What is so important about belief?

[tylerd]

I have recently started reading the Koran and I've noticed that the principal issue therein is belief in God. The actions based on that belief appear to be issues of a secondary nature.

What is the purpose of believe other then to dictate our actions? What is the added value intrinsic to belief? Why does God care about being believed in?

Do your actions not define the quality of your character? If so, does it even matter (or would it matter to God) which belief (islam, christianity, atheism) inspired those actions?

[siam]

It isn't any "belief" that will do---What is important is RIGHT belief. The formula goes something like this----God's will=Right belief that promotes right intentions that leads to right actions for the benefit of all of God's creation.
Right belief=Tawhid.
Why is it important?
The Meccan Pagans also believed in "Allah"---yet their "God" was a stone idol with daughters. Such a misconception of God creates problems in our understanding of our purpose on earth, our relationship with God's creations and our final destination and the path/way that will get us there. For example---God is One, Unique, Indivisible, Neither Male nor Female, Uncreated and Infinite. We, and everything around us, is created and finite. Therefore, the "Jewish G-d" is not a rival of the "Chinese God"---there is only ONE God and we are all HIS CREATION---regardless of what label we use for differentiation. All human beings are brothers and sisters of each other......When we understand this, our intentions will reflect this understanding and our actions will be tempered with compassion, tolerance and patience for the "other".

let me give you another example---A person gives money to another--- with the intention of getting something in return, but not getting anything, he decides not to take back his money----this would be an accidental charity---the initial intention was not to be charitable---but he ended up being so, or a person who donates money for the sake of status/pride. the action may be "good" but the intentions are not really "right". Someone who does charity out of compassion has both the right intentions and right actions. Yet, someone who understands that all our wealth is a blessing from God and it is our responsibility to use it for the benefit of all of God's creations, will do charity not simply out of compassion but also out of "love of God"/God awareness (Taqwa). This is real altruism-when we do something not for the pleasure of "self"......Right belief that promotes right intentions that lead to right actions for the benefit of all of God's creations.

[tigerkhan]

very nice observation !!!!!
according to my limited understanding, ALLAH SWT says in quran HE will not forgive the "Shirk".....i want to give u an example.....
suppose a boy is in a college, if he disobey some rule of college, obviously he will be punished. but if he deny and say i dont accept the rules of college then surely he will be expelled out from the colllege...same is the case here... ALLAH SWT is Creater and Controller of all this universe, if someone accept and believe this but due to Nafas he is lazy in good deeds maybe he will be excused but if some1 say i dont accept and he say ALLAH is not a Creater and dont belive what ALLAH SWT had said in quran, surely he will be punished more......its like one who disobey goveronment law will be punished but one who say i dont accept this goveronment and start anti goveronment movement, surely he will be punished more...........that the reason ALLAH SWT stress more on believ in Quran....
2ndly every action of man is dependent on his believe. eg everyone knows he had to die one day.....but his deeds depend upon how much he has firm blv on this...bcz see a man when heard that he will be killed soon in 5-6 days, how much he will be desperated in these days... y his actions and situation is changed when he heard this even he knows from begining that he has to die one day...its bcz now his believe is firmed on death now and that changed his situation from relaxation to depression....so every actions of man depend on his blv...therefore ALLAH SWT stress more on believe/eman than actions in quran...

its according to my limited knowledge, ALLAH SWT knows better...

[PouringRain]

Siam and Tigerkhan both gave really good answers. I will try and answer your questions specifically, although I am often poor with expressing things very clearly. So, I apologize in advance and I hope that my words do not come out wrong and unclear. Also, I am not a Muslim, so my answer does not reflect any opinion or line of thought that might be held by one.

I have recently started reading the Koran and I've noticed that the principal issue therein is belief in God. The actions based on that belief appear to be issues of a secondary nature.

I don't believe that any actions are of a secondary nature. Actions come out of love. Love for God. Love for others. It is not enough to simply believe in God. Even Satan believes in God and knows his words. It is more about KNOWING God than believing in God. And knowing God is about having a relationship with God, accepting his love for us and showing his love to others. God wants to have a relationship with us.

Actions stem from love, not belief. Often a drunk driver believes that driving drunk is dangerous and should not be done, yet he does it anyways. It is not uncommon to hear people with a vice tell others to never get into it-- yet they continue it themself. Belief alone is not enough to cause an action.

What is the purpose of believe other then to dictate our actions? What is the added value intrinsic to belief? Why does God care about being believed in?

See above for belief and actions. There is a line from a song that I enjoy and it says "Love is not a feeling, it's an act of your will." If you truly love, then will you act.

God cares because he loves us. He created us. He breathed life into us. Would you make a child and then discard it on the curb and shove it aside? God desires that we all come to know him.

Do your actions not define the quality of your character? If so, does it even matter (or would it matter to God) which belief (islam, christianity, atheism) inspired those actions?

I would say that actions, in some respects, do define a person's character, but they alone do not define it. Siam, above, mentioned intentions. Someone may appear to me doing good and acting in love, but in reality that person's intentions may not be right. The intention might be self-serving, for example, and love is self-sacrificial. Actions are an outward manifestation that character is often assessed from, but actions alone do not define character. I would say that it takes time to see true character.

Personally, I do not believe it matters to God which religion one follows; although, I will say that it would be impossible for most religions to have a relationship with a God that they do not worship nor believe in. How can they love God or show God's love, when they do not KNOW God? So, when I say that religion does not matter, it must not be taken too loosely. Religion, and religious teachings, are how we discover God and learn more about him, so in some ways, religion is important. As others have said-- there is only ONE God. Unless someone has a relationship with God, then he does not know God. And if someone knows God and loves God, then there is a desire to follow his teachings and to display his love.

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[tylerd]

Thanks for your well argumented reply Siam.

I agree that doing the right thing for the wrong reason is not doing the right thing at all. However, my initial question was intended in less abstract terms.

Your quote "Right belief that promotes right intentions that leads to right actions for the benefit of all of God's creation" is certainly valid, but is it not possible to have the right intentions without having the right belief? Where I suppose, in lign with your argumentation, "right" belief means the belief in One God, whatever label you may attach to it.

Or do you suppose it is not possible to truely understand what the right intentions are if your belief is not right?

As you may notice I am personnally not a believer, so please excuse my ignorance on the subject of belief.

[siam]

Thankyou for your interesting questions....
(My answers are from an Islamic perspective---but keep in mind, I am not a scholar....only an average Muslim....)

Is it possible to have right intentions without right belief?

Yes, it is possible to have "good" intentions that lead to "good" actions without a "right belief" or with no-belief. (as I explained previously,---charity done out of compassion for another is a good action that comes from good intentions.) In Islam, human beings have been created inherently "good". (......If so, why do we need "Right Belief"?)

Why Tawhid="Right Belief"? (...and why we need it)

We cannot "see" God---We can only infer its existence through its effect on its creation. (We cannot see "air/wind" but we know it exists because we see its effect on an object such as the leaves of a tree---from this observation, we assume its existence and we can then devise experiments and instruments to prove and study it.) We cannot prove God or devise experiments to study God. We can only rely on our intellectual abilities to "understand" the Divine. Apart from the intellect, we have another way of "understanding", the instinctive/intuitive understanding.
Once we assume God exists, we can then proceed to understand the Divine (not much use trying to understand something we assume does not exist). History confirms that human beings have wrestled with understanding the Divine. Some have come up with concepts of "God" with sons or daughters or spouses....or "rivals". Why is this belief incorrect?---because it creates "divisions" and does not align with observations of creation around us. When we look at the Universe, we see balance and harmony. This points to Unity (Tawhid). Unity, Balance, Harmony would be impossible if there were many "Creators".
When we base our actions on correct assumptions, we are less likely to make errors. Likewise, a correct understanding of the Divine promotes a better understanding of "creation"---including us. Thus, from Tawhid,(Unity) we understand the concept that all human beings are equal (as explained previously). When we have a correct understanding of God's creation, we can effect it for good/betterment in a way that aligns with God's will.
God's will=Right belief that promotes right intentions that lead to right actions for the betterment of all of God's creations.

Can one person judge/understand another person's "right/good intentions"?
No. Human beings can only judge outward actions or they must rely on verbal communication of intentions and motivations.

.......That is why spirituality is an inner choice---you either desire to be good or you don't. Belief itself is useless unless it promotes in us a force of inner and outer transformation for the benefit of God's creation.......