Islam Beliefs Revision Booklet
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GCSE Religious Studies Islam Beliefs Revision Booklet Paper 1: Religious Beliefs and Practices Influence For the Islam Beliefs 4 mark questions you need to be able to explain how beliefs influence a Muslim. In other words… How does this belief impact them? What do they do because of this belief? How do they feel because of this belief? How does having this belief affect their lives? How does this belief change the way they live? One way a belief in _____________ influences a Muslim is… Another way a belief in ____________ influences a Muslim is… 2 TAWHID – The ONENESS of God Belief in Tawhid means that Muslims should worship only one God, never make anything in their lives more important than God and not use images or pictures of God, as it is impossible to portray God accurately. Surah 112 • There is only one God ‘He is God the • God is a unified, undivided One’ being; God cannot be divided into different persons ‘God the eternal’ • God has always existed ‘He begot no one • God was not born or came into nor was He being out of something else begotten’ • God does not have any children ‘No one is • God is unique comparable to • No other person or thing has God’s qualities and attributes Him’ • No one can accurately picture or describe God 3 Muslim beliefs about Allah God is… This means … God created the universe, so is beyond and outside it. He is not limited by the Transcendent physical world and he is beyond our understanding. • God is present everywhere in the world and the universe. Immanent • God is within all things and is involved with life on earth. • God is all-powerful. • God has the power to create and Omnipotent sustain everything in the universe. • God is aware of everything, including human actions and thoughts. • All loving and all-good Beneficent • God’s generosity is seen in his gift to humans of everything they need to live God treats everyone fairly and justly • God will judge all people equally on the Day of Judgement Fair and Just • Shi’a Muslims in particular believe that people have full responsibility for their actions, and God will reward or punish people depending on the choices they make • God shows compassion and mercy • God cares for people and understands Merciful their suffering • God forgives people who are truly sorry for the things they have done wrong 4 The Nature of God : Muslim Teachings to support beliefs God is Omnipotent God is Just God is Merciful ‘All Powerful’ ‘Fair’ “He who is the “In the name “Is not Allah all powerful, of Allah, the the most Just of able to do giver of judges?” anything” mercy” God is God is loving God is immanent transcendent “The “He is above all Beneficent is “He is with you, comprehension established wherever you ” on the are” Throne” Sunni Shia info Caliphs Imams 80% of Muslims 20% of Muslims 6 Articles of Faith 5 Usul ad Din 6 The Six Articles of faith - Sunni Article 1 – Tawhid – the Oneness of God Article 2 – Belief in Angels Article 3 – Sources of Authority (Holy books) Article 4 – Belief in the Prophets (Risalah) Article 5 – Belief in the Day of Judgement Article 6 – Allah’s Will (Qadr) 7 The 5 roots of Usul ad-Din - Shia Usul ad-Din means ‘the foundations of the faith’. These are the principles underpinning Shi’a belief, and from them come the Ten Obligatory Acts. Of the five roots, Tawhid, Prophethood and resurrection are key to all Muslim belief. To be a Muslim means to accept them completely and without question. If a Muslim rejects the other two (imamate and justice) – then they are still Muslim, just not Shi’a Muslim. 8 Angels For Sunni Muslims the belief in angels is one of the six articles of faith. Angels are said to have wings and are made of light. They can appear in human form, but dazzle so are not like humans. They have no gender and are part of the unseen world. Their purpose is to obey Allah as they have no free will. • Some act as messengers of God. They receive God’s words directly from him and pass them on perfectly to the prophets. • Some record everything a person does in their own ‘book of deeds’. This book is presented to God on the Day of Judgement, who will use it to judge the person and decide whether to send them to paradise or hell. • Some take people’s souls to God after they die, and escort them into paradise or hell. 9 Teachings about Angels ‘They do not precede Him in Angels only act speech and (only) according to when Allah tells His commandment do they act’. them to. ‘We don’t descend except for the Angels live in Heaven and command of our Lord’. descend when told ‘Honourable, recording your Angels record your deeds and deeds; they are aware of what know everything you do’. you do. ‘Virtue …means to believe in To be Allah alone, the Last Day, the virtuous/good you must angels, the book, and the believe in Prophets…’ angels. ‘Praise be to Allah, who created the heavens and earth, who Allah made the angels and they made the angels messengers with have wings. wings – two, three or four pairs’. 10 The Angel Jibril The angel of revelation • Revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad and continued to pass on God’s messages to Muhammad to guide him through the rest of his life. Jibril played an important role in communicating the final version of Islam to humanity. • Visited Maryam to tell her she was pregnant with Isa (Jesus). • Jibril was the first thing to be given life by Allah and he was sent to look at paradise and hell. 11 The Angel Mika'il The giver of RAIN and SUSTENANCE • In charge of the plants and rain. • Helped Muhammad at the Battle of Badr, which was fought for Makkah. • On Judgement Day Mika’il will help weigh a persons deeds. • He is known as the friend of mankind, always praying for Allah to give us mercy. 12 Predestination- Al Qadr In Islam, ideas about predestination vary. Some Sunni Muslims believe that God has already determined everything that will happen in the universe. They believe that: • God has written down everything that will happen in a ‘book of decrees’ because God created people, they must act according to his will • God’s will is so powerful that he is able to make anything happen that he wants to happen • Humans do not have the freedom to change their destiny, or the overall plan that God has set for them; but they do have some choice over how they behave. 13 Free will = human responsibility for actions – humans can do what they want, but must accept the consequences which may be in this life or the next. Humans will be judged on how they used their free will – to do good, to follow Allah, or to do bad and turn away from Allah. How belief in predestination influences Muslims today Believing Allah has pre-determined my life, a Muslim might also believe that nothing they face will be too difficult to get through – so they see misfortune when it happens as a test. Believing in free will, with its link to judgement should mean Muslims are careful about how they behave. Believing we are watched by Allah, a Muslims thoughts are as important as their words and deeds. Believing in al-Qadr, Muslims know Allah sees how people respond to suffering around them– Muslims will be rewarded for a positive response, so they try to help others. 14 Teachings about Predestination Relevant teachings Explaining teachings Surah 9:51 – Say, ‘Never Surah 9 says that Allah will we be struck except by has decided what what Allah has decreed happens to us, because for us: He is our protector.’ things happen only And upon Allah let the because Allah allows believer’s reply. them to. Surah 21:1 – closer and Surah 21 says that in closer to mankind comes spite of Judgement Day their reckoning, yet they coming closer, people heed not and they run still choose to do wrong away. – showing they have free will. Surah 10:44 – Allah does not deal unjustly with any Surah 10 says that man; it is man that does humans cause problems unjust to his own soul. for themselves by their behaviour (don’t blame God, blame free will). Surah 13:11 - Truly, Allah will not change the Surah 13 says Allah will condition of a people as not interfere in our lives long as they do not unless people change change Their state their attitudes. themselves. 15 Akhirah - Life After Death Akhirah is the Muslim belief in an everlasting existence after this life. It can be good or bad. • To a Muslim Akhirah definitely exists because the Qur’an says it does and the Qur’an is the word of God. • Belief in Akhirah helps Muslims make sense of our existence. • Life on earth is a test from Allah. • Humans are accountable for their actions. • Humans are on a journey back to Allah. 16 Barzakh When a person dies their soul is taken by the Angel of Death, called Azra’il. The soul hovers around the corpse, seeing everything but unable to communicate. Two angels visit and ask the soul 3 questions. 1.Who is your Lord? 2.What was your life like? 3.Who is your prophet? If these are answered correctly it is believed the soul is made comfortable to sleep until the Day of Judgement.