The word
“Islam” is an Arabic word which means “submission to the will of God”. A
follower or adherent to Islam is called a Muslim which means one who submits
(to Allah)
Islam is a
monotheistic religion (also known as an Abrahamic religion) and was the way of
all the prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ismael, Isaac, Moses, David and
Jesus – Peace be upon them all. Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final
messenger. All these Prophets taught the belief in One God, Allah. Muslims also
believe that many of these prophets came with divine scriptures such as the
scrolls of Abraham, the Torah given to Moses and the Gospel (or more specifically
the Injeel) given to Jesus (Eesa) – peace be upon them all. The final divinely
revealed scripture was given to the final messenger Muhammad – peace be upon
him – namely the Quran.
Declaration of Faith
Every Muslim
has to utter the Declaration/Testimony (Arabic: Shahadah). The Shahadah reads
as follows:
I bear witness that
there is no other deity to be worshipped except Allah and I bear witness that
Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final messenger.
Angels
Allah created
angels who have no ability to act of their own free will. They do as commanded
and different angels fulfil different responsibilities.
Scriptures
As mentioned
earlier, Muslims believe that over time Allah revealed scriptures to various
messengers. Muslims, however, adhere strictly only to the teachings of Quran as
the final revelation.
Prophets and Messengers
It is an
article of faith for Muslims to accept and love all the Prophets and messengers
(peace be upon them all) that were sent by Allah. These include Adam, Noah,
Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them all)
Life After Death
Muslims believe
that there will be a great day when we will be resurrected from death and
brought to account for our life here on earth. There will be some who will
enter paradise and others will enter hell.
Good and Bad
Allah is the
All-powerful. He possesses the knowledge of everything and is All-aware,
All-hearing and All-seeing. Man was created with an intellect and the ability
to choose. From the choices of man, he commits sin and he does good. Allah has
the power to allow good and bad.