[quote=““Captain Obvious””]
My understanding was also that it is referring to physical strength. However, with this type of hadith I would look at it more like if all other aspects between two people are equal, then this would give one additional virtue over the other. However, practically this is next to impossible to really make this comparison, because it is hardly the only factor by which you can judge someone.
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“A strong believer is better than a weak believer”…I’ve come across it many times and I have never thought that it referred to physical strength.
Nowhere in this thread have I denied the importance of exercise and taking care of one’s health or being active in helping the community within Islam.
Bobby believes strength here refers mainly to physical strength. A person who looks like a “tinka” can have stronger iman than someone who is robust with bulging biceps.
In another hadith that many of is are familiar with, the Prophet SAWS says that Allah does not look at our bodies but our hearts.
In yet another hadith that many of us are familiar with, it says that the root of action is intention. Where do intentions take place? Within the heart. A sound heart with strong iman will influence the actions.
In yet another hadith that many of us are familiar with we know that there is a lump pf meat within the body…which if it is sound…the rest of the body will be sound. That is the heart. The heart contains your iman.
If all other things are “equal”…? Brother, things which are measurable (weight, body fat composition, physical strength might even be calculated by how many reps or how much load u can cary within a given time) and which have a numeric value can be tried to be made the same or “equal” between two people…or least comparable. But tell me how do u measure iman? Iman is something that waivers…that can go up and down. Lucky and blessed is the person who’s iman is both strong and consistent.
In yet another hadith the Prophet SAWS told us that we should not be competing in worldly things such as beauty and physical strength (remind u of anyone???). We should be competing with each other in good deeds. And, yes, you need your physical strength in doing good deeds, brother. But the person of strong iman or whose heart is inclined toward Islam and getting closer to Allah might (for example, I will use namaz) pray tahajjud or even several nafal namaz units in a sitting down position…(if they have health issues)…and the robust adolescent could be using their strength for partying and living it up and parking their but for hours on the sofa with a video game.
Lastly, on the Day of Judgement a person’s noble actions might be nullified if they were performed with the intention to show off to others or to obtain a worldly gain. So from here you see that Allah has traced the noble actions to what part of the body…? The heart. Did you plant those trees and feed those orphans and champion the cause for thpse who are oppressed so that you can be called a hero and people can do your “wah wah” and so that you can deem yourself entitled to incessant bragging right? Or did you do those things purely for the sake of Allah’s pleasure and to emulate His messaenger SAWS?
Point is…even quantifiable physical strength and quantifiable “good actions” can end up being rejected if they did not stem from a heart that was in the right place.
Heart/iman can’t be measured…I agree…but then a person who gets full-on recognition and praise and awards for all the noble and charitable works their strong and able body allowed them to do in this world…may be rendered meaningless in the next world if done with intentions or a heart that was not entirely sound.
Because we cannot see the heart and only Allah can see it…that’s why we persist right? That’s one of the reasons we are advised to constantly seek forgiveness or do istighfar because Allah alone knows best which believer’s actions are worthy of acceptance because they stemmed from
a sincere iman.
Ultimately it’s Allah alone who knows which of 2 equally (physically) strong believers is better…right? Let’s say that u have 2 equally strong believers…they both do the exact amount of good deeds. The only thing that’s visible to us humans is their deeds…we can quantify them. And they are found to be exactly the same in number. Maybe they both fed the same number of homeless people or built the same number of wells of the same material and quality or whatever. In the end…with all physical qualities and tangible results being equal…perhaps the one who “wins” in the akhirat will be the one has the more sincere iman of the two.