Emaan on Allah and Kufr

Emaan on Allah means Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat & Concept of Kufr as Opposite of Emaan (Kafir as Opp of Momin).

In our earlier post, we discussed Emaan on Allah and the concept of Shirk as per Quran. Today we are discussing Emaan on Allah with respect to Allah’s Ayaat and the concept of Kufr as opposite of Emaan.

How to have Emaan on Allah- when as Humans its beyond our comprehension & understanding: 

As humans, it’s not possible for us to comprehend and understand Allah, God Almighty, our Creator, the divine, the eternal being. When we know that “Emaan is a conviction that results from full mental acceptance and intellectual satisfaction which gives us a feeling of inner peace, contentment and satisfaction of heart and mind”. Then, how can we have Emaan on Allah when Allah is beyond our comprehension and understanding?

Let’s take it into a logical way through reasoning. When someone comes to us; says that he went to Japan and shows us a physical souvenir from Japan, then we psychologically believe that he actually went to Japan. These physical evidences lead us to firm belief and conviction. Definitely our creator has created us, he knows our psychology, our restrictions and our limitations, that’s why Allah has given us physical evidences of HIS existence for us to believe and have firm conviction- Emaan on Allah.

Emaan on Allah- means Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat: 

Momin by definition is someone who has firm Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat. So Emaan on Allah can ONLY be achieved through Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat. Quran- the divine book is in our hands and the words of God Almighty are the Ayaat of Allah that has been revealed to mankind for all times to come as Hidayah and guidance. We can have Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat; the firm & strong conviction up to the satisfaction of our hearts and minds ONLY when we utilize all our faculties- our six senses- including our reasoning and intellect to understand and follow these Ayaat. Please refer to the following Ayahs that explain this beautifully.

[Quran – 25:73] And those who, when reminded of the Ayaat of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind.

[Quran – 21:10] We have certainly sent down to you a Book in which is your Zikr. Then will you not reason/use intellect?

By Allah’s Ayaat- does it mean 1- the words of God Almighty- the Quran only? As Muslims we are under the impression that Allah’s Ayaat are only in the form of Quranic Ayaat or the words of God Almighty only. But this is NOT the only ayah, Quran talks about. The second type of Ayat is the work of God- Creations/signs of God the many creations of God Almighty scattered all around us in science and universe are also the Ayaat of Allah. There are many Quranic Ayahs that talk about these Allah’s Ayaat- the work of God. For instance please refer the following ayah which is talking about the many creations of Allah and the last phrase again talks about that “these are Ayaat for people who use reason (Aqal)”.

[Quran 2:164] : Indeed, in the creation of the skies and earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allah has sent down from the skies of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every moving creature, and directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the sky and the earth are Ayaat for a people who use reason (Aqal/Intellect)

[Quran- 8:22] Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not use reason.

[Quran- 25:44] Or do you think that most of them listen or use reason (Aqal)? They are not except like Animals. Nay, they are more astray in way.

Definition of the word Kufr (Kafir) & Kufr as apposed to Emaan:

Kufr means to conceal, hide or to cover. Therefore, night is called Kafir, as its darkness covers everything; A farmer is called Kafir as he hides the seed under the soil; and A grave is also called al-kafiro as it hides the dead body. The definition of Kufr also includes concealment, or with-holding of information, provisions, rizq, wealth etc. which Allah has created for the good of all the mankind and which Allah wants to be made freely available. Therefore kafir would be anyone who does not let the faculties of oneself or others develop and exposed; anyone who conceals the fundamental, basic truth, values, faculties given by God Almighty; who covers/hides his own or other peoples’ potentials or does not permit these to be used, utilized, developed or exposed for the greater good of the mankind. Therefore, these meanings of hiding, concealing or covering by inclusion also incorporate the meaning of denying, refusing or rejecting Haq, Allah’s Ayaat.

[Quran 7:179] We have destined many men and jinn for hell. They have hearts but do not understand, eyes but do not see. They have ears but do not hear. Those are like Animals; Nay, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless.

Those who do not use their faculties and reasoning (Aqal), they are not only considered as Kafir by Quran, in the eyes of Allah they are worse than animals in their path- as we all know that the path of animals is just to survive. We humans are given faculties and reasoning and intellect in order to utilize these faculties, not just to survive.

Kufr with regards to Word of God- Quranic Ayaah:

We deny and reject Quranic Ayaat, when we don’t spend time to understand these Quranic Ayaat, when we do not utilize our own faculties to think and ponder on these Quranic Ayaat, when we don’t believe in these Ayaat or when we do not follow these Ayahs in complete submission. By following only the scholars and not spending time and attention on Quranic Ayaat ourselves, we may be reading these Ayaat, we may be following what others would have told us w.r.t. their understanding of the divine guidance, but by not utilizing our own faculties in understanding the Quranic Ayaat ourselves and by following someone else blindly, we are actually being a Kafir. After understanding these ayahs, we then have to submit with our whole being in compliance to these God-Given rules mentioned in these Ayaat, we have to follow these Ayaat in complete submission to God Almighty and then & only then we would be called Muslim or else it would be Kufr.

[Quran An-Naml 27:81] And you cannot guide the blind away from their error. You will only make hear those who believe in Our Ayaat- so they are Muslims.

Kufr with regards to the Work of God- Allah’s Creations/Signs: 

We deny these Allah’s Ayaat when we do not utilize all our faculties, our 6 senses, our faculties of thinking and reflecting to seek knowledge; when we do not aim to use our faculties to uncover the hidden truth (haq) hidden behind these Ayaat of God almighty; and when we do not use our faculties and resources for the greater good of the mankind and society. It was because of reflecting and thinking on these Ayaat that pursuit of knowledge used to be considered as a holy activity by the earliest Muslims (Muslims of Golden Era). By not utilizing our faculties in pursuit of knowledge across all walks of life, by not using the acquired knowledge and wisdom for the greater good of the mankind and society, we basically reject/deny these Ayaat of God Almighty- This is the definition of Kufr by Quran.

[Quran 2:39] And those who disbelieve (Kufr) and deny Our Ayaat – those will be companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.”

Conclusion: 

Emaan on Allah means Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat- both Words of God (As in Quranic Ayaat) and Work of God (As in Creations of God). The concept of Kufr as an opposite of Emaan means the act of concealing, rejecting and denying Allah’s Ayaat. If Someone is not utilizing all of his/her God-Given faculties, the six senses including the faculties of reasoning and intellect in pursuit of Allah’s Ayaat, then that person is in fact rejecting, denying and concealing Allah’s Ayaat. May Allah give us Hidayah to become true Momin, with firm Emaan on Allah and Muslims as per Quranic guidance. Ameen