Discover the meaning of the term Al-iman (إيمان) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 6 min readIn language: affirmation of the heart. In the Law: belief of the heart and declaration of the tongue. It has been said: whoever testifies, acts but does not believe is a hypocrite; whoever testifies, does not act but believes is a transgressor (fasiq); and whoever violates the testimony is a disbeliever.
With fatha: plural of yamin (oath). With kasra: in language, affirmation in general; it is a masdar of the af'ala pattern, from amana with hamza, to express a state or to be transitive according to the root. As if the affirmer had become safe from being called a liar, or had made the other safe from falsehood and contradiction, in which case it is transitive by itself. It may also be transitive by the ba, in consideration of the sense of acknowledgment and confession, as in His word: "The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and so have the believers"; and by the lam, in consideration of the sense of compliance and acceptance, as in His word: "You are not a believer for us, even if we are truthful". What is meant by affirmation is not establishing in the heart the truth of the report and the reporter without compliance and acceptance, saying: this report is true, or you are truthful, without compliance and acceptance; rather what is meant is the rational affirmation opposed to mere conception, namely assent to the truth of the relation, called in Persian "bakrouidan"; so iman, in language, is assent to the truth of the relation in general. As for its legal meaning, opinions differ.
In language: plural of yamin; and yamin, in language, is strength, as Allah, the Most High, said: "We would have seized him by the right hand".
Affirming the Messenger regarding what he brought, as known by necessity.
With fatha of the hamza and sukun of the ya, singular: yamin.
"Our Lord, make us die in submission and gather us with the righteous": this is affirming our master Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in everything he brought from Allah, the Most High, whose delivery is known by necessity; so in ad-Dur al-Mukhtar, meaning that iman is reliance and trust in the Messenger in all he brought, in knowledge and in deed, and declaration is either a condition or a half thereof. An-Nasafi said in al-Aqa'id: "Iman and islam are one." The most learned said: with kasra, in language: affirmation of the heart,
Affirmation. As for its definition as describing the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): to believe in Allah, His angels, His Book, meeting Him, and His messengers, and to believe in the final rising; reported by Muslim. In another version: to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in the decree, its good and its evil. Legally: affirming the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in what he reported from his Lord, glorified is He. (Ibn Hajar) In the Law: belief of the heart and declaration of the tongue (al-Jurjani). Among the People of Truth: a pact of the heart, a word of the tongue, and deeds of the limbs, increasing with obedience and decreasing with disobedience. (Ibn Hazm) Among the Malikis: islam; this is the view of al-Bukhari, ath-Thawri, al-Muzani, the companion of ash-Shafi'i, the Zahirites, the view of the Hanafis, and the view of the Ja'faris and Hanbalis. To this comes the noble verse: "Those who believed, the Jews, the Christians and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous deeds shall have their reward with their Lord; no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve" (al-Baqara 62), and it describes everyone who entered the law of Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), affirming Allah and the prophethood of His Messenger. Imam Ahmad firmly asserted their difference, and Ibn as-Sam'ani and al-Lalika'i reported this from the People of the Sunna. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: where iman is used in the place of islam, or the reverse, or one of them is used for both together, it is by way of metaphor. Among the Hanafis: affirming Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in all he brought from Allah, the Most High, whose delivery is known by necessity. Among the Shafi'is: affirmation of the heart. Among the Hanbalis: word and deed. Among the Ja'faris: it is guidance, what is established in hearts as a quality of islam, and what appears in deed; or: what settles in the heart and rises to Allah, and the truthfulness of deed by obedience and submission to His command. Among the Ibadis: affirming Allah, the Messenger, the Quran, and accepting the well-known tradition; or: knowledge of Allah, His attributes, His angels, and His messengers.
أَمْ تُرِيدُونَ أَن تَسْـَٔلُوا۟ رَسُولَكُمْ كَمَا سُئِلَ مُوسَىٰ مِن قَبْلُ ۗ وَمَن يَتَبَدَّلِ ٱلْكُفْرَ بِٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ [Surah البقرة : 108]
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشْتَرَوُا۟ ٱلْكُفْرَ بِٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ لَن يَضُرُّوا۟ ٱللَّهَ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ [Surah آل عمران : 177]
ٱلْيَوْمَ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتُ ۖ وَطَعَامُ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ حِلٌّۭ لَّكُمْ وَطَعَامُكُمْ حِلٌّۭ لَّهُمْ ۖ وَٱلْمُحْصَنَـٰتُ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ وَٱلْمُحْصَنَـٰتُ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ إِذَآ ءَاتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَـٰفِحِينَ وَلَا مُتَّخِذِىٓ أَخْدَانٍۢ ۗ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُۥ وَهُوَ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ [Surah المائدة : 5]
لَا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِٱللَّغْوِ فِىٓ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا عَقَّدتُّمُ ٱلْأَيْمَـٰنَ ۖ فَكَفَّـٰرَتُهُۥٓ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَـٰكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍۢ ۖ فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَـٰثَةِ أَيَّامٍۢ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ كَفَّـٰرَةُ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ ۚ وَٱحْفَظُوٓا۟ أَيْمَـٰنَكُمْ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ [Surah المائدة : 89]
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوٓا۟ ءَابَآءَكُمْ وَإِخْوَٰنَكُمْ أَوْلِيَآءَ إِنِ ٱسْتَحَبُّوا۟ ٱلْكُفْرَ عَلَى ٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ [Surah التوبة : 23]
وَأَوْفُوا۟ بِعَهْدِ ٱللَّهِ إِذَا عَـٰهَدتُّمْ وَلَا تَنقُضُوا۟ ٱلْأَيْمَـٰنَ بَعْدَ تَوْكِيدِهَا وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُمُ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيْكُمْ كَفِيلًا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ [Surah النحل : 91]
This term appears in 16 verses of the Quran.