Muslim Beliefs

• Six beliefs (Sunni Muslims)


  • Allah - tawhid which is the belief in one god
  • The angels of Allah - malaikah which are heavenly beings sent by Allah to perform various activities
  • The books of Allah - Kutub which are holy books containing Allah's messages
  • The messengers of Allah - which are prophets chosen by Allah to teach and guide people
  • The day of judgement - when the universe ends , Allah will judge people and will send them to jannah or jahannam
  • The decree of Allah (predestination) - al qadr is where Allah has power over the world and gives humans free will
• Five roots of usul ad-din


  • Tawhid - belief in the oneness of god
  • Nubuwwah - belief in prophethood
  • Adl - belief in divine justice
  • Imamah - belief in imams
  • Mi'ad - belief in the day of judgement and resurrection
• The difference between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims is that they had a disagreement on who should be the next leader
• Nature of Allah


  • Allah is unique and nothing can be compared to Allah
  • "Worship gods and shun false gods"
  • Allah created the universe and he sustains it
  • If someone makes something of equal importance to Allah , it is called shirk which is the most unforgivable sin
  • The use of symbols or images is forbidden
  • Allah is immanent and transcendent - he is close to us and is outside of space and time
  • Allah is omnipotent - all powerful
  • Allah is omniscient - all knowing
  • Allah is benevolent - all loving
  • Allah is merciful - forgiving
  • Allah is just - fair
• Risalah (prophethood)


  Communication between Allah and humans
• Muhammad is the final prophet
• The message he received from Allah is in the Qur'an and is unchanged
• The prophets who came before Muhammad are shared with Judaism and Christianity
• "Every community has been sent a prophet"
• Muslim holy books


  • Scrolls
  • Torah
  • Psalms
  • Gospel
• Prophets received messages from Allah which were recorded in ancient scriptures also known as kutubullah
• The books that were revealed before the Qur'an are believed to be an earlier form of revelation and aren't considered final authority
• Muslims believe that these books were sent from Allah but were changed/distorted
• The Qur'an is a word from Allah
• "Let there be no doubt about it, it is from the Lord of the Worlds"
• Malaikah


  • Angels were created by Allah from divine light
  • Angels are faithful servants to Allah
  • Angels have no free will so they cannot disobey Allah
  • Angels are free from sin
  • Jibril - messenger angel
  • Izra'il - angel of death
  • Mika'il - provider and sustainer
  • "They fear their Lord above them and do everything they are ordered to do"
  • Each person is assigned two recording angels which record good and bad deeds
• Al-Qadr (predestination)


  • Nothing takes place purely by chance. God knows and wills all future events
  • Islam teaches that everyone has free will and God will judge everyone on the Day Of Judgement
  • Muslims believe Allah is out of space and time. Even though Allah knows what is going to happen in the future, it doesn't mean humans don't have free will
  • Sunnis believe that everything is ordained by God. Although humans have free will, nothing can happen without the knowledge of God
  • Shias believe that humans should have their own free will and some Shias reject the idea of predestination as God cannot be responsible for evil
• Akhirah - life after death


  • Life is a preparation for the next
  • Life tests your faith towards Allah
  • There is a place of waiting called barzakh where the soul waits for Judgement day
  • The dead will be resurrected and each soul will be judged by Allah
  • "Then they will say, 'Who will bring them back?' Say, the one who created you the first time"
  • Some Muslims believe in the resurrection of the physical body whereas some believe in the spiritual resurrection which means only the soul lives on to a new body
  • Those who did good will go to jannah and those who did bad will go to jahannam
  • "Those who believed and did good deeds will delight in a Garden, while those who disbelieved… will be brought into torment"