Arafat’s palestine liberation organization. In
recent years, he has come to be regarded by many
as the “spiritual leader” of the Lebanese Shia, and
he appears to have shifted from radical militancy
to grassroots social and political activism.
See also commUnism; israel; shiism; terrorism.
Further reading: Talib Aziz, “Fadlallah and the Mak-
ing of the Marjaiyya.” In The Most Learned of the Shia:
The Institution of the Marja Taqlid, edited by Linda S.
Walbridge, 205–215 (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2001); Martin Kramer, “The Oracle of Hizbul-
lah: Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah.” In Spokesmen for
the Despised: Fundamentalist Leaders in the Middle East,
edited by R. Scott Appleby, 83–181 (Chicago: Univer-
sity of Chicago Press, 1997).
faith (Arabic: iman, security)
In general, Western usage of faith is as a syn-
onym for religion—an organized system of beliefs
concerning a supreme being and that being’s
relations with creation, especially with humans.
Thus, people speak of the “Christian faith” or the
“Islamic faith.” The term also has a more specific
meaning—trust in God and his promise for salva-
tion. This concept is based on the books of the
Bible, and it achieved further development in the
histories of Jewish and Christian religious thought
in the Middle East, the Mediterranean basin, and
Europe. The ancient Hebrew aman (to be true or
trustworthy), related to the Arabic iman, is used
in the Old Testament to express the mutual com-
mitment between God and his chosen people as
it was embodied in their covenantal relationship.
In other words, the God of the Israelites promised
to remain faithful to his promise of blessings for
Israel as long as they maintained their love for him
and kept his commandments (for example, Deu-
teronomy 7:9). In times of difficulty, people were
expected to still hold fast to the hope that God
would strengthen them and come to their rescue.
For Christians, the focus of faith is on the figure
of JesUs as the son of God and how his death and
resurrection are believed to offer hope and salva-
tion for the faithful. It is seen as something that
comes as a gift from God and that people render
toward him in love.
The heart of Islamic faith is unconditional
belief in God’s oneness; that he is universal,
eternal, all-knowing, all-seeing, compassionate;
and that he has no rivals or partners. From this
core belief follow others—that there will be a
resurrection and final judgment, and that God
communicates with humans through his angels,
prophets, and holy books (for example, Q 4:136).
The Five pillars, required of all able Muslims
(submitters), routinize these beliefs through
performance of the ritual actions of testifying
that God is one and Muhammad is his messen-
ger, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage.
The qUran suggests a close interrelationship
between faith and works (for example, Q 2:177),
and this relationship is usually considered to be
a fundamental one in the religion. According
to the hadith, faith is sometimes regarded as
distinct from islam (submission), but it is also
seen as synonymous with it or as a facet of it.
In the well-known Hadith of gabriel (cited in
the authoritative collections of Muslim, Bukhari,
and ibn hanbal), a stranger who later turns
out to be Gabriel, the angel of revelation, poses
questions to mUhammad about both islam and
iman. Muhammad responds by listing the Five
Pillars and the key elements of faith outlined
above, suggesting that although islam and iman
may differ, they are closely connected neverthe-
less. Islam thus involves an inner belief, while
faith entails an outward expression. In one of
many passages concerning the faithful (mumin,
pl. muminun), the Quran states that they are the
ones whose faith is strengthened when they hear
God’s revelations and that they are those who
pray and perform acts of charity (Q 8:2–3). The
faithful are also those who have fear (ta q wa) of
God and place their trust in him. Moreover, from
the quranic perspective, faith stands in clear
opposition to disbelief (kufr) in God and his rev-
faith 223 J