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Islamic Beliefs and Teachings - Coggle Diagram
Islamic Beliefs and Teachings
Islam is a monotheistic religion, which means they believe in just one God(Allah). The belief is the oneness of God is called
Tawhid
. The belief if Tawhid means that Muslims believe God is one and cannot be divided is different from Christianity, where Christians believe God is three persons.
The belief of Tawhid means that Muslims should:
Worship only one God
Never make anything in their lives more important than God, as God has no equal
Not use images or pictures of God, as it is important to portray God accurately.
Affirming their belief in the oneness of God forms the first part of the
Shahadah
, in the Shahadah it states 'There is no god except Allah and Muhammad is his prophet'. It is blasphemy to belief in other gods, this is the worst sin in Islam.
Muslims also believe in the supremacy of God's will.
Muslims believe God's will is supreme, meaning God can make anything happen that he wishes to do so.
The supremacy of God's will also means nothing happens unless God wants it to happen.
This can give Muslims confidence that when something goes wrong, it is all part of God's will. Muslims try to live their life according to God's will, accepting the fact that God knows best.
Sunni and Shi'a Islam
Muhammad was the last and most important prophet in Islam. after he died, disagreements broke out regarding who should succeed him as the leader of Islam. This disagreement split the religion of Islam into two branches, Sunni and Shi'a Islam.
The central beliefs of Sunni Muslims are the
Six Articles of faith
, while the central beliefs for Shi'a Muslims are the
five roots of 'Usal ad-Din
.
The six articles of faith in Sunni Islam:
Tawhid
Angels
The holy books(particularly the Qur'an)
The prophets
The Day of Judgement
The supremacy of God's will.
The five roots of 'Usal-ad-Din in Shi'a Islam:
Tawhid
Prophethood
The justice of God(Adalat)
The Imamate(Respect for the twelve Imams, who were chosen by God to lead Islam after Muhammad died)
Resurrection.
There are many shared beliefs in Sunni and Shi'a Islam such as the belief in the same God, following the teachings of the Qur'an, following the teachings of the Sunnah, acknowledging to importance of the prophets
The nature of God
There are 99 different names for God in the Qur'an and Hadith(Muhammad's sayings). There describe God's characteristics and help give Muslims an idea of what God is like. Some of God's most important qualities are:
immanent
,
transcendent
,
omnipotent
,
beneficent
,
merciful
,
fair
and
just
.
Transcendent
-God is the creator of the universe, so is beyond and outside of it, he is not limited by the physical world.
Immanent
- God is present everywhere in the world and the universe, God is within all things and is involved with life on earth.
Beneficent
- God is all-loving and all-good.
Fair and Just
- God treats everyone fairly and justly, God will judge all people equally on the Day of Judgement.
Merciful
- God shows compassion and mercy, God cares for people and understands their suffering, God forgives people who are truly sorry for what they have done wrong.
Omnipotent-
God is all-powerful, He has the power to create and sustain everything in the universe, he is aware of everything including human actions and thoughts.
Angels
Angels are spiritual beings created by God from light:
There are pure and sinless
They have no free will, so they can only do what God wants them to do
They are able to take human form in order to give messages to people
They consistently praise and serve God.
Muslims believe that angels have a number of different roles
Some act as messengers of God
Some take care of people throughout their lives
some record everything a person has done
Some take people's souls to God.
Jibril and Mika'il are two of the most important angels in Islam.
Jibril- Known as the angel of revelation, he purified Muhammad's heart when he was young so that later he would be able to receive God's revelation to him. Jibril recited the Qur'an to Muhammad and continued to pass on God's messages to Muhammad to guide him through his life. Jibril played a pivotal role in communicating the final version of Islam to humanity.
Mika'il- Known as the angel of mercy, responsible for sending down rain, thunder and lightning to earth. Mika'il brings nourishment to the earth and helps to provide food for humans by continuing to send rain to the ground. Angel Mika'il is believed to reward people who do good deeds.
Quotes
''Say he is Allah who is one''(tawhid)
''He neither begets nor is begotten''
Angels-''who made the angels having wings of two, three or four''
''Every soul shall taste death''
''Beware of the fire made for the disbelievers''
Nor can a soul die except by Allah's leave, the term being fixed in writing''
''Obey Allah and the messenger''
''There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger''
''And Ali is the friend of Allah''
Predestination
Predestination is the idea that God knows or determines everything that will happen in the universe. Sunni and Shi'a Muslims have contrasting beliefs about this.
Sunni Muslims
believe God determines
everything
that happens in the universe, including the path that an individual's life takes. God's will is supreme, therefore no human can change their own destiny.
"Only what God has decreed will happen to us".
Shi'a Muslims
believe God knows everything that will happen in the universe, but does not necessarily determine what will happen. As God is the creator of time, he is not bound to it, he exists outside of it, therefore he knows what will happen in a human's life. God knows what choices people will make, but people still have the free will to make those choices.
"God does not change the condition of a people unless they change what is in themselves"
.
Muslims who believe they had free will to make their choices also believe that there will come a time where they will be judged by God on their choices in life. God will judge them accordingly and they will be rewarded or punished as a result.
Even though God knows what will happen to them people are still responsible for their actions.