Moving from Faith to Action
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUcXc0zOGjA[/embed]What is faith? How do you define it? What does it comprise? And what are its fruits? Imaan has been painstakingly examined by scholars who identified its component parts.
Yet imaan cannot simply reside in the heart, its reality is only evident when it is translated into action. As always, there are obstacles along the way...
Imaan has 60 odd or 70 odd branches, the highest of it is saying la ilaha illa llah; the Shahadah, and the least of it is to remove the harmful things from the root. And hayaa', (bashfulness) is one of these branches-part of imaan. (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Branches of Faith
This hadith shows that imaan has many branches. And the Prophet (peace be on him) is giving us an overview of the branches of imaan. Of course, the Prophet (peace be upon him) didn’t stipulate all the branches in this hadith just three of them – the first one is la ilaha illa llah, the last one is removing harmful things out of the way, and the third is hayaa' (shyness).Methodology of Collecting the Branches
Scholars, like Imam Bayhaqi tried their best to collate these 77 branches, though it was a formidable task. First, they went through the verses of the Qu’ran, to see which verses classify something as a branch of imaan and gathered them. And then they (Ibn Hibban, Bayhaqi and many others) went through all the hadith also. They put it together and saw there were too many, beyond 77. They deleted any that were repetitions, and this reduced the number to over 60. Imam Bayhaqi took this collection and he composed a huge book of seven volumes called Shu`ab al-Iman, which you can find available online and offline.The Importance of the Overview
Imam Al Qazwini (may Allah bless him) summarised the book in 1 short volume, which is available free online and has been translated into English. It is like an index for Shu`ab al-Iman. I’m mentioning this because this is something we always see in the sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He always gave an overview. For instance, ‘Islam has been built on five’ is an overview on the main pillars of the deen. This is the way of education, simplifying things, giving the birds eye view, just to allow you to see the major principles and then not to be lost in the detail. So you always need to know the branches, the pillars, the principles before you go through the details. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught the ummah through the principles. While we have those who specialise in the details and then even the details of the details, this is not everyone’s cup of tea. Not everyone’s speciality. So, we need to know the overall picture.The Conversion of Imaan into Action
When he (peace be on him) says ‘imaan has 60 or 70 odd branches,’ the Prophet (peace be on him) even though imaan is about belief, the branch he mentioned last, (the lowest branch of imaan is removing the harmful things form the root) is not actually belief per se, but an action, which is driven by imaan. The purpose of imaan is not to stay rooted in your heart, but to transition to action. In order to move from imaan to action, we need to be grasp what is required of us. And then we have a to-do list which incorporates core values that we have to demonstrate.Loving Goodness for All
For example, part of imaan is loving goodness for everyone is and that is why removing harmful things is part of imaan. The definition of the Muslim is ‘the one from whom people are safe from his tongue and his hand’, meaning he is not insulting anyone by harming anyone by his tongue, nor is he harming anyone by his hand, by his action. This is the definition of the Muslim.Instilling the Principles
Once we know the principles, we need to spread them, and teach them to our children, starting with the tawheed of Allah Almighty, then imaan and then imbibing concepts like establishing justice. We cannot ignore these principles, they are so deeply embedded in our deen. We need to establish justice within ourselves, our families, our communities and children. The principle of truthfulness is one of the main principles. Regardless of what you do, and whom you are engaged with, truthfulness is a principle you cannot compromise. Similarly, fulfilling your promises is another principle you cannot compromise. You see amongst the seven categories that Allah Almighty will give shade of the throne on the Day of Judgement, in first place to a just ruler, but, where are they? We can barely see any! I don’t want to go into politics, but we must tell the truth. So, this shows the importance of justice in our life, to train ourselves to be just and deliver justice, regardless of if it is against your own self, justice must be delivered. Nothing should stop the delivery of justice.Obstacles
Allah Almighty mentioned in the Qur’an in many verses what might hinder the delivery of justice. In surah An’Nisa, Allah Almighty instructed us to be amongst those who are establishing justice and be a witness for it, even if it’s against your own self:O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do." [Quran 4:135]