Beliefs
The basis of Islamic belief is found in the
shahādatān
("two testimonies", Arabic: لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله ): lā
ilāhā illā-llāhu; muhammadur-rasūlu-llāhi—"There is no god but The God;
Muhammad is the messenger of God." In order to become a Muslim, one needs to
recite and believe in these statements under witness. One who wishes to
convert must be truly willing, and must have given thought to the meaning of
the shahāda before reciting the words and becoming a Muslim.
Muslims believe that
God (or, in
Arabic,
Allāh; also in
Aramaic Alaha) revealed his direct word for mankind to
Muhammad(c.
570–632)
and other
prophets, including
Adam ,
Noah,
Abraham,
Moses, and
Jesus.
Mainstream Muslims believe that Muhammad is the Last or the seal of
the prophets. Thus, his preachings for humankind will last until
Qiyamah
(The Day of the Resurrection). Muslims assert that the main written record
of revelation to humankind is the
Qur'an (see
below), which they believe to be flawless, immutable, and the final
revelation of God to humanity. Muslims believe that parts of the Gospels,
Torah and
Jewish prophetic books have been forgotten, misinterpreted, incorrectly
edited by humans, or distorted by their followers and thus their original
message has been corrupted over time. With that perspective, Muslims view
the Qur'an as a correction of Jewish and Christian scriptures, and a final
revelation.
Muslims hold that Islam is essentially the same belief as that of all the
messengers sent by God to mankind since Adam, with the Qur'an (the text
agreed upon by all sects of the Muslim faith) codifying the final revelation
of God. Islamic texts depict
Judaism
and
Christianity as derivations of the teachings of the prophet Abraham and
thus acknowledge common
Abrahamic roots. The Qur'an calls Jews and Christians (and sometimes
people of
other faiths) "People
of the Book."
Islām is described as a
dīn, meaning "way of life" and/or "guidance".
Kaaba
, the holiest site in Islam
Six articles of belief
There are six basic beliefs shared by all Muslims:
- Belief in God (Allah), the one and only one worthy of all worship (tawhid).
- Belief in all the prophets (nabi)
and messengers (rasul)
sent by God. (See
Prophets of Islam)
- Belief in the books (kutub)
sent by God:
- The
Suhuf-i-Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham)
- The
Tawrat sent to
Musa
(Moses)
- The Zabur
sent to Daud
(David)
- The Injil
sent to Isa
(Jesus)
- The
Qur'an sent to Muhammad
- Belief in the Angels (mala'ika).
- Belief in the Day of Judgement (qiyama)
and in the life after death (heaven and hell). (Note: Sometimes these
articles are listed separately, thus resulting in 7 articles of faith.)
- Belief in Fate (predestination)
(qadar)1
The Muslim creed in
English:
-
- "I testify that there is no god but Allah Almighty; and I testify
that Muhammad),(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), is His
Messenger."
- "I believe in Allah; and in His Angels; and in His Scriptures; and
in His Messengers; and in The Final Day; and in Fate, that All things
are from Allah, and Resurrection after death be Truth.
|