SUMMARIZED BRANCHES OF IMAN



The following is a summary offered by ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari about the branches of Iman. They are presented here in this translation as a numbered list.

Al-Qadi Iyad (Rahimahullah) said:

“A group of scholars went to great lengths in enumerating these branches based on their own deduction, but it would be difficult to conclusively say that what they arrived at is in fact what is intended [in the hadith]. However, there is nothing wrong in explaining the details of iman without being able to specifically identify those branches.”

Those who listed the branches did not all do so in the same manner, and the most accurate of them was the method used by ibn Hibban. However, I did not actually find them listed in his own works. Thus, I have summarized what they mentioned as follows:

These branches stem from the actions of the heart, tongue, and limbs.

The actions of the heart are beliefs and intentions, and they comprise twenty four qualities:

1. Iman in Allah; and this includes iman in His essence, attributes, uniqueness, that there is nothing like Him, and that everything besides Him has a beginning.

2. Iman in His Angels.

3. Iman in His Books.

4. Iman in His Messengers.

5. Iman in the Divine Decree, good and bad.

6. Iman in the Last Day; this includes being questioned in the grave, being raised and brought back to life, being held to account, the balance, the sirat, Jannah, and the Fire.

7. Loving Allah.

8. Love and hatred for the sake of Allah.

9. Loving the Prophet (SAW) and honouring him; this includes invoking salah upon him and following his Sunnah.

10. Sincerity; and this includes forsaking riya’ (showing up) and nifaq (hipocrisy).

11. Repentance.

12. Reverential fear.

13. Hope.

14. Gratitude.

15. Loyalty.

16. Patient and perseverance.

17. Being content with Allah’s decree.

18. Placing reliance upon Allah.

19. Mercy.

20. Humility; and this includes respecting the elderly and being kind to the young.

21. Forsaking arrogance and conceit.

22. Forsaking envy (Hasad).

23. Forsaking rancour.

24. Forsaking anger.

The actions of the tongue comprise seven qualities:

25. Declaration of Tawhid (Kalimatush Shahada).

26. Reciting the Qur’an.

27. Acquiring knowledge.

28. Imparting knowledge.

29. Du‘a.

30. Remembrance and mention of Allah; this includes seeking forgiveness.

31. Forsaking useless talk.

The actions of the limbs comprise thirty eight qualities:

Some pertain to the individual himself, and these are fifteen:

32. Purification, tangible and intangible; this includes avoiding filthy things.

33. Covering the awrah.

34. Prayer, both obligatory (Farillah) and optional (Nafilah).

35. Zakah, both obligatory and optional.

36. Emancipating slaves.

37. Generosity; this includes feeding others and being hospitable to guests.

38. Fasting, both obligatory and optional.

39. Hajj and Umrah, both obligatory and optional.

40. Tawaf.

41. I‘tikaf.

42. Seeking out Laylatul-Qadr.

43. Fleeing to protect one’s religion; this includes migration from lands of shirk and Kufr (if he is not allowed to practice his religion).

44. Fulfilling vows (Alwashi).

45. Exercising care regarding oaths.

46. Performing prescribed expiation (Kaffarah) for certain sins.

Some pertain to relatives and dependents, and these are six qualities:

47. Guarding one’s chastity through marriage.

48. Fulfilling the rights of dependents.

49. Kindness to parents; this includes avoiding disobedience to them.

50. Rearing children properly (Tarbiyyah).

51. Maintaining ties of kinship.

52. Obedience to a master, or kind treatment of slaves.

Some pertain to others in general, and these are seventeen qualities:

53. Fulfilling positions of authority with justice.

54. Conforming to the jama‘ah (Unity).

55. Obedience to those in authority.

56. Reconciliation between people; this includes combating the Khawaarij, extremists, terrorists and insurgents.

57. Cooperation in acts of good; this includes commanding good and forbidding evil.

58. Enacting prescribed legal penalties.

59. Jihad; this includes nation's military defense and security.

60. Returning entrusted items; this includes setting aside one fifth of war spoils.

61. Giving loans and paying them back.

62. Kind treatment of neighbours.

63. Conducting dealings respectably; this includes earning a lawful income.

64. Spending wealth rightfully; this includes forsaking extravagance in amount and manner.

65. Responding when greeted with the salam.

66. Saying yarhamukallah to someone who sneezes.

67. Refraining from harming others.

68. Forsaking falsity and useless things.

69. Removing harm from the pathway.

These are sixty nine qualities, and they can reach seventy nine if the preceding sub-branches are counted individually. And Wallahu 'Alam.