Beliefs in Islam

There are six things that every muslim should believe in (also known as the Six Articles of Faith):

• Allah: as the one and only God.

Along with Judaism and Christianity, Islam believes in monotheism: that there is just one God. This belief is an essential part of the muslim faith, and the declaration of faith by every muslim, the Shahadah, clearly states that 'There is no god but Allah'.
Islam came to Prophet Muhammad at a time where there was much ignorance and idol worshipping was common, to the extent that the Holy Kabah was used as a shrine where the idol 'Gods' were displayed.
The Quran was revealed to stop people from worshipping multiple gods and remind them that there is just one God, the same God that had spoken to Jesus (Isa) and Moses (Musa) then spoke to Muhammad to reconvey His message.

• The Holy Quran: as Allah's holy book and everything that Quran says.

The Qur'an, whose name means "recitation" in Arabic, is the sacred text of Islam and the highest authority in both religious and legal matters.Muslims believe the Qur'an to be a flawless record of the Angel Gabriel's revelations to Muhammad from 610 until his death in 632 AD. It is also believed to be a perfect copy of a heavenly Qur'an that has existed eternally (a small sect rejects this doctrine because it is seen as interfering with the sole divinity of God.)The Qur'an's name is derived from the Gabriel's initial command to Muhammad to "Recite!" Recitation is a fundamental concept associated with the Qur'an. The first followers of Prophet Muhammad memorized his recitation in order to recite it to others, following an established Arabic method for preserving poetry.The revelation was put in writing shortly after Muhammad's death to preserve the content from corruption, but it is still regarded as most authentic when recited aloud. Professional reciters of the Qur'an (qurra') are held in very high esteem, and have often been influential in deciding matters of doctrine or policy.The Qur'an is divided into 114 surahs (chapters) of widely varying length, which, with the exception of the opening surah (fatihah), are generally arranged from longest to shortest. As the shortest chapters seem to date from the earlier period of Muhammad's revelation, this arrangement results in a reverse chronological order.

• Muhammad SAW: as the messenger of Allah.

As a muslim, it is essential for us to believe in Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and his teachings. This sets muslims apart from other religions, since we are the only ones who believe that Muhammad was the last Messenger sent by Allah, whereas Christians and Jews reject him as the Last Prophet.
HISTORY OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Prophet Muhammad was the last prophet sent by Allah, and was the founder of Islam.He was born in 570 CE in the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. He was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle, later worked mostly as a merchant, and was married by age 26.Discontented with life in Mecca where idol worshipping was common, he used to retreat to caves in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection.It was in one of these caves that at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, he received his first revelation from Allah through the angel Jibrain (Gabriel). Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he, Muhammad, was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets. Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was largely met with hostility from the tribes of Mecca; he was treated harshly and so were his followers.To escape persecution Muhammad and his followers migrated to Madinah (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622. This historic event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Madinah, Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca.In 632 a few months after returning to Madinah from his Farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam.

• Angels: created by Allah from light to worship and serve him as well as watch over his people.

Angels are intangible, sentient entities, who do not posses free will. They were created for the sole purpose of serving God. Being made of light, they can assume almost any form, completely real to the human eye, and traverse a distance just as fast as light or faster.Angel Gabriel brought Allah's words to Prophet Muhammad and therefore we call Gabriel the Messenger Angel. There are 4 main archangels, as well as several others, each with their own duty.Each of us has two angels who accompany him. These angels take note of everything we do. They write down our good deeds and our bad deeds. We call these angels the Writing Angels.There are other angels, too. For example, there is an angel who helps people when they die. This angel brings death, so we call him the Angel of Death.

We cannot see the angels because they are made of things which our eyes cannot see. Angels are created by Allah, just as man and everything else has been created by Him. Angels obey Allah and are His servants, and they never disobey him, so they never commit any sins. They perform many tasks and keep the world in being by obeying Allah's commands.Allah has created Angels out of light and they do not eat or drink, they are characterized by neither feminine or masculine, and they do not tire. Some spend their entire existence in Ruku', others in Sujood. And then when the Judgement is called they will raise their heads and say: "Glory be to you, our Lord, we did not worship you in a way befitting your Majesty." We do not know their exact number since there are so many.

• Predestination: the belief that Allah chooses our destiny for us and is watching and controlling everything.

Historically, Islam teaches that Allah has decreed all things, good and evil from eternity, all that happens, whether obedience or disobedience, faith or infidelity, sickness or health, riches or poverty, life or death. This article of faith was added after the death of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and so is not considered to be from the original articles of faith.
The belief in predestination has been the subject of many debates, arguing whether a person is therefore responsible for his actions if Allah has already willed that person to be a certain way. Others refute that though Allah has predestined all things, a person can change their destiny, for instance a muslim who doesn't practice his faith and Allah has sentenced him to Hell, if that person tries to become a better muslim and be more devout, Allah can change that persons destination to Paradise, if he wills.
All final decisions rest with Allah.

• The Day of Judgement: the day when every person that ever lived will account for their deeds and be sent to Paradise or Hell.

ON A DAY UNKNOWN TO MAN but preordained by Allah, when people least expect it, Allah will give permission for the Qiyâmah to begin. The archangel Israfil, referred to as the Caller, will sound a horn sending out a "Blast of Truth" and everyone will have to stand before Allah and be accounted for their deeds in this life, and will be sent to Paradise or Hell by Allah's judgement.There will be many signs for the Day of Judgement as told by Allah in the Quran and Prophet Muhammad.
According to Sunnah, the Dajjal (the Deceiver), the Mahdi (the Guided One) and Prophet Jesus (Isa) will be on Earth the days preceding the Day of Judgement. The Dajjal will mislead people and the Mahdi will precede the coming of Jesus and will fight for Islam.
The event of the Last Day will begin by the blowing of Israfil's horn, and people will go through various stages before they meet the almighty Allah. There will be a gathering on a white, vast featureless ground, and be called on by Allah where the angels will recount the person's good and bad deeds. According to these, Allah will judge whether the person should go to Paradise or Hell to abide in forever in the afterlife.

To deny any of these is considered Shirk (Disbelief), which means to associate other things with Allah, and Shirkis considered the one thing that the all-Merciful Allah will not forgive on the Day of Judgement (Quran: 4:48).

SOURCES
Inter-Islam - www.inter-islam.org
http://www.themeaningofislam.org