THE SIX PILLARS OF IMAN

what is Iman?. Iman has six pillars, taught to us by the Prophet (saw).
Belief in Allah;

Belief in the angels;

Belief in the revealed books;

Belief in the commissioned Messengers (peace be upon them).

Belief in the resurrection and the events of Qiyama.

Belief in the predestination by Allah of all things, both the (seemingly) good and the (seemingly) bad.
Let me tell you a story and the story.Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:
One day Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) appeared before the public. Then a man came to him and asked: Prophet of Allah, what is Iman? Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His meeting, His Messengers and that you affirm your faith in the Resurrection hereafter. He (again) asked: Messenger of Allah, what does Islam signify? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Islam signifies that you worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him and you perform the prescribed Prayer and you pay the obligatory poor-due (Zakah) and you observe the Fast of Ramadan. He (the inquirer) again asked: Messenger of Allah, what does Al-Ihsan (Faithfulness) imply? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, and in case you fail to see Him, then observe that He is seeing you. He (the inquirer) again asked: Messenger of Allah, when would there be the Hour of (Doom)? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: The one who is asked about it is no better informed than the inquirer. I, however, will narrate some of its signs (and these are): When the female-slave will give birth to her master, when the naked, barefooted would become the chiefs of the people; these are some of the signs of (Doom). (Moreover) when the shepherds of the black (camels) would exalt themselves in buildings, this is one of the signs of (Doom). (Doom) is one of the five (happenings wrapped in the unseen) which no one knows but Allah. Then he (the Messenger of Allah) (may peace be upon him) recited (the verse): Verily, Allâh! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die Verily, Allâh is All­Knower, All­Aware (of things) He (the narrator, Abu Hurairah) said: Then the person turned back and went away. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Bring that man back to me. They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet present there) went to bring him back, but they did not find him. Upon this Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) remarked: He was Gabriel. He came to teach people their religion.
Belief in Allah Most High.
Many people falsely interpret Iman to mean faith or belief in one’s heart. However, this is not the way the messenger Muhammad (SAW) and his companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) understood Iman to be. Allah (swt) says in the Qur’aan: “If they believe the way you believe (Sahabah), they will be guided. And if they go astray, they will be in complete contradiction…” (Quran Soorah Al-Baqarah, 2: 137)

This verse was revealed in relation to the Muslims that will come after the companions of Rasoolullah (SAW). Allah (swt) clearly explains that for any Muslim to be guided, he must believe in what the Sahabah (the companions of the messenger Muhammad (SAW)) believed in. Therefore the understanding of the Sahabah in matters relating to ‘Aqeedah (belief) and Fiqh is binding (obligatory) upon us to follow and adopt.

The Sahabah understood Iman to be belief in the heart, to testify by the tongue and to practice (the deen of Islaam) willingly. The evidence for this is the hadith reported in Ibn Maajah, narrated by Imaam ‘Ali (ra), that the messenger Muhammad (SAW) said: ‘Iman is conviction in the heart, testifying by the tongue and acting upon the pillars of the actions.’

It is the foundation of the Islamic personality.