Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that Muhammad is the final and ultimate messenger of God. Islam; which means submission or surrender, is the largest religion in the world with over one billion people following it. ‘Quran’ is the holy book of the Muslims which guides them in every aspect of their life. Belief in the oneness of Allah. (“Touheed”) and in the last prophet, Hazrat Muhammad are the two fundamental conditions in order to enter the fold of Islam.
In this article, you will be introduced to the “Articles of faith” A Muslim believes in all these articles in heart and claims from the tongue. These beliefs are mentioned in Iman-e-Mufassal.
Iman-e-Mufassal
“I believe in Allah, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the last day and in the fact that everything, good or bad, is decided by Allah, the Almighty, and in the life after death.”
The articles of faith in Islam are as follows:
Oneness of Allah
I will discuss each one of them. First, we will talk about “Oneness of Allah” or “Touheed”.
In the Holy Quran, the very first surah, “Fatiha” says:
“Praise to Allah, the cherisher and sustainer of the worlds”
Belief in the oneness of Allah is the main principle of Islam and the first condition in order to enter in the circle of Islam. According to this a Muslim believes that Allah is the supreme and the lord of the worlds. He is unique in his being and unique in His attributes. He is nobody’s father and has no father. Allah is all-powerful. All the praise belongs to him. He is the only one worthy of worship and absolute authority. No one can ever challenge Him.
In surah Ikhlas. It has been stated:
“Say He is Allah, the one and only; Allah, the Eternal and Absolute; He begeteth not, nor Is He begotten. And these is none like unto Him”
At another place in Quran Allah says;
And again “There is nothing whatever like unto Him and He is the one that hears and sees (all things)”
This belief makes a Muslim a humble servant and fearless. He fears none but Allah. He realizes that no one can cause any harm to him without Allah’s will. This belief instills in him braveness and devotion. Al Muslim strives with all his might to save Allah and his creation in the best possible manner.
Angels
A Muslim believes that Angels are heavenly beings and servants to Allah. They are neither sons nor daughters to Allah. Angels share no authority with Allah and the qualities and power they possess are given to them by Allah. They are created of light and have no free will, unlike humans and jinns. They are allotted with different duties and perform their assigned duties will complete obedience. The Quran says;
“He doth send down his Angels with the inspiration of this command to such of His servants as He pleaseth”
At other places, Allah says in the Quran;
But verity, over you (are appointed angels) to protect you – kind and honorable, writing down (your deeds)
Belief in revealed books
In order to guide the man, Allah has sent Prophets from time to time. Those were revealed divine books as guidance for the man. The last Prophet of Allah was revealed the Holy Quran. Muslims believe in all the revealed books as authentic and the one from Allah and he believes in the Quran as the last revealed book from Allah. However, today only the Holy Quran claims to be authentic and is still the same as it was first revealed. Allah says in the Quran;
“This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah; who believe in unseen are steadfast in Prayer and spent out of what we have provided them”
The fundamental message of the unity of Allah was the same in all the books. However, the commandments were different and were according to the needs of the people of that time. Holy Quran does not mention all the Prophets and revealed books It only mentions revelations sent to “Hazrat Nuh, Hazrat Ibrahim, Hazrat Ismail, Hazrat Ishaq, Hazrat Daud, Hazrat Musa, Hazrat Isa, and Holy Prophet”. Today, If a Muslim wants any guidance in any matter of his life, he can consult the Quran. Quran is only a blessed book and a complete code of life.
Belief in Prophets
According to the Holy Quran, all the apostles and Prophets sent by Allah had wives and were mortal. They were sent for the guidance of humanity. The miracles they performed or the extraordinary qualities they had were given to them by Allah. They had none of the power of their own. They did not say any word out of their will rather carried the commands of Allah to the best of their ability and strength. Quran says;
“We sent not a messenger, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah”
A Muslim believes that all the Prophets from Hazrat Adam to the Holy Prophet delivered the message of Allah without any omission or concealment. Though a Muslim believes in all revealed prophets he believes that none stands equal to the Holy Prophet. Quran compares his personality to the sun and the previous Prophets were like lamps. The Holy Prophet said;
“Whenever a prophet perished, another Prophet followed him and surely these will be no Prophet after me” (Bukhari)
He also said;
“Every Prophet who preceded me was sent especially to his own people but I have been sent as a Prophet for all mankind”
Life after death
A Muslim believes in the concepts of Heaven and Hell. These are two destinations that a Muslim would meet on the Day of Judgment according to his deeds. As the reward for good deeds, a Muslim will be sent to heaven, and on the other hand as a punishment for his bad deeds, he will be sent to hell. The life that a Muslim is living on the earth is actually the examination period after which on the day of Judgment, all his deeds will be brought forward and he will be judged by Allah according to his deeds. Quran says in this regard;
“Any who believes in Allah and the last day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their lord”
On the day of resurrection, every deed big or small will be highlighted. A person who would have lived his life according to the commands sent by Allah would see his reward. Those who do not believe in future life become irresponsible and arrogant they do not watch their deeds and ultimately these will be the people who will be sent to hell in the hereafter. The Quran says about them;
“They are the companions of the fire, they will abide therein”
Quran also says;
“The fire of (the wroth of) Allah kindled (to a blaze) which doth mount (right) to the hearts.” (lot: 6,7)
Pre-destination and decree
According to this, a Muslim believes that everything in this universe is the outcome of the planning and will of Allah. He created whatever we sill and he created it to his absolute wisdom and with purpose. There is no one capable of doing what he can do. A Muslim believes that whatever good or bad happens to him is from Allah’s will. No one can do any good or no one can harm him without his will. The Quran says;
“……the decree continues to descent among them, that you many know that Allah has power over all things and that Allah indeed encompasses all things in knowledge.”
A full and proper understanding of Qadr demands that Muslims should believe that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. His will and power are absolute whatever. We do, is done by Him with a purpose. We, however, cannot comprehend and understand His purpose and wisdom behind the happenings. Therefore, Islam condemns to regret over the things, ether it suggests that a Muslim should believe that whatever has happened is for some good. This belief would give him satisfaction and will calm his heart. Holy Prophet has said;
“If something befalls you, don’t say if now I would have done such and such, rather say; Allah fore ordained this, and whatever He wished, He does; for verity, the phrase “If only I would have” makes way for the work of satan ”.
True sect
This belief makes the life of the Muslim peaceful because he fears only Allah. He trusts Him in all his matters and asks Him in every difficulty. There are six articles of faith. A Muslim should have complete faith and belief in all of them. Only then will he be called a follower of Islam. But when it comes to following Islam, we face many sects. So we get confused. Which group is following the true Islam? So the party that follows the teachings of true Islam is Sunnism. We will inform you in full details in the coming post.