There are three levels of faith in Islam. The first level is just Islam...

i. Islam: This relates to people who have accepted the faith: those who pray, fast and do all acts. These people have however not experienced the sweetness of Iman (usually translated as faith), they do not yet know what it feels like to cry in the prayer or be overwhelmed by the words of Allah. Allah talks about these kinds of people in the Quran in Surah Hujurat (roughly translated yusuf Ali) :

The desert Arabs, say "We believe." Say "Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say `We have submitted our wills to Allah.' for not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught oft your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful."

These people have submitted to Allah and as they develop, they can get to the next level. The next level is Iman..

ii. Iman: These people have tasted the sweetness of Iman,Faith has entered their hearts. They know what it means to feel a connection with Allah and be overwhelmed by His words. As they develop, they might attain the next level Ihsan...

iii. Ihsan: This level is the highest level of faith. These people are always conscious of the presence of Allah. Allah's Apostle (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) described Ihsan as, "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is seeing you."

Imagine you are working in an office and you boss's eyes are always on you, you will always act accordingly. The person at this level is conscious of Allah all the time... This is the highest level of faith..

A Quranic Parable- Three kinds of personalities:

In surah baqarah, Allah says in the Quran (roughly translated):

Then your hearts hardened like rock; or even harder. For among rocks there are some from which rivers gush forth; and out of rocks there are those that crack open and water is found; and others which fall for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do. (surah 2 :74)

In this Ayah, Allah gave the example of three types of rocks or stones, rocks in the parable refer to hearts as indicated, water is used often in the Quran to represent purity and faith. So lets examine the three types of rocks

i. rivers gush forth
ii. Rocks that are cracked open and water is found
iii. Rocks that fall out of the fear of Allah.

i. For among rocks there are some from which rivers gush forth:
So there is this person who is deeply reflective, thinking about the purpose of life, asking deep questions about the reality of existence. Now when the solution is brought to them and it clicks, there is no hesitation. There is an excitement, just like a rock that rivers gush forth. Water inside the rock is faith inside the heart. This person had a faith inside of them and they were looking for something to confirm that faith. Revelation came, it clicks with what was already inside and the faith just gushes forth like a river. An example in Islamic history is the companion: Abu bakr (RA), deep person who accepted the truth without hesitation when it came to him

ii. Rocks that are cracked open and water is found
This person is not exactly as philosophical. They are very active, they have stuff to do. The purpose of life is not something, they think about. They just have too many things to do to worry about that kind of stuff. They have water inside but they need a traumatic experience to crack it open. Maybe the death of a friend or a family member or a near death experience. Something traumatic happens in the life that cracks open the rock that is the heart and underneath it is Iman (water). An example of that kind of person in Islamic history is Umar (RA).. Umar (RA) was a very active person. When his sister converted to Islam, he went to her house furious and struck her across the face. Seeing blood streaming from the face of his sister, he softens up and the rock cracked.. He reads the Quran and became muslim.. That traumatic experience was enough for him to look at the Quran.

iii. Rocks that fall out of the fear of Allah. -
This person does all that is expected of a muslim, he prays , he fasts, he does it all. He has submitted his will. However, he has not tasted the sweetness of Iman. He fears Allah and observes all he has to but he doesn't experience the tranquility of Iman, he doesn't yet know the feeling of crying in the salat. There might be water in the rock but it has not yet been reached.

Rock I -A person of Ihsan with his faith gushing forth
Rock II- A person who tastes the sweetness of Iman but needed his rock to be cracked
Rock III - A person of Islam who has submitted

So why does Allah use this parable? This discussion in surah baqarah was to the Jews of medina. The story of Musa and water gushing from rock is familiar to the Jews so Allah uses an example that resonates with them in presenting this parable. SubhanAllah.

Side-note: Today, i was humbled by a story i heard. A 90 year old brother (M.A.S Abdel Haleem ) who has been studying the Quran for 70 years says to Nouman Ali khan "After all these years, i think i am finally beginning to understand the Quran". This is a man who studied at Al Azhar and graduated in Arabic rhethoric, classical Arabic studies and Quranic studies. He has been doing research on the Quran for 70 years and he says i think i am beginning to get it now.

He translated the Oxford press translation of the Quran.

Whatever you think you know of the Quran, be humble. This book is a book of treasures, you can not fully get a full understanding in your life-time.

May Allah give us knowledge and help us become humble as we acquire this Knowledge, like the branches of a tree falls when it bears fruit.

May Allah guide us on the straight path and help us perfect our faith and reach the level of ihsan.

Jazaka Allahu Khairan

Assalam aleikum

Beautiful write up, may Allah reward you. Amin

The Qur'an indeed is wonderful.

wa antum fajazaakumullah khayr.I just got the deep meaning of that verse through your excerpt though i do listen to it(baqarah) almost evryday.wa alaykumus salam

wa antum fajazaakumullah khayr.I just got the deep meaning of that verse through your nice excerpt though i do listen to it(baqarah) almost evryday.wa alaykumus salam

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A reminder