Islam

Islam is the name for the faith and the community of Muslims around the world who are adherents of the teachings of the Qur'an as revealed to Prophet Muhammad. It is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity. The majority of Muslims are Sunnī, and the second largest portion of adherents belongs to the Shi'a branch of the tradition. While history dates Islam as originating in Arabia in 610 CE at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an to Prophet Muhammad, Muslims believe their religion to be the completed and universal version of a primordial and monotheistic faith revealed many times before—from the first person to be created, Adam, who is also regarded as a Prophet, to Muhammad, considered by Muslims to be the Last of the Prophets. Muslims believe that previously revealed scriptures, including the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian New Testament, became distorted in text or interpretation. There are 25 prophets mentioned in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, and Jesus, although Muslims believe that a messenger was sent for every nation at various times.

Globally, there are an estimated 1.5 billion Muslims, making up about one fourth of the entire world population. Even though some people may associate the Middle East and North Africa with Islam, only 20% of the world's Muslims live there. The two distinct identities of Muslim and Arab are sometimes conflated because the majority of the population in the Middle East and North Africa is becoming increasingly Muslim, most of whom speak Arabic and regional dialects. The most populous Muslim country in the world is Indonesia, with more than 203 million Muslims. The countries with the largest Muslim populations after Indonesia are Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. There are smaller but growing communities of Muslims in Central Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

The word Islam is based on the Arabic root s-l-m. These consonants form the verbal noun Islam connoting both peace and submission. One of the Islamic names of Heaven is Dar al-Salaam, meaning “House of Peace.” The word Muslim, an active participle using the same root consonants, means “one who surrenders or submits” and “one who enters a state of peace.” Islam describes the relationship between humans and one all-knowing God as well as the relationship between God and Creation.