About Islam

Articles of Faith

  1. Belief in Allah

      • Allah is the only One and true God of the all the worlds. Believing in Allah and His 99 attributes such as most abundantly and infinitely Gracious, Merciful, Loving, Powerful, Forgiving, Knowledgeable, Holy, Generous, Protecting, Providing, and more is the single most important tenet of Islam.

  2. Belief in Angels

    • Angels are creations of God made of pure light. Angels spend their complete time in the worship and service of God. They are strictly His servants with no free will and require no food/drink/sleep. They have no physical desires nor material needs. Specific angels are charged with certain duties such as recording the good deeds and sins of every living creature on earth, bringing revelation and teachings to prophets, and more. They can be ordered to do fantastical things, but all of their strength and talents come from Allah alone. Angels cannot be seen by the naked eyes and do not serve/answer or guard human beings.

  1. Belief in Holy Scriptures

    • A Muslim believes that the Zaboor (psalms) sent to David, the Torah sent to Moses, and the Injeel (gospel) sent to Jesus were all divinely revealed to the respective prophets containing teachings of Islam and one true God. However, these Scriptures have been changed by human hands and Muslims are no longer allowed to follow their changed teachings. The last Scripture, The Holy Qu'ran revealed to the final Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the unchanged word of God preserving the true teachings of Islam for all of humanity.

  1. Belief in all Prophets of God

    • The Holy Qur’an mentions the names of 25 messengers and prophets and states thousands have come down, unnamed. These include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Joseph, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon him). Their message was the same, Islam, and its come from the One and the Same Source; God. To submit to His will and to obey his law is what it means to be a Muslim.

  1. Belief in Judgement Day & Afterlife

      • This world and all of our material surroundings will seize to exist on Judgement Day, which is inevitable and only known to God. On this day, everything will die and then be called back to life for Judgement. All humankind will be held accountable for their ill and good deeds. By judging all humans most fairly, God will cast us in hellfire or grant us Paradise. Pleasing God during a person's lifetime to attain Paradise, and save themselves from hellfire, are motivators for believers to strive toward righteousness and live out/complete the teachings of Islam.

Pillars of Islam

  1. Testifying Belief (Shahada)

    • The Islamic creed is to say and sincerely believe: "there is no God but one Allah and Muhammad is the final Messenger and Prophet of Allah." To say the creed, shahada, is all that is needed to convert/revert to Islam.

  2. Prayer (Salat)

    • Muslims perform a uniform prayer ritual 5 times a day at specific times (before sunrise, noon, afternoon, evening, and night.) This is different than just calling out to God silently/out loud and “praying” to him at anytime. Muslims can do that too, at anytime, but their are distinctions between structured and unstructured prayer.

  3. Fasting (Siyam)

    • Muslims fast by abstaining from food, drink, and any sins/trangressive behaviors mentioned in the Qu'ran. The purpose of fasting is to cleanse one's self from character defects and become closer and more aware of God's presence everywhere. Muslims most commonly fast during the month of Ramadan (each day from before sunrise until after sunset). This was the month that the Qur’an was sent down to Prophet Muhammad. This month is specifically intended to teach Muslims about patience, humility, spirituality, submissiveness to God. Muslims fast for the sake of Allah and celebrate the holiday (Eid al Fitr) after this holy month is over.

  4. Charity (Zakat)

    • Muslims are required to give a fixed portion (2.5%) of their total savings as a tithe or as obligatory charity to the poor and needy. Giving zakat is only incumbent on those who have accumulated assets and savings.

  5. Pilgrimage (Hajj)

    • This is a pilgrimage to Mecca where the holy house of Allah is located (Kaa’ba). A Muslim should make at least one pilgrimage during his lifetime if they have the finances to do so. One who goes to Hajj and completes it, comes back as a fresh person because all of their sins are forgiven. After Hajj is complete, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha, where Muslims slaughter sheep and distribute in charity. This action reminds Muslims of the story of Ibrahim and his son Ishmael.