Most Read in the Category of Degrees of Belief

Belief does not increase and decrease in quantity; it increases and decreases in quality.

What is meant by belief not increasing and decreasing in quantity is as follows:

The issues of belief like the existence and oneness of Allah, the existence of the angels and prophets and the occurrence of the hereafter are certain. There is no increase or decrease in them. There is no difference between a prophet and any believer in terms of believing those issues. Both believe in the same things. Besides, when one of the things that need to be believed is denied, a person exits the religion of Islam and becomes an unbeliever. That is, belief does not increase in quantity; everybody believes in the same things. The belief of all of us is equal.

What is meant by belief increasing and decreasing in quality is as follows: belief increases and decreases in terms of quality and perfection. For instance, investigative belief is superior to imitative belief. Certainty at the degree of witnessing is superior to certainty at the degree of knowledge; absolute certainty is superior to certainty at the degree of witnessing. It is similar to the state of a person who knows the Kaaba without seeing it and whose certainty increases when he sees it. Belief increases as a person reads and sees the evidences.

The Prophet (pbuh) expresses with the following hadith that belief increases in terms of quality: “If Abubakr’s belief were weighed against the belief of all believers, his belief would outweigh theirs.” This weight is related to the degree of perfection and quality of belief. In this regard, the belief of the whole ummah cannot be equal to Abubakr’s belief. 

It means believers are equal to one another in terms of the essence of belief and oneness. However, they are different from one another in terms of perfection and quality. For, belief is like seeing. Those who can see are not equal in terms of the strength and weakness of seeing.  Some of those who see do not see at night and some do not see during the day. Some people see only big fonts; they see small fonts only through glasses. Some people see near objects better and others see distant objects better, etc. The quality of belief is different just like that. Therefore, Imam Muhammad regards it makruh for a person to say “My belief is like Gabriel's belief.” For, there is a big difference between the belief of a person and that of Gabriel (Jibril) in terms of the quality of belief. However, it is permissible for him to say, “I believe in what Gabriel believes.” For, their belief is equal in terms of quantity.

Likewise, it is not permissible for a person to say, “My belief is like the Prophet's belief.” For, the criterion of the light of belief in the hearts of believers is different. Oneness and belief illuminate the hearts of some people like the sun. They illuminate some like the moon and others like a bright star. Oneness makes some people's hearts shine like a big blaze and others like a dim light. As the light of belief increases and its degrees rise, it eliminates doubts and lust. It makes a person obtain attributes like obedience, taqwa and asceticism. 

To sum up, belief does not increase and decrease in quantity, that is, in terms of the amount of the things to be believed. However, it increases and decreases in terms of the perfection and quality of belief. There are thousands of degrees in belief in terms of quality.

The reason why we deal with this issue here is to show that the statement of those who say, “I do not need evidence; those who have doubts deal with evidences" is wrong and to encourage people to learn the evidences.

For, we have learnt that the quality of belief increases and decreases. The perfection of belief increases and decreases; so, we have to learn the evidences of the truths of belief and meditate on them profoundly in order to make our belief perfect. Belief increases as the evidences are learnt and meditated.

• Evidence is a step in the stairs; a person is elevated spiritually with each evidence that he learns.

• Evidence is a light that illuminates the heart. Each evidence that is learnt increases the light of the heart.

• Evidence is a broom. It purifies a person of doubts and delusions. 

• Evidence is a castle; it protects man from the attacks of Satan.

It means to try to learn the evidences is an acceptable way for those who want to increase their belief. What matters is not to get rid of doubts only; therefore, the statement," We have no doubt; therefore, we do not need any evidence" is meaningless. What matters is to rise in belief and to attain perfection. The primary way to do it is to attain the certainty at the degree of knowledge that is as strong as absolute certainty by learning the evidences about what we believe.

Degrees of Belief

The importance given to the demand of evidence by the Quran

What is the fiqh decree about knowing the evidences? 

What is imitative belief?

What is investigative belief?

Does belief increase and decrease?

Belief is the key to Paradise

An important illness of our age is indifference to the truths of belief and turning faces away from the evidences that prove the truths of belief. Unfortunately, this illness affects not only heedless people but also Muslims who work seriously in order to proceed in the spiritual realm and to improve themselves. Some Muslims even go too far and regard looking for evidence in issues related to belief as unnecessary and say, “We have no doubt; therefore, we do not need any evidence.” That is, according to them, to deal with evidences that prove the truths of belief is an indication of spiritual illnesses related to the heart and something unnecessary for those who have no doubt. This view originates from lack of Islamic knowledge and from ignorance. This statement can be uttered only by those who do not know the importance Islam gives to evidence and are unaware of the real nature of belief.

Our aim to prepare this work is to express the importance Islam gives to evidence, to explain the parts of belief, to show the differences between imitative belief and investigative belief and to encourage Muslims to learn the evidences of the truths of belief by doing so. We will go over the issue in items.

The importance given to the demand of evidence by the Quran

In this part, we will deal with theimportance given to the demand of evidence by the Quran and the badness of turning faces away from evidences. In fact, a separate book can be written about the issue. For, the Quran mentions the proof of the truths of belief throughout. A person who reads only the translation of the Quran will approve it. For, the Quran uses the universe as evidence for the truths of belief. It mentions the sun, stars, clouds, rain, winds and many other things. Then, it opens windows to the truths of belief from them. It proves the existence of Allah, the occurrence of the hereafter that the Quran is the true word of Allah and the other truths of belief through the things it mentions. Therefore, to say I do not need any evidence means to accuse these verses of meaninglessness. On the contrary, we need a lot of evidence since Allah Almighty mentions evidences of the truths of belief in His book throughout. It is based on a need.  

Let us go over some verses criticizing turning faces away from evidences and indicating that evidences increase belief. 

Verse 1: “And how many Signs in the heavens and the earth do they pass by? Yet they turn (their faces) away from them.”(Yusuf: 105)

What is meant by signs in the verse above is the evidences related to the existence, oneness, names and attributes of Allah. For, everything, from flowers to trees, from ants to stars, is an evidence for the existence of Allah and they witness His oneness. In the verses above those who turn faces away from them are condemned. Are those who say they do not need any evidence not included in this condemnation? That is, though the grass a person steps on declares the existence of Allah Almighty through fifty-five languages, are those who overlook this declaration and attribute this overlooking to the strength of their belief not included in this condemnation? In the verse above, Allah clearly wants us to read the evidences on the earth and in the sky and condemns those who turn their faces away from them. Then, what a Muslim needs to do first is to learn to read those evidences, to give up turning away from them and thus to avoid being condemned.  

Verse 2: “And on their eyes is a veil.” (al-Baqara 7)

Imam Maturidi explains the phrase "veil on their eyes" mentioned in the verse as follows: This veil is not a real veil. Such a person is regarded to have a veil on his eyes since he does not see the evidences and do not use them as a means of finding Allah.

This veil means not to be able to read the evidences that prove the truths of belief, primarily, the existence and oneness of Allah. A person who says, "I do not need any evidence; I have no doubt; therefore, I do not need any evidence" and turns his face away from reading the evidences in things and does not open windows from a flower, butterfly, bird or anything leading to the existence of Allah and the other truths of belief is included among those who are described by the verse “and on their eyes is a veil.” May Allah protect us from being included among them! Then, what a Muslim needs to do first is to remove and tear that veil on his eye. It can take place only through demanding those evidences.   

Verse 3: “Behold! Abraham said: "My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead. He said: "Dost thou not then believe?" He said: "Yea! But to satisfy my own understanding."’ (al-Baqara 260)

A great prophet like Hz. Ibrahim (pbuh) asks an evidence from Allah Almighty regarding resurrection in order to satisfy his heart; how can we abandon demanding evidence and say, “We have no doubt; therefore, we do not need any evidence”? Is our belief stronger than that of Hz. Ibrahim? Why do we regard dealing with evidences unnecessary while he needs evidence?

There are two alternatives: Our belief is stronger than that of Hz. Ibrahim; he needs evidence but we do not need any evidence. Or, we have become putty in the hand of the soul by being unaware of the real nature of belief; the soul plays with us as it wishes. You can choose the correct alternative.

Verse 4: In verse259 of the chapter of al-Baqara, a story of the Prophet Uzayr (Ezra) is narrated. The summary of the story is as follows: Uzayr arrived at a ruined town and said, “Oh! How shall Allah bring it (ever) to life, after (this) its death?” Allah killed him to show him an evidence, left him like that for a hundred years and revived him. During these one hundred years, his food and drink did not go off but the bones of his donkey decayed. The one hundred years that passed seemed like a day to Uzayr. However, when he saw the decayed bones of his donkey, he understood that he slept for one hundred years. Allah revived his donkey before his eyes as an answer to his question, “How shall Allah bring it (ever) to life, after (this) its death?” The bones came together with the permission of Allah, were covered with flesh and the donkey was revived. Uzayr who had said, “How shall Allah bring it (ever) to life, after (this) its death?” one hundred years ago said the following when he saw the donkey being revived before his eyes: “I know that Allah hath power over all things.”

You can find out about the details of the story in the interpretation of the verse mentioned above. What we want to talk about here is as follows: Uzayr uttered two different sentences. The first one was when he entered the town: “Oh! How shall Allah bring it (ever) to life, after (this) its death?” The second one was when he saw that his donkey was revived: “I know that Allah hath power over all things.” These two different statements prove the value of the evidence and that belief increases with evidence.

For, “Hearing is not like seeing.” That is, seeing has a power that hearing does not have. Similarly, a belief without evidence does not have the power that a belief strengthened by evidences has.  

As we have mentioned above, it is possible to write a separate book about the importance given to evidence by the Quran and the condemnation of turning faces away from evidences. We regard the four evidences above sufficient and refer the details of the issue to the meaning of the Quran.

How does belief based on imitation turn to belief based on investigation and evidence?

There are two ways of getting rid of imitative belief and reaching investigative belief. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi explains the two ways as follows:

The First Way is the way of religious order and sufism, which trains the soul, improve the spirit and makes a person attain the truth through discovery and witnessing. Such a person is described as a person whose eye of the heart is open.

Those who attain this rank witness the truth of belief as if they see them through their eyes. This way is very luminous and prosperous. However, it necessitates a lot of painstaking and efforts. Many people start this way but very few people attain this rank, which is called discovery and witnessing; only very distinguished people attain it. Their belief is based on witnessing. We wish success from Allah for our brothers who try to reach investigative belief through this way.   

The Second Way is approving the truths of belief in a Quranic way with the union of the mind and the heart and with the strength of a certainty at the degree of knowledge at the level of absolute certainty. That is, to know the truths of belief with strong evidences as if seeing them through eyes. This is the way of the Quran. It is the road of the Companions and saints. It is called the great sainthood. The second way is the foundation, yeast, spirit and truth of Risale-i Nur.

Yes, anyone who wants to build his belief on sound evidences as if he sees them and wants to attain investigative belief can attain this rank by reading and studying the Risale-i Nur collection seriously. We advise you the Risale-i Nur collection and wish Allah to give you success in attaining investigative belief through it.

Degrees of investigative belief

How many kinds of investigativebelief are there?

Investigative belief is divided into three: They are certainty at the degree of knowledge, certainty at the degree of witnessing and absolute certainty.

We can understand these degrees through the following example: If they light a fire at the other side of the mountain and if you see the smoke, you will say, “That smoke indicates the existence of a fire and proves it. If there were not a fire, there would not be smoke. Since there is smoke, there is definitely a fire sending that smoke on the other side of the mountain. That I do not see the fire does not prove the non-existence of the fire. On the contrary, the existence of the smoke proves the existence of the fire.” To know the existence of the fire through knowledge is to reach the fire through the smoke. This kind of knowing is called certainty at the degree of knowledge.

If you climb to the top of the mountain and see the fire through your eyes, this knowing is called certainty at the degree of witnessing. It means knowing something by seeing it.

If you climb down and go to the fire and feel its heat, this knowing is called absolute certainty. You are close to the fire now and the attributes of fire have surrounded you.

Investigative belief has three degrees as in the example. A person who has certainty at the degree of knowledge knows Allah Almighty through evidences. Every created thing is like smoke for him; each of them leads him to the existence o Allah just like the smoke leading to the existence of the fire. There are hundreds of degrees in the certainty at the degree of knowledge. The degree increases based on the power of reading the evidences. 

A person who has reached the degree of certainty at the degree of witnessing reads this realm like a book. He discovers one thousand and one divine names. He sees tens of divine names in a very simple thing, like grass or a fly. That is, he watches a flower like a film.   

At the degree of absolute certainty, the veil of the unknown (ghayb) is removed. A person at this level knows the truths of belief by seeing them not through evidences. The people who are known as those whose eyes of the hearts are open are the people who have reached the degree of absolute certainty.

Along with these degrees, there is another degree which is attaining the strength of absolute certainty at the degree of knowledge; according to the statement of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, the Risale-i Nur Collection makes a person attain it. For, the strength of evidence proves the relevant truth of belief at a degree that does not necessitate a person to see through his eyes. If we act upon the example above, the smoke he sees on the mountain is not a small smoke; it is a big smoke surrounding the mountain and that person. It is such a smoke that even if the whole world came together, they could not deny the fire. As Nursi puts it, the Risale-i Nur Collection shows tens of seals peculiar to Allah Almighty on each creature and opens tens of windows to the knowledge of Allah. It makes one feel a power at the degree of absolute certainty. It leads some of its students to the degree of certainty at the degree of witnessing and makes them read the realm like a book. It is more enjoyable for them to watch a flower than a film.  

In conclusion, we can summarize the issue in items as follows:

1. Belief is divided into two as imitative belief and investigative belief.

2. Imitative belief is a kind of belief in which the divine seals and signs on the creatures cannot be read and the indication and witnessing of the beings related to the truths of belief cannot be understood.

3. Investigative belief is a kind of belief in which the names that are manifest on each being are read, the witnessing expressed by them in their tongue of disposition is heard and each truth of belief is known with their evidences.  

4. Investigative belief is divided into three as certainty at the degree of knowledge, certainty at the degree of witnessing and absolute certainty; each part has hundreds of degrees in them.

O Lord! Save our belief from imitation and make it investigative belief. Take us from degree of knowledge to the degree of witnessing so that we will be able to read one thousand and one divine names written on this realm, which is like your book. Take us from the degree of witnessing to the degree of absolute certainty. Amin!

What is the fiqh decree of not knowing the evidences of the truths of belief?

Knowing the evidences of the truths of belief

According to Imam Abu Hanifa, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Shafii, Sufyan ath-Thawri and all of the other scholars, the belief of a person is sound even if it is without evidence. However, he is a sinner since he has abandoned seeking evidence. According to these scholars, it is wajib to know the evidences of belief and it is haram to abandon it.  

Imam Ashari goes further sand says, “The condition for the soundness of belief is to know all issues of belief through rational evidences.” Accordingly, a person who does not know the evidences of belief is not an absolute believer in the eye of Ashari. This person is not an unbeliever though he is not an absolute believer since he has what is opposite of unbelief. This person is a sinner since he has abandoned searching and demanding evidence. Imam Ashari goes on, “Such a person is like the other sinners - that is, like those who drink alcohol, gamble and commit other deeds. It is up to Allah how to treat them. If He wishes, He will forgive them and send to Paradise; if He wishes, He will punish them in accordance with their sins and then send to Paradise.”

According to the imams of three madhhabs, Imam Abu Hanifa, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Shafii, it is wajib to demand evidence and to know issues related to belief with their evidences. A person who does not know them is a believer but he is a sinner since he has abandoned seeking evidence. This is the view of the majority of the scholars. Imam Ashari accepts evidence as the condition for the soundness of belief and states that a person who does not know the truths of belief with their evidences is not an absolute believer.

Then, the first thing to do for a Muslim is to learn the evidences of the truths of belief, which are wajib, and to get rid of the attribute "sinner" given because of abandoning learning the evidences. It is necessary for a believer like performing prayers, fasting and sacrificing an animal. It is fard al-ayn, not fard al-kifayah.

In conclusion, we can say that it is wajib to know the truths of belief with the unanimous agreement of scholars and it is haram to abandon demanding evidence. Then, everybody understands that the statement, "There is no need for evidence; we have no doubt; therefore, we do not need evidence" is wrong and contrary to the spirit of Islam. Those who regard dealing with evidences as unnecessary should hear this.

What is investigative belief?

Belief based on evidence and research

Investigative belief: The people with this belief see the divine signs and seals on all creatures. They read the divine names and attributes manifest on them. They hear the glorifications uttered by the creatures with their tongue of disposition. They listen to their witnessing about the existence and oneness of Allah Almighty and the other truths of belief. That is, when they look at a flower, they find evidences of the six truths of belief in it. They prove the existence of the hereafter and angels, and the other truths of belief. The truths of belief are not in their minds only. They have penetrated into their hearts, spirits and other faculties. They have an unshakable belief in this respect.  

That is, the people with this belief see Allah's seal on all creatures and read His names and attributes. They look at one flower and read the names al-Musawwir (the Shaper of Beauty), al-Mujammil (the Adorner), al-Muzayyin (the Decorator), al-Bari (the Maker of Order) and al-Hakim(the Perfectly Wise) in its design. They think about the names  ar-Rahman (the All Merciful), al-Karim (the Generous), al-Wahhab (the Giver of All), al-Muqit (the Nourisher), al-Mun’im (the Provider of Bounties), ar-Razzaq (the Sustainer) and al-Mujib (the Responder to Prayers) when they see the sustenance given to them perfectly. They see the name al-Muhyi (the Giver of Life), in the life given to them, al-Hafiz (the Preserver) in the preservation of their programs in their seeds, al-Mulawwin (the Giver of Color) in their coloration al-Wahid (the Unique), al-Ahad (the One), al-Fard (the Single) in their resemblance to the other flowers, al-Khaliq (the Creator), al-Mujid (the Inventor) in their creation, al-Falik (the Ripper) and al-Fattah (the Opener) in their ripping the seeds and coming out, etc. They read one thousand one divine names in each creature. According to the people with this belief, every creature is a divine poem, letter and book. One thousand and one divine names were written in that book and sent to this world for meditation. 

If we get rid of imitative belief and proceed to investigative belief, even our words will change. The reflection of belief will penetrate into our words. Then, we will know that rain does not come down, it is made come down. The sun does not rotate; it is made rotate. A bird or a flower is not beautiful; they have been created beautifully. We are not full up; we are made full. We do not drink; we are made drink. We do not get well; we are made get well. This is the reflection of the real oneness on words.

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi explains the difference between imitative belief and investigative belief through an example as follows:  

If the goods of a rich man arrive in a market or a town, there are two ways in which it is known they are his. One is briefly and simply, as with ordinary people, which is: No one apart from him is capable of owning this vast amount of goods. However, when under the supervision of a common man such as that much of it may be stolen. Many others may claim ownership of parts of it. The second sort is this: through reading his writing on every packet, recognizing his signature on every roll, and seeing his seal on every bill, the man declares: "Everything belongs to that person."

The market in the example is this realm and the universe. The various goods in the market are the living and non-living things in the world. The being whose goods arrive in the market is Allah Almighty. He sent unlimited number of things from animals, plants and non-living things to the market of this world. A person with imitative belief thinks as follows: It is not possible for any being except Allah to create this immense universe and the adorned works in it. However, this person can have a doubt since he cannot see the seal and stamp of Allah Almighty on them. Thieves like unconscious nature, blind force and vagrant coincidence can steal some goods. That is, they may make him attribute some things to a being other than Allah.

Such a danger is not in question for a person with investigative belief. For, he sees the divine seal and signature present on each being in the market of the realm. Since he attributes each being to Allah Almighty with evidences, even the smallest theft is not possible. For, he sees fifty-five different divine seals on the wing of a fly. Who dares to erase those seals and to stamp his own seal? Or, who dares to cover those seals?  

Our aim is not to show the divine signatures and seals on the beings; our aim is to show the differences between investigative belief and imitative belief; so, we will not explain the seals. Therefore, we refer those who want to learn about the fifty-five seals mentioned above to Nursi's booklet called “Katre” (Droplet) and the work explaining the beautiful names of Allah called "Everything is telling about Him".

However, a person with imitative belief is unaware of the fifty-five seals stamped on even the simplest thing. He cannot read the divine writings. Therefore, a person who shows him the wrong and fake seal on a being can persuade him and introduce himself as its owner. He may divide Allah Almighty's possessions among thieves and accepts fictitious partners.

To know that one is always in the presence of Allah

Oneness of presence is a fruit of investigative belief; it means to know that one is always in the presence and under the observation of Allah, Allah Almighty opens windows in all incidents and not to be heedless of Allah any moment. We can understand the meaning of belief of presence better by making a person with belief of presence and a person with imitative belief travel imaginarily in certain places as follows:   

Suppose that a person with belief of presence and a person with imitative belief are watching shadow puppetry. The person with imitative belief is engrossed in the play and watches it joyfully by forgetting Allah. The person with belief of presence thinks as follows: These acts change all the time. The characters on the stage are lifeless and unconscious things. It is not possible for a lifeless and unconscious thing to act properly, to speak and to show the manifestation of knowledge, will and power. Then, behind these changing acts, there must be an unchanging hand for these proper scenes to occur. This unchanging hand must have life, knowledge, will, power and other attributes. It is not possible to explain the proper system on the stage without the presence of such a hand. We might not see that hand but we cannot deny its presence because what it does is visible.  

The person with belief of presence who reaches the unchanging hand from changing acts flies to the universe from there and thinks as follows: This universe always changes like the shadow puppetry and it is administered regularly during the changes. In fact, some of the beings in this universe are lifeless and some are unconscious like the characters in the shadow puppetry. It is not possible for those lifeless and unconscious beings to do such wise activities on their own. Then, there must be an unchanging being behind the veil of the universe. This wise activity cannot be explained by anything except His existence.

The person with imitative belief that watches the same show is unaware of Allah but the person with belief of presence reaches the unchanging hand from the acts that change systematically in the shadow puppetry then the changing universe and then to Allah; and he meditates on the wise activities of Allah. Two different thoughts on the same stage! One of them is heedless and the other is learning lessons and meditating on the divine activities.

After that, these two friends leave the shadow puppetry and go to a funfair. The person with imitative belief is also heedless there; the person with belief of presence is meditating again. He looks at bumper cars, thinks and finds a door leading to Allah as follows: When the control is in different hands, there is a mess. Everything crashes one another and the order is broken. It means, order can take place when one person has the control. When another hand intervenes, things get messed up. Since there is no disorder in the universe, there are no extra hands in control. This universe proves the existence and oneness of Allah with its order. If there was an extra hand, stars would hit one another like those bumper cars.

When the person with imitative belief is in heedlessness, the person with belief of presence is in meditation again.

Then, these two friends leave the funfair and go to Dolmabahçe Palace. They look at the chandelier that weighs five thousand tons. The person with imitative belief thinks of its maker and congratulates him by saying, "He is a real master." However, he does not think of Allah and the art of Allah. The person with belief of presence looks at the chandelier and says, “Even this chandelier cannot come into being without a master. Even if the whole world came together, they could not persuade us that this chandelier was fixed in this palace coincidentally on its own. If such a chandelier cannot come into being without a master, can the sun, which is like the chandelier of the world, be without a master and owner?”

That is, while his friends sees only the chandelier and its master, he looks at the sun, the chandelier of the world, after the chandelier and open windows from the sun leading to Allah Almighty, thinks about Him, meditates on Himand knows that he is in His presence.

These imaginary friends go to a supermarket after that. The person with imitative belief is still in heedlessness; he is looking around by forgetting not only Allah but also himself; on the other hand, his friend, who has belief of presence, looks at the orderly design and perfect storage of the goods and says, "even this small shop indicates a being with the perfect arrangement and storage of the goods and nobody can deny the existence of this being, whose activity is before our eyes; do the orderly arranged creatures and stored mines in the world not indicate their Maker? Do they not introduce Him to us with His names like the designer, the arranger and the knower of all?

Consequently, the person with imitative belief is still in heedlessness but the person with belief of presence is meditating.

It is possible to make these two imaginary friends go to different places. This is what matters: The person with belief of presence is always with Allah; he thinks about Him and opens windows to Him in everything; he feels that he is always in His presence; in fact, he believes with absolute certainty that he will never be away from his knowledge and control. This is a great rank and can be obtained only by attaining investigative belief.

May our Lord give all of us such belief of presence! Amin!

What is belief based on imitation?

How many kinds of belief are there?

Belief is divided into two.

1- Imitative belief and

2- Investigative belief

What is imitative belief?

Imitative belief is belief that is not based on evidence and searching.

The people with this kind of belief cannot read the seals and evidences belonging to Allah on the beings. They cannot see the manifestations of divine names and attributes. They cannot read on behalf of Allah the creatures each of which is a divine letter, poem and book. They cannot reach the artist from the art, the decorator from the decoration, the cause from the effect, the indicator from the indication. When they look at a flower, they only see its apparent beauty; they cannot meditate on the divine names and attributes manifest on them. They cannot hear the witnessing of the flower related to the existence and oneness of Allah and the other truths of belief. Such a person is unaware of what is happening around him, blind to the beauties in the book of the universe and deaf to the tongues of the events that tell the truth. Therefore, he is shallow and insufficient in his belief and loveless and aweless in his worshipping.  

We can understand a person who has imitative belief through two questions:

Question 1: Do you believe in Allah and the other truths of belief?

His answer to this question is “Yes, I do.”

Question 2 is a bit more difficult: “Why do you believe?”

He has no answer to this question. For, he is not a Muslim because he believes in Allah and the other truths of belief but he believes in Allah because he is a Muslim. His mother, father and the people around him are Muslims; so, he is a Muslim, too.  

People with imitative belief catch the illness of habituation. They cannot meditate on objective and subjective evidences. This lack of meditation leads him to heedlessness or denial. It is the last act of habituation, which is a bitter fruit of belief.