Page 12 - Perfected Faith

WHAT IS PERFECTED FAITH?

"Such people (the pious) are truly racing towards good
deeds, and they outstrip (others) therein."
(Surat al-Mu'minun, 61)

The adjective "kamil" in Arabic means perfect, genuine, and com-
plete. The "perfected faith" (kamil iman) discussed in this book repre-
sents the highest level of maturity and depth of faith an individual
can ever attain. But how does a believer's faith grow mature and be-
come perfect?
"Having faith in Allah" is to grasp that Allah is the sole Creator and
Owner of everything and that He is the only Judge. It is one's submis-
sion to Allah at every moment of his life; it is being aware that one is
in need of Him, that Allah is rich beyond need and that He creates all
things in compliance with a specified destiny.
"Submission to Allah" becomes possible only through having a pro-
found fear of Allah, being deeply attached to Him and loving Him
more than anything or anybody else. One who submits himself to
Allah, in the real sense, takes Allah alone as his intimate friend.
Throughout his life, he knows that each event he encounters occurs
by Allah's will and that behind every one of them there are particular
divine purposes. For this reason, he never strays from his submissive
attitude and always remains obedient and grateful to Allah.
To attain perfected faith, one needs to comply strictly with the com-
mands of the Qur'an, the revelation of Allah through which He intro-
duces Himself and conveys His commands to His servants. For this