Islam Beliefs Flashcards
Tawhid
Oneness of god, monotheistic religion
Quotes about tawhid (3)
“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”
The supremacy of God’s will
God controls everything and therefore nothing takes place unless he allows it to happen. Everything has a reason
How Muslims respond to supremacy of god’s will
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
Quotes about the supremacy of god’s will (2)
“You who believe, obey god the messenger”
“Misfortunes can only happen with god’s permission”
6 articles of faith in Sunni Islam
- 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
The five roots of ‘Usal al-Din in Shi’a Islam
- tawhid
- prophethood
- god is just and wise
- the imamate
- the resurrection and day of judgement
Nature of allah (6)
Immanent Transcendent Omnipotent Beneficent Merciful Just
Immanent quote (2)
“He is with you wherever you may be”
“We are closer to him than his jugular vein”
Transcendent quote (2)
“No vision can grasp him, but his grasp is over all vision”
“Nothing there is like him”
Just quote
“We have made you a moderate nation”
Omnipotence quote
“He who is the all-knowing, all-powerful, able to do anything”
Angels
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
Angel quotes (2)
“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”
Who is jibril (Gabriel)
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
Who is mika’il
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
Predestination
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
How might Muslims today respond to the belief that god is tawhid
- not accept that there is more than one god (shirk), disagree with Christian trinity
- affirm this belief through the Shahadah
Sunni and Shi’a Muslims have very different perspectives on Islam (FOR)
- 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
Sunni and Shi’a Muslims have very different perspectives on Islam (AGAINST)
- 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
Quotes on predestination
“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”
The day of judgement
- 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
Quotes on judgement
“Those who believe so good deeds, keep up prayer and pay the prescribed alms will have their reward with their lord”
Life after death
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
Heaven quote
“A reward for what they used to do”
“Everlasting youths”
Hell quote
“They will dwell amid scorching wind and scalding fire”
“Garments if fire will be tailored for those who disbelieve”
The importance of belief in life after death
Encourages responsibility and accountability
Who is Adam
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
Who is ibrahim
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
