For other uses, see Islam (disambiguation).
The Kaaba, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the center of Islam. Muslims from all over the world gather there to pray in unity.This article is part of the series: Islam
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This article contains Arabic text, written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined Arabic letters written left-to-right instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Arabic script.
Islam (English /ˈɪzlɑːm/;[note 1] Arabic: الإسلام al-ʾislām IPA: [ʔɪsˈlæːm] ( listen)[note 2]) is the monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur'an, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Arabic: الله Allāh), and by the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah and composed of Hadith) of Muhammad, considered by them to be the last prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim.
Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of existence is to love and serve God.[1][2] Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through Abraham, Moses and Jesus, whom they consider prophets.[3] They maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time,[4] but consider the Qur'an to be both the unaltered and the final revelation of God.[5] Religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam, which are basic concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and following Islamic law, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, providing guidance on multifarious topics from banking and welfare, to warfare and the environment.[6][7]
The majority of Muslims are Sunni, being 75–90% of all Muslims.[8] The second largest sect, Shia, makes up 10–20%.[9] About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country,[10] 25% in South Asia,[10] 20% in the Middle East,[11] 2% in Central Asia, 4% in the remaining South East Asian countries, and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa.[12] Sizable communities are also found in China, Russia, and parts of Europe. With over 1.5 billion followers or over 22% of earth's population,[12][13] Islam is the second-largest and one of the fastest-growing religions in the world.[14][15]
Contents [hide] 1 Etymology and meaning 2 Articles of faith 2.1 God 2.2 Angels 2.3 Revelations 2.4 Prophets 2.5 Resurrection and judgment 2.6 Predestination 3 Five pillars 3.1 Testimony 3.2 Prayer 3.3 Fasting 3.4 Alms-giving 3.5 Pilgrimage 4 Law and jurisprudence 4.1 Jurists 4.2 Etiquette and diet 4.3 Family life 4.4 Government 4.5 Military 5 History 5.1 Muhammad (610–632) 5.2 Caliphate and civil war (632–750) 5.3 Abbasid era (750–1258) 5.4 Fall of Abbasids to end of caliphate (1258–1924) 5.5 Modern times (1924–present) 6 Denominations 6.1 Sunni 6.2 Shia 6.3 Sufism 6.4 Minor denominations 7 Demographics 8 Culture 8.1 Architecture 8.2 Art 8.3 Calendar 9 Criticism of Islam 10 See also 11 References 11.1 Notes 11.2 Citations 11.3 Books and journals 11.3.1 Encyclopedias 12 Further reading 13 External links
Etymology and meaningFurther information: S-L-M
Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, completion and bonding/joining.[16] In a religious context it means "voluntary submission to God".[17][18] Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive. Believers demonstrate submission to God by serving God and following his commands, and rejecting polytheism. The word sometimes has distinct connotations in its various occurrences in the Qur'an. In some verses (ayat), there is stress on the quality of Islam as an internal conviction: "Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam."[19] 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."[20] Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith.[21] Another technical meaning in Islamic thought is as one part of a triad of islam, imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence) where it represents acts of service (`ibādah) and Islamic law (sharia).[22]
Articles of faithMain articles: Aqidah and Iman The core beliefs of Islam are that there is only one God – unitary and beyond comprehension – and that Muhammad is the prophet of God, the last in a series of prophets beginning with Adam. The Qur’an is upheld as the eternal, literal word of God, and revelations to earlier prophets, as seen in the Jewish Torah and Christian Gospels, are believed to have become distorted by human intervention. Muslims believe that the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel, and belief in angels as God’s servants is part of the Islamic tradition. Belief in the Day of Judgment, when all people will undergo bodily resurrection and be judged by God, is another core tenet. While Sunni and Shi’a Muslims adhere to these basic beliefs, Shi’a also believe in the Imamate, the line of infallible spiritual and political leaders who succeeded Muhammad, beginning with his cousin and son-in-law, Ali.[23]
GodMain article: God in Islam
Allah means God in ArabicIslam's most fundamental concept is a rigorous monotheism, called tawhīd (Arabic: توحيد). God is described in chapter 112 of the Qur'an as:[24] "Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." (112:1-4) Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism, but accept Jesus as a prophet. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension and Muslims are not expected to visualize God. God is described and referred to by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahmān, meaning "The Compassionate" and Al-Rahīm, meaning "The Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam).[25]
Muslims believe that creation of everything in the universe is brought into being by God’s sheer command “‘Be’ and so it is.”[26][27] and that the purpose of existence is to love and serve God.[2][28] He is viewed as a personal God who responds whenever a person in need or distress calls Him.[26][29] There are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God who states “We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein”[30]
Allāh is the term with no plural or gender used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews meaning the one God, while ʾilāh (Arabic: إله) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[31] Other non-Arab Muslims might use different names as much as Allah, for instance "Tanrı" in Turkish or "Khodā" in Persian.
AngelsMain article: Islamic view of angels Belief in angels is fundamental to the faith of Islam. The Arabic word for angel (Arabic: ملاك 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 total obedience.[32] 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..."[33]
RevelationsMain articles: Islamic holy books and Qur'an See also: History of the Qur'an
The first sura in a Qur'anic manuscript by Hattat Aziz EfendiThe Islamic holy books are the records which most Muslims believe were dictated by God to various prophets. 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.[4] The Qur'an (literally, “Reading” or “Recitation”) is viewed by Muslims as the final revelation and literal Word of God and is widely regarded as the finest piece of literature work in the Arabic language.[34][35][36]
Muslims believe that the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad by God through the archangel Gabriel (Jibrīl) on many occasions between 610 CE until his death on June 8, 632 CE.[37] While Muhammad was alive, all of these revelations were written down by his companions (sahabah), although the prime method of transmission was orally through memorization.[38] After the death of Muhammad, it was compiled in the time of Abu Bakr, the first caliph, and was standardized under the administration of Uthman, the third caliph.
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.[39] The Qur'an is more concerned with moral guidance than legal instruction, and is considered the "sourcebook of Islamic principles and values".[40] Muslim jurists consult the hadith, or the written record of Prophet 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.[41]
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.[42]
ProphetsHadith collections
[show]Sunni
Six major collections Sahih al-Bukhari
Sahih Muslim
al-Sunan al-Sughra
Sunan Abi Dawood
Sunan al-Tirmidhi
Sunan Ibn Maja
Other Sunni collections Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah Sahih Ibn Hibbaan Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain Mawdu'at al-Kubra Riyadh as-Saaliheen Mishkat al-Masabih Talkhis al-Mustadrak Majma al-Zawa'id Bulugh al-Maram Kanz al-Ummal Zujajat al-Masabih Minhaj us Sawi
[show]Shi'a
The Four Books Kitab al-Kafi
Man la yahduruhu al-Faqih
Tahdhib al-Ahkam
al-Istibsar
Other Shi'a collections Nahj al-Balagha The book of Sulaym ibn Qays Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya Wasael ush-Shia Bihar al-Anwar Haqq al-Yaqeen Ain Al-Hayat Sharh Usul al-Kafi
[show]Ibadi
al-Jami' as-Sahih
Tartib al-Musnad
[show]Mu'tazila
Nahj with comments
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Main article: Prophets of Islam Muslims identify the prophets of Islam (Arabic: نبي nabī ) as those humans chosen by God to be his messengers. According to the Qur'an[43] the descendants of Abraham and Imran were chosen by God to bring the "Will of God" to the peoples of the nations. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not divine, though some are able to perform miracles to prove their claim. Islamic theology says that all of God's messengers preached the message of Islam—submission to the Will of God. The Qur'an mentions the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, among others.[44] Muslims believe that God finally sent Muhammad (Seal of the Prophets) to convey the divine message to the whole world (to sum up and to finalize the word of God). 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. Hadith Qudsi is a sub-category of hadith, regarded as the words of God repeated by Muhammad differing from the Quran in that they are "expressed in Muhammad's words", whereas the quran are the "direct words of God". 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. Six of these collections, compiled in