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Islamic theology
 
 
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Islamic theology is a branch of Islamic studies
Islamic studies

Islamic studies is an ambiguous term. In a Muslim context, "Islamic studies" can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge....
 regarding the beliefs associated with the Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
ic faith.

im theology is the theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 that derived from the Qur'an
Qur'an

The Qur?an is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur?an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God....
, Hadith
Hadith

Hadith are oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad. Hadith collections are regarded by all traditional madhab as important tools for determining the Muslim way of life, the sunnah....
, and the Muhammad's life. The contents of Muslim theology can be divided into theology proper such as theodicy, eschatology
Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what is believed to be the final events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of All humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world....
, anthropology
Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humans and humanity in its totality. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, and the humanities. In Great Britain it was originally divided into physical anthropology and cultural anthropology, which itself was divided into archaeology, technology, ethnology and sociology ....
, apophatic theology, and comparative religion
Comparative religion

Comparative religion is a field of religious study that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the Religions of the world....
.

Kalam
Kalam is the Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy

Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between philosophy and the religious teachings of Islam ....
 of seeking theological principles through dialectic
Dialectic

Dialectic is a method of argument, which has been central to both Eastern and Western philosophy since ancient times. The word "dialectic" originates in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato's Socratic dialogues....
.






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Islamic theology is a branch of Islamic studies
Islamic studies

Islamic studies is an ambiguous term. In a Muslim context, "Islamic studies" can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge....
 regarding the beliefs associated with the Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
ic faith.

Types of theology

Muslim theology is the theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 that derived from the Qur'an
Qur'an

The Qur?an is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur?an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God....
, Hadith
Hadith

Hadith are oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad. Hadith collections are regarded by all traditional madhab as important tools for determining the Muslim way of life, the sunnah....
, and the Muhammad's life. The contents of Muslim theology can be divided into theology proper such as theodicy, eschatology
Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what is believed to be the final events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of All humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world....
, anthropology
Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humans and humanity in its totality. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, and the humanities. In Great Britain it was originally divided into physical anthropology and cultural anthropology, which itself was divided into archaeology, technology, ethnology and sociology ....
, apophatic theology, and comparative religion
Comparative religion

Comparative religion is a field of religious study that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the Religions of the world....
.

Kalam


Kalam is the Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy

Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between philosophy and the religious teachings of Islam ....
 of seeking theological principles through dialectic
Dialectic

Dialectic is a method of argument, which has been central to both Eastern and Western philosophy since ancient times. The word "dialectic" originates in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato's Socratic dialogues....
. In Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
, the word literally means "speech". A scholar of kalam is referred to as a mutakallim (Muslim theologian; plural mutakallimiin).

Eschatology


Eschatology
Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what is believed to be the final events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of All humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world....
 is literally understood as the last things or ultimate things and in Muslim theology, eschatology refers to the end of this world and what will happen in the next world or hereafter. Eschatology covers the death of human beings, their souls after their bodily death, the total destruction of this world, the resurrection of human souls, the final judgments
End times

The End Time, End Times, or End of Days are the eschatology writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions....
 of human deeds by Allah after the resurrection, and the rewards and punishments for the believers and non-believers respectively. The places for the believers in the hereafter are known as Paradise
Paradise

Paradise is an idealized place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness....
 and for the non-believers as Hell
Hell

In many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear Divinity history often depict Hell as endless ....
.

Comparative religion

Comparative religion in Muslim theology is about the differences and similarities between Muslim theology and other theologies such as Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
, Jewish theologies 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 displaying both similarities and differences with each other in regard to beliefs.

Sunni view

Sunni Muslims hold that there are six articles of belief: belief in Allah, in angels
Islamic view of angels

Angels in Islam are light-based creatures, created from light, by Allah to serve and worship Him.Belief in angels is one of the six Articles of Faith in Islam, without which there is no faith....
, in divinely revealed scripture
Islamic holy books

The Islamic holy books are the records which most of the Muslims believe were dictated by God to various prophets. They are the Suhuf Ibrahim , the Tawrat , the Zabur , the Injil , and the Qur'an....
, in prophets
Prophets of Islam

Muslims regard as prophets of Islam those non-divine humans chosen by Allah as prophets.Each prophet brought the same basic ideas of Islam, including belief in one God and avoidance of idolatry and sin....
, in the "Last Day" or end times, and in predestination
Predestination in Islam

Qadr is divinity destiny in Islam....
.

Shia view

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

The word Imamate is an Arabic word with an English language suffix meaning leadership. Its use in theology is confined to the religion of Islam....
, and eschatology.

Mu`tazilite view

In terms of the relationship between human beings and their creator, Mu`tazilites emphasize human free will
Free will

The question of free will is whether, and in what sense, rational agents exercise control over their actions and decisions. Addressing this question requires understanding the relationship between freedom and Causality, and determining whether the laws of nature are causally deterministic....
 over predestination and God's justice
Justice

Justice is the concept of morality rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness and equity."...
 over God's omnipotence. Mu'tazilites also believe in the use of logic to deduct the true meanings of the Qur'an
Qur'an

The Qur?an is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur?an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God....
. This, combined with the principal of Ijtihad
Ijtihad

Ijtihad is a technical term of Sharia that describes the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the legal sources, the Qur'an and the Sunnah....
, led to their belief in Dynamic Fiqh.

See also

  • Aqidah
    Aqidah

    Aqidah is an Islamic term meaning creed. Any religious belief system, or creed, can be considered an example of aqidah. However this term has taken a significant technical usage in Muslim history and theology, denoting those matters over which Muslims hold conviction....
  • Islamic eschatology
    Islamic eschatology

    Islamic eschatology is concerned with the Islamic view of the Last Judgment "Last Judgement". Eschatology relates to one of the six articles of faith of Islam....
  • Kalam
    Kalam

    Kalam is the Islamic philosophy of seeking Islamic theology principles through dialectic. In Arabic language the word literally means "speech"....