ABSTRACT
Islam shares with Christianity a stress on ‘right belief as a hallmark o f true religion. A Muslim is first and foremost a believer. What is believed is the message o f Allah as given through the Prophet Muhammad. This is recorded in the Qur’an. It is embellished in the Sunnah of the Prophet. It is lived out through law. Belief is not a matter of simple intellectual assent: it also has to do with living by certain principles, with the application of a perceived divine intention in respect to the business of mundane life. The Way of Allah is given expression in Islam by Shari1 a, the Divine Law articulated through the principles and regulations of Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence). This is much like Torah, the Way of God given in ancient times to Moses as Divine Law, with its concrete expression through the many mitzvot (commandments) of the Levitical codes later expanded by the work of rabbinical schools. In keeping with its theological heritage, many o f the beliefs of Islam have to do with ways in which human beings are to live in accordance to the Will o f Allah.
