Communication from God
There are three beliefs that fall under this category, and they all relate to the belief that Allah has communicated guidance to humanity so that they can know the truth.
A: Prophets of Allah
It is believed that throughout time all nations and communities were sent messengers from Allah as chosen agents to communicate guidance. These agents are known as prophets. They were human beings who taught their communities to believe in and worship the one true God.
Mankind was one single nation, and God sent messengers with glad tidings and warnings…
[The Qur'an, 2:213]To every people was sent a messenger…
[The Qur'an, 10:47]…and there was never a warner having lived among them (in the past)
[The Qur'an, 35:24]
Muslims believe in all the prophets from Adam through until the final prophet Muhammad. The Qur'an mentions twenty-five prophets by name, although according to a saying of the Prophet Muhammad, in total there were one hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets. It is believed that all of the Prophets were essentially Muslim as they submitted to the will of God and called their people to worship One God.
Muhammad is the last in the long line of messengers, and is known as the 'seal of the prophets', as it is believed that Islam came to confirm all the previous messages and to seal the end of prophethood with the final message.
The Role of the Prophet Muhammad
The religion of Islam is not a faith that is named after its founder or the country of its origin. In early European writings exploring Islam, authors have spoken about Mohammadism, however this misperception has been rectified in later writings. Islam teaches that Muhammad was a messenger from Allah, and that there were many other messengers before Muhammad. Muhammad's purpose was to deliver the revelations to the people and to live the life of a Muslim. Therefore, the guidance for Muslims comes from the revelations from Allah that Muhammad relayed to the people as contained in the Qur'an and through his life example.
Muslims look to the Qur'an and the Sunnah (practice of Muhammad) to adhere to their faith. So, what was the message that Muhammad brought? The Muslim viewpoint of religious thought does not begin with Muhammad, in fact it ends with Muhammad; the message of Muhammad is connected to all the previous messages sent to humankind from God.
We sent before time our apostles with clear signs and sent down with them the book and the balance (of right and wrong) that men may stand forth in justice…[The Qur'an, 57:25]
The Message, which Muhammad brought, gives guidance about what Muslims' relationship to God is, how they should live their lives and what their relationship is with everything around them. The message of Muhammad affirms Tawhid, (Oneness of God),
"And verily We have raised in every nation a messenger (proclaiming): Serve Allah and shun false gods…"
[The Qur'an, 16:36]
B: The Books of Allah
Along with messengers, Muslims also believe that Allah gave guidance to some of the messengers in the form of books of revelation [wahi]. Muslims believe in all of the revealed books that are mentioned in the Qur'an:
"We have sent thee inspiration, as We sent it to Noah and the messengers after him: we sent inspiration to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron and Solomon and to David We gave the psalms…and to Moses He spoke direct"
[The Qur'an, 4:163]
Muslims therefore believe in the:
Tawrah [Torah] of Musa [Moses]
Zabur [Psalms] of Dawud [David]
Injeel [Gospel] of Isa [Jesus]
Suhuf [Scriptures] of Ibrahim [Abraham]
Qur'an revealed to Muhammad.
Whilst Muslims believe that in the message of all of the scriptures is the Oneness of God, it is believed that the Qur'an, which was revealed to Muhammad over a period of twenty-three years, is the only existing unchanged word of God.. All the previous scriptures are believed to be either non-existent today or distorted. Muslims also believe it to be a miraculous book, which adds to it authenticity.
C: The Angels of Allah
From an Islamic perspective, Angels only obey Allah in the way that the whole of nature obeys Allah's commands. The Angels are spiritual beings, created from light, who carry out tasks in complete obedience to Allah. Muslims know of some of the Angels' tasks, the best known being the Angel Gabriel [Jibra'il], who came to messengers of God with the revelations. There is also Michael [Mika'il], Azrial [Izra'il], who is known as the Angel of death, and Israfil who will blow the trumpet at the end of time.