Islam

Islam is an <a href="/facts/Abrahamic_religions/y9z2Wf9q">Abrahamic</a> <a href="/facts/Monotheistic/scRUM2It">monotheistic</a> religion based on the <a href="/facts/Quran/39rkStko">Quran</a>, and the teachings of <a href="/facts/Muhammad/5VcA7XrT">Muhammad</a>. Adherents of Islam are called <a href="/facts/Muslims/W2ukq4pg">Muslims</a>, who are estimated to number <a href="/facts/Islam_by_country/8Qs2Hcm7">2 billion worldwide</a> and are the world's <a href="/facts/Major_religious_groups/w6oGgDHN">second-largest religious population</a> after <a href="/facts/Christians/15hE11VR">Christians</a>.

 
Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a <a href="/facts/Fitra/Hcc9D7fN">primordial faith</a> that was revealed many times through earlier <a href="/facts/Prophets_and_messengers_in_Islam/WPWy6Gdp">prophets and messengers</a>, including <a href="/facts/Adam_in_Islam/vKJwD03M">Adam</a>, <a href="/facts/Noah_in_Islam/5vgz4h5C">Noah</a>, <a href="/facts/Abraham_in_Islam/5cMzq6Ez">Abraham</a>, <a href="/facts/Moses_in_Islam/n8Fq47qH">Moses</a>, and <a href="/facts/Jesus_in_Islam/xPo4UDS8">Jesus</a>. Muslims consider the Quran to be the verbatim word of <a href="/facts/God_in_Islam/L2VNNRJm">God</a> and the unaltered, final revelation. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous <a href="/facts/Islamic_holy_books/55nIK4Vh">revelations</a>, such as the <a href="/facts/Torah_in_Islam/PBbxyzy2">Tawrat</a> (the <a href="/facts/Torah/BdJr9IFo">Torah</a>), the <a href="/facts/Zabur/182TxBfn">Zabur</a> (<a href="/facts/Psalms/QbfaqRCY">Psalms</a>), and the <a href="/facts/Gospel_in_Islam/u5FF9kn3">Injil</a> (<a href="/facts/Gospel/oC3s2MdL">Gospel</a>). They believe that <a href="/facts/Muhammad_in_Islam/fqeL2kAm">Muhammad</a> is the main and <a href="/facts/Last_prophet/eaCPSuHL">final</a> of <a href="/facts/Seal_of_the_Prophets/Ks75jH3F">God's prophets</a>, through whom the religion was completed. The teachings and normative examples of Muhammad, called the <a href="/facts/Sunnah/fmXN1E1q">Sunnah</a>, documented in accounts called the <a href="/facts/Hadith/8aKKCttq">hadith</a>, provide a constitutional model for Muslims. Islam is based on the belief in the oneness and uniqueness of God (<a href="/facts/Tawhid/Svh5hgTS">tawhid</a>), and belief in an afterlife (<a href="/facts/Akhirah/Io2hlq2V">akhirah</a>) with the <a href="/facts/Judgement_Day_in_Islam/nIKjMVVD">Last Judgment</a>—wherein the righteous will be rewarded in paradise (<a href="/facts/Jannah/RDlAlcS1">jannah</a>) and the unrighteous will be punished in hell (<a href="/facts/Jahannam/9NzP2kon">jahannam</a>). The <a href="/facts/Five_Pillars_of_Islam/LmdL77oJ">Five Pillars</a>, considered <a href="/facts/Fard/Pytrmb8g">obligatory</a> acts of worship, are the Islamic oath and creed (<a href="/facts/Shahada/DH7A50mJ">shahada</a>), daily prayers (<a href="/facts/Salah/XqKPp3vL">salah</a>), almsgiving (<a href="/facts/Zakat/yLQ4Mygk">zakat</a>), fasting (<a href="/facts/Sawm/bYpG2Vn8">sawm</a>) in the month of <a href="/facts/Ramadan/eBpGEkst">Ramadan</a>, and a <a href="/facts/Pilgrimage/e0Gvd7TV">pilgrimage</a> (<a href="/facts/Hajj/eDC5AalN">hajj</a>) to <a href="/facts/Mecca/udqyuk0k">Mecca</a>. Islamic law, <a href="/facts/Sharia/H9cG0yCF">sharia</a>, touches on virtually every aspect of life, from <a href="/facts/Islamic_banking_and_finance/bP6j2mLP">banking and finance</a> and <a href="/facts/Zakat/yLQ4Mygk">welfare</a> to <a href="/facts/Gender_roles_in_Islam/x4LoCwwW">men's</a> and <a href="/facts/Women_in_Islam/uenPbe9I">women's roles</a> and the <a href="/facts/Islamic_ethics/XtpapMtB">environment</a>. The two main <a href="/facts/Islamic_holidays/rKREGUfd">religious festivals</a> are <a href="/facts/Eid_al-Fitr/C1brNDJX">Eid al-Fitr</a> and <a href="/facts/Eid_al-Adha/lxHKhuDt">Eid al-Adha</a>. The three <a href="/facts/Holiest_sites_in_Islam/7ojI7NmR">holiest sites in Islam</a> are <a href="/facts/Masjid_al-Haram/IksccHcG">Masjid al-Haram</a> in Mecca, <a href="/facts/Prophet%2527s_Mosque/hGgFSt7m">Prophet's Mosque</a> in <a href="/facts/Medina/nbDykVmK">Medina</a>, and <a href="/facts/Al-Aqsa_Mosque/67UqB7eF">al-Aqsa Mosque</a> in <a href="/facts/Jerusalem/PKJ8LT0Y">Jerusalem</a>.
The religion of Islam originated in Mecca in 610 CE. Muslims believe this is when <a href="/facts/Muhammad%2527s_first_revelation/5ShYXfax">Muhammad received his first revelation</a>. By the time of his death, most of the <a href="/facts/Arabian_Peninsula/x1fDka2b">Arabian Peninsula</a> had <a href="/facts/Conversion_to_Islam/m3QeGpVw">converted to Islam</a>. Muslim rule expanded outside Arabia under the <a href="/facts/Rashidun_Caliphate/UBtWHvDj">Rashidun Caliphate</a> and the subsequent <a href="/facts/Umayyad_Caliphate/gdW8JwoK">Umayyad Caliphate</a> ruled from the <a href="/facts/Al-Andalus/JTNmWTzP">Iberian Peninsula</a> to the <a href="/facts/Muslim_period_in_the_Indian_subcontinent/Dsr46MUv">Indus Valley</a>. In the <a href="/facts/Islamic_Golden_Age/yAeG2rBA">Islamic Golden Age</a>, specifically during the reign of the <a href="/facts/Abbasid_Caliphate/mPeLAbXt">Abbasid Caliphate</a>, most of the Muslim world experienced a <a href="/facts/Science_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world/ajn0zRSc">scientific</a>, <a href="/facts/History_of_Islamic_economics/eYyYqGPK">economic</a> and <a href="/facts/Islamic_culture/R0lHtcL9">cultural flourishing</a>. The <a href="/facts/Spread_of_Islam/Y1vyMC7p">expansion of the Muslim world</a> involved <a href="/facts/List_of_Muslim_states_and_dynasties/DVfgkBu3">various states and caliphates</a> as well as extensive trade and religious conversion as a result of <a href="/facts/Islamic_missionary_activity/HtMxddrR">Islamic missionary activities</a> (<a href="/facts/Dawah/KoBC3sEy">dawah</a>), as well as through <a href="/facts/Early_Muslim_conquests/HyPkljcc">conquests</a>, <a href="/facts/Imperialism/JvofndS2">imperialism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Colonialism/kvqx2DaV">colonialism</a>.
The two main <a href="/facts/Islamic_schools_and_branches/jmWNJqPb">Islamic branches</a> are <a href="/facts/Sunni_Islam/WYo0zeq0">Sunni Islam</a> (87–90%) and <a href="/facts/Shia_Islam/JIQl7ooz">Shia Islam</a> (10–13%). While the <a href="/facts/Shia%25E2%2580%2593Sunni_divide/UJIjy639">Shia–Sunni divide</a> initially arose from disagreements over the <a href="/facts/Succession_to_Muhammad/vpF82GCs">succession to Muhammad</a>, they grew to cover a broader dimension, both <a href="/facts/Schools_of_Islamic_theology/Fa93y9T9">theologically</a> and <a href="/facts/Fiqh/YBmxekkY">juridically</a>. The Sunni canonical hadith collection consists of <a href="/facts/Kutub_al-Sittah/ujzPBYBa">six books</a>, while the Shia canonical hadith collection consists of <a href="/facts/The_Four_Books/fIlsGYyV">four books</a>. Muslims make up a majority of the population in 53 countries. Approximately 12% of the world's Muslims live <a href="/facts/Islam_in_Indonesia/RJyy1px2">in Indonesia</a>, the most populous Muslim-majority country; 31% live <a href="/facts/Islam_in_South_Asia/JTeu4PvS">in South Asia</a>; 20% live <a href="/facts/MENA/4m4STzJB">in the Middle East–North Africa</a>; and 15% live <a href="/facts/Religion_in_Sub-Saharan_Africa/p4u389aa">in sub-Saharan Africa</a>. Muslim communities are also present <a href="/facts/Islam_in_the_Americas/NAFbrb7N">in the Americas</a>, <a href="/facts/Islam_in_China/jdCJcdnx">China</a>, and <a href="/facts/Islam_in_Europe/lH1JPn25">Europe</a>. Muslims are the <a href="/facts/Muslim_population_growth/l0Wm6Q62">world's fastest-growing</a> major religious group, according to <a href="/facts/Pew_Research_Center/082PuVBq">Pew Research</a>. This is primarily due to a higher <a href="/facts/Fertility_rate/ugganzwn">fertility rate</a> and younger age structure compared to other major religions.

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Islam