R.E ISLAM BELIEFS

Tawhid: Oneness and unity of God

Muslim: one who has submitted to the will of God

Islam: to surrender to the will of God; peace

Islam was revealed through many Prophets over many centuries.First revealed to Adam and finally completed with Muhammad in the 7th century. This belief in the oneness of Allah is reflected in Surah Al-Ikhlas. (Quran 112). The belief in the oneness of Allah is also reflected in one of the 5 pillars: SHAHADAH - "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger".

                                  In the name of Allah, The Beneficent,

                                                The Merciful

                                      He is Allah, The one and only;

Allah the eternal, absolute, he begot none, nor was he begotten, and there is none like Him.

annotations: no partner/no family "he begot none", - no one created him,  - he is the creator "nor was he begotten"       - he was not born nor did he give birth  - dont question his authority "absolute"

 - worship is directed solely to Allah, He is the only one worthy of worship

begot = to create

Shirk: attributing God-like qualities to any other being or thing                                 - only sin that God will not forgive     - Mosques are decorated with mosaics and caligraphy rather than images (idolatry)

99 names: Allah has 99 names - reflecting His Oneness                                    Each of these names have different meanings describing his qualities/characteristics.

Supremacy of Gods will: Allah is the only creator and controls everything. In every situation, no matter if its something good or bad, Allah had a good reason for it to happen. Life is written out for us (predestination)

Often, Muslims would add the word "Insha Allah" after a promise to do something.

"But they plan, and Allah plans, But Allah is the best of planners".

"Misfortunes can only happen with God's permission".

Muslims accept that things are "meant to be", Allah works in ways human cannot understand.

Each of the 99 names of Allah decribes a quality that God has revealed about himself through the Quran and Hadith. Many Muslims memorise the names and recite them privately as a way of feeling his prescence. They may also use a tasbih to recite names.

"The Most Excellent Names belong to God: use them to call on Him". (Qur'an 7:180)

Allahu Akbar = God is the greatest

- Muslims believe God is immanent and transcendent.

immanent: God is present in and involved with life on earth and in the universe

transcendent: God is beyond and outside life on earth and the universe

"We are closer to Him than (his) jugular vein". (Qur'an 50:16)

Allah is outside because He is not limited to the physical world. BUT He is also within all things and he is always close to us.

                              In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.  Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds; Most Gracious, Most Merciful;

             Master of the Day of Judgement.

             Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.

       Show us the straight way,

The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portions) not wrath, and who go not astray.   

annotations: if you go off the right path, will sustain Gods wrath

guides us the right way, we should praise him for everything

sustainer of the worlds: provides/cares for the world

Muslims have six main beliefs:

- Belief in Allah as the one and only God

- Belief in Angels

- Belief in the Holy Books

- Belief in the Prophets (Muhammad (PBUH) is the final Prophet)

- Belief in the Day of Judgement 

 - Belief in Predestination (Allah has the knowledge of all that will happen)

Beneficent: All-loving, all-good

Omnipotent: powerful, almighty

Imani Mufassal: I believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and in Taqdir, that all good and bad is from Allah, the Most High and I believe in the resurrection after death.                       5 roots of 'Usul ad - Din' in Shi'a Islam:

'Usul ad-Din - means principles (roots) of religion

1. Tawhid (only One God) eternal , self-sufficient, no peers or match, the first and the last

2. Prophethood - Muhammad was Allahs final messenger and he brought the message to humanity, guide human-kind to the right path,

3. Resurrection - life after death exists, judged according to actions. determines who enters heaven or hell, how muslims live their life now will affect whether they're punished or rewarded

4. Justice of God - believe there is good and bad in everything, Allah is perfect and never acts unjustly to his creations, given us freedom of will and choice. rewards the good/punishes the bad, humans have full responsibility for their own actions and Allah judges them accordingly

5. Imamate - In Sunni Islam an imam is a religious leader or teacher

Shi'as believe there is 12 imams specially appointed by Allah as leaders to lead and guide humanity, Shi'as believe Imams were chosen by Allah to teach his message correctly

12th imam - Imam Mahdi who is alive but hidden by Allah, one day he will appear to bring an end to tyranny and oppression

The split occured shortly after the death of the Prophet (632), the community could not agree over the question of who was to run the community

Sunni - one group belived that the next leader should be elected and someone should be chosen to follow God's law, a large group of Muslims believed that the Qur'an and the Sunnah has the authority to guide beliefs and the behaviour of Muslims

group elected Abu Bakr to be the next leader (Caliph), leaders do not make laws, group was called Sunni and as they are followers of Sunnah

Sunnah: teachings and deeds of Muhammad

Caliph: leader in Muslim Community

Shi'as - believed Muhammad named his cousin Ali as his successor         Ali = early convert and Muhammad's son in law (married his daughter Fatima)

true leader (Imam) had to be descendant of Muhammad and chosen by God

Ali's claim to be leader were ignored many times and a split developed 

group known as Shi'a (party of Ali)

- have their own interpretation of Islamic laws and accept sayings of Muhammad that has been passed down through Ali or his followers

Sunni: leader does not have to be related to Prophet, elected by the community (consensus)

Shi'a: leader should be related to Prophet, believe Prophet pre-selected Ali to be his next successor

The two groups differ in ideas on leadership, interpretation of the Qur'an and some ritual practises.

- differing opinion on expressing key beliefs

common elements: belief in God, prophethood of Muhammad and the guidance of the Qur'an

Angels (Malaikah) are spiritual beings believed to act as messengers of God, beyond the physical world, created from light and have no physical body of their own + can appear in human form

- creatures created by Allah who are continuously in his service, recieve God's words directly and pass onto Prophets      - pure and sinless

unlike humans, Angels have no free will, only do what God tells them to do, constantly praise and worship Allah

Archangels - higher rank angels

Kiraman and Kitabin - record the good and bad deeds, either side of shoulders

"Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels, and His messengers and Jibril and Mika'il - then indeed, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers". (Qur'an 2:98)

Jibril - trusted messenger of God, sent down Gods words to messengers, appeared first to Muhammad in his first revelation and continued to do so throughout his life                                  how does this affect a Muslims life? -                                

celebrating Night of Power (Quran was first revealed)                                                                    Lalaytul Qadr - read Qur'an and follow in the Prophets footsteps

Mika'il - brings nourishment for the earth and humans through rain and thunder, Angel of Mercy, responsible for giving out rewards for those who do good                                                            How does this affect a Muslims life?

- crops will grow, provides people with food, Muslims will look after the world, praise/thank Allah for the world and angels, want to do good things and avoid committing sins

Greater Jihad - striving to do whats right,   Lesser Jihad - last resort to fight

Izra'il - responsible for parting the soul from the body, not mentioned by name referred to as malakal-maut - meaning Angel of Death in Qur'an

How does this affect a Muslims life? - makes you fearful of the Akhirah, know there is life after death therefore you will do good (incentive), deterrant from sinning

Isra'fil - role is to blow the trumpet twice to signal the Day of Judgement, waits for God's command to blow trumpet

- first blow is to cause destruction

- second blow will bring all humans on the plain of Arafat, Allah will read everyone's good/bad deeds 

How does this affect a Muslims life? - try to do more good things as they dont know when Judgement day is, repent for forgiveness

predestination: the idea that God knows or determines everything that will happen in the universe (Al Qadr), God had planned our lives

Sunni Islam: believe that God has already determined everything that will happen, written it all down in the 'book of decrees', because God is powerful he can determine everything that is going to happen

Shi'a Islam: God knows everything that is going to happen but does not mean he decides what is going to happen, have free will and can make own choices, Even if you make a choice out of free will, God knew you were going to make that choice - predestined

"Only what God has decreed will happen to us. He is our Master; let the believers put their trust in God". (Qur'an 9:51)

"God does not change the condition of a person (for the worse) unless they change what is in themselves". (Qur'an 13.11)

The Qur'an teaches that those people who follow the words of Allah will live happily in a wonderful garden, Al Janna (paradise) 

- those who dont follow Allah's wishes will go to the fires of Hell - Jahannam - where they will be punished

good people will go to a perfect world (Akhirah) and pleasure to be with Allah, a bad person may eventually reach Paradise after they have been punished - the exception will be anyone found guilty of shirk

Surah 2:281 -

"And fear the Day of when ye shall be brought back to God. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly".

Surah 5:69 -  "Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish scriptures and the Sabians and the Christians - any, who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness - on them shall be no fear, Nor shall they grieve".

What Muslims believe about life after death:   - nothing should be removed from the body after death, funerals take place within 48 hours

body = embalmed and buried

- muslims believe that after death there will be a Day of Judgement (Yawmuddin)

Surah 39 describes how on the Day of Judgement - sound of a trumpet and people will fall down unconscious - the trumpet will sound again and the dead will rise to join the living

"Every mans fate we have fastened on his own neck: on the Day of Judgement we shall bring out for him a scroll, which he will see spread open", (Surah 17:13)

- living a good Muslim life means observing the Five Pillars of Islam

- muslims pray five times a day 

- fast during Ramadan

- pay Zakah and go Hajj at least once

- follow the holy law of Islam, Shariah

- eat halal food, observe Muslim dress and not drink alcohol

Muslims believe that God has chosen many prophets to bring the message of Islam to people. This belief in the Prophets and their importance is known as Risalah.

Prophethood - when someone is made a Prophet, is a gift given by God to help humankind understand his message

- The Prophets are important for Muslims because they provided a method of communication between God and human beings.

- When humans misunderstood or changed Allah's message, he sent Prophets to call people back to the right path.

-  caretaker of the Earth and was created by Allah from the dust of the ground, the father of all humankind, first man on earth and first Prophet of Islam, first person to learn to plant seeds, harvest crops and cook food

- revealed to him the food that Muslims are allowed to eat, how to repent for wrongdoing and how to bury the dead

- to stop loneliness he was given Hawwa, Allah told them not to eat from one tree, Iblis ( a jinn) tempted them to taste the fruit and disobey Allah. As punishment, Allah banished them to earth. Allah gave Adam understanding and he passed this knowledge to the rest of the human race through his descendants

- had many children: the most famous being Qabeel and Habeel, the brothers continued the evil side of human kind when Qabeel killed Habeel

- Adam built the Ka'ba as the first place of worship with the help of the angels after he was sent to earth    - when he died he named his son Seth as successor, but over time his descendants split up and moved apart

- lived in Ur in Mesopotamia about 1900 BCE, sold small idols for his father Azar who was a sculptor. He tested the power of the idols by throwing them into the river and they sank thus proving his point - he realised there was no power in these idols.                                                   - he went into temples and destroyed all the idols except one, he asked the people to ask the remaining idol for answers, the idol didnt answer. Furious, the people wanted him burned. A fire was built and he was chained and catapulted into it. An angel spoke to him in the fire and asked what he wanted most, he said "to please Allah" and Allah commanded the fire to cool.

- he tried to convert his father and save him but his father threatened to killl him and send him away   - he continued to receive revelations and wrote them down on scrolls called the Suhuf.     - became convinced that there was just one true power: a single God, Allah called him go be a Prophet and submitted to him

"For me, I have set my face towards the One god who created the skies and the earth. I will never make partners with Allah".                                                                                                    - rebuilt the Ka'ba with his son Ismail, he dreamt he was told to sacrifice Ismail and told him of the dream and they agreed to do what God said thus passing the test - he married Sarah then Hajar (as SARAH was barren), Hajar had a son Ismail

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born to Amina and Abdullah in 570 C.E. He was born on the 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal and his father Abdullah died in Yathrib before the Prophet was born. When Muhammad was six years old his mother Amina fell ill and died. - then looked after by his grandfather Abd-ul-Mutallib for two years, Muhammad was eight and then he also died

- Abu Talib (Muhammads uncle) took care of him, took him on business trips, one trip to Syria and they met a Christian monk called Bahirah who noticed Muhammad had similar features mentioned in the holy book Bahirah followed - which describes a prophet after Isa (Jesus)

- Muhammad grew up and given the title 'Al Amin' - the trustworthy, he met Khadijah (wealthy lady) and she asked him to marry her and he accepted, Muhammad was 25 and she was 40, married for 25 years before she died, had four daughters and two sons (both died in infancy)

In 610 C.E. (Muhammad is 40), he sat alone in cave Hira and an angel appeared and told him to read and he couldnt, he said no 3 times before the angel asked 'read in the name of your Lord' and revealed to him the first verses of the Qur'an  - that night was one of the last five odd nights in the month of Ramadan (Lailatul Qadr) - night of power

After the first revelation of the Qur'an, Muhammad told Khadijah and she was the first person to become Muslim. Ali (his cousin) and Abu Bakr accepted Islam and they started to preach to the people of Makkah about the Day of Judgement.

615: Muslims were being persecuted and Muhammad advised them to leave and migrate to Abyssinia where a Christian king (Nebus) ruled.

619: Makkans boycotted Muslims - no one allowed to buy, sell or help Muslims

620: night journey called Isra'wal Miraj, Muhammad travelled from the holy mosque in Makkah to the 'Further Mosque' in Jerusalem, he made this journey on a winged horse called Buraq - took him to the heavens where Allah told Muhammad the order for Muslims to pray 5 times day

- Muslims were given asylum in a city north of Makkah: Yathrib (Madinah) 16th July 622: went to Madinah on foot, the migration of Muslims to Yathrib = Hijrah, the Prophet ruled in Madinah

FIRST BATTLE: Muslims from Madinah and the Quraysh from Makkah at Badr in 624 C.E.(300 muslims vs 900 makkans) - muslims won, this was known as the battle of BADR

A year after the Battle of Badr, the Makkans sent an army (The Battle of Uhud), losses on both sides

627: Makkans attacked Madinah but Muslims dug a trench that protected the city, Hudaybia agreement was drawn up - allowed muslims to visit Makkah on pilgrimage, a year after the treaty Muhammad and his companions completed pilgrimage

Muhammad asked Bilal Ibn Rabah, a slave and early Muslim, to give a call to prayer from the Ka'ba, this angered Makkans (they were camped outside hills in Makkah) and attacked

Muslims conquered Makkah in 630 C.E. Muhammad delivered farewell speech on Mount Arafat after Muslims conquered Makkah peacefully. On June 8th 632 Muhammad became ill with strong fever and died at the age of 63.

A year after the Battke of Badr, the Makkans sent an army (The Battle of Uhud), losses on both sides

627: Makkans attacked Madinah but Muslims dug a trench that protected the city, Hudaybia agreement was drawn up - allowed muslims to visit Makkah on pilgrimage, a year after the treaty Muhammad and his companions completed pilgrimage

Muhammad asked Bilal Ibn Rabah, a slave and early Muslim, to give a call to prayer from the Ka'ba, this angered Makkans (they were camped outside hills in Makkah) and attacked

Muslims conquered Makkah in 630 C.E. Muhammad delivered farewell speech on Mount Arafat after Muslims conquered Makkah peacefully. On June 8th 632 Muhammad became ill with strong fever and died at the age of 63.

A year after the Battke of Badr, the Makkans sent an army (The Battle of Uhud), losses on both sides

627: Makkans attacked Madinah but Muslims dug a trench that protected the city, Hudaybia agreement was drawn up - allowed muslims to visit Makkah on pilgrimage, a year after the treaty Muhammad and his companions completed pilgrimage

Muhammad asked Bilal Ibn Rabah, a slave and early Muslim, to give a call to prayer from the Ka'ba, this angered Makkans (they were camped outside hills in Makkah) and attacked

Muslims conquered Makkah in 630 C.E. Muhammad delivered farewell speech on Mount Arafat after Muslims conquered Makkah peacefully. On June 8th 632 Muhammad became ill with strong fever and died at the age of 63.

Muhammad was born in 570 C.E, believed to be a prestigious year as it was the year when Abyssinians attacked Mecca with elephants in revenge for Meccan attacks on Christianity. Muhammads mum and grandfather died. He was then left in care of his uncle Abu Talib. - replaced the black stone without any religions losing face

- Muhammad was Judge and referee of the Quraysh at time of disputes and crisis   - At the end of Ramadan in 610 C.E, The night of power/excellence occurred - this is when God sent down Angel Jibril to Muhammad with the command to recite, LATER Muhammad received the second revelation, surah 74 The Mantled One, whilst at home resting under a blanket (a mantle). This revelation ordered Muhammad to 'Rise and Warn'.

In 613 C.E, the Prophet received a revelation telling him to make the message more public, 'Proclaim what you have been ordered and turn away from the polytheists', he also set up headquarters in the house of a wealthy convert

- a hostile campaign was begun against Muhammad and the Muslims. There were attempts on Muhammads life: some of his followers were tortured and killed, The Meccan leader (Abu Jahl) begun a new policy called the boycott of Hashim, in 619 the boycott was lifted soon after his wife and uncle died

Muhammad visited Ta'if, thinking they would accept Islam but instead they rejected and stoned him. He was then visited by Jinn in the desert who converted to Islam.This proved that God was with him.

Al'Miraj occured (the night journey). Journey by night from Mecca to Jerusalem and then to heaven itself where Muhammad met other prophets. - extended prayers from three to five times a day

In a fair in 620 C.E, Muhammad met 6 men from Yathrib and in 621 C.E, they returned with more men from Yathrib who were more interested in the religion. 621 C.E - the first pledge of Aqaba in people of Yathrib promised to serve none other but the prophet, worship God alone and lead moral lives. 622 C.E - the second pledge of Aqaba in which they agreed to worship  The Hijra 622 C.E. According to tradition, Muhammad allowed the camel to choose where he should live. if he chose either an Aws or Khazraj area, the other tribe would be offended.       - established the Constiution of Madinah

Battle of Badr 624 C.E,    Battle of Uhud 625 C.E,  The Battle of the Trench (battle of Ahzab) 627 C.E,   The Treaty of Hudaybiya 628 C.E,     The conquest of Mecca in 630 C.E The death of the Prophet - 632 C.E.

The original Qur'an is believed to be where? in heaven so when Muslims read the Qur'an they believe that God's words are speaking directly to them

Who was the first prophet? Adam - given the task of looking after the world

Who are the 5 messengers and the names of their messages? Ibrahim (Abraham) - scrolls of Abraham,  Musa (Moses) - Tawrut (Torah),  Dawud (David) - Zabur (Psalms),  Isa (Jesus) - Injils (Gospels),  Muhammad (Quran)

Why was Muhammad unable to alter God's messages? Muhammad could not read or write.

What did Muhammad experience when receiving revelations? shaking, trances, sounds of bells, being hot (dramatic phenomena)

For how many years did Muhammad receive revelations? for over 22 years  "often felt close to death not once did i receive a revelation without thinking my soul had been turned"

The original Qur'an is believed to be where? in heaven so when Muslims read the Qur'an they believe that God's words are speaking directly to them

Who was the first prophet? Adam - given the task of looking after the world

Who are the 5 messengers and the names of their messages? Ibrahim (Abraham) - scrolls of Abraham,  Musa (Moses) - Tawrut (Torah),  Dawud (David) - Zabur (Psalms),  Isa (Jesus) - Injils (Gospels),  Muhammad (Quran)

Why was Muhammad unable to alter God's messages? Muhammad could not read or write.

What did Muhammad experience when receiving revelations? shaking, trances, sounds of bells, being hot (dramatic phenomena)

For how many years did Muhammad receive revelations? for over 22 years  "often felt close to death not once did i receive a revelation without thinking my soul had been turned"

What does the name "Qur'an" literally mean? 'The Recital' as Muhammad recited by heart each revelation he received

How many surahs (chapters) are there in the Qur'an? 114 surahs (chapters) in total

What is the name of the opening chapter of the Qur'an? Al Fatihah which means "the opener" - prayer to God for guidance used in daily prayers

In what order are the surahs arranged? in order of length with the longest first and shortest last - not arranged in the order they were revealed

Apart from surah 9, what do all the chapters of the Qur'an open with? "in the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy"

The Role: used as a guide to Belief, Religious practises and daily life, complete book of guidance, used in worship (Surah one) - recited from the heart not read, last two verses of Surah two are read before bed, sometimes used for protection against evil (Surah 113/114), whole book read at Ramadan, the main source of law.     

Respect: wudu before reading, wrapped when not in use, kept up high/carry above waist, never placed on the ground, not read by women who are menstruating, never thrown away but instead buried or weighted down, not touched unnecessarily, never placed on the ground, making a beautiful Qur'an has long been regarded as a pious act.

Contents: The Qur'an contains all the fundamental beliefs about God, the Qur'an gives stories from the lives of the Prophets. 'Remember Abraham and Ismail raised the foundations of the house (Ka'ba)' surah 2 v 127, It teaches about prayer (surah 5v113), about fasting (surah 2v185), Zakah, Hajj. Many of the surahs are concerned with what a Muslim should believe and how they may live their life. It explains the nature of morality.

Tawrut - The Torah: Muslims believe the Torah was given to Musa and is mentioned 18 times in the Qur'an. Some Muslims think the Torah is essentially the first five books in the Bible but over time additions and subtractions have been made to the original text.

Zabur - The Psalms: revealed to David and mentioned on three occasions in the Qur'an, Muslims believe it is similar to the Psalms in the Bible.

Injil - The Gospel: mentioned in the Qur'an and believed it refers to a book divinely (holy) revealed to Isa, thought to be lost and some of its message is still found in the Bible, the word Injil occurs 12 times in the Qur'an.

"We sent Jesus, Son of Mary, in their footsteps to confirm the Torah that had been sent before him: We gave him the Gospel with guidance, light and confirmation of the Torah already revealed - a guide and lesson for those who take heed of God". (Qur'an 5:46)

The scrolls of Ibrahim: referred to in the Qur'an but these have been lost and no longer exist, thought to have been one of the earliest scriptures of Islam which were revealed to Ibrahim.