Islam: beliefs and teachings

What is the belief about the oneness of God?

Tawhid

“He is God the One”- There is only one and cannot be divided into different persons

Muslims should worship one God

never make anything more important in their lives than God, as God has no equal

Not use images of God as it is impossible to portray God accurately

Allah means The God

What is the supremacy of God’s will?

Muslims believe God’s will is supreme (most powerful).

God can make anything happen

Nothing happens unless God allows it to happen

Gives Muslims confidence when something goes wrong as it is part of God’s plan

Muslims live according to God’s will as the accept that God knows best

What is Sunni Islam?

The Sunni leader (Caliph) should be elected

Only the Qur’an and the Sunnah (Muhammad’s teachings and actions) have the authority to provide religious guidance

Abu Bakr (Muhammad’s advisor) was the rightful leader after Muhammad died

The six articles of faith give the man beliefs for Sunni Muslims

What is Shi’a Islam?

The Shi’a leader (Imam) should be a descendant of Muhammad and chosen by God

The Qur’an, Sunnah and the Shi’a leader have the authority to provide religious guidance

Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, was the rightful leader after Muhammad died

The five roots of ‘Usul as-Din’ give the main beliefs for Shi’a Muslims

What are some shared beliefs between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims?

Believe in the same God

Follow the teaching of the Qur’an

Follow the teachings in the Sunnah

acknowledge the importance of the prophets

What are the six articles of faith in Sunni Islam?

Tawhid- only one God

Angels- passed on God’s message to the prophets

The holy books- respect for the holy books and especially the Qur’an

The prophets- respect for the prophets and especially Muhammad

The day of judgement- everybody will be judged by God and sent to Paradise or Hell

The supremacy of God’s will- nothing happens unless God wants it to happen

What are the five roots of ‘Usul ad-Din’ in Shi’a Islam?

Tawhid- only one God

Prophethood- respect for prophets

The justice of God (Adalat)- God will judge everyone on day of judgement in a fair and just way

The Imamate- respect for the 12 Imams, chosen by God to lead Islam after Muhammad died

Resurrection- Muslims will be resurrected and judged by God

What is transcendent in terms of qualities of God?

God created the universe, so is beyond and outside it. He is not limited by the physical world.

Muslims believe that God can be both transcendent and immanent because although he created the universe (so is outside it), he is also within all things and able to act within it.

What is immanent in terms of qualities of God?

God is present everywhere in the world and the universe.

God is within all things and is involved with life on earth.

What is omnipotent in terms of qualities of God?

God is all powerful

God has the power to create and sustain everything in the universe

God is aware of everything, including human actions and thoughts

What is merciful in terms of qualities of God?

God shows compassion and mercy

God cares for people and understands suffering

God forgives people who are truly sorry for the things they have done wrong

What is beneficent in terms of qualities of God?

God is benevolent: all loving and all good

God’s generosity is seen in his gift to humans of everything they need to live on earth

What is fair and just in terms of qualities of God?

God treats everyone fairly and justly

God will judge all people equally on the day of judgement

Shi’a Muslims in particular believe that people have full responsibility for their actions, and God will reward or punish people depending on the choices they make

What are the nature of angels?

Are pure and sinless

Have no free will, so can only do what God wants them to do

Are spiritual beings, created by God from light

Constantly serve and praise God

Are able to take on a human form to give messages to people

What do Muslims believe the role of angels is?

Some act as messengers of God

Some take care of people throughout their lives

Some record everything a person does in their ‘book of deeds’ which is presented to God on the day of judgement.

Some take people’s souls to God after they die

Who is the angel Jibril?

The angel of revelation

Purified Muhammad’s heart when he was a child so he would later be able to receive God’s revelation

Recited Qur’an to Muhammad and continued to pass on God’s messages to Muhammad to guide him through the rest of his life

Therefore played important role in communicating the final version of Islam to humanity

Who is the Angel Mika’il?

The angel of mercy

Responsible for sending rain, thunder and lightning to earth

Brings nourishment to earth, and helps to provide food for humans, by sending rain to the ground

Believed to reward people who do good deeds

What is predestination for Sunnis?

God has written down everything that will happen in a ‘book of decrees’

because God created people, they must act according to his will

God’s will is so powerful that he is able to make anything happen that he wants to happen

Humans do not have the freedom to change their destiny, or the overall plan that God has set for them; but they do have some choice over how they behave

“Only what God has decreed will happen to us.” Quran

What is predestination for Shi’a Muslims?

As God is the creator of time, he is outside time and so not bound by it. This means that God can see everything that happens in the past, present, and future

God knows what choices people will make, but they still have the free will to make these choices for themselves

“God does not change the condition of a people (for the worse) unless they change what is in themselves”

What is the day of judgement?

Muslims who believe they have the free will to make their own choices also believe they will be judged by God for these choices

They believe that on the day of judgement, God will judge them for everything they have done during their lives, and reward or punish them as a result

Even though God knows everything that will happen, people are still responsible for their actions, and will be rewarded or punished for them on the day of judgement

What is Barzakh?

After death, the state of waiting until the day of judgement is called Barzakh, which means barrier.

People are unable to come back across the barrier to right wrongs or to warn people

While they are waiting, God sends two angels to question them about their faith

Depending on how they answer, they will either see the rewards that will come or the punishments they will have to endure after the day of judgement

What is the day of judgement in terms of the second stage of life after death?

When God’s purpose for the universe has been fulfilled, the world will be destroyed

Everyone who has ever lived will be raised from the dead

Everyone will be given their own ‘book of deeds’ which is a record of everything they did during their lives

If they are given the book in their right hand, they will go to heaven; if they are given it in their left hand, they will go to hell

What is heaven and hell in terms of the third stage of life after death?

People who have kept their faith in God and done good deeds will be rewarded with heaven (paradise)

Heaven is described as a beautiful garden- it is a state of eternal happiness in the presence of God

People who have rejected God and done bad things will be punished with hell

Hell is described as a place of fire and torment, where people are separated from God

What is the importance of belief in Akhirah?

Encourages Muslims to take responsibility for their actions as they know God will hold them accountable and reward or punish them

This motivates Muslims to follow the teachings in the Qur’an and to dedicate their lives to God

Belief in Akhirah helps to give hope to Muslims who suffer as they know there is something to look forward to.

It helps Muslims to accept unjust situations as they know God will provide justice in the afterlife

What is prophethood?

Prophethood is a gift from God to help humans understand his message

When people have forgotten, misunderstood or changed God’s message, God has sent prophets to call people back to the right path

There have been around 124,000 prophets

Muhammad was the last and most important

They are good role models and help Muslims to understand how to follow God

Who is Adam?

‘Father of the human race and the first prophet’

God created Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed his spirit into him

Gave him knowledge and understanding and taught him the names of things

Told the angels to bow to Adam out of respect for his knowledge

Iblis(satan) refused so he was thrown out of paradise so he vowed to always tempt humans to sin against God

God created Hawwa (Eve) to keep Adam company

Told them they could eat anything except the fruit on the forbidden tree

Iblis deceived them into eating it

God expelled them from the garden and their actions brought sin to the world

God forgave Adam after his accepted his mistake, and he became the first prophet

Why is ibrahim important?

He fulfilled all the tests and commands given by God

Showed great faith in God

Good role models for Muslims

Muhammad was one of his descendants through his son, Ishmael

Proclaimed belief in only one God at a time when people worshipped many different Gods and idols

Why is Muhammad important in relation to to revelation of the Qur’an?

Muhammad grew up in Makkah and he would visit a cave in the mountains nearby to meditate and pray

One time he experienced a revelation from the angel Jibril

Over the next 22 years or so, Muhammad continued to receive revelations from Jibril

They were combined together to form the Qur’an

Why is Muhammad important in relation to conquering Makkah?

After the first revelation, Muhammad started challenging people in Makkah to follow God’s teachings

Muhammad was persecuted for his preaching and fled with his followers to Madinah

In Madinah, he united the warring tribes and then conquered Makkah and converted the city to Islam

Brought harmony to the region and firmly established Islam as a religion

Why is Muhammad important in terms of the night journey?

Before Muhammad fled to Madinah, the angel Jibril took him on a miraculous journey to Jerusalem and then into heaven, where he spoke to prophets and saw great things

In heaven, Muhammad agreed with God that Muslims should pray 5 times a day

Sunni Muslims still follow this practise

What is the Imamate?

Leader of Shi’a Muslims is called the Imam.

The leadership of the Imams is knows as the Imamate

Shias believe the imam should be a descendent of Muhammad and chosen by God

The twelver branch of Shi’a Islam teaches that there have been 12 imams

Each has been related to Muhammad in some way

The twelfth Imam has been kept alive by God and hidden somewhere on earth. He will return in the future to bring justice and equality to all.

As the Imams have been appointed by God, the can interpret the Qur’an and Islamic law without fault

Shi’a Muslims believe imams to be necessary as people need guidance on how to live correctly

What is the Qur’an?

Includes a mixture of historical accounts and advice on how to follow God

Contains 114 surahs (chapters)

Written in Arabic

The foundation of every believers faith

Nearly every chapter starts with the words ‘In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of mercy’

What are the origins of the Qur’an?

The Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad by Angel Jibril

Jibril was passing on God’s words so the Qur’an is God’s words

Jibril’s revelations occurred over around 22 years

Muhammad learnt by heart each revelation

He recited these to his followers

Scribes later wrote them down

As Islam spread, there was a danger that the original words would be distorted

The third caliph asked a team of Muslims scholars to compile an official version of the Qur’an sections could use

What are the other holy books?

The Torah- revealed to Moses

Some Muslims think the Torah is the first five books of the bible, but changed from original text

The psalms- revealed to David

Many Muslims accept that the psalms mentioned in the Qur’an are similar to the ones in the bible

The Gospel- revealed to Jesus

Muslims believe the gospel has been lost but some of its message is still found in the bible

The scrolls of Abraham- revealed to Ibrahim

These are considered to be one of the earliest scriptures in Islam, and no longer exist