Islam - Chapter 3: Core Islamic Beliefs

Belief in God

Muslims believe that Allah (literally, “the God”) is the direct source of all Islamic teachings in the Qur’an. God is considered the creator of everything that exists and sustains all that exists. God is infinitely wise and tremendously forgiving, but also serves as judge and his punishment can be severe (3:12). God sees everything humans do, hears everything that people say, and controls everything that occurs in the universe. Nothing happens against God’s will (9:51). People have freedom of choice, and can decide either to do things according to God’s will or against it. Acting against God’s will, says the Qur’an will have severe consequences (see 2:39, 2:81, 2:174, and many more).

Contemporary Muslim theologian Fazlur Rahman (1998) says the attributes of God that relate to humans are “creation, sustenance, guidance, and judgement.” With sustenance comes God’s mercy and love, which is emphasised throughout the Qu’ran. Indeed, the first verse of the Qur’an (1:1) is “In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy!” This verse is repeated at the start of every one of the 114 chapters contained in the Qur’an (except 9th chapter). Another translation of 1:1 is: “In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”” (Al-Hilali & Khan, 1996). The verse in Arabic is “Bismi Allahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Rahimi”. Muslims believe that God is just, fair, forgiving, and especially merciful (but only to those who submit their lives to him).

Belief in the Prophets

Muslims believe that a prophet is a “messenger” through whom God reveals his word to humanity for its good. Islamic theologian Seyyed Hossein Nasr (2002, p 17) says that “revelation” is the direct conveying of a message from heaven that comes to prophets alone, and is distinguished from “inspiration,” which is available to all people. The prophets in Islam began with Adam and from there have include Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, John the Baptist, and Jesus the Christ (Isa al-Mesiah). Jesus is highly revered (as is his mother Mary) (2:253; 3:55; 5:46). Jesus is considered the only prophet to have been raised up to heaven by God himself (3:55). However, Muslims believe that he did not die on the cross for people’s sins (4:157) and is not God (as Christians believe) (5:17). Muslims believe that Jesus was the last prophet before the coming of the final prophet, the Prophet Muhammad.

During the time when the Prophet Muhammad began receiving revelations, those in Arabia worshiped many different gods, angels, the sun, moon, and a wide range of idols. Central to these revelations was that there is only one God and that all people are to submit their lives to God. Muslims do not worship the Prophet Muhammad, as Christians worship Jesus Christ, but rather consider him to be an exemplar whose life and deeds are to be emulated. Only God is to be worshipped, though, not Muhammad. Worshipping anyone but God is called “shirk” (associating “partners” with God). Shirk is considered the gravest of all sins in Islam, and is the only sin that God will not forgive unless a person is pardoned before death: “God does not forgive the joining of partners with Him: anything less that that He forgives to whoever He will, but anyone who joins partners with God has concocted a tremendous sin” (4:48).

Belief in Divine Books

In the Introduction of the Oxford World’s Classics edition of The Qur’an (perhaps the best and most easily read English translation of the Qur’an to date), M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (2004) writes:

“The Qur’an was the starting point for all the Islamic sciences. Arabic grammar was developed to serve the Qur’an, the study of Arabic phonetics was pursued in order to determine the exact pronunciation of Qur’anic words, the science of Arabic rhetoric was developed in order to describe the features of the inimitable style of the Qur’an, the art of Arabic calligraphy was cultivated through writing down the Qur’an, the Qur’an is the basis of Islamic law and theology; indeed, as the celebrated fifteenth-century scholar and author Suyuti said, “Everything is based on the Qur’an.” The entire religious life of the Muslim world is built around the text of the Qur’an” (p ix).

Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the infallible Word of God, dictated directly to the Prophet Muhammad by the angle Gabriel reading from the original “mother book” in Heaven. As a result, members of all branches of Islam revere this holy book and follow its teachings. The Qur’an consists of 114 chapters (called suras) with numbered verses (ayas). Other sources of Islamic teaching (but not considered infallible like the Qur’an) are the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) and the Sunnah (religious practices established by the Prophet that describe how the Prophet and followers lived). In the Sunni branch of Islam, there are six primary collections of Hadith: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood, Sunan al-Sughra, Jami at-Tirmidhi, and Sunan ibn Majah. Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are considered the most dependable in terms of reporting what the Prophet said. Among Shia Muslims, there are four major Hadith collections: the Kitab al-Kafi, Man la yahduruhu al-Fqih, Tahdhib al-Ahkam, and Al-Istibsar. Differences between Sunni and Shia Hadith are primarily based on scholars’ opinions regarding the reliability of early companions of the Prophet who reported his sayings. Muhammad al-Bukhari (Sahih Bukhari) is believed to be the most reliable source of Sunni Hadith.

Muslims also recognise three books (or sets of books) from the Bible: the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), the Psalms, and the Gospels. With regard to the Gospels, Muslims believe that the original Gospels were revealed by God to Jesus, who himself wrote them down verbatim. Muslims believe that these original Gospels were lost and the current Gospels of the New Testament were altered by Jesus’ followers and contain errors (Noegel & Wheeler, 2003; Bennett, 2008). Muslims believe the Qur’an, as noted above, is the last and final divine scripture, correcting all errors in earlier scriptures that were corrupted or lost (“This is the Scripture in which there is no doubt…” (2:2). Likewise, Islam is considered the final religion (“It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, to show that it is above all [other] religions…”) (9:23).

Belief in the Day of Judgement

Muslims believe that there will be a Day of Judgement when the world ends and all humans (dead and alive) will be judged for their deeds. Some will then spend eternity in the bliss of heaven: “[But] you, soul at peace: return to your Lord well pleased and well pleasing; go in among My servants; and into My garden: (89:27-30). Others, however, will be consigned to another place for eternity: “God will not forgive those who have disbelieved and do evil, nor will he guide them to any path except that of hell, where they will remain forever…” (4:168-169). According to the Qur’an, only God knows when this Day of Judgement will occur (33:63), the day is not dependent on the Prophet Muhammad (6:57), everyone will recognise each other at that time (10:45), and all will be resurrected and judged (17:49). The Qur’an describes the Day as follows: “On that Day, people will come forward in separate groups to be shown their deeds: whoever has done and an atom’s-weight of good will see it, but whoever has done an atom’s-weight of evil will see that” (99:6-8). Just prior to the Day of Judgement, the Mahdi (“guided one”) will appear and begin a 5-19 year period of justice, establishment of the true religion (Islam) throughout the world, and then the end will come. Muslims believe that Jesus (Isa or Iesa) will reappear that this time: “And he [“Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)] shall be known sign for (the coming of) the Hour (Day of Resurrection) [i.e. “Iesa’s (Jesus) descent on the earth]. Therefore have no doubt concerning it (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)…” (43:61). He will assist the Mahdi against the Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (deceiver or evil one) (Yahya, 2010). While the Qur’an states that judgement will be severe for the disbelievers on this Day, it also emphasises God’s mercy and forgiveness for those who turn to him: “We shall certainly blot out the misdeeds of those who believe and do good deeds, and we shall reward them according to the best of their actions” (29:7).

Beliefs in Angels

Angels are supernatural beings who serve God. They are not human or previously human. Angels are considered subordinate to humans, since the Angels were asked to bow down to and prostrate themselves before Adam (2:30-34), which Iblis (Satan) refused to do and was therefore banished from Paradise for disobedience (7:11-18). Another angel, Gabriel (a good one), is believed to have appeared to the Prophet Muhammad in order to reveal the Qur’an and later to transport the Prophet to Jerusalem during the Night Journey (17:1, 53:13-18). The angel Michael is also described in the Qur’an as a messenger of God (2:98) along with the angel of death or malak al maut (different from Iblish) (32:11). Both the angel Gabriel and the angel Michael are described in the Qur’an as message bearers from God (2:97-98; 66:4).

Belief in Destiny (qadr)

Muslims believe that everything, every event and circumstance in life, plays a part in God’s will and purpose for the world. The Qur’an says, “It was not without purpose that We created the heavens and the earth and everything in between…” (38:27). The Qur’an is clear in stating that God’s will is supreme, even above that of the human will: “No misfortune can happen, either in the earth or in yourselves, that was not sent down in writing before we brought it into being…” (57:22) and “So where are you [people] going? This is a message for all people; for those who wish to take the straight path. But you will only wish to do so by the will of God, the Lord of all People” (81:26-29). Nevertheless, the Qur’an also states that people have the freedom to choose to be good or not: “BEHOLD, from on high have We bestowed upon thee this divine writ, setting forth the truth for [the benefit of all] mankind. And whoever chooses to be guided [thereby], does so for his own good, and whoever chooses to go astray, goes but astray to his own hurt; and thou hast not the power to determine their fate” (39:41). The belief in destiny is sometimes used to explain why some Muslims attribute their mental illness to “God’s will,” which may prevent them from seeking help and effective treatment. The misunderstanding of what “destiny” means may lead to wrong attitudes in this regard. See Acevedo (2008) for a full discussion of this topic. Regardless, Muslims seldom ask “Why me?,” a question that is common in the West when adversity strikes (Hamdy, 2009).

Conclusions

These six beliefs concerning God, the Prophets, Divine books, the Day of Judgement, Angels, and Destiny form the bedrock of the Islamic faith tradition. In order to provide therapy that is respectful of a client’s beliefs, values and preferences (as required by the Joint Commission that accredits both outpatient and inpatient mental health care in the U.S.), the therapist or clergy person needs to understand what those beliefs are. This is particularly important for Muslim clients whose lives (and mental health) often revolve around their religious beliefs.