What are the six articles of faith in Islam?

What are the six articles of faith in Islam?

There are six pillars of Faith in Islam:

1. Belief in Allah (God),

2. Belief in His Angels,

3. Belief in His Books,

4. Belief in His Messengers,

5. Belief in the Last Day, and:

6. Belief in the Divine Preordainment and Divine Decree (Qadhaa' and Qadr).

1- Belief in Allah:

This article means to believe that Allah is the One God, to whom worship is due; that He is the Creator and the Sustainer of everything; that it is He who gives life and causes death, and that He is Unique in His Names and Attributes.

Allah is the name of the essence of the only true God who exists by 

necessity and deserves all the praise. Hence, He prefers it to the rest of 

His names, extolled be His glory. It is this name – Allah- out of all the 

names that combines all attributes of perfection. Allah is One and 

Unique. He has neither a wife, a son, a partner, nor an equal. He is the 

sole Creator and the Rubb of the universe.

Believing in Allah means believing in His Oneness, in HisRuboobiyah, 

Uloohiyyah and His names and attributes.

A believer loves and is grateful to Allah for His bounties, but being aware 

of the fact that this good deeds, whether mental or physical, are far from 

being commensurate with Divine favours, he is always anxious lest 

because of his sins Allah should withhold from him some of these favours or punish him in the Hereafter. He therefore fears Him, surrenders himself 

to Him, and serves Him with great humility.

(And your Allah is One Allah. There is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. - 2:163 )

Allah. There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory). - 2:255)

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

(He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He pleases. There is no god but He, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. - 3:6)

(There is no god but He: That is the witness of Allah, His angels, and those endued with knowledge, standing firm on justice. There is no god but He, the Exalted in Power, the Wise. - 3:18 )

(That is Allah, your Lord! there is no god but He, the Creator of all things: then worship ye Him: and He hath power to dispose of all affairs. - 6:102)

(We sent Noah to his people. He said: "O my people! worship Allah. ye have no other god but Him. I fear for you the punishment of a dreadful day! - 7:59)

2 - Belief in His Angels:

Allah has created the angels from light. They are honorable slaves of Allah; they obey Him and execute His Commands; Allah describes them by saying: "…They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded." [Quran: 66:6]

Allah created them to worship Him, and only Allah knows how many they are in number. Among them are:

- Jibreel (Gabriel) who is charged with delivering Divine revelations to the Prophets and Messengers of Allah,

- Meekaa'eel (Michael) who is charged with sending the rain,

- The Angel of Death who is charged with collecting human souls,

- The bearers of the Throne of Allah and

- The guards of Paradise and Hell.

Besides these, there are angels who guard humans, others who record people's deeds and utterances, and still others who are charged with various other duties and tasks.

“(Remember) that the two receivers 

(recording angels) receive (each human being 

after he or she has attained the age of 

puberty), one sitting on the right and one on 

the left (to note his or her actions). Not a 

word does he (or she) utter but there is a 

watcher by him ready (to record it).

{Surah Qaf (50), ay'at 17-18}

3 - Belief in His Books:

Belief in His Books is believing that Allah the Exalted did in reality reveal Books to His Messengers to convey them to their people. Those Books comprise the Speech of Allah. These were doubtlessly pure at the point of revelation, and whenever a Book or Scripture was revealed, it abrogated the preceding one. The known Divine Scriptures are:

1. The Torah, the Book that Allah revealed to Moosa (Moses), may Allah exalt his mention.

2. The Psalms, the Book revealed to Daawood (David), may Allah exalt his mention.

3. The Gospel, revealed to 'Eesa (Jesus), may Allah exalt his mention.

The Books in the hands of the Christians and Jews today, that is the Torah and the Bible with the Old and the New Testaments, are not authentic because they have been distorted, altered and tampered with. Moreover, they have been abrogated by the last of Allah's Books, the Quran.

Alif, Lam, Ra. [This is] a Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that you might bring mankind out of darknesses into the light by permission of their Lord - to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy - 

(Quran 14:1)٭ 

The Qur'an introduces itself as the guidance for the worlds (3:96); and the manifest light (4:174).

According to Qur’an, Allah has laid down solution of every human problem in the Qur’an very clearly. Qur’an says: “and We have revealed the Book to you explaining clearly everything (16:89).

Also He has described the Qur'an in these words: “ ....... a guidance for mankind and clear evidence of guidance and discrimination (between wrong)”. (2:185).

Allah says: “And (as for) those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them onto Our ways”. (29:69).

“A Book We have sent down to you so that you may bring forth mankind from the darkness into the light......”. (14:1)

That you may bring forth your people from the darkness into the light ...” (14:5)

This is the book, in it is guidance for sure without doubt, to those who fear Allah”. (2:2)

“They are invited to the book of Allah to settle their dispute”. (3:23)

“We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) in truth so that you might judge between men as guided by Allah”. (4:105).

“And this is a book which We have revealed as a blessing, so follow it and be righteous, that you may receive mercy”. (6:155).

“A book revealed unto you, so that your heart be not in any difficulty on that account, (so that) with it you may warn (the sinful) and teach the believers”. (7:2).

“This Qur’an is not such as can be produced by other than Allah, on the contrary it is a confirmation of (revelations) that were sent before it, and a full explanation of the book, wherein there is not doubt from the Lord of the worlds”. (10:37)

“And We sent down the book to you for the express purpose that you should make clear to them those things in which they differ, and so that it should be a guide and mercy to those who believe”. (16:64).

“We have revealed for you (O men) a book in which there is a message for you, will you then not understand”. (21:10).

“These are the verses of the book that make things clear”. (26:2).

“... A book which We have sent down unto you with full of blessings so that they may meditate on its signs and that man of understanding may receive admonition”. (38:29).

“Verily We have revealed the book to you in truth for instructing mankind. He that receives guidance benefits his own soul, but he that strays injures his own soul”. (39:41).

4 - Belief in His Messengers:

Muslims attest that Allah did send Messengers to every nation inviting them to worship Him Alone. This belief also entails denouncing all gods that are worshipped besides Allah or instead of Him, and that all Messengers were truthful and discharged their duty in the best manner. Allah sent many messengers, and only Allah knows how many. It is incumbent upon all Muslims to believe in all the Prophets and Messengers. He who denies one of them denies all. The first messenger that Allah had sent to mankind was Nooh (Noah), may Allah exalt his mention and the last one was Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ). Allah says (what means): {And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying]: 'Worship Allah and avoid Taaghoot (i.e., false deities)...} [Quran: 16:36]

All Prophets and Messengers were human beings. Allah distinguished them by commissioning them as Prophets and Messengers and supported them with miracles. They had no Divine qualities, and had no access to the Unseen world. However, Allah sent Prophet Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) to all mankind; Allah says (what means): {Say [O Muhammad]: 'O mankind! I am the Messenger of Allah to you all....'} [Quran: 7:158]

 Muhammad(Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)

the father of any of your men, but he 

is the Messenger of Allâh and the last 

(end) of the Prophets. And Allâh is 

Ever AllAware of everything

{Surah al-Ahzab (33), ayah 40}

No son (or offspring) did Allâh beget, 

nor is there any ilâh (god) along with 

Him. (If there had been many gods), 

then each god would have taken away 

what he had created, and some would 

have tried to overcome others! Glorified 

be Allâh above all that they attribute to 

Him!

{Surah al-Mu'minun (23), ayah 91}

5 - Belief in the Last Day:

Muslims attest to the truth of everything Allah or His Messenger  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) said about death. Allah has not created His creation in vain. He created men and jinn to worship Him and promised paradise as a reward to those who obey Him and His Messengers, and promised Hellfire to those who disobey Him or His Messengers. He has set a certain period for the whole universe, whose end will be the Final Hour. During the Final Hour, humans will be questioned about their deeds in this world. Those deeds will be weighed for them. One whose good deeds overweigh his evil deeds will prosper, while him whose bad deeds outweigh his good ones will be condemned to Hellfire - unless he died in the state of Islam. Then, Allah would either forgive him or punish him, and eventually he would enter paradise. Islam is the precondition for the acceptance of any good deed.

The Description of Paradise:

Paradise, or Jannah in Arabic, is the abode that Allah has prepared for believers. It holds means of everlasting bliss that no eyes have ever seen, no ears have heard of and no human has imagined. In it are pure female mates, rivers of milk, rivers of wine, rivers of pure honey and every kind of delicious fruit and meat. Its residents will not experience exhaustion, boredom or death.

The Description of Hell:

Hellfire is the abode that Allah has prepared for the infidels who deny Him and His Messengers. Its food is intolerantly bitter, and its drink is the pus exuding from the skins of its inmates. Its depth is unfathomable. The infidels and the hypocrites will live in it forever.

"O people! if you are in doubt about the raising, then surely We created you from dust, then from a small seed, then from a clot, then from a lump of flesh, complete in make and incomplete, that We may make clear to you; and We cause what We please to stay in the wombs till an appointed time, then We bring you forth as babies, then that you may attain your maturity; and of you is he who is caused to die, and of you is he who is brought back to the worst part of life, so that after having knowledge he does not know anything; and you see the earth sterile land, but when We send down on it the water, it stirs and swells and brings forth of every kind a beautiful herbage. This is because Allah is the Truth and because He gives life to the dead and because He has power over all things. And because the hour is coming, there is no doubt about it; and because Allah shall raise up those who are in the graves. (22:5-7)

Neither your creation nor your raising is anything but as a single soul… (31:28)

Do not these think that they shall be raised again, for a mighty day, the day on which men shall stand before the Lord of the worlds? (83:4-6)

Allah, there is no god but He – He will most certainly gather you together on the resurrection day, there is no doubt in it; and who is more true in word than Allah? (4:87)

6 - Belief in the Divine Preordainment and Divine Decrees (Qadhaa' and Qadr):

Doom (Qadhaa') is the general Decree of Allah that every human shall die, whereas a Divine Decree (Qadr) is a particular Decree of Allah or the execution of Qadhaa', that a certain person is to die at a particular time and place. Hence, believing in this article entails believing that Allah has created everything and has foreordained its proper measure.

The Facets of Qadr:

1. Allah is well acquainted with everything taking place, and His Knowledge encompasses everything.

2. Allah has pre-assigned portions of everything in the Preserved Tablet.

3. Nothing takes place in the heavens or on the earth without the Will of Allah and His Wish. Whatever Allah wills, takes place and whatever He  does not will, does not take place.

4. Allah is the Creator of all things. There is no other creator beside Him.

Allah says, “Don’t you know that Allah knows all that is in heaven and on earth? Verily, it is all in the Book. Verily, that is easy for Allah” (22:70)

, “No calamity occurs on the earth or among yourselves but it is inscribed in the Book [of Decrees] before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah” (57:22).

“And with Him are the keys of the Unseen. None knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is on the earth and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but he knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record” (6:59).

“Allah has created everything” (39:62). Another verse states, “Verily, We created all things with Divine Pre-ordainment” (54:49).