Muslim beliefs about Allah Essay Example Essay Example

  Muslim beliefs about Allah Essay Example Paper Muslim beliefs about Allah Essay Introduction Muslims believe that there is only one God, Allah. They believe that God is one, therefore Allah can have no plurals, polytheism is wrong and Christianity is wrong because Jesus was not God’s son. Because Allah is one, he must always have been and always will be and he depends on no one but himself. Because Allah is one, the universe he created must be a unity. This is why following the way of Islam makes Muslims a united community (ummah). Surah 112 states, â€Å"Say, ‘He is God the One and Only, God the Eternal, Absolute; He   Muslim beliefs about Allah Essay Body Paragraphs begetteth not nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him.’ This means that Muslims reject the Christian belief in the Trinity and will not allow anything to interfere with Allah’s oneness. The belief in Allah’s oneness is called tawhid by Muslims and is the basis of all their beliefs about Allah. It is also the first part of the shahadah (first pillar, often called the Muslim creed) – ‘I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.’ Muslims believe that as there is only one God, it follows that Allah created everything. According to Muslim belief, Allah created the universe and humans in six days, though many Muslims would claim that one-day for God is not the same as one day for humans and therefore this could fit with the timescale of evolution. However, Muslims do not believe in evolution because everything was made directly by God for a particular purpose, and nothing came into being accidentally. As the one God who created everyt hing, Muslims believe that Allah has power over everything. (He is omnipotent.) The Qur’an calls Allah the All-powerful. Allah is in control of the universe he made and he has a plan for it. Muslims believe that nothing happens without Allah’s consent. Muslims believe that God is merciful and compassionate. He has not just left humans alone in the world to get on with things. He has sent prophets with holy books to show them how to live their lives and his justice means that they will only be judged on how far they have followed the teachings of the prophets and holy books. Muslims also believe that God’s mercy means that God will forgive people if they do not live up to everything in the holy books. If Muslims feel they have done something wrong, they will pray to God for forgiveness and either fast (sawm) or give money to the poor (sadaqah). Before they die all Muslims try to confess their sins and ask God to forgive them, so that they will not be sent to hell on the Day of Judgement. The Qur’an and Muhammad say that God will forgive Muslims if they are truly sorry for what they have done and are determined to do better in future. They will not be forgiven if they are only confessing in order to avoid hellfire. The sin of shirk As belief in the oneness of Allah is the central belief about God, so the greatest sin a Muslim can commit is shirk (associating other beings with God). For this reason Muslim mosques have no images and no pictures, only abstract art or calligraphy (beautiful writing of verses from the Qur’an). Some Muslims will not allow photographs as this might lead to shirk. They would especially not allow pop posters or football player posters, because hero worship is shirk. The ummah of Islam The oneness of God who created everything means that there must be a oneness (unity) in what God has created. Just as the universe is a unity, so the religious community of Islam should be a unity. This is why Muslims are called the ummah (religious community of Islam), which shows the unity of Islam. The unity of the ummah is shown in the following ways: when Muslims perform salah and stand in rows shoulder to shoulder, so all are equal. in zakah, where rich Muslims give money to help their poor Muslim brothers. in hajj, where Muslims from all over the world of many races and colours perform the same actions, wear the same clothes and say the same things. the fact that there is only one shari’ah (law) for all Muslims, wherever they live. There should be no quarrelling or fighting in Islam. Therefore those who do quarrel or fight do not really believe in tawhid. Islamic teaching on humans as khalifah The Qur’an says that Allah created Adam to be his khalifah (vice-regent or steward) to look after the world. Allah taught Adam the nature of all things and made the angels bow down to Adam. Muslims believe that this was because Adam had been given free will by Allah, which allowed Allah to teach him the nature of things. As khalifah of the earth with free will, Adam was different from the angels. Muslims believe that, as descendants of Adam, all humans have been put on this earth to be khalifah for God. They are to look after the world as God intended it to be done, which is by accepting the six beliefs and following the pillars and shari’ah as given in the Qur’an. If this is done properly, then the earth will become the sort of place God created it to be. Because Allah created people for this purpose, and in his mercy gave them the Qur’an and the examples of the prophets to live by, humans have no excuse for not being good khalifah. Therefore Allah is justified in judging them on the way they carry out their role as khalifah. Islamic teaching on al’Qadar and human freedom Al’Qadar (the Divine Decree) says that Allah has a plan for the universe and the power to make that plan come about. Allah will make happen what he wants to ha ppen. Islam teaches that Allah knows what will happen in the future and that what will happen is what Allah wants to happen. Therefore Muslims believe that Allah can interfere with what is happening in the world. They believe that he can protect his faithful servants. This means that whatever happens is part of Allah’s plan and even though it might not seem like it, eventually everything will work out all right. This belief in al’Qadar is why many Muslims use the phrase ‘insh’Allah’ (if Allah wills) a lot. Whatever happens will not be what they want, but what Allah wants. This causes problems for Muslims because it seems to mean that there is nothing we can do about things and therefore they must leave it all to Allah and just sit back. However, most Muslims believe in both Allah’s power and human freewill. Humans have to do what Allah wants of their own free will. Allah knows what people will do but they have the freedom to decide what to do . Most Muslims do not think about the implications and say ‘insh’Allah’ without thinking that it means they are not free. Islamic teaching on angels Muslims believe that angels were created directly by Allah, and are made of light and are sexless (though they have male names). They have no freewill and so cannot do evil. The chief angel is Jibrail (Gabriel) who gives God’s messages to the prophets. Mikail (Michael) looks after heaven and keeps the Devil out. Israfil is responsible for the Last Day and will sound the trumpet. Izrail is responsible for taking the last breath from the dying. Most Muslims believe that they have recording angels who write down everything they do for the Day of Judgement, and guardian angels who look after them if they are good Muslims. Islam teaches that Allah uses angels to communicate with humans via prophets. Islamic teaching on prophets Muslims believe that prophets are human beings called by God to give his message to huma ns. God makes them sinless after they become prophets, but they remain human. Adam was given the message of Islam as the sign of God’s mercy. He showed humans how they should live as Allah’s khalifah and so go to heaven, but his message was lost or distorted by humans and so God had to send another prophet, but with the same message. There were many prophets, but the main ones you have to study are: Ibrahim who was born into a polytheistic family, but came to believe in Allah and so broke all the statues of the gods in his tribe. He was condemned to be burnt to death for this, but Allah stopped the fire from touching him. Ibrahim had two sons, Ismail (who became the prophet for the Arabs), and Ishaq (who became the prophet for the Jews). Ibrahim was tested by Allah to sacrifice Ismail and the devil tempted him not to. Ibrahim stoned the devil and obeyed Allah. Allah gave Ibrahim a ram to sacrifice, and Ismail was saved. Ibrahim and Ismail rebuilt the Ka’aba, whi ch had been destroyed in Noah’s (Nuh) flood. Isa (Jesus) was born of the Virgin Mary, but was not the Son of God and was not crucified on the cross; someone else died in his place. Isa performed many miracles, was taken directly to heaven by God and will return again at the end of the world. The work of all these prophets was either forgotten or distorted, so that Islam had become Judaism or Christianity or Arab Bedouin polytheism. At this point Allah decided to call a prophet who would be given the message in a way that could not be distorted so that no more prophets would be needed. This was the prophet Muhammad. Muslims believe that Muhammad performed no miracles except for receiving the Qur’an, which was the final word of God, given to Muhammad in such a way that it could never again be distorted. This was Allah’s final word and enabled Muhammad to restore Islam. Muhammad has the same status as all the other prophets. Muslims are supposed to say Peace Be Upo n Him each time they mention a prophet’s name. Islamic belief in holy books Islam teaches that: ?Ibrahim was given Allah’s word in the holy book of the Scrolls of Ibrahim. ?Musa (Moses) was given Allah’s word in the holy book of Tawrat (Torah). ?Dawud (David) was given Allah’s word in the holy book of Zabur (Psalms). ?Isa (Jesus) was given Allah’s word in the holy book of Injil (Gospels). Some Muslims believe that each of these holy books contained the Qur’an, but most Muslims believe they only contained a part of the Qur’an. Each of these holy books was distorted and so they are no longer the original holy book. Muslims believe the Qur’an is Allah’s final word to humans, and so no other holy books are needed. The belief in Muhammad as the seal of the prophets What makes Muhammad different from the other prophets is that the Qur’an says that Muhammad is ‘the seal of the prophets’. Muslims believe that this means: Adam was given Allah’s message, but it was forgotten. So Ibrahim was given Allah’s message, but that was also forgotten. So Allah gave Musa the holy book of the Tawrat, but that was distorted. So he gave Dawud the Zabur, but that was distorted. So he gave Isa the Injil, but that was distorted. So he decided to give Muhammad his final word, the Qur’an, in a form that can never be distorted. Muhammad received the Qur’an in such a way that it will never be forgotten or distorted and so there will never be a need for another holy book. If there will never be a need for another holy book, there will never be another prophet. This means that Muhammad is the last of the prophets, acting like a seal at the end of Allah’s letter to humans. 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