The Six Pillars of Iman
From the Hadith of Jibril (the foundational catechism of Islam): Jibril appeared as a man and asked the Prophet about Islam, iman, and ihsan. On iman:
“Iman is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in the divine decree (qadar) — both its good and its evil.”
1. Belief in Allah: Tawhid — divine unity, names, attributes. The Ash’ari/Maturidi schools developed the ‘ilm al-kalam framework to define these rationally.
2. Belief in Angels: Created from light; neither male nor female; serve specific functions (Jibril/Mika’il/Israfil/Izra’il); Raqib and ‘Atid recording each person’s deeds.
3. Belief in the Books: Torah, Zabur, Injil, and the Quran — the last abrogating and preserving all prior revelations.
4. Belief in the Messengers: 124,000 prophets per Islamic tradition (25 named in the Quran); anbiya’ (prophets) and rusul (messengers with revealed books).
5. Belief in the Last Day: Resurrection, the Bridge (Sirat), the Scale (Mizan), Paradise, and the Fire.
6. Belief in Qadar (Divine Decree): The most theologically contested pillar. Ash’aris: human acts are “acquired” (kasb) though Allah is their ultimate creator. Mutazila: humans are the real authors of their acts. Maturidis: a middle position emphasizing effective human will.
The Ash’ari School
Founded after Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari left the Mutazila and established a middle path between pure scripturalism and pure rationalism. Key positions: the Quran is eternal in its meaning (ma’na) but the written/spoken expression is created; divine attributes are real but not like human attributes; human acts are divinely created but humanly acquired.
The Ismaili Seventh Pillar
In Ismaili theology, the six pillars are the zahir (outer) layer. The batin adds a seventh: recognition of the Imam of the Time as the living interpreter of the other six. Without the Imam, the six pillars remain inaccessible in their full meaning.
See also: Tawhid Sifat, Nubuwwa Prophethood, Understanding Walayah, Dai Al Mutlaq, Kalimat Al Shahada, Sufi Stations Maqamat