What do Muslims Believe in?

1. One God: Muslims believe in the One, Unique, Incomparable, Merciful God, the Sole Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher of the Universe. Muslims prefer to use the Arabic name for God, “Allah”, because it has no plural, feminine or diminutive that could be associated with idolatry (i.e. gods, goddesses or semi-gods).

2. The Angels: Muslims believe that Allah created the angels such that they cannot commit sins nor do they have gender.

3. The Prophets: With the belief that Allah sent His messengers and prophets to all people, Muslims faithfully accept Biblical prophets, also mentioned in the Qur’an, including Adam, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, David, and Jesus (peace be upon them all). All prophets were human beings like us who, as chosen examples for their people, committed no grave sin. Muslims accept Jesus as a prophet, believe in his virgin birth, and pay utmost respect to him. His name (Isa) is mentioned in the Qur’an almost a hundred times.

4. The Books: To believe in the Holy Books of Allah that were sent before the Qur’an and in the Qur’an as the final words from Allah is a pillar of the Muslim faith. The Qur’an was revealed to the last prophet, Muhammad, through the Archangel Gabriel. It confirmed and finalized all previous revelations that were sent to humankind through Allah’s messengers. The Qur’an is a miracle in many ways including that its meanings still apply in modern times.

5. Predestination and Divine Decree: A Muslim believes in the predestination (al-qadr), which relates to the ultimate power of Allah. It means Allah is the Omniscience, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent. He has knowledge and power to execute His plans. Allah is not indifferent to this world. Allah is the Wise, Just, and Loving, and whatever He does has wisdom though we may sometimes fail to fully comprehend it.

6. Resurrection: The following verse explains the significance of believing in the principles of faith including the Last Day:

“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards east or west; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which you have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing.” (Baqarah, 2/177).