Iman (Faith) consists of firm belief and conviction in the following six articles of faith.

1. God (Allah)

When referring to Allah, we discuss two things about Him: His essence (dhaat) and His attributes (sifaat).

These include:

• Existence (It is necessary for Him to exist)
• Pre-eternality (He is pre-existent without origin, eternal without end)
• Ever-lasting (He neither perishes nor ceases to exist)
• He is unlike creation (He is unlike anything and also unlike whatever the imagination can conjure up about Him)
• Self-Subsistence (Allah depends on nothing else for His existence, be that a creator, place, time, or anything else)
• One (He is alone without partner, unique without a similar, and one without division)
• Alive (He never dies; all-sustaining, He never sleeps)
• Power (He is omnipotent, possessing infinite power)
• Knowledge (He eternally knows every necessary, possible and impossible thing; nothing is hidden from His knowledge)
• Will (All things are in accordance with his determination and will, and His will is fulfilled)
• Hearing (He hears all existent things, without an organ or bodily means.)
• Seeing (He sees all existent things without an organ or bodily means)
• Speech (His eternal speech is not composed of letters or sounds; it is an eternal attribute established with His essence)

2. The Angels

A Muslim must also believe in Angels, which were created by God and made out of light. They are neither male nor female and obey the commandments of God. Angels have been given specific roles in the universe of God, and the total number of Angels is only known by God.

3. The Scriptures

Belief in the Divine Books: It is necessary to believe that Allah Almighty revealed holy books to His Prophets, may peace be upon them. These include the Torah, revealed to Musa (Moses), may peace be upon him; the Psalms, revealed to Dawood (David), may peace be upon him; the Gospel, revealed to Isa (Jesus), may peace be upon him; and the Majestic Qur’an, revealed to Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon him. The Qur’an is the greatest of all the divine books.

We must believe in all the books that Allah revealed before the Qur’an, believing that they were truly from Allah and were the truth when they were revealed. However, their laws have been replaced by the final Shari‘ah and are no longer to be followed. The earlier books were not preserved in their original form, while Allah has guaranteed that the Qur’an will remain protected from change or alteration and will never be replaced. If something from the earlier scriptures agrees with the Qur’an, we accept it; if it contradicts the Qur’an, we reject it; and if we cannot know whether it agrees or contradicts the Qur’an, we neither accept nor reject it.

4. The Prophets and Messengers

It is obligatory for a Muslim to believe the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the most superior Prophet and Messenger. However, he is not the only Prophet or Messenger Muslims believe in. It is a core tenant of the Islamic Religion to believe in Prophet Jesus (Isa), Prophet Moses (Musa), Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim), Prophet Noah (Nuh), as well as all the Prophets and Messengers who came after Prophet Adam, the first human created.

5. The Last Day (The Day of Judgement)

The Judgement Day is an important event, and a core tenant of belief. As we pass through the journey of life, death is an inevitable encounter. Following death, Muslims believe all creation will be resurrected and gathered to account for the good and evil which was committed on the Earth. God has created Paradise to reward those who did good in life, and likewise, Hell has been prepared for those who committed evil in life.

6. Destiny

We believe that everything happens by the Divine Will (Iradah) and decree of Allah. The will of creation is itself created by Allah. Whatever Allah has willed will happen, and whatever He has not willed will not happen.

Nothing is hidden from Allah’s knowledge. Before creation existed, Allah already knew everything that would happen and everything that His creation would do, and He has preordained the fate of everything.

However, Allah has given human beings the ability to choose, and His knowledge and decree do not mean that we are forced to act. We choose our actions and are therefore responsible for them and will be held accountable by Allah.