Islam (part 2): Faith

The word Islam finds its origin in the Arabic verb slm, meaning to surrender or submit. Islam is the act of submitting, and a Muslim is one who submits. It is to Allah that all are commanded to bow in submission.

Allah calls for submission in two primary areas: faith and works. The focus of this article will be the theological tenets to which Muslims submit in faith.

Muslim beliefs are often delineated by the following confession: “I believe in Allah, his angels, his books, his prophets, in the last day, in the predestination by the Most High Allah of good and evil, and in the resurrection after death.” There is also a shorter, more summary statement: “I testify that there is no Allah but Allah and I testify that Mohammed is the Apostle of Allah.” The former, more detailed creed will be the basis of this explanation.

Allah

According to the Qur’an, Allah is the one true God, creator of the worlds, ruler of all, and judge of men. The Qur’an opens with these words:

“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah The Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds; Most Gracious, Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment” (Surah 1:1-4).

The nature of Allah is often misconceived by non-Muslims. They understand him to be a judge and executer of punishment only. Whereas, Qur’anically, he is known perhaps mostly in his judgments of unbelieving men, but also in graciousness towards believers. In fact, every chapter of the Qur’an begins by acknowledging that Allah is the “Most Gracious, Most Merciful.”  

The Qur’an does not argue for the existence or exclusivity of Allah, it assumes it and states it—often and forcefully.

“Allah! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal (Surah 3:2).

That Allah is the only true God is the most important and fundamental point of belief. This is seen in the confession “there is no Allah but Allah,” and in the Qur’an’s repeated assertion that to attribute partners to Allah is the worst of sins.

His Angels

Allah is said to have created a host of beings, made of light, to carry out various tasks in his name; some to keep account of the deeds of men, some to be messengers to world, some to strengthen believers, others to simply surround his throne and worship. The highest of these beings is the archangel Jibrail (Gabriel), sometimes referred to as the Holy Spirit. Mikail (Michael), Israfil, and Izrail are other archangels of exalted rank who occur frequently as instruments of Allah.

The existence of Satan, the fallen angel, is explained in the Qur’an by a rather strange story—strange, in that this it does not seem to accord with Allah’s supposed jealousy for the worship of the world.

Iblis (Satan), the Qur’an narrates, was cast from his angelic, heavenly position for refusing to bow down, with the other angels, to Adam at Allah’s command.

“It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels bow down to Adam, and they bowed down; not so Iblis; he refused to be of those who bow down” (Surah 7:11)

As result of this disobedience, Iblis is doomed to wander the earth, seeking the harm of those who believe, until the Last Day when Allah’s righteous judgment will be meted out.  

His Books

Muslims assert that Allah has revealed himself through 104 sacred books. Four of these now remain. They are the Torah, the Psalms, the gospels, and the Qur’an. Because of the plain contradictions in the Qur’an when compared to the three other books, Muslims avow that the latter have been corrupted by Jews and Christians and can no longer be considered perfect revelations of Allah. The Qur’an alone, they say, merits that distinction.

The Qur’an is a compellation of the revelations from Allah, through Gabriel, which Mohammed claimed to receive. Thus it is all written, not as Mohammed’s enlightened narratives and explanations of doctrine, but as very words of Allah; eternally inscribed, in Arabic, on a Tablet in heaven, and revealed to Mohammed throughout a twenty-two year period. Not until after his death did a final, earthly written version come into existence.  

The Qur’an is true, it states, because it is not and cannot be equaled by any other book. It is a miracle that only Allah can create.

“If the whole of mankind and Jinns [dark, shadowy spirits] were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support (Surah 17:88).”          
    
His Prophets

Out of His abundant mercy, Islam attests that Allah sent messengers into this world warn men of the coming destruction and illumine the path of truth. Adam, Noah, Job, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed are regarded as the greatest of the many prophets whom Allah has granted. The two greatest of these are Jesus and Mohammed.

Jesus is very deeply revered by the Islamic religion. He is indeed, excepting Mohammed, the most highly approbated prophet in the Qur’an. That book affirms his virgin birth, his miracles, and many other things that hold commonality with Christian beliefs. It denies, however some of the most fundamental and essential Biblical teaching about Jesus.

The deity of Jesus is the most firmly contested Biblical position. The reason for this is easily discovered—one need only read several pages of the Qur’an to taste its abundant declarations of Allah’s singularity and the fate of those who deny it. To attribute Jesus as a partner of Allah is, to the Muslim mind, a sin above all others.

Jesus’ sonship (his relationship to the Father in the economic trinity), and crucifixion are also Qur’anically laid waste. His sonship is debased because Mohammed seemed to understand it only in the physical sense as the offspring of a relationship between what he apparently considered the first two persons of the Christian trinity—God and Mary. (Interestingly, this was likely a result Christianity’s over-veneration of the Mother of Jesus.) Jesus crucifixion is denied in a mistaken attempt to protect Allah from his seeming inability to prevent the death of his prophet. It is commonly held that Allah miraculously placed another man upon the cross in Jesus stead.    

“ . . . they said (in boast), ‘we killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah’; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, . . .” (Surah 4:157)    

Muslims claim that Jesus’ New Testament promises about the coming of the Holy Spirit are in reality prophesies of the coming prophet Mohammed. Mohammed (of whom more has been written in the previous post) is Allah’s final messenger and, as such, is known as the “seal of the prophets.” Islam considers his revelations to be as final and complete as Allah will give to the earth and that his life should be reverently and meticulously imitated.  

The Last Day and The Resurrection After Death

Belief in the Day of Judgment might possibly be of an import second in essentiality only to belief in Allah. On numerous occasions, the Qur’an refers to Muslims as those who believe in “Allah and the Last Day,” and describes that day—along with its related occurrence, the resurrection of the dead—very vividly and very often.

“The Trumpet will (just) be sounded, when all that are in the heavens and on earth will swoon, except such as it will please Allah (to exempt). Then will a second one be sounded, when, behold, they will be standing and looking on” (Surah 39:68)!

Resurrection will be followed by a period of 40 years, during which the deeds of men will be accounted and then weighed.

“Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy—they will attain salvation: but those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls; in Hell with they abide” (Surah 23:102-103).

Mankind must then traverse an extremely narrow and lengthy bridge. Believers will be enabled to cross with ease and will live for eternity in a sensual paradise of cool fruits, rich clothing, and dark-eyed maidens.

“And the shades of the (Garden) will come low over them, and the bunches (of fruit) there will hang low in humility. . . . And round about them will (serve) youths of perpetual (freshness): . . . Upon them will be green garments of fine silk and heavy brocade, and they will be adorned with bracelets of silver: and there Lord will give them to drink of a Wine Pure and Holy” (Surah 76:14,19,21).  

Those who did not believe and whose good works were few will fall off the bridge and be plunged into a hell of inexpressible torment.

“Ah, woe, that Day, to the Rejecters of Truth (Surah 77:22)!”  

The Predestination by the Most High Allah of Good and Evil

Consistent with Islam’s high view of Allah is their understanding of his supreme authority. According to Muslims, Allah has predetermined and will bring to pass everything that has happened in previous times and everything that will occur in the future; both in heaven and earth, good or evil. This includes predestination of belief and non-belief.

“ . . . whom Allah willeth, he leaveth to wander: whom He willeth, He placeth on the way that is straight”(Surah 6:39).
                 
Put simply, this an Islamic version of Calvinism.

An Overview of History

In summary, Muslims hold that Allah created Adam and Eve, upright and holy, in paradise. By eating the fruit of a tree from which Allah had expressly commanded them to abstain, they incurred his wrath and were cast out of paradise to earth. But here, the story begins to diverge even more widely from biblical history. For, once exiled on earth, their sin was forgiven them and thus, in Muslim doctrine, there is no imputation of Adam’s sin to his posterity. This of course dramatically affects their understanding of salvation, or deliverance. For a Muslim, it is not a necessity—they are not lost and do not require salvation. They must only live in belief and work righteousness and they will merit the promised reward.

Through his prophets and Holy Books, Allah has manifested this straight path to the world. Those who walk in it will obtain life eternal in his company and in the company of his angels; those who stray from the path will perish utterly.

It has been aim in the explanation to inform, not to argue or refute unless perhaps incidentally. I hope nonetheless that my rejection of such teachings as unscriptural is readily apparent.