Abul A’la Maududi clearly outlined this: "True faith is not merely a matter of the tongue. If we are cold and simply mutter the word 'blanket'—even if we repeat it a thousand times each night while clutching prayer beads—the cold will not subside. But if we actually procure a blanket and wrap it around ourselves, the cold will cease." Similarly, the great scholar Imam al-Bukhari—who acquired hadith from 1,080 teachers, all of whom were experts in the field—maintained that faith consists of both verbal profession and physical action.
Faith
is not merely about believing, uttering a few words or phrases, and anchoring
that conviction in one’s heart. It should be remembered that there are 77
branches of faith, many of which are explicitly tangible, physical activities.
These branches include, for example: seeking knowledge, teaching others,
performing ritual purification, establishing prayer, paying zakat
(alms), fasting, fulfilling promises, upholding trusts, enjoining good and
forbidding evil, obeying one’s parents, maintaining kinship ties, fulfilling
the rights of one’s spouse and children, responding to greetings, visiting the
sick, performing funeral prayers for a Muslim, honoring neighbors and guests,
showing compassion toward children and respect toward the elderly, and
reconciling those in conflict. It is evident that faith must be lived out very
actively; one cannot fulfill these 77 branches of faith by simply remaining
idle inside a mushala (prayer room) or mosque.
In
more than fifty places, the Qur’an links faith with amal salih—which
literally translates to "positive deeds." Vertical righteous deeds
consist of ritual acts of worship, while horizontal righteous deeds encompass
social, political, economic, and other forms of engagement that relate to
fellow human beings.
Ultimately,
faith is not a passive sentiment, but a dynamic force that demands
expression through everyday choices and actions. When conviction moves
from the heart to the hands, it transforms individual character and breathes
life into the surrounding community. To truly claim faith, one must step beyond
silent belief and actively embody it—turning devotion into tangible goodness
that leaves a lasting, positive footprint on the world.
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