Islam Beliefs

• The nature of God


  • Nothing is greater than God
  • God is the Eternal - this means he is ageless and lasts forever
  • Humans are unable to see or imagine what God is like
  • God was not created
  • God is the only divine being
• Allah tells Muslims in the Qur'an that he is "closer to us than our jugular vein"
• Muslims believe that God revealed Himself to people through Muhammad and the holy books
• There are 99 names of God in the Qur'an and the Hadith (Muhammad's sayings) which can help Muslims to understand something of God's nature
• Qualities of Allah

  • Transcendant
  • Fair and just
  • Immanent
  • Omnipotent
  • Beneficient
  • Merciful
• Qualities of Allah - Transcendance


  Allah is above the range of normal or physical human life that exists in the world
• Qualities of Allah - fair and just


  Allah treats all people the same
• Qualities of Allah - immanent


  Allah susutains the Earth as he is close to those on it
• Qualities of Allah - omnipotent


  Allah is all-powerful and is influential to his followers
• Qualities of Allah - beneficient


  Allah is all-loving and generous
• Qualities of Allah - merciful


  Allah shows compassion and mercy, and he forgives people
• Tawhid


  • Means "one-ness", "unity", or "the absolute"
  • God is the One
  • Nothing is remotely like God, and nothing and nothing can be compared to him
• Shirk


  • The sin of practicing idolatry or polytheism
  • e.g. the deification or worship of anyone or anything other than the singular God
• Examples of shirk


  • Imagining God is like a human being, thereby degrading him
  • Thinkng that we can comprehend what God is like
  • Putting your own ambitions on the same level as God or treating them as more important
  • Worshipping anything other than God
  • Thinking that, in some way, you are as good as God
  • Thinking that you own anything, rather than just "borrowing" it from God
• Free will


  The ability to act at one's own discretion, not predetermined by necessity or fate
• Predestination


  The idea that God knows or determines everything that will happpen in the universe
• Adalat


  The Shi'a concept of God as just
• Day of Judgement


  The day when the fate of Muslims will be decided
• Sunni beliefs on prediestination


  • Some Sunni Muslims believe in predestination
  • They believe that God has already determined everything that will happen in the time before creation (Al-Lawh al-Mahfuz)
  • God created all things, therefore they act according to his will
  • Allah is known as Al'Alim (the All-Knowing)
  • He exists outside time, therefore knowing what will happen
• Shi'a beliefs on free will


  • Many Shi'a Muslims reject the idea of predestination due to the idea of adalat
  • Adalat - the belief that Allah is just
  • They do not believe that each person's fate is fixed from before creation, and believe that humans can change their destiny
  • Supported by the Qur'an
  • "Whoever does good does it for himself and whoever does evil does it against himself; your Lord is never unjust to His creatures" - Qur'an 41:46
• Risalah (Prophecy)


  • Muslims believe it is a human's duty to love and serve God
  • Therefore, we need a way for God to communicate to us what His will is
  • As Allah is just, it is obvious that He has a duty to reveal his will to us
  • These messages are called prophets or rasuls
  • The prophets brought Allah's guidance to different nations at different times
  • All prophets brought the same message - therefore Allah is unchanging, and Islam is the one true religion
  • These prophets paved the way for the final prophet, Muhammad
• Risalah


  Prophecy or message
• Jibril


  • Chief angel
  • Commmunicates messages between Allah and the prophets
  • In charge of delivering messages from Allah
• Malak al-Maut/Azrael


  • The angel of death
  • Main role is taking the final breath from people
  • Associated with ending people's lives
• Mika'il


  • The guardian of heaven
  • Provides care of bodies and souls
  • One of the three great angels
  • Believed to carry the seasons to Earth
• Israfil


  • Blows the trumpet on the Day of Judgement
  • At Allah's command, therefore one of the important angels
• Munkair and Nakir


  • The angels who question
  • Ask those who have passed three questions which determine their fates in the afterlife
• Guardian angels


  • Help guide people through their life
  • Constantly visit and watch over humans as life progresses
• Authority


  The power and right to make demands of others
• The Qur'an


  • Direct word of Allah
  • It is infallible and remains in its orginal form
  • Muhammad was illiterate when it was revealed to him, making the Qur'an one of the first great miracles
  • It contains the legal system (shariah law)
• It has been suggested by some that science and the Qur'an can go together; they are compatible and the Qur'an reveals ideas that scientists did not know at the time
• The Sunnah


  • Refers to the sayings and practices of the prophet Muhammad
  • The second source of authority for Muslims
  • Muhammad is considered to be a perfect model
  • This can be seen at prayer time, or Salat
  • Whilst the Qur'an explains when and how one should pray, Muslims use the example of Muhammad to show the words and movements to use during prayer
• Hadiths


  • There are two kinds:
  • The sacred - these are sacred sayings in which Muhammad quotes words from Allah which are not included in the Qur'an
  • The prophetic - these are sayings which the Prophet himself gave
• Hadiths and the Sunnah do not have the same authority of the Qur'an as they are not direct revelations from Allah, but inspired sayings
• Shariah Law


  • The Qur'an contains rules and laws from the time of Muhammad which reflect the brutal times he lived in
  • Those laws can still be applied in some Islamic countries today but are very controversial
• Muslims believe in public executions of justice because it is important to see that justice has been served and to make sure that judges do not have the opportunity for corruption and brutality behind the scenes
• The holy books

  • The Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), the Injil (Gospels) and the Scrolls of Ibrahim are all books refereed to in the Qur'an
  • Muhammad learned from them and referred to them, giving them authority
  • Howeever, some are lost or have (allegedly) been changed, so they do not have as much authority as the Qur'an
• The Torah (Tawrat)


  • The word of God revealed to Moses
  • It was used to preach the message to the "Children of Israel", and is the longest used scripture
  • It suffered corruption and is no longer reliable
• The Psalms (Zabur)


  • Holy songs of praise revealed to King David
  • They are recognised as beautiful songs or poetry, but not of religious importance
  • Some were written later and were not divinely revealed
• The Gospels (Injil)


  • The word of Allah, given to Isa
  • It is the word of God, directly revealed to Isa (Jesus)
  • The orginal Gospels have been corrupted and/or lost