Articles of faith

articles: Aqidah and Iman

The Qur'an states that all Muslims must believe in God, his revelations, his angels, his messengers, and in the "Day of Judgment".[15] Also, there are other beliefs that differ between particular sects. The Sunni concept of predestination is called divine decree,[16] while the Shi'a version is called divine justice. Unique to the Shi'a is the doctrine of Imamah, or the political and spiritual leadership of the Imams.[17]

Muslims believe that God revealed his final message to humanity through the Islamic prophet Muhammad via the archangel Gabriel (Jibrīl). For them, Muhammad was God's final prophet and the Qur'an is the revelations he received over more than two decades.[18] In Islam, prophets are men selected by God to be his messengers. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not divine, though some are able to perform miracles to prove their claim. Islamic prophets are considered to be the closest to perfection of all humans, and are uniquely the recipients of divine revelation—either directly from God or through angels. The Qur'an mentions the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, among others.[19] Islamic theology says that all of God's messengers since Adam preached the message of Islam—submission to the will of God. Islam is described in the Qur'an as "the primordial nature upon which God created mankind",[20] and the Qur'an states that the proper name Muslim was given by Abraham.[21]

As a historical phenomenon, Islam originated in Arabia in the early 7th century.[22] Islamic texts depict Judaism and Christianity as prophetic successor traditions to the teachings of Abraham. The Qur'an calls Jews and Christians "People of the Book" (ahl al-kitāb), and distinguishes them from polytheists. Muslims believe that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, the Tawrat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospels), had become distorted—either in interpretation, in text, or both.[6]