Page 58 - World Religions I - Islam

Study Section 7: The Doctrines of Islam

7.1 Connect

Muslims have six main beliefs. They are:

• Belief in Allah as the one and only God (the “al” God “Ilah).
• Belief in angels.
• Belief in the holy books (Qur’an and Hadiths). It is also believed to be a perfect copy of a Qur’an
that has existed eternally in paradise.
• Belief in the Prophets... e.g. Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David), Isa (Jesus) and especially
Muhammad whose name means “highly praised.”
• Belief in the Day of Judgement (either Paradise or Hell).
• Belief in Predestination (Allah foreknows and foreordains all that comes to pass).

Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times
before through prophets including Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. Muslims believe the Bible to have
been corrupted over the years since the prophets penned it. Therefore, they believe Quran in its Arabic to be the
unaltered and final revelation of God and corrected the corrupted Scriptures.

As we learn about the major doctrines of Islam and compare them to Christianity, we will find great differences
between what they believe about these topics as compared to what the Bible teaches. So, when sharing these
words with a Muslim, what they are thinking may be totally different from what you are thinking the words mean.
When sharing with a Muslim, you must always be careful to define your terms. Let’s learn these major doctrines of
Islam and see how they differ from what a Christian learns from the Bible….
7.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to state the six articles of the Muslim faith and define each.

2. The student should be able to describe the nature of Allah and angels according to Islamic doctrine.

3. The student should be able to describe the various scriptures believed by Muslims to be trusted.

7.3 Doctrines of Islam

Iman in Islamic theology denotes a believer's faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. Its most
simple definition is the belief in the six articles of faith, known as arkān al-īmān. The term iman has
been delineated in both the Quran and hadith.

To be a Muslim, you must fully subscribe to the six articles of faith, or doctrines, to which every Muslims
holds.

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