How to protect our iman (faith)?
Question: Since the most valuable blessing that has been granted is iman, what should we do to protect it?
ANSWER
You have to comply with the following in order to protect it:
1. You have to believe in the ghayb. If we saw angels, Paradise, and Hell with our eyes, it would not be iman to say “There are Paradise and Hell” because we would see them with our eyes then. Seeing Paradise and Hell at the time of death, all disbelievers will say, “We believe in them,” but their iman will not be valid. When Believers are praised in the Qur’an al-karim, it is said, “They believe in the ghayb” (Surat-ul-Baqara 3).
2. You have to believe that only Allahu ta’ala knows theghayb. Prophets, angels, or genies cannot know the ghayb. However, if Allahu ta’ala wills, He lets them know. Therefore, it is not permissible to deny the mu’jizat and karamat.
3. You have to believe, that is, accept, a haram as haram, and a halal as halal. A person who calls deliberately a prohibited act permissible or a permissible act prohibited becomes a renegade.
4. You mustbe very fearful of the wrath of Allahu ta’ala and must not feel secure from His torment. It is declared in the Holy Qur’an that those who are fearful of the chastisement of their Lord are not safe from it. (Surat-ul-Ma‘arij 27-28)
5. Whatever the number of your sins, you must not consider that your abode will certainly be Hell. Allahu ta’ala declares in a sacred hadith:
(If My slave commits so many sins as to reach skies, but if he does not despair of My mercy and begs Me for forgiveness, I forgive him.) [Tirmudhi]
A Qur'anic verse says (what means):
(O My slaves who have committed a great many sins! Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Allah forgives all sins of His slaves. He is the One with infinite forgiveness and mercy.)[Surat-uz-Zumar 53]
6. You must not feel safe from the torment of Allah, but at the same time, you must not despair of His Mercy! A hadith-i sharif declares:
(If a Believer takes a middle path between khawf [fear]and raja' [hope], Allahu ta’ala gives him what he hopes for and makes him secure from what he fears.) [Tirmudhi]
7. It is the essence of iman tolove someone for the sakeof Allah (hubb-i fillah) and to dislike someone for the sake of Allah (bughd-i fillah). It is said in a hadith-i sharif:
(The basis of iman is to love Muslims and to dislike the enemies of Allah.) [Imam-i Ahmad]
Allahu ta’ala said to Hadrat 'Isa:
(Even if you do acts of worship that equal those done by all creatures on the earth and in heavens, it will be of no value unless you love My friends and unless you feel hostility towards My enemies.) [Kimya-i Sa’adat]
