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About the Religion of
Islam The basic tenet of Islam is found on the
Kalimah Tayyibah ("two testimonies"): lā ilāhā illā-llāhu; muhammadu-r-rasūlu-llāh —
"There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
This is Imaan or Islam in a nutshell in the concise form. The affirmation by
the heart of this concise or brief formula (known as Kalimah Tayyibah) and its
verbal assertion render the person a Mu'min or a Muslim.
Muslims believe that Allah revealed his direct word for humanity to Muhammad
(c. 570–632) and earlier prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and
Jesus. Muslims believe that Muhammad is the Last, or the Seal, of the prophets
and that his teachings for humanity will last until Qiyamah (The Day of the
Resurrection).
The Quran is the last revelation to humanity from Allah, which
is flawless, immutable, and the final revelation of God to humanity. Muslims
believe that parts of the Gospels, Torah and Jewish prophetic books have been
forgotten, misinterpreted, incorrectly edited by humans, or distorted by their
followers and thus their original message has been corrupted over time.
With that perspective, Muslims view the Quran as a correction of Jewish and
Christian scriptures, and a final revelation.
Muslims hold that Islam is essentially the same belief as that of all the
messengers sent by God to humanity since Adam, with the Quran (the text used
by all sects of the Muslim faith) codifying the final revelation of God.
Islamic texts depict Judaism and Christianity as derivations of the teachings
of Abraham and thus acknowledge common Abrahamic roots. The Quran calls Jews
and Christians (and sometimes people of other faiths) "People of the Book."
Historically, the second Caliph Umar ibn Khattab created what came to be known
as "the Pact of Umar" in establishing that any people of the book who
submitted to Muslim authority as dhimmis (a non-Muslim subject of a state
governed in accordance with Sharia — Islamic law) during the wars of Muslim
expansion retained their freedom of religion and their existing churches.
Five Pillars of Islam |
