"This exalted person asked again, 'O Rasul-Allah! Now tell me what is iman.'" Having asked what was Islam and the answer having been given, Hadrat Jabrail ('alaihi 's-salam) asked our master Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) to explain the essence and reality of iman. Literally iman means 'to know a person to be perfect and truthful and to have faith in him.' In Islam, 'iman' means to believe the fact that Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) is Allahu ta'ala's Prophet; that he is the Nabi, the Messenger chosen by Him, and to say this with the heart; and to believe in brief what he transmitted briefly and to believe in detail what he transmitted in detail from Allahu ta'ala; and to say the Kalimat ash-shahada whenever possible. Strong iman is such that, as we know for certain that fire burns, serpents kill by poisoning and we avoid them, we should deem Allahu ta'ala and His attributes great, be fully certain of this by heart, strive for his consent (rida') and run to His beauty (jamal), and beware of His wrath (ghadab) and torture (jalal). We should write this iman on the heart firmly like an inscription on marble.

Iman and Islam are the same. In both, one is to believe the meaning of the Kalimat ash-shahada. Though they differ in general and in particular, and have different literal meanings, there is no difference between them in Islam.

Is iman one thing, or is it a combination of parts? If it is a combination, how many parts is it made of? Are deeds or 'ibadat included in iman or not? While saying, "I have iman," is it right to add "insha- Allah" or not? Is there littleness or muchness in iman? Is iman a creature? Is it within one's power to believe, or have the believers believed under compulsion? If there is force or compulsion in believing, why was everybody ordered to believe? It would take a long time to explain all these one by one. Therefore, I will not answer them separately here. But it should be known thus far that, according to the Ashari madhhab and the Mutazila, it is not jaiz (probable) for Allahu ta'ala to command us to do something that is not possible. And according to the Mutazila, it is not jaiz for Allahu ta'ala to order something which is possible but which is not within man's power. According to the Ashari, it is jaiz, yet He has not ordered it. To order people to fly in the air is of this sort. Neither in iman nor in 'ibadat did Allahu ta'ala order His creatures to do what they would not be able to do. For this reason, a person who goes mad or becomes ghafil (forgetful, oblivious), or sleeps or dies while he is Muslim is still Muslim, though he is not in a state of confirmation.

We should not think of the literal meaning of 'iman' in this hadith ash-Sharif, for, there was not one ordinary man in Arabia who did not know its literal meaning: 'considering truthful, belief.' Certainly the Sahabat al-kiram (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajmain) knew it, too, but Jabrail ('alaihi 's-salam) wanted to teach the meaning of iman to the Sahabat al-kiram by asking what iman meant in Islam. And Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) said that iman was to believe in six certain facts: