his/her Lord — a mere drop from the abundant generosity of the Most Gracious upon His servant.

So how can one firmly establish the roots of faith in the heart?

The first realization a servant must have is that the turmoil of the soul, its disturbances, and the worries which it is succumbing to, stem from the lack of deeply rooted Iman in the heart. Escaping this predicament requires the deepening and fortification of these roots to yield beneficial outcomes.

The sign of well-established roots is tranquility, which arises from contentment, whose hallmark is embodied in the Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) supplication, saying: “My forelock is in Your hand, Your decree upon me is executed, and Your judgment upon me is just.” Such Duaa reflects one’s complete state of surrendering to Allah (swt).

The path to contentment lies in knowing ِAllah (swt), the Lord of the worlds, to the extent of attaining the rank of trusting Him. This cannot be achieved until the servant is deeply certain in both heart and spirit that Allah creates what He wills and chooses; no one shares in His decisions. He is Glorified, Sovereign, and does as He pleases. He is the One Who chose faith for you, and had He willed, you would not have believed. He honored your intellect, guiding you to recognize Him as you God. If He had willed, He could have left you ignorant of His Book, denied you His words, or not guided you to the straight path. If He had willed, He could have turned your perception away, compelling you to seek other than Him. Had He willed, He could have veiled your insight, leaving you devoid of awareness, wandering in corruption while imagining yourself among the righteous! “When they are told, 'Do not spread corruption in the land,' they reply, 'We are only peace-makers!' indeed, it is they who are the corruptors, but they fail to perceive it. And when they are told, 'Believe as others believe,' they reply, 'Will we believe as the fools believe?' Indeed, it is they who are fools, but they do not know” (2: 11-13).

Whoever reflects on this will realize that we are living amidst the overflowing mercy of Allah, surrounded by His immense bounty. This recognition, when firmly rooted in the heart, brings forth humility, submission, and surrender to Allah (swt). From this state of submission should arise a practical action, exemplified in complete trust in Allah, like the trust shown by the mother of Moses when she was inspired to place her infant in the river. “And We inspired to the mother of Moses, 'Suckle him; but when you fear for him, cast him into the river and do not fear and do not grieve. Indeed, We will return him to you and will make him [one] of the messengers'” (28:7).

It is this trust and confidence in Allah (swt) that strengthens the roots of faith in the heart, rendering the soul serene and eligible to enter among the righteous servants. The driving force that compels the servant to strive for this level of faith is their earnest desire to prove to their Lord that they are true believers. In fact, one of the main roles of trials along the journey of life of humans is to distinguish the true believers from the pretenders! “So what you suffered on the day the two armies met was by Allah’s Will, so that He might distinguish the ˹true˺ believers” (3:166). However, the true, sincere believers go the extra mile to prove with the best of their ability the soundness and the truthfulness of their Iman to their Lord. Reflect on the case of Nur ad-Din Zinged (d. 1174), Sultan of the Muslims. He used to collect the dust that had gathered on his clothes, helmet, and horse during his battles. That dust was shaped into a brick which he has ordained to be placed at his head in his grave. This brick, formed from the dust of his struggles in the cause of Allah (swt), became his pillow in his grave!