1. Monotheism:  The Oneness of Allah (tuwhid)

Allah, or God, is the center of Muslim belief.  Whereas certain religions focus on individuals, like Christianity focuses on Jesus (peace be upon him), Islam focuses solely on Allah.  Although Muslims respect the divine prophets, the prophets - including Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) - are still only servants of Allah.

2.  Divine Justice ('adl)

Anyone who believes in Islamic monotheism must believe in the Almighty's justice.  Because Allah is just, He never wrongs His creatures, for injustice is an evil deed while He is far from doing evil.  Because He is omniscient, He does not neglect anything, and because He is self-sufficient, He has no cause to wrong others.  Since He owns everything, He does not need the actions of anyone.  His wisdom also transcends the universe.  Thus, unlike some human beings, He has no cause for injustice:

 "He is always standing firm on justice.  There is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Wise."  (Holy Quran 3:18)

"And your Lord does not deal unjustly with anyone."  (Holy Quran 18:49)

 "We did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves."  (Holy Quran 16:118)

3.  Prophethood (nubuwwa)

The prophets were the people who received divine revelation.  Allah has sent numerous prophets and messengers to humankind since the dawn of history.  These prophets were of two types:  "local" and "universal."  While the local prophets were sent with specific messages to specific groups of people, the universal prophets were sent with messages and books for all of humankind.  There were only five universal prophets, and their names were Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (may the peace of Allah be upon all of them). 

4.  Succession (succorship ) to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh & hf)     ( imamat or khilafat )

All of the prophets and messengers of God had successors, and just as Allah appointed His prophets and messengers for the guidance of mankind, He also appointed successors to the prophets and messengers as a matter of necessity.  Abraham (peace be upon him) was succeeded by two of his sons, Isaac and Ishmael (peace be upon them), while Moses (peace be upon him) was succeeded by his brother Aaron (peace be upon him) and Jesus (peace be upon him) by two prophets whom the Qur'an mentions in the chapter called "Ya Sin". (36:13-14)  Likewise, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was succeeded by twelve distinguished successors, one after another.  These successors were called imams and were appointed by Allah, not by humankind.  The right to ordain imams belongs only to Almighty Allah, and the Qur'an speaks about this in many verses:

  "And remember when your Lord said to the angels, 'Verily I am going to place a successor (khalifa)."  (2:30) 

Allah addressed Prophet David (peace be upon him) as such:  "O David!  Verily We have placed you as a successor on earth."  (38:26)  "And remember when the Lord of Abraham tried him with certain commands which he fulfilled; Allah said to him, 'Verily I am going to make you a leader (imam) of mankind.'"  (2:124) 

Allah also attributes the right of appointing leaders to Himself:  "We made from among them leaders, giving guidance under Our command."  (32:24) 

During his lifetime, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) specifically mentioned the names of the leaders that would come after him, that there would be twelve of them, and that all of them would be descended from a particular Arab tribe called Quraysh.[13]

The twelve successors to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)

5.  The Day of Judgement and the Resurrection (qiyama)

Approximately 1,200 verses of the Qur'an speak of life after death and the Day of Resurrection, as do a vast number of sayings related from Prophet Muhammad and his successors (peace be upon all of them).  This number reveals the importance and significance of life after death and emphasizes that the life of the human being does not end at death but in fact continues afterwards towards a new life - indeed, its true life.  Allah placedd human beings on the earth to test them, and so different people live for different lengths of time before they die and their souls are separated from their bodies.  Their souls then live on, facing the grave and the questioning therein.  After that, the souls return to their bodies which will be resurrected on the Day of Judgement, on which day they will receive whatever they deserve according to their beliefs and deeds in life.

Some people will go to Heaven, also called the Garden, or the Paradise.  Others will go to Hell, oftentimes called the Fire.  And a select few will be brought into a state of nearness to God. 

Both Heaven and Hell have different levels; the worst of people will be in the lowest depths of Hell, while the best of them will be in the highest parts of Heaven.  Death and Life after Death

And they ask you concerning the spirit.  Say:  "The spirit, it is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord, and of knowledge, you mankind have been given only a little.  (17:85) 

The Qur'an says:

It is Allah who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and those that die not during their sleep.  He keeps those souls for which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed.  Verily, in this are signs for people who think deeply.  (39:42)