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الفتح الربانی
Fath al-Rabbani
كتاب الإيمان و الإسلامBook of Faith and Islam
بابٌ شُعَبُ الإِيمَانِ وَمِثْلُهُChapter on the branches of faith and similar matters
Hadith 86
اُردوEn
وَعَنْهُ أَيْضًا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: ((الْإِيمَانُ بِضْعٌ وَسَبْعُونَ بَابًا، أَفْضَلُهَا لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَدْنَاهَا إِمَاطَةُ الْأَذَى عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ، وَالْحَيَاءُ شُعْبَةٌ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ))
It is also narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Faith has seventy-five or seventy-six branches, the most excellent of which is «لاَ إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ» and the lowest is removing something harmful from the road, and modesty is also a branch of faith."
Brief Explanation
Benefits: … From these ahadith it is understood that faith (iman) has a deep connection with actions. Which branches are mentioned in the blessed hadith? In response to this, Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah said: Qadi ‘Iyad says: Some scholars and jurists have tried, according to their own ijtihad, to determine these branches. In any case, it cannot be said in favor of anyone’s ijtihad that it is exactly in accordance with the intended meanings of the hadith. The second point is that if the details of these branches are not known, it does not make any difference.
(Ibn Hajar says:) Those who tried to determine these branches could not agree on a single method; however, the method of Imam Ibn Hibban appears to be closest to correctness, the summary of which is: These branches, in terms of their source and origin, are divided into three types of actions:
(1) Actions of the heart (2) Actions of the tongue (3) Actions of the body
Actions of the heart (a‘mal qalbiyyah) include beliefs and intentions, which consist of the following twenty-four qualities:
Faith in Allah, faith in the angels, faith in the books, faith in the messengers, faith in predestination (qadar), faith in the Day of Judgment, love for Allah, loving or hating someone for His sake (which includes love for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, honoring him, and following his sunnah), sincerity (which includes abandoning ostentation and hypocrisy), repentance, fear, hope, gratitude, loyalty, patience, acceptance of divine decree (rida bil-qada’), trust (tawakkul), mercy, humility, abandoning arrogance and self-admiration, abandoning envy and malice, and abandoning anger and rage.
Actions of the tongue (a‘mal qawliyyah) consist of seven elements:
Testifying to tawhid (oneness of Allah), recitation of the Qur’an, learning and teaching religious knowledge, supplication (du‘a), remembrance (dhikr) and seeking forgiveness (istighfar), and avoiding vain talk.
Actions of the body (a‘mal badaniyyah) consist of thirty-eight qualities:
Of these, the following fifteen are specific to certain entities:
Physical and legal purification (taharah) (abstaining from impurities is also related to this aspect), covering (awrah), obligatory and voluntary prayers, obligatory and voluntary charity and zakat, freeing slaves, generosity, voluntary and obligatory fasting, Hajj and ‘Umrah, circumambulation (tawaf), seclusion in the mosque (i‘tikaf), seeking the Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr), safeguarding the religion, fulfilling vows, choosing the better option, and paying expiations (kaffarat).
The following six are related to following (ittiba‘):
Marriage and fulfilling the rights of family, good conduct with parents, upbringing of children, maintaining ties of kinship, obedience to masters, and kindness to slaves.
And the following seventeen matters are related to the general public:
Establishing just leadership, following the congregation, obedience to leaders, reconciling between people, assisting in good deeds, implementing legal punishments (hudud), striving in the path of Allah (jihad), fulfilling trusts, repaying debts, honoring neighbors, good dealings, spending wealth in its proper place, returning greetings, saying “yarhamuk Allah” to one who sneezes, not harming people, avoiding vain things, and removing harmful objects from the path. These are a total of sixty-nine qualities; if some matters are not merged with others, their number can reach seventy-nine. And Allah knows best. (Fath al-Bari: 1/72)
This blessed hadith clarifies the reality that actions are a part of faith (iman). This hadith refutes false sects such as the Murji’ah, who excluded righteous deeds from the reality of faith. It is also understood that increase and decrease in faith is possible, because among Muslims there is no uniformity in acting upon all these branches and aspects. “La ilaha illallah,” which is the most virtuous branch of faith, establishes the oneness of divinity (tawhid al-uluhiyyah), meaning that among all those who dwell in the universe, there is only one true and rightful deity, whose name is Allah. All other deities imagined in the world are baseless, powerless, without authority, without reality, and false.
Protecting humanity from any kind of harm or loss is such a great deed that the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam declared it a part of faith. He also said: There was a time when a man was passing along a path, and there was a bent thorny branch on the path (which caused harm to passersby). That man cut it off. Allah appreciated this deed of his and forgave him. (Bukhari: 652, Muslim: 1914) In the present age, contrary to this blessed act, generally and especially on occasions of weddings, pathways are narrowed or blocked, or some shopkeepers and mansion owners encroach upon public space, or some unruly people choose roads for playing or holding gatherings. All these blameworthy actions cause great hardship to passersby. (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji‘un) These actions are a cause of being deprived of Allah’s mercy and are a reflection of moral decline.
(Ibn Hajar says:) Those who tried to determine these branches could not agree on a single method; however, the method of Imam Ibn Hibban appears to be closest to correctness, the summary of which is: These branches, in terms of their source and origin, are divided into three types of actions:
(1) Actions of the heart (2) Actions of the tongue (3) Actions of the body
Actions of the heart (a‘mal qalbiyyah) include beliefs and intentions, which consist of the following twenty-four qualities:
Faith in Allah, faith in the angels, faith in the books, faith in the messengers, faith in predestination (qadar), faith in the Day of Judgment, love for Allah, loving or hating someone for His sake (which includes love for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, honoring him, and following his sunnah), sincerity (which includes abandoning ostentation and hypocrisy), repentance, fear, hope, gratitude, loyalty, patience, acceptance of divine decree (rida bil-qada’), trust (tawakkul), mercy, humility, abandoning arrogance and self-admiration, abandoning envy and malice, and abandoning anger and rage.
Actions of the tongue (a‘mal qawliyyah) consist of seven elements:
Testifying to tawhid (oneness of Allah), recitation of the Qur’an, learning and teaching religious knowledge, supplication (du‘a), remembrance (dhikr) and seeking forgiveness (istighfar), and avoiding vain talk.
Actions of the body (a‘mal badaniyyah) consist of thirty-eight qualities:
Of these, the following fifteen are specific to certain entities:
Physical and legal purification (taharah) (abstaining from impurities is also related to this aspect), covering (awrah), obligatory and voluntary prayers, obligatory and voluntary charity and zakat, freeing slaves, generosity, voluntary and obligatory fasting, Hajj and ‘Umrah, circumambulation (tawaf), seclusion in the mosque (i‘tikaf), seeking the Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr), safeguarding the religion, fulfilling vows, choosing the better option, and paying expiations (kaffarat).
The following six are related to following (ittiba‘):
Marriage and fulfilling the rights of family, good conduct with parents, upbringing of children, maintaining ties of kinship, obedience to masters, and kindness to slaves.
And the following seventeen matters are related to the general public:
Establishing just leadership, following the congregation, obedience to leaders, reconciling between people, assisting in good deeds, implementing legal punishments (hudud), striving in the path of Allah (jihad), fulfilling trusts, repaying debts, honoring neighbors, good dealings, spending wealth in its proper place, returning greetings, saying “yarhamuk Allah” to one who sneezes, not harming people, avoiding vain things, and removing harmful objects from the path. These are a total of sixty-nine qualities; if some matters are not merged with others, their number can reach seventy-nine. And Allah knows best. (Fath al-Bari: 1/72)
This blessed hadith clarifies the reality that actions are a part of faith (iman). This hadith refutes false sects such as the Murji’ah, who excluded righteous deeds from the reality of faith. It is also understood that increase and decrease in faith is possible, because among Muslims there is no uniformity in acting upon all these branches and aspects. “La ilaha illallah,” which is the most virtuous branch of faith, establishes the oneness of divinity (tawhid al-uluhiyyah), meaning that among all those who dwell in the universe, there is only one true and rightful deity, whose name is Allah. All other deities imagined in the world are baseless, powerless, without authority, without reality, and false.
Protecting humanity from any kind of harm or loss is such a great deed that the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam declared it a part of faith. He also said: There was a time when a man was passing along a path, and there was a bent thorny branch on the path (which caused harm to passersby). That man cut it off. Allah appreciated this deed of his and forgave him. (Bukhari: 652, Muslim: 1914) In the present age, contrary to this blessed act, generally and especially on occasions of weddings, pathways are narrowed or blocked, or some shopkeepers and mansion owners encroach upon public space, or some unruly people choose roads for playing or holding gatherings. All these blameworthy actions cause great hardship to passersby. (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji‘un) These actions are a cause of being deprived of Allah’s mercy and are a reflection of moral decline.
