Iman (faith) is a very important part of a Muslim’s life. Muslims believe in six articles of faith(pillars of Iman). These beliefs are derived from the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(SAW). The pillars of Iman are belief in Allah, belief in His angels, belief in His Books, belief in His Messengers, belief in the Hereafter and belief in the Divine Decree of Allah. It is extremely important to believe in these six pillars as Allah Ta’ala says in the Holy Qur’an:

O you who believe! Believe in Allâh, and His Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and the Book (the Qur'ân) which He has sent down to His Messenger, and the Scripture which He sent down to those before (him), and whosoever disbelieves in Allâh, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, then indeed he has strayed far away (4:136)

Belief in Allah

A Muslim believes in ONE GOD, Supreme and Eternal, Infinite and Mighty, Merciful and Compassionate, Creator and Provider. God has neither father nor mother, neither sons nor was He fathered. None equal to Him. He is God of all mankind, not of a special tribe or race.

God is High and Supreme but He is very near to the pious thoughtful believers; He answers their prayers and helps them. He loves the people who love Him and forgives their sins. He gives them peace, happiness, knowledge and success. God is the Loving and the Provider, the Generous, and the Benevolent, the Rich and the Independent, the Forgiving and the Clement, the Patient and the Appreciative, the Unique and the Protector, the Judge and the Peace.

God creates in man the mind to understand, the soul and conscience to be good and righteous, the feelings and sentiments to be kind and humane. If we try to count His favours upon us, we cannot, because they are countless. In return for all the great favours and mercy, God does not need anything from us, because He is Needless and Independent. God asks us to know Him, to love Him and to enforce His law for our benefit and our own good.

Muslims believe in all the ninety-nine names and attributes of Allah Ta’ala which are described by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Belief in Allah as the Lord is known as Tawheed. On the other hand, associating someone else with Allah is called shirk and is one of the gravest sins in Islam.

Allah clearly explains Tawheed in the Holy Qur’an as He says,

Say (O Muhammad (SAW)): "He is Allâh, (the) One."Allâh-us-Samad  [Allâh the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, (He neither eats nor drinks)].”He begets not, nor was He begotten"And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him." (112:1-4)

A Muslim believes in all the Messengers and Prophets of God without any discrimination. All messengers were mortals, human beings, endowed with Divine revelations and appointed by God to teach mankind.

The Holy Quran mentions the names of 25 messengers and prophets and states that there are others. These include Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. He has sent all of the Messengers with the same Message, and it came from One and the Same Source; God, and it is to submit to His will and to obey His law; i.e., to become a Muslim.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

“And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allâh (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Tâghût (all false deities, etc. i.e. do not worship Tâghût besides Allâh)." (16:36)

Most of the Messengers were sent by Allah to a particular nation or people but the Last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad(SAW) was sent for the whole mankind.

Allah tells Prophet Muhammad to tell the people,

“Say (O beloved Prophet): O mankind! Surely I am the Messenger of Allah unto all of you…” (7:158).

A Muslim believes in all scriptures and revelations of God, as they were complete and in their original versions. Allah, the Creator, has not left man without guidance for the conduct of his life. Revelations were given to guide the people to the right path of Allah and sent down to selected people, the prophets and messengers, to convey it to their fellow men.

The message of all the prophet and messengers is the same. They all asked the people of their time to obey and worship Allah and none other. Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad who were revealed their own book of Allah, were sent at different times to bring back straying human beings from deviation to the right course.

The Quran is the sacred book of the Muslims. It is the last book of guidance from Allah, sent down to Muhammad, peace be upon him, through the angel Jibraeel (Gabriel). Every word of it is the word of Allah. It was revealed over a period of 23 years in the Arabic language. It contains 114 Surahs (chapters) and over 6000 verses.

The Quran deals with man and his ultimate goal in life. Its teachings cover all areas of this life and the life after death. It contains principles, doctrines and directions for every sphere of human life. The theme of the Quran broadly consists of three fundamental ideas: Oneness of Allah, Prophethood and life after death. The success of human beings on this earth and in the life hereafter depends on obedience to the Quranic teaching.

The Quran is unrivalled in its recording and preservation. The astonishing fact about this book of Allah is that it has remained unchanged even to a dot over the past fourteen hundred years. No scholar has questioned the fact that the Quran today is the same as it was revealed. Muslims till today memorize the Quran word by word as a whole or in part. Today, the Quran is the only authentic and complete book of Allah. Allah is protecting it from being lost, corrupted or concealed.

There are purely spiritual and splendid beings created by Allah. They require no food or drink or sleep. They have no physical desires nor material needs. Angels spend their time in the service of Allah. Each is charged with a certain duty. Angels cannot be seen by the naked eyes. Knowledge and the truth are not entirely confined to sensory knowledge or sensory perception alone. They perform different and numerous tasks which have been assigned by Allah. For example, Jibreel Alayhissalam is the Angel of Revelation, Malak al-Mawt, the Angel of death and so on.

They are constantly engrossed in the remembrance of Allah.

Allah says:

They (i.e. the angels) glorify His Praises night and day, (and) they never slacken (to do   so) (21:20)

The angels are a special creation of Allah.

Allah says:

“All praise is Allah’s, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the Appointer of the angels – messengers flying on wings: two, three, and four. He increases in the creation what He pleases. Surely, Allah Has power over all things.” (35:1)

Belief in the angels is very important since they play a huge role in our affairs. They keep a record of our good and bad deeds. They attend gathering of zikr held in the remembrance of Allah.

A Muslim believes in Qadaa and Qadar which relate to the ultimate power of Allah. Qadaa and Qadar means the Timeless Knowledge of Allah and His power to plan and execute His plans. Allah is not indifferent to this world nor is He neutral to it. It implies that everything on this earth originates from the one and only Creator who is also the Sustainer and the Sole Source of guidance.

Allah is Wise, Just, and Loving, and whatever He does must have a good motive, although we may fail sometimes to understand it fully. We should have strong faith in Allah and accept whatever He does because our knowledge is limited and our thinking is based on individual consideration, whereas His knowledge is limitless and He plans on a universal basis. Man should think, plan and make sound choices, but if things do not happen the way he wants, he should not lose faith and surrender himself to mental strains or shattering worries.

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an,

“Know you not that Allah knows all that is in the heavens and on the earth? Indeed it is (all) in the Book.” (22:70)