Islam (Arabic; al-'islam (help·info)) is a monotheistic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. It is the second-largest religion in the world today, with an estimated 1.4 billion adherents, spread across the globe, known as Muslims.[1] The word "Islam" means "submission", referring to the total surrender of one's self to God (Arabic: Allah), and the word Muslim means "one who submits (to God)".[2]
Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad and that Muhammad is God's final prophet. The Qur'an and the traditions of Muhammad in the Sunnah are regarded as the fundamental sources of Islam.[3][4] Muslims do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Jesus, Moses, and other prophets. They hold that part of the messages of these prophets became distorted over time either in interpretation, in text, or both.[5][6][7] Like Judaism, and Christianity, Islam is an Abrahamic religion.[8]
Today Islam is the predominant religion in North Africa, West Africa the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of the Indian subcontinent. Large communities can also be found in China, the Balkan Peninsula and Russia. Only about 20 percent of Muslims originate from Arab countries.[9] Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity in many European countries, such as France, which has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe and the United Kingdom.[10][11] |
