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Origins
Muslims believe that Islam is the religion for all mankind
since the beginning of time. In the 7th century
AD in Arabia, there was a man called Muhammad who often
thought about the meaning of life and went to mountain
caves to meditate and pray. One day, God (Allah),
commanded Muhammad to ‘recite’ what was revealed to
him. His wife’s cousin, a religious person, told
Muhammad that it was a message from God. Throughout his
lifetime, he received similar messages, which were later
complied in the holy book of the Muslim, the ‘Quran’.
During that time, people worshipped many Gods. Muhammad
preached and taught them to worship one God (Allah). He
called mankind to obey and carry out Allah’s injunctions
(commandments), that is, to submit to God. ‘Islam’
means submission to the will of ‘Allah’.
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Basic Beliefs
All Muslims must believe in the following:
Belief in One God
To be a Muslim one has to believe that there in only one
God, Allah, and make a declaration of faith (Lalimah
Shahadah) in one God who is gracious, all-powerful and
merciful.
Belief in God’s Angel
Muslims believe that angels, beings who have never
disobeyed the commands of God, have been created from
light. All Muslim are required to know the names of the
ten main angels.
Belief in the Revealed Books of God
Muslims believe that the Quran is the last of the Revealed
Books of God. It contains all Islamic teachings as
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic.
Belief in God’s Messengers
Muslims also believe that besides the Prophet Muhammad,
God had also sent many other messengers to guide mankind
to lead a life free from sin.
Belief in Predestination
Muslims believe that nothing can happen without the will
and knowledge of God. God knows the destiny of every
creature- its present, past and future.
Belief in the Day of
Judgment
and in Life After Death
Muslims believe that on an appointed day (Last Day) the
world and all in it will come to an end. Thereafter, all
human beings will be brought back to life again on the Day
of Judgment. The entire record of everyone ‘s good or
bad actions will be presented before God.
Those who were good in this life will be sent to Paradise,
whereas those who disobeyed God’s commands and
lived unjustly will be sent to hell as a punishment.
Unlike the life on this earth, the life after death is
eternal. As a Muslim believes that he is held accountable
to God for his actions, whenever he wants to carry out an
action, he has to God-consciousness and it helps the
Muslims live a decent and peaceful life on earth.
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