Difference Between a Believer and Muslim ---Iman and Islam

There is a great difference between a believer and Muslim or Iman and IslamKALIMAH: THE DECLARATION OF FAITH

 Because its your right to know and my duty to tell the truth!

There may not be another religion like Islam with its simplicity and unity of beliefs. Whether one is a Muslim in Africa, Singapore or Saudi Arabia, a Sunni or Shiite, a scholar or poor person, the major beliefs are the same. There is little argument about their broad meanings. The Quran states that it is righteousness to believe in Allah, the last day, angels, the Book, and the messengers (Quran 2:177)

Undoubtedly, there is a great difference between a believer and Muslim or Iman and Islam, in other words. Iman is both verbal and actions. Meaning, the heart and tongue confess with Iman while the heart and other sense do actions. Islam, on the other hand, means to submit oneself to Allah and obey His commands. Allah Almighty says,

The Bedouins say, "We have believed." Say, "You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts. [Al-Hujurat: 14].


IMAN means Belief.  That is to have Faith.  To believe that Allah Ta’aala is one.  That He has no partner, no father, mother, wife and so has no son or daughter; and that there is nothing else that is worthy of praise, or worship except Him Alone and to equally testify that Muhammad (S.A.W.) is His servant and messenger.

      This Kalimah is simple and can be uttered in a few sentences which can easily be pronounced by anybody without much difficulty.

The Kalimah is:

"La ilaha Illaa Allah Muhammad Rasul" (SAW).

 Meaning:    There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that

Muhammad (S.A.W.) is the messenger of Allah.

      Anyone who pronounced this has legally become a Muslim, and a member of that noble Din, Al-Islam.  But the question is, "What difference does this Kalimah create?"

      On pronouncing these words a man is expected to have radically changed.

 A few moments ago he was a 'Kafir,' now he has become a Muslim.  He was impure, now he is pure.  He hated Allah and His Apostles and the Holy books, but now he declares his love for them.

He deserved Allah's wrath and displeasure, now he deserves to be loved by Him (SWT).  He was going into Hell, now he is on his way to paradise because the gates of heaven are now opened for him.  He was a drunkard, a drug trafficker, an armed robber, a liar, an oppressor, a backbiter, a fornicator and all what have you, but now he is innocent of all these vices.

  He has neither fasted before nor given Zakat but he is now ready to do them in good faith.  He was an adulterer and a fornicator but today he says no to all these.  He has purified himself from all these impure, inhuman, animalistic, nonsensical behaviors; he is now a reformed man, like a new born baby, free of sins.  
What a big difference can this few words create!

 On a more concrete level in social life, this Kalimah becomes the basis for differentiating one man from another. (By way of dressing, behavior, utterances, and morality)  Those who recite it constitute a nation while those who reject it form another.  If a father recited it and the son refuses to do so, the father is no longer the same father or the son the same son (there is a big difference between them).  This son will not inherit anything from the father.  His mother and sisters may even observe purdah from him.  On the other hand, if a total stranger (not same family, tribe, state or same nation) recited the Kalimah and marries into a Muslim family, he and his son become eligible for inheritance.

  The power of the Kalimah is thus so strong that it takes precedence over tribalism, statism, nationalism and even blood ties.

 It can join strangers together to form a family, a community and nation.  Equally, it can cut members of the same family off from one other.  It has separated Prophet Nuh from his son; it has Separated Prophet, Lut (A.S) from his wife.  It has united Prophet

Muhammad (S.A.W.) an Arab from Makkah with Bilal, a slave and a Black African.  It has separated Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.) and Abu Jahl, (both Arab).  Have you seen the power of the Kalimah?  How Powerful it is?

  Now another question: Is mere pronunciation of this Kalimah enough to create all these differences?  Why should there be such a big difference between man and man, father and son, mother and daughter, husband and wife?  What is so special about this Kalimah?

Do the words have the power to work magic so as to radically change a man?  Can mere saying of a few words create such enormous differences?


The answer is No.  For, the effectiveness of the words lies in understanding their meaning.  If they do not penetrate deep into the hearts and have an impact powerful enough to effect a change in your thoughts, in your morale and in your actions then their utterances is meaningless and ineffective just as someone who is hungry says food! Food!! Food!!! He cannot be satisfied.


This is exactly the position of the Kalimah.  Mere utterances of these few words can neither transform a Kafir into a Muslim nor an impure person to be pure or damned person to be favoured one, nor can it send a person due for hell to paradise.  The transformation is possible only after one has understood the meaning of these words and has it penetrated into his hearts and moulds his life according to its dictates.  Once affirmed consciously, the Kalimah must reform all your thoughts and reign supreme in your WHOLE life.  No idea contrary to it should form part of your mental furniture.  Whatever runs counter to the

Kalimah must be considered false and only the Kalimah must be true.

You are no longer at liberty like the unbelievers.

 It is only when you recite Kalimah in this manner that you are a true Muslim.  Only then that overwhelming differences between man and man, father and son, mother and daughter, that we have been saying, come in.

 The literal meaning as earlier explained is simple: "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed (S.A.W) is His messenger" It meant  that only that Being can be our God who is the Master, Creator, Nourishes and Sustainer, who listens to our prayer and grants them and who alone is worthy of worship and obedience.

 Saying the Kalimah invariably means two things: that the world and everything therein has come into being as Allah wishes and is done; thus He alone is God and no other being except Him possesses such divinity.

  Secondly, with this pronouncement one has accepted that this same (God) Allah is our Lord and Master as well as of the whole Universe.  Everything belongs to Him and he is the provider of everything.  Everything is under His command.  He alone should be feared and adored.  He alone should be asked for help.  And before Him alone should our heads bow.  We are slaves to no one but Him and He alone is our Master.  Thus, our duty is to obey Him SWT and abide by His laws.

 This is the true meaning of Kalimah the Covenant, which you make with Allah SWT as you proclaim the word and while so doing you make the whole world your witness.  If you violate this covenant which you made under no compulsion ( as there is no compulsion in Islam) your hand, feet and even the tiniest hair on your body as well as everything on earth and in the heavens will testify against you in the 'court' of Allah.  On that day you shall be helpless without any aid, so empty words or mere verbal pledge shall not profit you.


 As part of the pledge, you have to accept that Mohammad (S.A.W) is the prophet through whom Allah has sent you 'His guidance.  So you cannot blindly, after accepting the Kalimah, follow your desires.  You must follow a code.

 To anybody who thinks that it is easy to break the laws of Allah because His police, court or Army is not visible (when he finds it difficult to even break the earthly man made laws, because of fears of various earthly punishment) the affirmation of the Kalimah of such a person is simply not truthful.  You are merely trying to deceive Allah, (and can you?) the whole world, all the Muslim and even your own self.

 For you to have accepted Allah as you’re Master as declared in the Kalimah, it meant that in totality your life is not your personal property which you can utilize anyhow.  It belongs to

Allah! So also are your hands, eyes, legs and any other part of your body.  The animal you utilize, the crops you use for your food, the wealth you derive from them and all other things therein belong to Allah.  They have ONLY been given to you as a TRUST and you will be questioned into each and every one of them.  That is the implication of Kalimah!

 You, therefore, have no basis for any personal claim like; 'this life is mine or this wealth is mine".  It is absurd to claim such ownership after having, accepted Allah as being the real owner.  So, since Allah is the real owner' and you are 'merely a trustee' of things owned by Him, you must use these things strictly as He has told you.

 If you do otherwise you are abusing your trusteeship this will amount to cheating Allah (but can you?).  You have no right to move your hands and feet against his wish or to make your eyes see what He dislikes.  You posses no right over lands and children, whom you assume belong to you only because they have been given to you by your Master – Allah SWT.  Even they, therefore, must be treated not as you desire but as directed by Him.

 If you contravene His directions, you make yourself and usurper. If you look at the gifts of Allah as your own properties you are dishonest and selfish.

 On a more serious note, if you suffer hardship by acting according to the wish of Allah, so be it.  If lives are lost, bodies are injured, families are broken or properties are destroyer in the process, why should you grieve?  Of course, if you suffer any hardship as a result of going against His Wish, you will undoubtedly be guilty, because you would have damaged His properties since your life belongs to Allah.  If you give away your life according to His wishes, you will only be rendering His due.  "We are all from Allah and to Him we shall be returned".  So says Allah in the Holy Quran.


 Yet another implication of the Kalimah is that you do no favour to Allah nor to any one else, if you spend something given by Him in His cause.  You may give anything, do any duty or even pay the supreme sacrifices (death), which to you are very dear, but you are not doing Him a favour.  The most you have done is to have rendered His due for His favour done to you.  Is this an achievement to boast about?  Should people be praised just because? They have repaid a favour?

   Despite all these, Allah (S.W.T) asked you for things which really belong to him and yet promises that it is a purchase He will pay you for, What an unbounded generosity!

     And Allah has bought from the believers their life’s Possessions in return for paradise (Q.9:111)


Such is the kindness of Allah, an extra-ordinary kindness.

      Why then do you resell your life to others?  The life which was given to you by Allah and which He had bought back from you.

What a paltry price you accept for a precious thing (paradise)?

The "buyers" (Shaitan and his allies) make you wish against the wishes of Allah but you serve them as if they are your sustainers.

You sell to them your brain and bodies indeed all that this rebel of Allah wants to buy.  Yet they promise you nothing but frustration, suffering, and hell fire and you follow them forgetting the good and eternal promise of Allah Paradise.  What a disgrace; can anything be more immoral than this?  To sell a thing already sold?  It is a legal moral crime in this world.

Those guilty of such crimes are tried in courts for cheating and fraud.  But then do you think you will escape trial in the court of on Allah on the Day of Judgment?

 It is thus a miserable price to sell your life to this world and loose the life hereafter.  So you are warned.  Hold fast to Kalimah and do not afterwards deviate.  It is only when Kalimah is recited and acted upon in this manner that one shall be free from sins and will become INDEED A BORN AGAIN.

The Qur’an says:

“Does man think that we shall not assemble his bones? Nay, we are able to put together in perfect order, the very tips of his fingers.”[75:3, 4]

There are people who do not care about life after death or do not believe in it at all. These people will suffer terribly for their unbelief.

Life on earth would be horrible if people do no believe in life after death. There would be no restraint or control on what we do. Belief in Akhirah would make a Muslim accountable for his actions. He knows Allah is watching, his conduct and behavior would therefore be responsible, controlled and careful. He will always try to do things which Allah will favour and give up those actions which will invite Allah’s Punishment.

. What is the most important point Islam teaches about belief?

It is this, that belief does not just mean believing something in one's heart, but also acting on the belief. Mere faith counts for nothing if not carried into practice. The purpose of belief is to show us what to do in practice. No 'belief' by itself can bring salvation.

Islam is interpreted in its absolute sense through the explicit acts of worship: saying the two testifications of faith, offering prayers, paying Zakat, fasting and performing Hajj and so forth. These acts are considered the five pillars of Islam.

Iman includes verbal deeds, actions and strong belief: the heart and tongue admit with faith while the heart and senses work for it. Verbal deeds include remembering Allah [Dhikr], reading Qur'an, supplicating Allah, enjoining what is good and urging others to do it, forbidding what is evil and warning others against it, teaching and guiding those who go astray to the right path, sending or answering back greetings and the like.

On the other hand, one's actions spring form his heart and are reflected upon his senses. Meaning, the heart loves or hates for the sake of Allah, satisfaction with Allah's destiny, patience in times of afflictions, fearing and seeking His pleasure, putting our trust in Him and asking Him for forgiveness. The actions of senses include: bowing, prostration, standing and sitting before Allah in prayers, Tawaaf [circumambulating the ka'ba] in Hajj, Jihad [fighting in the cause of Allah] and so on and so forth. 

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