In this post, I would
like to briefly tie three of my other posts together, and paint a very clear
picture about the link between deeds or actions and faith.
In “Submission Precedes and Strengthens Faith” the central difference between Islam or submission and Iman
or faith was clearly displayed by our Imam, peace be upon him. As we learned, in order for Iman to enter our
hearts, or in order for us to attain faith, we, first, need to submit to God’s
commands and enter faith through the gates of Islam.
In “A Believer’s Natural Disposition,”
it was, very briefly and in a simplified manner, mentioned how our repetitive actions
lead to formation of habits. I briefly
attempted to explain this through natural sciences or more specifically cognitive
sciences. It is important to remember and keep in mind that it is our actions
that create our characteristics and shape our dispositions and feelings. In other words, through our actions, we have
the opportunity to change or affirm who we are. We
are what we do, habitually.
In my post, “Unwilled Offences,” it was shown that habit
formation takes time, and one or two disconnected actions cannot be considered
to be an indication of one’s character.
These three posts vividly signify that
your actions, your character and your faith are directly interconnected. Another integral point that is established in
these posts is that your actions are the foundations upon which your character
and your faith are built on and depended on. Therefore, we must constantly be vigilant of
our actions and consider them extremely important and consequential.
In this post, I will present two
very relevant and important traditions.
The first one is Authentic
and the second one is Good.
In the first tradition, the
inseparability of faith and action is vividly emphasized. This tradition should be sufficient to put an
end to the “faith only” or “action only” debates and discussions. According to the teachings of Ahlul Bayt
(peace be upon them) and recent findings in cognitive sciences, one cannot
separate his actions from his faith and beliefs. The former establishes and stabilizes the
latter. In other words, you believe what
you do and you perceive as you do, because of your previous actions and your
environment.
The main point is the following, actions without faith are useless and having faith
without practicing the commanded actions is ridiculous and meaningless.
The second tradition, very intelligently and
concisely conveys and puts into perspective the value actions, regardless how
small they may be, and the significance of continuing to practice
those small actions. The continuation
is what leads to habit formation, which in turn leads to character formation,
which in turn and simultaneously permits faith into our hearts.
Now, without any further ado, here
are the two traditions.
6)
Authentic
Arabic Text:
مُحَمَّدُ
بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ
عَنْ جَمِيلِ بْنِ دَرَّاجٍ قَالَ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ
فَقَالَ شَهَادَةُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَ أَنَّ
مُحَمَّداً رَسُولُ اللَّهِ قَالَ قُلْتُ أَ لَيْسَ هَذَا عَمَلٌ قَالَ بَلَى قُلْتُ فَالْعَمَلُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ قَالَ لَا يَثْبُتُ لَهُ الْإِيمَانُ إِلَّا بِالْعَمَلِ وَ الْعَمَلُ
مِنْهُ
Farsi Translation:
جميل بن دراج
گويد: از امام
صادق عليه السّلام ايمان را پرسيدم.
فرمود: شهادت به يگانگى خدا و رسالت محمد است.
عرضكردم:
آيا شهادت
عمل نيست؟
فرمود: چرا.
عرضكردم:
پس عمل هم
جزء ايمانست؟
فرمود: ايمان براى مؤمن جز با عمل ثابت نماند
و عمل جزئى از ايمانست.
English Translation:
Narrated
by Mohamed Ibn Yehya from Ahmed Ibn Mohamed Ibn Eissa from Ibn Abu Omeir from Jamil
Ibn Darraj who said:
We asked Abu Abdullah
(peace be upon him) regarding faith.
He said:
“It is testifying that there is no God but Allah and
that Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah.”
I said, “Is that not a
deed?”
He said,
“Verily”
I said “Deeds are parts
of faith?”
He said,
“A Man’s faith is not established [or stabilized] except
through deed, thus deeds are of faith.”
2)
Good
Arabic Text:
عَلِيُّ بْنُ
إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ حَرِيزٍ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ
عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ قَالَ أَحَبُّ الْأَعْمَالِ
إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ مَا دَاوَمَ عَلَيْهِ الْعَبْدُ وَ إِنْ قَل
Farsi Translation:
امام باقر
عليه السّلام فرمود: دوست ترين اعمال نزد خداى عز و جل
عملى است كه بنده آن را ادامه دهد، اگر چه اندك باشد.
English Translation:
Narrated
by Ali Ibn Ibrahim from his father from Hammad Ibn Eissa from Huraiz from
Zurara from Abu Ja’far (peace be upon him) who said:
“The most pleasing of deeds to Allah, the Most Exalted, is that
which a servant continues to practice, even [if it is] in small measure.”
A Quick Reminder:
If your deed
is not due to or part of your faith in Islam, then it is based on your faith in
something else, your faith in something else aside from Allah’s religion and
commands.
Source:
Al-Kafi,
Volume 2, Page 38, Tradition #6
Al-Kafi,
Volume 2, Page 82, Tradition #2
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