What Are the Pillars of Faith?
ما هي أركان الإيمان؟
What are the pillars of faith?
The Islamic faith is built upon six essential pillars: belief in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and divine destiny. A person must fully believe in all six to be considered a true believer.
Faith has six pillars, as stated in the Hadith of Jibril (peace be upon him) when he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him), recorded in Sahih Muslim (8). All these pillars should be believed in because Iman is incomplete if one believes in some of them and disbelieves in others. Needless to say, man is not considered a believer unless he believes in all these pillars.
Can a person be considered a believer if they accept some pillars of faith but reject others?
No. The text explicitly states that Iman (faith) is incomplete if one believes in some pillars and disbelieves in others. A person is not considered a believer unless they fully acknowledge and believe in all six pillars together.
Where is the primary evidence for the pillars of faith derived from?
The six pillars are derived from the well-known Hadith of Jibril (peace be upon him) when he questioned the Prophet (peace be upon him), and they are also firmly established in the Holy Quran, such as in Surah Al-Baqara (2:177).
The Six Pillars of Iman
1. Believing in Allah
2. And His angels
3. His Books
4. His Messengers
5. The Last Day
6. Believing in Allah's Destiny and Predestination
The seemingly bad and good.
Quranic Evidence
(Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets)
[Al-Baqara 2: 177
Scholarly Insight: These six pillars form the absolute core of Islamic theology. The Holy Quran explicitly defines true righteousness not by mere outward physical direction, but by the deep-rooted conviction in these unseen realities. Scholars stress that these components are indivisible; rejecting or doubting even one pillar dismantles the entirety of a person's faith, just as a building cannot stand if its foundational pillars are removed.
ما هي أركان الإيمان؟
يقوم الإيمان على ستة أركان أساسية: الإيمان بالله، وملائكته، وكتبه، ورسله، واليوم الآخر، والقدر خيره وشره. ولا يصح إيمان العبد حتى يصدق بها جميعاً.
للإيمان ستة أركان كما ورد في حديث جبريل عليه السلام لما قدم على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم. ويجب التصديق بجميع هذه الأركان فلا يصح إيمان العبد بجزء منها أو ترك بعضها، ولا يُسمى العبد مؤمناً ما لم يقر ويصدق بهذه الأركان جميعها.
أركان الإيمان الستة
1. الإيمان بالله
2. وملائكته
3. وكتبه
4. ورسله
5. واليوم الآخر
6. والإيمان بالقدر خيره وشره
(لَّيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّـهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ)
البقرة 2: 177]
1. Belief in Allah: The Foundation of All Existence | الركن الأول: الإيمان بالله وتوحيده في الربوبية والألوهية والأسماء
The first and greatest pillar is belief in Allah: affirming His existence, His exclusive Lordship (Rububiyyah) as sole Creator and Sustainer, His exclusive right to worship (Uluhiyyah), and the absolute perfection of His beautiful names and exalted attributes without denial, distortion, or anthropomorphism.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا آمِنُوا بِاللَّـهِ وَرَسُولِهِ (سورة النساء: 136)
هو أصل الأصول وقطب رحى الإيمان: التصديق الجازم بوجود الله تعالى وإفراده بالخلق والملك والتدبير (توحيد الربوبية)، وبأنه المعبود الحق وحده لا شريك له (توحيد الألوهية)، وإثبات ما أثبته لنفسه من الأسماء الحسنى والصفات العلى بلا تمثيل ولا تعطيل.
2. Belief in Angels and Heavenly Scriptures | الركنان الثاني والثالث: الإيمان بالملائكة الكرام والكتب المنزلة
Belief in angels means acknowledging these noble celestial servants created from light who carry out divine decrees without disobedience, led by Gabriel. Belief in scriptures entails believing in all books revealed to prophets, culminating in the Holy Quran as the universal criterion. The angels the Quran names, such as Jibril, Mika'il and Malik, are listed in which angels are named in the Quran.
آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّـهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ (سورة البقرة: 285)
الإيمان بالملائكة تصديق بوجود خلق نوراني مطهر لا يعصون الله ما أمرهم ويفعلون ما يؤمرون، كجبريل الموكل بالوحي وميكائيل وإسرافيل؛ والإيمان بالكتب تصديق بكل كتاب أنزله الله هداية للبشر كالتوراة والإنجيل والقرآن المهيمن عليها.
3. Belief in Messengers and the Last Day | الركنان الرابع والخامس: الإيمان برسل الله واليوم الآخر
Belief in messengers requires loving and honoring all prophets from Adam to Muhammad without separating between them, acknowledging them as infallible in conveying revelation. Belief in the Last Day includes certitude in bodily resurrection, reckoning, scales, intercession, and eternal abode in Paradise or Hell.
لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ (سورة البقرة: 285)
الإيمان بالرسل يقتضي التصديق بجميع الأنبياء من آدم إلى خاتمهم محمد ﷺ دون تفريق، وأنهم بلغوا الرسالة وأدوا الأمانة؛ والإيمان باليوم الآخر يوجب اليقين بالقبر ونعيمه وعذابه، والبعث والنشور، والميزان والصراط، والخلود في الجنة أو النار.
4. Belief in Divine Decree (Al-Qadar) | الركن السادس: الإيمان بالقدر خيره وشره ومراتبه الأربع
Belief in destiny encompasses its four essential levels: Allah's prior eternal knowledge of all things, His recording them in the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawh al-Mahfudh), His sovereign will that nothing happens outside His permission, and His creation of all acts and entities.
إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍ (سورة القمر: 49)
يشمل الإيمان بالقدر مراتبه الأربع المحكمة: علم الله الأزلي بكل شيء، وكتابته لذلك في اللوح المحفوظ، ومشيئته النافذة التي لا يخرج عنها ذرة في الكون، وخلقه لجميع الكائنات وأفعالها، مع إثبات مشيئة العبد واختياره المسؤول.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What are the six pillars of Islamic faith?
Belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and divine destiny (Qadar).
What is the ruling on someone who rejects one of the six pillars?
Knowingly rejecting any one of the six pillars of iman after it has been made clear to a person takes them outside the faith per Surah An-Nisa (4:136).
What are the four levels of belief in Qadar (Destiny)?
Divine knowledge, writing in the Preserved Tablet, divine will, and creation of all things.
Which Quranic verse mentions four of the pillars together at the end of Surah Al-Baqarah?
Surah Al-Baqarah (2:285): "All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers."