To become a Muslim, one needs only to repeat with sincerity this simple creed:
Translated,
this means, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah." This is the Shahada (witness) and expresses
the very heart of the Islamic creed.
Following this, the true Muslim must accept
five main articles of Iman (faith):
1. Belief in Allah as the one true
God.
2. Belief in angels as the instruments of God's
will.
3. Belief in the four
inspired books: Torah, Zabur, Injil, and Quran, of
which the Quran is the final and most complete.
4. Belief in the twenty-eight prophets of Allah,
of whom Muhammad is the last.
5. Belief in a final day of judgment.
Allah (God)
The
first and most important doctrine in the creed of Islam is the
doctrine of Allah. Muhammad knew from childhood the native
pre-Islamic belief in Alilah, meaning "the god," a vague high God who
created the world and became Allah or God. He also knew of the
Najran tribe, which was almost totally Christian and had considerable
influence in northern Arabia. We should never forget that
Muhammad's father's name, Abd-Allah, means "the slave of God."
In other words, Muhammad was definitely aware of a belief in the one
God among his people.
The
essence or being of Allah includes his existence, eternity,
unsubstantiality, unembodiedness, essentiality, omnipresence,
formlessness, and uniqueness. His attributes include life,
power, knowledge, will, sensibility, and speech. Creation,
preservations, revelation, and predestination constitute the works of
Allah.
By
Islamic tradition, there are ninety-nine most beautiful names of
Allah. The titles and the frequency of usage include: The
Omniscient (158), The One (21), The Mighty (44), The Unique (89), The
Forgiving (96), and The Wise (95). Infrequently used titles
include The Slayer, The Provider, and The Avenger. Every devout
Muslim begins his conversation with "In the name of God, the
Merciful, the Compassionate."
The
Quran focuses on the absolute unity and uniqueness of God.
Islam maintains and uncompromising monotheism. The only
unpardonable sin is Shirk, or the associating or joining of other
gods to the one God. While the Bible and Christianity are also
both uncompromisingly monotheistic, Islamic monotheism denies the
biblical doctrine of the trinity, misassociating it with
tritheism.
Angels
A belief
in angels is essential to the acceptance of the manner in which Allah
revealed himself both to Muhammad and to various other prophets
before him. This belief includes all kinds of creatures
inhabiting the invisible world.
Muslims
believe in four archangels: Gabriel (the angel of revelation),
Michael (the angel of providence), Israfil (the angel of doom), and
Izra'il (the angel of death). Ministering angels include
recording angels, throne-bearers, and questioners of the dead.
A third category is the fallen angels, the chief of which is Iblis,
or Shaytan. A fourth group includes Jinn, a group of spirits
midway between men and angels, some good and some bad.
The Holy Books
Islam
recognizes that four sets of scriptures contain revelations of
Allah's will. These are the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of
David, the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus, and the Quran, which represents
the final and complete revelation, superceding all previous
revelations and conflicting claims to truth. (Although Muslims
talk about the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel, they do not mean by those
terms the same Old and New Testaments that Christians have in their
Bibles. They believe that the original Torah, Psalms, and
Gospel have been corrupted and lost. What Christians have in
the Old and New Testaments are not God's Word or revelation.)
Prophets
Islam
claims to be open to revelation from Allah whenever and wherever it
occurs. This is true at least in theory. Muslims believe
their religion is simply "the religion of God." God speaks and
acts in history to reveal Himself through prophets.
Twenty-eight prophets are particularly
recognized in the Quran. These include Adam, Noah, Abraham,
Moses, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha,
and Jonah from Old Testament times. There are others from New
Testament times: Zachariah, John the Baptist, and Jesus.
The five prophetic predecessors to Muhammad specially mentioned are
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. The Quran affirms the
Virgin Birth of Jesus (although not His eternal pre-existence), but
teaches that the Crucifixion and Resurrection did not happen as the
Bible says. The Quran includes some of the miracles and moral
teachings of Jesus but does not mention His lordship or His
divinity.
Muhammad
is considered the last and the greatest of the prophets. He is
the Seal of the Prophets, after whom no more will come. Muslims
believe that he was "prepared for and attested to by all the
preceding prophets." The Muslims consider Islam as, not the
youngest, but the oldest monotheistic religion in the world.
Resurrection and the Hour of
Judgment
Readers
of the Quran soon find that Allah is portrayed as stern and harsh
rather than compassionate. Allah's harshness is intensified in
the Quranic description of Judgment Day and its consequences.
Muhammad's original message warned people of the terrible divine
judgment that was to come. About 852 verses of the Quran
emphasize this fearful theme.
Judgment
Day will be preceded by signs, then announced by a trumpet blast (see
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). The dead will arise bodily from their
graves and join the living, then all will be examined one by one and
assigned to Paradise or hell. No one can escape this
judgment. vivid pictures are given of the balance scales which
will be used to weigh the good and evil deeds of each soul, even to
the weight of a mustard seed. Pious believers in Allah can
expect abundant sensual pleasures in Paradise. There will be
perpetual luxury, physical comfort, food, clear water, mansions,
servants, lovely maidens, and virgins. The wicked will suffer
and swelter in the hot blasts, foul smoke, and molten metal of
hell.
Predestination
The
sixth belief, predestination, is not mandatory, but it is still
accepted by many Muslims. "If Allah wills it" is the comment of
the devout Muslim. Predestination is the belief that all events
are determined by Allah. The function of humans is to submit to
that divine determination with obedient thankfulness. However,
the predestined must still face Allah's justice.