1. Islam – beliefs and teachings
Adalat: Justice in Shi’a Islam
Akhirah: belief in the life after death
Al-Qadr – predesitination of the will of Allah; the belief that Allah has decreed everything that is to happen in the future.
Beneficence – an act of charity or kindness in an effort to do good for others.
Caliph – a successor of Muhammad (pbuh) as the spiritual leader of Islam.
Hadith – Teachings of Muhammad (pbuh).
Imamate – leadership.
Immanence – the belief that Allah is closer to us than our heartbeat and is involved in the world.
Makkah – the holy city of Islam in Saudi Arabia with the great mosque housing the Ka’aba.
Omnipotence – the belief that Allah is all powerful.
Predestination – the idea that everything that happens has been decided already by Allah.
Risalah – communication between man and Allah in the form of books, angels and prophets.
Shari’ah Law – a legal system which comes from the religious rules of Islam.
Shi’a – a Muslim who adheres to the Shi’a branch of Islam; followed by about a tenth of all Muslims.
Sunnah – the way of life of Muhammad, as an example to follow.
Sunni – Muslims who follow the Sunnah, the Way of the Prophet.
Surah – the name for chapters in the Qur’an.
Tawhid – the belief in the oneness of Allah and the unity of His being.
Transcendence – Allah is outside the world, beyond everything and outside time.
Ummah – the brotherhood/community of Islam
Usul ad-Din – the foundations of faith in Shi’a Islam
Islam was founded in the 7th century. It shares some ideas with Judaism and Christianity. Muslims believe in one god, Allah. The Qur’an is the Muslim holy book. Muslims also follow the prophet Muhammad’s teaching. l
The division of Islam into Sunni and Shi’a
All Muslims believe in Muhammad (pbuh), the last chosen prophet of Allah. It was he who received the Qu’ran (Allah’s ulitimate message) and he who started the early Muslim community and set up Mekkah as the House of Allah for worship.
It was after his death that everything changed. There was a power struggle. Arguments broke out as to the leadership; should it passed down Muhammad’s (pbuh) family line or elected? They created a divide between two groups of Muslims that remain today.
Islam – beliefs
and teachings
Sunni form the majority of the Muslim community. Four successors called Caliphs, were appointed to lead the Muslim community after the death of Muhammad (pbuh) in 632 CE: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. These men were chosen in turn, and, known as the ‘four rightly guided caliphs’, led the community for the next 24 years. Sunni Muslims believe in the authority of the Qur’an and Hadiths, interpreted by leading Muslim scholars.
Shi’a is the second largest branch of Islam. Shi’a refer to their chosen leader as the ‘imam’ and they believe that each imam must be chosen by the previous imam. All Shi’a believe that Prophet Muhammad appointed Ali as his successor. They claim the first three caliphs ignored the Prophet’s choice, so they are only seen as companions. Shi’a believe the imams have authority from Allah and can interpret the Qur’an and the laws of Islam.
The six articles of faith in Sunni Islam
The five roots of Usul ad-Din in Shi’a Islam
The Oneness of Allah – Tawhid
Angels do the work of Allah
The Day of Judgement
5 sources of authority (hoy books)
Imamate - leadership
Prophets and messengers are chosen by Allah to deliver His message to Humankind.
Nubuwwah – prophethood. Allah sent messengers to guide people to the right path.
Adalat – Justice of Allah. He is just and wise.
The supremacy of Allah’s will. Allah knows everything and everything is ordered by Him.

2. LIFE AFTER DEATH (AKHIRAH)
Teachings on ‘good’ and ‘evil’ - Everyone is born with a natural instinct to understand the difference between right and wrong (fitrah). They also have free will, and they must choose between right (the guidance of Allah) and wrong (following the temptations of Shaytan, the devil). Allah created angels (mala’ikah) from divine light (nur). From fire he made other spirits called Jinn. He then made the first human, Adam, from clay. Allah ordered all the angels and Jinn to bow down to Adam. Iblis, one of the Jinn, refused and so was banished from paradise. Iblis, who is sometimes called Shaytan, said that forever he would try to tempt humans to chose wrong rather than right.
LIFE AFTER DEATH (AKHIRAH)
BARZAKH is an Arabic word meaning "obstacle", "hindrance", "separation", or "barrier". In Islam Barzakh is generally viewed as the barrier between the physical and spiritual worlds. This is where the soul goes once the physical body has died until judgement day happens.
DAY OF JUDGEMENT – Muslims believe that death and judgement are certainties in their lives that they must face up to. Everything leads to these, so the afterlife gives a purpose her and now. Muslims believe that on a day decided by Allah, and known only to Allah, life on earth will come to an end and Allah will destroy everything. On this day all the people who have ever lived will be raised from the dead and will face judgement by Allah. Muslims believe that they will remain in their graves until this day. This day is called by several names:
the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-Qiyamah)
the Day of Judgement (yawm ad-din)
the Last Hour (as-sa’a). Allah will balance the good deeds a person has done in their life against the bad deeds.
HEAVEN -
‘And to every soul will be paid in full (the fruit) of its deeds; and Allah knoweth best all that they do’. Surah 39:70. If the good deeds outweigh the bad, the person will go to paradise (Jannah), a place of joy and bliss.
HELL -
‘Of the good that they do nothing will be rejected of them; for Allah knoweth well those that do right’. Surah 3:115. If the bad things outweigh the good, then the person will be punished in hell (Jahannam). When Allah is making a judgement, even a person’s intentions (niyyah) are taken into account.
Muslims believe in angels. Angels are spiritual beings who pass on messages to people through the prophets. They are spiritual beings created by light; are pure and sinless; praise God; have no free will; and can take on human form to deliver messages.
Jibril – Is the most important angel as he always brings good news. He was the first thing to be given life by Allah and he was sent to look after Paradise. Jibril spoke with many prophets who received revelations from Allah including Muhammad, where Jibril spoke over 23 years dictating the Qur’an directly from Allah.
Mika’il – Often known as the giver of rain and sustenance. Many believe Mika’il provides spiritual help to the soul and material help to the body.
Prophets deliver messages from Allah to humans and help guide humans on the right path. Muslims believe that there were 124,000 prophets. Adam was first prophet appointed by Allah and is the father of humankind. He taught life on Earth was temporary, eternal life is in the next life. He built the Ka’aba as the first place of worship. Muhammad was the last prophet who Allah gave revelations which became the Qur’an. Being written down they could not be changed so no more prophets were needed. The Qur’an contains everything humankind needs to do to pass the test for the next life.
For Muslims, the Qur'an is the most important revelation of all, a special revelation from Allah to the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims consider the Qur'an to be different to any other book as they believe it to be the direct word of Allah.