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The meaning of faith: Faith is a combination of belief, statement, and deed. It entails that the heart believes firmly in Allah and His Messenger (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and everything that comes in the revealed texts, without this belief being subject to any doubt. There should then be no hesitation in expecting that the actions of the limbs will follow this belief so that the outward behavior will be in harmony with the inner belief. Allah says:

The Islamic system of belief is a set of principles pertaining to the Creator, to prophecy, and to the unseen, which includes such matters as the existence of angels, the Resurrection, and the Last Day. It deals with anything that the Messengers have informed us about on the basis of revelation – the teachings that they commanded us to believe in with certainty while knowing that everything to the contrary is false.

What is Included in the Islamic Belief System

The following are established facts and principles that all rational people agree upon:

1. The invalidity of determination without a determining factor.

2. The invalidity of an infinite sequence.

3. The invalidity of the vicious circle.

4. The law of causality.

1. The invalidity of determination without a determining factor.

This universe that is in existence must fall under one of three possibilities with respect to the nature of its existence:

1. Its existence is necessary.

Q. Does Islam allow Muslims to behead civilians and prisoners of war?

A. In principle, Islam forbids targeting civilians and those who don’t contribute to the war. A Muslim fighter can only target those who attack him and waged war against his country.

Islam protects the rights belonging to the citizens of an Islamic state, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims.

The first is the right to security of life and property. Islam prohibits killing except for that which is done in the due process of law at the hands of a God-fearing court. No government has the right to murder its citizens, openly or secretly, because they oppose its unjust policies and actions or criticize it. Furthermore, Islam confers the right of security of ownership of property.

  Every individual in an Islamic society enjoys the rights and powers as the caliph of Allah, and in this respect all individuals are equal. “Caliphate” as a term has frequently been used to describe an Islamic political system based on monarchy, while the authentic notion truly refers to the authority of every single Muslim in his human capacity and his right to enjoy dignity and respect.

The Qur’an clearly states that the aim and purpose of the Islamic state is the establishment, maintenance and development of those virtues which the Creator wishes human life to be enriched by and the prevention and eradication of those evils in human life which He finds abhorrent. The Islamic state is intended neither solely as an instrument of political administration nor for the fulfillment of the collective will of any particular set of people. Rather, Islam places a high ideal before the state, which it must use all the means at its disposal to achieve.

 Islam permits fighting in self-defense, in defense of one's faith, or on the part of those whose basic rights have been violated. It lays down strict rules of combat that include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees, and livestock. As Muslims see it, injustice would be triumphant in the world if good people were not prepared to fight for a righteous cause.

According to the Qur’an, war represents an “unwanted obligation” which has to be absolutely carried out with strict observance of particular humane and moral values and resorted to only when it is inevitable.

In a verse, it is explained that those who start wars are the disbelievers and that God does not approve wars:

[…Each time they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it. They rush about the earth corrupting it. Allah does not love corrupters.] (Surat Al-Ma’idah 5:64)