2.3.1.2 Meaning of Iman

The Heart of Faith

Īmān is the central word Muslims use for “faith” or “belief,” but in Islam it means much more than an inner feeling or a simple statement. It connects the heart, the tongue, and the actions of the limbs, and it links what a person knows with how that person lives.

Īmān is not a separate subject from belief in Allah, it is its inner reality. In this chapter we look only at what is unique to the meaning of īmān, without repeating the general topics of belief in Allah or the topics about kufr and nifāq that come later.

Linguistic and Basic Meaning of Īmān

In the Arabic language, the root of the word īmān relates to safety, trust, and affirmation. It contains the idea of accepting something as true and becoming secure through it. This is why the word “amān” is used for safety, “amīn” for someone trustworthy, and “īmān” for truthful, trusting belief.

In the Qur’an, īmān is not just knowing something with the mind. It is to accept, affirm, and submit to that truth. Allah says:

“The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers…”
(Qur’an 2:285)

Here, belief is not a vague feeling. It is a firm affirmation of what Allah has informed us of, beginning with belief in Allah Himself.

Īmān as Belief in the Heart

The first and deepest level of īmān is in the heart. It is to accept and affirm as true what Allah has revealed, and to submit to it inwardly. This inner belief is not just awareness, it is conviction, acceptance, and surrender.

Allah describes true believers as those whose hearts move when His name is mentioned and whose certainty grows when His verses are recited:

“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in īmān, and upon their Lord they rely.”
(Qur’an 8:2)

This verse shows that īmān is located in the heart, that it can increase, and that it produces trust in Allah. Inner belief includes love of Allah, fear of displeasing Him, hope in His mercy, and acceptance of His commands.

Īmān as Speech of the Tongue

Īmān is also expressed by the tongue. The most important expression of īmān is the shahādah, the testimony that brings a person into Islam. Allah says:

“Say, ‘We have believed in Allah and in what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Ibrāhīm, Ismāʿīl, Isḥāq, Yaʿqūb and the Descendants, and in what was given to Mūsā and ʿĪsā and in what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit.’”
(Qur’an 2:136)

The companions of the Prophet ﷺ understood that the tongue must bear witness to what is in the heart. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer, and give the zakāh…”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al‑Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

This hadith shows that the testimony on the tongue is a key part of entering Islam, but it is tied to the other outward acts of īmān.

Īmān as Actions of the Limbs

According to the Qur’an and Sunnah, īmān includes actions. It is not limited to feelings and words. Again and again Allah connects īmān with righteous deeds:

“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds, for them will be gardens beneath which rivers flow…”
(Qur’an 2:25)

If actions were separate from īmān, Allah would not repeatedly join them like this. The Prophet ﷺ also described practical acts as being part of īmān. He said:

“Īmān has over seventy branches, or over sixty branches. The most excellent of them is the statement ‘Lā ilāha illa Allah,’ and the least of them is removing something harmful from the road. And modesty is a branch of īmān.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

Here, the Prophet ﷺ counted speech, physical action, and inner character as all being parts of īmān. The heart, the tongue, and the limbs are all involved.

The Components of Īmān

From the Qur’an and Sunnah, scholars summarized the meaning of īmān in a clear formula that unites these different aspects. They said:

All three are necessary for complete and sound īmān. The heart is the foundation, because without inner belief, actions and words are hypocrisy. The tongue testifies and proclaims what is in the heart. The limbs act according to that belief.

Allah hints at this connection when He speaks about people whose hearts differ from their outward show:

“And of the people are some who say, ‘We believe in Allah and the Last Day,’ but they are not believers.”
(Qur’an 2:8)

They used the words of īmān, but their hearts and actions did not match, so Allah denied that they had real īmān.

Īmān and the Unseen

A key feature of īmān is belief in the unseen, meaning realities that Allah has informed us of but that we cannot observe directly. Allah praises the believers at the start of Sūrat al‑Baqarah:

“This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for the God‑conscious, those who believe in the unseen, establish the prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them.”
(Qur’an 2:2‑3)

To “believe in the unseen” is to trust what Allah tells us about Himself, His angels, His Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and His decree. The details of these pillars are covered elsewhere in the course, but here we note that īmān involves trusting Allah’s knowledge beyond what the senses can reach.

Belief in the unseen is not blind acceptance without evidence. The evidence is Allah’s message and the truthfulness of His Messenger. Iyān is built on this revealed knowledge.

Īmān and Inner States of the Heart

Beyond accepting information, īmān includes certain inner states that are essential. Among these are love of Allah, fear of His punishment, and hope in His mercy. Allah says:

“But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah.”
(Qur’an 2:165)

And He says, about His true servants:

“They call upon their Lord, in fear and hope…”
(Qur’an 32:16)

These emotions are not side details. They are part of what īmān means. A person who claims belief but has no reverence for Allah, no love for Him, and no fear of meeting Him, is missing the heart of īmān.

The Prophet ﷺ described the sweetness of īmān as something tasted by the heart:

“Whoever has three qualities will taste the sweetness of faith: that Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anything else, that he loves a person only for the sake of Allah, and that he hates to return to disbelief after Allah has saved him from it as he would hate to be thrown into the Fire.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al‑Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

This hadith shows that īmān is not only about correctness, it is also about a deep, transforming love and hatred for Allah’s sake.

Īmān, Islam, and Iḥsān in Meaning

In some verses and hadiths, īmān is mentioned together with Islam and iḥsān. Each term has its own focus. Islam focuses more on outward submission, such as prayer, zakāh, and other practices. Iḥsān focuses on excellence and worshiping Allah as if seeing Him. Īmān focuses on the inner belief and conviction of the heart.

In other places, the word “īmān” is used in a broad way that includes Islam and iḥsān within it. For example, Allah says:

“O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good so that you may succeed.”
(Qur’an 22:77)

Here He addresses the believers and then mentions actions like bowing and prostrating. This type of verse shows that the Qur’an often uses “belief” in a broad sense that includes outward obedience.

The detailed relationship between Islam, īmān, and iḥsān is discussed in its own section in this course. Here we only note that the meaning of īmān sometimes expands or narrows depending on how it is used in the texts.

The Fruit and Effect of Īmān

Real īmān cannot remain hidden in a person’s life. It affects how a Muslim behaves, responds to good and bad events, and treats other people. Allah links īmān with guidance, tranquility, and success. He says:

“Whoever believes in Allah, He will guide his heart.”
(Qur’an 64:11)

And He says:

“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer, We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward according to the best of what they used to do.”
(Qur’an 16:97)

The Prophet ﷺ described īmān as something that restrains a believer from evil:

“The adulterer is not a believer at the time when he is committing adultery, the thief is not a believer at the time when he is stealing, and the drinker of alcohol is not a believer at the time when he is drinking it.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al‑Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

This does not mean such a person becomes a disbeliever in an absolute sense, but it shows that īmān and sin are in conflict, and that īmān weakens when sin becomes strong. The detailed rulings around this are discussed in other chapters. Here the point is that īmān is meant to control and shape behavior.

Īmān as a Living Reality

Understanding the meaning of īmān helps a Muslim see faith as something alive and dynamic. It can be strong or weak, healthy or sick. It is built through knowledge, remembrance, worship, and obedience. It is weakened by disobedience, neglect, and heedlessness.

Allah describes the believers as people whose hearts are alive and responsive:

“Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth…”
(Qur’an 57:16)

A person should therefore look at his or her own īmān not as a fixed label, but as a trust that must be protected, nourished, and increased. Later chapters in this course will discuss how īmān increases and decreases, and what harms it. Here we close by stressing that the meaning of īmān is complete only when the heart, the tongue, and the limbs all come together in belief, speech, and action for the sake of Allah.