The Fundamentals of Islam
The true religion with Allah is Islam
There are eleven requirements of belief in Islam which are prescribed by divine ordinance, by definite orders of Allah, and are therefore obligations which must be fulfilled in order to be a believer and a Muslim. All Muslims in the world adhere to these eleven requirements with not the slightest disagreement among them on these points. The apparent differences between Sunnis and Shi’ites and other Islamic sects do not touch the fundamental precepts; they are concerned only with minor details.
The basic precept of Islam is expressed in the Word of Witness: I attest and affirm that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is his creature and Prophet. The core, the essence of belief in Islam is to believe in the Unity of God and that Muhammad (the Peace and Mercy of Allah be upon him) is the true and last Prophet.
The six requirements of belief in Islam are: To believe in the existence and unity of Allah; to believe in God’s Angels. the sinless creatures of Allah who perform His orders; To believe in Allah’s books, the Old and New Testaments and the Qur’an; to believe in all the prophets of Allah; to believe in the Day of Judgment with rewards and punishments; to believe that destiny belongs to Allah, recognizing that although every creature’s destiny is in Allah’s power, each one must use his reason and accept responsibility for his conduct. In those six requirements the heavenly religions of the Christians and Jews separate themselves from Muslims by not believing in the Unity of God and in Muhammad (the Peace and Mercy of Allah be upon him) as God’s rightful and last Prophet. The Trinity is totally contrary to the tenets of Islam.
In addition to the six requirements of belief there are five requirements of action by which Islam is put into practice by Muslims: praying five times a day in the prescribed form; fasting during the month of Ramadan; pilgrimage to Mecca, when health, wealth, and the safety of the roads permit; zakat, the yearly almsgiving of one fortieth of one’s movable property and wealth; and pronouncing the Word of Witness by word of mouth and with true intent in the heart