In the Shade of the Green Dome

Prerequisite for perfection of iman Narrated by Sayyidina Abdullah bin Hisham �: we were with the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬ and he was holding the hand of Umar bin Khattab �. Umar � said to Him, "O Allah's Prophet ‫ !ﷺ‬You are dearer to me than everything except my own self."

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, "No, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, (you will not have complete faith) till I am dearer to you than your own self." Then Umar � (recognising that iman is synonymous with love for the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and) said to him, "By Allah, now you are dearer to me than my own self." The Prophet ‫ﷺ‬ said, "O Umar, now your iman has achieved perfection’ (Bukhari, hadith 6632).

This hadith sets the condition of perfection of one’s iman: Sayyidina Umar � achieved perfection of iman once the Holy Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, became dearer to him than his life.