Iman (Arabic: usually translated as belief or faith ) and is often used to refer to the strength of conviction in a Muslim.

. This refers to faith in Islam requiring a "belief in the unseen," and one who has such faith is called a mu'min. It constitutes the seven Articles of faith which were explained along with the Five Pillars of Islam in the famous hadith involving the angel Jibreel (Gabriel). Iman is one of the three dimensions of the Islamic religion (Ara. ad-din): islam, iman and ihsan. Following after islam comes iman or "faith," which refers to 'true commitment' to God. According to the Quran (49:14), it is possible to have one and not yet the other: "Do not say 'we have accepted faith'; rather say 'we have accepted Islam,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts."

Iman:

Basic beliefs: Hadith of Umar (RA), who said: "While we were one day sitting On the authority

with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes and with very black hair. No traces of travel were visible on him, and none of us knew him. He sat down close by the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, rested his knees against his knees and placed his palms on his thighs, and said, O Muhammad! Inform me about Islam." Muhammad said, "Islam is that you should testify that there is no deity besides Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, that you should perform salah, pay the zakah, fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the House (the Ka'bah at Makkah), if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making the journey to it)." Said he (the man), "You have spoken truly." We were astonished at his thus questioning him and telling him that he was right, but he went on to say, "Inform me about Iman (faith)." He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, "It is that you believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in fate (qadar), both in its good and in its evil aspects."He said, "You have spoken truly." Then he (the man) said, "Inform me about Ihsan." He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, " It is that you should serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him yet He sees you." He said, "Inform me about the Hour." He (the Messenger of Allah) said, "About that the one questioned knows no more than the questioner." So he said, "Well, inform me about the signs thereof (i.e. of its coming)." Said he, "They are that the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress, that you will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep (competing with each other) in raising lofty buildings." Thereupon the man went off. I waited a while, and then he (the Messenger of Allah) said, "O 'Umar, do you know who that questioner was?" I replied, "Allah and His Messenger know better." He said, "That was Jibril. He came to teach you your religion.[8]" [Muslim]

Basic beliefs: Stated in al-Imanul Mufassal:

Amantu Billahi, wa malaikatihi, wa kutubihi, wa rusulihi, wal yawmil akhiri, wal qadri, khairihi wa sharrihi minal lahi taala, wal bathi badal mawt Translates:IbelieveinAllah,in his angels, in His books, in His messengers, in the last Day (Day of Judgement) and in the fact that everything good or bad is decided by Allah, the Almighty, and in life after death.

7 Pillars of Iman:

Belief in Allah; Belief in the angels; Belief in the revealed books; Belief in the commissioned Messengers (peace be upon them). Belief in Day of Judgement. Belief in the predestination by Allah of all things, both the (seemingly) good and the (seemingly) bad. Belief in Life after death.

The 7 beliefs may be grouped into 3 categories:

>Tawhid: oneness and uniqueness of Allah >Risalah: prophethood >Akhirah: life after death 1 Tawhid

3. Angels 4. Books 5. Messengers

2 Risalah

1. Allah 2. Destiny6. Day of Judgment 7. Life after death

3 Akhirah

Tawhid: oneness of Allah

It is the main part of Iman and is beautifully expressed in Suratul Ikhlas Say,HeisAllah,theOne,Allahiseternal.Hebegetsnoone,norishe begotten.Andthereisnonelikehim. Tawhid is the most important Islamic belief. It means everything on this Earth is created by Allah. Tawhid is the belief in Allah and all his powers. Allah is All-knowing, All-wise and All-powerful. He is the merciful, the kind and the most loving. The Islamic Concept of Tawheed is divided into three categories Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah, Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah, and Tawheed al-Asma wasSifaat;whichrespectivelymeanthatAllahisOne

withoutpartnerinHisdominionandHisActions withoutsimilitudeinHisEssenceandAttributes withoutrivalinHisdivinityandworship

The first duty of a Muslim is to declare his faith by making his Shahadah, there is no god but Allah. A believer must first cleanse his heart of the idea of any other god or object of worship only then can faith in the oneness of Allah take root inside his heart. For example: suppose we have a piece of land which is full of weeds and bushes where we want to grow wheat. Now if we sow very good wheat seeds in the land without first cleansing it fully we cannot hope to get a good wheat crop. So we must cultivate the land, clear everything, prepare the soil before we sow the seeds. Now comparing the land with our heart. If the heart is full of belief in falsegodswecantexpectTawhidtobeabletotakerootthere. The vast universe with its amazingly flawless system clearly indicates that there is one Creator and one Supreme Controller of the universe. Think about it, had there been more than one creator and controller wouldnttherebeconflict? The efficient running of a school calls for one headteacher, the steering of a ship calls for one captain, no single institution can be run problem free with more than one leader just as no car can be driven by more than one person at the same time.

Risalah: Prophethood
Includes; Prophets, Angels & Books

Risalah is a channel of communication between Allah and mankind. Since the beginning of creation Allah has sent His guidance for mankind through His chosen agents. These chosen people are called prophets (singular: nabi; plural: anbiya) They asked the people of their time to obey and worship Allah alone. They taught, guided and trained the people about how to follow the way of Allah. Prophets were human beings so we should never refer to them as the sons of Allah. AlltheprophetspreachedthemessageofLailahaillalllahthere is no god except Allah.

According to a saying of Prophet Muhammad the number of prophets is 124,000. As muslims we believe in all the prophets and messengers. AllahsguidancetomankindbegnawithAdam(AS)andwas completed with Muhammad (SAW). TheQuranmentionsonlythe25 most prominent by name: Adam, Idris (Enoch), Nuh (Noah), Hud, Salih, Ibrahim (Abraham),Ismail(Ishmael),Ishaq(Isaac),Lut(Lot), Yaqub(Jacob),Shuaib,Ayyub(Job),Musa(Moses),Harun (Aaron), Dhul Kifl ( Ezekiel), Dawud (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Ilyas (Elias), Al Yasa (Elisha), Yunus (Jonah), Zakariyya (Zechariah), Yahya (John), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad. Peace be upon them all.

Allah has created Angels out of light and gave them various dutiestoperform.Theydontcommitanysinnordothey disobey Allah, they do what Allah has ordered. Theyarentvisibletous,unlesstheyappearinhumanform. Angel Jibrael once appeared in human form before a gathering of the companions of the Prophet (saw) to teach them but only the Prophet (saw) knew he was an angel. (Remember the hadith) We do not know of their exact number but we know of 4 famous angels: HazratJibrail/Jibril: (as) bought Allahs books, orders and messages to all the Prophets. Hazrat Israfil: (as) will blow the trumpet on the Day of Judgment HazratMikail: (as) is in charge of food and rain Hazrat Izrail: (as) is the Angel of death- Malakul Mawt There are 2 angels that are there always with every person known as Kiraaman-Kaatibeen. One writes all his good deeds, one all his bad deeds. Not a single word we say goes unrecorded. The Angels Munkar & Nakeer question a person in the grave when he dies. Some Angels are in charge of Heaven and some of Hell.

Akhirah: Life after Death & Day of Judgement

LifeonthisEarthisonlytemporary.Itsmeanttoprepareusfor the Akhirah, which is never ending. Life on this Earth is meaningless if good actions are not rewarded and bad conduct not punished. To prepare ourselves for the Day of Judgment we need to follow the guidance given through the prophets. There would be no need for prophets if there were no life after death. Doubts have been expressed by unbelievers about life after death. They cannot understand how Allah can raise men and women after death that Allah can make human beings out of nothing so why should it be difficult for Him to raise them after death.

TheQuransaysDoesmanthinkthatweshallnot assemble his bones? Yes, surely, yes, we are able to restore the very shape of his finger tips. Life on this earth would not be peaceful, rather it would be horrible if all people thought that there would be no life after death. Belief in the Akhirah has a tremendous influence on the life of a Muslim. He knows that Allah is watching all his actions and he will have to account for them on the day of judgement. His conduct and behaviour will therefore be responsible, controlled and careful. A Muslim believes that he will be rewarded in the life after death for all his good actions, he will live in heaven. Wrong-doers will be punished on the day of judgement and will be sent to hell. To prepare for that day we must follow the guidance given to Muhammad (saw) by Allah.