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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Islamic Moral System: Commentary of Surah al-Hujurat ‘Islam’ and ‘Iman’ from the Point of View of the Qur’an ( Verse 14 ) قٌالَتِ الأَعْرٌابُ آمَنٌّا قُلْ لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلٌكِنْ قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنٌا وَلَمٌّا يَدْخُلِ الإِيـمٌانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَإِنْ تُطِيعُوا اللٌّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لاٌ يَلِتْكُم مِّنْ أَعْمٌالِكُمْ شَيْئاً إِنَّ اللٌّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ **“** The Desert `Arabs (come to you O’ Muhammad) and say ‘We have true belief!’ Say to them (O’ Muhammad, blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) that, ’You are not true believers, rather you have only submitted (to Allah), since true faith has not yet entered into your hearts.

However if you were to obey Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad, blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) then nothing would be reduced from your good deeds. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.’ ” The axis of discussion of this verse revolves around a group of people who were “apparently” Muslims that were pretending to be of those who submitted and had true faith - however not even the smallest amount of faith existed in their hearts!

This group is known as the hypocrites whose danger is much more serious than that of others, since the Jews and Christians are the known and apparent enemies of Islam; however the hypocrites are the undistinguishable enemies.

Thus, the damage and injury that people at this level can inflict is much greater than the other group (Jews and Christians)[^1] By studying the verses of the Qur’an in which the words ‘Islam’ and ‘«man’ are mentioned in their various forms, one can reach to the conclusion that in most cases, the word ‘Islam’ (submission) is used as an opposite to ‘Shirk’ (polytheism) and ‘Iman’ (true faith) is used as an opposite to ‘Kufr’ (disbelief) and ‘Fisq’ (wickedness).

The lexical meaning of the word Islam is ‘submission and humility’; while the lexical meaning of the word Iman is ‘assurance and confidence’. Therefore, the meaning of Islam in the language of the Divine teachings is the state of humility and submission to the Creator of the Universe and that which is opposite to this is Shirk (polytheism) and Ilhad (atheism).

It should also be mentioned that an atheist is not humble or submissive to anything, whereas a Mushrik (polytheist) submits to idols, bodies or things that have been fashioned by one’s own hands.

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