Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Talib Aziz, “Fadlallah and the Mak-

ing of the Marjaiyya.” In The Most Learned of the Shia: 

The Institution of the Marja Taqlid, edited by Linda S. 

Walbridge, 205–215 (New York: Oxford University 

Press, 2001); Martin Kramer, “The Oracle of Hizbul-

lah: Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah.” In Spokesmen for 

the Despised: Fundamentalist Leaders in the Middle East, 

edited by R. Scott Appleby, 83–181 (Chicago: Univer-

sity of Chicago Press, 1997).

faith

 

(Arabic: 

iman, security)

In general, Western usage of faith is as a syn-

onym for religion—an organized system of beliefs 

concerning a supreme being and that being’s 

relations with creation, especially with humans. 

Thus, people speak of the “Christian faith” or the 

“Islamic faith.” The term also has a more specific 

meaning—trust in God and his promise for salva-

tion. This concept is based on the books of the 

Bible, and it achieved further development in the 

histories of Jewish and Christian religious thought 

in the Middle East, the Mediterranean basin, and 

Europe. The ancient Hebrew aman (to be true or 

trustworthy), related to the Arabic iman, is used 

in the Old Testament to express the mutual com-

mitment between God and his chosen people as 

it was embodied in their covenantal relationship. 

In other words, the God of the Israelites promised 

to remain faithful to his promise of blessings for 

Israel as long as they maintained their love for him 

and kept his commandments (for example, Deu-

teronomy 7:9). In times of difficulty, people were 

expected to still hold fast to the hope that God 

would strengthen them and come to their rescue. 

For Christians, the focus of faith is on the figure 

of J

esUs

 as the son of God and how his death and 

resurrection are believed to offer hope and salva-

tion for the faithful. It is seen as something that 

comes as a gift from God and that people render 

toward him in love.

The heart of Islamic faith is unconditional 

belief in God’s oneness; that he is universal, 

eternal, all-knowing, all-seeing, compassionate; 

and that he has no rivals or partners. From this 

core belief follow others—that there will be a 

resurrection and final judgment, and that God 

communicates with humans through his 

angels

, 

prophets

, and 

holy

 

books

 (for example, Q 4:136). 

The  F

ive

  p

illars

, required of all able Muslims 

(submitters), routinize these beliefs through 

performance of the ritual actions of testifying 

that God is one and Muhammad is his messen-

ger, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage. 

The  q

Uran

 suggests a close interrelationship 

between faith and works (for example, Q 2:177), 

and this relationship is usually considered to be 

a fundamental one in the religion. According 

to the 

hadith

, faith is sometimes regarded as 

distinct from islam (submission), but it is also 

seen as synonymous with it or as a facet of it. 

In the well-known Hadith of g

abriel

 (cited in 

the authoritative collections of Muslim, Bukhari, 

and  i

bn

  h

anbal

), a stranger who later turns 

out to be Gabriel, the angel of revelation, poses 

questions to m

Uhammad

 about both islam and 

iman. Muhammad responds by listing the Five 

Pillars and the key elements of faith outlined 

above, suggesting that although islam and iman

may differ, they are closely connected neverthe-

less. Islam thus involves an inner belief, while 

faith entails an outward expression. In one of 

many passages concerning the faithful (mumin,

pl. muminun), the Quran states that they are the 

ones whose faith is strengthened when they hear 

God’s revelations and that they are those who 

pray and perform acts of charity (Q 8:2–3). The 

faithful are also those who have fear (

taqwa

) of 

God and place their trust in him. Moreover, from 

the quranic perspective, faith stands in clear 

opposition to disbelief (kufr) in God and his rev-