Assalamou Alaikom,

In Quran, there are many verses talking about Islam and on the other hand many others talk about Iman.

And both of them are mentioned in the same verses like these verses 35&36 Adh-Dhariyat:


فأخرجنا من كان فيها من المؤمنين (*) فما وجدنا فيها غير بيت من المسلمين

Can someone tell me what is the difference between?


Alaikom salam.

Islam is usually known through external actions, while Iman is internal.

The hadith of Angel Jibril,

He asked the Prophet "What is Iman?"

The Prophet replied:

"Iman is to believe in Allah, His angels, meeting with Him, His Prophets, and to believe in Resurrection, and predestination, good and bad"

He then asked the Prophet "What is Islam"?

The Prophet replied:


[Sahihayn & Sunan]

So for Islam, the Prophet mentioned outwardly things, while for Iman he says it's belief which exists in the heart.

However, everything is linked together. You cannot be have one without the other.


To make it simple, Islam is the religion and the Iman is the believe.

However concerning the verse, there exists a difference between Believer (مؤمن) and Muslim. Almost everyone born in the Middle east considers him/herself as Muslim however that does not mean that they are believers (مؤمن).

Look at the two terms as levels, Muslim stands for a beginner level and Believer stand an advanced one.

كل مؤمن مسلم، وليس كل مسلم مؤمناً- Every believer is Muslim, not every Muslim is a believer.
