Spirituality

The Qur'an and Sunnah place the heart at the center of faith. Success in the Hereafter belongs to the one who comes to God with a sound heart, and outward worship is meant to shape and express what lies within.

"Spirituality" is a modern English word with no single Arabic equivalent. The Islamic tradition speaks instead of purification of the soul (tazkiya), spiritual excellence (ihsan), the journey to God (suluk), and the deeds of the heart (aʿmal al-qulub). The Qur'an describes the Day of Judgment as a day "when neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit, except to one who comes to God with a sound heart" (Qur'an 26:88–89), and it declares that "he has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who corrupts it" (Qur'an 91:9–10). The Prophet ﷺ said that God does not look at people's appearances or wealth, but at their hearts and their deeds (Sahih Muslim, no. 2564), and he defined ihsan as worshipping God as if you see Him (Sahih Muslim, no. 8). For more, see The Spiritual Psychology of Worship.

Muslims have pursued this inner work through more than one tradition. The Sufi orders developed paths of training under a guide, al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111) wrote Ihyaʾ ʿulum al-din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) to restore the inner dimension of the law, and the Hanbali scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751/1350) wrote Madarij al-salikin (The Stations of the Seekers) as a commentary on a Sufi manual. These traditions have disagreed, sometimes sharply, over practices and terminology. They share the conviction that the inner life must be governed by the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

The Qur'an also teaches that God created people with a natural disposition (fitra) toward recognizing Him (Qur'an 30:30), and the Prophet ﷺ said that every child is born upon this fitra (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 1385). Knowing God through His revelation is how that disposition finds its fulfillment.

The Qur'an and Sunnah treat the body and the soul as partners in worship, not rivals.

The daily prayer joins the movements of the body, standing, bowing, and prostrating, with the attention of the heart. The Qur'an tells believers to "eat and drink, but do not be excessive," and asks, "Who has forbidden the adornment that God has brought forth for His servants, and the good things of provision?" (Qur'an 7:31–32). When three men resolved to pray all night, fast every day, and never marry, the Prophet ﷺ told them that he prayed and slept, fasted and broke his fast, and married, and that whoever turns away from his Sunnah is not of him (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5063). Physical desires are not shameful in themselves; the Qur'an and Sunnah guide them toward what is lawful.

The inner life also turns outward toward others. The Qur'an pairs prayer with care for the poor throughout, and the Prophet ﷺ said, "The merciful are shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on earth, and the One above the heavens will be merciful to you" (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. 1924, graded hasan sahih by al-Tirmidhi). Reflecting on God's names, such as the Most Generous and the Source of Peace, shapes how believers treat the people around them. See also Divine Duty: Islam and Social Justice.

Muslims understand the soul as a reality created by God, distinct from the body, whose full nature lies beyond human knowledge.

The Qur'an says: "They ask you about the spirit (al-ruh). Say, 'The spirit is of the command of my Lord, and you have been given only a little knowledge'" (Qur'an 17:85). Many exegetes understood al-ruh here as the human soul, while others took it to mean the angel Gabriel or the revelation itself. On either reading, the verse teaches that human knowledge has limits.

The Qur'an uses two words that overlap in meaning: ruh (spirit) and nafs (soul or self). Many scholars held that both refer to the same reality, with nafs more often used for the self with its inclinations. The Qur'an describes the nafs in different states: one that urges toward evil (Qur'an 12:53), one that reproaches itself (Qur'an 75:2), and one at peace, which is called to return to its Lord (Qur'an 89:27–28). Muslim scholars wrote extensively on the soul, among them Ibn al-Qayyim in his Kitab al-ruh (The Book of the Soul), but they focused less on its substance than on its purification, which the Qur'an makes the measure of a person's success.

Tawhid is the affirmation that God is one: He alone creates and sustains all things, He alone deserves worship, and nothing is like Him.

The Qur'an states, "Say, 'He is God, One. God, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, and there is none comparable to Him'" (Qur'an 112:1–4), and "There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing" (Qur'an 42:11). Tawhid is the foundation of the testimony of faith and of every act of worship.

See Islam, Iman, Ihsan: Climbing the Spiritual Mountain.

See full infographic: The Message of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

The Qur'an appeals both to the natural disposition (fiṭra) through which human beings may recognize God and to rational reflection and argument as means of knowing Him.

The first ground is the fitra, the natural disposition with which God created people (Qur'an 30:30). The Qur'an describes a covenant in which every soul acknowledged God as its Lord before entering this world (Qur'an 7:172), and it observes that people who forget God in ease still turn to Him in distress (Qur'an 10:12). Muslim scholars, notably Ibn Taymiyya, argued that such knowledge is basic: the mind possesses certain primary concepts, such as causality and morality, that cannot themselves be proven without circular reasoning. This line of argument is developed in Proving God's Existence and Atheism and Radical Skepticism: Ibn Taymiyyah's Epistemic Critique.

The second ground is reasoned argument. The Qur'an asks, "Were they created from nothing, or are they the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth?" (Qur'an 52:35–36). The argument points to the dependence of all created things on a cause beyond them, a theme that Muslim theologians and philosophers subsequently explored through various arguments, including those from temporal origination and the argument from contingency. The Qur'an also repeatedly directs its readers to reflect on the order of the heavens and the earth as signs for people of understanding (Qur'an 3:190). See Does God Exist? The Case for Allah's Existence in the Qur'an and Sunnah and Prove that God Exists | DoubleTake.

Video: How do we know God exists? | Animation

Revelation is God's communication of His guidance to the messengers He chose, sent to every people with the call to worship Him alone.

The Qur'an states, "We sent to every nation a messenger, [saying], 'Worship God and avoid false gods'" (Qur'an 16:36). Some of these messengers are named in the Qur'an and others are not (Qur'an 4:164). They were human beings chosen by God, from Adam, Noah, and Abraham to Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon them). Each received guidance to convey to his people and lived as an example of that guidance. See Light Upon Light.

The Prophet ﷺ said that earlier prophets were sent to their own people specifically, while he was sent to all people (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 335). The Qur'an is the final revelation. It confirms the scriptures that came before it and stands as a guardian over them (Qur'an 5:48).

See full infographic: Laying the Groundwork for the Coming of Prophet Muhammad

Muslims point to several signs of the Qur'an's divine origin: its inimitable language, its preservation, its knowledge of the unseen, and the character of the Prophet ﷺ who conveyed it.

The Qur'an challenges anyone who doubts it to produce even a single chapter like it (Qur'an 2:23), and states that even if humans and jinn joined together, they could not (Qur'an 17:88). This challenge was issued to a society that prized poetry and eloquence above almost any other art, and no successful response to it has ever been produced. The Prophet ﷺ was unlettered (ummi) (Qur'an 7:157), and the Qur'an notes that he did not read or write any scripture before it (Qur'an 29:48). The Qur'an also foretold that the Byzantines, newly defeated by the Persians, would be victorious within a few years (Qur'an 30:2–4), which came to pass. For these and other dimensions of its inimitability, see The Inimitable Qur'an and Introduction to Iʿjaz al-Qur'an.

The Qur'an was preserved both in memory and in writing. Shortly after the Prophet's death, Abu Bakr had its written portions gathered into a single compilation. During the caliphate of ʿUthman, that compilation became the basis for a standard text, which was copied and sent to the major cities. Early manuscripts share highly specific spelling conventions that point to a common written source. See The First Codex: Abu Bakr's Compilation of the Qur'an, The ʿUthmanic Codex: Understanding How the Qur'an Was Preserved, and, in Hashiya, The ʿUthmanic Codices: Reexamining the Surviving Qur'an Manuscripts Attributed to Caliph ʿUthman.

Finally, the Prophet ﷺ did not use his message to gain wealth. He endured boycott, exile, and war to convey it, and he lived simply to the end of his life, even after he came to lead a community. The ethical worldview the Qur'an presents, centered on God without any intermediary, is consistent with the integrity of the one who brought it. See also the eBook The Final Prophet: Proofs for the Prophethood of Muhammad.

See full infographic: A Miraculous Revelation

God does not need anyone's worship. He calls people to worship Him because it is the purpose for which He created them, and its benefit returns to them.

The Qur'an states, "I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me. I want no provision from them, nor do I want them to feed Me" (Qur'an 51:56–57). In a hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ relates God's words, God says, "O My servants, you will never be able to harm Me, nor will you ever be able to benefit Me" (Sahih Muslim, no. 2577). God asks people to worship Him out of His mercy and His knowledge of what is good for them, not out of any need.

Worship in the Qur'an is not limited to ritual. It includes prayer and fasting, and it also includes honesty, kindness to parents, and any lawful act done for God's sake. This gives every circumstance of a believer's life a meaning before God. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Wondrous is the affair of the believer, for there is good for him in every matter, and this is not the case for anyone except the believer. If he is pleased, he thanks God, and that is good for him. If he is harmed, he shows patience, and that is good for him. (Sahih Muslim, no. 2999)

Video: Why Does God Ask for Worship?

The Qur'an presents itself as guidance, and it promises those who believe and do good a good life in this world and an eternal reward in the next.

The Qur'an describes itself as "guidance for the God-conscious" (Qur'an 2:2). It tells people who they are, who created them, and what they were created for, and the Sunnah shows how to live by that guidance. It promises: "Whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer, We will surely give them a good life, and We will reward them according to the best of what they used to do" (Qur'an 16:97). It tells believers that "in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest" (Qur'an 13:28), and it calls even those who have wronged themselves not to despair of God's mercy, for He forgives all sins to those who repent (Qur'an 39:53).

Faith does not promise freedom from hardship. The Qur'an states plainly that believers will be tested with fear, hunger, and loss (Qur'an 2:155). What it offers is a way to meet hardship with patience and hope, and the assurance that no effort made for God's sake is lost.

The Qur'an and Sunnah affirm both that God has decreed all things and that every person is responsible for the choices they make.

Belief in divine decree (qadar) is one of the six articles of faith (Sahih Muslim, no. 8). The Qur'an states, "We have created all things according to a measure" (Qur'an 54:49), and "You do not will except that God wills" (Qur'an 81:29). It also holds every person accountable: "Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it" (Qur'an 99:7–8).

The Sunnah rejects the conclusion that decree makes effort pointless. When the companions asked whether they should rely on what had been written for them and abandon their deeds, the Prophet ﷺ told them to act, for each person is eased toward what he was created for (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 4949). He also taught that whoever wishes for his provision to be increased and his life prolonged should maintain ties of kinship (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5986), which scholars understood as a means God Himself has decreed.

Mainstream Sunni scholars sought to avoid two extremes: the view that humans have no meaningful choice (jabr), and the view that human acts fall outside God's decree (held by the early Qadariyya). Ashʿari, Maturidi, and Athari theologians offered different accounts of how human choice relates to God's creation of acts, but all affirmed both God's decree and human responsibility. See Reconciling the Divine Decree and Free Will in Islam.

Paper: Predestination vs. Free Will in Islam: Understanding Allah's Qadr