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Angels (malāʾika)
- After a short overview of angels in Islam, this entry begins with a description of the role angels play in the Qur’an, focusing on their appearance in prophetic narratives, in descriptions of heaven and hell, and in debates the Qur’an has with its polytheist interlocutors. While the Qur’an ...
- Author
- Stephen Burge
- Faith tradition
- Islam
- Topics
- Being and existence
The Problem of Evil
- This article examines approaches to the problem of evil in historical and contemporary Jewish theology. The material is structured conceptually rather than as a chronological survey. The introduction contrasts classical Jewish formulations of the problem of evil with the standard formulations...
- Author
- Michael J. Harris
- Faith tradition
- Judaism
- Topics
- Being and existence
Evil and Suffering
- The empirical fact of suffering in God’s world provides a significant and indicative theme for Islamic thought. Already forming part of the Qur’an’s diagnosis of the human condition, as exemplified with particular amplitude in the lives of the prophets, a consideration of suffering features...
- Author
- Tim Winter
- Faith tradition
- Islam
- Topics
- Being and existence
The Self (nafs)
- This entry provides a comprehensive overview of the major themes, questions, and developments concerning the concept of the self in Islamic thought. Beginning with the Qur’an and then following the various streams of Islamic thought, such as theology (kalām), philosophy (falsafa), and Sufis...
- Author
- Muhammad Faruque
- Faith tradition
- Islam
- Topics
- Being and existence
Iblīs
- Iblīs is the name of a spiritual being reported within a single narrative told in varying forms in seven sūras of the Qur’an. He then develops in subsequent tradition into the dedicated adversary of humanity. The foundational story is that, having created Adam, God commands the angels to bo...
- Author
- Whitney Bodman
- Faith tradition
- Islam
- Topics
- Being and existence
Primordial Human Nature (fiṭra)
- The concept of fiṭra (primordial human nature or natural disposition) plays an important role in Islamic theological anthropology. It is first and foremost a scriptural concept, being present both within the Qur’an (Q. 30:30) and the Hadith (especially the hadith ‘every child is born upon t...
- Author
- Ramon Harvey
- Faith tradition
- Islam
- Topics
- Being and existence
The Heart (qalb)
- In the Islamic tradition, the heart is the centre of the human being. Much more than just the physical organ that circulates blood throughout the body, the heart is central to the physical, emotional, intellective, ethical, and spiritual life of Muslims. The Qur’an and Hadith have provided ...
- Author
- Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Oludamini Ogunnaike
- Faith tradition
- Islam
- Topics
- Being and existence
Divine Unicity (tawḥīd)
- The Arabic word tawḥīd is a transitive verb; it means ‘to make [something] one’ or ‘to unify’ something. In the context of Islamic belief and practice, tawḥīd means to profess the unity and uniqueness of God and stands as a core defining principle of Islam. Muslims attest to tawḥīd through ...
- Author
- Khalil Andani
- Faith tradition
- Islam
- Topics
- Being and existence
Truth and Reality (ḥaqq and ḥaqīqa)
- This entry investigates the singular Islamic theme of al-ḥaqq and al-ḥaqīqa (truth and reality), with particular attention being given to the mystical tradition of Islam. Since there are numerous meanings underpinning al-ḥaqq, including truth, reality, fact, rightness, established, and nece...
- Author
- Mukhtar H. Ali
- Faith tradition
- Islam
- Topics
- Being and existence
The Perfect Human (al-insān al-kāmil)
- The Islamic mystical doctrine of the perfect human (al-insān al-kāmil) – whose bodily existence is deemed to mark the culmination of the cosmic process of divine self-disclosure – has had a lasting impact on Sufi thought and practice from the late medieval period onwards. It has also filter...
- Author
- Richard Todd
- Faith tradition
- Islam
- Topics
- Being and existence
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