Study Questions For Review: On Islam: What are some of the central beliefs and practices of Islam?

Islam= Peace or Submission (peace from which comes from surrendering ones life to God) Muslim= one who submits, follower of Islam Ummah= community of the faithful One God o Allah (Arabic word for the God) is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. o Strict monotheism Tawhid (oneness), God is one and unique o To associate anyone or anything with God (e.g., a son of God or concept of the Trinity) is to commit Shirk (association), the worst sin. No Idol worship in Islam- no images of the Creator or His creation, no painting or other art forms of natural creatures o God is said to have 99 names found in Quran; each name identifying a different aspect of God e.g., Creator, Beneficent, Merciful, Truth, Beauty. Belief in Angels and other spiritual beings (e.g., Jinn and Satan [Iblis]) in the heavens and the hells o Islam teaches that Allah created 3 kinds of intelligent beings: Humans were created from earth- only physical creatures Angels were created from light and as messengers of Godnonphysical being Jinn (Genies) were created from fire and like humans, have freewill to obey or disobey Gods will. Either good or evil. nonphysical being (although they can take on a physical appearance) The Thousand and One Tales of the Arabian Nights contains many stories involving Jinn Prophets and Messengers: o Including many figures from the Bible (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael ect.) along with *Muhammad himself as the seal of the prophets (The final prophet needed by humanity) o Jesus is respected and revered by Islam as one of the greatest prophets. Jesus is not the Son of God. Believes in the virgin birth o Messengers are special prophets who bring a new revelation to humanity thus starting a new religion. Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were messengers as well as prophets. All messengers are prophets but not all prophets are messengers. Holy Books o Quran= Sacred Text o Also recognize Torah, Psalms and the Gospels as the revealed word of the same God

o Original word of God in Torah and Gospels has been distorted over time by human mistranslation and interpretation. For this reason, the Quran is maintain in its original language to avoid the same errors. Decrements o Allah being omnipotent and omniscient, controls our initial condition (i.e. The condition of our birth) and our [individual and communal] ultimate destiny (e.g. the time and circumstance of death). But we make freewill choices along the way. Muslims accept whatever happens to them, beyond their control as the will of God. That which is beyond human control (e.g. hair, eye, or skin color, race, or national origin) humans are not held accountable for or judge by. Aligning ourselves with (submitting to) Gods will brings peace (Islam) Afterlife: o Believe in resurrection of the dead o Judgment day- no original sin, each individual is judge according to how well she/he has obeyed the will of God o Digress of heaven and hell (since Allah is merciful, the liar is not judged as harshly as the mass murderer)

1. How do Muslims view God? 2. Who is a messenger and how does he differ from a prophet? a. Messengers are special prophets who bring a new revelation to humanity thus starting a new religion. Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were messengers as well as prophets. All messengers are prophets but not all prophets are messengers. 3. What will Judgment Day be like? a. Judgment day - no "original sin," each individual is judged according to how well s/he has obeyed the will of God b. Degrees of heaven and hell (since Allah is merciful, the liar is not judged as harshly as the mass murderer) c. At Judgment Day the dead will be resurrected. Soul and body are restored and the person is judged to go to some degree of heaven or hell. No one knows what happens to the soul between death and resurrection. It is presumed to be like going to sleep and waking up after a sound sleep not knowing how much time has passed (from the perspective of the dead person there is no time between death and resurrection) 4. How do most Muslims view violence? 5. What are the five pillars? Can you give an example of each?