The Essential Beliefs of Islam
In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;
All
the praise and thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord al-`ālamīn. I testify that
there is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, sallallāhu
`alayhi wasallam is His Messenger.
Description: A look at
the essential beliefs of Islam. There are many aspects of belief in which one
who adheres to Islam must have firm conviction. From those aspects, the most
important are six, known as the “Six Articles of Islamic Belief”.
1. Belief in God (Allāh)
Islam upholds strict monotheism and
belief in God forms the heart of their faith. Islam teaches belief in one God
who neither gives birth nor was born Himself, and has no share in His
caretaking of the world. He alone gives life, causes death, brings good, causes
affliction, and provides sustenance for His creation. God in Islam is the sole
Creator, Lord, Sustainer, Ruler, Judge, and Savior of the universe. He has no
equal in His qualities and abilities, such as knowledge and power. All worship,
veneration and homage is to be directed to God and none else. Any breach of
these concepts negates the basis of Islam.
2. Belief in the Angels
Adherents to Islam must believe in
the Unseen world as mentioned in the Qur`an. From this world are the angels’
emissaries of God, each assigned with a specific task. They have no free-will
or ability to disobey; it is their very nature to be God's faithful servants.
Angels are not to be taken as demigods or objects of praise or veneration; they
are mere servants of God obeying His every command.
3. Belief in the Prophets and Messengers
Islam is a universal and inclusive
religion. Muslims believe in the prophets, not just the Prophet Muhammad, may
God praise him, but the Hebrew prophets, including Abraham and Moses, as well
as the prophets of the New Testament, Jesus, and John the Baptist. Islam
teaches God did not send prophets to Jews and Christians alone, rather He sent
prophets to all nations in the world with one central message: worship God
alone. Muslim must believe in all prophets sent by God mentioned in the Quran,
without making any distinction between them. Muhammad was sent with the final
message, and there is no prophet to come after him. His message is final and
eternal, and through him God completed His Message to humanity.
4. Belief in the Sacred Texts
Muslims believe in certain books
that God has sent down to humanity through His prophets. These books include
the Books of Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. [ Please see this] These books all had the
same source (God), the same message, and all were revealed in truth. This does
not mean that they have been preserved in truth. Muslims (and many other Jewish
and Christian scholars and historians) find that the books in existence today
are not the original scriptures, which in fact have been lost, changed, and/or
translated over and over again, losing the original message.
As Christians view the New Testament
to fulfill and complete the Old Testament, Muslims believe that the Prophet
Muhammad received revelations from God through the angel Gabriel to correct
human error that had entered into the scriptures and doctrine of Judaism,
Christianity and all other religions. This revelation is the Quran, revealed in
the Arabic language, and found today in its pristine form. It seeks to guide
mankind in all walks of life; spiritual, temporal, individual and collective.
It contains directions for the conduct of life, relates stories and parables,
describes the attributes of God, and speaks of the best rules to govern social
life. It has directions for everybody, every place, and for all time. Millions
of people today have memorized the Quran, and all copies of the Quran found
today and in the past are identical. God has promised that He will guard the
Quran from change until the end of times, so that Guidance be clear to humanity
and the message of all the prophets be available for those who seek it.
5. Belief in Life after Death
Muslims believe that a day will come
when all of creation will perish and resurrected in order to be judged for
their deeds: The Day of Judgment. On this day, all will gather in the presence
of God and each individual will be questioned about their life in the world and
how they lived it. Those who held correct beliefs about God and life, and
followed their belief with righteous deeds will enter Paradise, even though
they may pay for some of their sins in Hell if God out of His Infinite Justice
chooses not to forgive them. As for those who fell into polytheism in its many
faces, they will enter Hellfire, never to leave there from.
6. Belief in the Divine Decree
Islam asserts that God has full
power and knowledge of all things, and that nothing happens except by His Will
and with His full knowledge. What is known as divine decree, fate, or
"destiny" is known in Arabic as al-Qadar. The destiny of every creature
is already known to God.
This belief however does not
contradict with the idea of man's free will to choose his course of action. God
does not force us to do anything; we can choose whether to obey or disobey Him.
Our choice is known to God before we even do it. We do not know what our
destiny is; but God knows the fate of all things.
Therefore, we should have firm faith
that whatever befalls us; it is according to God's will and with His full
knowledge. There may be things that happen in this world that we do not
understand, but we should trust that God has wisdom in all things.
And
Allāh Almighty Knows best.
[Via
IslamReligion].
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