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Three Dimensions of Religion
In a hadith that is 'agreed upon' and a rigorously authentic narration and transmitted in several of the famous collections of hadith , Messenger of God(peace be upon him)
replied to Angel Gabriel's questions and described three dimensions of religion i.e. Islam, Iman and Ihsan.
►{Hadith of Gabriel is reported in ::Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Al-Iman, Hadith #50;Sahih Muslim ,Kitab Al-Iman Hadith #4;Sunan Tirmidhi , Kitab Al-Iman
Hadith #2601; Sunan Al-Nasai,Kitab Al-Iman wa shara'i'uhu,Hadith #4990,Ibn Majah Section "Conecrning Faith", Hadith #63}
This is a sahih hadith, described by Imam Nawawi as one of the hadiths upon which the Islamic religion turns. The use of din in the last words of it,
Atakum yu'allimukum dinakum, "came to you to teach you your religion" entails that the religion of Islam is composed of the three fundamentals mentioned in
the hadith: Islam, or external compliance with what Allah asks of us; Iman, or the belief in the unseen that the prophets have informed us of; and
Ihsan, or to worship Allah as though one sees Him.
Almighty Allah says "Surely We have revealed the Remembrance, and surely We shall preserve it" ►(Chapter 15, Surah Al-Hijr: Verse 9),
If we reflect how Allah, in His wisdom, has accomplished this, we see that it is by human beings, the traditional scholars He has sent at each level of the religion.
· The level of Islam has been preserved and conveyed to us by the Imams of Shari'a or 'Sacred Law' and
· The level of Iman( its ancillary disciplines); by the Imams of 'Aqida or 'tenets of faith'; and
· The level of Ihsan, "to worship Allah as though you see Him," by the Imams of Tasawwuf.
Brief Explanation of three elements of Religion:
1. Islam : The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained that the first category consists of external actions, both conduct and speech (qawl wa ‘amal). The first external action
is to testify that there is no deity save Allah and that Muhammad(peace and blessings be upon him) is the messenger of Allah. The remaining acts, namely, regular prayer,
regular alms, fasting Ramadan, and Pilgrimage, all involve conduct that can be described as either involving only the body, e.g., salat and sawm, or involving only property,
e.g., paying regular alms, or a composite of the two (murakkab minhuma), e.g., Pilgrimage for one who lives at a distance from Makka al-Mukarrama.
2. Iman (faith) : As for Iman (faith), the Prophet (peace be upon him) explained it as inner beliefs in the heart, saying that it is belief in Allah, His Angels, His books, His
messengers, resurrection after death, and belief in Divine Power, its good and its bad. Allah (SWT) also described these five principles of Iman in the Quran using many of these
same expressions, e.g., But true righteousness is that a person believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book (revealed by Allah) and the Messengers…
►{Chapter 2, Surah Al-Baqarah :Verse 177}
Belief in the messengers necessarily requires belief in all that which they have authoritatively taught, including their teachings about the Angels, their fellow Prophets, the Book,
the Next Life, and Divine Power, its good and its bad, as well as the attributes of Allah and the Last Day, e.g., the Sirat, Heaven and Hell. It is through the Sunnah, then, that belief
in Divine Power is part of the basics of Iman.
3. Ihsan (excellence). : Ihsan has been mentioned in several places in the Qur`an. Sometimes it is associated with Iman and other times it is associated with Islam.
At other times it is associated with taqwa or good deeds. An example of Ihsan’s association with Islam is Allah’s statement
And with regard to Din (Religion), who can be better than whoever submits his whole being entirely to Allah while he also holds spiritual excellence.."
►{Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa : Verse 125}
The Prophet(peace be upon him)’s explanation of “ihsan” as worshipping Allah in this manner -- namely, drawing forth the feeling of His closeness [istihdar qurbihi] and that
He is with the servant as though he sees Him -- this necessarily results in glorification, fear, awe and respect [of Allah]. This condition also leads to sincerity in worship expending all
one’s ability in improving it, completing it properly and perfecting it.
The second part of the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) explaining ihsan is that “if you do not see Him, than He sees you.” Because it is very difficult to attain the level that
allows you to worship Allah as though you see Him, the Prophet (peace be upon him) told us that we may seek to attain that level by means of our knowledge that He certainly sees us.
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