Islam Beliefs

Question 1

Tawhid

Answer 1

Oneness of god, monotheistic religion

Question 2

Quotes about tawhid (3)

Answer 2

“There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet”
“He is god the one, god the eternal”
“Allah does not forgive association with him but he forgives what is less than that”

Question 3

The supremacy of God’s will

Answer 3

God controls everything and therefore nothing takes place unless he allows it to happen. Everything has a reason

Question 4

How Muslims respond to supremacy of god’s will

Answer 4

Leads some to believe that they do not have free will
Others think that god has allowed people freedom to choose how they behave
Muslims try to accept that even bad things that happen in life are “meant to be” - allah is transcendent therefore we cannot understand his plans

Question 5

Quotes about the supremacy of god’s will (2)

Answer 5

“You who believe, obey god the messenger”

“Misfortunes can only happen with god’s permission”

Question 6

6 articles of faith in Sunni Islam

Answer 6

• tawhid
• angels
• the Quran is the most important writing and highest authority in Islam
• Muhammad is the most important prophet
• The day of judgement
• the supremacy of god’s will

Question 7

The five roots of ‘Usal al-Din in Shi’a Islam

Answer 7

• tawhid
• prophethood
• god is just and wise
• the imamate
• the resurrection and day of judgement

Question 8

Nature of allah (6)

Answer 8

Immanent 
Transcendent
Omnipotent
Beneficent
Merciful
Just

Question 9

Immanent quote (2)

Answer 9

“He is with you wherever you may be”

“We are closer to him than his jugular vein”

Question 10

Transcendent quote (2)

Answer 10

“No vision can grasp him, but his grasp is over all vision”

“Nothing there is like him”

Question 11

Just quote

Answer 11

“We have made you a moderate nation”

Question 12

Omnipotence quote

Answer 12

“He who is the all-knowing, all-powerful, able to do anything”

Question 13

Angels

Answer 13

Some are guardian angels
Recording the “book of deeds” presented on the day of judgement
God has given the angels power to take on human form when appearing to people

Question 14

Angel quotes (2)

Answer 14

“Who made angels messengers with two,three, four pairs of wings”

“Each person has angels before and behind, watching over him by god’s command”

Question 15

Who is jibril (Gabriel)

Answer 15

An archangel, trusted messenger
Relayed the Quran to Muhammad from God
Jibril appeared to Muhammad as a child
Jibril and mika’il cane to Muhammad during the night and purified his heart
When Muhammad was 40 jibril appeared to him on mount Hira and told him what god wanted him to do and revealed the revelations of the Quran

Question 16

Who is mika’il

Answer 16

Another high ranking archangel
Mika’il rewards righteous people for the good they do in their lives on earth
He had the responsibility of sending rain, thunder and lightening to earth

Question 17

Predestination

Answer 17

God has already determined everything that will happen to us, written in the ‘book of decrees’ (Sunni)
He creates all things so that must act according to his will
He is omnipotent so he can determine everything

Question 18

How might Muslims today respond to the belief that god is tawhid

Answer 18

• not accept that there is more than one god (shirk), disagree with Christian trinity
• affirm this belief through the Shahadah

Question 19

Sunni and Shi’a Muslims have very different perspectives on Islam (FOR)

Answer 19

• Sunni Muslims believe that no person after Muhammad received knowledge from allah. Shia Muslims believe that, as an article of faith, the imams receive knowledge from allah and so possess special authority (Imamate)
• Sunni Muslims hold 6 articles of faith while Shi’a Muslims hold 5
• Sunni Muslims adhere to 5 pillars whilst Shi’a Muslims adhere to 10 obligatory acts
• key differences in practices
• interpret and mark ashura differently

Question 20

Sunni and Shi’a Muslims have very different perspectives on Islam (AGAINST)

Answer 20

• two groups believe in the same nature of god
• agree about predestination and angels
• Muhammad and is ethical teachings are central to all Muslims (Hadith)
• all Muslims agree that the beliefs which come from the Quran are the unaltered teaching of allah

Question 21

Quotes on predestination

Answer 21

“Only what god has decreed will happen to us”

“God does not change the condition of a person unless they change what is in themselves”

Question 22

The day of judgement

Answer 22

• god will judge humans according to everything they have done throughout their lives
• many Muslims believe that god has given humans free will, they themselves are responsible for whether god rewards or punishes them for the choices they have made
• even though god knows everything that is going to happen, people are still responsible for their actions and will be rewarded or punished because of them

Question 23

Quotes on judgement

Answer 23

“Those who believe so good deeds, keep up prayer and pay the prescribed alms will have their reward with their lord”

Question 24

Life after death

Answer 24

Many Muslims believe that after death the person still has a conscious existence in the grave and will enter a state of waiting called “barzakh”
They wait for the day of judgement
Muslims believe that when they lie in the grave god sends two angels to question them about their faith

Question 25

Heaven quote

Answer 25

“A reward for what they used to do”

“Everlasting youths”

Question 26

Hell quote

Answer 26

“They will dwell amid scorching wind and scalding fire”

“Garments if fire will be tailored for those who disbelieve”

Question 27

The importance of belief in life after death

Answer 27

Encourages responsibility and accountability

Question 28

Who is Adam

Answer 28

Adam was the first prophet
“He taught Adam the names of all things”
God told the angels to bow down to Adam but Iblis refused
Adam passed his knowledge to the rest of the human race
God revealed to him the food that Muslims are allowed to eat, how to repent and how to bury the dead

Question 29

Who is ibrahim

Answer 29

He fulfilled all of the texts and commands given to him by god and there’s was promised to be the father of all nations
He was determined to stop idol worship
He destroyed all the idols in the temple, a miracle occurred whilst he was being burned to death and he walked out completely unharmed