TREE OF IMAN

TREE OF IMAN
by Umm Abdullah
from a lecture by Dawud Adib



If someone gives you a plant to take care of..how do you think you will do it?
Wouldn't you try your best to not to let that plant die? And of course, to do
that you are going to make sure that all the things that plant need, you provide
it and keep it away form all the harmful things.

At the same time you will try to find out about the basic elements that plant is
consisted of and the basic things those elements need to grow properly.

Believe me or not but all of us have one, very delicate and at the same time
very strong tree to take care of given to us by our Lord.

Allah (SWT) has given us this tree that is planted in our hearts, called
"shajarat-ul-Iman" (Tree of Iman).

Allah (swt) describes that tree in Quran:

"Have you not seen how Allah coined a similitude (of parable) a good word like a
good tree, the root of that tree is firmly established in the ground and the
branches reach the heavens."

At another place in Quran Allah (swt) said:

"(this particular tree by the permission of its Lord), gives fruits (all kinds
of fruits) anytime Allah (swt) wants it to give fruits.

Allah (swt) also said:

"Allah coin similitude for the human beings (for you and I), so that perhaps we
may reflect (we may think)."

Science say there are trees in other plants than earth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allah (swt) created seven heavens and earth other than this planet. Some people
say that there are trees and some say there are not. There is proof in Quran and
Sunnah that there are trees in Jannah (heaven). One of them is called "Toobaa",
the tree for the "ghurab'a" (strangers). The shade of that tree is one month
journey and this is where the believers will take their clothes from.

Most Important Tree in this World: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The most important
tree in this dunya (world) is the Tree of Iman (shajarat-ul-Iman). The tree that
Allah (swt) has planted in our hearts. The tree that we all should be worrying
about day and night. We all must know what that tree of Iman is made of so that
we can take good care of it.

What Does the Tree of Iman Have: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Almost all the trees that Allah (swt) has created/originated, almost all of them
have three very basic things:

1. Root (O'rooq)

The roots of the most important tree on this earth are:

a) Knowledge (I'lm)

b) Certainty (Yaqeen)

The tree of Iman is the basic belief of Islam

"La ilaha illal lah"

"There is no God worthy of worship except Allah (swt)"

So the root for us of the Tree of Iman, is the KNOWLEDGE of the meaning of "la
ilaha illallah". It covers every single aspect of our life. When we know that
there is no God other then Allah (swt), we totally surrender to Him alone and we
take everything that He gave us through the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasul of
Allah (saw).

The other half of the root of this tree is the certainty, meaning the certainty
of everything what "la ilaha illallah" brings.

When implementing Islam in our lives, or when accepting a matter which we were
not aware of before, we should do it with firm belief and certainty, as long as
it is from the Quran and the authentic Sunnah of Rasul and his Companions.

2) Trunk: (Saaq)

The tree of Iman, like the other trees, also has a trunk, which is Purity of
Intention: (al-Ikhlas)

We must have the purity of intention for our tree to be firm and unshakable and
immovable.

Abdullah Ibn Sahl at-tuzkuri (ra) (scholar from the taba'een) was asked:

"What is al-Iman?", he said:

"Iman is statement, is action, is nyyah (intention) and is Sunnah. If it is a
statement without actions then it is Kufr (disbelief), if it is a statement and
action with out intention then it is Nifaq (hypocrisy), if it is a statement,
action and intention without the Sunnah, then it is Bid'ah (innovation)."

To keep a healthy trunk of our tree, we must have a pure intention of our
actions. Our every righteous deed is divided into two parts. The first half of a
righteous deed is the purity of intention. The nyyah has to be pure for the
pleasure of Allah ONLY!

3) Branches & Fruits:

This tree should also has branches and fruits. And these are:

a) Righteous deeds

b) Honorable/Noble Character

At several places in Quran, Allah (SWT) has distinguished the people of Jannah
from the people of Hell as Indeed those who believed and did righteous deeds....

Those people who believed and did righteous deeds have also been given the glad
tidings of Jannah at several places in Quran:

Every righteous deed consists of two parts. First part is the purity of
intention (for the sake of Allah only!). Second half of the righteous deed is
that the action has to be in conformed with Shariah (Quran and Sunnah of Rasul
(SAW) and the Companions(May Allah be pleased with them)). If the action is not
conformed with Shariah, it is not considered a righteous deed!

When a tree has firm roots and healthy trunk and branches, it automatically
produces good fruits. Similarly, when we establish firm roots of Iman in our
heart and keep healthy trunk and branches of the tree the fruits will prosper.
If we have the knowledge of our deen and certainty of whatever knowledge we
have, and we do righteous deeds with pure intentions, we will automatically
develop an honorable and noble character.

Things that will Make Our Tree Die: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1)Kufr:

If we allow kufr to come into our tree, it will destroy the tree.

2) Shirk:

If we allow shirk to come into our tree, it will also destroy the tree.

3) Bid'ah:

If we allow Bid'ah (innovations) of all types to come into our tree, it will
demolish our tree. Our tree will become yellow, our tree will become dry and our
tree will eventually die!

Note: Muslims nowadays are involved in so many "religious practices" thinking
that they are pleasing Allah (swt), though in reality they are getting
themselves involved either in bid'ahs or sometimes even to the extant of shirks.
Muslims, intentionally or unintentionally, either add or remove stuff from how a
certain act was originally practiced by our pious predecessors and hence making
it a bid'ah. And since the act was not practiced according to the "Shari'ah", it
will not be considered a righteous deed.

To avoid from getting ourselves involved in these dangerous things, it is
extremely important to have the "knowledge" of the deen and to refer back to our
pious predecessors in every single thing we do or say.

What is AL-Iman: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al-Iman is:

1) Belief:

Iman is a belief in our hearts. It is to have a firm belief of "la illah
illallah" in our hearts and all the thing that it brings. Every thing that we
find from Quran and Sunnah, we must have a sincere and firm belief on that
without having any doubts.

2)Statement:

Iman is a statement by our tongue. We must state "la illaha illallah" by our
tongues. Meaning what ever believes we have, we cannot just keep t