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A. Belief in Allah:
[Taken from a brochure published by the Islamic Cultural Center in Tempe, AZ, USA]
Muslims believe in a single and unique God, " Allah". No one can see or comprehend Allah. We can only know Him by His attributes, such as Mercy, Forgiveness, Sovereignty. Allah's attributes were mentioned in the Qur'an and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him).
Allah is the Creator of all things. He has no partners-He has no spouse, He was no born, nor did He give birth to offspring. He has no offspring. He has power over all things. He is the Creator of mankind, the heavens and the earth and everything that exists.
B. Belief in the Angles:
Angels are created from light. They exist on a different physical plane. Their sole function is to worship and obey Allah. Angles carry out Allah's commands. A well-known angel is Jibreel (Gabriel), who delivered Allah's revelations to the various Prophets.
C. Belief in the Books:
Muslims are required to believe in the revelations sent to all prophets. The Qur'an specifically mentions four revelations, or Books, that Muslims must accept:
- Zaboor (Psalms): David
- Tawrat (Torah): Moses
- Injil (Gospel) Jesus
- Holy Qur'an: Muhammad
(May Allah's peace be upon them all)
Allah specifically said that Islam is the final message and the Qur'an is the final revelation sent to humanity. It has been perfectly preserved, and thus, Muslims follow the teachings of the Qur'an and use it as the perfect criterion, "furqan", in assessing the accuracy of earlier books which are commonly known to have been changed and tampered with over centuries.
D. Belief in the prophets:
The Qur'an and traditions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) teach that Prophets are extraordinarily good humans chosen by Allah to receive, transmit and teach His Message.
Muslims do not attribute divinity to any prophets. Miracles performed by Prophets are done by the
command of Allah. There is no distinction made between the various prophets. Muslims believe in all of them, including Adam, Abraham, Noah, David, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad (may Allah's peace be upon them all).
The Qur'an mentions 25 prophets by name, although Muslims believe that there were other prophets because the Qur'an states that a prophet was sent to every nation.
Muslims believe that Muhammad (pbuh) is the last prophet of Allah.
E. Belief in the day of judgment:
Muslims believe in eternal life after death.
On the Day of Resurrection each human will undergo accountability in front of Allah. Each person will be shown his/her book of deeds revealing everything done, said and thought in this earthly life. Allah will judge the person with absolute justice. A person will then be sent to either Paradise or Hellfire.
Each individual will be held solely responsible for his/her own deeds.
constant remembrance of the Day of Judgment has a profound effect on the Muslim: his life is not a mere amusement, but a solemn undertaking with eternal consequences.
The concept of the Day of Judgment is totally logical and just. True mercy and justice dictates that tyrants who escaped punishment in this life, and good people who endured hardship in this life, be duly and equitably recompensed in the After life.
F. Divine Destiny: Qadar
Qadar is the belief that Allah is in control of everything.
On the one hand, humans have a free will. They have the ability and responsibility to choose between right and wrong.
However, there are certain things that humans have no choice about, such as their gender, where and when they are born, who their parents are, when they will die, their financial status, and their ethnicity. Accordingly, we will not be held responsible for these things on the Day of Judgment.
The concept of Qadar gives the believer "peace of mind", knowing that nothing escapes the wisdom and knowledge of Allah. Some things are destined to be and we must accept them graciously.
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