Basic Quranic Teachings of Faith related to

(Surah Baqarah Verse 284-286)

Belief in Existence and oneness of Allah Taala: (The first article of faith):

Oneness of God:

Oneness of the godhead is the fundamental principle of all heavenly religions and a specialty of the religion of Islam. Divine prophets
called people to belief in oneness of God and monotheism and prohibited them from polytheism and duality. The Holy Prophet of
Islam (S) began his mission with monotheism and in the first stage announced: Say ‘there is no god except Allah’ and be successful.
Laws and beliefs of Islam are based on the oneness of the godhead.

The Holy Quran has accorded a special position to monotheism through numerous verses in such a way that it can be said to be a book
of monotheism that opposes polytheism. The Holy Quran considers polytheism to be the only sin which is unforgivable under every
circumstance. And He says:

‫ِإَّن الَّلَه اَل َيْغِفُر َأن ُيْش َر َك ِبِه َوَيْغِفُر َما ُدوَن َذ ِلَك ِلَمن َيَش آُء‬

“Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who
associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin”.
 Some of Allah’s attributes in the light of Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 284-286:
1- Allah is the master of the entire universe.
2- Allah will call all the people for accountability.
3- Allah forgives and punishes as he will.

‫ِح ۡي ِم‬
‫ِن‬ ‫ِهۡحٰم ۡيالَّر‬ ‫ۡحالَّر‬‫ِم الل‬
‫ِب‬‫ِبۡسۡس‬
‫ۡن َّيَش ٓاُء َوُيَعِّذُب َمۡنۡن‬ ‫ۡم ِبِه الّٰلُه ۡغ َؕف‬
‫َؕيـۡغِفُرِلَمۡن‬ ‫ُه ُك ۡم‬
‫ۡبُيَح اِس ۡب‬ ‫ۡو ۡو‬
‫ۡخُفۡو‬‫َا‬
‫ۡم ُت‬ ‫ۡخ‬ ‫ۡوَاۡن‬
‫ۤۡىُفِس ُك‬ ‫ۡمُدۡنۡوا َما ِف‬ ‫ىَاۡر ۡن‬
‫ِض ؕۡب ۡوَو ۤۡى ۡن ُت‬
‫ِاۡب‬ ‫ِفاۡلۡل‬
‫ۡر‬ ‫ِلّٰلِه َما ِفى الَّسٰمٰوِت َوَما‬
‫ۡى‬
‫ٍءٌرۡي‬ ‫َّيَش ٓاُءؕ َوالّٰلُه َعٰلىُكۡى‬
‫ِّلَشۡىۡيَقِدۡي‬
Translation: All that is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah. Whether you disclose whatever is in your hearts or conceal
it, Allah will call you to account for it, and will then forgive whomsoever He wills, and will chastise whomsoever He wills. Allah
has power over everything.
This Ayah mentions two other matters. First, that man is individually responsible to, and answerable before, God. Second that the Lord
of the heavens and the earth, before whom man is answerable, is All-Knowing. Thus, nothing is concealed from Him, not even intentions
and thoughts which lie hidden deep in the hearts and minds of people.
This refers to God's absolute authority. He is not bound by laws framed by others which might limit Him to operating in a certain
manner.
Allah does not put responsibility out of his capability.
ؕ‫اۡكاَتَس َبۡت ۡت‬
‫ۡك‬ ‫اَّلُوۡسَعَها ؕ َلَها َما َكَس َبۡت ۡي َوَعَلۡي‬
‫ۡت َها َم‬ ‫اَل ُيَكِّلُف الّٰل ۡف‬
‫ُهَنۡف ًس ا ِا ۡس‬
Allah does not lay a responsibility on anyone beyond his capacity. In his favour shall be whatever good each one does, and
against him whatever evil he does.

This is the second fundamental principle of God's law of retribution . Every man will be rewarded for the services he has rendered; none
will be rewarded for services rendered by others. The same applies to punishment. It is the one who is guilty who will be punished.

Dua of the believer which they should ask:

‫َو ۡر‬
‫ۡر‬ ‫ۡغ‬ ۚ‫اَلِّمۡل َنا َما اَل َطاَقَة َلَناِب ٖهٖه ۚ ۡعَو‬
‫َواۡغ‬‫اۡعُف َعَّنا‬
‫اِف‬ ‫ۡخَطۡوۡاَنا ۚ َر َّب َنا َوَلا َت ۡح ِم ۡل َع َلۡي َن ۤا ِا ۡص ًرا َك َما َح َم ۡل َت ٗه َع َلى ا َّل ِذۡي َن ِم ۡن َقۡب ِل َنا َۚر َّبَنا َو‬
‫ۡلُتَح‬ ‫َاۡخ‬
‫ۡوۤا ۡاَا‬ ‫اَلۡذَنۤا ِا‬
‫ۤا َّنِس ۡي‬
‫ۡن َن‬ ‫َر َّبَن ۡذا ۤا ۡن ۡيُتَؤاِخ‬
 ‫ِمۡي َن‬
‫ِفِر‬ ‫ۡل‬‫ى َقۡوۡياۡل ٰك‬ ‫ۡواۡل‬ ‫ۡلُصاۡرَنا َعَل‬ ‫َناۡن‬‫َتَمۡوٰلٮ َف‬ ‫َا‬ ‫ ۡوۡنَاۡرۡن‬‫َح‬ ‫ ۡمَواۡر‬‫َلَنا‬
‫َحۡرۡم‬
‫ۡرَنا‬‫َو‬ ‫ا‬
(Believers! Pray thus to your Lord): “Our Lord! Take us not to task if we forget or commit mistakes.
Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden such as You laid on those gone before us. Our Lord! Lay not on us burdens which we do not
have the power to bear. And overlook our faults, and forgive us, and have mercy upon us. You are our Guardian; so grant us
victory against the unbelieving folk.”
The prayer made here is that God should not subject them to the severe tests and the terrible persecutions and hardships undergone by
their ancestors. It is God's law that those who commit themselves to follow Truth and righteousness are subjected to severe tests and
tribulations, and it is a believer's duty to meet them with patience and fortitude. At the same time, the believer should always pray that
God may make it easy for him to follow the path of Truth and righteousness.

***

Risalat (prophet hood) (Second article of faith)

‫ِح ۡي ِم‬
‫ِن‬ ‫ِهۡحٰم ۡيالَّر‬ ‫ۡحالَّر‬ ‫ِم الل‬
‫ِبۡسۡس‬
‫ِب‬
‫ُقَبۡي َن َاَح ٍدِّمۡن‬
‫ۡنُّر ُس ِل ٖهٖه‬ ‫ اَل ُنَفِّر ۡي‬‫ٖهٖهَوُر ُس ِل ٖهٖه‬
‫ِمُنۡوَن ؕ ُكٌّل ٰاَمَن ِبالّٰلِهَوَمٰٓلِٕٮَكِت ٖهٖهَوُكُتِب‬
‫َو‬‫ۡؤ‬
‫اۡل ُمۡؤ‬ ‫َلَلۡي ِهِمۡن َّرۡل‬
‫ِّبۡوٖه‬ ‫ٖهِا‬ ‫ۡن ُاۤاۡن ِز‬ ‫ٰا ۡوَم ۤا ۡن ۡيالَّر ُس‬
‫َن ۡوُل ِبَم‬
‫َك‬
‫ِصۡي ُر‬ ‫ُغَر اَنَك َر َّبَن اَوِاَلۡي ۡياۡل َم‬
‫ۡل‬ ‫َاَطۡعَنا ۡفُغ‬
‫ۡيۡف‬ ‫ُلاِمۡعَنۡعَو ا‬ ‫َقَس‬‫ا‬‫َوَقاۡوُلۡو‬
‫ۡع‬
‫َو‬
The Messenger believes, and so do the believers, in the guidance sent down upon him from his Lord: each of them believes in
Allah, and in His angels, and in His Books, and in His Messengers. They say: “We make no distinction between any of His
Messengers. We hear and obey. Our Lord! Grant us your forgiveness; to You we are destined to return.”
This verse outlines what one is required to believe in and what should be the distinguishing characteristics of one's conduct. They consist
of the following: belief in God, in His angels, in His Books, in all His Messengers .These are the five fundamental articles of faith in
Islam. Having accepted them, the only proper attitude for a Muslim is to cheerfully accept and follow whatever directives he receives
from Allah.

Literally,Risalat literally means to send this word has been derived from the word Rasal.

Technically: it means to convey the message of God to his worshippers. The word paighamber which is of Persian language has almost
the same meaning i.e. "One who has a message."
With this clear-cut concept of prophethood, Islam teaches its followers to have faith in all prophets. Adam A.S was the first prophet of
God and Muhammad may peace and mercy of God be on him was the last of this series. According to one of the sayings of the Holy
Prophet, there were sent one hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets in the world.

Need and Significance of Risalat:

Man is the vice-gerent of God on the earth. The duty of the prophets is to guide the people to the right path (The path of God). They
convey to them the direction of God and the fact as what he likes and dislikes.

Prominent Qualities of Prophets

1. Human beings
2. Best Among all Human Beings
3. Emergence of Miracles
4. Innocence
5. Knowledge through Revelation
6. Common Teachings

The Prophethood of Muhammad and its Salient Features

1. Completion of Prophethood
 2. Possessing a Complete Record of Life
3. Comprehensiveness of the religion.
4. A Complete Guideline for Us
5. Universality of Islam
6. The Miracle of Qur'an
7. The Record of Hadith is safe.

The Finality of Prophethood

This concept means that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last of the Prophets there will be no prophet after him".
***

Belief in Angels (Malaika) (Third Article Of Faith)

Malaika or belief in the angels is one of the ingredients of faith in Islam. The angels are of special importance. They have been
invested by God with the supernatural power to keep order in the functioning of the universe. This is because they have not been
invested with a free will by God Almighty.
Angels transmit messages to His representatives, worthy individuals who are specially chosen by God for the task of being His
messengers. These messngers are called prophets, among the angels Gabriel brought divine revelations to the Prophet of Islam.
Most important among the angels are Jibrail, Mikail, Izrail and Israfil.
Jibrail,, is the ‘holy spirit’, who brings revelations from God to His prophets.
Izrailis called the angel of death, for he takes away the souls of the dying.
Israfilwill blow the trumpet when the time comes for the world to end and on the Day of Judgement.
Mikailis the one who is responsible for giving us foods and drink.
***

Belief in Revealed Books (Kutub): (Fourth Article Of Faith)

The belief in all of God’s revealed books forms an integral part of Islamic faith.

The Books Mentioned in the Holy Quran:

The Quran mentions by name at least three main Islamic scriptures which came before the Quran.

 Tawrāt or Torah: According to the Quran, the Torah was revealed to Moses, Moses and his brother Aaron (Hārūn A.S) used
the Torah to preach the message to the Israelites (Banu Isrā’īl).
 Zabūr: The Quran mentions the Zabur, , as being the holy scripture revealed to King David Dawood A.S.
 Injīl or Gospel: The Injil was the holy book revealed to Jesus, according to the Quran. The current canonical Gospels, in the
belief of Muslim scholars, are not divinely revealed but rather which has been corrupted and/or lost.
 The Quran: The Quran is the revelation given to Prophet Muhammad alaihissalam, it has 114 chapters. It is a universal book,
safe from changes and a live miracle given to the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).

Prepared by Sidra Mehvish

Field of specialization: Comparative Religions