Islam

Islam
اسلام‎ Islām
The Kaaba at Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest site in Islam.
Type	Universal religion
Classification	Abrahamic, Arabian
Scripture	Qur'an (as the central text), belief in previous revelations such as the Tawrat (Torah), Injeel (Gospel)
Theology	Monotheism
Language	Classical Arabic
Founder	Muhammad
Origin	7th century CE Jabal al-Nour, near Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia
Separations	Bahá'í Faith
Members	c. 1-1.8 billion

Islam is an Abrahamic Arabian monotheistic religion founded by Muhammad.^[1] A person who believes in Islam is called a Muslim. A disbeliever is called a Kafir in Islam. Islam means submission to the will of God.

Most teachings and beliefs of Islam are written out in the Quran (the words from God) (also spelled Qur'an or Kuran), the central holy scripture of Islam. Alongside the Qur'an, Muslims also believe in the previous revelations of God, such as the Tawrat (Torah),the Injeel (Gospel), Muslims believe that the Quran was spoken to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. The Quran is regarded as the word of God (or Allah), while Muhammad is regarded as the last prophet and messenger of God. Other beliefs and rules about what Muslims should do may come from hadiths,^[2]

Linguistically, Islam is defined as surrender to the command of God as per Islam, without objection, without submission, rebellion, and stubbornness. As for its idiomatic meaning, it is the religion that was brought by “Muhammad bin Abdullah,” sent by Almighty God, and which Muslims believe is the law with which God sealed the heavenly messages.

Muslims believe that there were many other prophets before Muhammad since the dawn of humanity, beginning with the Prophet Adam and including the Prophet Noah (Nuh), the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim), the Prophet Moses (Musa), the Prophet David (Dawuud), and the Prophet Jesus (Isa). They believe that all these prophets were given messages by God to their communities, but Satan (referred to as 'Shaytan شيطان' in Arabic) made the past communities deviate from them. Muslims believe that the content of the Quran (written in Arabic) is protected by Allah as mentioned in the Quran and is the final message of God for all of mankind until the Day of Judgement.

Most Muslims belong to one of two groups. The most common is Sunni Islam (75–90% of all Muslims are Sunni Muslims). The second is Shia Islam (10–20% of all Muslims are Shias – also called Shiites). There are also non-denominational Muslims who do not follow any sect and school of thought (madhab); they make up a majority of the Muslims in eight countries (and a plurality in three others): Albania (65%), Kyrgyzstan (64%), Kosovo (58%), Indonesia (56%), Mali (55%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (54%), Uzbekistan (54%), Azerbaijan (45%), Russia (45%), and Nigeria (42%).^[3]

With about 1.75 billion followers (24% of the world's population), Islam is the second-largest religion in the world. Islam is also the fastest-growing religion in the world.

1. ↑ "Islam | religion". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
2. ↑ Kamali, Mohammad Hashim. A textbook of Hadith studies: authenticity, compilation, classification and criticism of Hadith. Kube Publishing Ltd, 2014.
3. ↑ "Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation". The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. August 9, 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2013.