Articles of Faith
Muslim doctrine is often summarized in "Articles of Faith." According to this list, to be a Muslim one must believe in:
- Belief in God / Tawhid
- Belief in the Angels
- Belief in God’s Revealed Books
- Belief in the Prophets
- Belief in the Day of Judgment / Yawm Al-Qiyama
- Belief in Divine Predestination / Al-Qadar
Belief in God / Tawhid
Tawhid (Arabic: توحيد, English: Doctrine of Oneness) is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God (Arabic: ALLAH) is one (Wahid) and unique (Ahad). The Arabic word "ALLAH" occurs in the Quran about 2700 times.
A Muslim believes in one God, Supreme and Eternal, Infinite and Mighty, Merciful and Compassionate, Creator and Provider. God has no father or mother, no son or daughter. None is equal to Him. He is God of all mankind, not of a special tribe or race. He has the most magnificent names and sublime perfect attributes. No one shares His divinity, nor His attributes.
A Muslim believes in one God, Supreme and Eternal, Infinite and Mighty, Merciful and Compassionate, Creator and Provider. God has no father or mother, no son or daughter. None is equal to Him. He is God of all mankind, not of a special tribe or race. He has the most magnificent names and sublime perfect attributes. No one shares His divinity, nor His attributes.
Belief in the Angels
Angels (Arabic: ملائكة) are a creation of God. They are purely spiritual and splendid beings that require no food or drink or sleep. They have no physical desires or material needs. Like other creations of God, Angels spend their time worshiping God. In contrast to human beings, Angels do not have free will they can only obey God and do not have the ability to disobey Him. Each Angel is charged with a certain duty. Angels cannot be seen by the naked eyes.
Belief in God’s Revealed Books
Holy books are the texts which Muslims believe were authored by God to various Prophets throughout the history of mankind. All these books, in Muslim belief, promulgated the code and laws of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an, the final holy scripture, was sent because all the previous holy books had been either corrupted or lost. Nonetheless, Islam speaks of respecting all the previous scriptures in their original forms. Belief in all the revealed books is an article of faith in Islam and a Muslim must believe that all the original scriptures of the prophets of Abrahamic monotheism were revealed by ALLAH. The four books are the Tawrat, Zabur, Injil and Quran. The Torat was sent to Musa (Moses), the Zabur was sent to Dawood (David), the Injil was sent to Isa (Jesus) and the Qur'an was sent to Muhammad.
The Quran is the last testament in the series of divine revelations from God, and Muslims recite and turn to for guidance in all aspects of their life. It comprises the unaltered and direct words of God, revealed through the Angel Gabriel, to the final Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him) some 1400 years ago. The Quran is unique because it is the only revealed book that exists today in the precise form and content in which it was originally revealed. The Quran is unrivaled in its recording and preservation. The astonishing fact about this scripture is that it has remained completely unchanged over the past fourteen centuries, a fact that is attested to by both non-Muslim and Muslim scholars alike. There are no versions of the Quran and every copy in the world remains identical, word for word in its original language Arabic. Muslims to this day continue to emphasize the importance of memorizing the Quran word by word, as a whole or in part, recognizing that it is the Speech of God and not a book written by Muhammad himself.
The Quran is the last testament in the series of divine revelations from God, and Muslims recite and turn to for guidance in all aspects of their life. It comprises the unaltered and direct words of God, revealed through the Angel Gabriel, to the final Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him) some 1400 years ago. The Quran is unique because it is the only revealed book that exists today in the precise form and content in which it was originally revealed. The Quran is unrivaled in its recording and preservation. The astonishing fact about this scripture is that it has remained completely unchanged over the past fourteen centuries, a fact that is attested to by both non-Muslim and Muslim scholars alike. There are no versions of the Quran and every copy in the world remains identical, word for word in its original language Arabic. Muslims to this day continue to emphasize the importance of memorizing the Quran word by word, as a whole or in part, recognizing that it is the Speech of God and not a book written by Muhammad himself.
Belief in the Prophets
A Muslim believes in all the Messengers and Prophets of God without any discrimination. All messengers were mortals, human beings, endowed with Divine revelations and appointed by God to teach mankind. The Holy Quran mentions the names of 25 messengers and prophets and states that there are others. These include Adam, the first Prophet, and include Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, the last of the Prophets (Peace Be Upon Them All). The key message brought by all Prophets was the same; to believe in One God and not to associate partners with Him, to stay away from sins and to lead a life devoted to earning God’s pleasure.
Belief in the Day of Judgment / Yawm Al-Qiyama
A Muslim believes in the Day of the Judgement. This world as we know it will come to an end, and the dead will rise to stand for their final and fair trial. On that day, all men and women from Adam to the last person will be resurrected from the state of death. Everything we do, say, make, intend and think are accounted for and kept in accurate records. They are brought up on the Day of Judgement.
One who believes in life after death is not expected to disobey God. They will be ever-conscious that God is watching all their actions and the angels are recording them.
People with good records will be generously rewarded and warmly welcomed to Paradise. People with bad records will be fairly punished and cast into Hell. The real nature of Heaven and Hell are known to ALLAH only, but they are described by ALLAH in man’s familiar terms in the Quran.
If some good deeds are seen not to get full appreciation and credit in this life, they will receive full compensation and be widely acknowledged on the Day of Judgement. If some people who commit sins, neglect God and indulge in immoral activities seem superficially successful and prosperous in this life, absolute justice will be done to them on the Day of Judgement. The time of the Day of Judgement is known by God alone.
One who believes in life after death is not expected to disobey God. They will be ever-conscious that God is watching all their actions and the angels are recording them.
People with good records will be generously rewarded and warmly welcomed to Paradise. People with bad records will be fairly punished and cast into Hell. The real nature of Heaven and Hell are known to ALLAH only, but they are described by ALLAH in man’s familiar terms in the Quran.
If some good deeds are seen not to get full appreciation and credit in this life, they will receive full compensation and be widely acknowledged on the Day of Judgement. If some people who commit sins, neglect God and indulge in immoral activities seem superficially successful and prosperous in this life, absolute justice will be done to them on the Day of Judgement. The time of the Day of Judgement is known by God alone.
Belief in Divine Predestination / Al-Qadar
Muslims believe in Al-Qadar, which is Divine Predestination, but this belief in Divine Predestination does not mean that human beings do not have freewill. Rather, Muslims believe that God has given human beings freewill. This means that they can choose right or wrong and that they are responsible for their choices.
A Muslim believes in the ultimate Knowledge and Power of God to plan and execute His plans. Allah is Wise, Just, and Loving, and whatever He does must have a good motive, although we may fail sometimes to understand it fully. The believer should have strong faith in God, recognizing that their own knowledge is limited and their thinking is based on individual consideration. In contrast, the Knowledge of God is limitless and He plans on a universal basis. Man should think, plan and make sound choices and then put their trust in God. If things happen as they want they should praise God. If things do not happen as they want they should still praise God, recognizing that He knows best what is good for the affairs of mankind.
The belief in Divine Predestination includes belief in four things:
A Muslim believes in the ultimate Knowledge and Power of God to plan and execute His plans. Allah is Wise, Just, and Loving, and whatever He does must have a good motive, although we may fail sometimes to understand it fully. The believer should have strong faith in God, recognizing that their own knowledge is limited and their thinking is based on individual consideration. In contrast, the Knowledge of God is limitless and He plans on a universal basis. Man should think, plan and make sound choices and then put their trust in God. If things happen as they want they should praise God. If things do not happen as they want they should still praise God, recognizing that He knows best what is good for the affairs of mankind.
The belief in Divine Predestination includes belief in four things:
- Al-Alam – Knowledge that ALLAH knows what His creation will do, by virtue of His eternal knowledge, including their choices that will take place.
- Kitabat – Writing that ALLAH has written every thing that exists including the destiny of all creatures in Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuud prior to creation.
- Mashii'at – Will that what ALLAH wills happens and what He does not will does not happen. There is no movement in the heavens or on earth but happens by His will. This does not mean that He forces things to happen the way they happen in the area of human beings' voluntary actions. It means that He knew what they will chose, wrote it and now lets it happen, and He can always change it if He wants.
- Al-Khalaq – Creation and formation that ALLAH is the Creator of all things, including the actions of His servants. They do their actions in a real sense, and ALLAH is the Creator of them and of their actions.
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