The religion of Islam is the acceptance of and obedience to the
teachings of God which He revealed to His last prophet, Muhammad .
Some Basic Islamic Beliefs 1) Belief in God:
Muslims believe in one, unique, incomparable God, Who has no son nor
partner, and that none has the right to be worshipped but Him alone. He
is the true God, and every other deity is false. He has the most
magnificent names and sublime perfect attributes. No one shares His
divinity, nor His attributes. In the Quran, God describes Himself:
Say, "He is God, the One. God, to Whom the creatures turn for
their needs. He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none like
Him." (Quran, 112:1-4)
[Chapter 112 of the Quran written in Arabic calligraphy]
Chapter 112 of the Quran written in Arabic calligraphy.
No one has the right to be invoked, supplicated, prayed to, or shown any
act of worship, but God alone.
God alone is the Almighty, the Creator, the Sovereign, and the Sustainer
of everything in the whole universe. He manages all affairs. He stands
in need of none of His creatures, and all His creatures depend on Him
for all that they need. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and the
All-Knowing. In a perfect manner, His knowledge encompasses all things,
the open and the secret, and the public and the private. He knows what
has happened, what will happen, and how it will happen. No affair
occurs in the whole world except by His will. Whatever He wills is, and
whatever He does not will is not and will never be. His will is above
the will of all the creatures. He has power over all things, and He is
able to do everything. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and
the Most Beneficent. In one of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad , we
are told that God is more merciful to His creatures than a mother to her
child.1 <http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-2.htm#footnote1> God is far
removed from injustice and tyranny. He is All-Wise in all of His
actions and decrees. If someone wants something from God, he or she can
ask God directly without asking anyone else to intercede with God for
him or her.
God is not Jesus, and Jesus is not God.2
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-2.htm#footnote2> Even Jesus himself
rejected this. God has said in the Quran:
Indeed, they have disbelieved who have said, "God is the Messiah
(Jesus), son of Mary." The Messiah said, "Children of Israel,
worship God, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever associates partners in
worship with God, then God has forbidden Paradise for him, and his home
is the Fire (Hell). For the wrongdoers,3
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-2.htm#footnote3> there will be no
helpers." (Quran, 5:72)
God is not a trinity. God has said in the Quran:
Indeed, they disbelieve who say, "God is the third of three (in a
trinity)," when there is no god but one God. If they desist not
from what they say, truly, a painful punishment will befall the
disbelievers among them. Would they not rather repent to God and ask His
forgiveness? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. The Messiah
(Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a messenger... (Quran, 5:73-75)
Islam rejects that God rested on the seventh day of the creation, that
He wrestled with one of His angels, that He is an envious plotter
against mankind, or that He is incarnate in any human being. Islam also
rejects the attribution of any human form to God. All of these are
considered blasphemous. God is the Exalted. He is far removed from
every imperfection. He never becomes weary. He does not become drowsy
nor does he sleep.
The Arabic word Allah means God (the one and only true God who created
the whole universe). This word Allah is a name for God, which is used
by Arabic speakers, both Arab Muslims and Arab Christians. This word
cannot be used to designate anything other than the one true God. The
Arabic word Allah occurs in the Quran about 2700 times. In Aramaic, a
language related closely to Arabic and the language that Jesus
habitually spoke,4 <http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-2.htm#footnote4> God
is also referred to as Allah.
2) Belief in the Angels:
Muslims believe in the existence of the angels and that they are honored
creatures. The angels worship God alone, obey Him, and act only by His
command. Among the angels is Gabriel, who brought down the Quran to
Muhammad .
3) Belief in God's Revealed Books:
Muslims believe that God revealed books to His messengers as proof for
mankind and as guidance for them. Among these books is the Quran, which
God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad . God has guaranteed the
Quran's protection from any corruption or distortion. God has said:
Indeed, We have sent down the Quran, and surely We will guard it (from
corruption). (Quran, 15:9)
4) Belief in the Prophets and Messengers of God:
Muslims believe in the prophets and messengers of God, starting with
Adam, including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus
(peace be upon them). But God's final message to man, a
reconfirmation of the eternal message, was revealed to the Prophet
Muhammad . Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last prophet sent by
God, as God has said:
Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but he is the
Messenger of God and the last of the prophets... (Quran, 33:40)
Muslims believe that all the prophets and messengers were created human
beings who had none of the divine qualities of God.
5) Belief in the Day of Judgment:
Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) when
all people will be resurrected for God's judgment according to their
beliefs and deeds.
6) Belief in 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.
The belief in Divine Predestination includes belief in four things: 1)
God knows everything. He knows what has happened and what will happen.
2) God has recorded all that has happened and all that will happen. 3)
Whatever God wills to happen happens, and whatever He wills not to
happen does not happen. 4) God is the Creator of everything.
Is There Any Sacred Source
Other than the Quran?
Yes. The sunnah (what the Prophet Muhammad said, did, or approved of)
is the second source in Islam. The sunnah is comprised of hadeeths,
which are reliably transmitted reports by the Prophet Muhammad's
companions of what he said, did, or approved of. Belief in the sunnah
is a basic Islamic belief.
Examples of the Prophet
Muhammad's Sayings
n {The believers, in their love, mercy, and kindness to one another are
like a body: if any part of it is ill, the whole body shares its
sleeplessness and fever.}1
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote1>
n {The most perfect of the believers in faith are the best of them in
morals. And the best among them are those who are best to their
wives.}2 <http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote2>
n {None of you believes (completely) until he loves for his brother
what he loves for himself.}3
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote3>
n {The merciful are shown mercy by the All-Merciful. Show mercy to
those on earth, and God will show mercy to you.}4
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote4>
n {Smiling at your brother is charity...}5
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote5>
n {A good word is charity.}6
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote6>
n {Whoever believes in God and the Last Day (the Day of Judgment)
should do good to his neighbor.}7
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote7>
n {God does not judge you according to your appearance and your wealth,
but He looks at your hearts and looks into your deeds.}8
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote8>
n {Pay the worker his wage before his sweat dries.}9
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote9>
n {A man walking along a path felt very thirsty. Reaching a well, he
descended into it, drank his fill, and came up. Then he saw a dog with
its tongue hanging out, trying to lick up mud to quench its thirst. The
man said, "This dog is feeling the same thirst that I felt." So
he went down into the well again, filled his shoe with water, and gave
the dog a drink. So, God thanked him and forgave his sins.} The
Prophet was asked, "Messenger of God, are we rewarded for kindness
towards animals?" He said: {There is a reward for kindness to every
living animal or human.}10
<http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-4.htm#footnote10>
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