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What are the beliefs of Islam that are shared across all (or 99.9999%) the varying sects, not including the 5-pillars?

Coming from a Christian perspective, we all (mostly) share the same scriptures but we vary on interpretations. However, the Christian beliefs that Jesus was and is God, that he died to pay for the sins of mankind, and that a person placing their faith in Christ will make them holy before God are shared between nearly every culture and denomination. Only a small fraction of controversial self-titled Christian denominations believe outside of this.

Islam has a holy text and varying interpretations, but what would the set of core beliefs be for Islam?

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  • The Five pillars are obligations on every Muslim. They're different from beliefs. Are you expecting something about the characteristics of/beliefs about God which all Muslims share? Jun 2, 2015 at 13:31

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Besides the 5 pillars of Islam there are a lot many things that are common in our belief (or as you put it "true for 99.9999% Muslims").

For example, to count few1 , for Allah (the God) we believe that

  1. There is no deity worthy of worship, but Allah
  2. He is entirely Merciful (the only provider of the life and sustenance to everything and everyone in this world)
  3. He is the especially Merciful (exclusively merciful for believers)
  4. He is the only Owner of the Day of Resurrection
  5. He is the Self-Sufficient Master whom everyone and everything need, but Himself neither eats nor drinks
  6. He is Eternal without any beginning nor an end
  7. He neither begets nor is born (He has no children and parent)
  8. There is nothing equivalent to Him

1References: http://quran.com/1, http://quran.com/112

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    so why are jews considered non-believers? this is straight out of jewish thought
    – michael
    May 7, 2015 at 14:38
  • @m.r. I bet they fail at the 5 pillars, but I suggest you to start a separate topic for that discussion.
    – ozbek
    May 7, 2015 at 15:03
  • @m.r. Because they don't believe that Muhammad was the last prophet or that the Quran is the literal word of God. Rejecting either of those is disbelief.
    – G. Bach
    Dec 15, 2016 at 12:33
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What are the beliefs of Islam that are shared across all (or 99.9999%) the varying sects?

What ever are not disputable among the sects is shared across all of the sects.

Is there anything outside the 5 pillars (or are there things within it that are disputed)?

The Shia and Sunni both agree on the essential details for the performance and practice of these (5 pillars) acts. (Source 5 pillars)

The core beliefs of Islam,

1 There is only one God whom we cannot see now and is above the heavens ruling the kingdom which he created.

2 There is no other God besides him which means he's got no family but only friends and enemies or you can say his creations.

3 There is no image of God. If there were to be one, it clearly contradicts the first rule. Which also clearly means and is interpreted in Islam that there are no humanly avatars of God.

4 Remember the Friday prayers without fail.

5 Honor your parents and don't disobey them

6 Believe in the flashback.

7 Obey God and Obey the messenger or in other words Obey God and follow the messenger or in other words trust God completely and trust the messenger completely.

8 Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the last messenger of God.

9 Believe in the day of resurrection, the knowledge which only and only God has and the decision will solely and solely be of God on that day.

Last, but not the least,

10 Remember God with full devotion in the way which the prophet taught us or in other words, establish prayers five times a day else, God will be make devil as our friend and you know what happens next.

The rest, Ah! it was getting too big, so.... and somethings which I left life this are misinterpreted. You know it.

Islam has a holy text and varying interpretations

Finally, the authenticity of Hadith books is disputed, but never ever and again, never ever about the authenticity of the Book of God.

Hence to conclude, the things which are perfectly and literally clear in Qur'an are not at all disputed. But the varying interpretations of Qur'an arise due to the indifference caused by the belief in Hadith and their reliability.

May the creator guide us all.

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    Good, but you may also want to add the doctrine of the coming of Mahdi or Qa'im.
    – infatuated
    May 9, 2015 at 7:53
  • Masha Allah, but I'm afraid I have to remove the second half of the 9th part too, because I'm not sure if Qur'anists would agree to that and your part. So, to be sure enough and not going into much of Hadiths, I just wrote the important points mostly based on Qur'an and general Islamic inferences. @infatuated May 9, 2015 at 15:33
  • Oh, Quranists! Didn't know they are now official! Ok, but let me only say that the coming of Mahdi is mentioned in the Quran but implicitly, though!
    – infatuated
    May 9, 2015 at 19:05
  • This is the part I'm talking about "Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by God's wish will intercede on behalf of his community." May 10, 2015 at 19:38
  • Well, if the nine statement on your list is to the exclusion of Shafa'a by at least The Holy Messenger (if that's what implied by your multiple emphasis on "solely"), that doesn't represent the view of a great number of muslims. To elaborate, of course the ultimate decision would be on Allah all muslims believe, but not all muslims believe that the Holy Prophet would definitely intercede for many sinful but believing muslims by Allah's permission.
    – infatuated
    May 11, 2015 at 4:58
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There is a classification of core beliefs that the scholars identified and it is known as The pillars of faith (note the analogy to the The pillars of Islam.)

The pillars are in order:

  1. Belief in God/Allah
  2. Belief in the angels - includes Gabriel, the Holy Spirit
  3. Belief in the revealed books - includes the Torah, Gospel, Quran and others revealed to Abraham, David, etc.
  4. Belief in the commissioned Messengers (peace be upon them) - includes Muhammad, Jesus, Moses, Abraham, David, Salomon, and many others
  5. Belief in the resurrection and the events of Qiyamah - that is Judgement Day
  6. Belief in the predestination by Allah of all things, both the (seemingly) good and the (seemingly) bad - that is God's willpower and execution

The references/sources of those beliefs are primarily the Quran.

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  • This is the correct answer, but the 6th item is contested by the Libertarians and different denominations interpret it differently. The first 5 items are shared by all - i.e. those who have contested them haven't gained wide support. The order (of first five) as given in 2.177 is worth noting.
    – user549
    Jun 15, 2015 at 20:36

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