Belief, questions and answers.
Allah, the angels, the prophets, qadr, the grave and the hereafter. 30 answers, Hanafi first, with the Quran and hadith behind each one.
- How many gods do Muslims believe in?One. Muslims believe in one God, Allah, who has no partner, no son and no equal. This belief, called tawheed (the oneness of God), is the first article of faith and the meaning of the shahada: there is no god but Allah.
- What is the name of God in Islam?The name of God in Islam is Allah. It is the Arabic word for the one true God, and Arab Christians use it too. Allah also has many beautiful names, such as ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful), that describe Him.
- Who created Allah?No one. Allah is the Creator, not a creation. He has always existed with no beginning and will exist with no end. The Prophet ﷺ said Shaytan would put this question in people's minds, and taught that when it comes you should seek refuge in Allah and stop.
- What does Allah look like?No one can describe how Allah looks, because nothing is like Him (Quran 42:11) and no one sees Him in this world. Sunni Muslims believe the believers will see Allah in Paradise, without saying how. Muslims never draw or picture Him.
- Where is Allah?Allah is above His creation, established over the Throne in the way that befits Him, and He is with you by His knowledge wherever you are. Maturidi and Ash'ari scholars add that He is not contained in a place, since place is created. Athari scholars stress that He is above the heavens. Both deny any likeness to creation.
- How many names does Allah have?The Prophet ﷺ said Allah has ninety-nine names, and whoever learns and keeps them enters Paradise. Most scholars say this does not limit His names to 99. It means there are 99 that carry this special reward, and Allah has other names, some of which He kept in His own knowledge.
- Is Shaytan an angel?No. Shaytan, whose name was Iblis, is a jinn, not an angel. The Quran says plainly "He was of the jinn" (18:50). Angels are made of light and never disobey Allah, while jinn are made of fire and have free will, which is how Iblis was able to refuse Allah's command.
- Are jinn evil?No, not all of them. Jinn are a creation with free will, like humans: some are Muslims and righteous, others disbelieve and do harm. The evil ones are called shayatin (devils). Believers should not live in fear of jinn, but should seek Allah's protection from their harm.
- Who is Imam Mahdi in Islam?The Mahdi is a righteous man from the family of the Prophet ﷺ, from the descendants of Fatimah, who will appear near the end of time and fill the earth with justice. Sunni Muslims believe in him on the basis of authentic hadith. He is not a prophet, and Isa (Jesus) will return in his time.
- Do Muslims believe Jesus will return?Yes. Muslims believe Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam, was not killed or crucified but raised alive by Allah, and that he will return before the Last Day. He will break the cross, kill the Dajjal (the false messiah), rule by the shariah of Islam, and later die a natural death.
- Who is Jesus in Islam, and is he the Messiah?In Islam, Jesus (Isa) is one of the greatest prophets and messengers of Allah, born of the virgin Maryam without a father. The Quran calls him al-Masih, the Messiah. Muslims love and honour him, but do not believe he is God or the son of God, or that he was crucified.
- What happens after you die in Islam?The angel of death takes your soul, your body is washed and buried, and in the grave two angels question you. You then stay in barzakh, the life of the grave, until the Day of Resurrection, when everyone is raised, judged, and sent to Jannah or Jahannam.
- What are the three questions in the grave?Two angels, known as Munkar and Nakir, ask every person three questions: Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is this man who was sent among you? The believer answers: my Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam, and he is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Sunni creed affirms the questioning and the reward or punishment of the grave.
- Is the Day of Judgement near?Yes, in the sense the Quran uses: the Hour has drawn near, and the Prophet ﷺ said he and the Hour were sent like two fingers side by side. But no one knows its date except Allah. Many minor signs have appeared; the major signs, such as the Dajjal and the return of Isa, have not.
- How can you be protected from the Dajjal?The Prophet ﷺ taught three main protections: memorise the first ten ayahs of Surah al-Kahf, seek refuge from the trial of the Dajjal in every prayer before the salam, and keep far away from him. Knowing his signs also protects you: he is blind in one eye, and Allah is not.
- What is the biggest sin in Islam?The biggest sin in Islam is shirk: worshipping anything besides Allah or giving any creation a share of what belongs to Him. It is the one sin Allah does not forgive if a person dies upon it (4:48). Even shirk is forgiven if a person sincerely repents and accepts Islam before death.
- How do you repent in Islam?To repent (make tawbah), stop the sin, feel real regret, and resolve sincerely not to return to it. If the sin wronged a person, also return their right or ask their pardon. Then ask Allah's forgiveness. Allah accepts repentance until the moment of death and until the sun rises from the west.
- Will Allah forgive me if I keep committing the same sin?Yes, if your repentance is sincere each time. A sincere tawbah is accepted even if you later slip again, and then you repent again. What ruins a person is giving up on Allah's mercy, or making peace with the sin, not falling and getting back up.
- Does a Muslim who commits a major sin stop being a Muslim?No. In Sunni belief, a Muslim who commits a major sin such as zina, theft or drinking is a sinful believer, not a disbeliever, unless he believes the sin is halal or mocks the religion. He is under Allah's will: Allah may forgive him or punish him, but he will not stay in Hell forever.
- What does kufr mean in Islam?Kufr means disbelief: rejecting Allah, His messengers, or something clearly known to be part of Islam. Its root meaning is to cover or deny, so it is also used for ingratitude. A person who disbelieves is called a kafir. Only qualified scholars rule that a particular Muslim has left Islam.
- If Allah has written everything, do we have free will?Yes. Allah knows and has written everything, yet He gave each person real choice, and we are judged on what we choose. His knowledge does not force us: it records what we will freely do. Sunni scholars call our part kasb (acquiring the act) and Allah creates the act.
- Does iman increase and decrease?Sunni scholars agree that a believer's faith grows stronger with obedience and weaker with sin. Imam Abu Hanifa and the Maturidis say the core of iman, belief in what must be believed, does not itself go up or down; what grows is its strength and light. Most Ash'aris and Atharis say iman itself increases and decreases.
- Do Muslims believe in the Torah?Yes. Belief in Allah's revealed books is an article of faith: the Tawrat (Torah) given to Musa, the Zabur (Psalms) to Dawud, the Injil (Gospel) to Isa, and the Quran to Muhammad ﷺ. Muslims believe the originals were true revelation, but that the texts people hold today were changed over time, so the Quran is the final, protected book.
- How many prophets are there in Islam?Allah sent prophets to every nation, and only He knows their exact number. The Quran names 25 of them, from Adam to Muhammad ﷺ. A well-known report gives 124,000 prophets, over 300 of them messengers, but Hanafi creed books advise not to fix a number, since the report is not strong enough for creed.
- Did Prophet Muhammad ever sin?No. Sunni scholars agree that the prophets, and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ above all, were protected (ma'sum) from major sins and from anything that would damage their message. Where the Quran speaks of his "sin" being forgiven, scholars explain it as leaving what was better, not sin as we commit it.
- How do Muslims get to Jannah?Through Allah's mercy, by dying with faith and doing good deeds. Whoever dies believing there is no god but Allah will enter Jannah in the end, and good deeds raise a person's rank in it. The Prophet ﷺ said no one enters Paradise by his deeds alone, only by Allah's mercy.
- Will Muslims stay in Hell forever?No. In Sunni belief, no one who dies with even a grain of faith stays in Hell forever. Some sinful Muslims may be punished for a time, unless Allah forgives them, and then they are brought out and admitted to Jannah. Hell is everlasting for those who die in disbelief.
- What are houris in Islam?Houris (hur al-'in) are the pure companions of Paradise described in the Quran as fair, with large beautiful eyes, like well-protected pearls. They are a special creation of Jannah for its people. Believing women are not left out: they will be in Jannah with their believing husbands, and no one there will be alone.
- Will the Prophet intercede for us on the Day of Judgement?Yes. Sunni Muslims believe the Prophet ﷺ will intercede on the Day of Judgement: first for all people, so the reckoning can begin, then for sinful believers of his ummah. Intercession (shafa'ah) happens only with Allah's permission and only for those He approves, so it never replaces faith and good deeds.
- Do Muslims believe in evolution?Muslims believe Allah created Adam directly from clay as the first human, so the idea that humans descended from earlier species conflicts with the Quran. On the evolution of plants and animals, scholars differ: many reject it, while some say the Quran does not rule it out, as long as Allah is held to be the Creator of every stage.