Islam

Key beliefs

There are six articles of faith (Sunni Islam) and five roots of Usul ad-Din (Shi’a Islam).

Sunni Islam-The six articles of faith

Sunni Muslims believe that people should live following his rules. The holy books help with this as they give guidance on how Muslims can live their lives on the right path. The prophets are sent by God to teach humans how to live as Allah wishes and to teach them how to obey his laws.

• Tawhid- This means having absolute faith in the oneness of God. Allah is the Arabic word for God. Nothing can be likened to him;

• Malaikah- God's greatness means that he does not communicate with humans, so he passed messages to his prophets via the angels.

• Holy Books- The Qur’an is a direct revelation from God. It is God’s word.

• Nubuwwah- The belief that Allah chose prophets, called nubuwwah, through angels to communicate messages to humankind.

• Akhirah- Sunni Muslims believe in the Day of Judgement and the afterlife. All Muslims will be judged by God and sent to either Paradise or Hell.

• Al-Qadr- Everything in the universe follows a divine master plan. This shows the importance of God’s will, as Allah knows or decides everything that will happen.

The Five Roots of Usul ad-Din - Shi’a Islam

The theology of the twelve imams of Shi’a Islam contains the five key principles known as Usul ad-Din:

1. Tawhid - the belief that God is one, almighty and unique.

2. Divine justice (Adalat) - God will judge everyone on the Day of Judgement.

3. The prophets (nubuwwah) - who should be respected, especially Muhammad.

4. Authority of the imams (imamate) - these twelve imams were chosen by God to lead Islam after Muhammad.

5. Day of Resurrection (Al-Ma’ad) - Muslims will be resurrected and judged by God.

Authority

• Prophethood (Risalah): Risalah is a term used for messengers of Allah. Muslims believe that messages from Allah are communicated through prophets

• Adam: In Islam, Adam is believed to have been the first human being on Earth and the first prophet.

• Ibrahim: He is the Father of monotheism (believing in one God) and is a patriarch in all three faiths, which are known as the Abrahamic faiths.

• Muhammad: He was the founder of Islam and the proclaimer of the Qurʾān.

The holy books

• the Qur’an: The Qur'an contains prayers, moral guidance, historical narrative, and promises of Paradise. It opens with a short prayer called the Fatiha, the most widely recited passage, and is divided into 114 chapters (suras) organized in descending length.

• the Torah: Within its context as an Islamic holy book believed by Muslims to have been given by God to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel.

• the Psalms: The Quran mentions the Zabur, interpreted as being the Book of Psalms,[14] as being the holy scripture revealed to King David (Dawud). The Book of Psalms is full of holy songs of praise.

• the Gospel(Injil): The Injil is a book believed to have been given to the Prophet Isa by God. It is sometimes referred to as the Gospel of Jesus in Islam. Muslims believe that the Injil reveals the coming of the Prophet Isa.

• the Scrolls of Abraham: It was an early scripture, now lost. It taught Muslims what Allah revealed to the Prophet Ibrahim.

The attributes of Allah

Muslims believe that Allah is:

• Transcendent – Allah is above and beyond anything that exists in the world.

• Fair and just - Allah judges everyone equally.

• Immanent - Allah is close to every human and within all things on Earth.

• Omnipotent - Allah is all-powerful.

• Beneficent - Allah is all-loving.

• Merciful - Allah shows compassion and mercy, and he forgives people.

Angels

Most Muslims believe that angels or Malaikah were created before humans with the purpose of following the orders of Allah and communicating with humans. Angels are immortal, are made of light and have wings. They are pure and cannot sin. They obey and serve Allah at all times.

Angel Jibril

• Angel Jibril (known in Christianity as the Angel Gabriel) always brings good news. He is mentioned in both the Qur’an and the Hadith.

• He revealed Allah’s words (the Qur’an) to Muhammad on the Night of Power so he is known as the Angel of Revelation. He played a vital role in communicating the final version of Islam to humanity.

• The Angel Jibril appeared to Maryam, who in Christianity is known as Mary. Jibril told her she was pregnant with Isa (Jesus).

Angel Mika’il

• Also known as Michael, the Angel Mika’il is a friend to humanity and known as the giver of rain and food.

• He is believed to reward people who do good deeds.

• He asks Allah to forgive people’s sins as he is the Angel of Mercy.

• Both the Angel Jibril and the Angel Mika’il will be present on the Day of Judgement.

Judaism

Key beliefs

• The nature of God:

  • God as one

  • God as Creator

  • God as Law-Giver and Judge, loving and merciful.

• The divine presence (Shekhinah).

Shekhinah

Shekhinah (also Shekhina or Shechina) is the Hebrew word for ‘presence’, which in Jewish theology explains God’s presence on Earth. The earth shone with His glory. — Ezekiel 43:2

The Shema

The Shema is a prayer from the Torah that is used in morning and evening services in synagogues as well as being said at home by Jews to express belief in one God.

• In full, the Shema consists of three paragraphs of verses taken from Deuteronomy and Numbers. It shows how God should be respected.

• A lot of Jews believe that they can experience God’s presence when they are praying together or discussing the Torah.

• God’s closeness to Jews means that he can understand human suffering and so prayer is an important part of Jews developing their relationship with God

  • An example of God’s closeness can be found in the Tanakh, which describes how the Jews were led at times by a pillar of cloud by day, to guide them along the way and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light Exodus 13:21-22 when they were fleeing from Egypt.

God’s influence over Jewish people

• Jewish people believe that they must follow God’s law in order to serve him.

• They believe in free will but also that they must follow God’s laws in order to use this freedom in the way that God wants.

• Jews believe that all aspects of their lives are ruled by God.

• In Judaism, God will punish or reward people depending on how well they have followed his laws.

The Messiah

The word Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiach, which means ‘anointed one’ or someone who is chosen to rule. Jews believe that the Messiah will come to Earth to bring a time of perfect peace and prosperity called the Messianic Age.

Qualities of the Messiah

According to the Torah, the Messiah will be:

• a male descendant of the Jewish King David

• human - he will have a human birth and human parents

• a perfect teacher of God’s law

• a great political leader - inspirational and a good judge

• able to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem

• ruler over humanity - but he will rule with kindness

• the bringer of peace to the world

• able to unite humanity

Abraham

For Jews, Abraham is known as the founder or first patriarch of Judaism which means that Jewish people strive to follow his example. He is vital to Jewish history as the first point of contact between God and the Jews. It was through Abraham that the idea of the Promised Land, or a homeland for Jewish people, was created.

• God instructed Abraham to leave his home and travel to Canaan(Israel), the Promised Land. In contrast with Abraham's home, Canaan was an arid wasteland.

• God asked Abraham to follow the rules he had set and be a good example to others. In return, God promised Abraham that he and his wife Sarah would be given a child.

• God promised that Abraham would become the father of many nations. The covenant was sealed through his circumcision.

• Due to Abraham keeping his covenant, Sarah gave birth to their son, Isaac. God chose Isaac to inherit the covenant directly from his father, and Isaac handed it on to his own son, Jacob.

Christianity

Creation

Genesis is the first book of the Bible. Genesis 1 describes the creation of the heavens and the earth. While Genesis 2 focuses on the creation of the first humans, Adam and Eve:

Genesis 1 explains how:

• God is the only creator.

• God existed before he created the world.

• The world was well planned and is sustained by God.

• God blessed creation; all creation is holy.

• God created everything in Heaven and on Earth in six days.

• On the seventh day, God rested.

• The Bible teaches Christians that God created humans in his image. This does not mean that humans physically have the same appearance as God. Instead, they have certain characteristics that they share with God, such as being loving.

Stewardship and dominion

Dominion

Christians believe that God appointed human beings to be in charge of what he created, and to care for the world as responsible custodians. Many Christians understand this as evidence that humans have dominion over God’s creation.

• Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ (Genesis 1:26)

Stewardship

This could suggest that humans have the power to use the world and its resources as they like, but it does not mean that humanity should exploit the Earth’s resources. This teaching suggests that humanity’s purpose is to look after the world that God has created. This is known as stewardship.

• The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.(Genesis 2:15)

The role of the Trinity in creation

According to St John’s Gospel, the Trinity was present at creation. God the Father is the creator but the Holy Spirit also had a role.

• The Spirit of God was hovering over the water. And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.— Genesis 1:2–3

St John’s Gospel also describes the role of the Son of God, referring to him as “the Word”:

• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made.— John 1:1

Many Christians interpret this as evidence from the Bible that although God is three distinct divine persons, God is one.

Worship and festivals

There are many different ways in which Christians worship God. Worship is any act that shows devotion or love for God, ranging from praying at home to attending a church service.

Forms of worship

There are four main types of worship that Christians can engage in:

• Liturgical worship: Liturgical worship is a church service that follows a set pattern of prayers and readings, usually found in a printed book.

• Non-liturgical worship: Non-liturgical worship is more informal and has less structure, and the elements can be tailored to different types of services. For example, the sermon could be on a topical theme, and prayers could be in the service leader’

• Informal worship: Informal worship focuses on the adoration of God and is not always carried out in a church. Often, large auditoriums are used. Frequently the music used during informal worship is popular and modern in style, and instruments are commonly used.

• Private worship: Private worship is informal and often takes place at home, but it can be liturgical or non-liturgical. Some examples of private worship are saying grace before a meal or reading a passage from the Bible each day

Examples of activities

• Readings from the Holy Bible, prayers and the Eucharist.

• Christians regard Sunday as the Sabbath because Jesus' resurrection happened on a Sunday. It is also a reminder to Christians that God rested on the seventh day of creation. Most churches have their main service on a Sunday morning.