Islam (
Arabic:
الإسلام; al-'islām (
help·
info)) is a
monotheistic Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of
Muhammad, a 7th century
Arab religious and political figure. The word Islam means "submission", or the total surrender of oneself to
God (Arabic:
الله, Allāh).
[1] An adherent of Islam is known as a
Muslim, meaning "one who submits (to God)".
[2][3] There are between 1 billion to 1.8 billion Muslims, making Islam the
second-largest religion in the world after
Christianity.
[4]Muslims believe that God
revealed the
Qur'an to Muhammad, God's
final prophet, and regard the Qur'an and the
Sunnah (words and deeds of Muhammad) as the fundamental sources of Islam.
[5] They do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of
Abraham,
Moses,
Jesus, and other
prophets. Islamic tradition holds that
Jews and
Christians distorted the revelations God gave to these prophets by either altering the text, introducing a false interpretation, or both.
[6]Islam includes many religious practices. Adherents are generally required to observe the
Five Pillars of Islam, which are five duties that unite Muslims into a community.
[7] In addition to the Five Pillars,
Islamic law (sharia) has developed a tradition of rulings that touch on virtually all aspects of life and society. This tradition encompasses everything from practical matters like
dietary laws and
banking to
warfare.
[8]Almost all Muslims belong to one of two major denominations, the
Sunni and
Shi'a. The schism developed in the late 7th century following disagreements over the religious and political leadership of the Muslim community. Roughly 85 percent of Muslims are Sunni and 15 percent are Shi'a. Islam is the predominant religion throughout the
Middle East, as well as in parts of
Africa and
Asia. Large communities are also found in
China, the
Balkan Peninsula in
Eastern Europe and
Russia. There are also large Muslim immigrant communities in other parts of the world such as
Western Europe. About 20% of Muslims live in
Arab countries.
[9]Etymology and meaning
Main article:
S-L-MThe word Islām, from the
triliteral root s-l-m, is derived from the
Arabic verb Aslama, which means "to accept, surrender or submit." Thus, Islam means acceptance of and submission to God, and believers must demonstrate this by worshiping him, following his commands, and avoiding
polytheism. The word is given a number of meanings in the
Qur'an. In some verses (
ayat), the quality of Islam as an internal conviction is stressed: "Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam."
[10] Other verses connect islām and
dīn (usually translated as "religion"): "Today, I have perfected your religion (dīn) for you; I have completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam for your religion."
[11] Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith.
[12]Articles of faith
Main articles:
Aqidah and
ImanThe Qur'an states that all Muslims must believe in God, his revelations, his
angels, his
messengers, and in the "
Day of Judgment".
[13] Also, there are other beliefs that differ between
particular sects. The
Sunni concept of predestination is called
divine decree,
[14] while the
Shi'a version is called
divine justice. Unique to the Shi'a is the doctrine of
Imamah, or the political and spiritual leadership of the
Imams.
[15]Muslims believe that God
revealed his final message to humanity through the Islamic prophet Muhammad via the
angel Gabriel. For them, Muhammad was God's final prophet and the Qur'an is the revelations he received over more than two decades.
[16] In Islam, prophets are men selected by God to be his messengers. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not divine, though some are able to perform miracles to prove their claim. Islamic prophets are considered to be the closest to perfection of all humans, and are uniquely the recipients of divine
revelation—either directly from God or through angels. The Qur'an mentions the names of numerous figures considered
prophets in Islam, including
Adam,
Noah,
Abraham,
Moses and
Jesus, among others.
[17] Islamic theology says that all of God's messengers since Adam preached the message of Islam—submission to the will of the one God. Islam is described in the Qur'an as "the primordial nature upon which God created mankind",
[18] and the Qur'an states that the
proper name Muslim was given by Abraham.
[19]As a historical phenomenon, Islam originated in
Arabia in the early 7th century.
[20] Islamic texts depict Judaism and Christianity as prophetic successor traditions to the teachings of Abraham. The Qur'an calls
Jews and
Christians "
People of the Book" (ahl al-kitāb), and distinguishes them from polytheists. Muslims believe that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, the
Tawrat (
Torah) and the
Injil (
Gospels), had become
distorted—either in interpretation, in text, or both.
[6]God
Main article:
God in IslamSee also:
AllahIslam's fundamental theological concept is
tawhīd—the belief that there is only one God. The Arabic term for God is Allāh; most scholars believe it was derived from a contraction of the words
al- (the) and
ʾilāh (deity, masculine form), meaning "the God" (al-ilāh), but others trace its origin to the Aramaic Alāhā.
[21] The first of the Five Pillars of Islam, tawhīd is expressed in the
shahadah (testification), which declares that there is no god but God, and that Muhammad is God's messenger. In traditional Islamic theology, God is beyond all comprehension; Muslims are not expected to visualize God but to worship and adore him as a protector. Although Muslims believe that
Jesus was a prophet, they reject the Christian doctrine of the
Trinity, comparing it to polytheism. In Islamic theology,
Jesus was just a man and not the son of God;
[22] God is described in a chapter (
sura) of the Qur'an as "…God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."
[23]Qur'an
Main articles:
Islamic holy books and
Qur'anSee also:
Origin and development of the Qur'anThe
first sura in a Qur'anic manuscript by
Hattat Aziz EfendiMuslims consider the Qur'an to be the literal word of God; it is the central
religious text of Islam.
[24] Muslims believe that the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad by God through the angel Gabriel on many occasions between 610 and his death on
July 6,
632. The Qur'an was written down by Muhammad's companions (
sahabah) while he was alive, although the prime method of transmission was orally. It was compiled in the time of
Abu Bakr, the first
caliph, and was standardized in the time of
Uthman, the third caliph. The Qur'an in its actual form is generally considered by academic scholars to record the words spoken by Muhammad because the search for variants in Western academia has not yielded any differences of great significance and that historically controversy over the content of the Qur'an has never become a main point.
[25]The Qur'an is divided into 114
suras, or chapters, which combined, contain 6,236
āyāt, or verses. The chronologically earlier suras, revealed at Mecca, are primarily concerned with ethical and spiritual topics. The later Medinan suras mostly discuss social and moral issues relevant to the Muslim community.
[26] The Qur'an is more concerned with moral guidance than legal instruction, and is considered the "sourcebook of Islamic principles and values".
[27] Muslim jurists consult the
hadith, or the written record of Muhammad's life, to both supplement the Qur'an and assist with its interpretation. The science of Qur'anic commentary and exegesis is known as
tafsir.
[28]The word Qur'an means "recitation". When Muslims speak in the abstract about "the Qur'an", they usually mean the scripture as recited in Arabic rather than the printed work or any translation of it. To Muslims, the Qur'an is perfect only as revealed in the original Arabic; translations are necessarily deficient because of language differences, the fallibility of translators, and the impossibility of preserving the original's inspired style. Translations are therefore regarded only as commentaries on the Qur'an, or "interpretations of its meaning", not as the Qur'an itself.
[29]Angels
Main article:
Angels in IslamBelief in angels is crucial to the faith of Islam. The Arabic word for Angels (malak) means "messenger", like its counterparts in Hebrew (malakh) and Greek (angelos). According to the Qur'an, angels do not possess
free will, and worship God in perfect obedience.
[30] Angels' duties include communicating revelations from God, glorifying God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. They are also thought to intercede on man's behalf. The Qur'an describes angels as "messengers with wings—two, or three, or four (pairs): He [God] adds to Creation as He pleases…"
[31]Muhammad
Main article:
MuhammadMuhammad (c. 570 –
July 6,
632) was an Arab religious, political, and military leader who founded the religion of Islam as a historical phenomenon. Muslims view him not as the creator of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and others. In Muslim tradition, Muhammad is viewed as the last and the greatest in a series of
prophets—as the man closest to perfection, the possessor of all virtues.
[32] For the last 23 years of his life, beginning at age 40, Muhammad reported receiving revelations from God. The content of these revelations, known as the Qur'an, was memorized and recorded by his
companions.
[33]The
Masjid al-Nabawi ("Mosque of the Prophet") in
Medina is the site of Muhammad's tomb.
During this time, Muhammad preached to the people of
Mecca, imploring them to abandon polytheism. Although some converted to Islam, Muhammad and his followers were persecuted by the leading Meccan authorities. After 13 years of preaching, Muhammad and the Muslims performed the
Hijra ("emigration") to the city of
Medina (formerly known as Yathrib) in 622. There, with the Medinan converts (
Ansar) and the Meccan migrants (
Muhajirun), Muhammad established his political and
religious authority. Within years, two battles had been fought against Meccan forces: the
Battle of Badr in 624, which was a Muslim victory, and the
Battle of Uhud in 625, which ended inconclusively. Conflict with Medinan Jewish clans who opposed the Muslims led to their exile, enslavement or death, and the Jewish enclave of
Khaybar was subdued. At the same time, Meccan trade routes were cut off as Muhammad brought surrounding desert tribes under his control.
[34] By 629 Muhammad was victorious in the nearly bloodless
Conquest of Mecca, and by the time of his death in 632 he ruled over the
Arabian peninsula.
[35]In Islam, the "
normative" example of Muhammad's life is called the
Sunnah (literally "trodden path"). This example is preserved in traditions known as
hadith ("reports"), which recount his words, his actions, and his personal characteristics. The classical Muslim jurist
ash-Shafi'i (d. 820) emphasized the importance of the Sunnah in
Islamic law, and Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad's actions in their daily lives. The Sunnah is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of the Qur'an.
[36]