- Islam (/ˈɪslɑːm/; Arabic: ۘالِإسلَام, al-ʾIslām [ɪsˈlaːm], transl. “Submission [to God]”) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam, called Muslims, number approximately 1.9 billion globally and are the world’s second-largest religious population after Christians.
- Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier prophets and messengers, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
- Muslims consider the Quran to be the verbatim word of God and the unaltered, final revelation.
- Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations, such as the Tawrat (the Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Injil (Gospel).
- They believe that Muhammad is the main and final Islamic prophet, through whom the religion was completed.
- The teachings and normative examples of Muhammad, called the sunnah, documented in accounts called the hadith, provide a constitutional model for Muslims.
- Islam teaches that God (Allah) is one and incomparable.
- It states that there will be a “Final Judgment” wherein the righteous will be rewarded in paradise (jannah) and the unrighteous will be punished in hell (jahannam).
- The Five Pillars—considered obligatory acts of worship—comprise the Islamic oath and creed (shahada); daily prayers (salah); almsgiving (zakat); fasting (sawm) in the month of Ramadan; and a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca.
- Islamic law, sharia, touches on virtually every aspect of life, from banking and finance and welfare to men’s and women’s roles and the environment.
- The religion of Islam originated in Mecca about 610 CE.