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P5-FoundationsOfFaith-Sp18b1.pptxIntroduction to Islam
The Foundations of Islamic Beliefs (Arkaan-ul-Eiman)
(Articles of Faith)
Course: REL 233
NOVA Community College
Professor: Dr. Daoud Nassimi
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The Foundations of Islamic Beliefs
The foundations of Islamic beliefs (Arkaan-ul-Eiman) are to believe in:
Allah (God)
Angels
Books/Scriptures
Messengers
Life after death and Day of Judgment
Divine decree and measured plan (Qadaa and Qadar)
They can also be called “Articles of Faith” or “Pillars of Faith” or “Main Tenets of Islamic Faith”
Sometimes, they are summarized into 3 parts: Belief in God, Prophethood, and Next Life (Tawheed, Risaalah, and Akhirah)
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
First Article: Belief in Allah
Belief in Allah as …
The only God of the whole universe and all human beings
The Only One worthy of worship, servitude, and unconditional obedience
The only source of life, peace, mercy, any good, any help, etc.
He is described through His names, attributes, and descriptions in the Qur’an and by the prophet
This article is already covered under “Concept of God in Islam”
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Second Article: Belief in Angels
Muslims believe in the existence and functions of angels as:
Special living creatures that are invisible to human beings
They are created only to obey and perform all kinds of duties in addition to natural laws
But, they are not meant to help Allah or to have any kind of partnership with Him
They are made from light and have wings
They have no physical needs, such as eating, drinking, sleeping, etc., but they are active all the time through the energy that they receive from God in special ways
Angels are always in state of obedience and worship of Allah
They are innocent and pure
They mostly stay in heavens, but descend to earth for duties
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Belief in Angels
There are distinct angels assigned to every individual to guard, help, and monitor every human being all the time
But, two angels are appointed right after the age of puberty for recording of sayings and actions
Angels can be seen in special circumstances by prophets and by some exceptional individuals, usually in human form whenever God wants to
Angels will be seen by every human being at the moment of death ( while taking away the soul)
They will visibly interact with human beings in the next life
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
God’s Revelation through Angel
Chief Angel: Gabriel, assigned for bringing revelations and guidance from God to the prophets
Fulfilling a major need of humanity
The need for guidance
The need to explain the purpose of life and to answer all other important questions of life that human beings cannot answer themselves
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Third Article: Belief in Books of God
Muslims believe that God has sent books of guidance to humanity all along the history
Allah guided and educated the first human being directly
Subsequently, He kept sending revelations (instructions, scriptures, or books) on a regular basis
Revelations were sent through angels to some selected individuals throughout history
Whenever the contents of a revelation (message) was significantly distorted or lost, a new revelation was sent to revive it
The four most recent books of God (in addition to many other scriptures to previous messengers) are:
Towraat/Torah (the book that was originally sent to Moses)
Zaboor/ Psalms (the book that was originally given to David)
Injeel/Gospels (the book that was originally sent to Jesus)
Qur’an (sent to Muhammad)
Muslims believe only in the original forms of the books before the Qur’an
According to Qur’an, the current forms of those books include distorted teachings and different people’s opinions
Qur’an being the final book and its need for preservation
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
The Bible (King James version) consists of Old Testament and New Testament. The Old Testament includes 39 books. The first 5 of these are referred to as Torah which are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. According to Islam, this Torah is not exactly the same as the original Torah, but it still contains a lot of the teachings of the original Torah. The current version of book of Psalms is also not the same as the original and it a part of the Old Testament now.
The New Testament consists of 27 books. The first 4 books/gospels (by John, Mark, Mathew, and Luke) are the closest to Injeel. They are not the same as Injeel, but they still contain a lot of the teachings of Injeel. The Bible as it currently stands is a collection of writings of various people, written over hundreds of years by various people, assembled by various councils of scholars, then translated and retranslated to give us the book that we have today.
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Fourth Article: Belief in Prophets
God selected some individuals throughout human history to be His prophets
God sent revelation/guidance to each one of them
So they can pass it to others, teach it, and become practical embodiment of the guidance and role models for others
Selection of Prophets
Allah selected the most noble individuals as His prophets (with His advance plan, but with no prior knowledge by those individuals)
At some point of their life, Allah sent an angel to inform them of their selection
After that, Allah continued to communicate with them until the end of their mission
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Difference of a Prophet and a Messenger
A Prophet (Nabee):
Anyone selected to receive revelation from God and charged with guidance of others
New prophets usually receive the original teachings that were sent to previous prophets so that they can revive them and correct the distortions
Messenger (Rasool):
A special prophet who receives a new message/book and a new set of rulings (Shari’ah) to convey in addition to above
Therefore, every messenger is a prophet, but not every prophet is a messenger
All of them are referred to as prophets, in general
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Prophets
Allah sent a prophet to every community of the earth throughout history until a certain point
Adam: First human being and first prophet
Other prophets: Noah, Enoch (Idris), Hud, Saleh, Abraham (Ibrahim), Lot (Loot), Ishmael (Ismael), Isaac (Ishaq), Jacob (Yaqub), Joseph (Yusuf), Job (Ayub), Jonah (Younus), Moses (Musa), Aaron (Haroon), David (Daoud), Solomon (Sulaiman), Zakaria (Zikria), John the Baptist (Yahya), Jesus (Eisa), Muhammad, etc.
Five special prophets (with high determination): Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.
Muhammad: Last prophet
Muhammad came about 600 years after Jesus with no other prophet between them
Only 25 of them mentioned by name in Qur’an, but Qur’an confirms that many other prophets were sent who are not mentioned in it
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Total number of prophets (according to a narration, not fully authentic though)
124,000 prophets
315 messengers
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Some Common Attributes of All Prophets
All of the prophets …
Received revelations from a single and common source (God/Allah)
Had the same mission and message, in general
Taught the same tenets of belief to others
Presented good news and warnings
Confirmed and supported each other
Were perfect examples and models for others
While they performed in the best level, they received Allah’s extra protection from any sins and deviations so they can be models
Had great character traits, complete honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, nobility, lots of wisdom, excellent memories, and superb intelligence*
Had no greed for worldly gains, not asking for any wages, and not seeking any admiration from people
Went through very difficult trials and extreme hardships
Showed miracles and brought humanly unmatched message
Note the difference between them and other leaders
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
This is very different from how some prophets are depicted in the Bible.
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Belief in all Prophets and their Examples
Belief in all prophets (with no exception) is required for every Muslim
All prophets are the best human examples for following God’s teachings
Muslims take all prophets as role models
Some prophets have become role models in certain areas of life, for example:
Adam in seeking repentance to God and fighting Satan
Noah in his steadfastness for the longest to invite people to God
Abraham in establishing oneness of God
Joseph (Yusuf) in fighting sexual temptations
Moses in struggling against a tyrant and oppression
Job (Ayoob) in showing patience during afflictions
David and Solomon as powerful and just rulers
Jesus in showing special powers of God and fighting religious hypocrites
Prophet Muhammad as the final and full model
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
5th Article: Belief in Life after Death and Day of Judgment
Belief in next life is a major part of Islamic beliefs
Muslims believe that after death, every human being will come back to life for accountability followed by rewards and punishment in an eternal life
It will happen after this world is overturned and a new world is created
With lots of emphasis in Qur’an
One third of Qur’an covering next life
With lots of details and graphic descriptions
Next Life is meant to:
Confirm the purpose of life
Fulfill God’s plan for human beings, and
Establish full justice (while God is extremely merciful)
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Different Stages of Next Life
Death of people before end of the world
End of this world and death of all
Start of new world with new order
Resurrection of all human beings
Day of Judgment
Eternal life
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Death
Every human being has to die
The past generations, the current and future generations
Life of this world is meant to have a temporary nature
A preparatory stage for next and eternal life
Time of death of every individual is predetermined by Allah
Death is not the end of life, but the end of only a stage of life and a transition to another stage
Only human body is dying, but the soul is not dying
Soul is taken intact by designated angels to the next stage
Seeing signs of future destiny at the moment of death
Having a transition period in grave between death and resurrection, called Barzakh
Soul having relative joy or relative suffering during this period depending on one’s lifestyle in this world
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
End of this World and Later Stages
1. End of this world is decided by God (signaled by first trumpet):
Disarrangement and overturn of the current physical system of the earth and heavens
Its time predetermined by Allah and only known to Him
Death of all creatures, including angels
2. For a certain period after this stage, only God will be alive
3. After that, another world with new physical system and new physical laws will be set up
4. Resurrection of angels
5. Resurrection of Human beings (signaled by second trumpet):
A all dead people of former and latter generations will be recreated
Resurrection in both body and soul (re-creation of human bodies, and joining of preserved souls to new bodies)
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Day of Judgment
International Court Hearing for all generations of humanity
Everyone who lived on this earth stands before God for accountability
God is the only Judge and Ruler
The biggest and most important day for all human beings
A very long Day with multiple stages
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Some Basic Principles of Judgement
Absolute justice guaranteed for everyone
Mercy and forgiveness beyond what people deserve, but no extra punishment and no injustice
Reward for every good deed is multiplied by 10, and sin for every bad deed is multiplied by one
Full consideration for people’s circumstances in this world
No responsibility beyond one’s individual capacity and abilities in this life
Too late to regret and believe at that time (after lifetime opportunities in this world)
Every single individual has to go through it
Full accountability for all aspects of one’s life, including all kinds of benefits and harms to others
All actions, including the smallest amount of good deeds and bad deeds will be shown
The sins that are already forgiven because of repentance will still be shown, but not judged again
For all actions, accountability based on intentions and efforts
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Judgment Criteria
Performance evaluation of everyone in the life of this world
Two main criteria for success: Belief and good deeds
Belief in God, next life, prophets/books
Actions and lifestyle based on requirements of beliefs
Importance of both beliefs and actions, and their order for salvation
Beliefs are a must, but not sufficient without actions
With consideration for degree of beliefs and degree of obedience
Beliefs and actions of people are judged based on the teachings of God through His latest prophet for any generation of humanity and any location of the world
For those people who did not know about the latest teachings of God
Judgement will be based on the available and accessible knowledge of God’s teachings to them, and how sincerely they tried to accept and practice that knowledge
But, belief in God is expected of everyone due to built-in belief in the human innate nature
Those with no such knowledge will go through some tests in there
A universal judgment system
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Judgment Day Steps
Resurrection of everyone (in both body and soul) - coming out of grave and standing
Angels leading people to the court
Everyone standing and waiting for start of Judgment
Prophets and their respective communities
Individual questioning and reckoning before God
Display of all deeds (small and big)
Presence of all kinds of evidences and witnesses, such as Book of deeds. angels, prophets, and organs of body speaking
Justice for all people: Settling all disputes and all injustices to others
Scale of overall good deeds and bad deeds: Judgment based on net result of overall performance
Note: All of above steps are taken for human beings to witness the justice of God, and they are not meant to help God in His Judgment
Decision of reward and punishment
Announcement of final decision and destination
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Two Destinations
1. Paradise/heaven (Al-Jannah) - a glance to its description in Qur’an:
Achieving ultimate peace, happiness, and pleasure
Perfect atmosphere and temperature
Highest luxuries for housing, foods, drinks, etc.
Socialization and highest forms of entertainments
No dullness, no sickness, and no aging
Getting whatever one wishes
Highest pleasure will happen in seeing God and angels glorifying Him
Different levels - lowest level far better than the best of this world
All who made it, would be very humble and grateful to God
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Why materialistic luxuries in paradise although not considered good in this world?
Islam and all prophets discouraged their followers from attaching their hearts to the materialistic aspects of life in this world simply because the materialist life of this world is deluding. The base desires and Satan can tempt human with these luxuries to fail the tests of life. Not only, it does not satisfy human, but it causes all kinds of problems for him/her, as well.
However, the world of heaven/paradise offers all the materialistic luxuries with full satisfaction for human and without causing any problem. This is because the heaven is directly managed by God Himself, and not by human. Further, God takes away all negative feelings and desires out of human's hearts and minds when they go to heaven.
Also, the life of heaven is not temporary, but it is forever. So, those people who control their greed in this world and sacrifice some of their desires, they get a much better replacement.
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Two Destinations
2. Hellfire (Jahannum/Naar): A glance to its description in the Qur’an
Before entering Hellfire, they admit …
Receiving the message of God and rejecting it
Not using their human faculties properly
Deserving the punishment before entering
Once entered, very severe and humiliating punishment starts
Mental and emotional pain as well as physical pain
Fire all around, boiling water for drinking, and bitter food
Screaming and crying, but no help and no ability to get out
Continuous punishment and feeling of pain, and no more death
Several levels, with the lowest (most painful) for hypocrites
If a person died as a believer, but had more bad deeds than good deeds, would move to paradise after the due punishment
Also, there is a place called A’raf (The Heights) between Paradise and Hell. The people of A'raf are those who are neither righteous enough to enter paradise nor wicked enough to be cast into Hell. They will dwell between the two destinations for a temporary period, but they will end up to paradise eventually (See Verses 7:46-49).
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
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Some Benefits of Belief in Next Life and Accountability
Belief in next life makes life more meaningful
By making the purpose, vision, and direction of this life clear
It leads people to a responsible and dutiful life in this world by focusing on implications of every decision, choice, saying, and action
It motivates people to strive for success
It makes them to control their greed and lusts, and resist their temptations
It helps to manage favors and difficulties of life
It takes away fear of death
It leads to peace and hope in life
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
If people start believing in next life and accountability, they will have to change their habits and lifestyles, which most people do not want to do. Thus to avoid the feeling of guilt over their current carefree lifestyle, people just deny the reality of the Day of Judgment.
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Belief in God Leading to Belief in Next Life
If people believe in an all-Knowing, all-Powerful and all-Wise God, they should easily believe in the next life because …
How would a wise God create this sophisticated world and life without a bigger purpose?
How can all of the creation be for play and idle?
How would God allow all of the human injustices in this world without a plan for justice?
How would God make the end of criminals and righteous people the same by turning both to dust without establishing the justice someday?
How would God give all kinds of favors and authority to human beings without any responsibility and accountability?
If God created human with ability to judge and desire for justice, how would the Creator Himself not want to judge and establish justice?
Can one doubt the ability of God to bring the human back to life?
If God created the life for the first time, isn’t the second creation easier?
Isn’t the creation of this universe much bigger than the creation or recreation of human?
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Qur’an explains evidence of next life in nature and history
Qur’an explains occurrence of next life with evidence in nature and history
Repeated examples of a dry/dead land becoming alive by rain with plants and vegetation
Bringing life from dead and its reverse in both plants and animals – a continuous event
Bringing some dead human beings back to life has also happened in history
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
This Life and Next Life
Considering this world in isolation of next world, life of this world does not make sense due to the problems, difficulties, imperfections, injustices, cruelty, sickness, famines, disasters, and human sufferings. The inequality and unfairness in the world is substantial. There is discrimination, economic inequality, tyranny, and abuse. Criminals often evade the justice system and get away with crimes. Death itself seems to be unfair and cruel without this belief.
But by keeping the temporary nature of this world in view and seeing it from the perspective of the eternal next world where perfect justice will be carried out for everyone, a clear and sensible picture emerges that shows the profundity of the plan and demonstrates God’s kindness and mercy for human beings.
This temporary world complements next world by providing practical grounds and evidence to segregate people into those to be rewarded and those to be punished, so that no one can challenge the judgment awarded and so that justice is not only done, but also seen to be done.
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
6th Article: Belief in Divine Decree and Plan (Qadaa and Qadar)
Literally, Qadaa means decree, and Qadar means measure/plan
Qadaa and Qadar means decree based on a due measure (a plan and calculation)
Qadaa and Qadar of Allah means that Allah has decreed everything and every event in the universe based on a due measure (a design, schedule, calculation, plan, and coordination)
Belief in Qadaa and Qadar is having certainty about the active role of Allah in all events that happen in the world and in people’s lives, and acknowledging that
Allah has advance and absolute knowledge about the future and all of its events
Allah has full control of the universe and if anything happens, it is because He has allowed it to happen
Allah has provided measured characteristics for everything within an overall plan
Note the use of “Taqdeer” and “Naseeb” as related common terms among Muslims. Taqdeer is coming from Qadar, and Naseeb means a share or targeted share.
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
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Human’s Free Will vs Qadaa & Qadar
About the role of human beings in the events that happen in their lives and in the world, often there are two extreme views:
Claiming control on all aspects of life (rejecting Allah’s role in anything)
Lack of human role in anything (believing that everything is predetermined by God)
One can avoid such extreme views by distinguishing between two kinds of events or aspects of life
Those that are predetermined by God
Others which are left for human choice (esp. in the areas of belief and actions)
Human accountability will be only for areas and events of choice
Note that since God has granted free will to human beings, one can say that whatever human decides is based on God’s will or permission*
However, people cannot blame God for their own wrong decisions
Further, human’s free will has a limit, such as:
In spite of free will, sometimes we can not do everything that we want to do
Also, many other things happen beyond our will and control
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
* Note that there is a huge difference between 'God's will' and 'God's pleasure'. The failure to differentiate between the two often gives rise to serious misconceptions. If a certain thing takes place in accord with the universal will of God, and thus by His sanction, that does not necessarily mean that God is pleased with it. This is because nothing at all takes place in the world unless God permits it to take place, unless He makes it a part of His scheme, and unless He makes it possible for that event to take place by creating its necessary conditions. The act of stealing on the part of a thief, the act of homicide on the part of a murderer, the wrong and corruption of a wrong-doer, the unbelief of the unbeliever and the polytheism of the polytheist - none of these are possible without the will of God. Likewise, the faith of the believer and the piety of the pious are inconceivable without the will of God. In short, both these require the will of God. But whereas the things in the first category do not please Him, those in the second do.
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Implications of Belief in Qadaa & Qadar
Some implications of this belief are:
Realizing infinite power and knowledge of Allah
Realizing human’s limitations and weaknesses
Therefore, one needs to focus on 3 steps (in all situations and future plans):
Pure intentions
Human efforts and duties, in general
Duties as a believer/Muslim, in particular
Then, accepting any unexpected results and other events beyond one’s control, and having confidence on wisdom of Allah
“… You may dislike something although it is good for you, or you may like something although it is bad for you: Allah knows and you do not know” (2:216)
“No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in a Book before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah. (Remember this reality) in order that you may not despair over what you lose or matters that pass you by, nor exult over favors bestowed upon you”. [57:22-23]
Developing patience and perseverance
Showing a balanced approach
Achieving contentment and peace
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Summary of Foundations of Islamic Beliefs (Articles of Faith)
The first and main part of belief system in Islam is belief in God
Proper knowledge and reflection about God lead to believe in the remaining articles of faith
God’s guidance: God has definitely sent guidance to humanity introducing Himself and answering some basic questions of life
- Leading to belief in angels, books, and prophets
God’s wisdom and justice:
There must be a higher purpose behind the creation of this world and human life
God will definitely establish full justice among human beings someday
Both reasons leading to belief in next life
God’s active role: Having infinite powers and eternal knowledge about the life of everyone and everything that happens in the world - Leading to belief in Qada and Qadar
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
Summary of Foundations of Islamic Beliefs (Articles of Faith)
Basis of all beliefs in Islam: Confirming some important attributes of God and recognizing His mercy and favors
Significance of order of the 6 articles and their sequence
Significance of completeness of faith and its strength
Consequences of belief and disbelief in any of these articles
"Intro to Islam" at NOVA - Dr. Nassimi
