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Islam

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1. One God

• "Allah" (simply the Arabic language word for "the God") is the same God worshiped by Jews and Christians. Allah is singular, great and powerful, compassionate and merciful, perfect.

• Islam is a strict monotheism - Tawhid (oneness), God is one and unique.

• To associate anyone or anything with God (e.g., a "Son of God" or concept of the Trinity) is to commit "shirk" (association), the worst sin. No idol worship in Islam - to safeguard against making idols of God�s creatures no images of the Creator or His creation, no painting or other art forms of natural creatures (thus Islamic art expresses itself through calligraphy, architecture and geometric designs).

• God is said to have "99 names" found in Quran; each name identifying a different aspect of God e.g., "Creator," "Beneficent," "Merciful," "Truth," "Beauty," "The One," etc.

2. Angels and other spiritual beings (e.g., Jinn and Satan ["Iblis"]) in the heavens and the hells.

• Islam teaches that Allah created three kinds of intelligent beings:

• Humans were created from earth (as we read in the creation of Adam in Genesis) and have freewill to follow or reject the will of God. Only humans are physical creatures.

• Angels were created from light and, as messengers of God, do not have freewill. They have no choice but to obey God

• Jinn (better known as Genies) were created from fire and, like humans, have freewill to obey or disobey God's will. Thus Jinn can be either good or evil. The Thousand and One Tales of the Arabian Nights contains many stories involving Jinn. Jinn, like Angels, are non-physical (although they can take on a physical appearance). 

• Although there is some debate within Islam, generally, Satan is not considered to be a "fallen Angel" (as Christianity teaches) since angels cannot defy God. Satin may simply be one of the evil Jinn.

• including many figures from the Bible (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, Jesus) along with Muhammad himself as the "seal of the prophets" (the final prophet needed by humanity). Additional prophets from Arabian culture as well as "others you know not of" are also mentioned in Quran.

• Jesus is respected and revered by Islam as one of the greatest prophets. Islam teaches that Jesus did not die on the cross but ascended bodily into heaven and expects the "second coming". Islam also recognizes the virgin birth (because it is discussed in the Quran). Mary and Jesus are both spoken of in Quran, verifying much of the Gospel story (Surah 19 - Mary, Surah 43:63, Surah 61 - Jesus)

Poster: What Do Muslims Think About Jesus?

• Messengers are special prophets who bring a new revelation to humanity thus starting a new religion. Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were messengers as well as prophets. Other prophets merely speak within the context of the old religion. Thus: all messengers are prophets but not all prophets are messengers.

4. Holy books

• Islam recognizes not only the Quran but also Torah, Psalms and the Gospels as the revealed "word" of the same God.

• According to Islamic teaching, the original word of God in Torah and Gospels has been distorted over time by human mistranslation and interpretation. For this reason, the Quran is maintained in its original language so as to avoid the same errors. "In so far" as the Torah and Gospels are in agreement with Quran, they are deemed as valid as the Quran.

5. Decrements - perhaps the most difficult concept to comprehend, as there is no equivalent concept or term in English. 

• Essentially: Allah, being omnipotent and omniscient, controls our initial condition (i.e., the conditions of our birth) and our [individual and communal] ultimate destiny (e.g., the time and circumstances of our death). But we make freewill choices along the way. Muslims accept whatever happens to them, beyond their control, as the "will of God." That which is beyond human control (e.g., hair, eye, or skin color, race, or national origin) humans are not held accountable for or judged by. Aligning ourselves with (submitting to) God�s will brings peace (Islam).

6. Afterlife: As regards the afterlife, Muslims believe in...

• Resurrection of the dead

• Judgment day - no "original sin," each individual is judged according to how well s/he has obeyed the will of God

• Degrees of heaven and hell (since Allah is merciful, the liar is not judged as harshly as the mass murderer)

At Judgment Day the dead will be resurrected. Soul and body are restored and the person is judged to go to some degree of heaven or hell. No one knows what happens to the soul between death and resurrection. It is presumed to be like going to sleep and waking up after a sound sleep not knowing how much time has passed (from the perspective of the dead person there is no time between death and resurrection)

Poster: What Do Muslims Believe In?