The literal meaning of Islam is peace and submission.

A person becomes a Muslim after proclaiming the Shahādah i.e. he bears witness that there is no God but Allah Almighty and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His servant and final Messenger.

As mentioned in the answer number 1, Islām literally refers to peace and submission. It is also the attributed name given to those who adhere to its teachings. Thus a Muslim is who submits to the Will of God Almighty.

According to numerous studies, Islām is the second largest faith in the world consisting of approximately 1,8 Billion Muslims.

No. Islām welcomes one and all irrespective of one’s social, ethnical, or theological background. By embracing Islām, one is a Muslim and is thus a brother or sister in faith without discrimination!

Allah Almighty does not have any partner or associate of any kind. He is One without any likeness or parallel.

There are five basic principles of Islam which are also known as the five pillars of Islam:

1. Shahādah (to bear testimony in the Oneness of Allah/God Almighty
2. Salāh (to pray five times a day, at the designated times)
3. Zakāh (to dispense of obligatory charity to the poor and needy at least once in the year)
4. Saum (to fast during the month of Ramadhān)
5. Hajj (to make the pilgrimage to the city of Mecca at least once in a lifetime)

Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final messenger of Allah , there will be no new prophet after him.

No. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) came to deliver the very same message that the prophets before him delivered. From the time of the first man, Prophet Ādam (peace be upon him), to Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, John, until the time of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon them all), all preached the message of oneness of God. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) came as the final messenger to relay that message.

Muslims believe that God revealed scriptures to the previous prophets i.e. the Old Testament to Moses, the Psalms to David, the New Testament to Jesus (peace be upon them all). Belief in the original message of the past scripture forms part of Muslim belief. However, the fact that these scriptures underwent numerous changes over the years, the current format of these scriptures cannot be accepted as the word of God Almighty.

There are six core beliefs in Islam:

• Belief in Allah Almighty God
• Belief in His Angels
• Belief in God’s Revelations in the form of Scriptures given to the Messengers (particularly the Qur’ān).
• Belief in God’s Prophets/Messengers
• Belief in the Day of Judgment, in which people will be held accountable for their actions and either punished or rewarded accordingly.
• Belief in God’s Divine Will and that all occurrences are within the parameters of His Knowledge.
• Belief in the afterlife.

Angels are a unique creation of God. They follow His command without question. Thus they are not open to error as they do not possess free will.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last messenger of God and there shall be no messenger after him.

The Qur’ān is the book revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and it is guidance for all humankind.

Islam’s primary message is the continuation of the Abrahamic monotheistic tradition’s creed and faith. It is to worship God in pure monotheism, and this may be achieved by a close following of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Essentially, being a Muslim means that one must be a good human being who promotes goodness in society and refrains from engaging in evil acts and vices. This can be achieved by studying the Qur’ān and obeying the laws therein.

There are four primary sources of Islamic beliefs and practices;

• Qur’ān
• Hadith (sayings, practices of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him).
• Consensus of Scholars
• Analogical reasoning

Yes. Muslims believe and accept all the prophets sent and appointed by God Almighty.

Muslims believe that Jesus peace upon him was the miracle-born son of Mary (peace be upon her). The Qur’ān states that he was born without a father and he was an illustrious prophet and servant of God who performed many miracles by the permission of God.

Translations of the Qur’an are available in almost every language. However, one should study enough to be able to recite basic Arabic as it is the language of the Qur’ān.

Most religions preach and teach their faith in the English language. The beauty of the Islāmic message is that even children as little as 5 years old are able to recite the Qur’ān in Arabic even though it may not be their spoken language. It is the only religion which preaches its message from the original language –verbatim- to this day.

No, Muslims do not worship anything or anyone besides God Almighty. The Ka’bah is used as a direction for a unified point of prayer ensuring that all Muslims are in uniformity.

It is not necessary to remove to remove tattoos in order to practice Islam

Accepting Islam cleanses a person from whatever transgression was perpetrated before it. A person is given the opportunity to start on a clean slate

Circumcision is practiced in Islam but it is not a condition for a person to be a Muslim.

A new Muslim should first learn the basics of Islam in terms of the process of purity, prayer, dietary laws and morals.

None can comprehend God/Allah Almighty because He exists beyond our finite capacity to comprehend His infinite being.

No! There can be only one God as the Qur’an states; “…if there were more than one God there would have been chaos.” (Chapter 21 verse 22)

No! He is not dependent on our worship as He is As-Samad (He is not dependent upon anything or anyone but everything is dependent upon Him).

God/Allah Almighty is not obligated to anyone, everything He does is from His Mercy or Divine Plan.

No! God/Allah Almighty is Eternal with no beginning and Everlasting with no ending.

No! God/Allah Almighty does not possess a bodily form. What is meant by references to His hand, face, etc. are figurative for His power, knowledge, etc.

No! He never sleeps and is never unaware. (reference)

God/Allah Almighty was not created nor does He give birth. He is the uncreated Creator who brings every creation into existence.

Yes, belief in Angels it is essential part of faith. If one does not believe in existence of Angels then they will be out of the folds of Islam as they have rejected an essential of religion.

No! Angels do not possess self-directed will and adhere to every command of God Almighty without question. They are innocent from sin.

There are four archangels, 1. Jibreel/Gabriel 2. Mikaal/ Michael 3. Israfeel 4. Israeel.

Jibreel/Gabriel is the leader of all angels

The main task of Angels is to obey and worship Allah/God. However certain angels are given specific tasks by God Almighty.

No, they do not need any of the above.

Jibreel/Gabriel - to bring revelations, Mikaal/Michael - to take care of nature and sustenance. Israfeel - to blow the trumpet (signaling the commencement of the Day of Judgment). Israeel - to capture souls of the living. Hence known as the angel of Death. Ridhwaan - to guard the gates of paradise. Maalik – Gatekeeper of Hell. Kiraaman Kaatibeen - to keep a record of book of accountability of people. Munkar and Nakeer – tasked with questioning those who have passed away in the grave.

No, angels are neither male nor female.

Angels are created from Noor which is loosely translated as light.

There is no textual evidence stating precisely when Angels were created. However they were created before mankind as mentioned in the Noble Qur’an. (Chapter 2:30)

Yes, Angels possess wings as mentioned in Qur’an (chapter 35:1)

There are countless Angels of Allah/God.

There are several scriptures which were revealed upon various Prophets. However, there are four major books which were revealed upon four famous messengers.

1. The Zuboor (Psalms) was revealed upon Prophet Dawood/David (peace be upon him)
2.  The Torah (Old Testament) was revealed upon Prophet Moosa/Moses (peace be upon him)
3.   The Injeel (New Testamant) was revealed upon Prophet Issa/Jesus (peace be upon him)
4.  The Qur’an was revealed upon Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him)

Yes, however it should be known that all scriptures and books besides the Qur’an have been tampered with over time. Hence, it is not necessary for Muslims to bring faith on the books and scriptures of today except for the Noble Qur’an.

Yes, all previous scriptures preached the oneness of Allah/God.

The books were revealed upon the Prophets via the Archangel Jibraeel/ Gabriel (peace be upon him).

Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) was the first human and prophet created by God.

Approximately 124000 prophets were sent by God.

They had one mission and that was to deliver God’s message and propagate His oneness.

It is a fundamental belief of Islam to believe in all the prophets sent by God.

A prophet of God is not capable of sinning.

There are approximately 25 prophets mentioned by names in the Qur’an.

Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, David, Solomon, John, Jesus, etc. are some of the prophets mentioned in the Qur’an.

Prophet Moses was given the Torah, Prophet David was given the Psalms, Prophet Jesus was given the Bible and Prophet Mohammed was given the Qur’an (peace be upon them all)

No, they shall be no prophets after Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

Only human beings can be prophets of God

No, there have not been any female prophets of God.

It is a fundamental belief of Muslims that everything created by Allah/God i.e. humans, Jinns, angels, earth, universe, etc. will come to an end.

Only Allah/God will remain

There are numerous major and minor signs mentioned in the Ahadith (prophetic narrations).

Some of the Major Signs are 1. Appearance of Dajjaal/Anti-Christ The return of Isa/Jesus (peace be upon him)  3. Appearance of Gog and Magog  4. The beast of the Land, etc.

According to prophetic narrations, non-Muslims will witness the Last Day.

The archangel Israfeel (peace be upon him) will blow the Soor (trumpet) and everything in existence besides Allah/God will perish.