Q. Can
you tell us the difference between a mu'min
(believer) and a Muslim? And what do you think of the famous hadith about the six arkan (pillars) of iman (faith)?
A: Let
me start first with the hadith to
which you refer. This is the famous one in which the angel Gabriel reportedly
approached the Prophet while he is with a group of people and asked him some
questions. The primary function of the hadith
is a didactic one, and it reveals a certain sectarian bias. It certainly
illustrates agreed upon beliefs of many Muslims except for the idea of
predestination -- accepted only by certain schools. It allowed for a political
use as well: if the people believed in it, then it would quell any desire to
revolt against the caliph or dynasty of the time.
As for the difference between
Islam and iman, we will refer to the article by the great scholar Abdul
Khaliq Kazi. This was written in 1966 and supports a finding that Professor
Fred Donner of the University of Chicago has written about; that the early
followers of the Prophet were not in any separate religious denomination -- they
also included Christians and Jews and were called "mu'mineen." This is also why the Qur'an indicates that every
people have been given a shari'a and
a program (shir'a and minhaj) -- indicating that your
"religious" identity could have a shari'a
that fits your culture and place, and that you could adhere to it and still be
a "mu'min." This is why too
in the Qu'ran you see that the Jews are told about the sanctity of the Sabbath,
something that was not enjoined upon the Arab followers. You could follow Jewish
constructs and be considered "Muslim." To accept Muhammad, you had to
be a "mu'min."
Posted
August 14, 2018