What do Muslims believe?

Muslims believe in One Unique, Incomparable God; in the Angels created by Him; in the prophets through whom His revelations were brought to mankind; in the Day of Judgement and individual accountability for actions; in God’s complete authority over human destiny and in life after death. Muslims believe in a chain of prophets starting with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus, peace be upon them. But God’s final message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message and a summing-up of all that has gone before was revealed to the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) through Gabriel.

How does someone become a Muslim? Simply by saying ‘there is no deity apart from God, and Muhammed is the Messenger of God’. By this declaration the believer announces his or her faith in all God’s messengers, the scriptures they brought and their teachings.

Each of these beliefs will be discussed further:

1. Muslims believe in One God “Allah”, Supreme and Eternal, Infinite and Mighty, Merciful and Compassionate, Creator and Provider.

2. Muslims believe in a chain of prophets starting with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael. Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus, peace he upon them. Muslims believe in all messengers of Allah without any discrimination among them. Every known nation had a warner or messenger from Allah who were chosen by Allah to teach mankind and deliver His Divine message. But God’s final message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message and a summing-up of all that has gone before was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel.

3. A Muslim believes in all the scriptures and revelations of Allah. They were the guiding light which the messengers received to show their respective peoples the Right Path of Allah. In the Qur’an (Muslims holy book), special reference is made to the books of Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus. But long before the revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad, some of those books and revelations were lost or corrupted. The only authentic and complete book of Allah in existence today is the Qur’an.

4. A Muslim believes in the angels of Allah. They are a pure creation and are splendid beings whose nature requires no food, drink or sleep. They spend their days and nights in the worship of Allah and in implementing His commands.

5. A Muslim believes in the Day of Judgement. This world will come to an end someday, and the dead will rise to stand for their final and fair trial. People with good records will be generously rewarded and warmly welcomed to the Heaven of Allah, and those with bad records will be punished and cast into Hell.

6. A Muslim believes in the timeless knowledge of Allah and in His power to design and execute His plans, and that nothing could happen in His Kingdom against His Will. His knowledge and power are in action at all times and in full command over His creation. He is wise and merciful, and whatever He does must have a meaningful purpose. If this is established in our minds and hearts, we should accept with good faith all that He does, although we may fail to understand it fully, or think it is bad.