Relgious Studies B - Philosophy 1 (OCR)

Beliefs About Allah:

-For muslims, God is called Allah - and the word 'Islam' can be translated as meaning 'submission' or 'surrender' to Allah.

-According to Islam teaching, Allah is the creator of everything, also has 99 names in the Qu'ran.  

"He is Allah, the one, Allah is eternal and Absolute"

- Passage is taken from Surah 122 and describes the basic principle that Allah is one.

- The ninety-nine names sum up much of the nature of Allah.

- Muslims believe Allah cannot be thought of human terms, he is the supreme being.

- Human lives are predestined by Allah - but humans do have free will.

There are five main ways to know Allah:

- Allah has performed miracles

- Five pillars of islam also provide opportunities to know and be close to Allah

- Muslims believe that Allah has intervened in human history and that this is one way of knowing him and his power. His message was delivered by the prophets, of whom twenty-five are mentioned in the Qur'an.

- Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the word of Allah and allows humans to know him. Many mjuslims learn it off by hear, and all try to live according to the guidelines found within it.

- Muslims believe Allah is good and kind. However, there is a belief in the devil (called iblis or shaytan) who was cast out by Allah and tries to lead people away from him. Some muslims would argue that Allah allows shaytan to use his power to test and tempt us - we have the free will to resist.

 There are several arguements that people use to prove God is real:

Ontological Arguement: - God is that which nothing greater can be concieved, God must exist otherwise we could not produce this description, God is the greatest.

Cosmological Argument: - Something cannot come from anything. There is a universe, someone or something must have created it (first cause).

Design Arguement: - This designer is God, everything has a purpose, nothings accidental. (i.e, aeroplane example)

Arguement From Experience: - People claim that miracles have happened and that they have experienced God

Moral Arguement: - How can we know between right and wrong, unless God told us.

Miracles:

When something extraordinary happens...

The Qur'an is a miracle in itself:

- Muslims belive that Qur'an is a miracle - the direct word of Allah, with a style that it's impossible to copy.

- Some muslims believe that the Qur'an contains 'scienctific miracles' - where facts discovered centuries later are described, such as the development of the human embryo.

- The Prophet Muhammed didn't work miracles - but many Muslims believe that Allah took him on a journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and on a tour of the heavens in one night. Some Muslims believe that Allah's greatest miracle is creation it self.