Questioner: Would Huzoor kindly advise us the definition of Iman and also kindly explain briefly some of the major kinds and conditions of Iman according to the Holy Qur’an?
Huzoor (rh): The whole of the Holy Qur’an is devoted to Iman and its definitions and its manifestations and all that. So your question, although short, requires an answer which is completely unmanageable by me in such a short time. Iman, let me first define.
According to the Muslim scholars, in fact based on the Holy Qur’an and the traditions of the Holy Prophet, there are three different words used for each part of Iman. That’s right, correct. Which means that Iman is confession with the tongue, it starts there. And tasdikum bilqalb, and how would you translate tasdik? Tasdik is testifying, testifying with the heart. And practice of what you believe with your acts, practice in your acts, jaware, with your body, I mean, translating it into practice. Translating what you believe in, into practice. This is Iman, so it covers everything.
Now this definition is a perfect definition of Iman, because in reality what you say is meaningless unless you believe it in your heart. And even if you claim that I do believe in my heart, if you don’t practice it, it means that your contradictory actions falsify your claim. For instance, Hazrat Musleh Maud A.S. has clarified this situation in so many ways. He relates that if you believe that this hole is occupied by a snake, which is a deadly snake, you will not push your finger into that hole. You know some rodents leave open holes and they are occupied by snakes.
So if you really truly believe that this snake is occupied by a deadly snake, you will not push your finger into it. That is amalum biljaware. If you say I am quite certain, I am positive, I believe in that, and yet you push your finger, poke your finger into it, that will falsify your belief. Or you are a mad person and a mad person’s claims are not to be taken seriously anyway.
So this is the definition of Iman, the accepted definition by all the various scholars of Islam, whatever sect they belong to. Now this detail as mentioned in the Holy Quran, this is a question which is completely unmanageable in such a short session, please.
