Advice of Scholars - WHAT IS ÎMÂN?

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî says in the 17th letter of the third volume of his Maktûbât:

Îmân (faıth) is to believe through the heart the things that are known as being of the religion, and to express one's îmân with one's tongue. The things that must be believed in are:

To believe in the existence of Allahu ta'âlâ, His oneness, His books and pages, and His prophets and angels. To believe in the Hashr (Allâhu ta'âlâ's causing people to rise and assemble for judgement) and Nashr (dispersal after judgement) of the next world, the eternal blessings in Paradise, the eternal torments in Hell, the cracking of the skies, the dispersing of the stars, and the breaking of the earth into pieces.

To believe that it is fard to perform the prayer of namâz five times each day, to believe in the numbers of rak'ats in these prayers, to believe that it is fard to give the zakât of one's property, to fast everyday in the month of Ramadân and, for those who qualify, to go to the city of Mecca and perform the hajj.

It is necessary to believe that it is harâm to drink wine, to eat pork, to kill a person unjustly, to disobey one's parents, to steal, to commit adultery, to appropriate an orphan's property, to charge or pay interest when lending or borrowing money, [for women to go out unveiled or naked, and to gamble].

If a person with îmân commits a grave sin, his îmân does not go away, nor does he become a kâfir. He, who says halâl about a sin, that is, about a harâm, becomes a kâfir. He who commits a harâm becomes a fâsiq (sinner). One should say, "I am certainly a Mu'min. " One should say that one has îmân. One should not say inshâallah (if Allah wills) while saying that one is a Believer. It may imply doubt. Yes, it may be permissible to say inshâallah about one's last breath, yet it is better not to say so.