The six pillars of faith are defined in the famous Hadith of Jibril. When the Prophet ﷺ was asked about Iman, he replied:

“It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in divine decree (al-Qadr), its good and its bad.”
— Sahih Muslim, Hadith 8

1️⃣ Belief in Allah

Belief in Allah means affirming:

• • His Oneness in worship (Tawheed al-Uluhiyyah)

  • His Lordship (Tawheed al-Rububiyyah)

  • His Names and Attributes (Tawheed al-Asma’ wa’l-Sifat)

2️⃣ Belief in the Angels

Muslims believe angels are real, unseen beings created from light.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“The angels were created from light…”
— Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2996

The Qur’an states:

“The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and so have the believers… all of them believe in Allah, His angels…”
— Surah Al-Baqarah (2:285)

Jibril (Gabriel) is mentioned explicitly:

“Whoever is an enemy to Jibril — it is he who brought it [the Qur’an] down upon your heart…”
— Surah Al-Baqarah (2:97)

3️⃣ Belief in the Revealed Books

Allah revealed scriptures to guide humanity:

• • The Tawrah (Torah)

  • The Zabur (Psalms)

  • The Injil (Gospel)

  • The Qur’an

“He has sent down upon you the Book in truth, confirming what came before it…”
— Surah Aal ‘Imran (3:3)

“Indeed, We revealed the Torah…”
— Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:44)

The final revelation is the Qur’an.

Its preservation is promised:

“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will preserve it.”
— Surah Al-Hijr (15:9)

4️⃣ Belief in the Messengers

Allah sent prophets to every nation.

“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger…”
— Surah An-Nahl (16:36)

“We make no distinction between any of His messengers.”
— Surah Al-Baqarah (2:285)

The final prophet is Muhammad ﷺ:

“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets.”
— Surah Al-Ahzab (33:40)

5️⃣ Belief in the Last Day

Belief in the Hereafter includes resurrection, judgment, Paradise, and Hell.

“Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it…”
— Surah Al-Zalzalah (99:7–8)

“And the Hour is coming, there is no doubt about it…”
— Surah Al-Hajj (22:7)

The Prophet ﷺ described the events of the Last Day extensively in:

• • Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Riqaq

  • Sahih Muslim, Book of Paradise

6️⃣ Belief in Divine Decree (Al-Qadr)

Everything occurs by Allah’s knowledge and will.

“Indeed, all things We created with decree.”
— Surah Al-Qamar (54:49)

“No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being…”
— Surah Al-Hadid (57:22)

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Allah wrote the decrees of creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.”
— Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2653