Benefits and Fruits of Faith - Part II
Benefits and Fruits of Faith - Part II
• Contentment with the decree of Allah. Among the benefits of Faith is that it leads the faithful to the Straight Path of guidance. It also leads to the attainment of beneficial knowledge and the practice of it, just as it leads to gratefulness for being granted with what one loves or seeks acceptance and patience when one is afflicted with calamity and hardship.
Allah The Almighty says,
“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - their Lord will guide them because of their faith” (Yunus : 9).
“No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allaah - He will guide his heart” [At-Taghabun 64:11].
In explaining this verse, Sheikh Shawkani states, “It refers to those who when afflicted with calamity know that it is from Allah The Almighty and therefore accept it and submit to the will of Allah [3]”.
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of faith is that it grants comfort in the frequent instances in which one is met with hardships and difficulties. Keeping faith and maintaining certainty (in Allah’s mercy and reward) is a tremendous comfort in all such instances and makes such situations easier to deal with. This is because the strength of one’s faith in Allah The Almighty, one’s reliance on Allah The Almighty, and one’s hope of Allah’s reward and His bounty reduce the pain and bitterness of maintaining patience throughout any hardship. Allah The Almighty says,
“And do not weaken in pursuit of the enemy. If you should be suffering - so are they suffering as you are suffering, but you expect from Allah that which they expect not” [An-Nisaa’ 4: 104].
•From among the benefits and fruits of faith are that which Allah mentions in His words:
“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection”(Maryam : 96).
In other words, because of their faith and the deeds they do, Allah The Almighty bestows His love upon the believers and causes other believing servants to love them as well. Clearly, those who are loved by Allah The Almighty and by the believers attain happiness, success and wonderful benefits. For a believer who is loved by others is also prayed for by them, both during his lifetime and after his death[4].
Allah The Almighty also makes imams of such believers, and this alone is a tremendous blessing. Indeed, those who attain the rank of ‘guiding imams’ by Allah The Almighty, so that their faith makes more complete their knowledge and their deeds and so that Allah The Almighty allows others to pray for them and to continue to mention them with honor and respect, are those who have truly attained one of the most glorious of Allah’s rewards.
For this reason, Allaah The Almighty says,
“And We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and [when] they were certain of Our signs.”(As-Sajdah : 24).
By having patience and certainty – two qualities at the helm of faith and signs of completeness of faith – these believers attained, by the grace of Allah The Almighty, the rank of the imamate [5].
•This benefit is derived from the saying of Allah,
“Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees” (Al-Mujaadilah: 11).
The believers [who possess knowledge] are at the highest of Allah’s ranks in both this life and the hereafter. This is a rank that they attained through their soundness of faith, their knowledge and their certainty. Indeed, knowledge and certainty are the foundations of faith.
•The glad tidings of Allah’s grace and complete security in all regards. Allah The Almighty says,
“And give good tidings to the believers”[Al-Baqarah : 223].
Allah The Almighty makes a general statement so that it might encompass all forms of good, whether in the present or in the future. In other instances, Allah The Almighty specifies what the glad tidings are of. For instance,
“And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow”[Al-Baqarah 2: 25].
And so Believers are brought the glad tidings of all good things in general, and also some of Allaah’s more specific rewards and blessings.
Such Believers are also granted absolute security. Allah The Almighty says,
“They who believe and do not mix their belief with injustice - those will have security, and they are [rightly] guided” [Al-An’am : 82].
They are also granted security in a more specific sense; as Allah The Almighty says,
“So whoever believes and reforms - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.”(Al-An’am: 48)
And so by sparing them the fear of what they anticipate and the sorrow of what they experience or have experienced, Allah The Almighty grants them full security from different kinds of hardship. Believers, therefore, are granted Allah’s protection in this life and the Hereafter. This includes security against Allah’s wrath and punishment, just as it includes security against different hardships and evils.
They also have the glad tidings of all forms of good, for Allah The Almighty says,
“For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter” [Yunus 10: 64].
Allah The Almighty clarifies further this glad tidings in the verse,
“Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allaah " and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], "Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. We [angels] were your allies in worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish]. As accommodation from a [Lord who is] Forgiving and Merciful" [Fussilat : 30-32].
“O you who have believed, fear Allaah and believe in His Messenger; He will [then] give you a double portion of His mercy and make for you a light by which you will walk and forgive you; and Allaah is Forgiving and Merciful”[Al-Hadid: 28].
Allah The Almighty makes faith a prerequisite for exponential reward and for the completeness of the light with which these believers walk in, both in this life and the hereafter.
“On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, with their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], "Your good tidings today are [of] gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally." That is what is the great attainment” (Al-Hadid: 12).
A Believer is he who, in this life, walks in the light of his knowledge and faith. And if all other lights are extinguished on Judgment Day, the believers will walk upon the Siraat (the Path that all people must pass) in the light that Allah The Almighty has granted them until they are admitted into Paradise.
Allah The Almighty has also decreed that forgiveness be a result of faith. Clearly, he who is forgiven his evil deeds has escaped Allah’s punishment and attained His reward [6].
•A faithful servant attains complete prosperity. Prosperity or success in this sense is to meet one’s ultimate objectives, while escaping all one fears. This ultimately is guidance, and it is the most honorable of means towards the attainment of all that is good.
This is what Allah The Almighty has mentioned after mentioning those who believe in what He has revealed upon His Prophet (pbuh) and those who believe in what He had revealed before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and those who believed in the unseen, established Prayer and zakat, all of which are some of the greatest benefits of faith. And so after mentioning these traits, Allah The Almighty says,
“Those are upon [right] guidance from their Lord, and it is those who are the successful” (Al-Baqarah : 5)
This is the perfect guidance and perfect success.
Therefore, no one can attain guidance nor success, which only can bring success and happiness, except one shall have perfect belief in every book that Allah The Almighty has revealed, and in every Messenger Allah The Almighty has sent. In fact, guidance is the greatest means and success is the most perfect aim. [7]
•Those who have faith are those who truly benefit from Allah’s warnings, signs and reminders. Allah The Almighty says,
“And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers”(Adh-Dhaariyaat : 55).
“Indeed in that is a sign for the believers” (Al-Hijr: 77).
This is because faith helps the believer to adhere to the truth and to follow it, both in terms of what they know and what they do. Faith is indeed the greatest tool with which one might learn and understand the truth, and understand all the signs that lead to it. With faith, there stands nothing to prevent a learner from learning the truth and from acting upon it.
Faith also makes more pure one’s nature and one’s intentions. Those who hold such purity are bound to benefit from Allah’s signs. Those who do not hold these qualities, however, should not be surprised at their inability to accept the truth or to follow it. For this reason, Allah The Almighty makes known that the unbelievers are unable to follow the Prophet (pbuh) on account of the unbelief in their hearts, and their rejection of faith. Indeed, the truth is plain and clear and so too are the signs that lead to it. Unbelief is the greatest obstacle to accepting truth and to following it. Unbelievers must therefore not be bewildered by their inability to see and understand Allah’s sign, for the crime of unbelief is what has prevented them from appreciating the truth when it was evident to the Believers[8].
•Faith prevents doubts that might be experienced and that have negative consequences on one’s religious conviction. Allah The Almighty says,
“The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allaah and His Messenger and then doubt not” (Al-Hujuraat: 15).
This means that their sound faith repels whatever they experience in the way of doubts, and fends off the suspicions planted by the devils among the Jinn and humans, and those planted by the evil that lies within the selves. All these dangers cannot be cured except through soundness of faith.
This fact is corroborated by the authentic Prophetic report that is narrated by Abu Hurayrah where the Prophet (pbuh) said, “People will continue to ask themselves questions until they say, ‘Allah has created creation. So who created, Allah?’ And so if you should ask yourselves such a question, say, ‘I believe in Allaah[9].’” In another narration, the Prophet says, “…then one should seek refuge in Allah, and stop asking himself such questions [10].”
The Prophet (pbuh) shows us how to deal with such situations in three points:
•To stop thinking about such matters and thereby prevent the whispers of Satan.
•To seek refuge in Allah The Almighty from the evil of those who plant such questions and use them sow doubt with the intention of leading people astray.
•To hold fast to sound faith, for whoever should hold fast to sound faith is sure to find security against such doubts.
The lie of falsehood is made evident through a number of means. The greatest of which is that it goes against what is known to be true or what constitutes truth. For whatever goes against the truth can only be false or wrongful. Allah The Almighty says,
“And what can be beyond truth except falsehood?” (Yunus 10: 32).
Faith is a refuge for the believers against all that might afflict them. Indeed, it is a refuge in times of sadness and happiness, fear and security, obedience and sin and all other instances that are bound to affect each and every one of us.
Hence, in times of fear, a believer seeks refuge in his faith so that he finds security and becomes more firmly grounded in his faith upon doing so. He also finds more courage to face calamities, and all that once caused him fear becomes more manageable and less significant. In reference to the best of his servants, Allah The Almighty says,
“Those to whom hypocrites said, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them." But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, "Sufficient for us is Allaah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs. So they returned with favor from Allaah and bounty, no harm having touched them.” (Al-Imraan : 173-174).
Whatever fear these believers had, ultimately became menial and insignificant in their hearts and was instead replaced with a strong sense of faith and the comfort that comes with it. Their hearts were also filled with dependence on Allah The Almighty and firm belief in what all that He has promised.
In times of obedience and the practice of righteous deeds, such believers also take refuge in their faith by acknowledging that it was Allah The Almighty who guided them to such deeds and that this guidance itself is a greater blessing than the blessings of good health and wealth. In acknowledging that such deeds are granted to them by Allah The Almighty, these believers do what they can to perfect their deeds so that they become more complete and acceptable to Allah The Almighty and so that they are not rejected by Him.
Believers who hold this degree of faith are those who ask Allah The Almighty to accept their deeds after He has blessed them by guiding them to it, and to forgive whatever shortcomings they may have been guilty of by making their deeds more complete and acceptable. Allah The Almighty says,
“It is those who hasten to good deeds, and they outstrip [others] therein.”(Al-Mu’minun : 61).
These servants also seek refuge in faith by repenting as soon as they fall into sin, and by doing whatever they can of good deeds to wipe out whatever evil deeds they have committed. Allah The Almighty says,
“Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight (repent)” (Al-A’raaf: 201)
No matter what their circumstances or what their situation, believers always take refuge in their faith and do what they can to actualize such faith and rid themselves of whatever goes against it. This, of course, is all a result of Allah’s grace and mercy upon them [11].
In an effort to keep this article short, the above tremendous benefits - made clear to us by Allah The Almighty - will suffice. With this, one can see that Allah The Almighty has indeed made all things clear, and has presented all that relates to faith, its different dimensions and benefits, and the means by which one might attain it equally clear. Allah The Almighty incites us to acquire faith by mentioning its benefits and fruits in a way that demonstrates His unique wisdom and that is only befitting of the Most Wise, the Most knowledgeable, exalted Lord of all the worlds.
Allah The Almighty has explained in His Book that Faith constitutes belief with one’s heart, the corroboration of that belief with one’s tongue, and the practice of it with one’s actions.
We ask Allaah The Almighty to show us the Straight Path of guidance and to purify our hearts from the evils of denying any of His attributes or likening them to that of His creation. Just as we ask Him to protect us against negligence and extremism and from following the paths taken by people of innovation who distort realities and who have strayed from the path of uprightness and virtue. For indeed they have strayed from Allah’s Book and the teachings of His Prophet (pbuh) just as they have strayed from the understanding of the Prophet’s companions, those who followed in their footsteps in earnest, the jurists and the scholars of hadith.
Excerpted from IslamToday.
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[3][Ash-Shawkaani, Fat-h Al-Qadeer (5/231)].
[4]At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.76.
[5]At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan.
[6][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.79]
[7][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.80]
[8][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.81]
[9]Reported by Muslim, Kitaab Al-Imaan, chapter of Bayaan Al-Waswasah fi Eddeen 1/119]
[10][Reported by Muslim, Kitaab Al-Imaan, chapter of Bayaan Al-Waswasah fi Eddeen 1/119]
[11][At-Tawdheeh wal Bayaan p.85]
