THE QUR'AN IS A GUIDE

That is the Book, without any doubt. It contains guidance for those who have fear of God (Sura al-Baqara: 2)

The Qur'an is the word of God. God has revealed the Qur'an to introduce Himself, to communicate people the purpose of their existence, inform them of the nature of this life, the basis of the test put to them in this world, and their responsibilities towards their Creator, to give them the good news of the hereafter, and describe what constitutes good morals. The Qur'an was revealed by Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (saas). Immune to any possible distortion, it is a Book by which people will be held to account on the Day of Judgement. In one verse, God informs us that the Qur'an is under His protection:

It is We Who have sent down the Reminder and We Who will preserve it. (Sura al-Hijr: 9)

The unique style of the Qur'an, and the supreme wisdom of its teachings, is clear evidence of its being the word of God. This aside, the Qur'an has many miraculous attributes, certifying that it is the revelation of God. A number of scientific discoveries, that could only be attained in the 20th and 21st centuries, were declared in the Qur'an 1400 years ago. This information, that was impossible to verify scientifically at the time of the Qur'an's revelation, has proved once again that it is the word of God.

Another important characteristic of the Qur'an is that-contrary to the Torah and the Gospel-it contains no contradiction whatsoever. This is yet further evidence that it is the word of God. God reminds humanity of this fact as follows:

Will they not ponder the Qur'an? If it had been from other than God, they would have found many inconsistencies in it. (Sura an-Nisa': 82)

The Qur'an is guidance for mankind. It is also the definitive criterion by which to distinguish right from wrong, for which reason another name of the Qur'an is "Furqan," that is "Discrimination":

...He has sent down the Furqan (the Standard by which to discern the true from the false). Those who reject God's Signs will have a terrible punishment... (Sura Al 'Imran: 4)

The Qur'an is a book that admonishes humanity:

This is a communication to be transmitted to mankind so that they may be warned by it and so that they will know that He is One God and so that the wise will pay heed. (Sura Ibrahim: 52)

The Qur'an is the final revelation from God, and will remain until the Day of Judgement. Although the Torah and the Gospel were true scriptures at the time they were revealed, they have lost the quality of their authenticity, because of the reasons explained earlier. God informs us that, in His sight, Islam is the only religion:

If anyone desires anything other than Islam as a religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he will be among the losers. (Sura Al 'Imran: 85)

BELIEF IN THE BOOKS REVEALED BY GOD AND BELIEF IN HIS MESSENGERS

Since the time the Prophet Adam (as) was sent to the earth, God has sent messengers to every nation, to communicate to them the existence of God and the hereafter, and to convey the divine message. Some of these messengers are those prophets whose names are mentioned in the Qur'an and to whom books were revealed. A Muslim must not discriminate between them, but respect them all equally, since they were all prophets of the true religion. God commands Muslims to believe in all the prophets, without making distinction:

Say, "We believe in God and what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes, and what Moses and Jesus were given, and what all the Prophets were given by their Lord. We do not differentiate between any of them. We are Muslims submitted to Him." (Sura al-Baqara: 136)

The only book by which humanity is responsible in our time is the Qur'an, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (saas). Because, as the Qur'an informs, the earlier books, which were originally revealed to communicate the truth to mankind, were later altered through additions and deletions:

Woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say "This is from God" to sell it for a paltry price. Woe to them for what their hands have written! Woe to them for what they earn! (Sura al-Baqara: 79)

For this reason, Islam was revealed by God as the final religion. God, in a verse of the Qur'an, commands as follows:

...Today I have perfected your religion for you and completed My blessing upon you and I am pleased with Islam as a religion for you... (Sura al-Ma'ida: 3)

The Qur'an also informs us that the Prophet Muhammad (saas) is the last prophet:

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Messenger of God and the Final Seal of the Prophets. God has knowledge of all things. (Sura al-Ahzab: 40)

Consequently, the only true religion for all times, since the era of the Prophet Muhammad (saas), until the Day of Resurrection, is Islam, and its source, the Qur'an.

FAITH IN THE ANGELS

Angels, as the Qur'an informs us, are the servants of God, who carry out His commands. God has assigned them different duties. Gabriel, for instance, delivers the divine revelation to prophets. There are the angels on each side of a man, writing down whatever he does; angels welcoming people to Paradise, and those angels who are the guardians of the Hell; the angels that take back the souls of men, the angels who assist the believers, the angels who communicate to the messengers who among their rebellious people will receive God's punishment, the angels who give the good news of a newborn to the messengers. Angels are obedient beings, who are never arrogant, but who continually glorify God:

Everything in the heavens and every creature on the earth prostrates to God, as do the angels. They are not puffed up with pride. (Sura an-Nahl: 49)

Throughout history, angels have delivered God's messages to mankind. Angels appeared to many prophets, and, in some cases, to sincere believers, such as Mary, and communicated to them the commands and the divine wisdom of God. God informs us about faith in angels in the Qur'an, making it a prerequisite of faith in the Qur'an for Islam. In a verse of the Qur'an, it is stated that faith in angels is an attribute of a believer:

The Messenger has faith in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. Each one has faith in God and His angels and His Books and His Messengers. We do not differentiate between any of His Messengers. They say, 'We hear and we obey. Forgive us, our Lord! You are our journey's end.' (Sura al-Baqara: 285)