Articles of Faith

 The word faith is synonym of the Arabic word ‘’Iman’’.

 To have strong belief or trust in someone or
something is known as Faith.
 The fundamental (basic) beliefs, which serve as the
foundation of a religion, are called articles of faith.
 All the messengers of Allah tried their best to transfer
these beliefs to their followers.
 The Holy Prophet (pbuh) too began propagating his
message by focusing attentions on these beliefs.
 These beliefs are related in Iman-e-Mufasil in these
words:
 "I believe in Allah, in His Angels, in His Books, in
His messengers, in the Last Day and in the fact
that everything good or bad, is decided by Allah,
the Almighty Allah, and in the life after death".
 These articles of Faith are as under:
1. Belief in the Oneness and Unity of Allah or Tauheed.
2. Belief in the Angels.
3. Belief in Revealed Books.
4. Belief in the Prophets.
5. Belief in the Last Day of Judgment.
6. Belief in Life after Death.
7. Belief in Predestination.

TAUHEED
 Tauheed or the belief in the Oneness of Allah is the
first and the main principle of Islam.
 It means that Allah is the Only Creator and Sustainer
of the universe.
 He is Ever-Living without a beginning or an end (the
first and the last).
 He is Independent while others are dependent on Him
for their existence and survival.
 He is the source and support of all life.
 He is the only one worthy of worship. Allah is
Omnipotent (having unlimited authority or power).
 He knows everything; the hidden and the manifest
(obvious, apparent).
 He is not bound by space and time; He is everywhere
and has knowledge of the past, present and future.
 Surah Ikhlaas proclaims this in the most
comprehensive way:
 '' Say He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal. He
does not beget nor is He begotten, and there is
none like Him'' (112:1-4).
 Surah Ikhlaas is also called one-third of the Qur'an
which means that one-third of the subject matter of
the Qur'an revolves around Tauheed.
 A person becomes a Muslim just by believing and
uttering the expression:
 '' There is no god but Allah and Mohammad
(pbuh) is the Messenger of Allah''. The first part of
this message occurs repeatedly in the Qur'an in
slightly different shades. For example the Verse of
 Throne begins as: ''there is no God but
He...'' (2:255).
 The first Surah of the Qur'an begins as: ''Praise be to
Allah, the Lord of the worlds" (1:1).
 According to the leading scholars of Islam, there are
three kinds of Tauheed:
1. Tauhid-ar-Rabubiya (Oneness of Lordship of Allah)
2. Tauhid-al-Auluhiya (Oneness in the Worship of Allah)
3. Tauhid-al-Asma-wa-Sifat (Oneness of the names and
qualities of Allah)\
 Tauhid-ar-Rabubiya refers to the belief that Allah is
Self-Existent; He is the Creator and the Sustainer of
the universe.
 ‘’ Allah is the Creator of all things and He is the
Guardian over all things’’ (39:62). Allah is
Omnipotent, the Law Giver and the Judge.
 The verse of the Throne says: ‘’….who is there who
can intercede in His presence except as He
permits…’’ (2:255).
 It also to the belief that He is entirely immune to all
forms of human weaknesses and needs such as
hunger, thirst and the need to rest or sleep etc.
 ‘’…no slumber ca seize Him nor sleep…’’ (2:255).
 He is above the grip of space and time, ‘’ He is the
First and Last, the evident and the
hidden…’’ (57:3).
 Tauhid-al-Auluhiya refers to the belief that since Allah
is the creator, He is the only one worthy of worship.
 All supplication, beseeching (Pleading) and imploring
(begging) are due only to Allah.
 So we as Muslims, must observe all the religious
practices such as prayers, Hajj, fast and giving alms
to the poor etc. for His sake only.
 ‘’I created Jinn and mankind only to worship
me’’ (51:56).
 ‘’ You alone we worship and Your aid we
seek’’ (1:4).
 Tauhid-al-Asma-wa-Sifat refers to the belief that
Allah is matchless not only in His Essence but also in
His names and Attributes.
 This belief includes that we must not name or qualify
Allah except with what He and His Messenger have
named or qualified Him.
 None can be named or qualified with the names or
qualifications of Allah, for example Karim, Raheem,
Rehman etc. ‘’And there is none like unto
Him” (112:5).
 We must believe in all the qualities of Allah which He
has stated in His Book or mentioned through His
Messenger without changing, twisting or ignoring their
meaning.
 The acknowledgement of Tauheed is the fundamental
belief in Islam and is the basis of salvation (rescue).
 The basic message of all the prophets was the same
i.e. there is no god but Allah.
 All the previous scriptures preached the Unity of Allah
but due to alterations made in their text over the
passage of time, the doctrine (set of guidelines) of
Tauheed was changed. Finally when the need arose
 for final and universal guidance, Allah sent His last
Messenger with the Qur’an to set the people on the
straight path and correct their beliefs.
 We cannot see Allah but His existence is confirmed
when we ponder over the universe, that such an
organized and well coordinated world could not have
come into existence on its own; just like a letter
cannot be written without an author.
 ‘’who created the seven heavens, one above the
other. You will not see any flaw in what the Lord
of mercy creates. Look again! Can you see any
flaw? Look again! And again! Your sight will turn
back to you, weak and defeated.’’ (67:3-4).

SHIRK:

 The Arabic word ‘’shirk’’ means ‘’to share’’.

 In religious sense it means associating partners with
Allah.
 There is an Arabic proverb, ‘’things become known
through their opposites.
 ’’ In the light of this saying, it is necessary to
understand the nature of Shirk for the better
knowledge of the oneness of Allah. The avoidance of
Shirk is the fundamental teaching of the Qur’an,
because Shirk is nothing but the reverse side of
Tauheed.
 Given the fact that the proclamation of Tauheed is the
first pillar of Islam and Tauheed itself is the first
principle of Islam, one begins o understand why Shirk
is so strongly criticized and why.
 According to the Holy Qur’an it is the only
unforgiveable sin: ‘’indeed Allah forgives not that a
partner should be associated with Him, but less
than that, He forgives whomsoever He
wills.’’ (4:48)
 The acknowledgement of the Unity of Allah is bound
in human nature, since humans were created with the
knowledge that ‘’there is no god but Allah.’’
 The prophets were sent as a reminder of what was
already in their original nature.
 Hence to associate others with Allah is to go against
the most basic instincts of the human species. It is, so
to speak, to go against human nature.

BELIEF IN ANGELS

 Belief in the existence of angels is an article of Islamic

faith.
 The non-believers considered angels to be deities
and Allah’s daughters.
 This article of faith purifies the belief in the unity of
Allah.
 Allah has appointed many of His Angels for the
management of this Universe.
 Angels have been created from light and are not
visible to ordinary mortals.
 They belong to the category of the unseen unless
they appear in human form.
 They perform their assigned duties according to the
Decree (order) of God.
 They are sent to protect men, to administer Allah’s
punishments, to carry His messages and to perform
various other functions.
 Allah describes their entire submission to Him in the
following words:
 "They never disobey Allah's Command and do as
they are commanded."(16:50)
 The Angels are also called messengers in the Holy
Book as they conveyed the Divine message of Allah
to the Prophets.
 The Angels were also appointed duties in the human
form; they appeared before Abraham to give him the
glad tidings of a son.
 Hazrat Lut was also warned about impending doom of
his town.
 Hazrat Maryam was also blessed with the news of a
Holy son by an angel Gabriel.
 Hazrat Zakriya also experienced the same experience
of visiting of an angel.
 Angels are Allah's creation having necessary powers
and qualities.
 They are not His daughters nor are they objects of
worship.
 They have no knowledge except that what Allah has
taught them.
 They prostrated before Adam when Allah commanded
them to do so.
 Angels glorify and praise Allah. They never get tired.
 They neither need sleep nor do they require the
things needed by human beings.
 Angels are the guardians of Hell-fire.
 They will welcome in Heaven all those who obey
Allah's commands and will throw the wrong doers into
Hell.
 The name of the angel in charge of Paradise is
Rizwan while Malik is in charge of Hell. There are
many Angels like Kiram-an-katibeen i.e. angels on our
shoulders having records of our good and bad deeds.
 They are many in numbers.
 The Qur’an says: ‘’But verily, over you (are
appointed angels) to protect you- kind and
honorable, writing down (your deeds)’’. (82:10-11)
 There are also Munkar and Nakeer, they go to the
graves of the newly dead to ask them questions.
Besides, there are many angels having various
assignments with them they are as under;
1. Hazrat Gabriel, who brought revelations from Allah to
the Prophets including Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) He
is called 'Rooh-ul-Allah' or ‘Rooh-ul-Ameen’ because
he never changes the messages of Allah.
2. Hazrat Izrael, the angel of death. He is responsible for
taking our souls upon death.
 3. Hazrat Israfeel, who will blow the trumpet at the time
of the end of the world, i.e. on the Day of Judgment.
With his second blow everyone will rise again for the
Day of Judgment.
4. Hazrat Mekaeel, who is responsible for rainfall and
distribution of ‘rizq’( means of sustenance).

MARKING SCHEME
 Angels are entirely obedient to God.
 They are created
 And are made of light.
 They have particular tasks.
[Give 1 mark for one example of an angel performing a
task, e.g. Jibril bringing
Revelation to Muhammad.
Give 1 extra mark for another example of a different angel
performing a task.]

BELIEF IN THE LAST DAY

 Belief in life after death, bodily resurrection, final

judgment and the eternal life in Paradise and (or) Hell
is one of the articles of faith.
 This world as we know it will come to an end one day
and the dead will rise from their resting place for their
final and fair trial.
 Muslims believe that the time of Qiyama is
preordained by Allah but is unknown to man.
 The trials and problems preceding and during the Day
of Resurrection are described in detail in the Quran
and Hadith. The Quran says:
 “Anyone who denies God, His angels, His books,
His messenger and the Day of Judgment has
gone far, far astray.”(4:136)
 Islam teaches us that there are four definite stages of
every human life.
 The first is in the womb of our mother. There, the
flesh is united with the spirit.
 According to a tradition of the Holy Prophet, this
joining takes place some time after the fortieth day of
conception.
 The second stage of our life begins in this world.
 We are born, grow from children to adults and then
reach old age and die.
 Some people die in their youth while others live longer
than most.
 The third stage starts after our death.
 A person’s life on this earth ends with his/her death,
after which another life begins in the state of Barzakh,
which is an intermediate state in which the soul is
placed after death till resurrection.
 The state of grave is therefore, the same state as that
of Barzakh.
 Immediately after death the lesser Judgement or
Qiyamat-e-Sughra takes place, after which the
righteous are spoken of as tasting the fruit of their
good deeds while the evil doers have to taste the evil
consequences of their wrong deeds.
 The fourth and final stage of our existence is eternal.
 It will begin with the end of the world.
 The entire universe with all forms of life will be
brought to its ends by its Creator.
 At many places in the Quran the details of the onset
and outcome of the Day of Judgment have been
given.
 That Day will start by the first blow of Trumpet by
Hazrat Israfil.
 The Quran says:“When the Trumpet is sounded a
single time. When the earth and its mountains are
raised high and then crushed to powder with a
single blow. On that Day the Great Event will
come to pass.” (69:13-15)
 The second Trumpet will be blown and there will be
resurrection of everything that existed in this world.
 A new world will emerge with a new sky.
 All human beings who had lived on this earth since its
inception (start) will come back to life, this is called
Hashr.
 Now all humans will stand before Allah for
accountability of all their deeds in the worldly life.
Allah will set the Scale of Ultimate Justice.
 The account of our deeds will be examined in many
ways.
 Some people will be interrogated in secrecy and if the
person concerned confesses his/her sins honestly,
fearing Allah, they will be pardoned.
 Some will be subjected to a very severe interrogation
during which they will have to explain their each and
every deed and utterance.
 The people undergoing such an interrogation will be
sent to Hell.
 No injustice will be done on the Day of Judgement.
 People’s hands, feet and tongue will bear witness
against them.
 There will be no bargaining, no friendship or
intercession.
 Our good and evil deeds will be sorted out.
 If we persecuted or harmed anyone in any way, we
may lose some of our good deeds to them by way of
compensation and if we have no good deeds left then
the other person’s bad deeds will be transferred to our
account.
 Then our deeds will be weighed on the scale
mentioned before and the true weight of our conduct
will be shown to us.
 People will be given their book of deeds which they
will be asked to read.
 The good will be given their record in their right hand,
while the sinners in their left hand or from behind their
backs.
 The Qur’an says: ‘’then he who is given his record
in his right hand will have an easy reckoning
(calculation) and return to his people well
pleased. But whoever is given his record from
 behind his back will cry out for destruction and he
will enter a blazing fire.’’ (84:7-12)
 Finally according to the deeds people will be awarded
forever and ever.
 The Quran promises eternal dwelling place as a
reward in Paradise for the pious and the righteous.
 The evildoers and the sinners, on the other hand will
be given horrible punishment.
 When the judgment is finished, a bridge will be
stretched over the top of the pit of Hell.
 This bridge, called the Sirat, will lead to Paradise
which will be on the other side.
 Everyone will have to cross this bridge(Sirat).
 The Prophets and the righteous people will zoom right
over and enter Paradise.
 The treading of the bridge by the people will be based
on the nature and enormity of their good or bad
deeds.
 The two states of Heaven and Hell are not spiritual.
 They will be experienced in physical forms by the new
bodies with which Allah will raise men up.

MARKING SCHEME
 An angel will blow the last trump.
 Everyone will be resurrected from the dead at the end
of time.
 All will have to face judgement before God.
 Actions performed during one’s lifetime will be
examined.
 The consequence will be either paradise or hell.
 [1 mark for supporting quotations.]

BELIEF IN REVEALED BOOKS

 Human beings are the servants of Allah and need

guidance to carry out their various duties and
responsibilities.
 This guidance is mentioned in Books revealed to
various Prophets.
 So for this guidance Muslims are required to believe
in the Books.
 Allah says in the Holy Book:
 "Those who believe in the revelation sent down to
you (Mohammad) and in what was sent before
you…" [2:4]
 There were several revealed books but only four out
of them are famous"
1. The Holy Quran, revealed to the Holy Prophet
(pbuh).
2. Injil or the Gospels was revealed to Isa. The
Christians failed to act upon it; they distorted it and
introduced the doctrine (policy) of trinity and
redemption through crucification; although Isa clearly
 told his followers that Allah was his and their Lord.
According to the Quran Injil confirms the Torah.
3. Zubur or Psalms, revealed to David.
4. Torah was revealed to Moses for the guidance of Bani
Israel. It contained Allah’s command, warning and
mercy. The original book was changed. Its followers
distorted the words of Allah. Allah says, ‘’they change
the words from their (right) places and forget a good
part of the message that was sent.’’(5:13)
5. The Qur’an also mentions the Suhuf of Ibrahim.
 Books were also revealed to other messengers, who
were sent at different times among different nations
having different languages.
 Their teachings were in the language they spoke and
they were for the guidance of that particular
community.
 The teachings contained were, the Uniqueness and
Oneness of Allah, the concept of reward and
punishment for one's deeds in the life after death.
 All the heavenly books were from Allah and whatever
Allah said in them is to be believed in. However due
to changes and alternations, their originality and purity
has been brought into question.
 The preservation of the Holy Scriptures was the duty
of their respective followers.
 The basic purpose of these books was the
acknowledgment of the Oneness of Allah.
 These books made it clear to the people that they
should believe in the prophets of their times.
 If anyone failed to do so, their faith in Allah would not
merit any rewards.
 These books also testified that all the Prophets were
truthful and they should not differentiate among them.
 Each Prophet (pbuh), after all, was sent by Allah with
guidance, and the primary message of each was the
same.
 These books also reformed the wrong beliefs of
people concerning Allah’s Essence, His Messengers,
books, and the life after death and acts of worship.
 Instead of preserving the scriptures in their memories
and on tablets, they distorted them. The outcome is
that these scriptures cannot be relied upon to be the
same as when they were sent down.
 Since Islam is based on the Quran, and the Qur’an is
Allah’s last book, Allah took the responsibility of
preserving whatever is contained in it.
 The following holy verse testifies this, “We have sent
down the Quran Ourself and We Ourself will guard
it…” (15:9)
 It is the living miracle of the Quran that no one ever
produced even a verse like that of the Quran.
 The Qur’an, unlike the other divine books which were
meant for a particular community, is a guide book for
all communities for all times to come.
 The Qur’an is a universal book, sent to the entire
mankind for all ages.
MARKING SCHEME

 These contain God's will and guidance for humankind.

 They were given from God to humans by a
succession of prophetic
 Messengers.
 They include the Suhuf, the Tawrat, the Zubur, the
Injil and the Qur'an.
 (1 mark for two or more of these, 2 marks for four or
more)
 Each was meant for a particular community,
 Except the Qur'an which was meant for the whole
world.

BELIEF IN PREDESTINATION

 Belief in the Divine Decree (order by a leader) is

mentioned in the Imaan-e-Mufassal.
 This means that everything, good or bad, is decided
by Allah, is an article of faith and without this our faith
is not complete.
 Faith in predestination means that the Most High
Allah has decreed all things; whatever happens in the
world whether it is concerning the conditions and
operations of things or the happenings in our lives is
decided by Allah.
 The belief in Divine predestination includes belief in 4
things:

1. Allah is the creator of everything. According to the

Muslim Faith, Allah is the sole Creator and Cherisher
of the universe. His power is not limited in any sphere.
The Qur’an says: ‘’ Allah is the Creator of all things
and He is the Guardian over all things’’ (39:62).
2. Allah knows everything; what has, is and will
happen.Therefore it will not be wrong to say that God
not only has knowledge of each and every affair of the
entire universe but also all the matters and
occurrences are under His control. ‘’…He knows
what is in front of them and what is behind
them…’’ (2:255)
3. Allah has recorded all that has passed, all that is
happening and all that will happen. We know from the
Ahadith of the Holy Prophet that amongst the very
first creations of Allah was the pen. He commanded it
to write down His knowledge. Thus all that is to
happen is contained in the written tablet of the
decrees of Allah which is called the Loh-e-
Mahfooz. ‘’Are you (Prophet) not aware that God
knows all that is in the heavens and the earth? All
this is written in a Record which is easy for
God.’’ (22:70)
4. Whatever Allah wills, happens and whatever He wills
not, does not happen. We ourselves can see the
Divine Will in many objects and phenomena around
us. The Qur’an invites us to appreciate by saying: ‘’It
 is not permitted to the sun to catch up to the
moon, nor can the night outstrip the day; each
just swims along in its own orbit (according to the
Divine Will)’’ (36:40). These are demonstrations of
Allah’s unlimited power and command.

 Similarly, man, the most supreme creation of Allah is

no exception to this Divine Will.
 Humans have been granted liberty and free will, but at
the same time they are submissive to the laws of
nature.
 Allah has predestined the span of every person’s life,
their share of good and ill fortune and the fruits of
their efforts in accordance with His eternal
knowledge.
 This is to say that He has ordained (designed) the
things as they were to take place in this world and in
the life to come.
 This however does not imply that whatever we do is
predestined to be done by us and we have no
freedom of action.
 No one is forced to do a certain thing because of its
predestination.
 Allah has given every human the ability to do good or
bad in life. People decide what to do, but Allah has
knowledge of our deeds even before we were
created.
 He knew what we could and would do but does not
make us do it.
  Constant praying to Allah is important because ‘’dua’’
or humble invocation is the only thing that can change
our destinies
 While Allah has given free choice to people, man has
also been shown the correct way by means of
revelation through His prophets.
 Man has the final choice to accept or decline this
Divine guidance. His choice rests on his will as the
Qur’an says: ‘’ Surely, We have shown him the
way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests
on his will)’’ (76:3).

Marking Scheme
What does the statement ‘There is no ability or power
except through Allah’ tell you about Muslim belief in Allah’s
predestination and decree? [10]
Some candidates could say that belief in divine decree
and predestination is mentioned in the Iman-e Mufassal, it
is an article of faith without which a Muslim’s faith is
incomplete. The above statement strengthens this belief
and in order to secure higher levels candidates must refer
to it in their answer. Good answers will also talk about
human responsibility for what they do.
To what extent does this belief affect the daily living of
Muslims? [4]
• A sign of faith
• Hope of compensation
• No fear of death
• Satisfaction