Articles of Faith

 

(iman)

 

 Six Articles of Islamic Faith
– In addition to Five Pillars of Islamic Practice
– Together, make up Aqidah (“creed”)
 Having Iman (“to fully observe one’s faith”)
– Belief in the heart
– Profession by the tongue
– Performance of the deeds
 Without the articles of faith, there is
no context for the pillars of practice
To Believe in Oneness of
God (Allah)
 Monotheism (tawhid = “divine unity”)
– God is absolute, a single inseparable unity
– One God à Same God for Jews, Christians, Muslims
– Allah: is a proper name, but the Arabic word for “God”
– “99 Names of God”: found throughout the Qur’an
{Monotheism (Tawheed), Polytheism (Shirk)}
 God has “no associate or partner”
– Muslims reject the Christian concept of “Trinity”
– God cannot become human; humans cannot be God
“He begets not, nor is He begotten”
– Consider Jesus a great prophet, but not divine
The categories of Tawheed
 Tawheed – ar- Rububiyyah
Unity of Lordship
 Tawheed –a- - asmaa was- sifaat
Unity of Allah’s names and attributes
 Tawheed al-’eebadah
Unity of worship
Tawheed – ar- Rububiyyah
Unity of Lordship
 Rububiyah is an Arabic word that is difficult to translate into English. It carries the senses of creating, sustaining, cultivating, and cherishing.
 The Quran tells us that God is the Rabb of all the worlds and of everything in them. Thus rububiyyah refers to God as Creator and Sustainer.
Tawheed –a- - asmaa was- sifaat
Unity of Allah’s names and attributes

 اللَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ لَهُ الأسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى
Allah! there is no god but He! To Him belong the most Beautiful Names.
020.008 (Ta-Ha [Mystic letters Ta-Ha])
 This category of Tawheed helps us to understand who our Creator is through His Names and Attributes. Through His Names and Attributes we know that Allah is far beyond our imagination and bears no resemblance to human beings
Tawheed al-’eebadah
Unity of worship

 إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
Thee alone do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.
001:005(Al-Fatiha [The Opening])
 ‘Abd’ means slave or servant
 As Muslims, we should serve, obey, worship Allah alone.!

Polytheism (Al-Shirk) الشِّرْكَ
 Shirk is the opposite of Tawheed
 ‘Shirk’ literally means associating partners with Allah.
 وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لابْنِهِ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُ يَا بُنَيَّ لا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ
 إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ
Behold, Luqman said to his son by way of instruction: "O my son! join not in worship (others) with Allah: for false worship is indeed the highest wrong-doing."
031.013 (Luqman [Luqman])
Shirk of Rububiyyah
Belief that others share in Allah’s Lordship
 Christianity – Jesus and the Holy spirit share in Allah’s Lordship.
 Hinduism – Brahma (creator) , Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer) share in Lordship.
 Ancestors are given Lordship in tribal religion.
 Buddhism, Communism. Atheism – Allah’s Lordship is denied.
 Anyone who denies that Allah creates life.
Shirk in Asma and Safaat
Belief that others have Allah’s attributes and qualities
 Giving Allah human qualities.

فَاطِرُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَمِنَ الأنْعَامِ أَزْوَاجًا يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).
042.011 (Ash-Shura [Council, Consultation]
Shirk of ‘ebaadiyah
Belief in worship of others along with Allah
1. Al-Shirk al-Jali
 Idol worship
 Praying to Jesus
 Worship to Sun, Moon, sky, stars and other phenomena of the nature etc.
2. Al-Shirk al-khafi
 During prayer diverting of concentration
 Raising name of others during worship
 During worship to think about self
To Believe in the Unseen
 Angels
– God’s messengers; reveal messages to Prophets
 Ex: Angel Gabriel revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad
– No free will; sole purpose is serving God
– Accompany, guide, and protect people at all times
“He sends down His angels with inspiration of His commands to such of His servants as He pleases”
 Spirits (Jinn)
– Spiritual beings, with free will
– Thus can be good or evil
To Believe in Prophethood-1
 Prophets (nabi ) and Messengers (rasul )
– Prophets speak God’s words to people orally.
“These(Prophets) were then men to whom We gave the book, and Authority and Prophethood….” (6:89)
– Messengers record God’s words in book form.
– So, not all prophets are messengers,
but all messengers are also prophets.
 Prophets(عليهم السلام) have Universal message
“Nor a messenger did We send before you without this inspiration sent by Us to him: that there is no god but I. therefore worship and serve Me” (21:25)
 Conformation that message by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
To Believe in Prophethood-2
 Prophets granted by special qualities & power
– Jesus was awarded to treat the lepers, blind and giving life to the dead.
– David, in his hand iron got softened,
– Joseph, he interpreted dreams,
– Moses controlled magic,
 Muslims believe in 124,000 prophets
– “Chain of Prophets”: Adam was first; Muhammad was last
 Also incl. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Jesus, etc.
– All transmit same basic message throughout history
 Certain prophets were sent to specific groups/nations
The Essentials of Prophethood
The essentials of Prophethood common to all of the Prophets are, according to the theologians, as follows:

• Truthfulness.
• Trustworthiness.
• Communication of God’s commands.
• Intelligence.
• Infallibility.
• Freedom from all kinds of bodily and mental defects.

To Believe in Revelation
 Holy Books
– Revealed scriptures; messages from God
– Different languages, different cultures, different eras
– But same basic message, culminating in the Qur’an
“……has not a clear sign came to them (confirming) of all that was in the former books of revelation?” (20:133)
 Progressive Revelation
– Books of Moses, Psalms of David, Gospels of Jesus
– Ultimately the Qur’an, revealed through Muhammad
“ ……a promise binding on Him in Truth though the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran……” (9:11)
To Believe in the Day of Judgment
 Resurrection of the Dead
– At the end of time, all people will be raised
– Everyone is held accountable for his/her own deeds
“Anyone who denies God, His angles, His books, His messengers and the Day of Judgement has gone far, far astray” (4:136)
 Judgment / Afterlife
– Everyone is judged based on one’s life/actions on earth
– If good deeds does greater than bad deeds:
 Reward à eternal life with God in heaven/paradise/garden
– If bad deeds outweigh good deeds:
 Punishment à in everlasting fires of hell
To Believe in the Divine Decree
 Human Nature / Free Will
– Everyone has knowledge & ability to choose
between right & wrong, and so is held responsible
– Yet God has correct fore-knowledge of everyone’s path

 Destiny / Fate / Predestination
– God wrote down our destiny in the “Preserved Tablet”
– God knows what our nature will cause us to do
 A person’s actions are not caused by what God has written
 But God is omniscient à God knows in advance