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A manuscript of Sura al-Mu'minun housed in the museum of Shah Cheragh in Shiraz. The opening verses of this Sura delineate certain characteristics of believers.

Mu'min (Arabic: مؤمن) denotes an individual who holds a profound, heartfelt belief in the fundamental tenets of Islam. Certain exegetes posit that within the context of the Qur'an, the term *Mu'min* signifies a superlative degree of faith in God, distinct from the broader classification of Muslims. This concept appears frequently throughout the Holy Qur'an, and God refers to Himself as *Mu'min* in one instance. Islamic scholars maintain that the Qur'an juxtaposes this term with concepts such as Kafir (disbeliever) and Munafiq (hypocrite). In Islamic ethical traditions, attributes such as the remembrance of God, reliance on God, humility, eloquent speech, and worship are ascribed to believers. Similarly, in mystical texts, faith is categorized into varying gradations; a true believer is defined as one who perceives Divine light within their existence through the intuition of the heart.

Throughout the history of Shi'ism, numerous works have been authored regarding the characteristics and requisites of believers. Many Shi'a scholars hold that Muslims are counted among the believers only if they are Shi'a. In certain Shi'a narrations, the term *Mu'min* is specifically employed to designate Shi'as. Furthermore, some Shi'a mystics, emphasizing hadiths narrated from the Imams of the Shi'a, regard being a Muslim and a Shi'a as essential prerequisites for mystical wayfaring.

Concept and Status

The book Al-Mu'min, authored by Al-Husayn b. Sa'id al-Ahwazi, is among the earliest works compiling narrations related to the characteristics, duties, and rulings concerning believers.

In Islamic culture, *Mu'min* signifies one who possesses genuine belief in the Principles of Religion and affirms them.[1] According to lexicographers, the word is derived from the root amn, implying both the attainment of certainty or peace[2] and the granting of safety and security.[3] Islam accords a distinguished status to believers, elevating their sanctity in religious culture to a level commensurate with that of the Ka'ba.[4] Both the Qur'an and hadith literature delineate specific attributes characteristic of the believer.[5] Shi'a researchers have produced numerous volumes detailing the qualities and obligations of believers.[6]

Attributes and Characteristics of Believers in the Qur'an

In the Qur'an, the term *Mu'min* is applied to those who attest to the fundamental tenets of Islam—such as Tawhid (Monotheism), Prophethood, and the Eternity of the Qur'an—and verify their truth.[7] Additionally, in Qur'an 59:23, God refers to Himself by the attribute *Mu'min* (the Granter of Security).[8] Researchers indicate that this word and its cognates appear 231 times in the Holy Qur'an.[9] The Qur'an also designates certain historical figures solely by the title *Mu'min*. For instance, Qur'an 40:28 mentions a "Believer of Pharaoh's People" (Mu'min Al-Fir'awn), identified in Shi'a narrative sources as "Hizqil" (Ezekiel).[10]

Verses 2 and 3 of Sura al-Anfal characterize believers as those whose hearts tremble at the remembrance of God, whose faith increases upon hearing God's verses, and who are people of reliance, prayer, and Infaq (charity). Based on this passage, some Shi'a exegetes argue that the true believer is strictly one who possesses these five attributes;[11] others, however, interpret these verses as describing outstanding and elite believers rather than the general populace of believers.[12] Conversely, Sura al-Furqan (verses 63 to 76) enumerates traits such as humility, soft speech, tolerance toward the ignorant, worship by night and day, supplication, and whispered prayer to the Lord. It also lists the avoidance of extravagance, stinginess, polytheism, adultery, and bearing false witness as defining characteristics of believers.

Distinction from Kafir and Munafiq

In the Qur'an, the concept of *Mu'min* is juxtaposed with the concepts of Kafir (disbeliever) and Munafiq (hypocrite). Morteza Motahhari posits that the Qur'an may be the first sacred text to establish such a dichotomy.[13] According to certain exegetes, a *Mu'min* is one who possesses heartfelt belief, verbally confesses to Islam, and acts upon religious duties. Conversely, anyone lacking all three attributes is a *Kafir*, while one who professes belief verbally (deceptively) without heartfelt conviction is a *Munafiq*.[14]

The Distinction between Mu'min and Muslim

Some Shi'a scholars, such as al-Tabrisi and Shaykh al-Tusi[15], maintain that the concepts of "Mu'min" and "Muslim" are synonymous in Qur'anic terminology.[16] However, many Shi'a scholars argue that "Muslim" and "Mu'min" are distinct concepts; thus, while every believer is a Muslim, not every Muslim is necessarily a believer.[17] Allama Tabataba'i asserts that Islam possesses gradations: its initial stage is the outward acceptance of God's commands, while the subsequent stage—heartfelt belief and conviction in the Shahadatayn—constitutes faith.[18] It also appears from the views of some Ash'arites that they uphold a distinction between *Mu'min* and *Muslim*.[19] However, the Mu'tazila,[20] many of the Zaydiyya,[21] and the Hanafis[22] do not accept a differentiation between these two concepts.

The set of practical characteristics attributed by the Qur'an to true believers has also generated debate among Sunnis. For example, it is noted that Shafi'is do not consider it permissible for a Muslim to assert "I am a true believer," as being a true believer necessitates the performance of a set of actions that no one can claim with certainty to have fully achieved.[23]

Restriction of the Term Mu'min to Shi'as

Imam Hasan al-Askari (a):

The signs of a believer are five:

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, Tahdhib al-ahkam, 1407 AH, vol. 6, p. 52.

Shi'a scholars, citing specific verses[24] and narrations[25], hold that a "Muslim" is one who verifies the Prophet (s),[26] whereas a "Mu'min" is one who, in addition, believes in the Imamate of the Shi'a Imams (a).[27] The specific application of this term to Shi'as may stem from narrations in which the Prophet (s) declared Ali the guardian (Wali) of every believer succeeding him.[28] Furthermore, some Shi'a narrations outlining the attributes of believers effectively describe characteristics specific to Shi'as. For instance, Al-Shaykh al-Tusi has narrated from Imam Hasan al-Askari (a) that the signs of a believer are fifty-one rak'ats of prayer (comprising 17 rak'ats of Obligatory prayers and 34 rak'ats of Daily Nafilas), performing Ziyarat al-Arba'in, wearing a ring on the right hand, placing the forehead on soil during prostration, and reciting Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim aloud at the commencement of Suras of the Qur'an.[29]

In Shi'a Ethical Hadiths

According to a narration from Imam Ali (a), a true believer is characterized by attributes such as a cheerful countenance and a sorrowful heart, broadness of chest (patience), humility of soul, an aversion to seeking superiority, a hatred of ostentation, prolonged sorrow (reflective sadness), high ambition, abundant silence, constant occupation (with good deeds), gratitude, patience, and deep contemplation. Such a person does not extend a hand of need toward anyone and avoids Lying, backbiting, spying, while embodying Trustworthiness and Chastity.[30]

The Believer's Acquisition of Intuitive Knowledge

According to Muslim mystics, a believer is defined as one who perceives the light of God within their heart through intuitive (non-rational) knowledge.[31] 'Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani posits that the condition of faith lies in acting upon this intuitive knowledge and practicing obedience to God.[32] From a mystical perspective, the performance of religious rulings facilitates the believer's proximity to God[33] and ultimately leads to the station of Annihilation in God (*Fana' fi Allah*).[34]

Certain Sunni mystics, such as Ibn 'Arabi, maintain that faith in Islam and even in God are not prerequisites for wayfaring toward the Truth.[35] In contrast, some Shi'a mystics, grounding their views in hadith, regard being a Muslim and a Shi'a as essential conditions for true spiritual wayfaring.[36] According to Sayyid Haydar Amuli, Shi'a mystics are, in fact, the true Shi'as and "tested believers" (*Mu'min Mumtahan*) who bear the secrets of the Divine saints (*Awliya'*).[37] He argues that genuine Sufis and mystics are believers who trace their knowledge back to the Commander of the Faithful and attribute their spiritual cloak (*khirqa*) to him and his progeny.[38]

Notes

  1. ↑ ʿAmīd, Farhang-i Fārsī-yi ʿAmīd, under the word Mu'min; Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, 1377 Sh, vol. 2, p. 2183; "Nishāna-hā-yi muʾminān-i bī nām wa nishān dar Nahj al-balāgha", Mehr News Agency.
  2. ↑ Dāwūd, Wāzha-nāma-yi tafāwut-i maʿnāyī-yi kalimāt-i Qurʾān-i Karīm, Intishārāt-i Iḥsān, p. 65.
  3. ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, Dār al-Maʿrifa, vol. 1, p. 120.
  4. ↑ Hāshimī Rafsanjānī, Farhang-i Qurʾān, Qom, vol. 2, p. 342.
  5. ↑ Al-Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1363 Sh, vol. 2, p. 226; Hāshimī Rafsanjānī, Farhang-i Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 342.
  6. ↑ "Kitāb-hā-yi pīshnihādī bar asās-i mawḍūʿ-i muʾminān", BookVision Website.
  7. ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, 1377 Sh, vol. 2, p. 2183; Al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 1, pp. 301, 303.
  8. ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, 1377 Sh, vol. 2, p. 2183.
  9. ↑ "Nishāna-hā-yi muʾminān-i bī nām wa nishān dar Nahj al-balāgha", Mehr News Agency.
  10. ↑ Al-Ṣadūq, Al-Amālī, 1376 Sh, p. 476; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Al-Aṣfā, 1418 AH, vol. 2, p. 1034.
  11. ↑ Al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 9, p. 12; Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Anwār-i dirakhshān dar tafsīr-i Qurʾān, 1380 Sh, vol. 7, p. 229.
  12. ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 4, p. 799.
  13. ↑ Muṭahharī, Yāddāsht-hā-yi Ustād Muṭahharī, vol. 7, p. 258.
  14. ↑ Ḥusaynī Shāh ʿAbd al-ʿAẓīmī, Tafsīr-i ithnā ʿasharī, 1363 Sh, vol. 13, p. 177; Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, 1383 Sh, vol. 10, p. 50.
  15. ↑ Al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, vol. 2, p. 418.
  16. ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, Al-Nāshir Dār al-Maʿrifa, vol. 8, p. 561; Al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, vol. 2, p. 418.
  17. ↑ Al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, Awāʾil al-maqālāt, Intishārāt-i Dāwarī, p. 54; Khwāja Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī, Qawāʿid al-ʿaqāʾid, 1416 AH, pp. 143, 142; Al-Shahīd al-Thānī, Ḥaqāʾiq al-īmān, 1409 AH, pp. 120, 121.
  18. ↑ Al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 1, pp. 301, 303.
  19. ↑ Al-Bāqillānī, Tamhīd al-awāʾil wa talkhīṣ al-dalāʾil, 1414 AH, p. 391; Al-Taftāzānī, Sharḥ al-maqāṣid, 1409 AH, vol. 5, p. 207.
  20. ↑ Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Sharḥ al-uṣūl al-khamsa, 1408 AH, p. 705.
  21. ↑ Al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, Awāʾil al-maqālāt, Intishārāt-i Dāwarī, p. 54.
  22. ↑ Khamīs, Uṣūl al-dīn ʿind al-Imām Abū Ḥanīfa, 1416 AH, pp. 435, 436.
  23. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 1420 AH, vol. 15, p. 453.
  24. ↑ Qur'an 49:14.
  25. ↑ For instance see: Al-Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1387 Sh, vol. 3, pp. 68-76.
  26. ↑ Al-Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, 1423 AH, vol. 5, p. 337; Al-Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 65, p. 315.
  27. ↑ Al-Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, 1423 AH, vol. 5, p. 338.
  28. ↑ Ibn Shayba, Al-Muṣannaf, 1409 AH, vol. 8, p. 504, h. 58; Al-Ṭayālisī, Musnad Abī Dāwūd, Dār al-Maʿrifa, p. 111.
  29. ↑ Al-Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, 1407 AH, vol. 6, p. 52.
  30. ↑ Al-Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1363 Sh, vol. 2, p. 226.
  31. ↑ Ibn ʿArabī, Al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya, n.d., vol. 3, p. 525.
  32. ↑ ʿAyn al-Quḍāt Hamadānī, Sharḥ-i kalimāt-i Bābā Ṭāhir ʿUryān, 1428 AH, p. 34.
  33. ↑ Muẓaffarī, "Qurb-i nawāfil wa farāʾiḍ wa taṭbīq-i ānhā bar maqāmāt-i ʿirfānī", p. 7.
  34. ↑ Āmulī, Al-Muqaddimāt min kitāb naṣṣ al-nuṣūṣ, 1352 Sh, p. 269.
  35. ↑ Ibn ʿArabī, Al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya, n.d., vol. 3, p. 218.
  36. ↑ Āmulī, Jāmiʿ al-asrār, 1426 AH, p. 37; Ḥasanzāda Āmulī, Insān-i kāmil dar Nahj al-balāgha, 1372 Sh, p. 263.
  37. ↑ Āmulī, Jāmiʿ al-asrār, 1426 AH, p. 37.
  38. ↑ Āmulī, Jāmiʿ al-asrār, 1426 AH, p. 401.

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