wislam.org

Concept of God

Chapter 112, worth 1/3 of the Qurʾān, defines the Divine:

Don’t get hung up on words. Allāh has 99 names.

Islām — submission, yielding, letting go

The 5 pillars that define Islām and the Muslim:

1. Declare your belief (there’s no god but God, and Muḥammad was a servant and messenger of God)
2. Pray five times a day
3. Give to the poor and needy (philanthropy, 2.5% of your annual net worth)
4. Fast during Ramaḍān (self-control over physical urges)
5. Pilgrimage to Makkah

Īmān — what Muslims believe

The 6 items that define Īmān:

1. Oneness of Allāh:
   • as Owner and Sustainer of the universe — we’re all on loan
   • as one that we worship without any middle man or add-on
2. Angels:
   • genderless agents made of pure light
3. Prophets:
   • 124,000 human informers sent by Allāh to every nation
   • including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and finally Muḥammad (peace be upon them all)
4. Scriptures:
   • the Scrolls of Abraham, the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel, and finally the Qurʾān
5. Moment of Accountability, and then the Next World
6. Fate, both what we perceive as good and as bad

Iḥsān — excellence, doing what is beautiful, spirituality

Iḥsān is the innermost dimension of the religion. It means to worship Allāh as if you see Allāh. For even if you don’t see Allāh, Allāh sees you.

Related concepts:

• code of conduct
• the ego