Dear questioner,

Thank you for your question.

Answering your question, Dr. Jasser Auda, Professor and Al-Shatibi Chair of Maqasid Studies at the International Peace College South Africa, the Executive Director of the Maqasid Institute, states:

I will refer to a very famous hadith (Prophetic narration) that every Muslim knows very well (hadith Jibreel): A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his mosque and in front of a number of the companions, and asked him: What is belief? The Prophet answered: To believe in God, His Prophets, His Books, His angels, and destiny, its good and its evil. The man asked: What is Islam? The Prophet answered: To say that you bear witness that there is no god but God (Allah) and Muhammad is His messenger, to maintain prayers, to give charity, to fast the month of Ramadan, and to visit the House (in Mecca) in pilgrimage.

This is what makes someone a Muslim. In terms of faith: the above are the "six pillars of faith" as scholars called them. And in terms of practice: the above are the "five pillars of Islam."

So, if you believe in One God (that is He is not and has never been "embodied" in a human or an object, has never had a "son" in any real sense not allegorically, and that He created this universe), and you believe in all of God's prophets, including Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, and in the message that holy books received by these Messengers call for, and that God created what He called angels and what He called destiny (we know this because God mentioned that in His books), then.… you are Muslim!

We hope this answers your questions.

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