Three Dimensions of One Faith: Islam, Iman, and Ihsan in Muslim Tradition and Non-Muslim Scholarship

A Paper on Islamic Studies

Introduction

Background

Many people associate Islam mainly with rituals such as prayer and fasting. Muslim scholars, however, have long described religion as having three connected dimensions: Islam (submission and practice), Iman (faith), and Ihsan (spiritual excellence). The classic source of this threefold structure is the hadith of Gabriel, in which the angel, appearing as a man, asks the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about each of the three in turn.[1] Modern writers have even used this hadith as the organizing frame for entire books on Islamic thought.[2] Seyyed Hossein Nasr likewise presents these three dimensions as the core of the Islamic tradition.[3]

The three concepts have also attracted the attention of non-Muslim scholars, who study them as historians, linguists, and scholars of comparative religion. Their views offer a useful outside perspective, even though they approach the topic differently from believers.

Problem Statements

1. What does the hadith of Gabriel teach about Islam, Iman, and Ihsan?
2. How are the three concepts explained in Muslim tradition?
3. How do the three concepts relate to one another?
4. How do non-Muslim authors view these concepts?
5. What is their relevance for daily life?

Objectives

This paper aims to explain the three concepts based on the Qur'an, the hadith, and ten scholarly books, to compare Muslim and non-Muslim perspectives, and to show how the concepts apply to social life.

Discussion

A. The Hadith of Gabriel

In the well-known narration reported by Umar ibn al-Khattab, a stranger with very white clothes and very black hair, showing no signs of travel, sat before the Prophet and asked three questions. He asked about Islam, and the Prophet answered with the five pillars: testifying that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is His Messenger, establishing prayer, giving zakat, fasting in Ramadan, and performing pilgrimage for those who are able. He asked about Iman, and the Prophet answered: belief in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and divine decree. He asked about Ihsan, and the Prophet answered that it is to worship God as though you see Him, for even if you do not see Him, He sees you. At the end, the Prophet explained that the visitor was Gabriel, who had come to teach the people their religion (din). This shows that all three together make up the religion.

B. Islam: Submission and Practice

The word islam means submission, and in the hadith it refers to outward practice: the five pillars. These acts give the faith a visible form and create a shared community discipline. John Esposito describes the pillars as a framework that shapes Muslim life and expresses commitment to God.[4]

The Qur'an also teaches that outward submission and deep faith are not always the same. In Surah Al-Hujurat (49:14), some desert Arabs claimed to have believed, and they were told that they had only submitted for now, because faith had not yet entered their hearts. Classical scholars used this verse to distinguish the two terms.

C. Iman: Faith in the Heart

Iman refers to inner conviction and trust. The Qur'an lists its objects in several places, including God, the angels, the revealed books, and the messengers (2:285; 4:136; see also 2:177). The tradition has long stressed that faith is not only a statement but a living trust that shapes behavior. Fazlur Rahman, a modern Muslim scholar, highlights the Qur'an's close link between faith and moral action, especially concern for justice and social responsibility.[5]

In the early centuries, Muslims also debated the nature of faith. W. Montgomery Watt describes how groups such as the Kharijites held that a grave sin could remove a person from the community of believers, while the Murji'ites stressed faith in the heart and postponed judgment on sinners to God.[6] Later schools of theology refined these discussions. Toshihiko Izutsu analyzed this history through the meanings of the words iman and islam and showed how central the question of faith and works was to Islamic theology.[7]

D. Ihsan: Spiritual Excellence

Ihsan means doing what is beautiful and excellent. The Qur'an says that God is with those who do ihsan (16:128), that He loves those who do good (2:195), and it asks whether the reward for ihsan could be anything but ihsan (55:60). In the hadith, Ihsan is the awareness of God's presence in every act of worship and conduct.

This dimension became central to the Sufi tradition. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, one of Islam's greatest scholars, wrote that learning alone did not satisfy him and that he found certainty by turning to the path of purifying the heart.[8] Annemarie Schimmel describes Sufism as the inward and mystical dimension of Islam, concerned with purification of the self and love of God, and traces its roots to the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet.[9]

E. How the Three Fit Together

A common way of explaining the relationship is that Islam is the outward form of religion, Iman is its inner conviction, and Ihsan is the perfection of both. Murata and Chittick present the three as dimensions of one reality rather than separate subjects.[10] A person who prays without faith has only the shell, a person who claims faith without practice has a theory without action, and a person who has neither sincerity nor excellence has missed the purpose of the whole. Together they describe a believer who submits in action, trusts in the heart, and strives for beauty in conduct.

F. Non-Muslim Authors on the Three Concepts

Non-Muslim scholars do not usually affirm the truth claims of Islam, but they have studied its concepts with care. Six authors are discussed here.

Toshihiko Izutsu (Japanese philosopher and linguist). Izutsu applied semantic analysis to the Qur'anic vocabulary of faith and to later theological schools. He demonstrated that the relationship between iman and islam was a major point of debate, including whether works belong to faith.[11] His contribution is to show that these are rich technical concepts with a history, not simple translations of "belief" and "religion."

Wilfred Cantwell Smith (Canadian historian of religion). Smith argued that "faith" in the world's religious traditions is better understood as a personal orientation or commitment than as agreement with a list of propositions, and that the modern English word "belief" has drifted toward mere intellectual opinion.[12] Read this way, iman is closer to trust and commitment than to simple assent, which matches how Muslim scholars describe it.

W. Montgomery Watt (Scottish historian). Watt treats the debates over faith as part of the political and theological history of early Islam, linking questions about who counts as a believer to the unity of the early community.[13] His view highlights how a concept of faith can also shape social boundaries.

Annemarie Schimmel (German scholar of Islam). Schimmel studied the inward side of Islam and portrayed Sufism as a living spiritual path rooted in the Islamic revelation.[14] Her sympathetic account helps readers see why Muslims who emphasize Ihsan regard it as the soul of the religion.

John L. Esposito (American scholar of Islam). Esposito explains Islam as a way of life organized around the pillars, in which faith and practice are bound together in a single community.[15] His work is widely used to introduce non-specialists to the practical dimension of the religion.

Karen Armstrong (British author on religion). Armstrong argues that Islam places strong emphasis on practice and on building a just and compassionate society, and that elaborate doctrinal speculation was less central in the early community than living out commitment to God.[16] Her view supports the idea that Islam and Ihsan are as important as abstract creed.

Several themes appear across these authors. First, they generally agree that Iman is more than mental agreement. Second, they see Islam as a practical and communal discipline. Third, they recognize Ihsan or Sufi spirituality as an important inner dimension. A difference remains: Muslim scholars ground the concepts in revelation, while non-Muslim authors usually explain them through history, language, and comparative study. Both approaches can enrich one another when used carefully.

G. Relevance for Daily Life

The three concepts offer a simple guide for modern life. Islam means keeping one's commitments and practicing worship and community duties. Iman means holding firm trust in God that shapes one's decisions. Ihsan means doing every task, whether study, work, trade, or service to others, with honesty and excellence, as if God is watching. Together they encourage people to avoid empty ritual, to avoid faith without action, and to bring the best of themselves into every area of life.

Conclusion

The hadith of Gabriel presents the religion as three connected dimensions: Islam as submission and practice, Iman as inner faith, and Ihsan as spiritual excellence. Muslim scholars treat them as a unified whole, and non-Muslim scholars such as Izutsu, Smith, Watt, Schimmel, Esposito, and Armstrong have studied them from linguistic, historical, and comparative viewpoints. Their conclusions largely agree that faith is more than belief and that Islam joins inner conviction with outward practice and moral action.

Notes

1. Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Sahih Muslim, Book of Faith (Kitab al-Iman), hadith no. 8 (narration of Umar ibn al-Khattab); Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Faith (Kitab al-Iman), hadith no. 50 (narration of Abu Hurayra, Fath al-Bari numbering).
2. Sachiko Murata and William C. Chittick, The Vision of Islam (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1994).
3. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002).
4. John L. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
5. Fazlur Rahman, Islam, 2nd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979).
6. W. Montgomery Watt, The Formative Period of Islamic Thought (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1973).
7. Toshihiko Izutsu, The Concept of Belief in Islamic Theology: A Semantic Analysis of Iman and Islam (Tokyo: Keio Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, 1965).
8. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, The Faith and Practice of al-Ghazali, trans. W. Montgomery Watt (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1953).
9. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1975).
10. Murata and Chittick, The Vision of Islam.
11. Izutsu, The Concept of Belief in Islamic Theology.
12. Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Faith and Belief (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979).
13. Watt, The Formative Period of Islamic Thought.
14. Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam.
15. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path.
16. Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History (New York: Modern Library, 2000).

Bibliography

1. Armstrong, Karen. Islam: A Short History. New York: Modern Library, 2000.
2. al-Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Isma'il. Sahih al-Bukhari.
3. Esposito, John L. Islam: The Straight Path. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
4. al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid. The Faith and Practice of al-Ghazali. Translated by W. Montgomery Watt. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1953.
5. Izutsu, Toshihiko. The Concept of Belief in Islamic Theology: A Semantic Analysis of Iman and Islam. Tokyo: Keio Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, 1965.
6. Murata, Sachiko, and William C. Chittick. The Vision of Islam. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1994.
7. Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. Sahih Muslim.
8. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002.
9. Rahman, Fazlur. Islam. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.
10. Schimmel, Annemarie. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1975.
11. Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. Faith and Belief. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979.
12. Watt, W. Montgomery. The Formative Period of Islamic Thought. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1973.