islam

Question 1

define tawhid

Answer 1

encompasses all beliefs about the nature of Allah

Question 2

name 5 key tawhid beliefs

Answer 2

-allah is infinite
-omnipotent + omniscient
-merciful + benevolent
-transcendent + immanent
-fair + just

Question 3

what does tawhid mean for muslims?

Answer 3

they live their whole lives to the will of Allah, with no sinning ever :(

Question 4

define shirk

Answer 4

idolatry, or placing anything as being of greater importance than Allah (greatest sin)

Question 5

why do some sunni people think that shi’a people don’t believe in tawhid?

Answer 5

shi’a people believe in the 12 imams, who have special characteristics and are semi-divine

Question 6

explain the historical split between shia’s and sunnis

Answer 6

sunnis wanted abu bakr (father in law as muhammad’s successor but shia’s wanted ali (muhammad’s cousin), who was the 4th caliph after muhammad, so shi’a’s dont recognise the first 3 (Sunnis believing in all 4 is called rashidah)

Question 7

describe a sunni imam

Answer 7

a leader who leads prayers in mosques

Question 8

describe a shi’a imam

Answer 8

12 divine successors of muhammad, confirm successor through divine inspiration, protected by Allah from committing sin, role is to interpret muslim law from allah and explain issues

Question 9

describe the 12 imams

Answer 9

-first 11 were martyred
-12th is waiting to reappear at god’s appointed time

Question 10

describe the 12th imam

Answer 10

-living, breathing human
-he can meet people but people can’t meet him
-shi’a people try to make contact w him

Question 11

describe what shi’as believe about the reappearance of the 12th imam

Answer 11

-god will send him back as an imam to bring back good vibes at the end of the world
-the first sign preceding this will be the 2nd coming of jesus
-then 12th imam will appear in makkah at the kaaba

Question 12

describe shi’a beliefs in divine justice

Answer 12

-morality is defined
-allah is perfect + always morally right
-humans use free will to act morally
-day of judgment
-Allah doesn’t determine everything that happens (free will vs day of judgment)

Question 13

describe sunni beliefs in divine justice

Answer 13

-no objective right/wrong
-everything Allah does is right bc hes allah
-belief in pre-destination

Question 14

name 2 instructions from Allah given to prophets in written form

Answer 14

-Torah of Musa - revelation to Moses
-Psalms of Dawud - revelation to David

Question 15

when is the Qur’an the word of god?

Answer 15

when it is in arabic

Question 16

name a sunni belief about the Qur’an

Answer 16

it has always been in existence and it is eternal

Question 17

describe the shi’a belief about the qu’ran

Answer 17

not eternal but is the essence of god + can be added to by the imams

Question 18

describe how muslims use the qu’ran

Answer 18

they use it as the basis of islamic law

Question 19

name a flaw of using the qu’ran as the basis of islamic law + how muslims solve it

Answer 19

-can be difficult to interpret / doesn’t cover some modern issues
-scholars can use other sources of authority