Muslims
What do Muslims believe?
Beliefs are important
in Islam. Right beliefs about God, the universe, and humanity is of
primary concern to Muslims. The Quran, the Holy book of Islam states,
"Righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels
and the Scriptures and the Prophets" (2:177). Belief in these doctrines,
as well as many others, are important to Muhammad's followers, both
past and present.
Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam teaches that there is one God in
the universe, giving Muslims a monotheistic worldview. Also like
Judaism and Christianity, Islam holds to the ministerial office of
prophet, although not all of these faiths agree on who is, and who
isn't, a prophet. For example, Christians believe John the Baptist was a
prophet and Jews and Muslims don't. And Muslims believe that Muhammad
was a prophet, yet Jews and Christians don't. All three faiths also
believe in an afterlife, although the makeup of those destinations are
immensely different in nature from each other.
For more information on Islamic beliefs, follow a link below:
Muslim Beliefs about Allah
The single most important
belief in Islam, and arguably the central theme of the religion, is that
there is only one God. The name of God is Allah, which is simply Arabic
for "the (al) God (Ilah)."
Muslim Beliefs about the Prophets
Muhammad, the
founder of Islam, is revered as "the Seal of the Prophets" - the last
and greatest of the messengers of God. He is not divine in any way, for
the strict monotheism that characterizes Islam (as well as Judaism) does
not allow for such an interpretation. Other prophets are important in
Islam as well, all of which are shared
with the Jews or the Christians.
Muslim Beliefs about Human Nature
According to the
Quran, Allah "created man from a clot of blood" at the same time he
created the jinn from fire. Humans are the greatest of all creatures,
created with free will for the purpose of obeying and serving God.
Muslim Beliefs about Life and Salvation
For a Muslim,
the object of life is to live in a way that is pleasing to Allah so
that one may gain Paradise. It is believed that at puberty, an account
of each person's deeds is opened, and this will be used at the Day of
Judgment to determine his eternal fate.
Muslim Beliefs about the Afterlife
Like Christianity,
Islam teaches the continued existence of the soul and a transformed
physical existence after death. There will be a day of judgment and
humanity will be divided between the eternal destinations of Paradise
and Hell.
Six Articles of Faith
There is no official creed to
which one must adhere to be considered a Muslim. All that is required is
to believe and recite the Shahada: "There is no God but God, and
Muhammad is his Prophet." Beyond this core belief, however, Muslim
doctrine is often summarized in "Six Articles of Faith." Many Muslims
believe that one must adhere to the six articles to be considered a
Muslim.
Muslim Views of Other Religions
The Quran is clear
that there must be "no compulsion in religion" (2:256). Yet Islam is not
indifferent to conversion either - Muslims consider their religion to
the be the one true religion, and invite people of all races,
nationalities and religions to be part of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment