Question
I have chosen to study Islam for an assignment for college where I am asked to write about how religious beliefs may affect relationships between parents and children. I needed to know about the principal teachings such as basic concepts, writings, holy books and figures etc [of Islam].
Thank you, for taking the time to read my request. I hope that you can help me.
Reply
There are three basic beliefs of Islam.
The belief that there is only God(Tawheed) – is the prime and the most basic belief of Islam. Islam wants us to believe in God as He has explained Himself to be in His book – The Qur’an. The Qur’an has given us an attributive (a qualitative) introduction of God. According to the Qur’an, the basic attributes of God are:
Mercy;
Providence;
Wisdom;
Omnipotence (God can do all that He, according to His Wisdom, decides to do);
Omniscience (God is all-knowing); and
Justice
These attributes of God are not just a philosophical reality for Islam. On the contrary, belief in a god, who has these attributes, lays down the foundations of man’s relationship with God as well as his fellow human beings and thus such a belief has significant practical implications as well.
The second element of belief is that of Prophethood(Risalah). Muslims are required to believe in the prophets of God. The last among these prophets of God was Mohammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him). Like Mohammad (pbuh), Abraham, Lot, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Jesus (pbut) (and many others) were also prophets of God. All these prophets of God, gave the same teachings to man. Thus, Islam requires us to believe that the teachings of all the prophets, though some of which have been completely lost and others have, wholly or partly, been altered by their followers – having originated from the same source – were basically the same.
The third element of faith of Islam is the belief in the Day of Judgment(Akhirah). Islam requires its followers to believe that God shall one day – with absolute justice and mercy – separate the good from the evil among men. The good, on that day, shall be rewarded with the eternal bliss of the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, and the bad shall be doomed to the punishment of hellfire.
The basic source of all religious teachings, according to Islam, is the person of the prophet of God. A prophet of God is guided by revelation from God. He, in turn, delivers the revealed message to his followers. After the last prophet of God – Mohammad (pbuh) – the basic and the most accurate source of the guidance of God to mankind is the person of that last prophet. Thus, Mohammad (pbuh), according to the Islamic faith, is the source of all true guidance of God for all mankind.
The teachings of Mohammad (pbuh) have been transmitted to the world over time, without any adulteration or interpolation. The two basic sources of the teachings of Mohammad (pbuh) are the Qur’an, which is the revealed word of God, compiled and transmitted in the form of a book; and the Sunnah, which constitutes the established Islamic practice, which was disseminated by the Prophet (pbuh) among all of his followers, without any exception. Both the Qur’an as well as the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) have been transmitted to the present-day Muslims all over the world through the continual – and uninterrupted – transmission of the whole generation of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) – and then every subsequent generation – to its next generation. Because of this verbal perpetuation – in the case of the Qur’an – and practical perpetuation – in the case of the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) – both these sources have always remained clear of any adulteration, interpolation, addition or deletion and have always maintained their original form – as they were left by the Prophet (pbuh) at the time of his departure from the scene.
Besides the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), Another source of Islamic history and the life and teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) is the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh)called Ahadith. These narratives(Ahadith), in contrast to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, have been transmitted to the later generations through oral narratives of a few people only. However, these narratives can provide invaluable information about the life and practices of the Prophet (pbuh), and can also provide phenomenal guidance to the best mode (the Prophet’s way) of following the teachings of Islam.However,due to the inherent weaknesses of reliability and accuracy with regards to these narratives as well as the fact that the Prophet (pbuh) himself never directed his followers to record and compile these narratives, they are generally not considered among the prime sources of Islam. They constitute a supplementary source, which is only accepted to be reliable and accurate if 1) it is neither against the Qur’an and the Sunnah and 2) nor does it make any additions to the main body of Islam, as is contained in the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
The prime target of all Islamic teachings is to cleanse the human mind, body and soul of all impious and unclean effects that it may have acquired during the life of this world. According to Islam, on the Day of Judgment, only those people shall stand successful, who during the course of this life strive to cleanse their mind, body and soul of all impious and unclean affects. The Qur’an and the Sunnah show the way of this cleansing of the human mind, body and soul.
All Islamic teachings can be divided into two main parts:
1-Islamic philosophy
2-Islamic law
The main topics discussed in the Islamic philosophy are:
-Rationale behind belief in one God.
-Rationale behind belief in messengers of God.
-Rationale behind belief and concepts related to the Day of Judgment
-Determinism and free-will.
-Good and Evil.
-Rules of God’s interaction with humans in their collective and individual capacities.
-Ethics and Morality
-The design of the human being.
The main topics discussed in the Shari`ah are:
Rules for worship.
Rules for social interactions.
Rules for economic interactions.
Rules for political interactions.
Rules for propagation of Islam.
Rules for Jihad (war).
Rules for punishments.
Rules relating to oaths and their violation.
Rules for edibles and
Muslim etiquette and Islamic symbols.
The main stress in the Philosophy is the correction of mental, philosophical and ethical concepts. While that in the Law, it is the correction of the basis of human relations with God on the one hand and the correction of the principles of interaction – in different capacities – with other human beings on the other.
In the above paragraphs we have tried to briefly give an account of the major points, which need to be known at the outset, for any comprehensive introduction to Islam. However, we hope you would appreciate the fact that a more comprehensive introduction to Islam will require much more time and far more details on each aspect introduced in the above outline.
UIUK team
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