What Is Islam?

What Is Islam?
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 Qur’an, 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.”
(Qur’an, 112:1-4)
No one has the right to
be invoked, supplicated,
prayed to, or shown any act
of worship, but God alone.
general information
on islam
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
General Information on Islam
Chapter 112 of the Qur’an written in Arabic
calligraphy.
What Is Islam? Some Basic Islamic Beliefs
A Brief Illustrated Guide To Understanding Islam
45God 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,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 Qur’an to Muhammad .
Some Basic Islamic Beliefs
Chapter 3
General Information on Islam
A Brief Illustrated Guide To Understanding Islam
47
(1) The wrongdoers include the polytheists.
(2) NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible, Douglas, p. 42.
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 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 Even Jesus himself
rejected this. God has said in the Qur’an:
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
Chapter 3
General Information on Islam3) 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 Qur’an, which God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad
. God has guaranteed the Qur’an’s protection from any
corruption or distortion. God has said:
Indeed,We have sent down the Qur’an, and
surely We will guard it (from corruption).
(Qur’an, 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... (Qur’an, 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
Some Basic Islamic Beliefs
Chapter 3
General Information on Islam
A Brief Illustrated Guide To Understanding Islam
48
Some Basic Islamic Beliefs
A Brief Illustrated Guide To Understanding Islam
46
(1) Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2754, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #5999.
(2) It was reported by the Associated Press, London, on June 25, 1984,
that a majority of the Anglican bishops surveyed by a television
program said: “Christians are not obliged to believe that Jesus Christ
was God.” The poll was of 31 of England’s 39 bishops. The report
further stated that 19 of the 31 bishops said it was sufficient to regard
Jesus as “God’s supreme agent.” The poll was conducted by London
Weekend Television’s weekly religious program, “Credo.”