of Nekounam, (Session 138)
The Holy Quran, as a peerless source for human guidance, elucidates the characteristics of the God-conscious (Muttaqin) in the third verse of Surah Al-Baqarah, with a particular emphasis on the concept of faith (mn). This verse, by introducing faith in the unseen, establishing prayer, and spending from the sustenance provided, portrays the foundations of faith as a multilayered and dynamic reality.
This treatise approaches the concept of faith through a logical and theological lens, employing philosophical and narrative frameworks to examine and critique its historical and contemporary definitions. The objective of this work is to provide a comprehensive and systematic exegesis of the verse under discussion, articulated in a refined language befitting the academic realm, designed for researchers and learned audiences.
Using allegories and metaphors, faith is introduced as a light that connects the heart, tongue, and action, guiding the human being towards perfection.
الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ
[Al-Baqarah: 3]
Translation: Those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them.
This verse delineates the attributes of the God-conscious across three dimensions: faith in the unseen, the establishment of prayer, and expenditure from sustenance. It introduces faith as the foundation of guidance, linking it inseparably with righteous deeds.
This verse portrays faith not merely as an inner conviction but as a practical and social movement manifested in acts of worship and ethical conduct.
In logic, the definition of a concept may be based upon the four causes (efficient, final, formal, material) or a combination thereof. For example, a table can be defined as follows: efficient cause ("crafted by a carpenter"), final cause ("for sitting"), material cause ("made of wood"), or formal cause ("rectangular"). A comprehensive definition encompasses all these causes: "Wood that a carpenter crafts in a rectangular shape for sitting." Similarly, faith can be defined with internal causes (hearts assent and verbal confession) and external causes (action and following the Messenger).
This logical framework enables a multilayered analysis of faith. The efficient and final causes (external) refer to the motives and goals of faith, whereas the material and formal causes (internal) relate to the content of belief and its structure.
الإِيمَانُ هُوَ التَّصْدِيقُ بِالْقَلْبِ وَالْإِقْرَارُ بِاللِّسَانِ وَالْعَمَلُ بِالْأَرْكَانِ
Translation: Faith is the hearts affirmation, the tongues confession, and the bodily actions.
This definition presents faith as a multidimensional reality encompassing heart, tongue, and action.
الإِيمَانُ قَوْلٌ مَقُولٌ وَعَمَلٌ مَعْمُولٌ وَعِرْفَانٌ بِالْعُقُولِ وَاتِّبَاعُ الرَّسُولِ
Translation: Faith is an accepted speech, performed action, intellectual knowledge, and following the Messenger.
By adding the rational dimension (intellectual knowledge) and specific practice (following the Messenger), this definition confers greater comprehensiveness to the concept of faith.
These definitions portray faith as a multifaceted light originating in the heart and manifesting in tongue, action, and reason.
Faith is an independent reality, with knowledge as its origin and action as its effect. Verbal confession indicates faith, hearts assent constitutes its content, and following the Messenger reflects a particular type of faith. Knowledge is a necessary but insufficient condition for faith; likewise, action signifies faith but is not itself faith.
جَحَدُوا بِهَا وَاسْتَيْقَنَتْهَا أَنْفُسُهُمْ [نمل: ۱۴]
Translation: They denied it while their souls were certain of it.
This verse demonstrates that certainty and knowledge alone do not constitute faith, as faith requires hearts assent and practical commitment.
Like a tree whose rotten fruit or yellow leaves indicate problems in its root, the absence of action signals weak faith, yet action itself is not faith. This metaphor clarifies the relationship between faith and action in a tangible manner.
The Khawarij considered faith to be maximal knowledge that encompasses all acts of obedience, even minor ones. They regarded the commission of minor sins as disbelief and, with prejudice, labelled others as disbelievers. This perspective, due to lack of knowledge and compounded ignorance, led to erroneous judgments.
The narration By God, the man became a disbeliever as his father was exemplifies the Khawarijs bigoted judgments founded on compounded ignorance.
This view unrealistically confines faith and diminishes its comprehensiveness. Faith is akin to money, which remains money whether it is one hundred or one billion; similarly, faith remains faith across its formal, descriptive, and real degrees.
Mulla Sadras exegeses mainly rely on quoting others (such as Al-Ghazali) without offering original analysis. His ten-volume tafsir is replete with repetition and citations, with only a small portion devoted to his personal views. A more original and concise presentation would have been preferable over volume.
Mulla Sadras reliance on verses such as:
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَلَمْ يَلْبِسُوا إِيمَانَهُمْ بِظُلْمٍ [الأنعام: ۸۲]
Translation: Those who believed and did not mix their faith with injustice.
to prove faith as knowledge is incorrect, as this verse emphasises faith as a psychological attribute connected with infallibility, not knowledge.
Similarly,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ [البقرة: ۱۷۸]
Translation: O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution.
has no connection with faith as knowledge, rather it introduces faith as the basis of religious duty.
Furthermore, the Prophets (peace be upon him) narration that faith is a secret emphasises the heartly attribute of faith, not knowledge. Many inner secrets lack faith, and the faith of the infallibles, due to its secretive nature, is distinct from ordinary levels.
The prevalent methods in religious sciences, particularly in theological analyses, are often fragmented and incoherent. These approaches rely on repetitive quotations and illogical analogies rather than precise, surgical analysis. Religious knowledge should operate like cardiac surgery, with accuracy and logic, to achieve reliable and profound results.
This critique underscores the necessity to reconstruct scientific methods in religious fields to avoid superficiality and redundancy.
The term books (kutub) in the Quran refers to actions and writings, not knowledge. This distinction is crucial in critiquing views that reduce faith to knowledge. For instance, the verse:
كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْإِيمَانَ [المجادلة: ۲۲]
Translation: He inscribed faith in their hearts.
introduces faith as a heartly reality inscribed within the heart, not as theoretical knowledge.
Confusing kutub (action/writing) with ilm (knowledge) is erroneous. Knowledge is theoretical and concerns awareness, whereas books relate to action and inscription.
Faith possesses formal, descriptive, and real levels. Formal faith may only be at the level of apparent verbal confession, descriptive faith accompanies conventional action, and real faith encompasses intellectual knowledge and following the Messenger. The verse:
الَّذِينَ قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَلَمْ تُؤْمِنْ قُلُوبُهُمْ [المائدة: ۴۱]
Translation: Those who say, "We believe," with their mouths, but their hearts do not believe.
indicates hypocrisy and lack of heartly faith, whereas true believers exist across various degrees of faith.
The faith of the infallibles, due to its secretive and concealed nature, is at the highest degree, while others faith may be at lower levels.
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ [البقرة: ۲۷۷]
Translation: Those who have believed and done righteous deeds.
Righteous action is considered an effect of faith, not faith itself. The absence of action signals weak faith, but action alone is not faith.
Like a tree whose fruits and leaves indicate the health of its roots, righteous deeds are signs of strong faith, yet the essence of faith remains a psychological and independent reality from action.
The interpretation of the third verse of Surah Al-Baqarah introduces faith as a multifaceted light connecting heart, tongue, action, and intellect. Narrative definitions of faith, such as hearts affirmation, tongues confession, bodily actions and accepted speech, performed action, intellectual knowledge, following the Messenger, provide the most comprehensive and logical framework.
These definitions portray faith as an independent reality, with knowledge as its origin and action as its effect, yet faith is neither knowledge nor action in themselves.
Critiques of theological views, including those of the Khawarij and Mulla Sadra, demonstrate that conflating faith with knowledge or maximal cognition distorts the concept of faith.
Verses such as:
كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْإِيمَانَ [المجادلة: ۲۲]
Translation: He inscribed faith in their hearts.
and
جَحَدُوا بِهَا وَاسْتَيْقَنَتْهَا أَنْفُسُهُمْ [النمل: ۱۴]
Translation: They denied it while their souls were certain of it.
introduce faith as a psychological attribute distinct from knowledge.
Religious knowledge must adopt a surgical and logical methodology, avoiding unnecessary repetition and quotations, focusing on deep analysis.
Reforming the definitions of faith and recognising its degrees are essential for Islamic unity and accurate understanding of religion.
Under the supervision of Sadegh Khademi
