9781422279724

highest authority of all, and that His teachings must be obeyed at all times. Obedience to the will of Allah comes before all other obligations. The word Islam is also connected with the Arabic word for “peace.” Muslims believe that obedience to God is the only way for people to find true fulfilment and peace with themselves. The most important beliefs of Islam are summed up in the Shahadah , the Islamic declaration of faith. It states, in Arabic: “There is no god except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” There are five articles of faith in Islam: belief in Allah, his angels, his Books, his Messengers, and Life after death. Muslims believe that nothing can be compared with God, but that there are other spiritual beings—the angels—that are heavenly servants of God. Everyone has two angels looking over their shoulders, to record their good and their bad deeds. To guide people, God sent his prophets, the most important of whom are the Messengers, who brought God’s word in holy books. Muslims believe this life is a preparation for the next. Their goal in life is to please God and, after death, to be rewarded in Heaven. They want to avoid displeasing God and being punished in Hell. The Muslim Concept of God Humans can never fully know or understand what God is like, Muslims believe. God is totally different from humans in many ways. He is eternal—without beginning and with-

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Islam