as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ﴾[1]; “And who is better in religion than one who submits his whole self to Allah while being a doer of good?!” and: ﴿بَلَى مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ﴾[2]; “Yes, whoever submits his whole self to Allah while being a doer of good—his reward is with his Lord, and there is no fear upon them, nor do they grieve.”

[Faith as a Matter of Practice]

This is a state technically referred to as “faith,” and it may exist in a Muslim and not in another; as Allah Almighty has said by way of example: ﴿قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا ۖ قُلْ لَمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَكِنْ قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ﴾[3]; “The Bedouins said: ‘We believed.’ Say: ‘You did not believe, but say: “We embraced Islam,” for faith has not yet entered your hearts.’” Yes, a more precise statement is: Islam—meaning submission to the will of Allah—has varying stages, beginning with affirming and accepting it in theory, and extending to practicing it purely and perfectly, and it is considered Islam at all of its stages; however, it is called only Islam at its theoretical stage, and faith—in addition to Islam—at its practical stage; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿يَمُنُّونَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ أَسْلَمُوا ۖ قُلْ لَا تَمُنُّوا عَلَيَّ إِسْلَامَكُمْ ۖ بَلِ اللَّهُ يَمُنُّ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ هَدَاكُمْ لِلْإِيمَانِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ﴾[4]; “They consider it a favor to you that they embraced Islam. Say: ‘Do not consider your Islam a favor to me; rather, Allah bestows a favor upon you that He guided you to faith, if you are truthful.’”[5] Therefore, it is clear that faith increases and decreases; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ﴾[6]; “The believers are only those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned, whose faith increases when His verses are recited to them, and who place their trust in their Lord,” and: ﴿هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِيمَانًا مَعَ إِيمَانِهِمْ﴾[7]; “He is the One who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers so that they may add faith to their faith.”

↑[1] . An-Nisa/ 125

↑[2] . Al-Baqarah/ 112

↑[3] . Al-Hujurat/ 14

↑[4] . Al-Hujurat/ 17

↑[5] . Among the things that support this is what has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah , that he said to a man: «الْإِسْلَامُ أَنْ تَشْهَدَ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَأَنْ تُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةَ، وَتُؤْتِيَ الزَّكَاةَ، وَتَحُجَّ الْبَيْتَ وَتَعْتَمِرَ، وَتَغْتَسِلَ مِنَ الْجَنَابَةِ، وَأَنْ تُتِمَّ الْوُضُوءَ، وَتَصُومَ رَمَضَانَ، قَالَ الرَّجُلُ: فَإِذَا فَعَلْتُ ذَلِكَ فَأَنَا مُسْلِمٌ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ» (Sahih of ibn Khuzaymah, vol. 1, p. 3); “‘Islam is that you bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; that you perform prayer, give Zakat, perform Hajj of the House, perform Umrah, perform the ritual bath after major impurity, complete wudu, and fast the month of Ramadan.’ The man said: ‘If I do that, am I then a Muslim?’ He said: ‘Yes,’” and he said to the delegation of Abd al-Qays: «آمُرُكُمْ بِالْإِيمَانِ، تَدْرُونَ مَا الْإِيمَانُ؟ شَهَادَةُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَإِقَامُ الصَّلَاةِ، وَإِيتَاءُ الزَّكَاةِ، وَصَوْمُ رَمَضَانَ، وَأَنْ تُعْطُوا مِنَ الْغَنَائِمِ الْخُمُسَ» (Sahih of al-Bukhari, vol. 1, p. 29; Sahih of Muslim, vol. 1, p. 35); “I enjoin faith upon you. Do you know what faith is? It is bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing prayer, giving Zakat, fasting the month of Ramadan, and giving one-fifth of desirable gains received without hardship or prior expectation.” Al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH) has said in al-Madkhal Ila Ilm al-Sunan (vol. 2, p. 659): “The point is that in this report, he called the statement of testimony and what follows it ‘faith,’ while in the preceding report he called it ‘Islam.’ This indicates that faith and Islam are two expressions for the religion we have been commanded with, and that the rituals of Islam are called both faith and Islam. This was also the view held by our companion al-Shafi‘i and his peers among the jurists.”

↑[6] . Al-Anfal/ 2

↑[7] . Al-Fath/ 4