Principles of Islam
8. Faith
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8. FAITH
The essence of faith is
ma‘arifah,
(realization or
discovery of God). When a man consciously seeks
out and finds God, and thereby has access to divine
realities, which is what constitutes faith.
This discovery is no simple matter. God is the
Creator and Owner of all things. He will award or
punish all, according to their deeds; none is free
from his grip. The discovery of such a God shakes
to the core of the whole life of man. His thinking is
revolutionized, for God becomes the center of all
His emotions.
With God as the principal focus of his attention,
man becomes God’s servant in the fullest sense of
the word. He becomes a man whose living and
dying is all for God.
Such a faith ultimately results in all of man’s
behaviour and his dealings taking on the hue of
God. When the believer speaks, he is conscious of
the fact that God is listening to him. When he walks,
he does so with modesty so that his gait may not be
displeasing to God. When he deals with people, he
