Tree of Iman

by Umm Abdullah from a lecture by Sheikh Dawud Adeeb

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 ofcourse, 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 planets 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 them in our hearts, but we must say them out.

3) Actions:

Iman is to carry out our believes and our statements by our bodily
limbs. After believing in "la illaha illallah" and stating it, we
must imply it in our actions. And the way we imply "la illaha
illallah" in our actions is by modifying our every action and deed
according to the Quran and Sunnah of Rasul and our pious
predecessors.
A general example of the above could be wearing hijab. If one has a
firm belief in Allah (swt) and whatever He revealed, will definitely
believe that wearing hijab is a command of Allah and it is mandatory.
Then only believing is not enough, we must have to admit by stating
by our tongues the fact that hijab is necessary and inform other
people about it in a nice pleasing way (not in a displeasing or
complaining manner). But still our Iman is not completed until we
start wearing it ourselves.

To think that Iman is in our hearts only, is one of the tricks of
Iblis (satan). We shouldn't be fooled by the shaytans (satan) of the
Ins wal Jin (Humans and Jinns) by thinking that Iman is in our chests
only and as long as we have a firm belief, our Iman is completed.
Rather we HAVE to show our believes by our statements and by our
actions.

Highest and Lowest of Iman:

Rasul of Allah (saw) said:
"Iman has 70 branches. And the highest of al-Iman is the
statement "la illaha illallah" (It is the most sublime, the most
magnificent and the most superior of all Iman). The lowest of the
Iman is to remove some harmful thing from the street. And modesty is
a part of al-Iman."

Iman Wears Out:
We all go through high and low levels of Iman. As Rasul of Allah told
us: "al-Iman wears out in each and everyone of you and me like
a "thaub" (garment) wears out (like our clothes wears out...and they
become shabby eventually. Iman wears out like that "thaub").
So Rasul of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) advised
us (since our Iman wears out) "So all of you Muslims, should ask
Allah (swt) to RENEW the Iman in our hearts."