Islam- beliefs and teachings Flashcards
Six articles of faith
- Tawhid (oneness of God)
- Authority of Holy Books (Kutub)
- Belief in Angels (Malaikah)
- Prophethood (Risalah)
- Day of Judgement and Life after death (Akhirah)
Five roots of Usul Ad Din (Shia Islam)
- Tawhid- oneness of God
- Justice (Adalat)
- Prophethood (Nubuwwah)
- Imamate
- Day of judgement and resurrection (Mi’ad)
What is the importance and influence of the six articles?
- to unite all Sunni Muslims
- to help Sunni Muslims understand their religion
- to support Sunni Muslims in how they should live their lives
Tawhid (oneness of God quote)
“Her is God, the one, God the eternal”
“God is with you wherever you are”
God’s relationship with the world- Immanent and Transcendent
Immanence- God is close to and involved within the world. Life without God worse than death
Transcendence- God is above and beyond human understanding, so it can be hard to fully understand God
Angels
Jibril- delivers messages (it is through Jibril that God revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad over 23 years. It is believed that Jibril also taught Muhammad how to pray. Without Jibril the message of the Qur’an would not have been received. Influence: without Jibril, the message of the Qur’an wouldn’t have been received, take the teaching seriously because it is the infallible word of God. Follow rules and practice of the book
Mika ‘il- rewards good deeds with eternal life. Understood to be the angel or mercy with the role of rewarding those who have led good lives. One of the first to bow down to Adam. Helped Muhammad at the Battle of Badr in fight for Makkah. Influence: reassures Muslims that mercy and reward of eternal life is possible.
Why are Angels important in Islam? What is the influence of belief in angels on Muslims?
- act as messengers between God and humans
- always complete God’s tasks- obey him as they have no free will
- record all thoughts an actions for judgement day
- help Muslims understand how to live their lives
Day of Judgement
Muslims believe that God is omniscient and that his judgement will always be right and fair
On the day of judgement, the body will be resurrected. Two angels will open the book that contains the record of what a person has done in their lifetime. Name recorded on the right-hand side: heaven, if its on the left: hell
“on that day you will be exposed and none of your secrets will remain hidden” Surah 69
Heaven
Heaven of paradise is described in the Qur’an as a beautiful place where people enjoy various rewards. Many Muslims believe that life in heaven is not static but a continuous journey towards higher levels of progress towards Allah
“Here is a picture of the Garden promised to the plous, rivers of water forever pure…and they will find forgiveness from their lord”
Hell
Hell is described as a place of pain and suffering for people who did not live moral lives and choose to reject the prophets sent to them. Some Muslims believe that hell is a physical place and the graphic descriptions of hell are true.
“God will gather all the hypocrites and disbelievers together into hell” Surah 4
“lead him to burn in the blazing fire” Surah 69
How does the belief in Akhirah/life after death or heaven and hell influence Muslims today?
- influences Muslims to follow God’s rules and do good deeds so that they will be rewarded with eternal life in heaven
- influences Muslims to follow Gods rules and avoiding committing sin so that they will not be condemned to Hell
Predestination
Allah is control of outcome and good and evil, he already knows everything that will happen
Although: at the same time humans have the free will to make their own choices
“Nobody may die except with God’s permission, at a predestined time”
“Only what God has decreed will happen to us”
What is the impact/influence of belief in predestination for Muslims?
- try and live accordance with Gods will and plan for their live: following Qur’an teachings and practicing the 5 pillars for example
- Makes Muslim more God conscious and they will try their best to live good lives, in accordance to his will
- take comfort in the fact all good and bad comes from Allah/gives hope knowing the outcome of any action good or bad happens only by the will of God
- compensated for the hardships that they endure as such this life is a test, influenced to remain faithful
to reliant on God, everything is predestined anyway?
counter: angels are watching, why would the angels need to judge you if God already has?
Why are prophets important for Muslims?
- channel of communication between God and humans
- brought importance messages from God
- brought holy Books
- show Muslims how to live their lives
- source of wisdom and inspiration
Muhammad - Seal of the Prophets
- Final prophet
- Muslims follow prophets examples today
- Sunnah and Hadith are written accounts of Muhammad’s sayings provide guidance
- Night of power: Angel Jibril appeared to Muhammad whilst he was meditating in cave on mount Hira. Jibril commanded Muhammad to recite. The Qur’an- infallible word of God was then revealed to him over 23 years
- first went to Mecca to preach the message however the message of the Qur’an was rejected there and his life was in sanger so he had to escape to Medina
- there he was welcomed and became the political and religious leader. Set up 5 pillars
What is the importance of Muhammad?
- God chose to reveal the Qur’an to him
- he is the founder of the Islamic religion
- showed many Qualities that would serve Muslims well in their lives today like determination, patience and courage
- His word made him a greater teacher and he lived the life he preached (Exemplar figure)
“every community is sent a messenger” Surah 10
What are prophets important?
Ibrahim
Exemplar of faith
- believed in one true God and rejected idea of idol/hod/statues
- preached message but was rejected
- God sent a miracle to save him when people tried to burn him for his monotheistic beliefs. Known as the “father of monotheism”
- God tested him by asking him to sacrifice his son Ismail. Ibrahim was willing so God was pleased and sent a ram for sacrifice instead - exemplar of faith
- Ibrahim’s obedience to God and willingness to follow God’s commands - despite not fully understanding them
Adam
Exemplar of stewardship
- first prophet to be created
- father of human kind, a prophet until his death
- he built the Ka’ba and taught the next life is eternal
- task was to be a steward/caretaker for the world- to be a khalifah. teaches Muslims that they should look after and care for God’s creation
- given Hawaa, a women for company: disobeyed God and disobeyed God, failed the test from Iblis and were banished to earth instead of living in Eden. Asked for forgiveness and God was merciful
- he did wrong but repented and was forgiven
Ibrahim link to practices/Eid-ul/Adha
The festival of sacrifice
- remembers Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son when God asked him to
- story is found in Surah 37 and reminds Muslims of the test of faith faced by Ibrahim and how they should apply this to their own lives as well as the mercy shown by God. Signifies end of Hajj
Why are prophets important?
- Channel of communication between God and humanity
- They have brought important messages from God
- They have brought Holy Books
Authority/importance of Qur’an for Muslims
- contains true words of God and is direct revelation of God
- It has God’s authority and is without error
- cannot be criticised/respecting it
- covers every aspect of life, influencing people and guiding a person through life
Quotes on the Qur’an
“the Quran is nothing less than a revelation that is sent to him. It was taught to him (an angel) with mighty powers and great strength”
How do Muslims use the Qur’an?
- daily worship
- in the Jummah service on a Friday
- in celebrations, festivals and rites of passage
- treat the test with the greatest respect
The Torah (Tawrat)
- revelations given to Musa (Moses) by God and now lost, now longer existing in their original form was put together by Moses’ followers after his death using part of the original text but adding their own. Talked about in the Qur’an as “guidance and light”. Not considered direct word of God
Gospel (Injil)
Isa (Jesus) is an important prophet in Islam. The Gospels were the account of Jesus’ life and death written by his followers after he died. Muslims believe they contain many mistakes as they are not the direct word of God
Suhuf (scrolls of Ibrahim)
- prophet Ibrahim is always called “the upright one”, always faithful to God. It is believed he received revelations on the first day of Ramadan and they came in parable like stories. Cover issues of worship, reflection ect
Psalms (Zabur)
Collection of prayers and poems by Dawid the Great King. Given by God as a form of guidance, which Dawud recited as songs and poems. Version is found in the Psalms of the Bible
Holy Books quotes
“The Qur’an confirms what was revealed before it” Surah 10
“every community is sent a messenger” Surah 10
What is the authority and importance of holy Books for Muslims today? (contrasting views)
- Qur’an refers to all these books so they must be important
- Muhammad confirmed much of what is taught by these books, gives them importance
- connected to well-respected prophets, giving them authority
although
- some are lost now and no one knows what they actually/originally said
- some have been changed so might take away some of their authority
- if important as they were given by God, why were they not preserved?
Qur’an has more importance than all of them together as it is the word of God unchanged
How does the belief in the imamate influence Shi’a Muslims?
the belief that the Imams of the household of the Prophet are the
true leaders of Islam chosen by God/means that only the hadith
accepted by the Imams are considered authentic, this influences
which customs and traditions Shi’a follow
* the Imams are infallible, so their interpretation of the Qur’an and
Hadith is correct, so Shi’a obey these/because Sunni Islam does
not accept the authority of the Imam is seen as partly misguided as
a result
* teaching about the hidden Imam means that some Shi’a believe
that great Shi’a scholars are being, or were, guided by the hidden
Imam/some expect the return of the Imam Mahdi as a sign of the
coming of the end of the world and prepare for his coming.
Immamate
Shi’a Muslims believe that imams are exemplary individuals who are all appointed by God. They obey all teachings and follow Shari’ah law
- spiritual successors to Muhammad, chosen by God
The Twelvers
branch of Shi’a Islam whose followers believe that there were twelve imams after the death of Muhammad
- belief has been kept alive by God/hidden somewhere on earth
- Shi’a Muslims believe the 12th imam will one day make himself known and bring equality to all.
“Tawhid is the most important belief in Islam.”
FOR:
* Muslims believe their most important duty is to declare faith in One God
* It is blasphemy to believe in other Gods, which is the worst sin = going to hell
* “He is God the one, God the eternal… No one is comparable to Him” - Quran
* the belief in Tawhid encourages muslims to act with justice and compassion, as this is what God teaches = heaven
* The belief in Tawhid encourages Muslims to act with justice and compassion and to help others, as this is what God teaches.
AGAINST:
*prophethood= without belief in muhammed as the messenger, the teachings of Tawhid wouldn’t have been communicated to humanity
* belief in afterlife- motivates muslims to live religiously and by God’s teachings to go to heaven and be rewarded
* predestination- motivates muslims to do good deeds and avoid sin
“Omnipotence is the most important quality of God”
FOR:
* God created everything; without omnipotence this wouldn’t have been possible and we would not exist, therefore it is the most important
* “He is the one who has power over all things” (from the Quran) - reinforces his power
* without omnipotence, other attributes of God aren’t possible. for example He cannot be immanent if he’s not powerful enough
* predestination: some muslims believe that Since God is all powerful, he decides everything that happens. “Only what God has decreed will happen”. This creates a sense of safety in muslims because they trust God to make the right decisions for them.
AGAINST:
* Gods mercy: “and my mercy encompasses all things”. it is through his mercy that he forgives sin and grants salvation, which gives hope to muslims to be rewarded in the afterlife and go to heaven
* gods justice: god will fairly judge everyone on the day of judgement and if they have lived a good life they will go to heaven: “gardens of paradise”
* Tawhid
“Without angels, islam would be very different”
FOR:
* angels are the messengers of Allah, they are vital in delivering messages to the prophets which were then communicated to humanity through the Quran
* without angels like Jibril there would be no direct communication between Allah and the prophets, making Allah’s guidance impossible
* they are very good role models - “they do not disobey allahs commands” - quran
* people feel safe believing that there is an angel looking over them “ each person has angels before him and behind”
AGAINST:
* if a muslim has faith in Allah they shouldn’t also need faith in angels to help and guide them
* they aren’t a good role model of behaviour because they don’t have a choice over whether to follows God’s commands
Explain the Prophet Muhammad’s role in conquering Makkah
After receiving the revelation the prophet began challenging people in Makkah to follow his teachings, however he was persecuted against so him and his followers fled to Madinah. Here he united warring tribes and conquered Makkah, converting the city to Islam. This helped establish the religion
