Muslim theology is a branch of knowledge about God or Allah based on Muslim divine religious books or sources namely the Holy Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions. This theology claims that the Holy Qur'an was revealed by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad after Allah commissioned him to be the final and last prophet. It is claimed that the Qur'an was revealed in Arabic verbatim to the Muhammad through the angel Gabriel or through other means. The Qur'an has thirty parts and 114 surahs or chapters. It is believed by Muslims to be the most reliable and authentic divine book when one wants to learn the Islamic teaching on theology, law and other branches of knowledge. There is a particular focus on the Islamic religious knowledge and the sciences. The Prophetic traditions are the sayings, deeds and affirmations of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophetic traditions are originated from Allah but they were not revealed verbatim. Their Arabic sentences were from the Prophet Muhammad himself.
Types of Theology
Muslim theology is the theology that derived from the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions. The contents of Muslim theology can be divided into theology proper, theodicy, eschatology, anthropology, apophatic theology and comparative religion. These branches or divisions of can be found in the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions.
Theology Proper
Theology proper refers to the nature of God or Allah such as His essence and attributes and His relation with humans and other created beings, the relationship between the creator and the created.
Theodicy
Theodicy is related to Allah as the creator and the existing of all the evil and suffering in the world with the premise that Allah is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent. The main questions dealt in theodicy are the problems of evils and sufferings taking place among human beings and their relation to Allah's three attributes.
Eschatology
Eschatology 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 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 the Paradise and for the non-believers as the Hell.
Theological Anthropology
Anthropology or theological anthropology in Muslim theology focuses on the natures and purposes of human beings created by Allah to live in this world. Apophatic theology deals with what Allah is not. It is also known as negative theology.
Comparative Religion
Comparative religion in Muslim theology is about the differences and similarities between Muslim theology and other theologies such as Christian, Jewish theologies as explained in the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions.
Differences Various Muslim Groups Hold
General Overview
In the history of Muslim theology, there have been theological schools among Muslims such as the Salafites , the Ash`arites , the Mu`tazilites and the Hanbalites. Those who have studies those Muslim theological schools surely have found some similarities and difference in their approaches to the theological contents and concepts derived from the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions.
Mu`tazilite View
Mu`tazilites emphasize more on human free will in human relation with Allah meanwhile those who opposed the Mu`tazilites emphasize on human predestination in human relation with Allah. The Mu`tazilites give priority to God's justice while their opponents give priority to God's omnipotence when they talk about the relationship between human beings and their creator.
Shi`ite View
There are differences also among Muslims in defining the contents of Islamic articles of belief. The Shi`ite Muslims hold that there are five articles of belief namely the Divine Oneness and Justice, the Prophethood, the Imamate, and eschatology.
Sunnite View
Sunnite Muslims hold that there are six articles of belief namely belief in Allah or God, His angels, His books, His prophets, eschatology and the values or standards of goodness and badness or evilness are from Allah.
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