(59) Sufiyan bin Abdullah Saqfi has related to us that, once, he asked the Prophet, “O Apostle of God! Tell me an all-encompassing thing about Islam so that, after you, I may not have to ask from anyone in this regard.” The Prophet replied, “Say, I believe in God, and remain true to it.”
-Muslim
Commentary.-It is enough for a man to make himself the faithful bondsman of God by affirming faith in Him as the Lord and Creator of the Worlds, and, then, to make the conscientious fulfillment of the duties stemming from it his characteristic behaviour and way of life.
This Tradition is included among the “all-embracing sayings.” The sacred Prophet has summed up the fundamental meaning and purpose of Islam in a few words. Faith in God and constancy and steadfastness in it constitutes the pith and essence of Islam. The significance of faith in God has already been explained in the commentary of the Tradition placed at the head of the present compilation while steadfastness means to pursue faithfully and unchangingly the Straight Path and to preserve in it at all times. Strict observance of the Divine injunctions, positive as well as negative, is, so to speak, the name of constancy in Faith. Some of the leading Sufi-saints have remarked that “steadfastness is better than a thousand supernatural deeds.” Once a person has learnt the lesson of steadfastness, he has learnt everything. After it, there is left nothing for him to aspire for. At various places in the Quran, felicity has been associated with faith in God and steadfastness. Take the following verse, for instance.
Lo! Those who say: Our Lord is Allah, and afterward are upright, the angels descend on them saying : Fear not nor grieve, but hear good tidings of the Paradise which ye are promised. (xli : 30)
Seeing that the Traditions of the Prophet were based upon Quranic teachings it can be said that the reply to Sufiyan bin Abdullah Saqfi was in the light of the verses like the one reproduced above.
(60) It is related by Tamin Dari that the Apostle of God, once, said: “Faith is the name of loyalty and earnestness.” He was asked, “Loyalty and earnestness towards whom?” The Prophet replied, “Towards God, towards His Book, towards His Apostle, towards the leaders of Muslims, and towards the Muslims as a whole.”
-Muslim
Commentary.-This Tradition, too, is included among the “all-embracing sayings.” According to Imam Naudi, it is comprehensive of all the objectives of Faith and to act upon it is to fulfil its aim and purpose altogether.
No aspect or department of Faith has been left out in the above Tradition. It declares that Islam consists of loyalty to God, to His Book, to His Apostles, to the leaders of Muslims and to the entire Muslim Millet, and this is what Faith is,without a trace of doubt.
Loyalty to God means that He should be believed in ; the knowledge and awareness of Him should be acquired as much as possible : He should be loved to the utmost ; worship and obeisance should be rendered to Him : no one should be associated with Him ; and, He should be feared as the true Lord and Sovereign. In brief, the obligations of servility ought to be observed to the full in respect of Him and His commands carried out faithfully.
Loyalty to the Book of God implies that it should be accepted as the Divine Word; due regard should be paid to its glory and greatness ; its knowledge should be acquired and spread ; and, its teachings should be observed dutifully in practice.
Likewise, loyalty to the Prophet signifies that faith should be affirmed in his Apostleship ; he should be held in respect and reverence ; warm affection should be felt for him, and for his precepts and practices and, salvation should be believed to lie in following him with all one's heart.
Further, loyalty to the rulers and leaders of the Muslims denotes that co-operation should be extended to them in the discharge of their responsibilities ; they should be held in proper esteem, and if they seemed to err, sincere efforts should be made to correct them ; good counsel should not be held back from them ; and, they should be obeyed as far as it is permissible in Islam.
And, lastly, loyalty to the Muslim Millet means that attitude towards the Muslims, as a whole, should be one of sympathy and goodwill ; their gain should be considered to be one's own gain and their loss to be one's own loss ; and, every possible help and service should be accorded to them ungrudgingly.
From the above it will be clear how this Tradition is inclusive of every branch of Faith and why to act upon it sincerely is to fulfil all the obligations of Islam.