Islam beliefs and teachings

Islam in Britain

- in britain there are nearly 3 million Muslims, more than 4.5% of the population
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Quran

- book of guidance
- revealed to Muhammad by God through Angel Jibril
- must be spoken to reveal its beauty and truth
- written down in Arabic by his followers

Sunnah

- describes the customs, practices and traditions of Muhammad
- teaches the perfect path/ model for how muslims should live
- second most important source of authority

Hadith

- describes the words and actions of Muhammad
- contains his sayings as recorded by his family
- muslims love and respect the words of Prophet Muhammad because he was such an outstanding character

Books that were originally holy but have become too corrupt

Sahifah > revealed to Ibrahim > Lost
Tawrat > revealed to Moses > Torah
Zabur > revealed to David > Psalms
Injil > Jesus > Gospels

Define shariah

A way of life, muslims believe god had set out a clear path for how muslims should live. This is the set of moral and religious rules that puts the principles in the Quran into practice

Define Halal

Actions or things which are permitted within islam, such as eating permitted foods

define haram

any actions or things which are forbidden within Islam, such as eating forbidden foods

Define ummah

Worldwide community of muslims who share a common religious identity

What caused the Sunni-Shia split?

- after the death of Muhammad dispute arose over who should lead the community
- Abu Bakr became the leader, then Umar, then Uthman, then Ali - Sunni muslims accept they were gods appointed leaders
- when Ali was murdered, Shia muslims were angry that he wasn't the initial khalifah

Sixth articles of faith in Sunni islam

Allah
Malaikah
Holy books
Risalah
Akirah
Al-Qadr

Define jihad

Striving to do what is right for God. Split into greater jihad (individual struggle) and lesser jihad (holy war)

The five roots of 'Usul ad-Din in Shi'a Islam

Tawhid (oneness of God)
Imamat (leadership)
Qayamat (resurrection)
Adalah (justice of god)
Nubuwwah (prophethood)

Adalah

- God is perfect in justice, fairness and wisdom
- does not wrong anyone and doesnt tolerate wrongdoing
- cant abuse his power
- humans are responsible for their good and bad actions

Nubuwwah

- god has appointed prophets and messengers to guide humans
- show muslims how to live in submission to god and peace
- Muhammad was the seal of the prophets, who brought their final, perfect, unchanging message of god

Imamate

- Shi'as believe that after Muhammads death, God appointed 12 infallible imams to lead the community
- believe that 11 have been killed, but 1 (the Mahdi) is hiding, waiting to reappear and rule

Qayamat

On the day of judgement there will be a resurrection
Humans will be physically raised

Tawhid

Oneness and unity of god
Allah is the universal god of all humanity

Examples of the 99 names

The creator
The total provider
The omnipotent one
The all-seeing
The most sacred

Shirk

When a person worships something else other than God
No pictures can represent him, must worship the true God, not the image of him

Fitrah

we are all born with an instinctive need for god

Taqwa

The desire for a personal connection with God

Hanifs

- pre Islamic Arabic monotheists
- believed in one supreme god

Risalah

The messengers of God, beginning with Adam an ending with Muhammad. Channel of communication between us and God, prophets wisdom comes from god

Adam

- father of the human race
- created from a handful of soil of many colours- diversity
- they ate from a forbidden tree and were banished to earth
- Adam confessed his sins and was forgiven, became the first prophet
- Adam was gods khalifah (Gods representative on earth) and it was his job to rule in the place of god
- built the first Ka'ba in Mecca

Ibrahim

- hanif, he had an inner knowledge that there is only one true God
- seen as the greatest prophet before Jesus
- when Muslims go on Hajj, they remember the distress of Ibrahim wife as she ran between the hills of Al-Safa searching for water
- God instructed Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, and when Stan tried to tempt him out of it, Ibrahim drove the evil one away by throwing stones at him- also seen in Hajj

Musa

- teachings of Ibrahim had been lost so a new one had to be sent
- led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt
- he was given the word of god in the Tawrat, but the people were disobedient and the message was distorted

David

- Israel's greatest king who gave Jerusalem a holy place for muslims
- received the word of God in the Zabur (psalms)

Isa

- he was given the Injil (gospels) and performed miracles
- muslims deny the trinity and the belief that isa is god, as God is one
- he didn't die when crucified, as god would nit allow evil to triumph over his prophet
- Isa was taken up to heaven and will reappear in the second coming when God judges the world

Laylat-Ul-Qadr

- night of power
- while Muhammad was praying in a cave, angel Jibril appeared before him and ordered him to recite the words that appeared in front of him
- 27th day of ramadan
- one of the holiest days of the muslim year of

Malaikah

- angels are heavenly, immortal beings, gods first creation
- gods messengers and servants
- exist everywhere though invisible
- in contact with humans when someone prays or thinks about god

Angel Jibril

- angel of revelation
- archangel responsible for revealing the Qur'an to Muhammad
- brings messages to Gods chosen ones

Angel Mika'il

- keeps the devil out of heaven and protects faithful worshippers
- brings rainfall to the earth to wather land + sustenance for the body and soul

Israfil

- archangel who will blow the trumpet on the Day of Judgement to announce the resurrection of the dead

Azrail

Takes souls at death

Raqib and Atid

"Noble recorders"
Sit, one on each shoulder, note down good and bad deeds which are read on the day of judgement

Munkar & Nakir

Terrifying judging angels who question each person after death to test their faith

Signs of the end of the world

- appearance of Mahdi
- second coming of Isa
- abundance of earthquakes/ killing/ rejection of islam/ corruption/ chaos

Day of Judgement

- dead will be raised from their graves and all will stand before God
- A book with every good deed and bad deed is put in left hand (hell) or right hand (heaven)

Barzakh

a place of waiting, after death until the Day of Judgement

Janna

- heaven
- those who have been blessed by god will successfully pass over the bridge of As-Sirat
- those who have fought for god/ been persecuted for faith/ lived faithful lives

Jahannam quote

- hell
- the wicked which God has damned
- wont pass over the bridge successfully
- place of terror, boiling water, scorching fire, black smoke
- separation from god with no hope of return

Al Qadr

Belief that God is all knowledgeable and instigates all events. Everything that happens is predestined to take place and is part of Gods design

Insha'Allah

- if God is willing
- expresses the belief that all events are outside out control and are in the hands of god
- we can only succeed in plans if God is also willing to make it happen