ARTICLES OF FAITH

Q1) Associating partners (shirk)is opposed to believing in the oneness 9f god and can be divided
into 3 main categories. Write about each category. (10m)

Belief in the oneness of Allah Is the fundamental teachings of Islam. It is the foundation of the
faith and Is called tawhid. Allah is the one and only god the creator the sustainer of the heavens
and the earth no one has any share in his ownership or his authority "To him belongs everything
in the heavens and the earth" Allah is eternal and everlasting without a beginning or the end

there are 3 aspects of Muslim belief in Allah

1. oneness of the Lordship of Allah (tawhid ar-rububiyyah) means that there is only one lord for
the entire universe, That is Allah he is the creator the organizer, the supreme planner the
sustainer and the lawgiver. He is not the father nor son of anyone "Say he Allah the one and only,
Allah the eternal absolute he begets not, nor is he begotten"(11:2) the Quran also says "and your
Allah is one Allah…."

2. The second aspect of belief in Allah is to believe in the Oneness of worship of Allah (tawhid
uluhiyyah). Since Allah is the creator he is the only one worthy of worship. it is the primary duty of
mankind to worship Allah, the Quran says "o you people worship your guardian lord who created
you." The quran says that the purpose of the creation of mankind is to worship Allah "I have
created jinn and men only to worship" In the surah faith, Allah tells us that we must not pray or
ask anything from anyone but Allah "You do we worship and your aid we seek". Muslims only
swear by Allah's name ask from him, offer sacrifice and give charity in the name of Allah

3. The third aspect of belief is to believe in the oneness of names and qualities of Allah (tawhid
al asma wasifat). Muslims believe in the qualities of Allah which he has given in the Quran or told
by Mohammad, without changing their meaning. Muslims believe in the divine qualities of Allah.
these qualities are only for Allah and this belief is an integral part of the faith. The Quran says
that Allah is all-knowing, the most compassionate most merciful the omnipotent the omniscient,
he is the holy the pure he has no human weakness he is the exalted, most height. These and
many other qualities of Allah only belong to him, no humans or an object can be called by these
names.

Q2)Associating partner's shirk is opposite to the belief in the oneness of god Tawhid and can be
divided into 3 main categories. Write about each category.

Shirk means partnership or associating, but in the terminology of Islam it refers to assigning a
partner to Allah, or ascribing Allah's attribute to others besides Allah and believing that the source
of power, harm and difficulties come from others besides Allah is the opposite to Tawhid and the
biggest unforgivable sin. the Quran says "Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with
him" The Quran says that the person who commits a shirt will never enter paradise "Whosoever
joins other gods with Allah, Allah will forbid him the garden and the fire will be his abode.

Shirk is divided into 3 main categories

Shirk in the existence of Allah is to associate partners in the oneness of Allah, to think that there
is more than one creator and that he is the father or son to anyone. the Quran says "He begets
not, nor is he begotten" The Quran says " and your Allah is one Allah, there is no god but He".

Shirk in attributes If Allah is to associate any unique qualities to any other being this is to claim or
believe that any other person or object possesses the knowledge, power or might of Allah the
Quran says that " it is only He who can create, give and takes life, benefits or harms us" it means
nobody can be the giver the protector or the creator and the originator of anything in the universe

Shirk in the worship of Allah is to associate partners with Allah, in the worship of Allah. Allah is
the creator the sustainer and the provider he is alone worthy of worship the Quran says "Your
lord has decreed that you worship none but he" praying invoking or asking for help from the
unseen, swearing offering sacrifice giving charity slaughtering in the name of other than Allah is
shirk "you do we worship and your help we seek"(surah fatiha)

B) give reasons to support the statement that without tawhid there is no faith.

Tauheed or belief in the oneness of Allah is the first article of faith and part of the first pillar of
Islam. All the ibadas of Islam revolve around this belief because Muslim. believe in one god so
they offer prayer 5 times a day to praise him and to seek his help, they fast in the month of
Ramadan, give zakat and perform haj just to glorify Allah, to follow his commands to please him
and to seek for his mercy. if they do not believe in tawhid there would be no need to act upon the
pillars of Islam or other teachings of Islam. every action of a Muslim is done to please one and
only God they eat halal food and stay away from actions which are forbidden e.g adultery,
drinking gambling etc, just to show obedience to their lord

Q3 How does belief in the Angel affect the daily living of the Muslims? 10m

Belief in Angel is an important article of faith as Muslims believe that angels are the messengers
of Allah and they carry in tasks which are assigned to them by Allah they are invisible to human
beings but they may appear before them by the will of Allah

The belief in angels directly affects the daily living of Muslims Allah tells that there are 2 Angel's
appointed for every person to write down their good and bad deeds. the Quran says "But verily
over you are appointed Angel to protect you kind and honourable, writing down your deeds"

The presence of these 2 angles keeps warning the Muslims to do bad deeds even when they are
alone because they know they will.be recorded by Angels. Muslims believe that there are
guardian Angels who protect them. Sometimes even without knowing e.g. Allah sent "a thousand
angel ranks on ranks" during the battle of Badr whenever Muslims are in trouble Allah sends
down angels for their protection. Muslims believe that the angels put the spirit in the newborn
when they are in the mother's womb, it is decided at that time whether it will be a boy or a girl a
good or a bad person

The Quran says that "angels pray for the forgiveness of beings on earth" This strengthens our
faith that there is someone else who is praying for us. Questioning of mankind and nakir in the
grave is also a reminder for Muslims that they should have strong faith in Allah and should be
prepared for that occasion. Muslim