المعنى الاصطلاحي

All the intentions, deeds, and words that Allah the Exalted loves and is pleased with and that bring one closer to Him.

الشرح المختصر

"Shu‘ab al-imān" (branches of faith) refers to all the good traits branching from the deeds of the heart, the utterances of the tongue, and the actions of the body. A person’s level of faith is determined by the share which he fulfills of those branches in quantity and quality; meaning whether the branches he fulfills are much or little, weak or strong, and perfect or imperfect. This is one of the most manifest indications of the increases or decrease of faith and that people are not on equal footing in terms of their level of faith. Actions of the heart include: belief in Allah, His angels, His revealed Books, destiny: the good and bad thereof, and the Last Day. Utterances of the tongue include: pronouncing "tawheed" (testifying that there is nothing worthy of worship but Allah), reciting the Qur’an, learning and teaching religious knowledge, supplicating, and "dhikr" (expressions of remembrance of Allah). Actions of the body include: establishing the prayer, giving Zakah, fasting the month of Ramadan, and performing Hajj for the one who is physically and financially able to perform it. The "shu‘ab al-imān" are many; some of which are related to sincerity to Allah, while others are related to kindness to Allah’s creation. They do not all share the same level of merit but are, rather, of varying levels. Some of those branches, if lost, cause loss of faith altogether, like the testimony of faith. Others do not cause loss of faith, like removing something harmful from the road. The in-between branches vary greatly in merit; some are closer to the top, while others are closer to the bottom.

التعريف

The fruits of faith and its practical codes of speech and action.