Islamic level

There are three principles of the Islamic religion that every Muslim must know and practice, namely : 

1. Getting to know Allah Ta'ala, 
2. Getting to know the religion of Islam and its arguments1, and 
3. Getting to know His Prophet, Muhammad shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam. 

Knowing the Islamic religion is the second foundation of this religious principle and there are three levels to it, namely Islam, Faith and Ihsan. Each level has the following pillars:

First Level: Islam

Islam has five pillars, namely:

1. Testify that there is no god who has the right to be worshiped properly but only Allah, and testify that the Prophet Muhammad shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam is the messenger of Allah.
2. Uphold prayer.
3. Pay zakat.
4. Fasting in Ramadan.
5. Performing the pilgrimage to Baitullah for those who can afford to go there.

These five pillars of Islam are based on the words of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam when answering questions from the Angel Gabriel about Islam:

اْلإِسْلاَمُ أَنْ تَشْهَدَ أَنْ لاَ إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّداً رَسُوْلُ اللهِ، وَتُقِيْمَ الصَّلاَةَ، وَتُؤْتِيَ الزَّكاَةَ، وَتَصُوْمَ رَمَضَانَ، وَتَحُجَّ الْبَيْتَ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيْلاً

"Islam is that you testify that there is no deity that has the right to be worshiped but only Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger, upholding prayers, paying zakat, fasting in Ramadan, and performing pilgrimage to the House of Allah if you are able to go there."

Also the words of him shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam,

بُنِيَ اْلإِسْلاَمُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُوْلُ اللهِ، وَإِقَامِ الصَّلاَةِ، وَإِيْتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ، وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ وَحَجِّ الْبَيْتِ

"Islam is built on five things: witnessing that there is no god (god) who has the right to be worshiped properly but only Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, paying zakat, fasting in Ramadan and performing the pilgrimage to the House of Allah."

Second Level: Faith

The definition of faith according to Ahlus Sunnah includes words and deeds, namely believing with the heart, making vows with the tongue and practicing with the limbs, can be increased by obedience and can be reduced by acts of sin and immorality.

Faith has several levels, as contained in the words of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam,

َاْلإِيْمَانُ بِضْعٌ وَسَبْعُوْنَ أَوْ بِضْعٌ وَسِتُّوْنَ شُعْبَةً، فَأَفْضَلُهَا قَوْلُ لاَ إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ، وَأَدْنَاهَا إِمَاطَةُ اْلأَذَى عَنِ الطَّرِيْقِ، وَالْحَيَاءُ شُعْبَةٌ مِنَ اْلإِيْمَانِ

“Faith has more than seventy branches or more than sixty branches. The highest branch is the saying laa ilaaha illallah, and the lowest is removing thorns (obstacles) from the path, and shame is one of the branches of faith"

There are six pillars of faith, namely:

1. Believe in Allah.
2. Faith in His Angels.
3. Faith in His Books.
4. Faith in His Apostles.
5. Faith in the Last Day.
6. Faith in good and bad destiny.

These six pillars of faith are based on the hadith narrated by 'Umar bin al-Khattab radhiyallahu 'anhu in the answer of the Prophet shallallhu 'alaihi wa sallam to the Angel Gabriel's question about faith, namely:

أَنْ تُؤْمِنَ بِاللهِ، وَمَلاَئِكَتِهِ، وَكُتُبِهِ، وَرُسُلِهِ، وَالْيَوْمِ اْلآخِِرِ، وَتُؤْمِنَ بِالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ

"You believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and you believe in good and bad destiny."

Third Level: Ihsan

Ihsan has one pillar, that is, you worship Allah Ta'ala as if you see Him, if you do not see Him, then He actually sees you. This is based on a hadith narrated from 'Umar bin al-Khattab radhiyallahu'anhu in the story of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam's answer to the Angel Gabriel when asking about ihsan, the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam replied,

أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاكَ

"You worship Allah as if you see Him, so if you do not see Him, Allah sees you."

There is no doubt, that the meaning of ihsan in language is to improve deeds and pursue them, and be sincere about them. Meanwhile, according to the Shari'at, the meaning of ihsan is as explained by the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam,

أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاكَ

"You worship Allah as if you see Him, so if you do not see Him, Allah sees you."

Ihsan is sincere and caring. That is, wholeheartedly to worship only Allah with full attention, so that it is as if you see Him. If you can't, then remember that Allah always sees you. Worship like this also produces sincerity in worship and strives to produce sincerity in worship and strives to improve and perfect it.

That is, that the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam explained ihsan by improving physically and mentally, and presenting the closeness of Allah Ta'ala, namely that it was as if Allah was in front of him and he saw Him, and that would have the consequence of fear, anxiety. , as well as glorification of Allah Ta'ala, and sincere worship of Allah Ta'ala by improving it and devoting all one's abilities to complete and perfect it.

Therefore, a servant must use his faith that God must see him, know his secrets, whether he shows them or not. Allah Ta'ala knows his heart and soul, and everything that is in him is known by Allah Ta'ala.

If the servant realizes this state of affairs, it will be easy for him to move on to the second state, which is to constantly see Allah's closeness and togetherness, so that the servant seems to see Him. So this requires the presence of fear and exaltation of Allah Ta'ala. Wallahu a'lam

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