Praise
be to Allah
The difference
between Islam and eeman is one of the issues that the scholars have
discussed at length in the books on ‘aqeedah (belief). To sum up what they
stated concerning that: if one of these two terms is mentioned on its own,
then what is meant is the entire religion of Islam, in which case there is
no difference between Islam and eemaan.
But if these two
terms are mentioned together in a single context, then what is meant by
eemaan (faith) is inward deeds, which are actions of the heart, such as
belief in Allah, may He be exalted, loving Him, fearing Him, putting one’s
hope in Him, may He be glorified and exalted, and being sincere to Him
alone.
As for Islam,
what is meant thereby is outward actions that may be accompanied by faith in
the heart, or they may not, in which case the doer is a hypocrite or a
Muslim whose faith is weak.
Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The word eemaan
is sometimes mentioned on its own, not in conjunction with the words Islam
or righteous deeds, or any other words. And sometimes it is mentioned in
conjunction with the word Islam, as in the hadith of Jibreel, in which [Jibreel
asked the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)]: “What is
Islam?… What is eemaan?”; and the verses in which Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Indeed, the
Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women”
[al-Ahzaab
33:35]
“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-Hujuraat
49:14]
“So
We brought out whoever was in the cities of the believers.
And We found not
within them other than a [single] house of Muslims”
[adh-Dhaariyaat
51:35-36].
When eemaan is
mentioned in conjunction with Islam:
The word Islam
refers to outward deeds, such as uttering the twin testimony of faith,
prayer, giving zakaah, fasting and Hajj.
And the word
eemaan refers to what is in the heart of belief in Allah, His angels, His
Books, His Messengers and the Last Day.
When the word
faith is mentioned on its own, it includes Islam and righteous deeds, as in
the hadith about the branches of faith: “Faith
has seventy-odd branches, the highest of which is saying Laa ilaaha
ill-Allah (there is no god except Allah) and the least of which is
removing a harmful thing from the road.”.
And there are other hadiths which describe righteous deeds as being part of
faith.
End quote.
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (7/13-15).
Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If one of these
words is mentioned in conjunction with the other, then Islam is to be
understood as referring to outward submission, which includes words uttered
and physical actions on the part of both the believer whose faith is strong
and the one whose faith is weak. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“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-Hujuraat
49:14].
These words and
actions may also come from a hypocrite; he is regarded as being a Muslim
outwardly, but a disbeliever in his heart.
Eemaan is to be
understood as referring to inward submission, which is affirmation in the
heart and deeds of the heart, which only comes from one who is a true
believer, as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“The believers
are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful,
and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and
upon their Lord they rely –
The ones who
establish prayer, and from what We have provided them, they spend.
Those are the
believers, truly”
[al-Anfaal 8:2].
In this sense,
faith is higher in status, so every believer is a Muslim, but the opposite
is not true. End quote.
Majmoo‘ Fataawa
wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(4/92).
The verse quoted
in the question confirms this meaning with regard to the description of the
family of Loot (peace be upon him), as they are described once as believers
and once as Muslims.
What is meant by
Islam here is outward Islam, and what is meant by faith is true faith in the
heart. When Allah, may He be exalted, referred to the people of [Loot’s]
family as a whole, He described them as being Muslims, because the wife of
Loot (peace be upon him) was one of his family, and she was outwardly
Muslim, but in fact she was a disbeliever. When Allah, may He be exalted,
referred to those of the family who were brought out and were saved, He
described them as believers:
“So
We brought out whoever was in the cities of the believers.
And We found not
within them other than a [single] house of Muslims”
[adh-Dhaariyaat
51:35-36].
Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The wife of Loot
was a hypocrite and was inwardly a disbeliever, although she appeared
outwardly to be a Muslim like her husband. Hence she was punished in the
same manner as her people. This is the state of the hypocrites who were with
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him); they submitted to
him outwardly, but inwardly they were not believers. End quote.
Jaami‘
al-Masaa’il
(6/221).
He (may Allah
have mercy on him) also said:
Some people
thought that these two verses imply that the words eemaan and Islam are one
and the same, and they thought there was some contradiction.
But that is not
the case; rather the second verse is in harmony with the first verse,
because Allah tells us that He brought out whoever in the city was a
believer, and He tells us that He did not find any except one family of
Muslims, because the wife of Loot was among the members of that one family,
but she was not among those who were brought out and were saved; rather she
was among those who were left behind and were punished. Outwardly she
followed her husband’s religion, but inwardly she adhered to her own
people’s religion, and betrayed her husband, telling her people about his
guests, as Allah, may He be exalted, tells us about her (interpretation of
the meaning):
“Allah presents
an example of those who disbelieved: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot.
They were under two of Our righteous servants but betrayed them”
[at-Tahreem
66:10].
Their betrayal
of them was in terms of religion, not in terms of marital infidelity. What
is meant is that the wife of Loot was not a believer, and she was not among
those who were brought out and were saved, so she is not included in the
words
“So
We brought out whoever was in the cities of the believers”
[adh-Dhaariyaat 51:35],
although she was a member of the Muslim family of Loot, and she was in the
house with them. Hence Allah said: “And
We found not within them other than a [single] house of Muslims.”
Thus we see the
wisdom of the Qur’an, as it describes those whom it says were brought out as
being believers, and it describes those who it says were in the house as
Muslims. End quote.
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa
(7/472-474).
Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be
exalted, says in the story of Loot (interpretation of the meaning):
“So
We brought out whoever was in the cities of the believers.
And We found not
within them other than a [single] house of Muslims”
[adh-Dhaariyaat
51:35-36].
Thus He
differentiated here between the believers and the Muslims, because the
family that was in the city was outwardly a Muslim family, as it included
the wife of Loot, who betrayed him by disbelieving, and she was a
disbeliever. As for those who were brought out from the city and saved, they
were true believers, for faith had entered their hearts. End quote.
Majmoo‘ Fataawa
wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(1/47-49).
And Allah knows
best.