World Blog by humble servant.December 20, 2011 Muslims believe that creation of everything in the universe is brought into being by God’s sheer command “‘Be’ and so it is.”[27][28] 2+7+2+8=19 and that the purpose of existence is to worship God.

December 20, 2011
The core beliefs of Islam are that there is only one God – unitary and beyond comprehension – and that Muhammad is His prophet, the last in a series of prophets beginning with Adam. The Qur’an is upheld as the eternal, literal word of God, and revelations to earlier prophets, as seen in the Jewish Torah and Christian Gospels, are believed to have become distorted by human intervention. Muslims believe that the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel, and belief in angels as God’s servants is part of the Islamic tradition. Belief in the Day of Judgment, when all people will undergo bodily resurrection and be judged by God, is another core tenet. While Sunni and Shi’a Muslims adhere to these basic beliefs, Shi’a also believe in the Imamate, the line of infallible spiritual and political leaders who succeeded Muhammad, beginning with his cousin and son-in-law, Ali.[24]
God
Main article: God in Islam
Allah means God in Arabic

Islam's most fundamental concept is a rigorous monotheism, called tawhīd (Arabic: توحيد). God is described in chapter 112 of the Qur'an as:[25] "Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." (112:1-4) Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism, but accept Jesus as a prophet. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension and Muslims are not expected to visualize God. God is described and referred to by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahmān, meaning "The Compassionate" and Al-Rahīm, meaning "The Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam).[26]

Muslims believe that creation of everything in the universe is brought into being by God’s sheer command “‘Be’ and so it is.”[27][28] and that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[2][29] He is viewed as a personal God who responds whenever a person in need or distress calls Him.[27][30] There are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God who states “We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein”[31]

Allāh is the term with no plural or gender used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning the one God, while ʾilāh (Arabic: إله) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[32] Other non-Arab Muslims might use different names as much as Allah, for instance "Tanrı" in Turkish or "Khodā" in Persian.
Angels
Main article: Islamic view of angels

Belief in angels is fundamental to the faith of Islam. The Arabic word for angel (Arabic: ملاك malak) means "messenger", like its counterparts in Hebrew (malakh) and Greek (angelos). According to the Qur'an, angels do not possess free will, and worship God in total obedience.[33] Angels' duties include communicating revelations from God, glorifying God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. They are also thought to intercede on man's behalf. The Qur'an describes angels as "messengers with wings—two, or three, or four (pairs): He [God] adds to Creation as He pleases..."[34]
Revelations
Main articles: Islamic holy books and Qur'an
See also: History of the Qur'an
The first sura in a Qur'anic manuscript by Hattat Aziz Efendi

The Islamic holy books are the records which most Muslims believe were dictated by God to various prophets. Muslims believe that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, the Tawrat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospels), had become distorted—either in interpretation, in text, or both.[4] The Qur'an (literally, “Reading” or “Recitation”) is viewed by Muslims as the final revelation and literal Word of God and is widely regarded as the finest piece of literature work in the Arabic language.[35][36][37] Muslims believe that the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad by God through the archangel Gabriel (Jibrīl). On many occasions between 610 and his death on June 8, 632.[38] The Qur'an was reportedly written down by Muhammad's companions (sahabah) while he was alive, although the prime method of transmission was orally. It was compiled in the time of Abu Bakr, the first caliph, and was standardized under the administration of Uthman, the third caliph.

The Qur'an is divided into 114 suras, or chapters, which combined, contain 6,236 āyāt, or verses. The chronologically earlier suras, revealed at Mecca, are primarily concerned with ethical and spiritual topics. The later Medinan suras mostly discuss social and moral issues relevant to the Muslim community.[39] The Qur'an is more concerned with moral guidance than legal instruction, and is considered the "sourcebook of Islamic principles and values".[40] Muslim jurists consult the hadith, or the written record of Prophet Muhammad's life, to both supplement the Qur'an and assist with its interpretation. The science of Qur'anic commentary and exegesis is known as tafsir.[41]

When Muslims speak in the abstract about "the Qur'an", they usually mean the scripture as recited in Arabic rather than the printed work or any translation of it. To Muslims, the Qur'an is perfect only as revealed in the original Arabic; translations are necessarily deficient because of language differences, the fallibility of translators, and the impossibility of preserving the original's inspired style. Translations are therefore regarded only as commentaries on the Qur'an, or "interpretations of its meaning", not as the Qur'an itself.[42]
Prophets
Hadith collections

Sunni Shi'a                                                                                                                                     
lbadi Mu'tazila                                                                                                                                
Main article: Prophets of Islam

Muslims identify the prophets of Islam (Arabic: نبي nabī ) as those humans chosen by God to be his messengers. According to the Qur'an[43] the descendants of Abraham and Imran were chosen by God to bring the "Will of God" to the peoples of the nations. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not divine, though some are able to perform miracles to prove their claim. Islamic theology says that all of God's messengers preached the message of Islam—submission to the Will of God. The Qur'an mentions the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, among others.[44] Muslims believe that God finally sent Muhammad (Seal of the Prophets) to convey the divine message to the whole world (to sum up and to finalize the word of God). In Islam, the "normative" example of Muhammad's life is called the Sunnah (literally "trodden path"). This example is preserved in traditions known as hadith ("reports"), which recount his words, his actions, and his personal characteristics. The classical Muslim jurist ash-Shafi'i (d. 820) emphasized the importance of the Sunnah in Islamic law, and Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad's actions in their daily lives. The Sunnah is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of the Qur'an. Six of these collections, compiled in the 3rd century AH (9th century CE), came to be regarded as especially authoritative by the largest group in Islām, the Sunnites. Another large group, the Shīʾah, has its own Ḥadīth contained in four canonical collections [27]
Resurrection and judgment
Main article: Qiyama

Belief in the "Day of Resurrection", Yawm al-Qiyāmah (Arabic: يوم القيامة) is also crucial for Muslims. They believe the time of Qiyāmah is preordained by God but unknown to man. The trials and tribulations preceding and during the Qiyāmah are described in the Qur'an and the hadith, and also in the commentaries of scholars. The Qur'an emphasizes bodily resurrection, a break from the pre-Islamic Arabian understanding of death.[45]

On Yawm al-Qiyāmah, Muslims believe all mankind will be judged on their good and bad deeds. The Qur'an lists several sins that can condemn a person to hell, such as disbelief (Arabic: كفر Kufr), and dishonesty; however, the Qur'an makes it clear God will forgive the sins of those who repent if He so wills.[46] Good deeds, such as charity and prayer, will be rewarded with entry to heaven. Muslims view heaven as a place of joy and bliss, with Qur'anic references describing its features and the physical pleasures to come. Mystical traditions in Islam place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of God.[47]

Yawm al-Qiyāmah is also identified in the Qur'an as Yawm ad-Dīn (Arabic: يوم الدين), "Day of Religion";[48] as-sāʿah (Arabic: الساعة), "the Last Hour";[49] and al-Qāriʿah (Arabic: القارعة), "The Clatterer."[50]
Predestination
 Predestination in Islam

In accordance with the Islamic belief in predestination, or divine preordainment (al-qadā wa'l-qadar), God has full knowledge and control over all that occurs. This is explained in Qur'anic verses such as "Say: 'Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector'..."[51] For Muslims, everything in the world that occurs, good or evil, has been preordained and nothing can happen unless permitted by God. According to Muslim theologians, although events are pre-ordained, man possesses free will in that he has the faculty to choose between right and wrong, and is thus responsible for his actions. According to Islamic tradition, all that has been decreed by God is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfūz, the "Preserved Tablet".[52]
Five pillars
Main article: Five Pillars of Islam

The Pillars of Islam (arkan al-Islam; also arkan ad-din, "pillars of religion") are five basic acts in Islam, considered obligatory for all believers. The Quran presents them as a framework for worship and a sign of commitment to the faith. They are (1) the shahadah (creed), (2) daily prayers (salat), (3) almsgiving (zakah),2 Articles of faith

2.1 God
2.2 Angels
2.3 Revelations
2.4 Prophets
2.5 Resurrection and judgment
2.6 Predestination                                                                                                                           The following Islamic subjects have some elements in common with Jewish and Christian traditions:

Beings
Angels - beings of light that serve as God's messengers; in Islam, these lack free will.
Jibril - the archangel Gabriel and Jibril is an archangel who serves as a messenger from God.
Azrael - the angel of death.
Michael - the angel of nature.
Israfel - The angel of doom trumpet
Places
Garden of Eden - the heavenly Paradise where Adam and Eve lived before their Fall.
Barzakh - the state of the souls of the deceased before the Day of Judgment, when they will be assigned to Heaven or to Hell.
Jannah - Heaven; the abode of the righteous after the Day of Judgment; contains the Garden of Paradise.
Jahannam - Hell; the abode of the wicked after the Day of Judgment.
Events
Creation - a six-stages creative act by God.
Fall of man - the loss of Paradise that resulted from eating the forbidden fruit; like Judaism,[41] and unlike Christianity,[42] Islam does not hold that the Fall made man inherently sinful.[43]
Deluge and Noah's (Nuh's) Ark- worldwide flood event with water vessel containing remains of humanity and set of all animals.
Qiyamat - the Day of Resurrection (and the reward and punishment of the good and the wicked); a fundamental element of Islamic eschatology that incorporates much from the Jewish and Christian traditions.