--- title: "A Sermon on Iman: Living the Shahadah" description: "A sermon on iman: the six pillars of faith, the acceptance of the heart and the affirmation of the tongue, the seventy-odd branches of iman, and the truth that iman increases and decreases." canonical: "https://getvaaz.com/en/blog/sermon-on-iman" locale: "en" published: "2026-05-14" updated: "2026-05-14" author: "VAAZ Team" source: "VAAZ — getvaaz.com" --- # A Sermon on Iman: Living the Shahadah > **Quick answer:** A sermon on iman teaches that the believer's heart accepts Allah, the tongue affirms this, and life is shaped by that acceptance. The Prophet said: 'Iman has seventy-odd branches'; the highest branch is the testimony of tawhid, the lowest is removing harm from the road. Iman increases and decreases. The cornerstone of a believer's life is iman. Iman does not end at one "yes"; it is a structure built or worn each day by every deed. Allah has given the human being two witnesses: the heart and the tongue. This sermon explores the true definition of iman, its six pillars, its seventy-odd branches, and the rising-and-falling structure of faith. ## What Is Iman? — A Three-Dimensional State According to the majority of Islamic scholars, iman is a three-dimensional state: **1. The heart's acceptance:** Recognizing Allah's existence, oneness, and attributes with the heart. This is iman's foundational ground. **2. The tongue's affirmation:** Speaking this acceptance through the Shahadah. *Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah* — this sentence is the flag of iman. **3. The actions that support this:** Salah, sawm, honesty, adab — iman extending from the heart and tongue to the limbs. In Surah al-Hujurat, Allah emphasizes how important it is for iman to settle into the heart: > The Bedouins said: "We have believed." Say: "You have not believed; but say, 'We have submitted (become Muslim),' for iman has not yet entered your hearts…" Al-Hujurat 49:14 A word said only on the tongue is not iman; without settling into the heart, iman is not complete. ## The Six Pillars of Iman Jibril (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet one day, in the dress of a Bedouin, in the presence of the Companions, and asked: "What is iman?" The Messenger of Allah's answer became the classical definition: > Iman is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and divine decree — that good and evil are from Allah. The six pillars: 1. **Belief in Allah:** in His oneness, that He has no equal, that He is described by perfect attributes. 2. **Belief in the angels:** Allah's servants assigned to duties — Jibril (revelation), Mika'il (sustenance), Israfil (the Trumpet), 'Azra'il (death), and others. 3. **Belief in the Books:** the Tawrat (to Moses), the Injil (to Jesus), the Zabur (to David), and the Quran (to Muhammad, peace be upon him). 4. **Belief in the Messengers:** from Adam to Muhammad (peace be upon him) — including the 25 prophets named in the Quran and every prophet. 5. **Belief in the Last Day:** life after death, the Resurrection, the gathering, the reckoning, Paradise and Hell. 6. **Belief in Qadar:** that everything that happens is by Allah's decree; that good and evil are known beforehand in His knowledge. Doubt in any one of the six endangers the whole of iman. ## The Seventy-Odd Branches of Iman The Prophet (peace be upon him) explains that iman is not merely a matter of the heart but a structure spread across every domain of life: > Iman has seventy or sixty-odd branches; the highest is the saying "La ilaha illa Allah," and the lowest is removing a harm from the road. Modesty too is a branch of iman. The hadith is magnificent: the highest point of iman is the kalimah of tawhid — the deepest aqidah. The lowest point is removing a stone from the road — the smallest kindness of daily life. So iman is: - Not littering on the street — iman. - Holding the elevator door — iman. - Welcoming guests — iman. - Not letting the eye linger when speaking (modesty) — iman. These seventy-odd branches test the believer in every corner of life. ## Iman Increases and Decreases Classical Islamic scholars say iman is not a fixed but a rising and falling quantity. This view is grounded in the Quran: > The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble; and when His verses are recited to them, their iman is increased… Al-Anfal 8:2 It is clear from this verse: reciting the Quran increases iman. Salah, sawm, good deed, du'a, dhikr — all nourish iman. The opposite: committing sin, spending time with bad people, behaviors that distance one from Allah — these diminish iman. The practical meaning is this: however pious a believer is, iman has strong times and weak times. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) declared: > Iman wears out as a garment wears out. Ask Allah to renew the iman in your hearts. Iman is a bond that requires maintenance. The days you do not recite the Quran, do not remember Allah, do not pray, iman wears out; with tawbah, worship, good, and gratitude it renews. ## The Sweetness of Iman — A Sign from a Hadith The Prophet (peace be upon him) also declares that iman is not only an aqidah but an experience to be tasted: > Three qualities, whoever has them, will taste the sweetness of iman: that Allah and His Messenger be more beloved to him than anything else; that he loves a person only for the sake of Allah; that he hates to return to disbelief as he hates to be thrown into Hell. The sweetness of iman — a special savor given to a heart that loves Allah, loves for the sake of Allah, and fears nothing besides Allah. When these three settle into the heart, the believer passes through the world's trial — not from within the world's trial. ## Preserving Iman in Modern Times In an age of science, social media, and many opinions bombarding the heart, some practical steps to preserve iman: - **A daily portion of the Quran:** even one page. The word of Allah feeds the heart. - **Adhkar after every salah:** 33+33+33 keeps the heart alive. - **Good friends:** "A person is upon the religion of their friend." Let your circle be people who remind you of Allah. - **Distance from doubts:** not chasing "content that may shake your faith" on social media. Especially not pursuing content that questions Allah's existence or mocks the Prophet. - **Regular istighfar:** a measure of istighfar each night to renew iman. ## Maintaining Iman With VAAZ The [VAAZ app's](https://getvaaz.com/en) [prayer times](https://getvaaz.com/en/prayer-times) recall the iman-refreshing moments five times a day. The [Quran reader](https://getvaaz.com/en/quran), [Verse of the Day](https://getvaaz.com/en/daily-verse), and [Hadith of the Day](https://getvaaz.com/en/daily-hadith) deliver small doses that nourish iman each day. The [99 Names collection](https://getvaaz.com/en/asma-al-husna) is the way of knowing Allah through 99 Names — the more names, the more iman. For how iman manifests through deeds, see [A Sermon on Salah](https://getvaaz.com/en/blog/sermon-on-salah); for the effect of belief in the afterlife on daily life, see [A Sermon on Akhirah](https://getvaaz.com/en/blog/sermon-on-akhirah). Iman is a banner — we must carry it our whole lives. Each day a little more solid, a little more settled in the heart, a little more supported by deeds; an iman that meets the believer with Allah is the only gift one carries before meeting Him. This gift can lessen by a minute of negligence in a day; it can grow by a minute of remembrance in a day. ## References 1. The Qur'an, Al-Hujurat 49:14, Diyanet translation. 2. The Qur'an, Al-Anfal 8:2, Diyanet translation. 3. Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Iman, Hadith No. 50. 4. Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Iman, Hadith No. 9. 5. al-Hakim, Kitab al-Mustadrak, Hadith No. 5. 6. Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Iman, Hadith No. 16. ## Frequently Asked Questions --- Source: [VAAZ — getvaaz.com](https://getvaaz.com/en) · This is the agent-facing Markdown edition of the page; the canonical edition lives at the `canonical` URL above. Full index: https://getvaaz.com/llms.txt