Islam Revision

Islam Revision

1. Divisions

   • Shi'a
     • Five articles of faith (Usul ad-Din):
       • 1) belief that Allah is the one and only God (Tawhid)
       • 2) belief in divine justice (Adalat)
       • 3) belief in prophethood
       • 4) belief in the authority of imams (Imamah)
       • 5) belief in the Day of Resurrection (Ma'ad)
     • Key beliefs:
       • 1) Ali was the first true caliph
       • 2) The different branches of Shi'a Islam split off from each other after disagreements about the line of imams
   • Sunni
     • Represent 85-90% of Muslims
     • Six articles of faith:
       • 1) belief that Allah is the one and only God (Tawhid)
       • 2) belief in angels (Malaikah)
       • 3) belief in the holy books
       • 4) belief in Allah's prophets (Nubuwwah)
       • 5) belief in the Day of Judgement
       • 6) belief that Allah knows and decides everything that is going to happen (predestination - al-Quadr)
     • Key beliefs:
       • 1) No one after Muhammad received knowledge from Allah
       • 2) Muslims should be guided by the majority view of the community
   • Cause
     • Muhammad was the founder of Islam
     • After Muhammad died Muslims has to pick a new leader
     • The next four caliphs were Abu Bakr, Uman, Uthman and Ali
     • Some Muslins wanted Ali to be the first caliph, others said he shouldn't be the caliph at all
     • After Ali died, two groups formed - the Sunnis and the Shia who followed different lines of caliphs

2. Key Beliefs

   • Tawhid
     • "Say, 'He is Allah, [who is] One.'" Qur'an 122:1
     • Muslims believe in only one God, Allah
       • Tawhid is this belief
     • Saying Allah is the only one god is the first part of the Shahadah, the Muslin declaration of faith
     • Shirk is seen as the worst sin, it is believing in other Gods as well as Allah
       • "Allah does not forgive association with Him" Qur'an 4:116
     • According to a hadith, Muhammad said that when telling non-muslims about Islam, the first thing Muslims should mention is Tawhid.
   • Characteristics of Allah
     • Merciful - Muslims believe Allah shows mercy and compassion
     • Omnipotent - Allah is all-powerful. He created the universe and is in control of everything
     • Benevolent - Allah is all-good
     • Just - Muslims believe Allah will judge people's behaviour in a fair way
     • Immanent - Allah is present and involved in the world
     • Transcendent - Allah is above everything - he can't be thought of in human terms
   • Prophets
     • Allah sends messages about how to live a good life
       • this is via angels, who pass the words onto human prophets
     • The first prophet was Adam
       • Adam was the first man, created by Allah in his image
       • Adam was sent to Earth after eating the forbidden fruit. Allah forgive him his sin though
     • Ibrahim rejected the idea of many Gods
       • He proved his faith by being willing to sacrifice his own son
       • Ibrahim is thought to have rebuilt the Ka'aba
     • Ibrahim's son Isma'il was also a prophet
       • Helped Ibrahim to build the Ka'aba
     • Musa is the only prophet Allah spoke to directly
       • He kept trying to guide people to believe in one God
     • Muslims believe that all prophets paved the pay for Muhammad
       • Born in Mecca at about 570 CE
       • While Muhammad was meditating, Allah sent the angle Jibril with a message
       • Muhammad spread these teachings of how people would be judged and how Muslims should live their lives
       • Muhammad was the last prophet and most Muslims think that he is the last prophet that there will ever be
   • Holy Books
     • Qur'an
       • Is the word of Allah
       • Most important holy book
       • "he revealed to His Servan what he revealed. The heart did not lie [about] what is saw" Qur'an 53:10-11
     • Tawrat (Torah)
       • It is the main Jewish holy book
       • The Qur'an says it contains the "judgement of Allah" Qur'an 5:43 so it's values by Muslims
       • It includes the Ten Commandments, basic rules for a religious life.
   • Angels
     • Purpose is to follow Allah's orders and to communicate with humans
     • They're thought to be genderless, made of light and to have wings
     • They're immortal and don't have free will, as their role is to obey Allah
       • They cannot sin
     • Allah created them before humans
     • Important angels
       • Jibril
         • He revealed Allah's words to Muhammad
         • Is known as the angel of revelation
         • Told Maryam (Mary) she was pregnant
       • Mika'il
         • He asks Allah to forgive people's sins
       • Izrail
         • Is known as the angel of death
         • Believed that they will blow the trumpet on the Day of Judgement

3. Life after Death

   • Predestination
     • Al-Qadr is the idea that Allah has decided everything that will happen
       • Some Muslims find this idea quite comforting as that feel that what ever happens is part of Allah's plan
     • This idea appears in teachings suck as Sahih al-Bukhari 78:685 where Muhammad states vowing to do something "does not being about anything [Allah] has not decreed"
     • This belief seems to contradict the idea of the Day of Judgement but many muslins believe in a mix of these two ideas:
       • Sunni's believe Allah knows everything that's going to happen. Something that once someone's chosen to act, the act becomes 'theirs' so they can be judged for it
       • Shia's focus more on free will. They believe Allah can change things but people's lives are usually determined by their choices
   • Day of Judgement
     • On Yawm ad-Din, Allah decides how people will spend the afterlife, based upon their actions
     • Allah will judge everyone, not just Muslims
     • The Day of Judgement is important because it encourages Muslims to live their lives in a Good way
     • Intentions are important
       • Not intending to do something bad does not count it against you
   • The Afterlife
     • The afterlife is where people go after the day of judgement
     • The reward for good people is jannah (paradise)
       • The Qur'an refers to Paradise as "Gardens of Pleasure" (Qur'an 31:8)
     • The punishment for bad people is Jahannam (hell)
       • The Qur'an describes Jahannah as a place of scorching fire and boiling water
       • Allah is merciful so they may eventually be sent to Paradise