❞ كتاب The Book of Eemaan ❝ ⏤ أبو عبيد القاسم بن سلام

 Table of Contents
_________________________
Biography of the Author ...........................
...................................................
....................... 3
Chapter 1: the Characteristics of faith concerning
it’s completion and it’s levels ............. 5

ndeed  have  you  asked  me  about  faith,  and  the  diffe
rence  of  the  nation  concerning  it’s
completion and it’s increasing and decreasing, and
you mentioned that you would like to
know the position of Ahlus Sunnah with regards to t
his, and the proof of those who differ
from them on this. So indeed,  may  Allaah have  mercy
 upon  you,  know that this  subject
was  discussed  by  the  Salaf  at  the  beginning  of  this
  ummah  and  by  those  that  followed
them (taabi`een) and those who followed them till t
his day of ours. I have written to you a
short explanation of what I know concerning this.  
Know, may Allaah have mercy upon you, that the Peop
le of Knowledge and Concern for
the religion have split into two groups over this i
ssue.  
One  of  them  says:  Faith  is  sincerity  in  the  heart  t
o  Allaah,  and  testimony  of  the  tongue,
and action of the limbs.  
The  other  says:  Rather  faith  is  in  the  heart  and  up
on  the  tongue,  and  as  for  actions  then
they are from
taqwaa
 (God-consciousness) and
birr
 (piety) and are not included in faith.  
And we looked into the difference of opinion of the
se two groups, and we found that the
Book  and  the  Sunnah  affirmed  the  truth  of  the  group
  that  made  Faith  intention,  saying
and action together, and negated the opinion of the
 other group.
And the basis of this, which is our proof, is follo
wing what the Qur`aan has spoken of, for
indeed Allaah has said in the unequivocal verse of
His Book,  
 "So  if  you  differ  amongst  yourselves  on  anything  t
hen  refer  it  back  to  Allaah  and
the  Messenger  if  you  believe  in  Allaah  and  the  Last
  Day,  that  is  better  and  more
suitable for final determination." (4:59)  
We  referred  the  matter  to  that  which  Allaah  sent  Hi
s  Messenger  (SAW)  with  and
revealed  in  His  Book.  So  we  found  that  He  made  the
commencement  of  faith  to  be  the
testimony that none has the right to be worshipped
except for Allaah and that Muhammad
is  His  Messenger  (SAW).  And  the  Prophet  (SAW)   remai
ned  in  Mecca  after  his
Prophethood  for  ten  years  or  ten  odd  years  calling
to  this  testification  only,  and  at  that
time nothing else was prescribed to be part of fait
h, so the one who responded to this call
was  a  believer  and  it  was  not  necessary  to  call  him
  anything  else  but  a  believer,  and
zakaah
  or  fasting  or  the  other  regulations  of  the  religio
n  were  not  obligatory  upon  him.
The  scholars  have  explained  this  by  saying  that  thi
s  leniency  at  that  time  was  a  Mercy
and  Kindness  from  Allaah  to  His  Servants,  because  t
hey  had  just  come  out  of  the
Jaahiliyyah
 and it’s harshness  and had He  charged them  with al
l  of the obligations  then
their hearts would have become averse to the revela
tion and their bodies would have felt
burdened.  So  He  made  the  faith  that  was  obligatory
upon  them  at  that  time  affirmation
with the tongues only, and this is what made them t
o be believers during the whole of the
Meccan period and ten odd months in Madeenah after
the
Hijrah
.  

hen,  when  the  people  had  returned  to  Islaam  and  th
eir  desire  for  it  became  good  and
proper,  Allaah  increased  for  them  in  their  faith  th
at  they  change  the  prayer  direction  to
the Ka’bah after they had been praying to Bail al-M
aqdis, saying,  
"Verily We have seen the turning of your face towar
ds the heaven. Surely, We shall
give you a Qiblah that you are pleased with, so tur
n your face in the direction of the
Holy  Mosque.  And  wheresoever  you  people  are,  turn  y
our  faces  (in  prayer)  in  that
direction." [2:144].
Then  He  addressed  them,  when  they  were  in  Madeenah,
  by  the  appellation  of  faith  that
had  previously  been  given  them  whenever  He  ordered
them  with  something  or  forbade
them from something. So He said, while commanding,
 "O you who believe! Bow and prostrate" [22:77],  
"O  you  who  believe!  When  you  intend  to  offer  prayer
,  wash  your  faces,  and  your
arms upto the elbows."
[5:6].
He said, while prohibiting
,
"O you who believe! Do not devour usury doubled and
 multiplied."
 [3:130].  
"O you who believe! Kill not game while you are in
a state of ihraam"
 [5:95].  
So  in  every  address  that  was  directed  to  them  after
  the
hijrah
  containing  a  command  or
prohibition,  He  named  them  with  this  name  (believer
s)  due  to  their  affirming  the
shahaadah
alone - since at that time nothing else had been ma
de obligatory for them. But
afterwards,  when  the  religious  laws  were  revealed,
these  were  made  obligatory  upon
them in exactly the same way as the first obligatio
n (of testifying to the
shahaadah
) was,
this because they were all from Allaah (sent) by Hi
s Command and Obligation. So if they
had  refused  to  turn  to  the  direction  of  the  Ka`bah
in  their  prayer  and  stuck  to  that  faith
[they  had in the beginning of  Islaam]  whose appella
tion they were  ascribed to, and  they
had  stuck  to  the
qiblah
  that  they  used  to  pray  towards,  then  this  would  no
t  have  helped
them at all, and they would have violated their aff
irmation of the shahaadah. This because
the first obedience was  not more deserving of the a
ppellation of  ‘faith’ then the second,
so  therefore  when  they  responded  to  Allaah  and  His
Messenger  and  accepted  the
(obligation of) prayer just as they had responded b
y affirming (the
shahaadah
) then all of
this  would  now  be  included  in  the  appellation  ‘fait
h’  -  due  to  the  prayer  being  added  to
the affirmation

written by Imam Abu Ubaid alQaasim bin Sallaam alBaghdaadee, and the Tahqeeq of Imam Muhammad Nasir udDeen alAlbaani.