islam beliefs

• Tawhid is the absolute oneness of Allah in his essence and actions.
• Tawhid al-Rububiyyah is the belief that Allah is the creator of everything
• Tawhid al-Uluhiyya is the belief that Allah alone deserves to be worshipped
• Tawhid differs from Christianity as God is made up of the trinity which juxtaposes Allah's absolute oneness.
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  6 articles of faith in Sunni Islam

  1. Belief in the Oneness of Allah - Tawhid
  2. Belief in the Angels
  3. Belief in the Revelations (Books) of Allah
  4. Belief in the Prophets of Allah - Risalah
  5. Belief in the Day of Judgment
  6. Belief in Al-Qadr (predestination)
• Angels are created by Allah, they do not have free will or choice. They carry out Allah's commands without question.
• Risalah (the belief that Allah chose special people to communicate his word to humanity) is one of the 6 articles of faith in Sunni islam.
• Nubuwwah and Risalah – belief in the prophets
• Influence of Risalah on Muslims

  • Didactic stories from prophets' lives shows how to overcome hardships
  • Encouraged to emulate prophets' virtues
• There are 25 named prophets in the Qur’an
• Examples of prophets pre-Muhammed

  • Adam was created as the first human and given the role of khalifah (leader)
  • Ibrahim refused to worship idols + rebuilt Ka’aba after great flood
  • Musa taught Muslims that there is one God - Allah
  • Dawud was known for his bravery and wisdom
• Muhammad is the final prophet in Islam, known as the Seal of the Prophets.
• After the Night of Power (when Muhammad received his first revelation of the Qur’an) , he began preaching, which made the leaders of Mecca angry
• There was a war in Mecca between Muhammad and the Quraysh tribe - Muhammad won. He smashed all the statues of gods in the Ka’aba, teaching Muslims that they should believe in one God, Allah
• The hadith is the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad
• Night of Power.

  • Muhammad was meditating in a cave on Mount Hira when he saw the Angel Jibril
  • The angel commanded him to recite the words before him
  • Muhammad had never been taught to read or write but he was able to recite the words
  • In this way, Allah’s message continued to be revealed to Muhammad over the next 23 years
• Muhammad died...

  Sunni Muslims 90%

  Abu Bakr - Muhammad’s father-in-law and closest friend.

  Shi’a Muslims 10%

  Ali - related by blood to the Prophet - cousin and son-in-law
• Imamate is the Shi'a belief that all modern imams should be spiritual descendants of the Prophet Muhammad
• Twelvers (Shia denomination) believe the 12th imam has been kept alive by Allah and is hidden somewhere on Earth. Will one day make himself known and bring equality to all.
• The five roots of Usul ad-Din in Shi’a Islam

  1. Tawhid - the belief that God is one, almighty and unique
  2. Adalat - Divine justice, Allah will judge everyone on the Day of Judgement
  3. The prophets (nubuwwah) - who should be respected, especially Muhammad
  4. Authority of the imams - were chosen by Allah to lead Islam after Muhammad.
  5. Al-Ma’ad - Muslims will be resurrected and judged by God.
• Akhirah is the word Muslims use to refer to life after death
• After death, most Muslims believe that the soul will enter Barzakh, a state of waiting, until the Day of Judgement.

  • When a person dies, their soul is taken by Azra'il, the Angel of Death.
  • Allah sends two angels (Munkar and Nakir) to question the waiting soul.
  • If the questions are answered correctly, the good soul then sleeps until Day of Judgement
  • If the questions are not answered correctly, the soul is tormented by angels, known as punishment of the grave
• All Muslims believe in Akhirah – it is part of both the six Articles of Faith and the five Roots of Usul ad Din
• • The Angel Israfil will blow a trumpet to announce the Day of Judgement
• Although many Muslims believe in Al- Qadr (predestination) they also believe that humans have the ability to make choices on how to live their lives
• In the grave the soul will be tested by the two angels Munkar and Nakir who will ask:

  • Who is your Lord?
  • What is your religion?
  • Who is your prophet?
• The Qur’an indicates that the resurrection will be both in body and soul
• Heaven is said to have seven levels, monitored by 19 angels (or in Shi’a Islam, millions of angels)
• Hell has seven levels, with different punishments depending on the severity of sins committed.
• The Qur’an is considered to be the unaltered word of Allah
• The Torah, Psalms and Gospels are also holy books, which are mentioned in the Qur’an but they are believed to contain some errors and do not have the same authority
• The 4 most holy books in Islam are the Qur'an, Torah, Injil (Gospels) and Zabur (Psalms)
• The Torah are the revelations given to Moses by Allah on Mount Sinai
• Muslims believe that the Torah was given directly to Moses, rather than through Angel Jibril
• Some Muslims believe some of the Torah is the Word of Allah and some is human addition
• The Torah contains the Ten Commandments which are the basic rules for religious life
• The Scrolls of Ibrahim are thought to be the oldest scriptures within Islam, which were revealed to Ibrahim but are now lost
• The Scrolls of Ibrahim were said to have been received by Ibrahim on the first day of Ramadan and contained parable like stories about worship, reflections and building a livelihood
• The Zabur (Psalms) of Dawud are a collection of prayers to Allah
• In Surah 4:163 it says, ‘We gave Dawud the Zabur’