The Topic: Islam Beliefs Flashcards
Six Articles of Faith (Sunni)
Allah (God): The Oneness of God (Tawhid).
Malaikah (Angels): Interact with Living Beings.
Holy Books: God has revealed many to man-kind.
Risalah (ProphetHood): God has spoken through many prophets.
Akirah (Afterlife): Belief in Final Judgement of Life after death.
Al-Qadr: God is responsible for everything.
Five Roots (Shi’a)
Tawhid (Oneness of God): There is only 1 god.
Justice of God: God cannot not be fair.
Prophethood: Many Prophets and Messengers appointed.
Imamate (Leadership): Muhammad was the last prophet.
Resurrection: Day of Judgement will bring resurrection.
All Muslims believe in….
Allah is the one God.
They regard the Holy Qur’an as the word of Allah.
They acknowledge the same prophets.
They believe that angels passed on messages to the prophets.
They believe there will be a Day of Judgement.
Nature of God
Transcendent – Allah is above and beyond anything that exists in the world.
Fair and just - Allah judges everyone equally.
Immanent - Allah is close to every human and within all things on Earth.
Omnipotent - Allah is all-powerful.
Beneficent - Allah is all-loving.
Merciful - Allah shows compassion and mercy, and he forgives people.
Role of Angels
They act as messengers to the prophets.
They take care of people.
They record everything a person does, and this information is used on the Day of Judgement.
Izrail, the Angel of Death, takes people’s souls to God when they die.
They welcome Muslims into Paradise and also supervise the pits of Hell.
Angel Jibril
Always Brings Good News
He revealed Allah’s words (the Qur’an) to Muhammad on the Night of Power so he is known as the Angel of Revelation. He played a vital role in communicating the final version of Islam to humanity.
Angel MIka’il
Friend to Humanity
He asks Allah to forgive people’s sins as he is the Angel of Mercy. Both the Angel Jibril and the Angel Mika’il will be present on the Day of Judgement.
Life After Death
Akhirah is the word Muslims use to refer to life after death. Belief in an afterlife encourages Muslims to take responsibility for their actions. They know God will hold them accountable and reward or punish them accordingly.
When a person dies, their soul is taken by Azra’il, the Angel of Death.
God sends two angels to question the waiting soul.
If the questions are answered correctly, the good soul then sleeps during Barzakh.
If the questions are not answered correctly, the soul is tormented by angels, known as punishment of the grave.
Heaven and Hell
Muslims believe they get to Paradise by living religiously, asking Allah for forgiveness and showing good actions in their life. These good actions will be rewarded on the Last Day. Therefore, obeying the rules set by Allah is of ultimate importance.
Muslims believe there are seven levels of Heaven, although “seven” is interpreted by some Muslims as simply “many”. Each Heaven is made of a different material, and a different prophet lives in each Heaven. The first Heaven is made of silver and is where Adam and Eve live. Abraham lives in the seventh Heaven in a place made of divine light.
Hell is described as a place of fire and torment. Jahannam is a place of scorching fire pits and boiling water, a place of physical and spiritual suffering. Vivid descriptions of hell are used in the Qur’an as a way to stop Muslims from participating in sin.
Day of Judgement
Yawn ad-Din is the Day of Judgement, when Allah will decide how people will spend their afterlife.
Most Muslims believe they have free will to make their own choices. They also believe that they will be judged by God for those choices. They recognise that humans are still responsible for their actions.
When God’s purpose for the universe has been fulfilled, the world will be destroyed.
Pre-Destination
Al-Qadr is the Muslim belief that Allah has decided everything that will happen in the world and in people’s lives, which is also called predestination. Most Muslims believe that humans cannot choose to do something if Allah has not already chosen that path for them. Some Muslims like this idea and find it reassuring that if a bad thing happens it must be part of God’s plan.
Sunni: Most Sunni Muslims believe that Allah has made it impossible for them to choose anything other than what he has chosen.
Shi’a: Most Shi’a Muslims believe that Allah has ultimate control of the world but that people’s lives are down to their own free will.
Leadership
Shi’a Muslims respect the leadership of an imam and believe that the Qur’an must be interpreted by their leader. The imam is a figure with special God-given authority who is both a successor and a descendant of Muhammad. He is without sin and is the intermediary between God and humankind. The doctrine of ‘nass’ teaches that every imam is chosen by the previous imam, which ensures continuity.
Sunni Muslims believe that leadership within the community is not a birth right as it is in Shi’a Islam. There is no set hierarchy in Sunni Islam and the word imam is used to refer to the person responsible for providing religious and spiritual care and leadership for the congregation of a mosque.
Prophethood (Risalah)
Risalah means prophethood or messengership and represents the various ways Allah communicates with humanity.
Allah chose the prophets to reveal his truth. They are responsible for the revelation of God’s word.
Messages from Allah were sent to the prophets using angels (malaikah).
These messages are recorded in the holy books.
The prophets performed miracles, which proved they really were prophets.
The prophets are the connection between Allah and humanity.
There are 25 named prophets in the Qur’an, although many believe there may have been as many as 124,000.
Revealing of Qu’ran
Muhammad was meditating in a cave on Mount Hira when he saw the Angel Jibril.
The angel commanded him to recite the words before him.
Muhammad had never been taught to read or write but he was able to recite the words.
In this way, Allah’s message continued to be revealed to Muhammad over the next 23 years.
Muhammad then recited the message to his people.
After Muhammad’s death, the Qur’an was compiled under the instruction of Abu Bakr, the successor of Muhammad.
Succersor’s of Muhammad
Sunni Muslims, make up around 90 per cent of the global Muslim population. They believe that the rightful successor to Muhammad was Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law and closest friend. Followers of this branch of Islam accept all four of Islam’s first leaders, including Abu Bakr and Ali, Muhammad’s cousin, as the rightful successors of Muhammad. They often refer to these as the ‘Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs’.
Shi’a Muslims believe that Ali was the Prophet Muhammad’s rightful successor. This is because he was related by blood to the Prophet and various actions and words throughout the Prophet’s life expressed that this was God’s will. After Ali’s death, Shi’a Muslims were led by twelve imams, whom they believe were spiritual successors to the Prophet Muhammad rather than having any family connection to him. Shi’a Muslims make up around 10 per cent of the global Muslim population.
