Core Muslim Beliefs and the Nature of Allah
Tawhid: The Oneness of Allah
The single most fundamental belief in Islam is Tawhid (Arabic: ‘oneness’). Allah is one, indivisible, eternal and without any partner, associate or equal. Surah 112 (Al-Ikhlas — ‘Sincerity’) states: “Say, ‘He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.’” Surah 112 is the most-recited summary of Tawhid and is used to correct any association of partners with Allah (shirk), which is considered the gravest sin in Islam.
The characteristics of Allah described in the Qur’an include: oneness (Tawhid), immanence (closeness to creation), transcendence (beyond creation), omnipotence (all-powerful), beneficence and mercy (Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim), fairness and justice. Surah 16:35–36 emphasises that Allah sent messengers to every community to call them to worship him alone.
In Shi’a Islam, divine justice has a special name: Adalat. It is listed as one of the Five Roots and underscores that God’s justice is perfect — he does not oppress, and human beings genuinely have free will because a just God must leave room for real moral choice.
Surah 112 (Al-Ikhlas) is the Qur’anic anchor for Tawhid: Allah is “the One, the Eternal Refuge” who “neither begets nor is born.” Shirk (associating partners with Allah) is the greatest sin in Islam because it violates Tawhid directly.
The Six Beliefs of Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam organises its core beliefs into six beliefs, drawn from Kitab al-iman 1:4 (a hadith of the Prophet). They are:
- Belief in Allah (Tawhid — the oneness of God)
- Belief in his Angels (Malaikah) — pure, obedient spiritual beings
- Belief in his Holy Books (Kutub) — revelations sent to the prophets
- Belief in his Prophets (Risalah) — messengers from Adam to Muhammad
- Belief in the Day of Judgement (Akhirah) — the final reckoning and afterlife
- Belief in divine decree (al-Qadr) — Allah’s knowledge of and sovereignty over all events
Shi’a Islam uses a different organising structure: the Five Roots of Usul ad-Din:
- Tawhid — the oneness of Allah (Surah 112)
- ‘Adl (divine justice/Adalat) — Allah always acts justly; human beings have real moral freedom
- Nubuwwah — prophethood; Allah communicated through a line of prophets ending with Muhammad
- Imamah — the leadership of the Imams, direct successors to Muhammad from the Prophet’s family (Ahl al-Bayt); this is distinctive to Shi’a Islam
- Mi’ad — the Day of Resurrection and Judgement
Critical distinction: The Five Roots are Shi’a. The Six Beliefs are Sunni. Do not conflate them in exam answers.
Risalah: Prophethood
Risalah is the belief in prophethood: that Allah chose specific human beings to receive and convey his guidance to the world. Surah 2:136 names the key prophets believed in by Muslims: “We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, and in what was given to Moses, Jesus and the Prophets from their Lord.”
The named prophets in this spec are: Adam (the first human being and first prophet), Ibrahim (Abraham — friend of God, father of monotheism), Isma’il (Ishmael — the son of Ibrahim who helped him build the Ka’aba), Musa (Moses — who received the Tawrat/Torah), Dawud (David — who received the Zabur/Psalms), Isa (Jesus — regarded as a great prophet and the Messiah, born of the virgin Maryam, but not the Son of God) and Muhammad (the final and greatest prophet, ‘seal of the Prophets’).
The Holy Books (Kutub)
Muslims believe Allah revealed holy books to his prophets. The Kutub (holy books) include: the Qur’an (revealed to Muhammad, in Arabic, the final and uncorrupted revelation), the Tawrat (Torah, revealed to Musa/Moses), the Zabur (Psalms, revealed to Dawud/David), and the Injil (Gospel, revealed to Isa/Jesus). Muslims believe the earlier books became corrupted over time — the Qur’an alone remains in its original form and therefore has supreme authority.
Both Islam and Christianity affirm that God is one, all-powerful, all-knowing, and merciful. However, there are significant differences:
- Tawhid vs Trinity: Islam emphatically rejects the Christian Trinity as shirk (associating partners with God). Surah 112 directly refutes any idea that God has offspring or equals. Christians argue that the Trinity is a refined understanding of monotheism — one God in three Persons — not polytheism, but Muslims regard this distinction as insufficient.
- Prophethood of Isa: Islam affirms Jesus (Isa) as a great prophet, born of the Virgin Maryam, the Messiah, and a worker of miracles — but emphatically not the Son of God or divine. The Christian claim that Jesus is God incarnate is rejected in Islamic theology as a violation of Tawhid.
- Personal relationship: Both traditions affirm that God/Allah is close to his creation. The Qur’an teaches that Allah is “closer to him [the human] than his jugular vein” (Surah 50:16). Christians express this through the Incarnation — God entering human experience directly in Jesus.
Muslims believe earlier books (Tawrat, Zabur, Injil) were gradually corrupted by human error or alteration. The Qur’an, revealed to Muhammad in Arabic and preserved in its original form, is the final, uncorrupted Word of Allah. This is why the Qur’an has supreme authority in Islam.