Islamic theology facts for kids

Islamic theology deals with the beliefs of the Islamic faith.

Types of theology

Islamic theology comes from the Qur'an, Hadith, and the story of Muhammad's life (Sirah Rasul Allah).

Kalam

Kalam is the Islamic philosophy of seeking theological principles through dialectic. In Arabic, the word means "speech". A scholar of kalam is called a mutakallim (Muslim theologian; plural mutakallimiin).

Eschatology

Eschatology is understood as the last things or ultimate things, and in Muslim theology, eschatology is about the end of this world and what will happen in the next world. Eschatology covers the death of human beings, their souls after their bodily death, the destruction of this world, the resurrection of human souls, the final judgments of human deeds by Allah after the resurrection, and the rewards and punishments for the believers and non-believers. The places for the believers are known as Paradise and for the non-believers as Hell.

Comparative religion

Comparative religion in Muslim theology is about the differences and similarities between it and other theologies such as Christian and Jewish as explained in the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions.

Differences between various Muslim groups

In the history of Muslim theology, there have been theological schools among Muslims with both similarities and differences with each other about their beliefs.

Sunni view

Sunni Muslims hold that there are six articles of belief: belief in Allah, in angels, in divinely revealed scripture] like Qur'an, in prophets, in the "Last Day" or end times, and in predestination.

Shia view

Shi`ite Muslims hold that there are five articles of belief: the Divine Oneness and Justice, the Prophethood, the Imamate, and eschatology.

Mu`tazilite view

In the relationship between humans and their creator, Mu`tazilites emphasize human free will over predestination and God's justice over God's omnipotence. Mu'tazilites also believe in the use of logic to decide the true meanings of the Qur'an. This and the principal of Ijtihad, led to their belief in dynamic Fiqh.

Images for kids

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  The Meeting of the Theologians, Persian painting by Abd Allah Musawwir (mid-16th century), Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

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  Sunnī schools of thought

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  The founder of the Bektashiyyah sufi order Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli (Ḥājjī Baktāsh Walī), a murid of Malāmatī-Qalāndārī Sheikh Qutb ad-Dīn Haydar, who introduced the Ahmad Yasavi's doctrine of "Four Doors and Forty Stending" into his tariqah.

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  Four Spiritual Stations in Bektashiyyah: Sharia, tariqa, haqiqa, and the fourth station, marifa, which is considered "unseen", is actually the center of the haqiqa region. Marifa is the essence of all four stations.

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  Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, where Shias believe Ali is buried.

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  Shah Ismail I, the Sheikh of the Safavi tariqa, founder of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, and the Commander-in-chief of the Kızılbaş armies had contributed a lot for the development and implementation of The Qizilbash ʿAqīdah amongst the Turkmen people.