Definition of Faith
Question:
Do non Muslims like Jews and Christians or polytheists are considered as believers if they are truthful to their faith?
Answer:
Very good question!
Your question can be interpreted in two ways. If your question is, in the standards of conversation of Muslims, who is believer, then the answer is very simple: Muslims are believers and non-Muslims are non-believers.
However I think your question is about who, according to the Qur’an, is believer. I try to answer this question:
There is a thinking among the followers of many faiths, including Islam, that ‘believer’ is the person who has the correct items of faith in his/her list of beliefs. Although this can be an indication of faith, by no means it is definite or inclusive. I explain:
- It is not definite because in the terminology of the Qur’an, believer (Mumin) is the person who has such strong faith that this faith results in practical valuable outcomes. Look at verses 8:2-4 and 23:1-9 where a believer is described as a person whose faith results in certain qualities in practice. Therefore believing in the correct items of belief, in itself, cannot make the person that believer (Mumin) that the Qur’an refers to.
- It is not inclusive because the Qur’an also refers to righteous people of the book as believers:
كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ تَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَ لَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتابِ لَكانَ خَيْراً لَهُمْ مِنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَ أَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفاسِقُون
"You are the best of the communities raised up for people; you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in God And if the people of the Book had believed, it would have been better for them. Of them there are believers and most of them are transgressors." (3:110)
Please note these are people of the book at the time of the prophet (pbuh) who obviously are not Muslims but are referred to as Believers. The expression "most of them are transgressors" does not refer the people of the book of our time, it is about the people of the book of the time of the prophet (pbuh) in Arabia. (The Qur’an has also used the same description of the earler generations of the people of the book who initiated innovations and disobedience in their religion (57:16, 57:26-27)).
This can then raise a question, what then, according to the Qur’an, is the core element of faith?
I argue that on the basis of the Qur’an the core element of faith is “an honest and strong belief in God that results in extensive righteous deeds”.
This implies that even if that belief contains some false elements still the factor of honesty brings the person into the fold of believers. This equally applies to Muslims and non-Muslim monotheists (and I can argue that this even has an application for those who do not believe in God, but that is another subjects and beyond the scope of this answer).
Look at the following verse:
قالَ اللَّهُ هذا يَوْمُ يَنْفَعُ الصَّادِقينَ صِدْقُهُمْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْري مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهارُ خالِدينَ فيها أَبَداً رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَ رَضُوا عَنْهُ ذلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظيمُ
“This is the day when honesty of the honest will be of benefit to them. For them shall be orchards below which canals are running; they shall dwell therein forever. This is the great achievement.” (5:119)
Verse 5:119 promises heaven even to those Christians who by mistake and honestly had a false belief (read this verse in the context, from 5:116 to 5:119). Note the expression at the end of the verse is “great achievement” (فوزا عظیما). Same expression is used for believers among Muslims in the Qur'an, like verse 9:72.
So to answer your question, yes, Jews and Christians who are honestly following that which they consider as the correct path, are also believers.
As for polytheists (that is those who openly believe in more than one god) we cannot use the word believer (Mumin) as the Qur’an has not appreciated this. The element of monotheism is an essential element in belief according to the Qur'an. However even for this group the above criteria of honesty applies when it comes to their faith in the hereafter.
I hope this is clear.
--------
Farhad Shafti
April 2017
Do non Muslims like Jews and Christians or polytheists are considered as believers if they are truthful to their faith?
Answer:
Very good question!
Your question can be interpreted in two ways. If your question is, in the standards of conversation of Muslims, who is believer, then the answer is very simple: Muslims are believers and non-Muslims are non-believers.
However I think your question is about who, according to the Qur’an, is believer. I try to answer this question:
There is a thinking among the followers of many faiths, including Islam, that ‘believer’ is the person who has the correct items of faith in his/her list of beliefs. Although this can be an indication of faith, by no means it is definite or inclusive. I explain:
- It is not definite because in the terminology of the Qur’an, believer (Mumin) is the person who has such strong faith that this faith results in practical valuable outcomes. Look at verses 8:2-4 and 23:1-9 where a believer is described as a person whose faith results in certain qualities in practice. Therefore believing in the correct items of belief, in itself, cannot make the person that believer (Mumin) that the Qur’an refers to.
- It is not inclusive because the Qur’an also refers to righteous people of the book as believers:
كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ تَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَ لَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتابِ لَكانَ خَيْراً لَهُمْ مِنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَ أَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفاسِقُون
"You are the best of the communities raised up for people; you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in God And if the people of the Book had believed, it would have been better for them. Of them there are believers and most of them are transgressors." (3:110)
Please note these are people of the book at the time of the prophet (pbuh) who obviously are not Muslims but are referred to as Believers. The expression "most of them are transgressors" does not refer the people of the book of our time, it is about the people of the book of the time of the prophet (pbuh) in Arabia. (The Qur’an has also used the same description of the earler generations of the people of the book who initiated innovations and disobedience in their religion (57:16, 57:26-27)).
This can then raise a question, what then, according to the Qur’an, is the core element of faith?
I argue that on the basis of the Qur’an the core element of faith is “an honest and strong belief in God that results in extensive righteous deeds”.
This implies that even if that belief contains some false elements still the factor of honesty brings the person into the fold of believers. This equally applies to Muslims and non-Muslim monotheists (and I can argue that this even has an application for those who do not believe in God, but that is another subjects and beyond the scope of this answer).
Look at the following verse:
قالَ اللَّهُ هذا يَوْمُ يَنْفَعُ الصَّادِقينَ صِدْقُهُمْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْري مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهارُ خالِدينَ فيها أَبَداً رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَ رَضُوا عَنْهُ ذلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظيمُ
“This is the day when honesty of the honest will be of benefit to them. For them shall be orchards below which canals are running; they shall dwell therein forever. This is the great achievement.” (5:119)
Verse 5:119 promises heaven even to those Christians who by mistake and honestly had a false belief (read this verse in the context, from 5:116 to 5:119). Note the expression at the end of the verse is “great achievement” (فوزا عظیما). Same expression is used for believers among Muslims in the Qur'an, like verse 9:72.
So to answer your question, yes, Jews and Christians who are honestly following that which they consider as the correct path, are also believers.
As for polytheists (that is those who openly believe in more than one god) we cannot use the word believer (Mumin) as the Qur’an has not appreciated this. The element of monotheism is an essential element in belief according to the Qur'an. However even for this group the above criteria of honesty applies when it comes to their faith in the hereafter.
I hope this is clear.
--------
Farhad Shafti
April 2017
