Īmān and Islām

The lexicology of īmān and Islām has already been explained. Originally the word īmān signifies conviction of the heart , while the word Islām signifies submission and hence relates primarily to action. This difference in the original meaning finds expression both in the Holy Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth, though in ordinary use they both convey the same significance, and mu’min and Muslim are generally used interchangeably. An example of the distinction in their use in the Holy Qur’ān is afforded in 49:14: “The dwellers of the desert say, we believe (āmannā from īmān ); say, you believe not but say, We submit (aslamnā from islām); and faith has not yet entered into your hearts. And if you obey Allāh and His Messenger, He will not diminish aught of your deeds. Surely Allāh is Forgiving, Merciful.”9 This does not mean, of course, that they did not believe in the prophethood of Muḥammad. The significance of faith entering into the heart is made clear in the very next verse: “The believers are those only who believe in Allāh and His Messenger, then they doubt not and struggle hard with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allāh. Such are the truthful ones” (49:15). In fact, both the words, īmān and Islām, are used to signify two different stages in the spiritual growth of man. A man is said to have believed (āmana) when he simply declares his faith in the Unity of God and the prophethood of Muḥammad, which in fact is the first stage of belief, because it is only by declaration of the acceptance of a principle that one makes a start; and a man is also said to have believed (āmana) when he carries into practice to their utmost extent the principles in which he has declared his faith. Examples of both these uses have already been given: examples of the first are 2:62, 4:136; an example of the latter (49:15) has just been quoted above. The only difference is that in the first use, belief or īmān is in its first stage a confession of the tongue — a declaration of the principle; and in the second, īmān has been perfected and indicates the last stage of faith which has then entered into the depths of the heart, and brought about the change required. The same is the case with the use of the word Islām; in its first stage it is simply a willingness to submit, as in the verse quoted above (49:14); in its last it is entire submission, as in 2:112: “Nay, whoever submits