“Allazeena” is an adjective. It translates to “those”.
“Yu’minoona bilgaib” translates to “who believe in the unseen”. It means those who already believe in the unseen, and those who will believe in the unseen in the future.
Understanding Imaan:
People of Imaan express their faith in the unseen through their words, actions, and beliefs. This includes fearing Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) as part of their Imaan, which requires putting their faith into practice. Imaan involves believing in Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), His Books, and His Messengers, and living out these beliefs by acting on what they say and affirm.
Imaan fluctuates for everyone: Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) used the present tense to describe imaan here. The idea behind this is to suggest these people have imaan and they continue to work on it. The imaan goes up and down for everyone, even people who have the highest taqwa.
Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) didn’t say those who believe in Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). So, what does belief in the unseen actually mean?
The belief in the unseen is that we first need to accept there is a reality beyond what can be scientifically proven through sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. For example, a mother’s love for her child cannot be scientifically proven. The emotions of love and hate are also in a different reality.
From a Quran perspective, Al-Muttaqeen are people who believe in Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), angels, judgement day, heaven, hellfire etc. that they cannot see.
How can I become amongst Al-Muttaqeen?
To be among Al-Muttaqeen and to have taqwa is to believe in the unseen and always be conscious of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). For example, when we apply brakes to stop at the red light, the brakes don’t fail and they continue to work due to the will of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), other vehicles do not crash into us because there are guardian angels constantly protecting us. People who belong to Al-Muttaqeen see everything differently compared to the rest of the world. They may get mocked or made fun of or even be called liars. But the thing to remember is that the Prophets of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) also suffered the same. So, if that were to happen, they actually get to live a sunnah of the Prophets.
Hope Amidst Darkness – Embracing Challenges as a Divine Opportunity:
Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) gave us certain promises in the Quran. What we see through our hearts should outweigh what we see through our eyes even if our ummah suffers defeats over and over. There is hope from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) will give a believer victory as long as he has imaan. They can take everything away from a believer, but they can’t take his hope away. This ummah is not allowed to be depressed. It is not allowed to be without hope. Some of the greatest people that lived in our history, our heroes, the Prophets, the Messengers, the Saliheen, the people that Quran honored, lived in the darkest times. The forces of kufr were a majority and the believers were always a minority. So, when we are living in times when darkness is great, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has honored us with an opportunity to live in the challenges of those great people. When a Muslim wishes that he was instead born in easier times, he needs to realize that the people who live in those happy times do not have even close to the opportunity to please Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) than those who live in difficult times. Hence, for a believer, to be living in difficult times is a reason to be grateful to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) thought of him as a capable one compared to the rest of the world.