What is Islam?
easyislam
teachings of God which He revealed to His last prophet, Muhammad
(P.B.U.H).
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)
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 (P.B.U.H),
we are told that God is more merciful to His creatures than a mother
to her child. 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. 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, 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, 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 (P.B.U.H).
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 (P.B.U.H). 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 (P.B.U.H). Muslims believe that Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is the
last prophet sent by God, as God has said:
Muhammad (P.B.U.H) 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.