Beliefs

Islam has seven main beliefs. It goes as follows, "Amantu bil lahi wa mala-ikatihi wa kutubihi wa rasulihi wal yowm ul akhiri wal qadri, khayrihi wa sharihi min Allahi ta'ala wal ba'ith ba'ed al mowt."

In English it means, "I believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, Measurement, both the good and the bad are from Allah the exalted, and in life after death."

1. Allah. This is the name for "God" in Arabic. Allah is not a human, not a male and not a female. We only say the term "He" when referring to Him because there is no "It" in Arabic.


2. Angels: They are not human, nor male or female. They are the servants of Allah and never rebel against him. We believe in a devil-creature called Shaytan (Satan) but he is not a fallen angel.


3. Books: Allah has sent revelation to thousands of humans throughout history. Some of those revelations were organized bodies of teachings meant to be recorded as "books" whether written or oral to be handed on to future generations. We know the names of five of these books. They are: the scrolls of Ibrahim, (Abraham), the Taurah of Musa, (Moses), the Zabur (Psalms) of Dawud, (David), the Injeel of 'Esa (Gospel of Jesus) and the Qur'an of Muhammad.


4. Messengers: These are Allah's Prophets and Message-bringers to whom Allah gave revelation. There were many Prophets, however 25 are mentioned in the Quran.

5. The Last Day: Human history will end one day. Allah will end the earth at some future date and all human beings that ever lived will be raised up for Judgment Day. The destination of people will be made on this day. Paradise or Hellfire.


6. Measurement: Allah has measured the length of our life in this world, our economic status, where we will die, etc... The word "Qadr" is sometimes translated as destiny or pre-destination or even fate. But the word actually means "to measure."

7. Life After Death: Eternal life in either Heaven or Hell for our souls based on what we believed and did while we lived in the world.  Some people will be taken out of hell and admitted to heaven when the term of their punishment is over.