Page 13 - Perfected Faith

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WHAT IS PERFECTED FAITH?

reason, a believer pays the utmost attention to observing Allah's lim-
its till the day he dies. Throughout his life, he displays the qualities of
the true believer without departing from patience. The determination
a person of perfected faith shows in living by the values of the Qur'an
is a very important and distinctive quality. Because, it is with this very
quality that a man of perfected faith excels others in his efforts to do
good. The Qur'an also refers to those "who become foremost in good
deeds" (Surah Fatir, 32) in their efforts to earn the approval of Allah.
The Qur'an however, refers also to those who do not fully live by reli-
gion: "Among the people there are those who profess to worship
Allah, but who stand on the very fringe of true religion..." (Surat al-
Hajj, 11)
Here appears the distinctive feature of perfected faith. Those who
do not embrace faith wholeheartedly worship Allah right on the
"very fringe" while the people of perfected faith adopt the Qur'an as
an essential guide for themselves at every moment of their lives.
While insincere people stipulate certain conditions for keeping their
faith, people of perfected faith are truly unconditional in their obser-
vances. The former group remain devoted to the religion and pretend
to display the values praised by the Qur'an as long as they enjoy the
blessings given to them and everything goes their way. Yet, whenever
they are deprived of blessings or adversity befalls them, they simply
turn away from religion or show disloyalty to it. The people of per-
fected faith, however, show an unshakable commitment to their faith
and loyalty. The basic impetus behind this commitment is their "as-
sured faith." "Assured faith" is true acknowledgement of Allah's exis-
tence and the hereafter with one's wisdom, heart and conscience.
Believers who possess this character trait are described in the Qur'an
as "those who have faith in what has been sent down to you and
what was sent down before you, and are certain about the here-
after." (Surat al-Baqara, 4)
Perfected faith manifests itself through unceasing attention to one's