Islam 101
What Muslims believe
The six articles of faith
5 min, Intro
In a well-known hadith, the angel Jibril questions the Prophet ﷺ. The answer gives six beliefs: Muslims believe in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and His decree.
Draft written with AI help: awaiting scholar review
The thread
A stranger in brilliant white sat knee to knee with the Prophet ﷺ and asked him about faith. The answer named six beliefs, and this lesson follows them in order: God, the angels and books, the messengers, the Last Day and the decree. The stranger, the Prophet said, was the angel Jibril.
A stranger and his questions
Picture the scene, as 'Umar ibn al-Khattab reported it. A stranger arrives in brilliant white clothes. He shows no sign of a journey. He sits down knee to knee with the Prophet ﷺ.
Then he asks about Islam (practice), iman (faith), ihsan (excellence) and the Hour.
He leaves. Then the Prophet tells them who he was: Jibril, who had come to teach them their religion.
The Prophet's answer about iman lists six beliefs.
Iman is that you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers and the Last Day, and that you believe in the decree, its good and its bad.
Sahih Muslim 8 Sahih In Sahih Muslim
Islam, iman and ihsan: doing, believing, and doing beautifully.
The first belief: God
The list begins where everything else in Islam begins: with God (Allah).
Belief in God means believing He is one, with no partner or equal. He alone creates, sustains and deserves worship.
And He is described by beautiful names given in the Qur'an. Among them are ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful), al-Hakim (the Wise) and al-Ghafur (the Forgiving).
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلۡحَيُّ ٱلۡقَيُّومُۚ لَا تَأۡخُذُهُۥ سِنَةࣰ وَلَا نَوۡمࣰۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِي يَشۡفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِهِۦۚ يَعۡلَمُ مَا بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيۡءࣲ مِّنۡ عِلۡمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَۚ وَسِعَ كُرۡسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفۡظُهُمَاۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِيُّ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ ٢٥٥
255 Allah: none has the right to be worshiped except Him, the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except with His permission? He knows what was before them and what will be after them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge, except what He wills. His Kursī [i.e., footstool] extends over the heavens and earth, and safeguarding of both does not weary Him, for He is the Most High, the Most Great.
In Islam, everything begins with one God.
How the word arrives: angels and books
If there is one God, how does His word reach people? The next two beliefs answer that.
Angels are created beings who obey God and carry out His commands, unseen by us. Jibril (Gabriel) brought revelation to the prophets. Others record deeds, or take souls at death.
Then come the books. Muslims believe God revealed scriptures to earlier prophets: the Torah to Moses, the Psalms to David, the Gospel to Jesus, and the Scrolls to Abraham.
The Qur'an is believed to be the last of them, confirming what came before.
ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡهِ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَۚ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ أَحَدࣲ مِّن رُّسُلِهِۦۚ وَقَالُواْ سَمِعۡنَا وَأَطَعۡنَاۖ غُفۡرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيۡكَ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ ٢٨٥
285 The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, as do the believers. All of them believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers, [saying], “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination.”
The Qur'an presents itself as the last of a series of scriptures.
The people who carried it: messengers
Each of those scriptures came to a prophet. Muslims believe prophets were sent to every nation, with the same core message: worship one God and live righteously.
So a Muslim does not accept some prophets and reject others. Muslims believe in all of them, and believe Muhammad ﷺ was the final one.
A Muslim believes in all the prophets, not just one.
How it ends: the Last Day and the decree
The list ends with how the story ends. Muslims believe this life will end, and everyone will be resurrected. Each person, they believe, will be judged with perfect justice and mercy, leading to Paradise or Hell.
The last belief is the decree (qadar). It means believing God knows and has willed all that happens, the good and the painful.
Muslims hold this together with real human responsibility: people still choose, and answer for their choices. How do the two fit? Scholars have discussed that for centuries.
فَمَن يَعۡمَلۡ مِثۡقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيۡرࣱا يَرَهُۥ ٧ وَمَن يَعۡمَلۡ مِثۡقَالَ ذَرَّةࣲ شَرࣱّا يَرَهُۥ ٨
7 So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,
8 and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.
Every atom's weight of good or evil will be seen.