Islam, the world's largest religion proclaimed by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the seventh century CE The Arabic word islām, literally “devotion,” illuminates the basic religious concept of Islam — that a believer (called a Muslim, from the active part of Islam) accepts devotion to the will of Allah (in Arabic, Allāh: God). Allah is considered to be the only God — the creator, the protector, and the restorer of the earth. The will of Allah, to which people should submit, is made known through the holy scriptures, the Qurʾān (commonly written in the Koran), which Allah revealed to His messenger, Muhammad. In Islam Muhammad is considered the last in a series of prophets (including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, and Jesus), and his message simultaneously completes and completes the "revelations" spoken by the earlier prophets.
Maintaining its steadfast adherence to the unchanging belief in one God and adherence to a fundamental religious practice, the religion that Muhammad taught the small group of followers spread rapidly from the Middle East to Africa, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, the Malay Peninsula, and China. At the beginning of the 21st century, there were more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. Although there have been many sectarian movements within Islam, all Muslims are bound by the same religion and the feeling of belonging to one community.
This article discusses the basic beliefs and practices of Islam as well as religious and social interactions in the Islamic world.
Information regarding Muslim World and Pakistan.
