Ei'man / Momin / Momineen
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peace be upon you,
since several people here are discussing alternative meanings of "muslim" and "islam" other then "submitter/surrenderer" and "submission/surrender" I believe this word needs some serious rethinking as well because from my study I believe "belief" is a mere shadow to the actual meaning of the word, here's Parwez's definition of it from his glossary
http//www.toluislam.com/pub_online/exposition/glossary_e_to_h.htm#_Toc428590224
Amnun means peace, safety, state of mind where one feels safe from fear or danger (2/24). Also when one feels safe, secure and at peace. Ibn-e-Faris says that its basic meanings are-
Peace of mind
To testify
The opposite of dishonesty.
Amana is to satisfy someone and put him at ease without fear, to provide peace or protection to someone, to take over the responsibilities of someone's protection (Taj).Aitimanun is to trust someone, have confidence on someone, take someone as trustee or protector (Taj).
Naq'atun Amoon is a she-camel which is dependable by virtue of her qualities and can take one through the journey without getting weak or falling down after stumbling (Taj).
Momin is one who stands guarantee for peace, upon whom one can depend, rely and then rest at peace, one who guarantee international peace (Taj).
Amanat is something which is entrusted to someone (Moheet).
Ameen is one who is contended, at peace, trustworthy, reliable, dependable.
Baladun Ameen is a city where peace and security prevails (Makkah)(95/3).
Muqamun Ameen is a place which provides adequate provisions of protection and security (44/52).
To declare Ei'man, therefore, means-
To believe, admit, accept or not to reject.
To testify the truthfulness, not to contradict.
To have confidence, reliance, trust.
To accept, to obey, to bow in obedience.
According to the Holy Quran, Ei'man on the following five fundamental entities is needed in order to become a Momin (2/177)-Allah.
The Law of Mukaf'at and the life Hereafter.
The Malaika.
The revealed Books.
The Anbia.
Ei'man in Allah means to have faith in His Existence, to trust His every word, to depend upon the Laws given by Him and declare that one would obey those Laws.
To have faith in the Law of Mukaf'at means to have firm conviction in that law (see Mukaf'at), and to have faith in the continuity of life after death.
To have faith in Malaika means to believe that all heavenly forces are in operation in the universe to implement the tasks / programmes given to them by Allah, and that all heavenly forces have been forced to bow before man. Now it is up to man to conquer them after finding out their governing laws.
To have faith in Anbia means that man's intellect alone cannot carry him to the destination. Super-human guidance is needed for that, and this guidance has been provided by Wahi through the chosen people called "Anbia."
To have faith in the Books means to have faith in the Laws provided in the Books by Allah, and that if a person leads his life according to those Laws, he can reach his destination. There is no other way to reach that destination. After the revelation of the Holy Quran, however, no other book be taken as the complete and final book of Allah's Laws.
Therefore "Momin" means a person who has firm conviction, faith, and trust in the laws prevailing in the universe and those revealed through Wahi. He should have conviction in the Law of Mukaf'at in this world as well as in the world Hereafter. A party (Jama'at) consisting of such persons is called Jama'at-ul-Momineen. At the same time Allah has cautioned that existence of such Jama'at would be of no use if it is in name only and gets deprived of the required qualities, like the way it happened earlier with the Jews and the Christians. They were also cautioned and asked to express faith like the way the Muslims are asked to do (2/137).The Quran also points out that one should not have faith under any pressure, consideration or temptation but out of deep and firm conviction coming out of the core of one's heart. He can call himself a Momin only if he has conviction on the unalterable and unchangeable Laws of Allah (49/14).
In the Holy Quran, Allah has called Himself Al-Momin (59/23) - as He is responsible for the safety, security of the entire universe - and, therefore, Momin is also a person who ensures peace and security in the world by acting and enforcing the Laws given by Allah.
Another aspect of Ei'man needs some elaboration. This is usually translated in English as "belief" or "faith," and faith in turn signifies acceptance without proof or argument, or without reference to reason or thought, knowledge or insight. Faith is generally regarded as the negation of knowledge or reason; it is said about Kant, for instance, that "he found it necessary to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith."
According to the Holy Quran, however, Ei'man is not what has been described above as believing; it is what Kant calls knowledge. In fact, Ei'man is synonymous with "conviction" and is based upon reason and knowledge. The Holy Quran does not recognise Ei'man as any belief that is divorced from reason and involves the blind acceptance of any postulate. While it is true that Deen involves the acceptance of certain things which cannot be comprehended through senses of perception, there is no reason to presume that things which cannot be thus perceived do not exist. Indeed, our reason and thinking compel us to recognise the existence of many such things. In any event, Ei'man, according to the Holy Quran, signifies the conviction that results from full mental acceptance and intellectual satisfaction. This kind of conviction gives one a feeling of Amn - inner contentment and peace (Amn and Ei'man have a common root). And Momin is one who accepts the truth and acts in such a way that it ensures his own peace and helps him to safeguard the peace and security of the rest of mankind. Indeed, Al-Momin is one of the most important Attributes of Allah Himself.
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Salam brother,
I do feel that the essence of the word EEMAN is Trust and Safety. So when GOD is the Mu'min, then he is The Feels Safe and/or that Trusts, which is compatible with the attributes of GOD.
For Humans they are usually called Mu'min Bi and therefore it means Trusts in/Feel safe in/Attainns safety in.
This goes well with the Ayah
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Qalati al-aAArabu amannaqul lam tu/minoo walakin qooloo aslamna walammayadkhuli al-eemanu fee quloobikum wa-in tuteeAAooAllaha warasoolahu la yalitkum min aAAmalikumshay-an inna Allaha ghafoorun raheemun
The desert Arabs say, "We believe." Say, "Ye have no faith; but ye (only)say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah,' For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."The translator here used faith. However, I feel that it will fit better if he/she used Feel safe/ trust/attain safety (in GOD)
This is my humble opinion
Hussein
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peace be upon you hlatif,
Salam brother,
I do feel that the essence of the word EEMAN is Trust and Safety. So when GOD is the Mu'min, then he is The Feels Safe and/or that Trusts, which is compatible with the attributes of GOD.
I agree but I think peace is involved as well, as far as I've seen eiman encompasses peace, trust, and security
For Humans they are usually called Mu'min Bi and therefore it means Trusts in/Feel safe in/Attainns safety in.
bi=with, from what you just pointed out I now understand why The God is described as "Al-Mumin" as well because we have "eiman" WITH Him, I agree though that it can mean "have trust with", "feel safe/security with", "attain safety/security with" but i also think it can mean "have/attain peace with"
This goes well with the Ayah
.
Qalati al-aAArabu amannaqul lam tu/minoo walakin qooloo aslamna walammayadkhuli al-eemanu fee quloobikum wa-in tuteeAAooAllaha warasoolahu la yalitkum min aAAmalikumshay-an inna Allaha ghafoorun raheemun
The desert Arabs say, "We believe." Say, "Ye have no faith; but ye (only)say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah,' For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."The translator here used faith. However, I feel that it will fit better if he/she used Feel safe/ trust/attain safety (in GOD)
This is my humble opinion
i agree, it does fit well but to attain an even better understanding we have to translation "muslim" and "islam" right which is now being discussed with bros idolfree and someone and sister marie, I think Layth oughtta take the generic term "believer" and "belief" out of the free-minds translation, the peopleprogod translation translates "mumin" as "loyalist" and "eiman" as "loyalty", what are your thoughts on that?
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Salam Idris,
I think that you have some great points that I agree with. I think that the meaning of Iman as we have been discussing give a deeper meaning than Iman than just belief, snce Trust in, with/Safety in, with and may be peace in with GOD are step further than just mere belief.
I do not agree with the loyalty translation though. We have to be loyal but from other words as ABD and ibada.
Salam
Hussein
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Salam Idris,
I have been thinking some more of the word Bi. I don't think that it can means With. It is a challenging word to translate and I think it means (In )and/or (By), probably the two together, however sometimes one element of the meaning is stronger than the other.
I guess the reason I don't think that BI means With is the fact that there is an Arabic word for with (MAA) M and then Ain. However there is not an Arabic word for By and it is usually covered by the Bi.
As for the peace component, I think that I need to think some more about it. I know, howver, that peace can be a by product of Safety and Trust.
So Mu'min Bi would be Trusts in (GOD) or Trusts By (GOD), Safe in GOD and Safe By (GOD). As if saying the person feels Safe and trusts in GOD and that same person, at the same time, attains the Trust and the safety By (GOD) (GOD is the source of the safety and trust to this person)
I hope that I make sense. Tell me what you think. Salam
Hussein
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peace be upon you,
Salam Idris,
I have been thinking some more of the word Bi. I don't think that it can means With. It is a challenging word to translate and I think it means (In )and/or (By), probably the two together, however sometimes one element of the meaning is stronger than the other.
I guess the reason I don't think that BI means With is the fact that there is an Arabic word for with (MAA) M and then Ain. However there is not an Arabic word for By and it is usually covered by the Bi.
As for the peace component, I think that I need to think some more about it. I know, howver, that peace can be a by product of Safety and Trust.
So Mu'min Bi would be Trusts in (GOD) or Trusts By (GOD), Safe in GOD and Safe By (GOD). As if saying the person feels Safe and trusts in GOD and that same person, at the same time, attains the Trust and the safety By (GOD) (GOD is the source of the safety and trust to this person)
I hope that I make sense. Tell me what you think. Salam
Hussein
if you notice the term "bi" is always used with the nonphysical which is even more proof that bakka is not a physical place 396-97 but thast a whole other discussion, i think "bi" meaning "by" is highly probable but then again though "inda" is translated as "near" and "at" most of the time it is used with nonphysical things ("albayt" and "al masjid al haram" is another discussion whether these are physical or not) and is translated as "by" so i'm starting to think that is what it means, i'm not sure about "maa" though, it could possibly be referring to physically "with" such as "I am walking with my dog"
so i think that
"bi"="with" non physically
"maa"="with" physically
"inda"="by"peace
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Salam Idris,
if you notice the term "bi" is always used with the nonphysical which is even more proof that bakka is not a physical place 396-97 but thast a whole other discussion
I am presenting two situations where the BI points to something physical.
260 Wa-ithi istasqa moosaliqawmihi faqulna idrib biAAasaka alhajara
And remember Moses prayed for water for his people; We said "Strike the rock with thy staff."273 Faqulna idriboohu bibaAAdiha
So We said "Strike the (body) with a piece of the (heifer)."note in both the With can be replaced by BY
I think that it is probably most difficult to try to give precise meaning to those little bitty BI, IND, ALA, MA and you will have to be careful. It is very tempting since English has things that are similar but not the same. That is a source of confusion.
As for Bakka. One of the meanings that I found in Qamoos Muheet is Valley and MAKKA is in a valley, which is not the case for Jerusalem as Layth suggested in his article. Jerusalem is on a plateau. Also the place in Jerusalem that has a name similar to BAKKA is BAK"AAa with a AIN at the end which is not the case with Bakka.
Salam and sorry for digressing
Hussein
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Peace be upon you Hlatif,
I am presenting two situations where the BI points to something physical.
260 Wa-ithi istasqa moosaliqawmihi faqulna idrib biAAasaka alhajara
And remember Moses prayed for water for his people; We said "Strike the rock with thy staff."It can be argued that the "staff" is not physical. The "staff" represents the philosophy of the God that was made active for Musa. Musa was told to seperate the rock with his philosophy. The rock is the hardness of the heart. Those that try to make all understandings PHYSICAL. That which is spiritual rises, and that which is physical falls. The physical world is an illusion, we have to use the God's philosophy to seperate the hard heart. Also keep in mind that the context of this verse deals with something spiritual, because in the next verse, his people ask for a variety of foods like garlic. We all know that garlic is an EXCELLENT food for our bodies, but Musa responds;
He said "Do you exchange/substitute what is weaker/poorer with what it is good/best ?
They were told they could DESCEND DOWN to any town and get that. So the questin is , when did GARLIC become a weak food? My answer is that Musa was feeding them MENTALLY/SPIRITUALLY, Therefore the objects being spolen of were not physical.
273 Faqulna idriboohu bibaAAdiha
So We said "Strike the (body) with a piece of the (heifer)."(273) So We said "Seperate it with some of it." Like that The God revives/makes alive the deads and He shows you His signs , maybe you reason/understand/comprehend.
They were told to seerate the NAFS with a pices of the heifer. How does seperate a mind(nafs)?
I am thinking that the God is comparing the nafs with the animal, telling us of its animal nature which mankind is here to transcend.
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peace be upon you hlatif and idolfree,
we can spend all day arguing a million signs (ayat) that these words occur in, but I believe the real discussion here is the correct translation of "eiman" which is far more important and which I see there is an overwhelming amount of evidence as meaning trust/security, sorry for getting off the topic earlier but we should be discussing the meanings of "bi" and other words like it in another thread, I'll personally start it up amd I'm all for discussing the translation of "bi" cause I believe itll clear up many signs (ayat) of this reading (quran)