Belief (Iman)
What a Muslim believes, the words that carry it, and what is owed to the Prophet.
The articles of faith
- What faith means, and the words that carry it What faith (iman) is, its two parts, who a believer is, and the declarations of faith said with the tongue.
- Belief in Allah The first article of faith: what a Muslim believes about who Allah is and the qualities that belong to Him alone.
- Belief in the angels What a Muslim believes about the angels, their nature, and the four angels of the highest rank.
- Belief in Allah's books The scriptures Allah revealed to His prophets, the four best known among them, and why only the Quran's rulings stand today.
- Belief in the prophets, and the life of the Prophet ﷺ What a Muslim believes about the prophets and their miracles, and a brief account of the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
- Belief in the Last Day What happens from the questioning in the grave through the signs of the Last Day (Qiyamah), the Scale, the reckoning, the Bridge, and the Prophet's intercession.
- Belief in destiny (Qadr) The sixth article of faith: that Allah has written all that happens, while people still choose and are answerable for their own actions.
- Paradise and Hell What a Muslim believes about Paradise and Hell: that both already exist, will never end, and who is destined for each.
- The Companions and the Prophet's family Who the Companions (Sahabah) are, the four Rightly Guided Caliphs in their order, and the honour owed to the Prophet's ﷺ household.
- Saints, jinn, and further matters of belief Sainthood (wilayah) and the miracles of saints (karamat), seeking a means of approach (wasilah), why no one is exempt from the sacred law (Shariah), the jinn, why we exist, and following a school of law (madhhab) and a Sufi teacher.
- The virtue of sending salutations (durood) on the Prophet ﷺ What the Prophet ﷺ brought to the world, what he said about sending blessings upon him, the days it is best recited on, and why the salutation (durood) is woven into the prayer itself.
The creed and its opposites
- The five declarations of faith (kalimas) The five declarations of faith every Muslim learns, in Arabic, transliteration and translation, with what each one means.
- Disbelief (kufr), associating partners with Allah (shirk), and treating a sin as permitted What counts as disbelief or associating partners with Allah, the two kinds of sin, and the three steps of repentance.
From belief to practice
- Islam and its five pillars What Islam means, and the five pillars its practice is built on: the declaration of faith, prayer, fasting, zakat, and Hajj.
- The categories of Islamic rulings, and the meaning of religion (din) The eight categories Islamic rulings fall into, from obligatory (fard) to permitted (mubah), and how belief (iman) and practice (Islam) together make up religion (din).