Faith and
Belief in Islam
1) At-Tawhid
At-Tawhid means monotheism, or in simple language the Oneness
of Allah. Allah is One True God. He has created everything. He was not created by
anyone. He has no family relations. He has no parents. He has no children. He is
the most Powerful. He is free of all necessities. He never tires, nor does He need
any support or help. So Allah is One and Self-Sufficient. He has never created any
other god to assist Him. Nor has He ever allowed anyone to be worshipped besides
Him. So the words of witness or kalimah shahadah reads: “TI bear witness that there
is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad & is the Messenger of
Allah.” Therefore, believing in the Oneness of Allah is the first duty of a Muslim.
Shirk
Disbelieving in the Oneness of Allah and worshipping false gods
is called shirk. Shirk means associating partners with Allah. Shirk is the most
hateful sin in the sight of Allah, which He would never forgive. Allah will punish
those who commit shirk, with most severe penalty.
Allah and His Attributes
The Quran says that the most beautiful names belong to Allah.
There are various names and
attributes of Allah. A Muslim must also believe in these. This
belief is called iman mujmal, or “faith in brief” which is as follows:
“I believe in Allah as He is with all His names and attributes,
and I accept all His Commands.”
2) Al-Malaikah
Angels are known as malaikah in Arabic (singular malak). Allah
has created them from light. They have wings. Angels are neither male nor female.
Allah has made them free from sin. They are created to follow Allah's commands and
serve Him. They have no free will, hence they never raise any objection to carrying
out Allah's commands.
Duties of Angels
Allah has assigned different duties to the angels which they
discharge regularly without any botheration or hesitation. For example, some angels
have been assigned to prostrating themselves before Allah. They have been doing
so since their creation and will continue to do so till the Last Day.
Here are some prominent angels with their respective duties:
Jibril: Conveying Allah's messages to the prophets.
Mikail: Controlling rain and weather.
Izrail: Taking away the souls of the creatures after putting
them to death at the appointed time.
Israfil: Blowing the trumpet on the Last Day.
Munkarand Nakir: Questioning the dead in the grave. Ridwan Serving
as the doorkeeper of Paradise.
Malik: Serving as the guardian of Hell.
In the old days, before Islam, people believed that the angels
were daughters of Allah and they used to worship them. Allah said in the Ouran that
the angels were not His daughters. Rather they were only creatures and servants
of Allah.
3) Kutub-Allah
Kutub-Allah is an Arabic word. Kutub is the plural of kitab,
which means “book.' So the phrase Kutub-Allah means “Books of Allah.' The Divine
books or the books belonging to Allah are called “Scriptures” in English. Let us
read more about the Scriptures of Allah.
The Purpose of a Scripture
From the time of Adam to the time of the Prophet Muhammad, a
large number of prophets came to preach Allah's message to mankind. To every prophet
Allah gave His message in different ways. The Divine messages of certain prophets
have been compiled in the form of books. These books are called scriptures. Different
scriptures were revealed to different prophets. All scriptures have their own name
like, Injil, Quran, etc. You have already read the names of the scriptures and their
respective prophets in Grade-3. To refresh your mind they are again presented below.
Suhuf: The Prophet Abraham or Ibrahim
Tawrat (Torah): The Prophet Moses or Musa
Zabur (Psalms): The Prophet David or Dawud
Injil (Gospel): The Prophet Jesus or Isa
Quran: The Prophet Muhammad
4) Rasul-Allah
Rasul-Allah means the messengers of Allah or prophets of Allah.
As we have read above and in Grade-3, that the prophets were human beings like ourselves
and were specially chosen by Allah to preach His message to the people.
The Qualities of the Prophets
Allah sent two types of prophets, namely, (1) nabi, or prophet,
(2) rasul, or messenger. The difference between these two is that a messenger is
the one who receives new revelations from Allah, and brings a new religion. In the
case of the prophets, they receive revelations that have already been received by
other prophets or messengers. The prophets preach an existing religion.
The features common to both prophets and messengers is that they
are innocent and free of sin. They live a holy life. They never lie or deceive anyone.
They teach and spread the message of Allah. Their function is to guide people to
the right path chosen by Allah. They give the good news of Allah's reward to those
who lead a righteous life. And they warn those who stray of the punishment of Allah.
The Prophets and Messengers Mentioned in the Quran
Listed below are the names of some of the prophets mentioned
in the Ouran:
Adam (Adam)
Nuh (Noah)
Ibrahim (Abraham)
Ismail (Ishmael)
Ishag (Isaac)
Lut (Lot)
Ya'gub (Jacob)
Yusuf (Joseph)
Musa (Moses)
Harun (Aaron)
Dawud (David)
Sulayman (Solomon)
Ilyas (Blijah)
Yunus (Jonah)
Alyasa (Elisha)
Ayyub (Job)
Zakariyyah (Zecharia)
Yahya (John)
Dhu'1 Kifl (Bzekiel)
Idris (Enoch)
Hud
Salih
Shu'ayb
Isa (Jesus)
Muhammad
Though all the prophets are not mentioned in the Quran, we know
from the hadith (sayings of the Prophet) that Allah sent about one hundred and twenty-four
thousand prophets (124,000) from the time of Adam to that of the 'Prophet Muhammad.
Adam was the first prophet of Allah. And after him the long chain of prophets ended
with the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, the Prophet Muhammad is
known as Khatam an-Nabiyyin, or the “Seal of the Prophets.' Allah would not send
any more prophets after him. All the prophets were chosen to preach to acertain
people, especially their own people or clan. But the Prophet Muhammad was sent to
guide all mankind. His mission was universal.
The Use of sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and alayhis- salam
It is apart of the Muslims' duty to convey the greeting or salam
while uttering or hearing the name of a prophet. When a prophet other than the Prophet
Muhammad is mentioned, (alayhis- salam) is said after his name. It means “peace
be upon him.' And when the name of the Prophet Muhammad is mentioned, the phrase
(sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is said. This phrase means “peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him.
