Muslim Beliefs

Question 1

What are the six essential beliefs?

Answer 1

-Sunni Muslim base their central beliefs on the Qur’an and the Hadith as reported by Umar, a follower of Prophet Muhammad
-The beliefs highlight the key features of a Muslims’ faith in Islam and inform their day-to-day living

Question 2

What is tawhid?

Answer 2

-Both Sunni and Shi’a
-The oneness of Allah
-The most important belief for Muslims
-Allah is the supreme being, creator of the universe
-Without him nothing would exist
-Recognising Allah as the creator encourages Muslims to be thankful for life they have been given and express gratitude through prayer
-He has no partners, is omniscient, omnipotent and the one God

Question 3

What is Malaikah?

Answer 3

-Sunni
-The belief in the angels of Allah
-Angels are heavenly beings created by Allah to perform various tasks, such as delivering his messages to people
-Muslims are taught to respect the angels of Allah, when Muslims end their prayers they turn their heads to the left and to the right to the angels

Question 4

What is kutub?

Answer 4

-Sunni
-Belief in the holy books of Allah
-Muslims believe that Allah’s messages are contained in holy texts known as the Scrolls, Tawrat, Zabur, Injil, and the Qur’an
-Many Muslims study the books to improve their knowledge, the Mosque often provides lessons for those who need help

Question 5

What is Risalah and Nubuwwah?

Answer 5

-Sunni- Risalah and Shi’a- Nubuwwah
-A messenger of prophet is a person chosen by Allah
-They teach and gide people to the right path
-Muslims believe more than 124,000 prophets have appeared in the world and it is essential for Muslims to believe in them all
-They can learn from their example

Question 6

What is the day of judgement?

Answer 6

-Sunni and Shi’a
-The belief in the day of judgement
-Eventually the universe will end
-The dead will be resurrected and accounts taken of their deeds
-Allah will judge whether people should go to paradise/Jannah or hell/Jahannam
-Reminds Muslims of their limited time on earth and the inevitable meeting with Allah, as expressed in funerals where the Muslim community comes together
-Muslims believe in Barzakh- Burial until DoJ
-A trumpet will blow and all people all die, then again and people will be resurrected
-Allah will judge everyone

Question 7

What is Al-Qadr?

Answer 7

-Sunni
-Belief in the predestination of Allah
-Muslims believe that Allah has supreme power over the universe
-Allah gave humans freewill, making us responsible for our own destiny
-Allah will not interfere unless he wishes to
-Teaches Muslims that the need to accept God’s will and many Muslims seek blessings on the Night of Power - Laylat al-Qadr

Question 8

What are the 5 beliefs of Shi’a Islam?

Answer 8

-Usul ad-Din
-Tawhid- Oneness of Allah
-Nubuwwah- Prophethood
-Adalat- Justice
-Imamate- Imams
-Mi’ad- Day of Judgement

Question 9

What is Adalat?

Answer 9

-Shi’a
-Belief that Allah is just and will bring about divine justice
-Shi’a Muslims believe it is important for them also to demonstrate fairness in everythingg they do
-The believe in obeying the comands of Allah, the prophet Muhammed will provide Justice
-Some Shi’a communities such as Twelver and Sevener, follow different Imams who authority from Allah

Question 10

What is Imamate?

Answer 10

-Shi’a
-They believe authority has been given by God to people, the people are the Prophet Muhammad and his daughter Fatima, then to the Imams starting with Ali
-They are believed to be perfect, pure and infallible
-Twelver Muslims have different lines of Imams after the 6th to Seveners

Question 11

How is God presented as being the greatest?

Answer 11

-Every day Muslims hear and say the words ‘Allah Akbar’ meaning God is the greatest
-Muslims believe God is so great he is beyond human understanding, and greater than anything we can imagine
-Muslims have firm beliefs about what God is like

Question 12

How is God presented as being just?

Answer 12

-God acts with fairness and justice, treating people equally and fairly
-His justice should reflect on us to do the same
-God will judge people in fairness on the DoJ
-Since God is perfect, he is just and therefor never acts unjustly
-God is not happy when people do wrong and will hold them to account

Question 13

How is God presented as being powerful?

Answer 13

-God is beneficent, the source of all goodness
-Gods power is linked to his mercy and compassion, in their daily prayer, Muslims begin by saying ‘In the name of God, the lord of mercy, the giver of mercy’ this is known as Bismillah
-God is merciful and understands their suffering and cares for them, and can forgive

Question 14

How is God presented through his qualities?

Answer 14

-Muslims believe God is immanent, w within all things and also transcendent beyond all things
-Our limited human thinking makes us wonder how God can be the centre of the universe and not be limited by the physical world
-Muslims believe God is omnipotent as God is the creator and owner of all things
-He is all-knowing and aware of everything

Question 15

What is prophethood?

Answer 15

-God has chosen many prophets to bring the message of Islam to the people, the belief in prophets and their importance is known as Risalah
-It is a gift given by God to help human kind understand his message
-The prophets are important as they provide a method communication between God and human beings
-In order do humans to live the life God desires, prophets are used to communicate the message
-When humans forgot he sent other prophets to bring it back there has been around 12,000 prophets

Question 16

Who was the first prophet?

Answer 16

-Muslims believe that Adam was the first man and the first prophet
-Created from dust in the ground, he is regarded as the father of the human race and is treated with reverence and great respect

Question 17

Why is Adam important?

Answer 17

-Adam is important as a prophet as God gave him understanding and Adam in turn passed his knowledge to the rest of the human race through his descendants
-He was the first person to plant seeds, harvest and cook
-God told him what food was haram and halal, how to repent and how to bury the dead
-Adam and Hawwa had many children

Question 18

Who were Adam and Hawwa?

Answer 18

-God created Adam and Hawwa and they lived in the garden of bliss
-They had one rule to obey, which was not to approach the tree
-Satan deceived them into eating the fruit in the tree and they were thrown out of the garden
-Their actions brought sin to the world and humans are now judged on the DoJ

Question 19

What is the importance of the Qur’an?

Answer 19

-The Qur’an is the word of God, revealed to Muhammad via the Angel Jibril over a period of 22 years
-It contains the foundation of faith and is believed to be the infallible source of authority for all matters
-The original Qur’an is believed to be in heaven
-The name Qur’an means recital, as Muhammad recited it by heart, each revelation he received and passed it in to his followers

Question 20

What does the Qur’an contain?

Answer 20

-Contains a mixture of historical accounts and advice on how to follow God
-There are 114 Surahs, and starts with a prayer to God for guidance and is used in daily prayer
-The longer chapters are first and the short chapters last
-Apart from the ninth surah, each chapter begins in the words of bismillah
-Muslim children are encouraged to learn Arabic so they can Red the Qur’an in its original language
-Those who recite the whole Qur’an are known as a Hafiz

Question 21

What are other holy books?

Answer 21

-The Tawrat/Torah revealed by Moses/Musa, and is mentioned 18 times in the Qur’an
-The Psalms revealed by David and is mentioned 3 times
-The Gospel as revealed to Jesus/Isa is mentioned 12 times
-The scrolls of Sahifah/Ibrahim were revealed to Ibrahim but have been long lost

Question 22

What are angels?

Answer 22

-Angels bring the word of God to the prophets or messengers of God
-They are supernatural, created from light by God
-They are part of the unseen world

Question 23

What do angels do?

Answer 23

-Angels are able to receive God’s words directly from him and pass them on the prophets
-They are pure and sinless, as they have no free will so please and praise God
-Some angels note down what you have done from birth to death and reveal it on the DoJ
-The angel Israfil will blow a trumpet to announce the DoJ, the angel of death and his helpers take peoples soul to God
-Angels can take human form as appeared to Ibrahim and Maryam as men

Question 24

Who are Jibril and Mika’il?

Answer 24

-Jibril is an arch angel who is the trusted messenger of God, he revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad from God
-Jibril and Mika’il first appeared to Muhammad when he was a child by purifying his heart
-Jibril told Muhammad what God wanted him to do and inspired him with revelations, and throughout his life God constantly communicated through Jibril
-Mika’il is a high-ranking archangel who is the angel of mercy, he was assigned to reward righteousness people for the food they do during their lives
-Mika’il also sends rain, thunder, and lightning to Earth
-Jibril and Mika’il bring nourishment to human beings

Question 25

What is the significance of angels for Muslims today + who is Izra’il?

Answer 25

-They help believers in the time if need
-Belief in the angels is the second most important article for Sunni Muslims, their true nature might not be fully known but play a crucial role in maintaining the universe
-Each person has one angel on the right shoulder and one on their left, the one on the right takes note of the good deeds and the left takes notes of the bad ones which will be presented on the DoJ
-Izra’il is the angel of death, he is not referred to by name
-As the angel of death, Izra’il is responsible for taking the souls of everyone and returning it to Allah, Muslims believe only Allah knows when and where we die
-Muslims do not believe angels have a fixed form and can change appearance when necessary

Question 26

Why is predestination important?

Answer 26

-It affirms Allah’s omnipotence and omniscience
-The laws governing the universe are designed for the benefit of humanity
-Allah’s omniscience helps Muslims understand that everything happens for a reason and is part of Allah’s plan

Question 27

What is free will?

Answer 27

-Allah has give us the freedom to choose what to think and how to act
-We can choose whether to act in accordance of Allah’s will or reject it
-Allah has created the universe and therefore knows everything that will happen
-Nothing happens without Allah’s permission
-Human intentions can impact Allah’s will

Question 28

How does Al-Qadr and human freedom relate to the DoJ?

Answer 28

-Allah is just and will judge everyone fairly in the Akhirah, nobody can help the circumstances they were born in, Muslims believe that Allah is merciful and will not punish people for being born in a crime ridden society
-Allah takes everything into account when he is passing judgement
-Muslims believe humans are responsible for anything they do outside these factors and recognises they will be judged in the after life

Question 29

What do Sunni and Shi’a Muslims believe about Al-Qadr

Answer 29

Sunni:
-Accept total predestination as it is a combination of Allah’s omniscience and free will
-One of the six beliefs
-Allah has given us free will and will judge us on our actions
-Your destiny is predestined by Allah and prayers consistent with Allah’s laws may be granted
Shi’a:
-Reject total predestination as it is inconsistent
-One of the five roots is Justice
-If Allah is truly just then it would be unjust to judge them on a predestined path
-Allah can change your destiny depending on your actions

Question 30

What are the implications of belief in Al-Qadr today?

Answer 30

-Belief in Al-qadr encourages Muslims to trust that Allah is in control of everything
-Al-Qadr has a close connection with Akhirah
-Reminds Muslims of his Omniscience
-He knows what happened, is happening and will happen so Muslims must prepare to answer for their deeds in the next life

Question 31

What is judgement?

Answer 31

-One of Allah’s characteristics in his omniscience, he knows everything meaning he can judge fairly
-On the DoJ, after Barzakh, people will be separated into two groups, Jannah and Jahannam

Question 32

What is paradise?

Answer 32

-Jannah is a beautiful garden, most Muslims believe this to be literal
-It is the reward for living a good Muslim lufe and all Muslims believe it is eternal
-An afterlife of pure joy with no hurt, sorrow, fear, or shame
-Many Muslims consider to the language in the Qur’an to be symbolic, paradise will not literally be a garden as it cannot be fully understood by humans
-Made from 7 layers, with a prophet in each

Question 33

What is hell?

Answer 33

-A place of fire, pain and suffering, it is a punishment for bad actions on Earth, most Muslims believe this to be literally true
-All souls will eventually enter Jannah after they have been purified in Jahannam as Allah is all forgiving
-Jt highlights the seriousness of not believing in Allah and dissuades people from committing sins

Question 34

What are different ways in which Muslims teachings affect the life of a Muslim today?

Answer 34

-Belief in life after death is one of the core beliefs
-They know they will be judged
-Justice will be served as Allah is just
-A Muslim will strive to follow the books so they will be judged favourably
-The promise of Jannah offers Muslims hope for a better afterlife