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{{Short description|Abrahamic monotheistic religion}}
:''And see [[Islam (disambiguation)]].''
{{About|the religion||Islam (disambiguation)}}
<span style="position: relative; z-index=-1">{{Islam}}</span>
{{good article}}
'''Islam''' {{Audio|ar-al_islam.ogg|listen}} ({{lang-ar|&#1575;&#1604;&#1573;&#1587;&#1604;&#1575;&#1605;}} ''al-isl&#x101;m'') "the submission to [[God]]" is a [[monotheistic]] faith, one of the [[Abrahamic religion]]s, and the world's second largest [[religion]].
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox religion
| native_name = {{lang|ar|{{Script|Arab|ٱلْإِسْلَام}}}}<br/>{{transliteration|ar|al-Islām}}
| image = The Kaaba during Hajj.jpg
| imagewidth = 275px
| caption = The [[Kaaba]] at [[Masjid al-Haram]] in [[Mecca]], Saudi Arabia, the [[Holiest sites in Islam|holiest Islamic site]]
| type =
| main_classification = [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic]]
| scripture = [[Quran]]<br />Prophetic traditions: [[Hadith]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The saheeh Sunnah is wahy (Revelation) from Allah |url=https://islamqa.info/en/answers/77243/the-saheeh-sunnah-is-wahy-(revelation)-from-allah |website=islamqa.info |access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref>
| theology = [[Tawhid|Monotheistic]]
| area = [[Middle East]], [[North Africa]], [[East Africa]], [[West Africa]], [[Central Asia]], [[South Asia]], [[Southeast Asia]], [[Caucasus]], [[Balkans]], [[Guianas]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Center |first=Pew Research |date=2013-04-30 |title=The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-overview/ |access-date=2024-03-20 |publisher=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |archive-date=25 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025124036/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-overview/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/the_spread_of_islam_in_west_africa_containment_mixing_and_reform_from_the_eighth_to_the_twentieth_century#:~:text=While%20the%20motivations%20of%20early,intensified%20the%20Trans%2DSaharan%20trade | title=The Spread of Islam in West Africa: Containment, Mixing, and Reform from }}</ref>
| language = [[Classical Arabic|Quranic Arabic]]
| territory = [[Muslim world]]
| founder = [[Muhammad]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Welch |first1=Alford T. |last2=Moussalli |first2=Ahmad S. |last3=Newby |first3=Gordon D. |date=2009 |entry=Muḥammad |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |editor-first=John L. |editor-last=Esposito |publisher=Oxford University Press |entry-url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0550 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211050118/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0550 |archive-date=11 February 2017 }}</ref>
| founded_date = 610 CE
| founded_place = [[Jabal al-Nour]]<!-- Beginnings are understood to be where Muhammad is said to have received his first ever revelation, which was inside a cave in this mountain -->, [[Mecca]], [[Hejaz]], [[Arabian Peninsula]]
| number_of_followers = {{est.}} 2 billion<ref name="pew2010–2020" /> {{increase}} (individually referred to as [[Muslims]], collectively referred to as the {{transliteration|ar|[[Ummah]]}})
| separations = {{hlist|[[Bábism]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam |year=1999 |article=Bāb |publisher=Brill |___location=Leiden |first=A. |last=Bausani}}</ref>|[[Baháʼí Faith]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Van der Vyer |first=J. D. |year=1996 |title=Religious human rights in global perspective: religious perspectives |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |isbn=90-411-0176-4 |page=449 |url=https://archive.org/details/religioushumanri0000unse |url-access=registration}}</ref>|[[Druze faith]]<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of American Islam |first=Yvonne |last=Yazbeck Haddad |year=2014 |isbn=9780199862634 |page=142|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>|[[Yarsanism]]<ref name="Z. Mir-Hosseini 1994, p.267">Z. Mir-Hosseini, "Inner Truth and Outer History: The Two Worlds of the Ahl-e Haqq of Kurdistan", ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'', Vol.26, 1994, p.267–268</ref>|[[Din-i Ilahi]]{{sfnp|Roychoudhury|1941|page=306}}|[[Ali-Illahism]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SQe_sNtIaMC&q=ali%2520illahism&pg=PA216|title=Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon: With Travels in Armenia, Kurdistan and the Desert: Being the Result of a Second Expedition Undertaken for the Trustees of the British Museum|last=Layard|first=Austen Henry|date=2010-08-31|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108016773|page=216|language=en}}</ref>}}
}}
{{Islam|expanded=}}
{{Islam and iman}}
 
'''Islam'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|z|l|ɑː|m|,_|ˈ|ɪ|z|l|æ|m}} {{respell|IZ|la(h)m}};<ref>{{cite Cambridge Dictionaries |Islam}}</ref> {{langx|ar|{{Script|Arab|ٱلْإِسْلَام|al-Islām}}|al-Islām}}, {{IPA|ar|alʔɪsˈlaːm|IPA}}, {{lit|submission [to the [[will of God]]]}}}} is an [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic]] [[monotheistic]] religion based on the [[Quran]],<ref>{{citation|title=Glossary of Islamic Terms|url=https://mpeb.ie/for-teachers/glossary-of-islamic-terms/|access-date=17 February 2025}}</ref> and the teachings of [[Muhammad]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-25 |title=Islam|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/islam/|access-date=2025-02-26 |website=Worldhistory.org}}</ref> Adherents of Islam are called [[Muslims]], who are estimated to number [[Islam by country|2 billion worldwide]] and are the world's [[Major religious groups|second-largest religious population]] after [[Christians]].<ref name="pew2010–2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.orgreligion/2025/06/09/how-the-global-religious-landscape-changed-from-2010-to-2020/|title=How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020. Muslims grew fastest; Christians lagged behind global population increase|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|date=June 9, 2025|access-date=2025-06-28}}
==Etymology==
* {{cite web |author=Fahmy, Conrad Hackett; Marcin Stonawski; Yunping Tong; Stephanie Kramer; Anne Shi and Dalia |date=2025-06-09 |title=How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/PR_2025.06.09_global-religious-change_report.pdf|access-date=2025-06-10 |publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref>
[[File:FirstSurahKoran.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Surah]] [[Al-Fatiha|al Fatiha (''The Opener'')]], from the [[Quran]].]]
Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a [[Fitra|primordial faith]] that was revealed many times through earlier [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|prophets and messengers]], including [[Adam in Islam|Adam]], [[Noah in Islam|Noah]], [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]], [[Moses in Islam|Moses]], and [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]]. Muslims consider the Quran to be the verbatim word of [[God in Islam|God]] and the unaltered, final revelation. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous [[Islamic holy books|revelation]]s, such as the [[Torah in Islam|Tawrat]] (the [[Torah]]), the [[Zabur]] ([[Psalms]]), and the [[Gospel in Islam|Injil]] ([[Gospel]]). They believe that [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]] is the main and [[Last prophet|final]] of [[Seal of the Prophets|God's prophets]], through whom the religion was completed. The teachings and normative examples of Muhammad, called the [[Sunnah]], documented in accounts called the [[hadith]], provide a constitutional model for Muslims. Islam is based on the belief in the oneness and uniqueness of God ({{Transliteration|ar|[[tawhid]]}}), and belief in an afterlife ({{Transliteration|ar|[[akhirah]]}}) with the [[Judgement Day in Islam|Last Judgment]]—wherein the righteous will be rewarded in paradise ({{Transliteration|ar|[[jannah]]}}) and the unrighteous will be punished in hell ({{Transliteration|ar|[[jahannam]]}}). The [[Five Pillars of Islam|Five Pillars]], considered [[Fard|obligatory]] acts of worship, are the Islamic oath and creed ({{Transliteration|ar|[[shahada]]}}), daily prayers ({{Transliteration|ar|[[salah]]}}), almsgiving ({{Transliteration|ar|[[zakat]]}}), fasting ({{Transliteration|ar|[[sawm]]}}) in the month of [[Ramadan]], and a [[pilgrimage]] ({{Transliteration|ar|[[hajj]]}}) to [[Mecca]]. Islamic law, {{Transliteration|ar|[[sharia]]}}, touches on virtually every aspect of life, from [[Islamic banking and finance|banking and finance]] and [[Zakat|welfare]] to [[Gender roles in Islam|men's]] and [[Women in Islam|women's roles]] and the [[Islamic ethics#Environmentalism|environment]]. The two main [[Islamic holidays|religious festivals]] are [[Eid al-Fitr]] and [[Eid al-Adha]]. The three [[holiest sites in Islam]] are [[Masjid al-Haram]] in Mecca, [[Prophet's Mosque]] in [[Medina]], and [[al-Aqsa Mosque]] in [[Jerusalem]].
 
The religion of Islam originated in Mecca in 610&nbsp;CE. Muslims believe this is when [[Muhammad's first revelation|Muhammad received his first revelation]]. By the time of his death, most of the [[Arabian Peninsula]] had [[Conversion to Islam|converted to Islam]]. Muslim rule expanded outside Arabia under the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] and the subsequent [[Umayyad Caliphate]] ruled from the [[Al-Andalus|Iberian Peninsula]] to the [[Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent|Indus Valley]]. In the [[Islamic Golden Age]], specifically during the reign of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]], most of the Muslim world experienced a [[Science in the medieval Islamic world|scientific]], [[History of Islamic economics|economic]] and [[Islamic culture|cultural flourishing]]. The [[Spread of Islam|expansion of the Muslim world]] involved [[List of Muslim states and dynasties|various states and caliphates]] as well as extensive trade and religious conversion as a result of [[Islamic missionary activity|Islamic missionary activities]] ({{tlit|ar|[[dawah]]}}), as well as through [[Early Muslim conquests|conquests]], [[imperialism]], and [[colonialism]].
In Arabic, Islām means "submission" (understood as submission to God) and is described as a [[Din (Islamic term)|Dīn or Deen]], meaning "way of life" and/or "religion." [[Etymologically]], it is derived from the same root as, for example, Salām meaning "peace" (also a common salutation). The word Muslim is also related to the word Islām and means one who "surrenders" or "submits" to God.
 
The two main [[Islamic schools and branches|Islamic branches]] are [[Sunni Islam]] (87–90%) and [[Shia Islam]] (10–13%). While the [[Shia–Sunni divide]] initially arose from disagreements over the [[succession to Muhammad]], they grew to cover a broader dimension, both [[Schools of Islamic theology|theologically]] and [[Fiqh|juridically]]. The Sunni canonical hadith collection consists of [[Kutub al-Sittah|six books]], while the Shia canonical hadith collection consists of [[The Four Books|four books]]. Muslims make up a majority of the population in 53 countries.<ref name="pew2010–2020" /> Approximately 12% of the world's Muslims live [[Islam in Indonesia|in Indonesia]], the most populous Muslim-majority country; {{#expr: 100 * 480/1570 round 0}}% live [[Islam in South Asia|in South Asia]]; 20% live [[MENA#Religion|in the Middle East–North Africa]]; and 15% live [[Religion in Sub-Saharan Africa|in sub-Saharan Africa]]. Muslim communities are also present [[Islam in the Americas|in the Americas]], [[Islam in China|China]], and [[Islam in Europe|Europe]]. Muslims are the [[Muslim population growth|world's fastest-growing]] major religious group, according to [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]]. This is primarily due to a higher [[fertility rate]] and younger age structure compared to other major religions.<!--Do NOT add citations to the lead, except for material likely to be challenged, per [[MOS:LEADCITE]] ([[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section#Citations)]]. Move unneeded citations to the body.-->
== Beliefs ==
Followers of Islam, known as '''[[Muslim]]s''', believe that [[God]] (or, in Arabic, ''[[Allah|All&#257;h]]'') revealed his direct word for mankind to [[Muhammad]] (c. [[570]]&ndash;[[632]]) and other [[Prophets of Islam|prophets]], including [[Adam]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], and [[Jesus]]. Muslims assert that the main written record of revelation to humankind is the Qur'an, which they believe to be flawless, immutable, and the final revelation of God. Muslims believe that parts of the Bible and the Torah have been forgotten, misinterpreted, or distorted by their followers. With that perspective they view the [[Qur'an]] as corrective of Jewish and Christian scriptures.
 
== Etymology{{anchor|Etymology}}<!-- Linked from many articles. If changing the section title, please let this anchor remain unchanged --> ==
Muslims hold that Islam is essentially the same belief as that of all the messengers sent by God to mankind since Adam, with the ''Qur'&#257;n'' (the one definitive text of the Muslim faith) codifying the final revelation of God. Islamic teaching sees [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]] as derivations of the teachings of certain of these prophets - notably Abraham - and therefore acknowledges their [[Abrahamic religion|Abrahamic]] roots, whilst the Qur'an calls them [[People of the Book]]. Islam has three primary branches of belief, based largely on a historical disagreement over the succession of authority after Muhammad's death; these are known as [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]], [[Shi'a Islam|Shi'ite]] and [[Kharijite]].
{{See also|Muslims#Etymology}}
In Arabic, ''Islam'' ({{langx|ar|إسلام|lit=submission [to God]}})<ref name="Schimmel" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of Islam {{!}} Dictionary.com |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/islam |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=www.dictionary.com |language=en |archive-date=9 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509110220/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/islam |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Haywood |first=John |title=Historical Atlas of the Medieval World (AD 600 - 1492) |publisher=Barnes & Noble, Inc. |year=2002 |isbn=0-7607-1975-6 |edition=1st |___location=Spain |pages=3.13 |language=en}}</ref> is the verbal noun of [[wikt:أسلم#Arabic|Form IV]] originating from the verb {{lang|ar|سلم}} ({{transliteration|ar|salama}}), from the [[Semitic root|triliteral root]] {{lang|ar|س-ل-م}} ({{transliteration|ar|[[Š-L-M|S-L-M]]}}), which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of submission, safeness, and peace.<ref>"[http://www.studyquran.co.uk/20_SIIN.htm Siin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907230044/http://www.studyquran.co.uk/20_SIIN.htm |date=7 September 2011 }}." ''Lane's Lexicon'' 4. – via ''[[The Study Quran|StudyQuran]]''.</ref> In a religious context, it refers to the total surrender to the will of [[God]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Barnard |last2=Churchill |first2=Buntzie Ellis |url=https://archive.org/details/islamreligionpeo00lewi |title=Islam: The Religion and The People |publisher=Wharton School Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-13-223085-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/islamreligionpeo00lewi/page/8 8]}}</ref> A ''[[Muslims|Muslim]]'' ({{lang|ar|مُسْلِم}}), the word for a follower of Islam,<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20190913192608/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/muslim Muslim]." ''[[Lexico]]''. UK: [[Oxford University Press]]. 2020.</ref> is the [[Participle|active participle]] of the same verb form, and means "submitter (to God)" or "one who surrenders (to God)". However, [[Quranic studies]] scholar [[Mohsen Goudarzi]] has argued that in the Quran the word ''[[dīn]]'' means "[[worship]]", the ''islām'' means "[[monotheism]]" and the ''muslim'' means "monotheist".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goudarzi |first=Mohsen |date=2023-08-01 |title=Worship (dīn), Monotheism (islām), and the Qurʾān's Cultic Decalogue |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jiqsa-2023-0006/html |journal=Journal of the International Qur'anic Studies Association |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=30–71 |doi=10.1515/jiqsa-2023-0006 |issn=2474-8420|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In the [[Hadith of Gabriel]], ''Islam'' is presented as one part of a triad that also includes {{transliteration|ar|[[Iman (Islam)|imān]]}} (faith), and {{transliteration|ar|[[Ihsan|ihsān]]}} (excellence).{{sfnp|Esposito|2000|pp=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofi00john/page/76 76–77]}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mahmutćehajić |first=Rusmir |url=https://archive.org/details/mosqueheartsubmi00mahm |title=The mosque: the heart of submission |publisher=[[Fordham University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8232-2584-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/mosqueheartsubmi00mahm/page/n104 84] |url-access=registration}}</ref>
 
Islam itself was historically called [[Mohammedan|''Mohammedanism'']] in the [[English-speaking world]]. This term has fallen out of use and is sometimes said to be [[Religious offence|offensive]], as it suggests that a human being, rather than God, is central to Muslims' religion.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Oxford University Press| last = Gibb| first = Sir Hamilton| title = Mohammedanism: an historical survey|isbn=9780195002454| year = 1969| page=1 | quote=Modern Muslims dislike the terms Mohammedan and Mohammedanism, which seem to them to carry the implication of worship of Mohammed, as Christian and Christianity imply the worship of Christ.}}</ref>
The basis of Islamic belief is found in the ''[[shahada|shah&#257;dat&#257;n]]'' ("two testimonies"): ''l&#257; il&#257;h&#257; ill&#257;-ll&#257;hu; muhammadur-ras&#363;lu-ll&#257;hi'' &mdash; "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God." In order to become a Muslim, one needs to recite and believe in these statements. Sunnis further regard this as one of the five [[pillars of Islam]].
 
== Articles of faith ==
[[Image:Faisal_mosque2.jpg|right|thumb|275px|[[Faisal Mosque]], located in [[Islamabad]], the capital city of [[Pakistan]], was built in [[1986]]. It is one of the largest mosques in Asia.]]
{{Main|Aqidah|Iman (Islam)|l2 = Iman}}
 
The Islamic [[creed]] (''[[aqidah]]'') requires belief in [[Iman (Islam)#The Six Articles of Faith|six articles]]: God, angels, revelation, prophets, the [[Day of Resurrection]], and the divine predestination.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sourcebook of the World's Religions: An Interfaith Guide to Religion and Spirituality|publisher=New World Library|pages=68–9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbSPOoQfu0IC&pg=PA68|editor-first=Joel|editor-last=Beversluis|year=2011|isbn=9781577313328|access-date=15 January 2023|archive-date=28 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228022948/https://books.google.com/books?id=dbSPOoQfu0IC&pg=PA68#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Six articles of belief===
 
There are six basic beliefs shared by all Muslims:
#Belief in God, the one and only one worthy of all worship.
#Belief in all the Prophets and Messengers (sent by God).
#Belief in the Books sent by God.
#Belief in the Angels.
#Belief in the Day of Judgment (''Qiyamah'') and in the Resurrection.
#Belief in Destiny (Fate) (''Qadaa'' and ''Qadar'' in Arabic). (Note that this does not mean one is predetermined to act or live a certain life. God has given the free will to do and make decisions.)
 
The Muslim creed in [[English language|English]]:
:"I believe in God; and in His Angels; and in His Scriptures; and in His Messengers; and in The Final Day; and in Fate, that Good and Evil are from God, and Resurrection after death be Truth.
:"I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship but God; and I testify that [[Muhammad]] is His Messenger."
 
=== God ===
[[File:Istanbul,_Hagia_Sophia,_Allah.jpg|thumb|Calligraphy showing the word [[Allah]] in Arabic in [[Hagia Sophia]], [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]]]
{{mainarticle|Allah}}
{{Main|God in Islam}}
The central concept of Islam is ''[[Tawhid|tawḥīd]]'' ({{langx|ar|توحيد|link=no}}), the oneness of God. It is usually thought of as a ''precise [[monotheism]]'', but is also [[panentheism|panentheistic]] in Islamic mystical teachings.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/tawhid |title=Tawhid |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 September 2021 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=7 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107041300/https://www.britannica.com/topic/tawhid |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvc |last=Gimaret|first=D.|year=2012|c=Tawḥīd |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.)}} {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_7454}}</ref> God is seen as incomparable and without multiplicity of persons such as in the [[Christian Trinity]], and associating multiplicity to God or attributing God's attributes to others is seen as [[idolatory]], called [[Shirk (Islam)|''shirk'']]. Thus, Muslims are not [[iconodule]]s and do not attribute forms to God. God is instead described and referred to by several [[Names of God in Islam|names or attributes]], the most common being ''Ar-Rahmān'' ({{lang|ar|الرحمان}}) meaning "The Entirely Merciful", and ''Ar-Rahīm'' ({{lang|ar|الرحيم}}) meaning "The Especially Merciful" which are invoked at the beginning of most chapters of the Quran.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ali |first1=Kecia |title=Islam : the key concepts |date=2008 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |last2=Leaman |first2=Oliver |isbn=978-0-415-39638-7 |___location=London |oclc=123136939}}</ref>{{sfnp|Campo|2009|p=34|loc="Allah"}}
 
Islam teaches that the creation of everything in the [[universe]] was brought into being by God's command as expressed by the wording, "[[Be, and it is]],"<ref group="lower-roman">{{qref|2|117|b=yl}}</ref><ref name="Schimmel">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Schimmel |first=Annemarie |author-link=Annemarie Schimmel |title=Islam |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islam |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 September 2021 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=4 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504201633/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/295507/Islam |url-status=live }}</ref> and that the [[Purpose of life|purpose of existence]] is to worship God.<ref>Leeming, David. 2005. ''The Oxford Companion to World Mythology''. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-195-15669-0}}. p. 209.</ref> He is viewed as a personal god<ref name="Schimmel" /> and there are no intermediaries, such as [[clergy]], to contact God. Consciousness and awareness of God is referred to as [[Taqwa]]. ''[[Allāh]]'' is a term with no [[plural]] or [[gender]] being ascribed to it and is also used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews in reference to God, whereas ''{{transliteration|ar|ISO|[[ʾilāh]]}}'' ({{lang|ar|إله}}) is a term used for a deity or a god in general.<ref>{{cite web |title=God |url=https://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithgod.html |access-date=18 December 2010 |website=Islam: Empire of Faith |publisher=[[PBS]] |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327034958/http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithgod.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
The fundamental concept in Islam is the oneness of God (''[[tawhid]]''). This monotheism is absolute, not relative or pluralistic in any sense of the word.
God is described in [[Sura]] [[al-Ikhlas]], (chapter 112) as follows: Say "He is God, the one, the Self-Sufficient master. He never begot, nor was begotten. There is none comparable to Him."
 
=== Angels ===
In Arabic, God is called Allah, a contraction of ''al-ilah'' or "the god". ''All&#257;h'' thus translates to "God" in English. The implicit usage of the [[definite article]] in ''Allah'' linguistically indicates the divine unity. In spite of the different name used for God, Muslims believe that the God they worship is the same as the Judeo-Christian God. However, Muslims reject the forged Christian theology concerning the triad of God (the doctrine of the [[Tritheism]]), seeing it as akin to [[polytheism]]. Quoting from the Qur'an,
[[File:Rashid al-Din Tabib - Jami al-Tawarikh, f.45v detail - c. 1306-15.png|thumb|Muhammad receiving his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. From the manuscript [[Jami' al-Tawarikh]] by [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]], 1307.]]
[[sura]] [[An-Nisa]] 171: ''"O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was a messenger of Allah, and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and the Spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not "Three God". Cease! (it is) better for you! Allah is only One God. Far is it removed from His transcendent majesty that he should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as its defender."''
{{Main|Angels in Islam}}
Angels (singular: {{langx|ar|ملك|link=no}}, ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|malak}}'') are beings described in the Quran{{sfnp|Burge|2015|p=23}} and hadith.{{sfnp|Burge|2015|p=79}} They are described as created to worship God and also to serve in other specific duties such as communicating [[revelation]]s from God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's [[soul]] at the time of death. They are described as being created variously from 'light' ([[Nūr (Islam)|''nūr'']])<ref>"[https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/nur Nūr] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423085030/https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/nur |date=23 April 2022 }}." ''[[Oxford Dictionary of World Religions|The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions]]''. – via ''[[Encyclopedia.com]]''.</ref><ref>{{harvc|last1=Hartner, W.|last2=Tj Boer |year=2012 |c=Nūr |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.)}} {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0874}}</ref><ref>{{harvc |last=Elias |first=Jamal J. |year=2003|c=Light |in=McAuliffe}} {{doi|10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQSIM_00261}}</ref> or 'fire' (''nār'').<ref>{{harvc |last=Campo |first=Juan E. |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nar |c=Nar |in=Martin |year=2004}}. – via [[Encyclopedia.com]].</ref><ref>{{harvc|last=Fahd, T. |year=2012 |c=Nār |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.)}} {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0846}}</ref><ref>{{harvc |last=Toelle |first=Heidi |year=2002 |c=Fire |in=McAuliffe}} {{doi|10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQSIM_00156}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|McAuliffe|2003|p=45}}</ref> Islamic angels are often represented in [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic forms]] combined with [[supernatural]] images, such as wings, being of great size or wearing heavenly articles.{{sfnp|Burge|2015|pp=97–99}}<ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2002b|pp=26–28}}</ref><ref>{{harvc |last=Webb |first=Gisela |c=Angel |year=n.d. |in=McAuliffe}}</ref><ref>{{harvc|last1=MacDonald, D. B.|last2=Madelung, W. |year=2012 |c=Malāʾika |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.)}}{{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0642}}</ref> Common characteristics for angels include a lack of bodily needs and desires, such as eating and drinking.{{sfnp|Çakmak|2017|p=140}} Some of them, such as [[Gabriel]] (''Jibrīl'') and [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] (''Mika'il''), are mentioned by name in the Quran. Angels play a significant role in literature about the [[Isra and Mi'raj|Mi'raj]], where Muhammad encounters several angels during his journey through the heavens.{{sfnp|Burge|2015|p=79}} Further angels have often been featured in [[Islamic eschatology]], [[Kalam|theology]] and [[Islamic philosophy|philosophy]].{{sfnp|Burge|2015|p=22}}
 
=== Scriptures ===
No Muslim visual images or depictions of God exist because such artistic depictions may lead to [[idolatry]] and are thus prohibited. Moreover, many Muslims believe that God is incorporeal, rendering any two or three dimensional depictions impossible. Instead, Muslims describe God by the many divine attributes mentioned in the [[Qur'an]], and also with [[the 99 names of Allah]]. All but one Surah (chapter) of the Qur'an begins with the phrase "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful". These are consequently the most important divine attributes in the sense that Muslims repeat them most frequently during their ritual prayers (called [[salah]] in Arabic, and in India, Pakistan and Turkey called "namaaz" (a [[Persian language|Persian]] word)).
[[File:Quran rzabasi1.JPG|thumb|A [[Quran]] manuscript resting on a [[Rehal (book rest)|rehal]], a book rest for the holy text, {{Circa|9th-century}}]]
{{Main|Islamic holy books|Quran|Wahy}}
{{See also|History of the Quran}}
The pre-eminent holy text of Islam is the [[Quran]]. Muslims believe that the verses of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad by God, through the [[archangel]] Gabriel, on multiple occasions between 610&nbsp;CE<ref name="610CE">{{harvc|c=Muhammad|in=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|year=n.d.|last2=Welch|first2=A.T.|last1=Buhl|first1=F.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Watt |first=William Montgomery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQUZ6BGyohQC&pg=PA5 |title=Islam and the Integration of Society |date=2003 |publisher=[[Psychology Press]] |isbn=978-0-415-17587-6 |pages=5 |access-date=15 June 2021 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228022949/https://books.google.com/books?id=AQUZ6BGyohQC&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> and 632, the year Muhammad died.{{sfnp|Esposito|2004|pp=17–18, 21}} While Muhammad was alive, these revelations were written down by [[Muhammad's companions|his companions]], although the primary method of transmission was orally through [[Hafiz (Quran)|memorization]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Al Faruqi |first1=Lois Ibsen |author-link=Lois Lamya al-Faruqi |year=1987 |title=The Cantillation of the Qur'an |journal=[[Society for Asian Music|Asian Music]] |issue=Autumn – Winter 1987 |pages=3–4}}</ref> The Quran is divided into 114 chapters (''[[sūrah]]'') which contain a combined 6,236 verses (''[[ayah|āyāt]]''). The chronologically earlier chapters, revealed at [[Mecca]], are concerned primarily with spiritual topics, while the later [[Medina]]n chapters discuss more social and legal issues relevant to the Muslim community.<ref name="Schimmel" /><ref name="Ringgren">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Ringgren |first=Helmer |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Quran |title=Qurʾān |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 September 2021 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=5 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505001543/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/487666/Quran |url-status=live }} "The word ''Quran'' was invented and first used in the Quran itself. There are [[Quran#Etymology and meaning|two different theories]] about this term and its formation."</ref> Muslim jurists consult the ''hadith'' ('accounts'), or the written record of Muhammad's life, to both supplement the Quran and assist with its interpretation. The science of Quranic commentary and exegesis is known as ''[[tafsir]]''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/tafsir |title=Tafsīr |access-date=17 September 2021 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=19 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019035210/https://www.britannica.com/topic/tafsir |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnp|Esposito|2004|pp=79–81}} In addition to its religious significance, the Quran is widely regarded as the finest work in [[Arabic literature]],<ref>{{cite book|first=Alan|last=Jones|___location=London|publisher=[[Charles E. Tuttle Company]]|year=1994|page=1|title=The Koran|quote="Its outstanding literary merit should also be noted: it is by far, the finest work of Arabic prose in existence."|isbn=1842126091}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Arthur|last=Arberry|title=The Koran Interpreted|___location=London|publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]]|year=1956|quote="It may be affirmed that within the literature of the Arabs, wide and fecund as it is both in poetry and in elevated prose, there is nothing to compare with it."|page=191|isbn=0684825074}}</ref> and has influenced art and the Arabic language.<ref>Kadi, Wadad, and Mustansir Mir. "Literature and the Quran." In ''[[Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān|Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an]]'' 3. pp. 213, 216.</ref>
 
Islam also holds that God has sent revelations, called ''[[wahy]]'', to different prophets numerous times throughout history. However, Islam teaches that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, such as the ''[[Tawrat]]'' ([[Torah]]) and the ''[[Injil]]'' ([[Gospel in Islam|Gospel]]), have become [[tahrif|distorted]]—either in interpretation, in text, or both,<ref name="harvp|Esposito|2002b|pp=4–5">{{harvp|Esposito|2002b|pp=4–5}}</ref><ref name="harvp|Peters|2003|p=9">{{harvp|Peters|2003|p=9}}</ref><ref>{{harvc|c=Muhammad |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|year=n.d. |last2=Welch |first2=A.T. |last1=Buhl |first1=F.}}</ref><ref>{{harvc|c=Tahrif |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|year=n.d. |author=[[Hava Lazarus-Yafeh]]}}</ref> while the Quran ({{Lit|Recitation}}) is viewed as the final, verbatim and unaltered word of God.<ref name="Ringgren" /><ref>{{harvp|Teece|2003|pp=12–13}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Turner|2006|p=42}}</ref>{{sfnp|Bennett|2010|p=101}}
=== The tenets of Islam ===
There are two main sects in Islam: the [[Sunni]] and the [[Shi'a]]. Sunni Islam's most fundamental tenets are referred to as the [[Five Pillars of Islam]]<sup>[[#Notes|2]]</sup>, while Shia Islam has a slightly different terminology, encompassing five core beliefs (the "roots of religion") and ten core practices (the "branches of religion".) All Muslims agree on the following statements, which Sunnis term the Five Pillars of Islam, and Shia would consider two of the Roots of Religion and four of the Branches of Religion:
 
=== Prophets ===
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|frame|right|The Pilgrimage to [[Kaaba]], [[Masjid al Haram]], Mecca ([[Hajj]]) is one of the five pillars of Islam.]]
{{Main|Prophets and messengers in Islam|Sunnah|Hadith}}
[[File:Medieval Persian manuscript Muhammad leads Abraham Moses Jesus.jpg|thumb|left|A 15th century<ref>{{cite web |title=BnF. Département des Manuscrits. Supplément turc 190 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/view3if/ga/ark:/12148/btv1b8427195m/f16 |publisher=[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]] |access-date=7 September 2023 |archive-date=9 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909130407/https://gallica.bnf.fr/view3if/ga/ark:/12148/btv1b8427195m/f16 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Persian miniature]] depicting [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]] leading [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]], [[Moses in Islam|Moses]], [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]] and other prophets in prayer]]
Prophets (Arabic: {{langx|ar|أنبياء|label=none|translit=anbiyāʾ}}) are believed to have been chosen by God to preach a divine message. Some of these prophets additionally deliver a new book and are called "messengers" ({{langx|ar| رسول&lrm;|label=none|translit=rasūl}}).<ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2003|p=225}}</ref> Muslims believe prophets are human and not divine. All of the prophets are said to have preached the same basic message of Islam – submission to the will of God – to various nations in the past, and this is said to account for many similarities among religions. The Quran recounts the names of numerous figures considered [[prophets in Islam]], including [[Adam in Islam|Adam]], [[Noah in Islam|Noah]], [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]], [[Moses in Islam|Moses]] and [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]], among others.<ref name="Schimmel" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Reeves |first=J. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNId86Eu4TEC |title=Bible and Qurʼān: Essays in scriptural intertextuality |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2004 |isbn=90-04-12726-7 |___location=[[Leiden]] |page=177 |access-date=21 August 2019 |archive-date=19 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419164019/https://books.google.com/books?id=WNId86Eu4TEC |url-status=live }}</ref> The stories associated with the prophets beyond the Quranic accounts are collected and explored in the ''[[Qisas Al-Anbiya|Qisas al-Anbiya]]'' (Stories of the Prophets).
 
Muslims believe that God sent Muhammad as the final prophet ("[[Seal of the prophets]]") to convey the completed message of Islam.<ref>Esposito, John L. 2009. "Islam." In ''{{Doi-inline|10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001|''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World''}}'', edited by J. L. Esposito. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-19-530513-5}}. (See also: [https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100012298 quick reference] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110124812/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100012298 |date=10 January 2021 }}.) "Profession of Faith...affirms Islam's absolute monotheism and acceptance of Muḥammad as the messenger of Allah, the last and final prophet."</ref><ref>Peters, F. E. 2009. "Allāh." In {{Doi-inline|10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001|''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World''}}, edited by J. L. Esposito. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-19-530513-5}}. (See also: [https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095403960 quick reference] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926053837/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095403960 |date=26 September 2020 }}.) "[T]he Muslims' understanding of Allāh is based...on the Qurʿān's public witness. Allāh is Unique, the Creator, Sovereign, and Judge of mankind. It is Allāh who directs the universe through his direct action on nature and who has guided human history through his prophets, Abraham, with whom he made his covenant, Moses/Moosa, Jesus/Eesa, and Muḥammad, through all of whom he founded his chosen communities, the 'Peoples of the Book.{{'"}}</ref> In Islam, the "normative" example of Muhammad's life is called the ''[[sunnah]]'' (literally "trodden path"). Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad's moral behaviors in their daily lives, and the sunnah is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of the Quran.<ref>{{harvp|Martin|2004|p=666}}</ref><ref>{{harvc|c=Hadith|in=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|year=n.d.|author=J. Robson}}</ref><ref>{{harvc|c=Sunna|in=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|year=n.d.|author=D.W. Brown}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Goldman |first=Elizabeth |title=Believers: Spiritual Leaders of the World |date=1995 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-508240-1 |___location=Oxford |page=63}}</ref> This example is preserved in traditions known as [[hadith]], which are accounts of his words, actions, and personal characteristics. [[Hadith qudsi|Hadith Qudsi]] is a sub-category of hadith, regarded as God's verbatim words quoted by Muhammad that are not part of the Quran. A hadith involves two elements: a chain of narrators, called [[Hadith studies#Traditional importance of the sanad|''sanad'']], and the actual wording, called ''[[Hadith studies|matn]]''. There are various methodologies to classify the authenticity of hadiths, with the commonly used grading scale being "authentic" or "correct" ({{langx|ar|صحيح|links=no|translit=[[Authentic hadith|ṣaḥīḥ]]|label=none}}); "good" ({{langx|ar|حسن|links=no|label=none|translit=[[Hasan (hadith)|ḥasan]]}}); or "weak" ({{langx|ar|ضعيف|label=none|translit=[[Da'if|ḍaʻīf]]}}), among others. The ''[[Kutub al-Sittah]]'' are a collection of six books, regarded as the most authentic reports in [[Sunni Islam]]. Among them is ''[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]'', often considered by Sunnis to be one of the most [[Hadith terminology#Terminology relating to the authenticity of a hadith|authentic]] sources after the Quran.<ref>[[Aisha Abd al-Rahman|al-Rahman, Aisha Abd]], ed. 1990. ''[[Introduction to the Science of Hadith|Muqaddimah Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ]]''. Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1990. pp. 160–69</ref> Another well-known source of hadiths is known as ''[[The Four Books]]'', which Shias consider as the most authentic hadith reference.<ref>Awliya'i, Mustafa. "[https://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/vol1-n12-3/outlines-development-science-hadith-dr-mustafa-awliyai/part-1#four-books The Four Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912144702/https://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/vol1-n12-3/outlines-development-science-hadith-dr-mustafa-awliyai/part-1#four-books |date=12 September 2017 }}." In ''Outlines of the Development of the Science of Hadith'' 1, translated by A. Q. Qara'i. – via [[Al-Islam.org]]. Retrieved 24 May 2020.</ref><ref>[[Sa'id Akhtar Rizvi|Rizvi, Sayyid Sa'eed Akhtar]]. "[https://www.al-islam.org/quran-and-hadith-allamah-sayyid-saeed-akhtar-rizvi/chapter-4-hadith#four-books-al-kutubul-arbah The Hadith §The Four Books (Al-Kutubu'l-Arb'ah)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912191319/https://www.al-islam.org/quran-and-hadith-allamah-sayyid-saeed-akhtar-rizvi/chapter-4-hadith#four-books-al-kutubul-arbah |date=12 September 2017 }}." Ch 4 in ''The Qur'an and Hadith''. Tanzania: [[Bilal Muslim Mission]]. – via [[Al-Islam.org]]. Retrieved 24 May 2020.</ref>
*"Shahadah": The Testimony that there is none worthy of worship except God and that [[Muhammad]] is his messenger.
*"Salah": Establishing of the five daily Prayers (''salah'').
*"Zakat": The Giving of ''Zakaah'' (charity), which is one fortieth (2.5%) of the net worth of savings kept for more than a year, with few exemptions, for every Muslim whose wealth exceeds the [[nisab]], and 10% or 20% of the produce from agriculture. This money or produce is distributed among the [[Muslim]] poor.
*"Ramadhan": Fasting from dawn to dusk in the month of [[Ramadan]] (''sawm'').
*"Hajj": The Pilgrimage ([[Hajj]]) to [[Mecca]] during the month of ''Dhul Hijjah'', which is compulsory once in a lifetime for one who has the ability to do it.
 
=== Resurrection and judgment ===
All Muslims further agree on two of what the Shia call the Roots of Religion:
[[Image:Syria, Damascus, The Umayyad Mosque.jpg|thumb|The [[Umayyad Mosque]] in [[Damascus]], where according to Islamic tradition [[Jesus in Islam|Isa]] (Jesus, seen as an Islamic prophet) will appear close to the [[Judgement Day in Islam|Day of Judgment]]]]
{{Main|Islamic eschatology}}
Belief in the "Day of Resurrection" or ''[[Qiyamah|Yawm al-Qiyāmah]]'' ({{langx|ar|يوم القيامة|link=no}}) is also crucial for Muslims. It is believed that the time of ''Qiyāmah'' is preordained by God, but unknown to man. The Quran and the hadith, as well as the commentaries of [[Ulama|scholars]], describe the trials and [[Great Tribulation|tribulations]] preceding and during the ''Qiyāmah''. The Quran emphasizes [[universal resurrection|bodily resurrection]], a break from the [[pre-Islamic Arabia]]n understanding of death.<ref>{{harvp|Glassé|2003|loc="Resurrection"|pp=382–383}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.)|2012|loc="Avicenna"}}. {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_DUM_0467}}: "Ibn Sīnā, Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Sīnā is known in the West as 'Avicenna'."</ref><ref>{{harvc|c=Qiyama |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|year=n.d. |author=Gardet, L.}}</ref>
 
On Yawm al-Qiyāmah, Muslims believe all humankind will be judged by their good and bad deeds and consigned to ''[[Jannah]]'' (paradise) or ''[[Jahannam]]'' (hell).<ref>{{cite web |editor-last=Esposito |editor-first=John L. |editor-link=John Esposito |title=Eschatology |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e588 |url-access=subscription |work=[[The Oxford Dictionary of Islam]] |via=Oxford Islamic Studies Online |access-date=18 April 2017 |archive-date=13 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913062714/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e588 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Quran in [[Surat al-Zalzalah]] describes this as: "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." The Quran [[Islamic views of sin|lists several sins]] that can condemn a person to [[hell]]. However, the Quran makes it clear that God will forgive the sins of those who repent if he wishes. Good deeds, like charity, prayer, and compassion towards animals{{sfnp|Esposito|2011|p=130}} will be rewarded with entry to heaven. Muslims view heaven as a place of joy and blessings, with Quranic references describing its features. Mystical traditions in Islam place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of God.<ref>{{harvp|Smith|2006|p=89}}; ''Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim World'', p. 565</ref><ref>{{harvc |c=Garden |first=Asma |last=Afsaruddin |year=n.d. |in=McAuliffe}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Paradise|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online}}</ref> ''Yawm al-Qiyāmah'' is also identified in the Quran as ''Yawm ad-Dīn'' ({{lang|ar|يوم الدين}} "Day of Religion");<ref group="lower-roman">{{qref|1|4|b=y}};</ref> ''as-Sāʿah'' ({{lang|ar|الساعة}} "the Last Hour");<ref group="lower-roman">{{qref|6|31|b=y}};</ref> and ''[[Al-Qaria|al-Qāriʿah]]'' ({{lang|ar|القارعة}} "The Clatterer").<ref group="lower-roman">{{qref|101|1|b=y}}</ref>
* The Justice of God ('''Adl'').
* The Resurrection (''Me'ad'').
 
=== Divine predestination ===
and four of what the Shia call the Branches of Religion:
{{Main|Predestination in Islam}}
The concept of divine predestination in Islam ({{langx|ar|القضاء والقدر}}, ''{{transliteration|ar|DIN|al-qadāʾ wa l-qadar}}'') means that every matter, good or bad, is believed to have been decreed by God. ''Al-qadar'', meaning "power", derives from a root that means "to measure" or "calculating".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freeweb.hu/etymological/AEDweb.htm |date=2002 |title=Andras Rajki's A. E. D. (Arabic Etymological Dictionary) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208204654/http://www.freeweb.hu/etymological/AEDweb.htm |archive-date=8 December 2011 |access-date=13 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Cohen-Mor|2001|p=4}}: "The idea of predestination is reinforced by the frequent mention of events 'being written' or 'being in a book' before they happen": Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us..."</ref><ref>{{harvc |last=Karamustafa |first=Ahmet T. |c=Fate |year=n.d. |in=McAuliffe}}: The verb ''qadara'' literally means "to measure, to determine". Here it is used to mean that "God measures and orders his creation".</ref><ref>{{harvc |last=Gardet|first=L.|year=2012|c=al-Ḳaḍāʾ Wa 'l-Ḳadar |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.)}} {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0407}}</ref> Muslims often express this belief in divine destiny with the phrase [[Inshallah|"In-sha-Allah"]] ({{langx|ar|إن شاء الله}}) meaning "if God wills" when speaking on future events.<ref>{{cite web |title=Muslim beliefs – Al-Qadr |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z43pfcw/revision/4 |access-date=13 November 2020 |publisher=BBC |work=Bitesize – GCSE – Edexcel |archive-date=15 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115112558/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z43pfcw/revision/4 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
== Acts of worship ==
* Enjoining what is good (''Amr-bil-Ma'roof'').
{{Main|Five Pillars of Islam|Ibadah}}
* Forbidding what is evil (''Nahi-anil-Munkar'').
There are five acts of worship that are considered [[fard|duties]]–the [[Shahada]] (declaration of faith), the five daily prayers, [[Zakat]] (almsgiving), [[fasting during Ramadan]], and the [[Hajj]] pilgrimage–collectively known as "The Pillars of Islam" (''Arkān al-Islām'').<ref name="www.britannica.com-2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pillars-of-Islam|title=Pillars of Islam &#124; Islamic Beliefs & Practices &#124; Britannica|website=www.britannica.com|date=3 May 2023|access-date=16 December 2021|archive-date=5 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905102524/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pillars-of-Islam|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, Muslims also perform other optional [[Supererogation|supererogatory]] acts that are encouraged but not considered to be duties.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=ZAROUG|first=ABDULLAHI HASSAN|date=1985|title=THE CONCEPT OF PERMISSION, SUPEREROGATORY ACTS AND ASETICISM &#91;sic&#93; IN ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20847307|journal=Islamic Studies|volume=24|issue=2|pages=167–180|jstor=20847307|issn=0578-8072|access-date=7 January 2023|archive-date=7 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207140013/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20847307|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Striving to seek God's approval (''Jihad'').
* Paying the tax on profit (''Khums'').
 
=== Declaration of faith ===
while two "branches", and one "root", are specifically Shia:
[[File:Silver Rupee Akbar.jpg|thumb|right|Silver coin of the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Akbar]], c. 16th century, inscribed with the ''Shahadah'']]
{{Main|Shahada}}
The [[shahada]]h{{sfnp|Nasr|2003|pp=3, 39, 85, 270–272}} is an [[oath]] declaring belief in Islam. The expanded statement is "{{transliteration|ar|DIN|ʾašhadu ʾal-lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh}}" ({{langx|ar|أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمداً رسول الله|label=none}}), or, "I testify that there is no [[deity]] except [[God in Islam|God]] and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God."<ref>Mohammad, N. 1985. "The doctrine of jihad: An introduction." ''[[Journal of Law and Religion]]'' 3(2):381–97.</ref> Islam is sometimes argued to have a very simple creed with the shahada being the premise for the rest of the religion. Non-Muslims wishing to [[convert to Islam]] are required to recite the shahada in front of witnesses.<ref>{{harvc |last=Kasim |first=Husain |year=2004 |c=Islam |pp=195–197 |in=Salamone}}</ref><ref>Galonnier, Juliette. "Moving In or Moving Toward? Reconceptualizing Conversion to Islam as a Liminal Process1". Moving In and Out of Islam, edited by Karin van Nieuwkerk, New York, US: University of Texas Press, 2021, pp. 44–66. https://doi.org/10.7560/317471-003 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023001/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7560/317471-003/html |date=28 December 2023 }}</ref>
 
=== Prayer ===
* The belief in the divinely appointed and guided [[imam]]ate of [[Ali]] and some of his descendants (''Imamah'').
{{Main|Salah}}
* To love the Ahl-ul-Bayt and their followers (''Tawalla'').
{{See also|Mosque|Jumu'ah}}
* To hate the enemies of the Ahl-ul-Bayt (''Tabarra'').
[[File:Mosque.jpg|thumb|Muslim men [[prostration|prostrating]] in prayer, at the [[Umayyad Mosque]], [[Damascus]]]]
Prayer in Islam, called [[salah|as-salah]] or aṣ-ṣalāt ({{langx|ar|الصلاة|link=no}}), is seen as a personal communication with God and consists of repeating units called [[rakat]] that include [[Ruku|bowing]] and [[Sujud|prostrating]] to God. There are five timed prayers each day that are considered duties. The prayers are recited in the Arabic language and performed in [[Qibla|the direction]] of the [[Kaaba]]. The act also requires a state of ritual purity achieved by means of either a routine ''[[wudu]]'' ritual wash or, in certain circumstances, a ''[[ghusl]]'' full body ritual wash.<ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2002b|pp=18, 19}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Hedayetullah|2006|pp=53–55}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Kobeisy|2004|pp=22–34}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Momen|1987|p=178}}</ref>
 
A [[mosque]] is a [[places of worship|place of worship]] for Muslims, who often refer to it by its Arabic name ''masjid''. Although the primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place of prayer, it is also an important social centre for the [[ummah|Muslim community]]. For example, the [[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi|Masjid an-Nabawi]] ("Prophetic Mosque") in Medina, [[Saudi Arabia]], used to also serve as a shelter for the poor.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Mattson |first=Ingrid |year=2006 |title=Women, Islam, and Mosques |pages=615–629 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America |series=Volume 2, Part VII. Islam |editor1=R. S. Keller |name-list-style=and |editor2=R. R. Ruether |place=Bloomington and Indianapolis |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |isbn=978-0-253-34687-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WPILfbtT5tQC&pg=PA615 |access-date=2 October 2021 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023019/https://books.google.com/books?id=WPILfbtT5tQC&pg=PA615#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Minaret]]s are towers used to call the [[adhan]], a vocal call to signal the prayer time.<ref>Pedersen, J., R. Hillenbrand, [[John Burton-Page|J. Burton-Page]], et al. 2010. "{{Doi-inline|10.1163/9789004206106_eifo_COM_0694|Masd̲j̲id}}." ''Encyclopedia of Islam''. Leiden: [[Brill Publishers|Brill]]. Retrieved 25 May 2020.</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/mosque |title=Mosque |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 September 2021 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=28 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928065350/https://www.britannica.com/topic/mosque |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== The Qur'an ===
{{mainarticle|Qur'an}}
 
=== Almsgiving ===
The Qur'an is the sacred book of Islam. It has also been called, in English, the Koran and the Quran. Qur'an is the currently preferred English transliteration of the Arabic original (&#1602;&#1585;&#1570;&#1606;); it means &#8220;recitation&#8221;. Although it is referred to as a "book", when a Muslim refers to the Qur'an, they are referring to the actual text, the words, rather than any printed work. Memorization of the entire recitation word for word is how the Qur'an has been preserved throughout the centuries. The mass printing of the Qur'an in Arabic and translations into other languages are considered modern conveniences.
{{Main|Zakat}}
{{See also|Sadaqah}}
[[File:Slot at the Zaouia Moulay Idriss II 1.jpg|thumb|A slot for giving zakat at the [[Zawiya of Moulay Idris II]] in [[Fez, Morocco]]]]
[[Zakat]] ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: {{langx|ar|زكاة|translit=zakāh|label=none}}), also spelled ''Zakāt'' or ''Zakah'', is a type of [[almsgiving]] characterized by the giving of a fixed portion (2.5% annually)<ref>Ahmed, Medani, and Sebastian Gianci. "Zakat." p. 479 in ''Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy''.</ref> of [[Financial capital|accumulated wealth]] by those who can afford it to help the poor or needy, such as for freeing captives, those in [[bonded labour|debt]], or for (stranded) travellers, and for those employed to collect zakat. It acts as a form of [[welfare spending|welfare]] in Muslim societies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ariff |first=Mohamed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NP4ZL0TJ9s4C&pg=PA55 |title=The Islamic Voluntary Sector in Southeast Asia: Islam and the Economic Development of Southeast Asia |publisher=[[Institute of Southeast Asian Studies]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-981-3016-07-1 |pages=55– |access-date=7 October 2017 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023007/https://books.google.com/books?id=NP4ZL0TJ9s4C&&pg=PA55 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is considered a religious obligation that the well-off owe the needy because their wealth is seen as a trust from God's bounty,<ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2010|p=109–110}}: This is not regarded as charity because it is not really voluntary but instead is owed, by those who have received their wealth as a trust from God's bounty, to the poor.</ref> and is seen as a purification of one's excess wealth.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = RoutledgeCurzon| isbn = 9780415297967| title =Major World Religions: From Their Origins to the Present.| ___location = United Kingdom| year = 2003| last=Ridgeon| first=Lloyd| url = | page = 258|quote=Aside from its function of purifying believers' wealth, the payment of zakat may have contributed in no small way to the economic welfare of the Muslim community in Mecca.}}</ref> The total annual value contributed due to zakat is 15 times greater than global humanitarian aid donations, using conservative estimates.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 June 2012 |title=A faith-based aid revolution in the Muslim world |work=[[The New Humanitarian]] |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/95564/analysis-faith-based-aid-revolution-muslim-world |access-date=27 August 2023 |archive-date=14 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114014900/https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/95564/analysis-faith-based-aid-revolution-muslim-world |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Sadaqah]], as opposed to Zakat, is a much-encouraged optional charity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Said |first=Abdul Aziz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4bs7g0O4eLYC&pg=PA145 |title=Contemporary Islam: Dynamic, Not Static |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-77011-8 |page=145 |display-authors=etal |access-date=7 October 2017 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023121/https://books.google.com/books?id=4bs7g0O4eLYC&pg=PA145 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnp|Stefon|2010|p=[https://archive.org/details/islamicbeliefspr0000stef/page/72 72]}} A [[waqf]] is a perpetual [[charitable trust]], which finances hospitals and schools in Muslim societies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hudson |first=A. |title=Equity and Trusts |year=2003 |edition=3rd |page=32 |___location=London |publisher=Cavendish Publishing |isbn=1-85941-729-9}}</ref>
 
=== Fasting ===
Muslims believe that the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the [[Gabriel (archangel)|Angel Gabriel]] on numerous occasions between the years [[610]] and Muhammad's death in [[632]]. In addition to memorizing his revelations, his followers are said to have written them down on parchments, stones, and other media, so that the entire Qur'an was written down during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad.
[[File:Iftar for Ramadhan.jpg|thumb|A fast-breaking feast, known as ''[[Iftar]]'', is served traditionally with [[date (fruits)|dates]].]]
{{Main|Fasting in Islam}}
{{See also|Fasting during Ramadan}}
In Islam, fasting ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: {{langx|ar|صوم|translit=ṣawm|label=none}}) precludes food and drink, as well as other forms of consumption, such as [[Smoking in Islam|smoking]], and is performed from dawn to sunset. During the month of [[Ramadan]], it is considered a duty for Muslims to fast.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ramadan |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ramadan |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=9 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009215438/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ramadan |url-status=live }}</ref> The fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to God by restraining oneself for God's sake from what is otherwise permissible and to think of the needy. In addition, there are other days, such as the [[Day of Arafah]], when fasting is optional.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher =Tughra Books | isbn = 9781597846110| title = Fasting In Islam And The Month Of Ramadan| ___location = United States| year =2006 | last=Ramadanali| url = |page=51
| quote = }}</ref>
 
=== Pilgrimage ===
Muslims believe that the Qur'an available today is the same as that revealed to Prophet Muhammad and by him to his followers, who memorized his words. Scholars accept that the version of the Qur'an used today was first compiled in writing by the third [[Caliph]], [[Uthman ibn Affan]], sometime between [[650]] and [[656]]. He sent copies of his version to the various provinces of the new Muslim empire, and directed that all variant copies be destroyed. However, some skeptics doubt the recorded oral traditions ([[hadith]]) on which the account is based and will say only that the Qur'an must have been compiled before [[750]].
{{Main|Hajj|Umrah}}
{{See also|Holiest sites in Islam}}
[[File:A packed house - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg|thumb|right|Pilgrims at the [[Great Mosque of Mecca]] during the [[Hajj]] season]]
 
The Islamic [[pilgrimage]], called the {{transliteration|ar|ALA|ḥajj}} ({{langx|ar|حج|link=no}}), is to be done at least once a lifetime by every Muslim with the means to do so during the [[Islamic calendar|Islamic month]] of [[Dhu al-Hijjah]]. Rituals of the Hajj mostly imitate the story of the family of [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]]. In [[Mecca]], pilgrims walk seven times around the [[Kaaba]], which Muslims believe Abraham built as a place of worship, and they walk seven times between Mount [[Safa and Marwa]], recounting the steps of Abraham's wife, [[Hagar]], who was looking for water for her baby [[Ishmael in Islam|Ishmael]] in the desert before Mecca developed into a settlement.<ref>{{harvp|Goldschmidt|Davidson|2005|p=48}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Farah|1994|pp=145–147}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Hajj |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online}}</ref> The pilgrimage also involves spending a day praying and worshipping in the plain of [[Mount Arafat]] as well as symbolically [[Stoning of the Devil|stoning the Devil]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peters |first=F.E. |title=Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians |date=2009 |isbn=978-1-4008-2548-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HYJ2c9E9IM8C&pg=PA19 |page=20 |publisher=Princeton University Press |access-date=7 October 2014 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023112/https://books.google.com/books?id=HYJ2c9E9IM8C&pg=PA19#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> All Muslim men wear only two simple white unstitched pieces of cloth called [[Ihram clothing|ihram]], intended to bring continuity through generations and uniformity among pilgrims despite class or origin.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cornell |first=Vincent J. |title=Voices of Islam: Voices of tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5LNUS0ciAAC&pg=PA29 |access-date=26 August 2012 |year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-98733-6 |page=29}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Glassé|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=focLrox-frUC&pg=PA207 207]}}</ref> Another form of pilgrimage, [[Umrah]], is optional and can be undertaken at any time of the year. Other sites of Islamic pilgrimage are [[Medina]], where Muhammad died, as well as [[Jerusalem]], a city of many Islamic prophets and the site of [[Al-Aqsa]], which was the direction of prayer before Mecca.<ref>{{cite book|author=Michigan Consortium for Medieval and Early Modern Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p44kAQAAMAAJ|title=The Meeting of Two Worlds: Cultural Exchange Between East and West During the Period of the Crusades|publisher=Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University|year=1986|isbn=0918720583|editor1=Goss, V. P.|volume=21|page=208|editor2=Bornstein, C. V.|access-date=15 January 2023|archive-date=28 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023032/https://books.google.com/books?id=p44kAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[Yaroslav Trofimov|Trofimov, Yaroslav]]. 2008. ''The Siege of Mecca: The 1979 Uprising at Islam's Holiest Shrine''. [[Knopf]]. New York. {{ISBN|978-0-307-47290-8}}. p. 79.</ref>
There are also numerous traditions, and many conflicting academic theories, as to the provenance of the verses later assembled into the Qur'an. (This is covered in greater detail in the article on the Qur'an.) Most Muslims accept the account recorded in several hadith, which state that [[Abu Bakr]], the first caliph, ordered [[Zayd ibn Thabit]] to collect and record all the authentic verses of the Qur'an, as preserved in written form or oral tradition. Zayd's written collection, privately treasured by Muhammad's widow [[Hafsa bint Umar]], was used by Uthman and is the basis of today's Qur'an.
 
=== Other acts of worship ===
Uthman's version organized the revelations, or suras, roughly in order of length, with the longest suras at the start of the Qur'an and the shortest ones at the end. More conservative views state that the order of most suras was divinely set. Later scholars have struggled to put the suras in chronological order, and among Muslim commentators at least there is a rough consensus as to which suras were revealed in [[Makkan sura|Mecca]] and which at [[Medinan sura|Medina]]. Some suras (eg surat [[Iqra]]) were revealed in parts at separate times.
{{See also|Quran#Recitation|Dua|Dhikr}}
[[File:Men reading the Koran in Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria.jpg|thumb|Muslim men reading the Quran in the [[Umayyad Mosque]] of [[Damascus]]]]
Because the Qur'an was first written (date uncertain) in the [[Hijazi]], [[Mashq]], [[Ma'il]], and [[Kufic]] scripts, which write consonants only and do not supply the vowels, and because there were differing oral traditions of recitation, as non-native Arabic speakers converted to Islam, there was some disagreement as to the exact reading of many verses. Eventually, scripts were developed that used "points" to indicate vowels. For hundreds of years after Uthman's recension, Muslim scholars argued as to the correct pointing and reading of Uthman's unpointed official text, (the [[rasm]]). Eventually, most commentators accepted seven variant readings ([[qira'at]]) of the Qur'an as canonical, while agreeing that the differences are minor and do not affect the meaning of the text.
[[File:Live recitation of Surah Yusuf, verses 1 - 22 in Hafs an Asim.webm|thumb|left|350x350px|A young man reciting the Qur'an in the [[Islam in the United States|United States]].]]
{{Listen
|filename=112.AlIkhlas-MisharyRashedAlafasy.ogg
|title=''Al-Ikhlas''
|pos=right
|description= ''[[Al-Ikhlas|Sincerity]]'' is the Quran's [[List of surahs in the Quran|112{{sup|th}}]] [[surah|chapter]] as recited by [[Imam]] [[Mishary Rashid Alafasy]]
|format=[[Ogg]]
}}
Muslims recite and memorize the whole or parts of the Quran as acts of virtue. [[Tajwid]] refers to the set of rules for the proper [[elocution]] of the Quran.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = | isbn = | title = Foundation of Tajweed| ___location = | year = 2013|edition=2| last=Aboo Yahyaa| url = | page = 1
| quote = }}</ref> Many Muslims recite the whole Quran during the month of Ramadan.{{sfnp|Stefon|2010|p=[https://archive.org/details/islamicbeliefspr0000stef/page/42 42–43]}} One who has memorized the whole Quran is called a hafiz ("memorizer"), and hadiths mention that these individuals will be able to intercede for others on Judgment Day.{{sfnp|Nigosian|2004|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=my7hnALd_NkC|page=70}} 70]}}
 
Supplication to God, called in Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|DIN|duʿāʾ}} ({{langx|ar|دعاء}}&nbsp;{{IPA|ar|dʊˈʕæːʔ|IPA}}) has its own etiquette such as [[Raising hands in dua|raising hands]] as if begging.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Brill| isbn = 9789004335523| title = The Quṣṣāṣ of Early Islam| ___location = Netherlands| year = 2016| last=Armstrong| first=Lyall| url = | page = 184| quote = }}</ref>
The form of the Qur'an most used today is the [[Al-Azhar]] text of 1923, prepared by a committee at the prestigious [[Cairo]] university of Al-Azhar.
 
Remembrance of God ({{langx|ar|ذكر|translit=Dhikr'|label=none}}) refers to phrases repeated referencing God. Commonly, this includes Tahmid, declaring [[Alhamdulillah|praise be due to God]] ({{langx|ar|الحمد لله|translit=al-Ḥamdu lillāh|label=none}}) during prayer or when feeling thankful, [[Tasbih]], declaring glory to God during prayer or when in awe of something and saying '[[Basmala|in the name of God]]' ({{lang|ar|بسملة}}, {{transliteration|ar|ALA-LC|basmalah}}) before starting an act such as eating.<ref>{{Cite web|title=alhamdulillah |url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/alhamdulillah|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227042540/https://www.lexico.com/definition/alhamdulillah|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 27, 2020|access-date=2021-10-16|website=Lexico}}</ref>
The Qur'an early became a focus of Muslim devotion and eventually a subject of theological controversy. In the [[8th century]], the [[Mu'tazili]]s claimed that the Qur'an was created in time and was not eternal. Their opponents, of various schools, claimed that the Qur'an was eternal and perfect, existing in heaven before it was revealed to Muhammad. The [[Ashari]] theology (which ultimately became predominant) held that the Qur'an was uncreated. However, modern [[liberal movements within Islam]] are apt to take something approaching the Mu'tazili position.
== History ==
{{Main|History of Islam}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of the history of Islam}}
{{See also|List of Muslim empires and dynasties}}
{{wide image|Madina Haram at evening.jpg|900px|align-cap=center|A 2004 panoramic view of [[Al-Masjid al-Nabawi]] (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Hejaz]] region, present-day [[Saudi Arabia]]. It is considered the second most sacred mosque in Islam}}
 
=== Muhammad and the beginning of Islam (570–632) ===
Most Muslims regard the Qur'an with extreme veneration, wrapping it in a clean cloth, keeping it on a high shelf, and washing as for prayers before reading the Qur'an. Old Qur'ans are not destroyed as wastepaper, but burned or deposited in Qur'an graveyards. The Qur'an is regarded as an infallible guide to personal piety and community life, and completely true in its history and science.
{{Main|Muhammad|Muhammad in Islam}}
{{for timeline|Timeline of early Islamic history}}
{{Further|Muhammad in Mecca|Early social changes under Islam|First Islamic state}}
[[File:Hira_Cave.jpg|thumb|[[Jabal al-Nour|Cave of Hira]]]]
According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was born in [[Mecca]] in [[570]] [[Common Era|CE]] and was orphaned early in life. Growing up as a trader, he became known as the "[[Amin (name)|trusted one]]" ({{langx|ar|الامين}}) and was sought after as an impartial arbitrator. He later married his employer, the businesswoman [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid|Khadija]].{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=6}} In the year 610 CE, troubled by the moral decline and idolatry prevalent in Mecca and seeking seclusion and spiritual contemplation, Muhammad retreated to the [[Cave of Hira]] in the mountain [[Jabal al-Nour]], near Mecca. It was during his time in the cave that he is said to have [[Muhammad's first revelation|received the first revelation]] of the [[Quran]] from the angel [[Gabriel]].<ref>{{harvc |c=Muhammad |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online |year=n.d. |last2=Welch |first2=A.T. |last1=Buhl |first1=F.}}</ref> The event of Muhammad's retreat to the cave and subsequent revelation is known as the "[[Night of Power]]" (''Laylat al-Qadr'') and is considered a significant event in Islamic history. During the next 22 years of his life, from age 40 onwards, Muhammad continued to receive revelations from God, becoming the last or [[seal of the prophets]] sent to mankind.<ref name="harvp|Esposito|2002b|pp=4–5"/><ref name="harvp|Peters|2003|p=9"/><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Muhammad |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online}}</ref>
 
[[File:Siyer-i_Nebi_151b.jpg|thumb|"Muhammad at the Ka'ba" from the ''[[Siyer-i Nebi]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ottomans : religious painting |url=http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/ottoman33.html |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> Muhammad is shown with veiled face, {{Circa|1595}}.]]
From the beginning of the faith, most Muslims believed that the Qur'an was perfect only as revealed in Arabic. Translations were the result of human effort and human fallibility, as well as lacking the inspired poetry believers find in the Qur'an. Translations are therefore only commentaries on the Qur'an, or "translations of its meaning", not the Qur'an itself.
During this time, [[Muhammad in Mecca|while in Mecca, Muhammad]] preached first in secret and then in public, imploring his listeners to abandon [[Arab polytheism|polytheism]] and worship one God. Many [[Early Muslims|early converts to Islam]] were women, the poor, foreigners, and slaves like the first [[muezzin]] [[Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi]].<ref>Rabah, Bilal B. ''[[Encyclopedia of Islam]].''</ref> The Meccan elite felt Muhammad was [[Early social changes under Islam|destabilizing their social order]] by preaching about one God and giving questionable ideas to the poor and slaves because they profited from the pilgrimages to the idols of the Kaaba.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ünal |first=Ali |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DyuqdDIjaswC&pg=PA1323 |title=The Qurʼan with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English |publisher=Tughra Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-59784-000-2 |pages=1323– |access-date=7 October 2017 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024048/https://books.google.com/books?id=DyuqdDIjaswC&pg=PA1323#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Holt|Lambton|Lewis|1977|p=36}}</ref>
 
After 12 years of the [[persecution of Muslims by the Meccans]], Muhammad and his [[Sahaba|companions]] performed the ''[[Hegira|Hijra]]'' ("emigration") in 622 to the city of Yathrib (current-day Medina). He established the [[first Islamic state]] there with the Medinan converts (the ''[[Ansar (Islam)|Ansar]]'') and the Meccan migrants (the ''[[Muhajirun]]''). The [[Constitution of Medina]] was signed by all the tribes of Medina. This established religious freedoms and freedom to use their own laws among the Muslim and non-Muslim communities as well as an agreement to defend Medina from external threats.{{sfnp|Serjeant|1978|p=4}} Meccan forces and their allies lost against the Muslims at the [[Battle of Badr]] in 624 and then fought an inconclusive battle in the [[Battle of Uhud]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Peter Crawford |title=The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-oHBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |page=83 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books Limited |isbn=9781473828650 |date=2013-07-16 |access-date=5 August 2022 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023957/https://books.google.com/books?id=d-oHBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |url-status=live }}.</ref> before unsuccessfully besieging Medina in the [[Battle of the Trench]] (March–April&nbsp;627). In 628, the [[Treaty of Hudaybiyyah]] was signed between Mecca and the Muslims, but it was broken by Mecca two years later. As more tribes converted to Islam, Meccan trade routes were cut off by the Muslims.<ref>{{harvp|Peters|2003|pp=78–79, 194}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Lapidus|2002|pp=23–28}}</ref> By 629 Muhammad was victorious in the nearly bloodless [[conquest of Mecca]], and by the time of his death in 632 (at age 62) he had united the [[tribes of Arabia]] into a single religious [[polity]].<ref>{{harvc|c=Muhammad |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online |year=n.d. |last2=Welch |first2=A.T. |last1=Buhl |first1=F.}}</ref><ref name="610CE" />
=== Prophets ===
{{mainarticle|Prophets of Islam}}
 
=== Early Islamic period (632–750) ===
[[Image:Masjidnabawi.jpg|right|thumb|275px|[[Masjid al-Nabawi]] in [[Medina]]. The mosque also has a tomb of prophet [[Muhammad]] and the first two [[caliph]]s, [[Abu Bakr]] and [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]]]]
{{Further|Succession to Muhammad|Early Muslim conquests}}
{{See also|Ghadir Khumm|Saqifa}}
[[File:Mohammad adil-Rashidun empire-slide.gif|thumb|right|Expansion of [[Rashidun Caliphate]]]]
[[File:Dome of the Rock1.jpg|thumb|[[Dome of the Rock]] in [[Jerusalem]] built by caliph [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]]; completed at the end of the [[Second Fitna]]]]
Muhammad died in 632 and the first successors, called [[Caliph]]s – [[Abu Bakr]], [[Umar]], [[Uthman ibn al-Affan]], [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]] and sometimes [[Hasan ibn Ali]]<ref>{{Cite book| last1 = Melchert| first1 = Christopher| date = 2020| contribution = The Rightly Guided Caliphs: The Range of Views Preserved in Ḥadīth| editor1-last = al-Sarhan| editor1-first = Saud| title = Political Quietism in Islam: Sunni and Shi'i Practice and Thought| ___location = London and New York| publisher = [[I.B. Tauris]]| isbn = 978-1-83860-765-4| pages = 70–71| contribution-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=96TDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA63| access-date = 17 February 2022| archive-date = 28 December 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023957/https://books.google.com/books?id=96TDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA63#v=onepage&q&f=false| url-status = live}}</ref> – are known in Sunni Islam as ''al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn'' ("[[Rightly Guided Caliphs]]").{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=40}} Some tribes left Islam and rebelled under leaders who declared themselves new prophets but were crushed by Abu Bakr in the [[Ridda wars]].<ref>{{harvp|Holt|Lewis|1977|p=57}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Hourani|2002|p=22}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Lapidus|2002|p=32}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Madelung|1996|p=43}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Ṭabāṭabāʼī|1979|pp=30–50}}</ref> Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, persecuted as religious minorities and heretics and taxed heavily, often helped Muslims take over their {{ambiguous|date=April 2025}} lands,{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=38}} resulting in rapid expansion of the caliphate into the [[Sassanid Empire|Persian]] and [[Byzantine]] empires.<ref>{{harvp|Holt|Lewis|1977|p=74}}</ref><ref name="harvp|Gardet|Jomier|2012">{{harvp|Gardet|Jomier|2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=J. Kuiper |first=Matthew |title=Da'wa: A Global History of Islamic Missionary Thought and Practice |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2021 |isbn=9781351510721 |page=85}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lapidus |first=Ira M. |title=A History of Islamic Societies |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-521-51430-9 |pages=60–61 |author-link=Ira M. Lapidus}}</ref> Uthman [[election of Uthman|was elected in 644]] and his assassination by rebels led to Ali being elected the next Caliph. In the [[First Fitna|First Civil War]], Muhammad's widow, [[Aisha]], raised an army against Ali, attempting to avenge the death of Uthman, but was defeated at the [[Battle of the Camel]]. Ali attempted to remove the governor of Syria, [[Mu'awiya]], who was seen as corrupt. Mu'awiya then declared war on Ali and was defeated in the [[Battle of Siffin]]. Ali's decision to arbitrate angered the [[Kharijites]], an extremist sect, who felt that by not fighting a sinner, Ali became a sinner as well. The Kharijites rebelled and were defeated in the [[Battle of Nahrawan]] but a Kharijite assassin later killed Ali. Ali's son, Hasan ibn Ali, was elected Caliph and signed a [[Hasan–Muawiya treaty|peace treaty]] to avoid further fighting, abdicating to Mu'awiya in return for Mu'awiya not appointing a successor.{{sfnp|Holt|Lewis|1977|pp=67–72}} Mu'awiya began the [[Umayyad dynasty]] with the appointment of his son [[Yazid&nbsp;I]] as successor, sparking the [[Second Fitna|Second Civil War]]. During the [[Battle of Karbala]], [[Husayn ibn Ali]] was killed by Yazid's forces; the event has been [[Ashura|annually commemorated]] by Shias ever since. Sunnis, led by [[Ibn al-Zubayr]] and opposed to a dynastic caliphate, were defeated in the [[Siege of Mecca (692)|siege of Mecca]]. These disputes over leadership would give rise to the [[Sunni]]-[[Shia]] schism,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harney |first=John |date=3 January 2016 |title=How Do Sunni and Shia Islam Differ? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/world/middleeast/q-and-a-how-do-sunni-and-shia-islam-differ.html |access-date=4 January 2016 |archive-date=11 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511081444/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/world/middleeast/q-and-a-how-do-sunni-and-shia-islam-differ.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with the Shia believing leadership belongs to Muhammad's family through Ali, called the [[ahl al-bayt]].{{sfnp|Waines|2003|p=46}}
Abu Bakr's leadership oversaw the beginning of the compilation of the Quran. The Caliph [[Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz]] set up the committee, [[The Seven Fuqaha of Medina]],{{sfnp|Ismāʻīl ibn ʻUmar Ibn Kathīr|2012|p=505}}<ref>''Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz'' By Imam Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abdul Hakam died 214 AH 829 C.E. Publisher Zam Zam Publishers Karachi, pp. 54–59</ref> and [[Malik ibn Anas]] wrote one of the earliest books on Islamic jurisprudence, the ''[[Muwatta Imam Malik|Muwatta]]'', as a consensus of the opinion of those jurists.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Noel James Coulson |title=History of Islamic Law |year=1964 |isbn=978-0-7486-0514-9 |page=103 |publisher=King Abdulaziz Public Library |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5Ks31qHlSYC |access-date=7 October 2014 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023959/https://books.google.com/books?id=d5Ks31qHlSYC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |editor-last1=Houtsma |editor-first1=M.T. |editor-last2=Wensinck |editor-first2=A.J. |editor-last3=Lévi-Provençal |editor-first3=E. |editor-last4=Gibb |editor-first4=H.A.R. |editor-last5=Heffening |editor-first5=W. |series=Volume V: L—Moriscos |title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=1993 |edition=reprint |isbn=978-90-04-09791-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Va6oSxzojzoC |pages=207– |access-date=19 September 2021 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024105/https://books.google.com/books?id=Va6oSxzojzoC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor=[[Moshe Sharon]] |title=Studies in Islamic History and Civilization: In Honour of Professor David Ayalon |year=1986 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789652640147 |page=264 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0_wUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA264 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024050/https://books.google.com/books?id=0_wUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA264#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Kharijites]] believed there was no compromised middle ground between good and evil, and any Muslim who committed a grave sin would become an unbeliever. The term "kharijites" would also be used to refer to later groups such as [[ISIS]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mamouri|first=Ali|date=8 January 2015|title=Who are the Kharijites and what do they have to do with IS?|work=Al-monitor|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2015/01/islamic-state-kjarijites-continuation.html|access-date=6 March 2022|archive-date=6 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306213145/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2015/01/islamic-state-kjarijites-continuation.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Murji'ah]] taught that people's righteousness could be judged by God alone. Therefore, wrongdoers might be considered misguided, but not denounced as unbelievers.{{sfnp|Blankinship|2008|p=43}} This attitude came to prevail into mainstream Islamic beliefs.{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=87}}
 
The Umayyad dynasty conquered the [[Maghreb]], the [[Iberian Peninsula]], [[Gallia Narbonensis|Narbonnese Gaul]] and [[Sindh]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Donald |last=Puchala |title=Theory and History in International Relations |page=137 |publisher=Routledge |year=2003}}</ref> The Umayyads struggled with a lack of legitimacy and relied on a heavily patronized military.{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=45}} Since the [[jizya]] tax was a tax paid by non-Muslims which exempted them from military service, the Umayyads denied recognizing the conversion of non-Arabs, as it reduced revenue.{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=87}} While the Rashidun Caliphate emphasized austerity, with Umar even requiring an inventory of each official's possessions,<ref>{{cite book |first1=Ahmad Ibn Jabir|last1=Al-Biladhuri |first2=Philip|last2=Hitti|title=Kitab Futuhu'l-Buldan|page=219 |publisher=AMS Press |year=1969}}</ref> Umayyad luxury bred dissatisfaction among the pious.{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=87}} The Kharijites led the [[Berber Revolt]], leading to the first Muslim states independent of the Caliphate. In the [[Abbasid Revolution]], non-Arab converts (''[[mawali]]''), Arab clans pushed aside by the Umayyad clan, and some Shi'a rallied and overthrew the Umayyads, inaugurating the more cosmopolitan Abbasid dynasty in 750.{{sfnp|Lapidus|2002|p=56}}{{sfnp|Lewis|1993|pp=71–83}}
The Qur'an speaks of God appointing two classes of human servants: messengers (''rasul'' in Arabic), and prophets (''nabi'' in Arabic and Hebrew). In general, messengers are the more elevated rank, but Muslims consider all prophets and messengers equal. All prophets are said to have spoken with divine authority; but only those who have been given a major revelation or message are called messenger.
 
=== Classical era (750–1258) ===
Notable messengers include [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]] (Musa), [[Jesus]] (Isa), and [[Muhammad]], all belonging to a succession of men guided by God. Islam demands that a believer accept most of the Judeo-Christian prophets, making no distinction between them. In the Qur'an, [[Prophets of Islam| 25 specific prophets]] are mentioned.
{{Further|Hadith studies|Islamic philosophy}}
{{See also|Islamic world contributions to Medieval Europe|Turco-Persian tradition}}
 
Al-Shafi'i codified a method to determine the reliability of hadith.{{sfnp|Lapidus|2002|p=86}} During the early Abbasid era, scholars such as [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]] and [[Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj]] compiled the major [[Six major Hadith collections|Sunni hadith collections]] while scholars like [[Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni|Al-Kulayni]] and [[Ibn Babawayh]] compiled major Shia hadith collections. The four Sunni [[Madh'hab]]s, the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi'i, were established around the teachings of [[Abū Ḥanīfa]], [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], Malik ibn Anas and [[al-Shafi'i]]. In contrast, the teachings of [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]] formed the [[Ja'fari jurisprudence]]. In the 9th century, [[Al-Tabari]] completed the first commentary of the Quran, the ''[[Tafsir al-Tabari]]'', which became one of the most cited commentaries in Sunni Islam. Some Muslims began questioning the piety of indulgence in worldly life and emphasized poverty, humility, and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Ascetics such as [[Hasan al-Basri]] inspired a movement that would evolve into ''tasawwuf'' or [[Sufism]].<ref name=EB-Sufism />{{sfnp|Lapidus|2002|pp=90, 91}}
Mainstream Muslims regard Muhammad as the 'Last Messenger' or the 'Seal of the Prophets' based on the canon. However, there have been a number of sects whose leaders have proclaimed themselves the successors of Muhammad, perfecting and extending Islam, or, whose devotees have made such claims for their leaders. However, most Muslims remain unaffected by those claims and simply regard those said groups to be deviant from Islam.
 
At this time, theological problems, notably on free will, were prominently tackled, with Hasan al Basri holding that although God knows people's actions, good and evil come from abuse of free will and the [[Iblis|devil]].{{sfnp|Blankinship|2008|pp=38-39}}{{efn|"Hasan al Basri is often considered one of the first who rejected an angelic origin for the devil, arguing that his fall was the result of his own free-will, not God's determination. Hasan al Basri also argued that angels are incapable of sin or errors and nobler than humans and even prophets. Both early Shias and Sunnis opposed his view.<ref>Omar Hamdan ''Studien zur Kanonisierung des Korantextes: al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrīs Beiträge zur Geschichte des Korans'' Otto Harrassowitz Verlag 2006 {{ISBN|978-3447053495}} pp. 291–292 (German)</ref>}} Greek rationalist philosophy influenced a speculative school of thought known as [[Muʿtazila]], who famously advocated the notion of free-will originated by [[Wasil ibn Ata]].{{sfnp|Blankinship|2008|p=50}} Caliph [[Mamun al Rashid]] made it an official creed and unsuccessfully attempted to force this position on the majority.{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=88}} Caliph [[Al-Mu'tasim]] carried out [[Mihna|inquisition]]s, with the traditionalist [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]] notably refusing to conform to the Muʿtazila idea that the Quran was [[Quranic createdness|created rather than being eternal]], which resulted in him being tortured and kept in an unlit prison cell for nearly thirty months.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Doi |first=Abdur Rahman |title=Shariah: The Islamic Law |___location=London |publisher=Ta-Ha Publishers |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-907461-38-8 |page=110}}</ref> However, other [[Schools of Islamic theology|schools]] of [[Kalam|speculative theology]] – [[Maturidi|Māturīdism]] founded by [[Abu Mansur al-Maturidi]] and [[Ash'ari]] founded by [[Al-Ash'ari]] – were more successful in being widely adopted. Philosophers such as [[Al-Farabi]], [[Avicenna]] and [[Averroes]] sought to harmonize Aristotle's ideas with the teachings of Islam, similar to later [[scholasticism]] within [[Christianity in Europe]] and [[Maimonides]]' work within Judaism, while others like [[Al-Ghazali]] argued against such [[syncretism]] and ultimately prevailed.<ref>{{harvp|Lapidus|2002|p=160}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Waines|2003|pp=126–127}}</ref>
=== Islamic eschatology ===
[[File:Cheshm manuscript.jpg|thumb|The eye, according to [[Hunain ibn Ishaq]] from a manuscript dated c. 1200]]
{{mainarticle|Islamic eschatology}}
This era is sometimes called the "[[Islamic Golden Age]]".<ref>{{harvp|Holt|Lewis|1977|pp=80, 92, 105}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Holt|Lambton|Lewis|1977|pp=661–663}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Lapidus|2002|p=56}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1993|p=84}}</ref><ref name="harvp|Gardet|Jomier|2012"/> Islamic scientific achievements spanned a wide range of subject areas including [[Medicine in the medieval Islamic world|medicine]], [[Mathematics in the medieval Islamic world|mathematics]], [[Astronomy in the medieval Islamic world|astronomy]], and [[Arab Agricultural Revolution|agriculture]] as well as [[Physics in the medieval Islamic world|physics]], [[History of Islamic economics|economics]], [[List of inventions in the medieval Islamic world|engineering]] and [[Ibn al-Haytham|optics]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=David A. |year=1983 |title=The Astronomy of the Mamluks |journal=[[Isis (journal)|Isis]] |volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=531–55 |doi=10.1086/353360 |s2cid=144315162 | issn=0021-1753}}</ref><ref>Hassan, Ahmad Y. 1996. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150434/http://www.history-science-technology.com/articles/articles%208.html Factors Behind the Decline of Islamic Science After the Sixteenth Century]." Pp. 351–99 in ''Islam and the Challenge of Modernity'', edited by S. S. Al-Attas. Kuala Lumpur: [[Ibn Khaldun International Institute of Advanced Research|International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization]]. Archived from the [http://www.history-science-technology.com/articles/articles%208.html original] on 2 April 2015.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854295.pdf|title=Contributions of Islamic scholars to the scientific enterprise|access-date=13 December 2022|archive-date=23 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523192533/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854295.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The greatest scientific advances from the Muslim world|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=February 2010|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/feb/01/islamic-science|access-date=13 December 2022|archive-date=13 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213154451/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/feb/01/islamic-science|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Avicenna]] was a pioneer in [[Medical research|experimental medicine]],<ref>Jacquart, Danielle (2008). "Islamic Pharmacology in the Middle Ages: Theories and Substances". European Review (Cambridge University Press) 16: 219–227.</ref><ref>David W. Tschanz, MSPH, PhD (August 2003). "Arab Roots of European Medicine", Heart Views 4 (2).</ref> and his ''[[The Canon of Medicine]]'' was used as a standard medicinal text in the Islamic world and [[Europe]] for centuries. [[Rhazes]] was the first to identify the diseases [[smallpox]] and [[measles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/alrazi.aspx|title=Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (Rhazes) (c. 865-925)|publisher=sciencemuseum.org.uk|access-date=31 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506072259/http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/alrazi.aspx|archive-date=6 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Public hospital]]s of the time issued the first medical diplomas to license doctors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alatas |first=Syed Farid |year=2006 |title=From Jami'ah to University: Multiculturalism and Christian–Muslim Dialogue |url=https://zenodo.org/record/29439 |journal=[[Current Sociology]] |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=112–132 |doi=10.1177/0011392106058837 |s2cid=144509355 |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-date=23 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923024727/https://zenodo.org/record/29439/files/6.1From_Jamiah_to_University.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Imamuddin |first=S.M. |title=Muslim Spain 711–1492 AD |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=1981 |isbn=978-90-04-06131-6 |page=169}}</ref> [[Ibn al-Haytham]] is regarded as the father of the modern [[scientific method]] and often referred to as the "world's first true scientist", in particular regarding his work in [[optics]].<ref>{{cite journal |author-link=Gerald J. Toomer|first=G. J. |last=Toomer |jstor=228328 |title=Review Work: Matthias Schramm (1963) ''Ibn Al-Haythams Weg zur Physik'' |journal=Isis |volume=55 |issue=4 |date=Dec 1964 |page=464 |quote=Schramm sums up [Ibn Al-Haytham's] achievement in the development of scientific method.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |date=4 January 2009 |title=The 'first true scientist' |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7810846.stm |access-date=24 September 2013 |archive-date=26 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426041228/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7810846.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gorini |first=Rosanna |date=October 2003 |title=Al-Haytham the man of experience. First steps in the science of vision |journal=Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=53–55 |url=http://www.ishim.net/ishimj/4/10.pdf |access-date=25 September 2008 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717022851/http://www.ishim.net/ishimj/4/10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In engineering, the [[Banū Mūsā]] brothers' [[Automaton|automatic]] [[flute]] player is considered to have been the first [[Program (machine)|programmable machine]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Koetsier |first1=Teun |title=On the prehistory of programmable machines: musical automata, looms, calculators |journal=Mechanism and Machine Theory |date=May 2001 |volume=36 |issue=5 |pages=589–603 |doi=10.1016/S0094-114X(01)00005-2 }}</ref> In [[Islamic mathematics|mathematics]], the concept of the [[algorithm]] is named after [[Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi]], who is considered a founder of [[algebra]], which is named after his book [[The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing|''al-jabr'']], while others developed the concept of a [[function (mathematics)|function]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Katz |first1=Victor J. |last2=Barton |first2=Bill |title=Stages in the History of Algebra with Implications for Teaching |journal=Educational Studies in Mathematics |date=18 September 2007 |volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=185–201 |doi=10.1007/s10649-006-9023-7 |s2cid=120363574 }}</ref> The government paid scientists the equivalent salary of professional athletes today.<ref>{{harvp|Ahmed|2006|pp=23, 42, 84}}</ref> [[Guinness World Records]] recognizes the [[University of Al Karaouine]], founded in 859, as the world's oldest degree-granting university.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Mark |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofwo1998newy |title=The Guinness Book of Records |year=1998 |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofwo1998newy/page/242 242] |publisher=Bantam |isbn=978-0-553-57895-9}}</ref> Many non-Muslims, such as [[Christians]], [[Jews]] and [[Sabians]],<ref name="Brague 2009"/> [[Christian influences on the Islamic world|contributed to the Islamic civilization]] in various fields,<ref>Hill, Donald. ''Islamic Science and Engineering''. 1993. Edinburgh Univ. Press. {{ISBN|0-7486-0455-3}}, p.4</ref><ref>Rémi Brague, [http://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancontributionstotheislamiccivilization.htm Assyrians contributions to the Islamic civilization] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927015958/http://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancontributionstotheislamiccivilization.htm |date=2013-09-27 }}</ref> and the institution known as the [[House of Wisdom]] employed [[List of Christian scientists and scholars of the medieval Islamic world|Christian]] and [[List of pre-modern Iranian scientists and scholars|Persian scholars]] to both translate works into Arabic and to develop new knowledge.<ref>Meri, Josef W. and Jere L. Bacharach. [https://books.google.com/books?id=MypbfKdMePIC&pg=PA304 "Medieval Islamic Civilization". Vol. 1 Index A–K] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024001/https://books.google.com/books?id=MypbfKdMePIC&pg=PA304#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=28 December 2023 }}. 2006, p. 304.</ref><ref name="Brague 2009">{{cite book|title=The Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam|first=Rémi |last=Brague|year= 2009| isbn=9780226070803| page =164|publisher=University of Chicago Press|quote=Neither were there any Muslims among the Ninth-Century translators. Almost all of them were Christians of various Eastern denominations: Jacobites, Melchites, and, above all, Nestorians... A few others were Sabians.}}</ref><ref>[[George Saliba|Saliba, George]]. 1994. ''A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During the Golden Age of Islam''. New York: [[New York University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-8147-8023-7}}. pp. 245, 250, 256–57.</ref>
 
Soldiers broke away from the Abbasid empire and established their own dynasties, such as the [[Tulunid]]s in 868 in Egypt<ref>{{cite book|last=Holt|first=Peter Malcolm|author-link=Peter Holt (historian)|title=The Crusader States and Their Neighbours, 1098–1291|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0qLHVGgH7AC&pg=PA8|year=2004|publisher=Pearson Longman|isbn=978-0-582-36931-3|page=6|access-date=2 February 2023|archive-date=28 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024001/https://books.google.com/books?id=A0qLHVGgH7AC&pg=PA8|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Ghaznavid|Ghaznavid dynasty]] in 977 in Central Asia.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic Central Asia: an anthology of historical sources |editor-first1=Scott Cameron |editor-last1=Levi |editor-first2=Ron |editor-last2=Sela |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2010 |page=83}}</ref> In this fragmentation came the [[Shi'a Century]], roughly between 945 and 1055, which saw the rise of the [[millennialist]] [[Isma'ili]] Shi'a missionary movement. One Isma'ili group, the [[Fatimid dynasty]], took control of North Africa in the 10th century<ref>Neue Fischer Weltgeschichte "Islamisierung in Zentralasien bis zur Mongolenzeit" Band 10: Zentralasien, 2012, p. 191 (German)</ref> and another Isma'ili group, the [[Qarmatians]], sacked Mecca and stole the [[Black Stone]], a rock placed within the Kaaba, in their unsuccessful rebellion.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Glubb |first=John Bagot |title=Mecca (Saudi Arabia) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mecca#ref887188 |access-date=18 September 2021 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506004706/https://www.britannica.com/place/Mecca#ref887188 |url-status=live }}</ref> Yet another Isma'ili group, the [[Buyid dynasty]], conquered Baghdad and turned the Abbasids into a figurehead monarchy. The Sunni Seljuk dynasty campaigned to [[Sunni Revival|reassert Sunni Islam]] by promulgating the scholarly opinions of the time, notably with the construction of educational institutions known as [[Nezamiyeh]], which are associated with Al-Ghazali and [[Saadi Shirazi]].<ref>Andreas Graeser ''Zenon von Kition: Positionen u. Probleme'' [[Walter de Gruyter]] 1975 {{ISBN|978-3-11-004673-1}} p. 260</ref>
[[Islam]]ic [[eschatology]] is concerned with the ''[[Qiyamah]]'' ([[End of the world (religion)|end of the world]]) and the final judgement of humanity. Like [[Christianity]] and some sects of modern [[Judaism]], Islam teaches the bodily [[resurrection]] of the dead, the fulfillment of a divine plan for creation, and the immortality of the human soul; the righteous are rewarded with the pleasures of ''Jannah'' ([[Paradise]]), while the unrighteous are punished in ''Jahannam'' (a fiery [[Hell]], from the Hebrew ''ge-hinnom'' or "valley of Hinnom"; usually rendered in English as [[Gehenna]]). A significant fraction of the Qur'an deals with these beliefs, with many ''hadith'' elaborating on the themes and details.
 
The expansion of the Muslim world continued with religious missions converting [[Volga Bulgaria]] to Islam. The [[Delhi Sultanate]] reached deep into the [[Indian Subcontinent]] and many converted to Islam,{{sfnp|Arnold|1896|pp=227–228}} in particular [[Dalit|low-caste Hindu]]s whose descendants make up the vast majority of Indian Muslims.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36220329|title=Why are many Indian Muslims seen as untouchable?|publisher=BBCnews|date=10 May 2016|access-date=6 October 2022|archive-date=7 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007024220/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36220329|url-status=live}}</ref> Trade brought many [[Islam in China|Muslims to China]], where they virtually dominated the import and export industry of the [[Song dynasty]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Islam in China |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/china_1.shtml |access-date=10 August 2011 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=22 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122142756/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/china_1.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Muslims were recruited as a [[Semu|governing minority class]] in the [[Yuan dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lipman|first=Jonathan Newman|title=Familiar Strangers, a history of Muslims in Northwest China|___location=Seattle, WA|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-295-97644-0|page=33}}</ref>
===Other beliefs===
Other beliefs include the existence of [[Angels in Islam|Angels]], the [[Genie|Jinns]] (a species of beings not composed of solid matter, but 'fire') and the existence of [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] (the practice of which is strictly forbidden).
 
=== Pre-modern era (1258 – 18th century) ===
==Organization==
{{Further|Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam}}
[[File:GhazanConversionToIslam.JPG|thumb|right|[[Ghazan Khan]], 7{{sup|th}} [[Ilkhanate]] ruler of the [[Mongol Empire]], converts to Islam. 14th-century depiction]]
Through Muslim trade networks and the activity of Sufi orders,{{sfnp|Arnold|1896|pp=125–258}} Islam spread into new areas<ref>{{cite web |title=The Spread of Islam |url=http://www.yale.edu/yup/pdf/cim6.pdf |access-date=2 November 2013 |archive-date=3 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103220022/http://www.yale.edu/yup/pdf/cim6.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and Muslims assimilated into new cultures.
 
Under the [[Ottoman Empire]], Islam spread to [[Southeast Europe]].<ref>{{cite web |date=6 May 2008 |title=Ottoman Empire |publisher=Oxford Islamic Studies Online |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1801?_hi=41&_pos=3 |access-date=26 August 2010 |archive-date=10 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610093907/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1801?_hi=41 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Conversion to Islam often involved a degree of [[syncretism]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=Islamic and European Expansion |publisher=[[Temple University Press]] |year=1993 |editor-last=Adas |editor-first=Michael |___location=Philadelphia |page=25}}</ref> as illustrated by Muhammad's appearance in [[Hinduism|Hindu]] folklore.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Metcalf |first=Barbara |title=Islam in South Asia in Practice |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2009 |page=104}}</ref> Muslim Turks incorporated elements of [[Tengrism|Turkish Shamanism beliefs]] to Islam.{{efn|"In recent years, the idea of syncretism has been challenged. Given the lack of authority to define or enforce an Orthodox doctrine about Islam, some scholars argue there had no prescribed beliefs, only prescribed practise, in Islam before the 16th century.{{sfnp|Peacock|2019|p=20–22}}}}{{sfnp|Çakmak|2017|pp=1425–1429}} [[Islam during the Ming dynasty|Muslims in Ming Dynasty China]] who were descended from earlier immigrants were assimilated, sometimes through laws mandating assimilation,<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Farmer|editor1-first=Edward L.|title=Zhu Yuanzhang and Early Ming Legislation: The Reordering of Chinese Society Following the Era of Mongol Rule|date=1995|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9004103910|page=82|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TCIjZ7l6TX8C&pg=PA82|access-date=19 February 2023|archive-date=28 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024330/https://books.google.com/books?id=TCIjZ7l6TX8C&pg=PA82#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> by adopting Chinese names and [[Chinese culture|culture]] while [[Nanjing]] became an important centre of Islamic study.<ref>Israeli, Raphael (2002). ''Islam in China''. p. 292. [[Lexington Books]]. {{ISBN|0-7391-0375-X}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dillon |first=Michael |year=1999 |title=China's Muslim Hui Community |publisher=Curzon |url=https://archive.org/details/chinasmuslimhuic00dill |isbn=978-0-7007-1026-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/chinasmuslimhuic00dill/page/n62 37] |url-access=registration}}</ref>
=== Religious authority ===
There is no official authority who decides whether a person is accepted into, or dismissed from, the community of believers, known as the ''[[Ummah]]'' ("family" or "nation"). Islam is open to all, regardless of race, age, gender, or previous beliefs. It is enough to believe in the central beliefs of Islam. This is formally done by reciting the ''[[shahada]]'', the statement of belief of Islam, without which a person cannot be classed a Muslim. It is enough to believe and say that one is a Muslim, and behave in a manner befitting a Muslim to be accepted into the community of Islam.
 
Cultural shifts were evident with the decrease in Arab influence after the [[Mongol invasions and conquests|Mongol destruction]] of the Abbasid Caliphate.<ref>{{harvp|Bulliet|2005|p=497}}</ref> The Muslim Mongol Khanates in [[Ilkhanate|Iran]] and [[Chagatai Khanate|Central Asia]] benefited from increased cross-cultural access to East Asia under [[Pax Mongolica|Mongol rule]] and thus flourished and developed more distinctively from Arab influence, such as the [[Timurid Renaissance]] under the [[Timurid dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Subtelny |first=Maria Eva |date=November 1988 |title=Socioeconomic Bases of Cultural Patronage under the Later Timurids |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-middle-east-studies/article/socioeconomic-bases-of-cultural-patronage-under-the-later-timurids/2A0F3018EE155F23FC4A7F5F25D7DE6D |journal=[[International Journal of Middle East Studies]] |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=479–505 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800053861 |s2cid=162411014 |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-date=13 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813204329/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-middle-east-studies/article/socioeconomic-bases-of-cultural-patronage-under-the-later-timurids/2A0F3018EE155F23FC4A7F5F25D7DE6D |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]] (1201–1274) proposed the [[Tusi couple|mathematical model]] that was later argued to be adopted by [[Copernicus]] unrevised in his [[heliocentrism|heliocentric]] model,<ref>{{cite web|date=1999|title=Nasir al-Din al-Tusi|publisher=University of St Andrews|url=https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Al-Tusi_Nasir/|access-date=27 August 2023|archive-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006055638/http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Al-Tusi_Nasir.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Jamshīd al-Kāshī]]'s estimate of [[pi]] would not be surpassed for 180 years.<ref>{{cite web |date=1999 |title=Ghiyath al-Din Jamshid Mas'ud al-Kashi |publisher=University of St Andrews |url=https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Al-Kashi/ |access-date=29 December 2021 |archive-date=4 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104103227/https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Al-Kashi/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Islamic law ===
{{main|Sharia}}
 
After the introduction of gunpowder weapons, large and centralized Muslim states consolidated around [[gunpowder empires]], these had been previously splintered amongst various territories. The [[Ottoman Caliphate|caliphate]] was claimed by the [[Ottoman dynasty]] of the Ottoman Empire and its claims were strengthened in 1517 as [[Selim&nbsp;I]] became the [[Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques|ruler of Mecca and Medina]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Drews |first=Robert |url=https://my.vanderbilt.edu/robertdrews/publications/ |title=Coursebook: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, to the Beginnings of Modern Civilization |date=August 2011 |publisher=[[Vanderbilt University]] |chapter=Chapter Thirty – "The Ottoman Empire, Judaism, and Eastern Europe to 1648" |chapter-url=https://my.vanderbilt.edu/robertdrews/files/2014/01/Chapter-Thirty.-The-Ottoman-Empire-Judaism-and-Eastern-Europe-to-1648.pdf |access-date=21 April 2020 |archive-date=26 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226173808/https://my.vanderbilt.edu/robertdrews/publications/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Shia [[Safavid dynasty]] rose to power in 1501 and later conquered all of Iran.<ref>Peter B. Golden: An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples; In: Osman Karatay, Ankara 2002, p. 321</ref> In South Asia, [[Babur]] founded the [[Mughal Empire]].<ref>{{citation|last=Gilbert|first=Marc Jason|title=South Asia in World History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1dhKDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA75|year=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-066137-3|pages=75|access-date=15 January 2023|archive-date=22 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922031915/https://books.google.com/books?id=1dhKDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA75|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Sharia is Islamic Law, preserved through Islamic scholarship. The [[Qur'an]] is the foremost source of [[fiqh|Islamic jurisprudence]]; the second is the [[Sunnah]] (the practices of the Prophet, as narrated in reports of his life). The Sunnah is not itself a text like the Qur'an, but is extracted by analysis of the [[Hadith]] (Arabic for "report") texts, which contain narrations of the Prophet's sayings, deeds, and actions of his companions he approved.
 
The religion of the centralized states of the gunpowder empires influenced the religious practice of their constituent populations. A [[symbiosis]] between [[list of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman rulers]] and Sufism strongly influenced Islamic reign by the Ottomans from the beginning. The [[Mevlevi Order]] and the [[Bektashis]] had a close relation to the sultans,<ref>Ga ́bor A ́goston, Bruce Alan Masters ''Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire'' [[Infobase Publishing]] 2010 {{ISBN|978-1-4381-1025-7}} p. 540</ref> as Sufi-mystical as well as [[heterodox]] and [[syncretic]] approaches to Islam flourished.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Algar |first=Ayla Esen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fc69BhBDjhwC&q=ottomans+sufism |title=The Dervish Lodge: Architecture, Art, and Sufism in Ottoman Turkey |page=15 |date=1 January 1992 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-07060-8 |access-date=29 April 2020 |via=Google Books |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024414/https://books.google.com/books?id=fc69BhBDjhwC&q=ottomans+sufism#v=snippet&q=ottomans%20sufism&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The often forceful [[Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|Safavid conversion of Iran]] to the Twelver Shia Islam of the Safavid Empire ensured the final dominance of the [[Twelver|Twelver sect]] within Shia Islam. Persian migrants to South Asia, as influential bureaucrats and landholders, helped spread Shia Islam, forming some of the largest Shia populations outside Iran.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/conversion-iii|title=CONVERSION To Imami Shiʿism in India|publisher=Iranica Online|language=English|access-date=6 October 2022|archive-date=7 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007024220/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/conversion-iii|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Nader Shah]], who overthrew the Safavids, attempted to improve relations with Sunnis by propagating the integration of Twelverism into Sunni Islam as a fifth ''madhhab'', called Ja'farism,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Nadir Shah and the Ja 'fari Madhhab Reconsidered |first=Ernest |last=Tucker |journal=Iranian Studies |volume=27 |issue=1–4 |date=1994 |pages=163–179 |doi=10.1080/00210869408701825 |jstor=4310891}}</ref> which failed to gain recognition from the Ottomans.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Nāder Shāh |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nader-shah |date=29 March 2006 |first=Ernest |last=Tucker |access-date=9 March 2021 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225103212/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nader-shah%20 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Islamic law covers all aspects of life, from the broad topics of governance and foreign relations all the way down to issues of daily living. Islamic law at the level of governance and social justice only applies where the government is Islamic.
 
=== Modern era (18th–20th centuries) ===
According to Islam, the Sharia is divinely revealed. It is understood as protecting five things: faith, life, knowledge, lineage, and wealth. However, it is by no means a rigid system of laws. There are different schools of thoughts and movements within Islam that allow for flexibility. Moreover, Islam is a diverse religion as many cultures have embraced it.
[[File:Portrait Caliph Abdulmecid II.jpg|thumb|right|[[Abdülmecid II]], the last Caliph from the [[Ottoman dynasty]].]]
 
Earlier in the 14th century, [[Ibn Taymiyya]] promoted a [[puritan]]ical form of Islam,<ref name="ReferenceA">Mary Hawkesworth, Maurice Kogan ''Encyclopedia of Government and Politics: 2-volume set'' [[Routledge]] 2013 {{ISBN|978-1-136-91332-7}} pp. 270–271</ref> rejecting philosophical approaches in favour of simpler theology,<ref name="ReferenceA" /> and called to open the gates of [[itjihad]] rather than blind imitation of scholars.{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=150}} He called for a jihad against those he deemed heretics,<ref>Richard Gauvain ''Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God'' [[Routledge]] 2013 {{ISBN|978-0-7103-1356-0}} p. 6</ref> but his writings only played a marginal role during his lifetime.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spevack |first=Aaron |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htx8BAAAQBAJ |title=The Archetypal Sunni Scholar: Law, Theology, and Mysticism in the Synthesis of al-Bajuri |date=2014 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |isbn=978-1-4384-5371-2 |pages=129–130 |access-date=10 December 2018 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024415/https://books.google.com/books?id=htx8BAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> During the 18th century in Arabia, [[Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab|Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab]], influenced by the works of Ibn Taymiyya and [[Ibn al-Qayyim]], founded a movement called [[Wahhabi]] to return to what he saw as unadultered Islam.<ref>Donald Quataert ''The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922'' [[Cambridge University Press]] 2005 {{ISBN|978-0-521-83910-5}} p. 50</ref><ref name="ReferenceE">Ga ́bor A ́goston, Bruce Alan Masters ''Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire'' [[Infobase Publishing]] 2010 {{ISBN|978-1-4381-1025-7}} p. 260</ref> He condemned many local Islamic customs, such as visiting the grave of Muhammad or saints, as later [[bidah|innovations]] and sinful<ref name="ReferenceE" /><ref name="Musa-2022">{{Cite thesis |title=The Emergence of a Scholar from a Garrison Society: A contextual analysis of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhāb's doctrine in the light of the Qur'ān and Hadīth |url=https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/2096/ |publisher=University of Wales Trinity Saint David |date=2022-08-23 |degree=masters |language=en |first=Shahajada Md |last=Musa |access-date=19 December 2023 |archive-date=2 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502100026/https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/2096/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and destroyed sacred rocks and trees, Sufi shrines, the [[Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia|tombs of Muhammad and his companions]] and the tomb of Husayn at Karbala, a major Shia pilgrimage site.<ref name="Musa-2022" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 September 2013 |title=Graves desecrated in Mizdah |work=[[Libya Herald]] |url=http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/09/04/graves-desecrated-in-mizdah/#axzz2jWG0vDDO |access-date=2 November 2013 |archive-date=3 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103172759/http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/09/04/graves-desecrated-in-mizdah/#axzz2jWG0vDDO |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=146}} He formed an alliance with the [[House of Saud|Saud family]], which, by the 1920s, completed their conquest of the area that would become [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="Musa-2022" /><ref>Nicolas Laos ''The Metaphysics of World Order: A Synthesis of Philosophy, Theology, and Politics'' [[Wipf and Stock]] Publishers 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-4982-0102-5}} p. 177</ref> [[Ma Wanfu]] and Ma Debao promoted salafist movements in the 19th century such as [[Sailaifengye]] in China after returning from Mecca but were eventually persecuted and forced into hiding by Sufi groups.<ref>{{cite book|first=Barry M.|last=Rubin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wEih57-GWQQC&pg=PA79|page=79|title=Guide to Islamist Movements|year=2000|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=0-7656-1747-1|access-date=28 June 2010|archive-date=28 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024259/https://books.google.com/books?id=wEih57-GWQQC&pg=PA79#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Other groups sought to reform Sufism rather than reject it, with the [[Senusiyya]] and [[Muhammad Ahmad]] both waging war and establishing states in Libya and Sudan respectively.{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=147}}{{Page needed|date=June 2025}} In India, [[Shah Waliullah Dehlawi]] attempted a more conciliatory style against Sufism and influenced the [[Deobandi]] movement.{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=149}} In response to the Deobandi movement, the [[Barelwi]] movement was founded as a mass movement, defending popular [[Sufism]] and reforming its practices.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robert L. Canfield |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g3JhKNSk8tQC&pg=PAPA131 |title=Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective |date=2002 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-52291-5 |pages=131– |access-date=1 December 2018 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024259/https://books.google.com/books?id=g3JhKNSk8tQC&pg=PAPA131#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sanyal |first=Usha |date=23 July 1998 |title=Generational Changes in the Leadership of the Ahl-e Sunnat Movement in North India during the twentieth Century |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/generational-changes-in-the-leadership-of-the-ahle-sunnat-movement-in-north-india-during-the-twentieth-century/8AAAC4CFEFC4F4084731C3964A5CAE84 |journal=[[Modern Asian Studies]] |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=635–656 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X98003059 |via=Cambridge Core |access-date=23 February 2020 |archive-date=17 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317013822/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/generational-changes-in-the-leadership-of-the-ahle-sunnat-movement-in-north-india-during-the-twentieth-century/8AAAC4CFEFC4F4084731C3964A5CAE84 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
=== Apostasy and blasphemy ===
{{main|Apostasy in Islam}}
 
The [[Muslim world]] was generally in political decline starting the 1800s, especially compared to non-Muslim European powers. Earlier, in the 15th century, the [[Reconquista]] succeeded in ending the [[Taifa|Muslim presence in Iberia]]. By the 19th century, the British [[Company rule in India|East India Company]] had formally annexed the [[Mughal dynasty]] in India.{{sfnp|Lapidus|2002|pp=358, 378–380, 624}} As a response to [[Imperialism|Western Imperialism]], many intellectuals sought to [[Islamic revival|reform Islam]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Buzpinar |first=Ş. Tufan |date=March 2007 |title=Celal Nuri's Concepts of Westernization and Religion |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=247–258 |doi=10.1080/00263200601114091 |jstor=4284539|s2cid=144461915 }}</ref> [[Islamic modernism]], initially labelled by Western scholars as [[Salafi movement|''Salafiyya'']], embraced modern values and institutions such as [[Islam and democracy|democracy while being scripture oriented]]. Notable forerunners in the movement include [[Muhammad Abduh|Muhammad 'Abduh]] and [[Jamal al-Din al-Afghani]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lauziere|first=Henri|title=The Making of Salafism: Islamic Reform in the Twentieth Century|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0-231-17550-0|___location=New York, Chichester, West Sussex|pages=231–232|quote="Beginning with Louis Massignon in 1919, it is true that Westerners played a leading role in labeling Islamic modernists as Salafis, even though the term was a misnomer. At the time, European and American scholars felt the need for a useful conceptual box to place Muslim figures such as Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, and their epigones, all of whom seemed inclined toward a scripturalist understanding of Islam but proved open to rationalism and Western modernity. They chose to adopt salafiyya—a technical term of theology, which they mistook for a reformist slogan and wrongly associated with all kinds of modernist Muslim intellectuals."}}</ref> [[Abul A'la Maududi]] helped influence modern [[political Islam]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 January 2014 |title=Political Islam: A movement in motion |work=[[Economist Magazine]] |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2014/01/political-islam |access-date=1 January 2014 |archive-date=4 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104032602/http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2014/01/political-islam |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Wilfred Cantwell |title=Islam in Modern History |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1957 |isbn=0-691-03030-8 |page=233 |author-link=Wilfred Cantwell Smith}}</ref> Similar to contemporary [[Civil code|codification]], sharia was for the first time partially codified into law in 1869 in the Ottoman Empire's [[Mecelle]] code.<ref name=Oxfordref>{{cite web |editor-link=John Esposito |editor-last=Esposito |editor-first=John L. |title=Mecelle |work=[[The Oxford Dictionary of Islam]] |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100146176 |url-access=subscription |via=Oxford Islamic Studies Online |access-date=17 August 2023 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817003534/https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100146176 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Islamic communities, as well as [[Christianity|Christian]] and [[Judaism|Jewish]] ones, often exclude [[apostasy|apostates]] and [[blasphemy|blasphemers]] from the community of believers.
 
The [[Fall of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire dissolved]] after [[World War&nbsp;I]], the [[Ottoman Caliphate]] [[Abolition of the Caliphate|was abolished in 1924]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 June – 5 July 2000 |title=New Turkey |work=[[Al-Ahram Weekly]] |issue=488 |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2000/488/chrncls.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=16 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004145229/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2000/488/chrncls.htm |archive-date=4 October 2010}}</ref> and the subsequent [[Sharifian Caliphate]] fell quickly,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=الوطن |first1=جريدة |last2=webmaster |date=2020-05-05 |title="مملكة الحجاز".. وقــصـــة الـغــزو المـســلّـــح |url=https://www.al-watan.com/article/230610/NEWS/%C2%AB%D9%85%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2%C2%BB-%D9%88%D9%82%D9%80%D9%80%D8%B5%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%80%D8%BA%D9%80%D9%80%D8%B2%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%80%D8%B3%D9%80%D9%80%D9%84%D9%91%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%AD |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=جريدة الوطن |language=ar |archive-date=16 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516230552/https://www.al-watan.com/article/230610/NEWS/%C2%AB%D9%85%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2%C2%BB-%D9%88%D9%82%D9%80%D9%80%D8%B5%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%80%D8%BA%D9%80%D9%80%D8%B2%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%80%D8%B3%D9%80%D9%80%D9%84%D9%91%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%AD |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bani Issa |first=Mohammad Saleh |date=2023-11-01 |title=Factors of stability and sustainable development in Jordan in its first centenary 1921–2021 (an analytical descriptive study) |journal=Heliyon |volume=9 |issue=11 |article-number=e20993 |doi=10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20993 |issn=2405-8440 |doi-access=free|pmid=37928029 |pmc=10623165 |bibcode=2023Heliy...920993B }}</ref><ref name="والخلفاء-2023">{{Cite book |last=والخلفاء |first=قصص الخلافة الإسلامية |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_r-5EAAAQBAJ |title=قصص الخلافة الإسلامية والخلفاء |date=2023-03-31 |publisher=Austin Macauley Publishers |isbn=978-1-3984-9251-6 |language=en |access-date=26 December 2023 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024259/https://books.google.com/books?id=_r-5EAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> thus leaving Islam without a [[Caliphate|Caliph]].<ref name="والخلفاء-2023" /> [[Pan-Islam]]ists attempted to unify Muslims and competed with growing nationalist forces, such as [[pan-Arabism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Doran |first=Michael |title=Pan-Arabism before Nasser: Egyptian power politics and the Palestine question |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford university press |isbn=978-0-19-512361-6 |series=Studies in Middle Eastern history |___location=New York Oxford}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Landau |first=Yaʿaqov M. |title=The politics of Pan-Islam: ideology and organization |date=1994 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-827709-5 |edition=[Rev. and updated] paperback (with additions and corr.) |___location=Oxford}}</ref> The [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] (OIC), consisting of [[Islam by country|Muslim-majority countries]], was established in 1969 after the burning of the [[Qibli Mosque|Al-Aqsa Mosque]] in [[Jerusalem]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 December 2010 |title=Organization of the Islamic Conference |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/1555062.stm |access-date=24 September 2013 |archive-date=28 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628190335/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/1555062.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
In [[orthodox]] Islamic [[theology]], conversion from Islam to another religion is forbidden and punishable by death. [[Apostasy]] is public disloyalty towards Islam by any one who had previously professed the Islamic faith. [[Blasphemy]] is showing disrespect or speaking ill of any of the essential principles of Islam. There is no sharp distinction made between these concepts, as many believers feel that there can be no blasphemy without apostasy.
 
Contact with industrialized nations brought Muslim populations to new areas through economic migration. Many Muslims migrated as indentured servants (mostly from India and Indonesia) to the Caribbean, forming the largest Muslim populations by percentage in the Americas.{{sfnp|Haddad|Smith|2002|p=271}} Migration from Syria and Lebanon contributed to the [[Islam in Latin America|Muslim population in Latin America]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zabel|first=Darcy|title=Arabs in the Americas: Interdisciplinary Essays on the Arab Diaspora|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2006|isbn=9780820481111|___location=Austria|page=5}}</ref> The resulting urbanization and increase in trade in sub-Saharan Africa brought Muslims to settle in new areas and spread their faith,<ref name="Pew Research Center-2011">{{Cite report |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/ |title=The Future of the Global Muslim Population |date=27 January 2011 |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]] |access-date=27 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209094904/http://www.pewforum.org/The-Future-of-the-Global-Muslim-Population.aspx |archive-date=9 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> likely doubling its Muslim population between 1869 and 1914.<ref>{{harvp|Bulliet|2005|p=722}}</ref>
In the period of Islamic empire, apostasy was considered treason, and was accordingly treated as a capital offense; death penalties were carried out under the authority of the [[Caliph]]. Today apostasy is punishable by death in the countries of [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Qatar]], [[Yemen]], [[Iran]], [[Sudan]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Mauritania]]. Blasphemy is also an offence in many of these countries.
 
=== Contemporary era (20th century–present) ===
In most of these countries, such laws are invoked only sporadically and selectively; convictions tend to be reversed at a higher level, or if not reversed, those convicted may be allowed to leave the country. However, some countries, notably Iran under the [[Islamic Republic]], [[Afghanistan]] under the [[Taliban]], and Sudan, have been less reluctant to enforce the laws on the books. In each of these countries [[Islamist]] regimes are estimated to have executed, flogged, and imprisoned hundreds or thousands of people believed to be apostates or blasphemers.
[[File:13. Session of the Islamic Summit Conference.jpg|thumb|right|Leaders of Muslim countries during session of the [[Islamic Summit Conference]] in Istanbul, Turkey|upright=1.35]]
Forerunners of Islamic modernism influenced Islamist political movements such as the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] and related parties in the Arab world,<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 August 2011 |title=Are secular forces being squeezed out of Arab Spring? |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14447820 |access-date=10 August 2011 |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104171024/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14447820 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Slackman |first=Michael |date=23 December 2008 |title=Jordanian students rebel, embracing conservative Islam |work=[[New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/world/middleeast/24jordan.html |access-date=15 August 2011 |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104153440/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/world/middleeast/24jordan.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which performed well in elections following the [[Arab Spring]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kirkpatrick |first=David D. |date=3 December 2011 |title=Egypt's vote puts emphasis on split over religious rule |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/world/middleeast/egypts-vote-propels-islamic-law-into-spotlight.html |access-date=8 December 2011 |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104153442/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/world/middleeast/egypts-vote-propels-islamic-law-into-spotlight.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Jamaat-e-Islami]] in South Asia and the [[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|AK Party]], which has democratically been in power in Turkey for decades. In [[Iran]], [[Iranian Revolution|revolution]] replaced a [[secularism|secular]] monarchy with an [[Islamic state]]. Others such as [[Rashid Rida|Sayyid Rashid Rida]] broke away from Islamic modernists<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lauziere|first=Henri|title=The Making of Salafism: Islamic Reform in the Twentieth Century|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0-231-17550-0|___location=New York, Chichester, West Sussex|page=237|quote="Prior to the fall of the Ottoman Empire, leading reformers who happened to be Salafi in creed were surprisingly open-minded: although they adhered to neo-Hanbali theology. However, the aftermath of the First World War and the expansion of European colonialism paved the way for a series of shifts in thought and attitude. The experiences of Rida offer many examples... he turned against the Shi'is who dared, with reason, to express doubts about the Saudi-Wahhabi project... . Shi'is were not the only victims: Rida and his associates showed their readiness to turn against fellow Salafis who questioned some of the Wahhabis' religious interpretations."}}</ref> and pushed against embracing what he saw as Western influence.<ref>{{Cite book|last=G. Rabil|first=Robert|title=Salafism in Lebanon: From Apoliticism to Transnational Jihadism|publisher=Georgetown University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1-62616-116-0|___location=Washington DC, US|pages=32–33|quote="Western colonialists established in these countries political orders... that, even though not professing enmity to Islam and its institutions, left no role for Islam in society. This caused a crisis among Muslim reformists, who felt betrayed not only by the West but also by those nationalists, many of whom were brought to power by the West... Nothing reflects this crisis more than the ideological transformation of Rashid Rida (1865–1935)... He also revived the works of Ibn Taymiyah by publishing his writings and promoting his ideas. Subsequently, taking note of the cataclysmic events brought about by Western policies in the Muslim world and shocked by the abolition of the caliphate, he transformed into a Muslim intellectual mostly concerned about protecting Muslim culture, identity, and politics from Western influence. He supported a theory that essentially emphasized the necessity of an Islamic state in which the scholars of Islam would have a leading role... Rida was a forerunner of Islamist thought. He apparently intended to provide a theoretical platform for a modern Islamic state. His ideas were later incorporated into the works of Islamic scholars. Significantly, his ideas influenced none other than Hassan al-Bannah, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt... The Muslim Brethren have taken up Rida's Islamic fundamentalism, a right-wing radical movement founded in 1928,.."}}</ref> The group [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] would even attempt to recreate the modern gold dinar as their monetary system. While some of those who broke away were [[political quietism in Islam|quietist]], others believed in violence against those opposing them, even against other Muslims.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/14/isis-gold-silver-copper-islamic-dinar-coins |title=Isis to mint own Islamic dinar coins in gold, silver and copper |work=The Guardian |date=21 November 2014 |access-date=31 July 2022 |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104153442/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/14/isis-gold-silver-copper-islamic-dinar-coins |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
In opposition to Islamic political movements, in 20th century Turkey, the military carried out [[1997 Turkish military memorandum|coups]] to oust Islamist governments, and headscarves were legally restricted, as also happened in Tunisia.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 April 2011 |title=Huge rally for Turkish secularism |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6604643.stm |access-date=6 December 2011 |archive-date=29 May 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529003102/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6604643.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Saleh |first=Heba |date=15 October 2011 |title=Tunisia moves against headscarves |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6053380.stm |access-date=6 December 2011 |archive-date=29 May 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529003101/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6053380.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In other places, religious authority was co-opted and is now often seen as puppets of the state. For example, in Saudi Arabia, the state monopolized religious scholarship<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 June 2007 |title=Laying down the law: Islam's authority deficit |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |url=https://www.economist.com/international/2007/06/28/islams-authority-deficit |access-date=15 August 2011 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306094736/http://www.economist.com/node/9409354?story_id=9409354 |url-status=live }}</ref> and, in Egypt, the state nationalized [[Al-Azhar University]], previously an independent voice checking state power.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought| last1 = Bowering | first1 = Gerhard | last2=Mirza |first2=Mahan |last3=Crone |first3=Patricia| year = 2013 | publisher = Princeton University Press | page=59| isbn = 9780691134840
Other punishments prescribed by [[sharia]] (depending on interpretation) may include the annulment of marriage with a Muslim spouse, the removal of children, the loss of property and inheritance rights, or other sanctions.
}}</ref> Salafism was funded in the Middle East for its quietism.<ref>{{cite web |date=18 October 2008 |title=Ultraconservative Islam on rise in Mideast |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27256187 |access-date=24 September 2013 |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |archive-date=4 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104032423/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/27256187/page/2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Saudi Arabia campaigned against revolutionary Islamist movements in the Middle East, in opposition to Iran.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Almukhtar |first1=Sarah |last2=Peçanha |first2=Sergio |last3=Wallace |first3=Tim |date=5 January 2016 |title=Behind Stark Political Divisions, a More Complex Map of Sunnis and Shiites |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/04/world/middleeast/sunni-shiite-map-middle-east-iran-saudi-arabia.html |access-date=6 January 2016 |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104153442/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/04/world/middleeast/sunni-shiite-map-middle-east-iran-saudi-arabia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
Muslim minorities of various ethnicities have been persecuted as a religious group.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thames |first1=Knox |title=Why the Persecution of Muslims Should Be on Biden's Agenda |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/06/muslims-islam-china-india-myanmar-persecution-repression-biden-human-rights/ |work=[[Foreign Policy Magazine]] |date=6 January 2021 |language=English |access-date=5 February 2022 |archive-date=11 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211114303/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/06/muslims-islam-china-india-myanmar-persecution-repression-biden-human-rights/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This has been undertaken by communist forces like the [[Khmer Rouge]], who viewed them as their primary enemy to be exterminated since their religious practice made them stand out from the rest of the population,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Perrin |first=Andrew |date=10 October 2003 |title=Weakness in numbers |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,428133,00.html |access-date=24 September 2013 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=24 September 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130924035829/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,428133,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Chinese Communist Party]] in [[Xinjiang internment camps|Xinjiang]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beydoun |first1=Khaled A. |title=For China, Islam is a 'mental illness' that needs to be 'cured' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/china-islam-mental-illness-cured-181127135358356.html |publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]] |language=English |access-date=5 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210012542/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/china-islam-mental-illness-cured-181127135358356.html |archive-date=10 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> and by nationalist forces such as during the [[Bosnian genocide]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mojzes |first=Paul |title=Balkan Genocides: Holocaust and Ethnic Cleansing in the Twentieth Century |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4422-0663-2|page=178}}</ref> Myanmar military's [[Tatmadaw]] targeting of [[Rohingya people|Rohingya Muslims]] has been labeled as a crime against humanity by the UN and Amnesty International,<ref>{{cite news |author=Oliver Holmes |date=19 December 2016 |title=Myanmar's Rohingya campaign 'may be crime against humanity' |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/19/myanmars-rohingya-campaign-may-be-against-humanity |url-status=live |access-date=5 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106013700/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/19/myanmars-rohingya-campaign-may-be-against-humanity |archive-date=6 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=19 December 2016|title=Rohingya abuse may be crimes against humanity: Amnesty|website=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/19/rohingya-abuse-may-be-crimes-against-humanity-amnesty/|access-date=2023-02-21|archive-date=22 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922232529/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/19/rohingya-abuse-may-be-crimes-against-humanity-amnesty/|url-status=live}}</ref> while the [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|OHCHR]] Fact-Finding Mission identified [[Rohingya genocide|genocide]], ethnic cleansing, and other crimes against humanity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/MyanmarFFM/Pages/ReportoftheMyanmarFFM.aspx|title=Report of Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar |date=27 August 2018|website=ohchr.org|access-date=14 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019232309/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/MyanmarFFM/Pages/ReportoftheMyanmarFFM.aspx|archive-date=19 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
Here as elsewhere in Islam, scholars disagree on specific applications of core principles, with some prominently advocating a punitive approach to "exclusionary" issues and others tending to de-emphasize such questions.
 
The advancement of global communication has facilitated the widespread dissemination of religious knowledge. The adoption of the [[hijab]] has grown more common<ref>{{Cite news |last=Slackman |first=Michael |date=28 January 2007 |title=In Egypt, a new battle begins over the veil |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/weekinreview/28slackman.html |access-date=15 August 2011 |archive-date=3 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503150409/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/weekinreview/28slackman.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and some Muslim intellectuals are increasingly striving to separate scriptural Islamic beliefs from cultural traditions.{{sfnp|Nigosian|2004|p=41}} Among other groups, this access to information has led to the rise of popular "[[televangelist]]" preachers, such as [[Amr Khaled]], who compete with the traditional [[ulema]] in their reach and have decentralized religious authority.<ref>{{Cite news|last=|first=|title=Islamic televangelist; holy smoke|agency=[[The Economist]]|url=https://www.economist.com/international/2011/10/29/holy-smoke|access-date=5 February 2022|archive-date=4 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904164441/http://www.economist.com/node/21534763|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=263}} More "individualized" interpretations of Islam<ref>V. Šisler: ''The Internet and the Construction of Islamic Knowledge in Europe'' p. 212</ref> notably involve [[Liberal Muslims]] who attempt to align religious traditions with contemporary secular governance,{{sfnp|Esposito|2004|pp=118–119, 179}}{{sfnp|Rippin|2001|p=288}} an approach that has been criticized by some regarding its compatibility.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Adams, Charles J.|editor1-last=Esposito|editor1-first=John L.|title=Voices of Resurgent Islam|url=https://archive.org/details/voicesofresurgen00hcen|url-access=registration|date=1983|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/voicesofresurgen00hcen/page/113 113–4] |chapter=Maududi and the Islamic State|quote=[Maududi believed that] when religion is relegated to the personal realm, men inevitably give way to their bestial impulses and perpetrate evil upon one another. In fact it is precisely because they wish to escape the restraints of morality and the divine guidance that men espouse secularism.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Meisami|first=Sayeh|date=2013|title='Abdolkarim Soroush |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0034.xml|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-12 |website=Oxford Bibliographies|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105164410/http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0034.xml |archive-date=2013-11-05 }}</ref> Moreover, secularism is perceived as a foreign ideology imposed by invaders and perpetuated by post-colonial [[Ruling class|ruling elites]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Secularism, State Neutrality, and Islam|author=Abdullah Saeed|encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of Secularism|editor1=Phil Zuckerman|editor2=John R. Shook |url=http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/abstract/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199988457.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199988457-e-12|year=2017|page=188 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199988457.013.12|isbn=978-0-19-998845-7|access-date=7 August 2023|archive-date=3 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903020955/https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/abstract/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199988457.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199988457-e-12|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref> and is frequently understood to be equivalent to [[Antireligion|anti-religion]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Nader Hashemi|title=Secularism|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|editor=John L. Esposito|publisher=Oxford University Press|___location=Oxford|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-530513-5 |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-0714|access-date=7 August 2023|archive-date=6 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206153300/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-0714|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref>
=== Islamic calendar ===
 
== Demographics ==
{{Mainarticle|Islamic calendar}}
 
{{Main|Muslim world|Ummah}}
Islam dates from the Hijra, or migration from Mecca to Medina. This is year 1, AH (Anno Hegira) -- which corresponds to 622 AD or 622 CE, depending on the notation preferred (see [[Common era]]).
{{See also|Islam by country|Muslim population growth}}
It is a [[lunar calendar]], but differs from other such calendars (e.g. the [[Celtic calendar]]) in that it omits [[intercalary month]]s, being synchronized only with [[lunation]]s, but not with the [[solar year]], resulting in years of either 354 or 355 days. This omission was introduced by Muhammad because the right to announce intercalary months had led to political power struggles. Therefore Islamic dates cannot be converted to the usual CE/AD dates simply by adding 622 years. Islamic holy days fall on fixed dates of the lunar calendar, which means that they occur in different seasons in different years.
[[File:Islam percent population in each nation World Map Muslim data by Pew Research.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|World percentage of Muslims by country (2010)<ref name="pew2015" />{{rp|234–245}}]]
As of 2020, about 25.6% of the global population, or about 2&nbsp;billion people, are Muslims.<ref name="pew2010–2020" /><ref name="pewresearch.orgReligion">{{Cite web |title=Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/interactives/religious-composition-by-country-2010-2050/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |date=21 December 2022 |archive-date=28 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128120036/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/interactives/religious-composition-by-country-2010-2050/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="www.pewresearch.org-2022">{{Cite web |date=21 December 2022 |title=Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project - Research and data from Pew Research Center |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/religion/religious-demographics/pew-templeton-global-religious-futures-project/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205195540/https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/religion/religious-demographics/pew-templeton-global-religious-futures-project/ |archive-date=5 February 2023 |access-date=27 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/|title=The Future of the Global Muslim Population|date=27 January 2011|access-date=26 October 2022|archive-date=30 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930233955/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/09/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/ | title=Muslims and Islam: Key findings in the U.S. and around the world | date=9 August 2017 | access-date=19 December 2022 | archive-date=8 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108121140/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/09/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Lipka, Michael, and Conrad Hackett. [2015] 6 April 2017. "[https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/06/why-muslims-are-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religious-group/ Why Muslims are the world's fastest-growing religious group] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514123559/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/06/why-muslims-are-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religious-group/ |date=14 May 2019 }}" (data analysis). ''Fact Tank''. [[Pew Research Center]].</ref> In 1900, this estimate was 12.3%,<ref>David B. Barrett, George T. Kurian, and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of churches and religions in the modern world, Vol. 1: The world by countries: religionists, churches, ministries 2d ed. (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2001), 4.</ref> in 1990 it was 19.9%<ref name="Pew Research Center-2011" /> and projections suggest the proportion will be 29.7% by 2050.<ref name=pew2015 />{{rp|8}} A Pew study from 2020 found that the global Muslim population was the fastest-growing religious group over the decade, mainly because Muslims tend to be younger on average and have higher birth rates—two key factors driving natural population growth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fahmy |first=Conrad Hackett, Marcin Stonawski, Yunping Tong, Stephanie Kramer, Anne Shi and Dalia |date=2025-06-09 |title=How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/PR_2025.06.09_global-religious-change_report.pdf|access-date=2025-06-10 |website=Pew Research Center |page=9|quote=Increases in the global Muslim population are largely due to Muslims having a relatively young age structure and high fertility rate, two characteristics that result in natural population growth.}}</ref>{{rp|9}}
 
Pew Research estimates that 87–90% of Muslims are Sunni and 10–13% are Shia.{{sfnp|Pew Forum for Religion & Public Life|2009|p=1|ps=. "Of the total Muslim population, 10–13% are Shia Muslims and 87–90% are Sunni Muslims."}} Approximately 49 countries are [[List of Muslim majority countries|Muslim-majority]],{{sfnp|Pew Forum for Religion & Public Life|2009|p=11}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ba-Yunus |first1=Ilyas |title=Muslims in the United States |last2=Kone, Kassim |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing]] Group |year=2006 |page=[https://archive.org/details/muslimsunitedsta00bayu/page/n186 172] |url=https://archive.org/details/muslimsunitedsta00bayu |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-313-32825-1}}</ref><ref>[[Pew Forum|The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life]]. December 2012. "[https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2014/01/global-religion-full.pdf The Global Religious Landscape: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Major Religious Groups as of 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323215026/http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2014/01/global-religion-full.pdf |date=23 March 2018 }}." DC: Pew Research Center. [https://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/ Article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926222120/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/ |date=26 September 2018 }}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=7 March 2018 |title=Islam in Russia |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/3/7/islam-in-russia/ |access-date=15 June 2021 |website=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]] |publisher=[[Anadolu Agency|Anadolu News Agency]] |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024349/https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/features/2018/3/7/islam-in-russia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Book review: Russia's Muslim Heartlands reveals diverse population |date=21 April 2018 |url=https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/book-review-russia-s-muslim-heartlands-reveals-diverse-population-1.723230 |work=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]] |access-date=13 January 2019 |archive-date=14 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114210257/https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/book-review-russia-s-muslim-heartlands-reveals-diverse-population-1.723230 |url-status=live }}</ref> with 62% of the world's Muslims living in Asia, and 683 million adherents in [[Islam in Indonesia|Indonesia]],<ref>Pew Forum for Religion and Public Life. April 2015. "[https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/muslims/pf_15-04-02_projectionstables74/ 10 Countries With the Largest Muslim Populations, 2010 and 2050] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207115222/http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/muslims/pf_15-04-02_projectionstables74/ |date=7 February 2017 }}" (projections table). [[Pew Research Center]].</ref> [[Islam in Pakistan|Pakistan]], [[Islam in India|India]], and [[Islam in Bangladesh|Bangladesh]] alone.<ref>{{cite web |title=Secrets of Islam |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/graphics/religion/islams_global_reach.htm |access-date=24 September 2013 |website=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |archive-date=22 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122200555/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/graphics/religion/islams_global_reach.htm |url-status=live }} Information provided by the International Population Center, Department of Geography, [[San Diego State University]] (2005).</ref>{{sfnp|Pew Forum for Religion & Public Life|2009|pp=15, 17}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Pechilis |first1=Karen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kaubzRxh-U0C |title=South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today |last2=Raj |first2=Selva J. |date=2013 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-44851-2 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kaubzRxh-U0C&pg=PA193 193] |access-date=3 May 2019 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024331/https://books.google.com/books?id=kaubzRxh-U0C |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Arab Muslims]] form the [[List of contemporary ethnic groups|largest ethnic group among Muslims]] in the world,<ref>Margaret Kleffner Nydell [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNoiieefqAcC Understanding Arabs: A Guide For Modern Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024737/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNoiieefqAcC |date=28 December 2023 }}, Intercultural Press, 2005, {{ISBN|1931930252}}, page xxiii, 14</ref> followed by [[Bengali Muslims|Bengalis]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Eaton|editor=Barbara D. Metcalf|title=Islam in South Asia in Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pR0LzVCpfw8C|date=8 September 2009|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-3138-8|page=275|chapter=Forest Clearing and the Growth of Islam in Bengal}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haGORCJRlOUC&pg=PA50 |title=The Bangladesh Reader: History, Culture, Politics |author1=Meghna Guhathakurta |author2=Willem van Schendel |page=50 |date=30 April 2013 |publisher=Duke University Press |access-date=7 November 2016 |isbn=978-0822353188 |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707092408/https://books.google.com/books?id=haGORCJRlOUC&pg=PA50 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Punjabi Muslims|Punjabis]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Rajmohan|title=Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten|year=2013|page=1|publisher=Aleph Book Company|___location=New Delhi, India, Urbana, [[Illinois]]|isbn=978-93-83064-41-0}}.</ref> Most estimates indicate [[Islam in China|China]] has approximately 20 to 30 million Muslims (1.5% to 2% of the population).<ref>{{cite web |work=[[The World Factbook]] |title=Explore All Countries – China |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/ |access-date=15 September 2009 |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |archive-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213122152/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=China (includes Hong Kong, Macau, and Tibet) |website=Archived Content |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71338.htm |access-date=24 September 2013 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |archive-date=10 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710075050/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71338.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Islam in Europe]] is the second-largest religion after [[Christianity]] in many countries, with growth rates due primarily to immigration and higher birth rates of Muslims in 2005,<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 December 2005 |title=Muslims in Europe: Country guide |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4385768.stm |access-date=1 April 2010 |archive-date=29 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929213440/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4385768.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> accounting for 4.9% of all of Europe's population in 2016.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/11/29/5-facts-about-the-muslim-population-in-europe/|title=5 facts about the Muslim population in Europe|date=November 29, 2017|work=[[Pew Research Center]]|first=Conrad|last=Hackett|access-date=17 January 2023|archive-date=5 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105202657/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/11/29/5-facts-about-the-muslim-population-in-europe/|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Schools (branches)==
 
[[Conversion to Islam|Religious conversion]] has no net impact on the Muslim population growth as "the number of people who [[convert to Islam|become Muslims through conversion]] seems to be roughly equal to the number of Muslims who leave the faith."<ref>{{Cite report |title=The Future of the Global Muslim Population |section=Conversion |date=27 January 2011 |publisher=Pew Research Center |section-url=https://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-related-factors/#conversion |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/ |quote=there is no substantial net gain or loss in the number of Muslims through conversion globally; the number of people who become Muslims through conversion seems to be roughly equal to the number of Muslims who leave the faith |access-date=12 May 2020 |archive-date=24 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224211126/http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although, Islam is expected to experience a modest gain of 3 million through religious conversion between 2010 and 2050, mostly from [[Sub Saharan Africa]] (2.9 million).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/files/2015/03/PF_15.04.02_ProjectionsFullReport.pdf|title=Cumulative Change Due to Religious Switching, 2010–2050, p.43|access-date=4 May 2016|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20150429153811/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2015/03/PF_15.04.02_ProjectionsFullReport.pdf|archive-date=29 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/05/the-changing-global-religious-landscape/|title=The Changing Global Religious Landscape|work=Pew Research Center|date=5 April 2017|access-date=17 December 2022|archive-date=18 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218030628/https://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/05/the-changing-global-religious-landscape/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a 2020 Pew study, about 1% of adults raised Muslim leave the faith, while an equal proportion —about 1%— convert to Islam from other religions, resulting in low levels of religious switching both into and out of Islam.<ref name="pew2029">{{Cite web |last=Fahmy |first=Conrad Hackett, Marcin Stonawski, Yunping Tong, Stephanie Kramer, Anne Shi and Dalia |date=2025-06-09 |title=How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/PR_2025.06.09_global-religious-change_report.pdf|access-date=2025-06-10 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US|page=39|quote=Muslims and Hindus have been the least likely to gain or lose adherents from religious switching. About one in every 100 adults raised Muslim (or Hindu) has left their childhood religion, and a similar number from a different religious category have switched into Islam (or Hinduism).}}</ref> [[Ex-Muslims]] are more likely to convet to another religion than to become Irreligious.<ref name="pew2010–2020" />
There are a number of Islamic religious denominations, each of which has significant theological and legal differences from each other. The major branches are [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] and [[Shi'a]], with [[Sufi]]sm often considered as a mystical inflection of either Sunni or Shi'a thought.
 
According to a report by [[CNN]], "Islam has drawn converts from all walks of life, most notably African-Americans".<ref>{{cite news|title=Fast-growing Islam winning converts in Western world|publisher=[[CNN]]|url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/14/egypt.islam/|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=15 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015114027/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/14/egypt.islam/|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Islam in Britain|In Britain]], around 6,000 people convert to Islam per year and, according to an article in the British Muslims Monthly Survey, the majority of new Muslim converts in Britain were women.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://artsweb.bham.ac.uk/bmms/2000/06June00.asp#Women%20convert |title=British Muslims Monthly Survey for June 2000, Vol. VIII, No. 6 |at=Women convert |access-date=2020-09-28 |archive-date=2008-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214160750/http://artsweb.bham.ac.uk/bmms/2000/06June00.asp#Women%20convert |url-status=live }}</ref> According to ''The Huffington Post'', "observers estimate that as many as 20,000 Americans convert to Islam annually", most of them being [[Women in Islam|women]] and [[African-American Muslims|African-Americans]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-08-24|title=Conversion To Islam One Result Of Post-9/11 Curiosity|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/post-911-islam-converts_n_935572|access-date=2020-11-26|website=HuffPost|language=en|archive-date=2021-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111201117/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/post-911-islam-converts_n_935572|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author-first=Julie|author-last=Bindel|author-link=Julie Bindel|title=Why do Western Women Convert?|url=http://standpointmag.co.uk/features-may-10-why-do-western-women-convert-julie-bindel-islam-female-conversion|access-date=8 May 2016|work=[[Standpoint (magazine)|Standpoint]]|date=26 April 2010|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006102003/http://standpointmag.co.uk/features-may-10-why-do-western-women-convert-julie-bindel-islam-female-conversion|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Sunni sect of Islam is the largest of the sects (some 80-85% of all Muslims are Sunni). Sunnis recognize four legal traditions ([[madhab|madhhab]]s): [[Maliki]], [[Shafi'i]], [[Hanafi]], and [[Hanbali]]. All four accept the validity of the others and Muslims choose any one that he/she thinks is agreeable to his/her ideas. There are also several orthodox theological or philosophical traditions ([[kalam]]).
 
By both percentage and total numbers, Islam is the world's fastest growing major religious group, and is projected to be the world's largest by the end of the 21st century, surpassing that of [[Christianity]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Lipka |first1=Michael |last2=Hackett |first2=Conrad |date=April 6, 2017 |title=Why Muslims are the world's fastest-growing religious group |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/06/why-muslims-are-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religious-group/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US |archive-date=14 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514123559/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/06/why-muslims-are-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religious-group/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="pew2015" />{{rp|14}} It is estimated that, by 2050, the number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world, "due to the young age and high [[fertility rate]] of Muslims relative to other religious groups."<ref name="pew2015">Pew Forum for Religion & Public Life. April 2015. "[https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/03/PF_15.04.02_ProjectionsFullReport.pdf The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211090450/http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/03/PF_15.04.02_ProjectionsFullReport.pdf |date=11 December 2020 }}." [[Pew Research Center]].[https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/ Article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207093700/https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/ |date=7 December 2020 }}.</ref>{{rp|70}}
Shi'a Muslims differ from the Sunni in rejecting the authority of the first three caliphs. They honor different traditions ([[hadith]]) and have their own legal traditions. The Shi'a consist of one major school of thought known as the [[Ithna Ashariyya]] or the "[[Twelvers]]", and a few minor schools of thought, as the "Seveners" or the "Fivers" referring to the number of infallible leaders they recognise after the death of Muhammad. The term Shi'a is usually taken to be synonymous with the Ithna Ashariyya/Twelvers. Most Shi'a live in [[Iran]], [[Iraq]], and [[Lebanon]].
 
==Main branches or denominations==
Sunni and Shi'a have often clashed. Some Sunni believe that Shi'a are heretics while other Sunni recognize Shi'a as fellow Muslims. According to Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot, head of the [[al-Azhar University]] in the middle part of the 20th Century, "the Ja'fari school of thought, which is also known as "al-Shi'a al- Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" (i.e., The Twelver Imami Shi'ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought". Al-Azhar later distanced itself from this position.
{{Main|Islamic schools and branches#Main branches or denominations}}{{See also|Shia–Sunni relations}}
 
=== Sunni ===
Another sect which dates back to the early days of Islam is that of the [[Kharijites]]. The only surviving branch of the Kharijites are the [[Ibadi|Ibadhi Muslim]]s. Most Ibadhi Muslims live in [[Oman]].
{{Main|Sunni Islam}}
[[File:Sahih Al-Bukhari in English.png|thumb|right|The nine volumes of [[Sahih Al-Bukhari]], one of the [[Al-Kutub Al-Sittah|six Sunni hadith books]]]]
Sunni Islam, or Sunnism, is the name for the largest denomination in Islam.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sunni |title=Sunni |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 September 2021 |archive-date=30 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430101807/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/574006/Sunnite |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Sunni Islam |editor-first=John L. |editor-last=Esposito |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Oxford University Press |___location=Oxford |year=2014 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2280 |access-date=10 January 2010 |archive-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005013247/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2280 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Denny, Frederick. 2010. [https://books.google.com/books?id=D5_N97bAiJ0C&pg=PA3 ''Sunni Islam: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide'']. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]]. p. 3. "Sunni Islam is the dominant division of the global Muslim community, and throughout history it has made up a substantial majority (85 to 90%) of that community."</ref> The term is a contraction of the phrase "ahl as-sunna wa'l-jamaat", which means "people of the [[Sunnah|sunna]] (the traditions of Muhammad) and the community".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Ahl as-Sunnah |encyclopedia=[[Islam Ansiklopedisi]] |publisher=Turkish Diyanet Foundation |___location=Istanbul |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ehl-i-sunnet |last=Yavuz |first=Yusuf Şevki |date=1994 |volume=10 |pages=525–530 |lang=tr |access-date=28 December 2021 |archive-date=28 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228114411/https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ehl-i-sunnet |url-status=live }}</ref> Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as "orthodox Islam",<ref>{{cite book |author1=John Richard Thackrah |title=Dictionary of Terrorism |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1135165956 |edition=2, revised |page=252}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Status of Women Under Islamic Law and Modern Islamic Legislation |date=2009 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004172739 |editor1-last=Nasir |editor1-first=Jamal J. |edition=revised |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=George W. Braswell |title=What You Need to Know about Islam & Muslims |date=2000 |publisher=B&H Publishing Group |isbn=978-0805418293 |edition=illustrated |page=62}}</ref> though some scholars view this as inappropriate, and many non-Sunnis may find this offensive.<ref>An Introduction to the Hadith. John Burton. Published by Edinburgh University Press. 1996. p. 201. Cite: "Sunni: Of or pertaining ''sunna'', especially the ''Sunna'' of the Prophet. Used in conscious opposition to Shi'a, Shi'í. There being no ecclesia or centralized magisterium, the translation 'orthodox' is inappropriate. To the Muslim 'unorthodox' implies heretical, ''mubtadi'', from ''bid'a'', the contrary of ''sunna'' and so 'innovation'."</ref> Sunnis, or sometimes Sunnites, believe that the first four caliphs were the rightful successors to Muhammad and primarily reference [[Al-Kutub Al-Sittah|six major hadith works]] for legal matters, while following one of the four traditional schools of jurisprudence: [[Hanafi]], [[Hanbali]], [[Maliki]] or [[Shafi'i]].<ref name="Lexico">{{cite web |title=sharia |url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/sharia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122164555/https://www.lexico.com/definition/sharia |archive-date=22 January 2020 |website=Lexico |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2003|pp=275, 306}}</ref>
 
[[Traditionalist theology (Islam)|Traditionalist theology]] is a Sunni school of thought, prominently advocated by [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]] (780–855 CE), that is characterized by its adherence to a [[Textualism|textualist]] understanding of the Quran and the sunnah, the belief that the Quran is uncreated and eternal, and opposition to speculative theology, called [[kalam]], in religious and ethical matters.<ref>Hadi Enayat ''Islam and Secularism in Post-Colonial Thought: A Cartography of Asadian Genealogies'' [[Springer Publishing]], 30 June 2017 {{ISBN|978-3-319-52611-9}} p.48</ref> [[Maturidism]], founded by [[Abu Mansur al-Maturidi]] (853–944 CE), asserts that scripture is not needed for basic ethics and that ''good'' and ''evil'' can be understood by reason alone,<ref>Rico Isaacs, Alessandro Frigerio ''Theorizing Central Asian Politics: The State, Ideology and Power'' [[Springer Publishing]] 2018 {{ISBN|978-3-319-97355-5}} p. 108</ref> but people rely on revelation, for matters beyond human's comprehension. [[Ash'arism]], founded by [[Al-Ashʿarī]] (c. 874–936), holds that ethics can derive just from divine revelation but accepts reason regarding exegetical matters and combines Muʿtazila approaches with traditionalist ideas.{{sfnp|Esposito|1999|p=280}}
[[Wahhabi]]s, as they are known by non-Wahhabis, are a more recent group. They prefer to be called the [[Ikhwan]], or Brethren, or sometimes [[Salafi]]s. Wahhabism is a movement founded by [[Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab]] in the [[18th century]] in what is present-day [[Saudi Arabia]]. They classify themselves as Sunni and follow the [[Hanbali]] legal tradition. However, some regard other Sunni as heretics. They are recognized as the official religion of Saudi Arabia and have had a great deal of influence on the Islamic world due to Saudi control of Mecca and Medina, the Islamic holy places, and due to Saudi funding for mosques and schools in other countries.
 
[[Salafism]] is a revival movement advocating the return to the practices of the earliest generations of Muslims. In the 18th century, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab led a [[Salafi movement]], referred by outsiders as Wahhabism, in modern-day Saudi Arabia.<ref>Richard Gauvain ''Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God'' [[Routledge]] 2013 {{ISBN|978-0-7103-1356-0}} page 8</ref> A similar movement called [[Ahl al-Hadith]] also de-emphasized the centuries' old Sunni legal tradition, preferring to directly follow the Quran and Hadith. The ''[[Nur movement|Nurcu]]'' Sunni movement was by [[Said Nursi]] (1877–1960);<ref name="Svante E. Cornell p. 283">Svante E. Cornell ''Azerbaijan Since Independence'' [[M.E. Sharpe]] {{ISBN| 9780765630049}} p. 283</ref> it incorporates elements of Sufism and science.<ref name="Svante E. Cornell p. 283" /><ref>Robert W. Hefner ''Shariʻa Politics: Islamic Law and Society in the Modern World'' [[Indiana University Press]] 2011 {{ISBN|978-0-253-22310-4}} p. 170</ref>
Another trend in modern Islam is sometimes called progressive, liberal or secular Islam. Followers may be called [[Ijtihadists]]. They may be either Sunni or Shi'ite, and generally favour the development of personal interpretations of Qur'an and Hadith. ''See'': [[Liberal Islam]]
 
=== Shia ===
One very small Muslim group, based primarily in the United States, follows the teachings of [[Rashad Khalifa]] and calls itself the "Submitters". They reject [[hadith]] and [[fiqh]], and say that they follow the Qur'an alone. There is also an even smaller group of [[Qur'an-alone]] Muslims who claim to represent the authentic teachings of Rashad Khalifa and seem to have split from the Submitters. Most Muslims of both the [[Sunni]] and the [[Shia]] sects consider this group to be heretical.
{{Main|Shia Islam}}
[[File:Nahj al-Balagha.jpg|thumb|[[Nahj al-balagha]], collection of sermons, letters, and sayings attributed to [[Ali|Imam Ali]].]]
Shia Islam, or Shi'ism, is the second-largest Muslim denomination.<ref>{{cite web |title=Field Listing :: Religions |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706231326/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html |archive-date=6 July 2010 |access-date=25 October 2010 |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |quote=Sunni Islam accounts for over 75% of the world's Muslim population." ... "Shia Islam represents 10–15% of Muslims worldwide.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sunni |url=https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/sunni |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614103622/https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/sunni |archive-date=14 June 2020 |access-date=24 May 2020 |publisher=[[Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs]] |quote=Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam, comprising about 85% of the world's over 1.5 billion Muslims.}}</ref>{{sfnp|Pew Forum for Religion & Public Life|2009|p=1|ps=. "Of the total Muslim population, 10–13% are Shia Muslims and 87–90% are Sunni Muslims."}} Shias, or Shiites, maintain that Muhammad's [[Succession to Muhammad|successor]] as leader, must be from certain descendants of Muhammad's family known as the [[Ahl al-Bayt]] and those leaders, referred to as [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Imam]]s, have additional spiritual authority.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shii|title=Shiʿi|last=Newman|first=Andrew J.|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=28 December 2021|archive-date=20 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720054917/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shii|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2004 |title=Sunni Islam |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|MacMillan]] Reference |editor-last=Philip Mattar |edition=2nd |author=Tayeb El-Hibri, Maysam J. al Faruqi}}</ref> Shias are guided by the [[Ja'fari school|Ja'fari school of jurisprudence]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=John Corrigan, Frederick Denny, Martin S Jaffee, Carlos Eire |year=2011 |title=Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions |publisher= Cambridge University Press |id=978-0205026340 }}</ref>
 
According to both Sunni and Shia Muslims, a significant event took place at [[Ghadir Khumm]] during Muhammad's return from his final pilgrimage to Mecca, where he stopped thousands of Muslims in the midday heat.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam |author-first=Maria Massi |author-last=Dakake |year=2007 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=9780791470336 |author-link=Maria Massi Dakake}}</ref> Muhammad appointed his cousin [[Ali]] as the executor of his last will and testament, as well as his [[Wali]] (authority).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Veccia Vaglieri|first=L.|date=2012|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/*-SIM_2439|section=G̲h̲adīr K̲h̲umm|publisher=Brill|access-date=July 14, 2023|isbn=9789004161214|archive-date=14 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714174420/https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/*-SIM_2439|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnp|Campo|2009|pp=257–258}} Shias recognize that Muhammad designated Ali as his successor (khalīfa) and [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Imam]] (spiritual and political leader) after him, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the [[Muslims]] because of some [[Companions of the Prophet|other companions]] who selected [[Abu Bakr|Abū Bakr]] as [[Caliphate|caliph]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Foody |first=Kathleen |date=September 2015 |title=Interiorizing Islam: Religious Experience and State Oversight in the Islamic Republic of Iran |editor-last=Jain |editor-first=Andrea R. |journal=[[Journal of the American Academy of Religion]] |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=599–623 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfv029 |doi-access=free |___location=Oxford |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] on behalf of the [[American Academy of Religion]] |eissn=1477-4585 |issn=0002-7189 |jstor=24488178 |lccn=sc76000837 |oclc=1479270 |quote=For Shiʿi Muslims, Muhammad not only designated Ali as his friend, but appointed him as his successor—as the "lord" or "master" of the new Muslim community. Ali and his descendants would become known as the Imams, divinely guided leaders of the Shiʿi communities, sinless, and granted special insight into the Qurʾanic text. The theology of the Imams that developed over the next several centuries made little distinction between the authority of the Imams to politically lead the Muslim community and their spiritual prowess; quite to the contrary, their right to political leadership was grounded in their special spiritual insight. While in theory, the only just ruler of the Muslim community was the Imam, the Imams were politically marginal after the first generation. In practice, Shiʿi Muslims negotiated varied approaches to both interpretative authority over Islamic texts and governance of the community, both during the lifetimes of the Imams themselves and even more so following the disappearance of the twelfth and final Imam in the ninth century.}}</ref> Sunnis, instead believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before [[Death of Muhammad|his death]] and consider Abū Bakr to be the first [[Rashidun|rightful]] caliph after Muhammad.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Foody |first=Kathleen |date=September 2015 |editor-last=Jain |editor-first=Andrea R. |title=Interiorizing Islam: Religious Experience and State Oversight in the Islamic Republic of Iran |journal=[[Journal of the American Academy of Religion]] |___location=Oxford |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] on behalf of the [[American Academy of Religion]] |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=599–623 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfv029 |issn=0002-7189 |eissn=1477-4585 |jstor=24488178 |lccn=sc76000837 |oclc=1479270 |quote=For Shiʿi Muslims, Muhammad not only designated Ali as his friend, but appointed him as his successor—as the "lord" or "master" of the new Muslim community. Ali and his descendants would become known as the Imams, divinely guided leaders of the Shiʿi communities, sinless, and granted special insight into the Qurʾanic text. The theology of the Imams that developed over the next several centuries made little distinction between the authority of the Imams to politically lead the Muslim community and their spiritual prowess; quite to the contrary, their right to political leadership was grounded in their special spiritual insight. While in theory, the only just ruler of the Muslim community was the Imam, the Imams were politically marginal after the first generation. In practice, Shiʿi Muslims negotiated varied approaches to both interpretative authority over Islamic texts and governance of the community, both during the lifetimes of the Imams themselves and even more so following the disappearance of the twelfth and final Imam in the ninth century. |doi-access=free}}</ref> Shias state the community deliberately ignored Ali's nomination,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Daftary |first1=Farhad |title=A History Of Shi'i Islam |url=https://archive.org/details/shii-heritage-series-farhad-daftary-a-history-of-shii-islam-i.-b.-tauris-2013_202104/mode/2up |website=Internet Archive |access-date=July 22, 2024 |date=2013}}</ref> citing [[Umar]]'s appointment by Abu Bakr,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lalani |first1=Arzina R. |title=Early Shi'i Thought: The Teachings of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir |date=2000 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=1850435928}}</ref> other historical evidence,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Amir-Moezzi |author-first=Mohammad Ali |title=Ghadīr Khumm |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition=Third |editor1-first=Kate |editor1-last=Fleet |editor2-first=Gudrun |editor2-last=Krämer |editor3-first=Denis |editor3-last=Matringe |editor4-first=John |editor4-last=Nawas |editor5-first=Devin J. |editor5-last=Stewart |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_27419 |year=2014 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_27419 |isbn=9789004269613 |author-link=Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi |url-access=subscription}}</ref> and the [[Quran|Qur'an's]] stance that majority does not imply legitimacy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mavani|first=Hamid|url=https://archive.org/details/religiousauthori0000mava/mode/|title=Religious Authority and Political Thought in Twelver Shi'ism: From Ali to Post-Khomeini|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=9780415624404|url-access=registration}}</ref>
[[Sufism]] is a spiritual practice followed by both Sunni and Shi'a. Sufis generally feel that following Islamic law is only the first step on the path to perfect submission; they focus on the internal aspects of Islam, such as perfecting one's faith and fighting one's own ego.
 
Some of the first Shia Imams are revered by all Shia and Sunnis Muslims, such as Ali and [[Husayn ibn Ali|Husayn]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Armajani |first=Jon |title=Shia Islam and Politics: Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon |date=2020 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-7936-2136-8 |___location=Lanham (Md.) |pages=11}}</ref> [[Twelvers]], the largest Shia branch and most influential, believe in [[Twelve Imams]], the last of whom went into [[Occultation (Islam)|occultation]] to return one day. They recognize that the prophecy of the Twelve Imams has been foretold in the [[Hadith of the Twelve Successors]] which is recorded by both Sunni and Shia sources.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kohlberg|first=Etan|title=From Imāmiyya to Ithnā-'ashariyya|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/from-imamiyya-to-ithnaashariyya/32F60507F79BEE8C3732011F4D092CAF|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|year=1976|volume=39|issue=3|pages=521–534|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00050989|s2cid=155070530|access-date=July 14, 2023|archive-date=14 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714174420/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/from-imamiyya-to-ithnaashariyya/32F60507F79BEE8C3732011F4D092CAF|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Zaydism]] rejects infallibility of Imams and were sometimes regarded a 'fifth school' of Sunni Islam rather than a Shia denomination.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social and Military History |editor-first1=Spencer C. |editor-last1=Tucker |editor2=Priscilla Mary Roberts |year=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-842-2 |page=917 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAd8efHdVzIC&pg=PA917 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024726/https://books.google.com/books?id=YAd8efHdVzIC&pg=PA917 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Iraq Effect: The Middle East After the Iraq War |first=Frederic M. |last=Wehrey |year=2010 |publisher=Rand Corporation |isbn=978-0-8330-4788-5 |page=91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-3LAlfW7DIC&pg=PA91 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024742/https://books.google.com/books?id=i-3LAlfW7DIC&pg=PA91#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> They differed with other Shias over the status of the fifth imam and are sometimes known as "Fivers".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Peterson |first=Daniel |title=Zaydiyya |url=|journal=Islamic Studies |year=2011 |language=en |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195390155-0153 |issn=}}</ref> The [[Ismailism|Isma'ilis]] split with the Twelvers over who was the seventh Imam and have further fragmented into more groups over the status of successive Imams, with the largest group being the [[Nizari Isma'ilism|Nizari]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Newman|first=Andrew J.|author-link=Andrew J. Newman|title=Twelver Shiism: Unity and Diversity in the Life of Islam, 632 to 1722|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-_M8BQAAQBAJ|year=2013|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-7833-4|chapter=Introduction|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-_M8BQAAQBAJ&pg=PP18|page=2|access-date=13 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501201413/https://books.google.com/books?id=-_M8BQAAQBAJ|archive-date=1 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
Most Sufi orders, or [[tariqa]], can be classified as either Sunni or Shi'a. There are also some very large groups or sects of Sufism that are not easily categorised as either Sunni or Shi'a, such as the [[Bektashi]]. Sufis are found throughout the Islamic world, from [[Senegal]] to [[Indonesia]].
 
For Shias, the [[Imam Ali Shrine]] in Najaf, the [[Imam Husayn Shrine]] in Karbala, and the [[Fatima Masumeh Shrine]] in [[Qom]] are also among the [[Holiest sites in Islam|Islamic Holy sites]].<ref name="Sardeg2">{{cite web |last=Escobar |first=Pepe |date=May 24, 2002 |title=Knocking on heaven's door |url=http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/DE24Ag04.html |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020603155002/http://atimes.com/c-asia/DE24Ag04.html |archive-date=June 3, 2002 |access-date=2006-11-12 |work=[[Asia Times Online]] |quote=our sixth imam, Imam Sadeg, says that we have five definitive holy places... first is Mecca... second is Medina... third belongs to our first imam of Shia, Ali, which is in Najaf. The fourth belongs to our third imam, Hussein, in Kerbala. The last one belongs to the daughter of our seventh imam and sister of our eighth imam, who is called Fatemah, and will be buried in Qom. |department=Central Asia/Russia}}</ref>
=== Religions based on Islam ===
 
{{multiple image
The following groups consider themselves to be Muslims, but are not considered Islamic by the majority of Muslims or Muslim authorities:
| align = center
| image1 = Imam_Ali_shrine_-_1_May_2015_19.jpg
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| caption1 = [[Imam Ali Shrine]] in [[Najaf]], the third holiest place for Shia Muslims after Mecca and Medina.
| image2 = حرم الامام الحسين.jpg
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| caption2 = [[Imam Hussein Shrine]] in [[Karbala]], a holy site for Shia Muslims.
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| alt3 =
| footer =
| image3 = ImamReza(A).jpg
| caption3 = [[Imam Reza shrine]], the world's largest mosque, in [[Mashhad]], [[Iran]]. 25 million Shias visiting the shrine each year.
}}
 
=== Muhakkima ===
* The [[Nation of Islam]]
{{Main|Muhakkima|Ibadi Islam|Kharijites}}
* The [[Zikri]]s
* The Qadianis (or [[Ahmadiyya]])
 
[[Ibadism]] is the third-largest branch of Islam whose roots go back to the [[Kharijites|Kharijite]] secession from the fourth Caliph, Ali.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2014 |entry=Ibadis |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Oxford University Press |___location=Oxford |entry-url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e913 |editor=John L. Esposito |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820035842/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e913 |archive-date=2017-08-20 |quote=Ibadis [:] subsect of Khariji Islam founded in the eighth century. Has its strongest presence in [[Oman]], but is also found in North Africa and various communities on the [[Swahili Coast]].}}</ref> It is practised by 1.45&nbsp;million Muslims around the world (~0.08% of all Muslims), most of them in [[Oman]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robert Brenton Betts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vFq_KUqqWJMC&pg=PA15 |title=The Sunni-Shi'a Divide: Islam's Internal Divisions and Their Global Consequences |date=31 July 2013 |isbn=978-1-61234-522-2 |pages=14–15 |publisher=Potomac Books |access-date=7 January 2015 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024743/https://books.google.com/books?id=vFq_KUqqWJMC&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Ibadism is often associated with and viewed as a moderate variation of the Kharijites, though Ibadis themselves object to this classification. The kharijites were groups that rebelled against Caliph Ali for his acceptance of arbitration with someone they viewed as a sinner. Unlike most kharijite groups, Ibadism does not regard sinful Muslims as unbelievers. Ibadi hadiths, such as the [[Jami Sahih]] collection, use chains of narrators from early Islamic history they consider trustworthy, but most Ibadi hadiths are also found in standard Sunni collections and contemporary Ibadis often approve of the standard Sunni collections.<ref>{{Cite book|first= Valerie Jon|last= Hoffman|title= The Essentials of Ibadi Islam|___location= [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]]|pages=3–4|publisher= [[Syracuse University Press]]|year= 2012|isbn= 9780815650843|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JNxvMRJM3EAC}}</ref>
The [[Druze]] and the [[Alawites]] (Alnusairiya) considered themselves Muslims for most of their history, although they have been regarded as not such at times of heightened fanatism in the main stream Muslim world.
[[File:Islam branches and schools..png|centre|An overview of the major sects and ''madhahib'' of Islam]]
 
=== Other denominations ===
The following religions are said by some to have evolved or borrowed from Islam, in almost all cases influenced by traditional beliefs in the regions where they emerged, but consider themselves independent religions with distinct laws and institutions:
 
* The [[Ahmadiyya Movement]] was founded in British India in 1889 by [[Mirza Ghulam Ahmad]] of [[Qadian]], who claimed to be the promised [[Messiah]] ("[[Second Coming]] of [[Jesus in Islam|Christ]]"), the [[Mahdi]] awaited by the Muslims as well as a [[Prophethood (Ahmadiyya)|"subordinate" prophet]] to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.<ref name="Upal 2021">{{cite book |author-last=Upal |author-first=M. Afzal |author-link=Afzal Upal |title=Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-90-04-43554-4 |editor1-last=Cusack |editor1-first=Carole M. |editor1-link=Carole M. Cusack |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=21 |___location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |pages=637–657 |chapter=The Cultural Genetics of the Aḥmadiyya Muslim Jamāʿat |doi=10.1163/9789004435544_034 |issn=1874-6691 |editor2-last=Upal |editor2-first=M. Afzal |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Turner 2003">{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Richard Brent |title=Islam in the African-American Experience |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=9780253216304 |edition=2nd |___location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] and [[Indianapolis]] |pages=109–146 |chapter=The Ahmadiyya Mission to America: A Multi-Racial Model for American Islam |lccn=2003009791 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4XMuLWlTgjMC&pg=PA109 }}</ref> There are a wide variety of distinct beliefs and teachings of Ahmadis compared to those of ''most other'' Muslims,<ref name="Upal 2021" /><ref name="Drover 2020">{{cite book |author-last=Drover |author-first=Lauren |title=New Religious Movements in Modern Asian History: Socio-Cultural Alternatives |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-7936-3403-0 |editor-last=Kim |editor-first=David W. |series=Ethnographies of Religion |___location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |pages=21–36 |chapter=The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat: A New Religious Movement Derived from Islam? |oclc=1220880253 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9WQGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Korbel |first1=Jonathan |title=Religious Dynamics under the Impact of Imperialism and Colonialism |last2=Preckel |first2=Claudia |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-90-04-32511-1 |editor1-last=Bentlage |editor1-first=Björn |series=Numen Book Series |volume=154 |___location=[[Leiden]] |pages=426–442 |chapter=Ghulām Aḥmad al-Qādiyānī: The Messiah of the Christians—Peace upon Him—in India (India, 1908) |doi=10.1163/9789004329003_034 |editor2-last=Eggert |editor2-first=Marion |editor3-last=Krämer |editor3-first=Hans-Martin |editor4-last=Reichmuth |editor4-first=Stefan |editor4-link=Stefan Reichmuth (academic) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtY6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA426}}</ref><ref name="Turner 2003" /> which include the interpretation of the Quranic title ''[[Khatam an-Nabiyyin]]''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Balzani |first=Marzia |title=Ahmadiyya Islam and the Muslim Diaspora: Living at the End of Days |isbn=978-1-315-19728-9 |___location=Abingdon, Oxon |pages=6–8 |oclc=1137739779}}</ref> and interpretation of the [[Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam|Messiah's Second Coming]].<ref name="Drover 2020" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-23 |title=What are the Signs of the Second Coming of the Messiah? |url=https://www.reviewofreligions.org/12457/what-are-the-signs-of-the-second-coming-of-the-messiah/ |access-date=2020-06-23 |website=Review of Religions |language=en-GB}}</ref> These perceived deviations from normative Islamic thought have resulted in rejection by most Muslims as heretics<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paracha |first=Nadeem F. |date=2013-11-21 |title=The 1974 ouster of the 'heretics': What really happened? |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1057427 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613025520/http://www.dawn.com/news/1057427 |archive-date=13 June 2015 |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref> and [[persecution of Ahmadis]] in various countries,<ref name="Drover 2020" /> particularly [[Ahmadiyya in Pakistan|Pakistan]],<ref name="Drover 2020" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Uddin |first=Asma T. |title=State Responses to Minority Religions |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]]/[[Routledge]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4724-1647-6 |editor-last=Kirkham |editor-first=David M. |series=Ashgate Inform Series on Minority Religions and Spiritual Movements |___location=[[Farnham|Farnham, U.K.]] and [[Burlington, Vermont]] |pages=81–98 |chapter=A Legal Analysis of Ahmadi Persecution in Pakistan |lccn=2013019344 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k9TVCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> where they have been officially declared as non-Muslims by the [[Government of Pakistan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constitution (Second Amendment) Act, 1974 |url=https://pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/amendments/2amendment.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717144752/http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/amendments/2amendment.html |archive-date=17 July 2017 |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=pakistani.org}}</ref> The followers of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam are divided into two groups: the first being the [[Ahmadiyya Muslim Community]], currently the dominant group, and the [[Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam]].<ref name="Drover 2020" />
* [[Babism]]
* [[Alevism]] is a [[Syncretism|syncretic]] and [[Heterodoxy|heterodox]] local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical ([[Batin (Islam)|bāṭenī]]) teachings of Ali and [[Haji Bektash Veli]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bektāšīya |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bektasiya |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |first1=Hamid |last1=Algar |date=December 15, 1989 |access-date=13 February 2019 |archive-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910201955/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bektasiya |url-status=live }}</ref> Alevism is a blend of traditional 14th century Turkish beliefs,<ref>Jorgen S Nielsen Muslim ''Political Participation in Europe'' [[Edinburgh University Press]] 2013 {{ISBN|978-0-748-67753-5}} page 255</ref> with possible syncretist origins in [[Tengrism|Shamanism]] and [[Animism]], alongside Shia and Sufi beliefs. It has been estimated that there are 10 million to over 20 million (~0.5–1% of all Muslims) Alevis worldwide.<ref>[http://www.alevi.dk/ENGELSK/Turkish_Alevis_Today.pdf ''John Shindeldecker: Turkish Alevis Today: II Alevi Population Size and Distribution''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130111738/http://www.alevi.dk/ENGELSK/Turkish_Alevis_Today.pdf |date=30 November 2016 }}, PDF-Datei, See also [http://i-cias.com/e.o/alevi.htm ''Encyclopaedia of the Orient: Alevi''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613045624/https://i-cias.com/e.o/alevi.htm |date=13 June 2021 }}, consulted on 30 May 2017.</ref>
* [[Bahá'í Faith]]
*[[Quranism]] is a religious movement of Islam based on the belief that Islamic law and guidance should only be based on the [[Quran]] and not the [[sunnah]] or [[Hadith]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Musa |first=Aisha Y. |date=2010 |title=The Qur'anists |journal=Religion Compass |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=12–21 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00189.x}}</ref> with Quranists notably differing in their approach to the [[five pillars of Islam]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Musa |first=Aisha Y. |title=The Qur'anists |url=https://www.academia.edu/1035742 |journal=Religion Compass |year=2010 |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=12–21 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00189.x |issn=1749-8171 |access-date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=28 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128062123/https://www.academia.edu/1035742 |url-status=live }}</ref> The movement developed from the 19th century onwards, with thinkers like [[Syed Ahmad Khan]], Abdullah Chakralawi and [[Ghulam Ahmed Perwez]] in India questioning the hadith tradition.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Daniel W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RPcYgx5u_MC |title=Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought |date=1999-03-04 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-65394-7 |pages=7–45, 68 |language=en}}</ref> In Egypt, [[Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi]] penned the article ''Islam is the Quran alone'' in the magazine ''[[Al-Manār (magazine)|Al-Manār]]'', arguing for the sole authority of the Quran.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Juynboll |first=G. H. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xAUVAAAAIAAJ |title=The Authenticity of the Tradition Literature: Discussions in Modern Egypt,... G.H.A. Juynboll,... |date=1969 |publisher=Brill Archive |pages=23–25 |language=en}}</ref> A prominent late 20th century Quranist was [[Rashad Khalifa]], an Egyptian-American biochemist who claimed to have discovered a [[numerology|numerological]] [[Quran code|code in the Quran]], and founded the Quranist organization [[United Submitters International]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=September 1989 |title=Why the name change? |url=http://www.quranalone.com/SP/57_1989_09.pdf |journal=Submission Perspective |volume=57 |page=1 |access-date=29 August 2022 |archive-date=31 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731115713/https://www.quranalone.com/SP/57_1989_09.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Yazidi]]
*[[Mu'tazilism]] was an early Islamic theological school known for their use of [[rationalism]], particularly towards the two primary sources of Islam, the [[Quran|Qur'an]] and the [[hadith]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abd al-Jabbār |first=Al-Qāḍī |title=Kitab al-Mughni fi abwab al-tawhid wal-adl}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=al-Asadābādī |first=ʻAbd al-Jabbār ibn Aḥmad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_PilAQAACAAJ |title=Sharḥ al-uṣūl al-khamsah |date=1965 |publisher=Maktabat wahbah |language=ar}}</ref> The school was founded on five main principles: the monotheism ([[tawhid]]), [[divine justice]], the certainty of divine promises and threats, an intermediate position regarding the status of great sinners, and the obligation to enjoin good and forbid evil.<ref name=":0" /> Unlike the Sunnis, Mu'tazilite rejected the traditional view that the Qur'an was the uncreated word of God, and instead held that the [[Quranic createdness|Qur'an was a created revelation]], to affirm the absolute oneness of God.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Campanini |first=Massimo |date=2012 |title=The Mu'tazila in Islamic History and Thought |url=https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1749-8171.2011.00273.x |journal=Religion Compass |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=41–50 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-8171.2011.00273.x |issn=1749-8171|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Emphasizing the use of reason, they argued that human [[free will]] allowed individuals to choose between good and evil, making them responsible for their actions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fakhry |first=Majid |title=A history of Islamic philosophy |date= |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-13220-6 |edition= |___location=New York |pages=47}}</ref> Although the Mu'tazila's influence waned due to social and political pressure from orthodox Sunnis, their rationalist legacy remains important in [[Islamic modernity|Islamic intellectualism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Richard C. |title=Defenders of reason in Islam: Muʻtazilism from medieval school to modern symbol |last2=Woodward |first2=Mark R. |last3=Atmaja |first3=Dwi S. |date=1997 |publisher=Oneworld Publications |isbn=978-1-85168-147-1 |___location=Oxford, England ; Rockport, MA, USA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Vasalou |first=Sophia |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/VASMAA-2 |title=Moral Agents and Their Deserts: The Character of Mu'tazilite Ethics |date=2008 |publisher=Princeton University Press}}</ref>
 
=== Non-denominational Muslims ===
The claim of the adherents of the Bahá'í Faith that it represents an independent religion was upheld by the Muslim ecclesiastical courts in Egypt during the 1920's. As of January [[1926]], their final ruling on the matter of the origins of the Bahá'í Faith and its relationship to Islam was that the Bahá'í Faith was neither a sect of Islam, nor a religion based on Islam, but a clearly-defined, independently-founded faith. This of course is seen as a considerate act on part of the ecclesiastical court and in favour of followers of Bahá'í Faith since the majority of Musilms would regard a ''religion based on Islam'' as a herecy.
{{Main|Non-denominational Muslim}}
Non-denominational Muslims is an [[umbrella term]] that has been used for and by Muslims who do not belong to or do not self-identify with a specific [[Islamic denomination]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Benakis |first=Theodoros |date=13 January 2014 |title=Islamophoobia in Europe! |work=New Europe |___location=Brussels |url=http://neurope.eu/article/islamophobia-europe/ |url-status=dead |access-date=20 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131145036/http://neurope.eu/article/islamophobia-europe/ |archive-date=31 January 2016 |quote=Anyone who has travelled to Central Asia knows of the non-denominational Muslims—those who are neither Shiites nor Sounites, but who accept Islam as a religion generally.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pollack |first=Kenneth |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=jQGZBAAAQBAJ|page=29}} |title=Unthinkable: Iran, the Bomb, and American Strategy |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-4767-3393-7 |page=29 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |quote=Although many Iranian hardliners are Shi'a chauvinists, Khomeini's ideology saw the revolution as pan-Islamist, and therefore embracing Sunni, Shi'a, Sufi, and other, more nondenominational Muslims}}</ref> Recent surveys report that large proportions of Muslims in some parts of the world self-identify as "just Muslim", although there is little published analysis available regarding the motivations underlying this response.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burns |first=Robert |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=akWUGyN7fwEC|page=55}} |title=Christianity, Islam, and the West |date=2011 |isbn=978-0-7618-5560-6 |page=55 |publisher=University Press of America |quote=40 per cent called themselves "just a Muslim" according to the Council of American-Islamic relations}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tatari |first=Eren |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=x_4QBQAAQBAJ|page=111}} |title=Muslims in British Local Government: Representing Minority Interests in Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets |date=2014 |isbn=978-90-04-27226-2 |page=111 |publisher=BRILL |quote=Nineteen said that they are Sunni Muslims, six said they are just Muslim without specifying a sect, two said they are Ahmadi, and two said their families are Alevi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lopez |first=Ralph |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=vuNfXxnYWPIC|page=65}} |title=Truth in the Age of Bushism |date=2008 |isbn=978-1-4348-9615-5 |page=65 |publisher=Lulu.com |quote=Many Iraqis take offense at reporters' efforts to identify them as Sunni or Shiite. A 2004 Iraq Centre for Research and Strategic Studies poll found the largest category of Iraqis classified themselves as "just Muslim."}}</ref> Pew Research reports that respondents self-identifying as "just Muslim" make up a majority of Muslims in seven countries (and a plurality in three others), with the highest proportion in [[Kazakhstan]] at 74%. At least one in five Muslims in at least 22 countries self-identifies in this way.<ref name="Pew" />
 
== Mysticism ==
Some see [[Sikhism]] as a [[syncretism|syncretic]] mix of [[Hinduism]] and Islam. However, its history lies in the social strife between local [[Hindu]] and [[Muslim]] communities, during which Sikhs were seen as the "sword arm" of Hinduism. The philosophical basis of the Sikhs is deeply-rooted in Hindu metaphysics and certain philosophical practices. Sikhism also rejects image-worship and believes in one God, just like the Bhakti reform movement in Hinduism and also like Islam does.
{{Main|Sufism}}
{{See also|Sufi–Salafi relations}}
[[File:Mevlana Konya.jpg|thumb|The Whirling Dervishes, or [[Mevlevi Order]] by the tomb of Sufi-mystic [[Rumi]]]]
[[File:Sema ceremony many.jpg|thumb|[[Sufism]] in [[Konya]], [[Turkey]]]]
Sufism (Arabic: {{langx|ar|تصوف|translit=tasawwuf|label=none}}), is a [[mystical]]-[[ascetic]] approach to Islam that seeks to find a direct [[Divine presence|personal experience of God]]. Classical Sufi scholars defined ''tasawwuf'' as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God", through "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use.<ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2003|p=302}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Malik|Hinnells|2006|p=3}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Turner|1998|p=145}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Trimingham|1998|p=1}}</ref> [[Ahmad ibn Ajiba]] defined tasawwuf as "a return to the tradition, and its beginning is knowledge, its middle is action [upon that knowledge], and its end is a gift [from Allah]."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ibn-ʿAǧība |first1=Aḥmad Ibn-Muḥammad |last2=Aresmouk |first2=Mohamed Fouad |last3=Fitzgerald |first3=Michael Abdurrahman |last4=Ibn-ʿAǧība |first4=Aḥmad Ibn-Muḥammad |title=The Book of ascension to the essential truths of Sufism: a lexicon of Sufic terminology = Miʿrāj al-tashawwuf ilā ḥaqāʾiq al-taṣawwuf |date=2011 |publisher=Fons Vitae |___location=Louisville, KY |isbn=978-1891785849}}</ref> It is not a sect of Islam, and its adherents belong to the various Muslim denominations. [[Isma'ilism]], whose teachings are rooted in [[Gnosticism]] and [[Neoplatonism]]<ref>Andani, Khalil. "A Survey of Ismaili Studies Part 1: Early Ismailism and Fatimid Ismailism." Religion Compass 10.8 (2016): 191–206.</ref> as well as by the [[Illuminationism|Illuminationist]] and [[School of Isfahan|Isfahan]] schools of Islamic philosophy, has developed mystical interpretations of Islam.<ref>[[Mehdi Aminrazavi|Aminrazavi, Mehdi]]. [2009] 2016. "[https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2016/entries/arabic-islamic-mysticism/ Mysticism in Arabic and Islamic Philosophy]." ''[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'', edited by [[Edward N. Zalta|E. N. Zalta]]. Retrieved 25 May 2020.</ref> [[Hasan al-Basri]], the early Sufi ascetic often portrayed as one of the earliest Sufis,<ref>Knysh, Alexander. 2015. ''Islam in Historical Perspective''. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-1-317-34712-5}}. p. 214.</ref> emphasized fear of failing God's expectations of obedience. In contrast, later prominent Sufis, such as [[Mansur Al-Hallaj]] and [[Rumi|Jalaluddin Rumi]], emphasized religiosity based on love towards God. Such devotion would also have an impact on the arts, with Rumi still one of the bestselling poets in America.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Haviland |first=Charles |date=30 September 2007 |title=The roar of Rumi – 800 years on |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7016090.stm |access-date=10 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=1 September 2009 |title=Islam: Jalaluddin Rumi |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/art/rumi_1.shtml |access-date=10 August 2011 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
 
Sufis see ''tasawwuf'' as an inseparable part of Islam.{{sfnp|Chittick|2008|pp=3–4, 11}} Traditional Sufis, such as [[Bayazid Bastami]], Jalaluddin Rumi, [[Haji Bektash Veli]], [[Junaid Baghdadi]], and Al-Ghazali, argued for Sufism as being based upon the tenets of Islam and the teachings of the prophet.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed Hossein |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontois00nasr |access-date=17 January 2015 |title=An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines |date=1993 |isbn=978-0-7914-1515-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontois00nasr/page/192 192]|publisher=SUNY Press }}</ref>{{sfnp|Chittick|2008|pp=3–4, 11}} Historian [[Nile Green]] argued that Islam in the medieval period was more or less Sufism.{{sfnp|Peacock|2019|p=24,77}} Followers of the Sunni [[Islamic revival|revivalist]] movement known as [[Salafism]] have viewed popular devotional practices, such as the veneration of Sufi saints, as innovations from the original religion. Salafists have sometimes physically attacked Sufis, leading to a deterioration in [[Sufi–Salafi relations]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Cook |author-first=David |author-link=David Cook (historian) |date=May 2015 |title=Mysticism in Sufi Islam |url=https://oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-51 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |___location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.51 |isbn=9780199340378 |doi-access=free |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128012740/http://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-51 |archive-date=28 November 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=15 January 2023}}</ref>
The following religions might have been said to have evolved from Islam, but are not considered part of Islam, and no longer exist:
* The religion of the medieval [[Berghouata]]
* The religion of [[Ha-Mim]]
 
Sufi congregations form orders (''[[tariqa]]'') centred around a teacher (''[[wali]]'') who traces a spiritual chain back to Muhammad.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/583591/tariqa |title= tariqa &#124; Islam |encyclopedia= Britannica.com |date= 4 February 2014 |access-date= 29 May 2015}}</ref> Sufis played an important role in the formation of Muslim societies through their missionary and educational activities.<ref name=EB-Sufism>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Schimmel |first=Annemarie |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sufism |title=Sufism |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 September 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The Sufism-influenced Ahle Sunnat movement or [[Barelvi]] movement claims over 200 million followers in South Asia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowker |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780192800947 |title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-280094-7 |doi=10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Sanyal |first=Usha |date=1998 |url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=69415&jid=ASS&volumeId=32&issueId=03&aid=69414 |title=Generational Changes in the Leadership of the Ahl-e Sunnat Movement in North India during the Twentieth Century |journal=[[Modern Asian Studies]] |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=635–656 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X98003059 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=17 March 2020 |access-date=1 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317013822/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/generational-changes-in-the-leadership-of-the-ahle-sunnat-movement-in-north-india-during-the-twentieth-century/8AAAC4CFEFC4F4084731C3964A5CAE84 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2003|loc=[http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095357101 "Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaah"]}} – via Oxford Reference.</ref> Sufism is prominent in Central Asia,<ref>{{cite web |last=Alvi |first=Farhat |title=The Significant Role of Sufism in Central Asia |url=http://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/uoc/PDF-FILES/(2)%20The%20Significant%20Role%20of%20Sufism%20in%20Central%20Asia%20(Dr.%20Farh.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johns |first=Anthony H |year=1995 |title=Sufism in Southeast Asia: Reflections and Reconsiderations |journal=[[Journal of Southeast Asian Studies]] |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=169–183 |doi=10.1017/S0022463400010560 |jstor=20071709|s2cid=154870820 }}</ref> as well as in African countries like [[Tunisia]], [[Algeria]], [[Morocco]], [[Senegal]], [[Chad]] and [[Niger]].<ref name="Pew">{{cite web|date=9 August 2012|title=Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/#identity|access-date=4 September 2013|website=The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]'s Religion & Public Life Project}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Babou |first=Cheikh Anta |date=2007 |title=Sufism and Religious Brotherhoods in Senegal |journal=[[International Journal of African Historical Studies]] |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=184–186}}</ref>
== Islam and other religions ==
{{main|Islam and other religions}}
 
== Law and jurisprudence ==
The Qur'an contains both injunctions to respect other religions, and to fight and subdue unbelievers. Some Muslims have respected Jews and Christians as fellow "peoples of the book" (monotheists following [[Abrahamic religions]]), and others have reviled them as having abandoned monotheism and corrupted their scriptures. At different times and places, Islamic communities have been both intolerant and tolerant. Support can be found in the Qur'an for both attitudes.
{{Main|Sharia|Fiqh}}
{{See also|Logic in Islamic philosophy#Islamic law and theology}}
[[File:Madhhab Map3.png|thumb|Islamic [[madh'hab|schools of law]] in the [[Muslim world]]{{Citation needed|date=May 2025|reason=Our Fiqh map does need an update, for example Bahrain is mostly orange (representing Ja'fari) while its Monarchy is Maliki and a majority of its citizens Sunni. Would be very helpful to get an update to date SVG version of the map as there are some tiny island Indian Ocean countries who are not shown on the map}}]]
[[Shariah]] is the body of Islamic [[religious law]].<ref name="Lexico" />{{sfnp|Esposito|2002b|pp=17, 111–112, 118}} The desire to delineate and discover laws in a comprehensive and consistent method led to the development of the [[jurisprudence|theory of law]], called [[fiqh]].<ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2010|p=96}}</ref><ref name="vikor">Vikør, Knut S. 2014. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140604214623/http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/226 Sharīʿah]." In ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics'', edited by [[Emad Shahin|E. Shahin]]. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]]. Archived from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140604214623/http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/226 original] on 4 June 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2020.</ref> Conversely, [[bid'ah]] is used to refer to unlawful innovations in matters of religion.<ref>{{cite book|last1 = A.C. Brown|first1 = Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan A.C. Brown|title = Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World ''(Foundations of Islam)''|date = 2009|publisher = [[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn = 978-1851686636|page = 277}}</ref> Differing methodologies, called principles of fiqh or ''[[Usul al-fiqh]]'', have developed and a school of jurisprudence arising around a methodology is known as a ''madhhab'' ({{langx|ar|مذهب}}). The conformity in following of decisions by a religious expert or school is called ''[[taqlid]]''. The term ''[[Salafi movement#Views on Taqlid (adherence to legal precedent)|ghair muqallid]]'' refers to those who do not use taqlid and, by extension, do not have a madhab.<ref>Bharathi, K. S. 1998. ''Encyclopedia of Eminent Thinkers''. p. 38.</ref> The practice of an individual interpreting law with independent reasoning is called ''[[ijtihad]]''.{{sfnp|Weiss|2002|pp=3, 161}}<ref name="ODI">{{cite web |editor-link=John Esposito|editor-last=Esposito |editor-first=John L. |title=Islamic Law |work=[[The Oxford Dictionary of Islam]] |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t125/e1107 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203033813/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t125/e1107 |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 February 2017 |via=Oxford Islamic Studies Online}}</ref> Those who interpret shariah are known as [[mufti]]s and their legal opinions are called [[fatwa]]s.<ref name="ODI" /><ref name="vikor" />
 
The primary sources of Shariah are the Quran and Sunnah.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Esposito |first1=John L. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=MOmaDq8HKCgC|page=2}} |title=Women in Muslim Family Law |last2=DeLong-Bas |first2=Natana J. |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8156-2908-5 |pages=2– |author-link=John Esposito |author-link2=Natana J. DeLong-Bas}} Quote: "[...], by the ninth century, the classical theory of law fixed the sources of Islamic law at four: the ''Quran'', the ''Sunnah'' of the Prophet, ''qiyas'' (analogical reasoning), and ''ijma'' (consensus)."</ref> A common third source is [[qiyas]] (analogical reasoning) which is used for legal questions not dealt with literally in the Qur’ān or Sunnah. Parallels would be searched for to find the ‘’illah’’, or effective cause, which is the reason behind the existing ruling.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095957640|publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=1 October 2024 |___location=Oxford |title=illah}}</ref> For example, from the specific prohibition of wine is deduced a broad prohibition on alcohol as they share the operative cause identified as the mind-altering nature of all alcoholic drinks.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Fairak |first1= A. |title= Analogy (Islamic)|edition=2014|page=56|year=2014|publisher=Springer |___location=Boston|isbn= 978-1-4614-6085-5|language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last= Fairak |first= A. |year=2014 |title= Analogy (Islamic)|journal= Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion|volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=531–55 |doi=10.1086/353360 |s2cid=144315162 | issn=0021-1753}}</ref> The [[Zahiri school]] adheres to strict literalism and thus rejects qiyas. Consensus of opinion is [[ijma]], while [[ikhtilaf]] refers to scholarly disagreement. Rulings assign actions to one of five categories called [[ahkam]]: mandatory (''[[fard]]''), recommended (''[[mustahabb]]''), permitted (''[[mubah]]''), abhorred (''[[makruh]]''), and prohibited (''[[haram]]'').<ref name="ODI" /><ref name="vikor" />
Earlier passages of the Qur'an are more tolerant towards Jews and Christians. Later passages of the Qur'an are more critical of them. Sura 5:51 commands Muslims not to take Jews and Christians as friends. Sura 9:29 commands Muslims to fight against Jews and Christians until they either submit to Allah or else agree to pay a special tax.
 
In the modern era, sharia-based criminal laws were widely replaced by statutes inspired by European models.<ref name="vikor" /> The [[Ottoman Empire]]'s 19th century [[Tanzimat]] reforms led to the [[Mecelle]] civil code and represented the first attempt to [[Codification (law)|codify]] sharia.<ref name=Oxfordref/> While the constitutions of most Muslim-majority states contain references to sharia, its classical rules were largely retained only in [[Status (law)|personal status]] (family) laws.<ref name="vikor" /> Legislative bodies which codified these laws sought to modernize them without abandoning their foundations in traditional jurisprudence.<ref name="vikor" /><ref name="mayer">Mayer, Ann Elizabeth. 2009. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20081121033722/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0473 Law. Modern Legal Reform]." In ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World'', edited by J. L. Esposito. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]].</ref> The [[Islamic revival]] of the late 20th century brought along calls by [[Islamist]] movements for complete implementation of sharia.<ref name="vikor" /><ref name="mayer" /> The role of sharia has become a contested topic around the world. There are ongoing debates as to whether sharia is compatible with secular forms of government, human rights, [[freedom of thought]], and [[women's rights]] due to concerns inluding on [[Religious censorship#In Islam|censorship]] and [[Islam and violence|violence]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=An-Na'im |first=Abdullahi A. |title=Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective: Religious Perspectives |year=1996 |isbn=978-90-411-0179-2 |editor-last=Witte |editor-first=John |pages=337–359 |chapter=Islamic Foundations of Religious Human Rights |publisher=BRILL |editor-last2=van der Vyver |editor-first2=Johan D. |chapter-url={{Google books|aqyWwF5YA1gC|page=337|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hajjar |first=Lisa |year=2004 |title=Religion, State Power, and Domestic Violence in Muslim Societies: A Framework for Comparative Analysis |journal=[[Law & Social Inquiry]] |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=1–38 |doi=10.1111/j.1747-4469.2004.tb00329.x |jstor=4092696 |s2cid=145681085}}</ref>
The classical Islamic solution was a limited tolerance -- Jews and Christians were to be allowed to privately practice their faith and follow their own family law. They were called [[Dhimmis]], and they had fewer legal rights and obligations than Muslims.
 
== Society ==
As many have pointed out, the classic Islamic state, while deficient by modern standards, was more tolerant than the Christian states of the time, which insisted on complete comformity to a state religion. Some modern Muslim states are far less tolerant towards non-Muslims than they were during the [[Golden Age of Islam]]. However, the media popularity of Islam in modern times has placed such states in the spotlight and reforms are being considered. Nowadays, most faiths embrace [[tolerance of religions]].
=== Religious personages ===
{{Main|Ulama}}
[[File:Карло Боссоли. Татарская школа для детей (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Crimean Tatars|Crimean Tatar]] Muslim students (1856)]]
Islam has no clergy in the [[sacerdotalism|sacerdotal]] sense, such as priests who mediate between God and people. ''[[Imam]]'' ({{langx|ar|إمام|label=none}}) is the religious title used to refer to an Islamic leadership position, often in the context of conducting an Islamic worship service.<ref>{{cite web |title=Imam|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/imam|access-date=15 January 2023|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> Religious interpretation is presided over by the '''ulama'' (Arabic: علماء), a term used describe the body of Muslim scholars who have received training in [[Islamic studies]]. A scholar of the hadith is called a ''[[muhaddith]]'', a scholar of jurisprudence is called a ''[[faqih]]'' ({{langx|ar|فقيه|label=none}}), a jurist who is qualified to issue legal opinions or ''[[fatwas]]'' is called a [[mufti]], and a ''[[qadi]]'' is an Islamic judge. [[Honorific]] titles given to scholars include [[sheikh]], [[mullah]] and ''[[Mawlawi (Islamic title)|mawlawi]]''. Some Muslims also venerate [[Saints in Islam|saints]] associated with [[Islamic view of miracles|miracles]] ({{langx|ar|كرامات|translit=karāmāt|label=none}}).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Radtke |first1=B. |last2=Lory |first2=P. |last3=Zarcone |first3=Th. |last4=DeWeese |first4=D. |last5=Gaborieau |first5=M. |last6=Denny |first6=F. M. |last7=Aubin |first7=F. |last8=Hunwick |first8=J. O. |last9=Mchugh |first9=N. |title=Walī |orig-year=1993 |year=2012 |editor1-last=Bearman |editor1-first=P. J. |editor1-link=Peri Bearman |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-link=Thierry Bianquis |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor3-first=C. E. |editor3-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor4-first=E. J. |editor4-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor5-last=Heinrichs |editor5-first=W. P. |editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |edition=2nd |___location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1335 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref>
 
=== HistoryGovernance ===
{{main|History of Islam}}
 
{{See also|Political aspects of Islam|Islamic economics|Islamic military jurisprudence|tasamuh|Jihad}}
Islamic history begins in [[Arabia]] in the [[7th century]] with the emergence of the prophet [[Muhammad]]. Within a century of his death, an Islamic state stretched from the [[Atlantic ocean]] in the west to [[central Asia]] in the east, which however was soon torn by [[Fitna]]s. After this, there would always be rival dynasties claiming the [[caliphate]], or leadership of the Muslim world, and many Islamic states or empires offering only token obedience to an increasingly powerless [[caliph]].
In [[Islamic economic jurisprudence]], hoarding of wealth is reviled and thus [[monopoly|monopolistic]] behavior is frowned upon.<ref>Iqbal, Zamir, Abbas Mirakhor, Noureddine Krichenne, and Hossein Askari. ''The Stability of Islamic Finance: Creating a Resilient Financial Environment''. p. 75.</ref> Attempts to comply with sharia has led to the development of [[Islamic banking]]. Islam prohibits ''[[riba]]'', usually translated as [[usury]], which refers to any unfair gain in trade and is most commonly used to mean [[interest]].<ref>{{harvc |c=Riba |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online |year=n.d. |last1= Schacht|first1=Joseph}}</ref> Instead, Islamic banks go into partnership with the borrower, and both share from the profits and any losses from the venture. Another feature is the avoidance of uncertainty, which is seen as gambling<ref>{{Cite news |last=Foster|first=John |date=1 December 2009|title=How Islamic finance missed heavenly chance|work=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8388644.stm|access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> and Islamic banks traditionally avoid derivative instruments such as futures or options which has historically protected them from market downturns.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Domat|first=Chloe|date=20 October 2020|title=What Is Islamic Finance And How Does It Work?|work=Global Finance magazine|url=https://www.gfmag.com/topics/blogs/islamic-finance-faq-what-islamic-finance-and-how-does-it-work|access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> The Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphate used to be involved in distribution of charity from the treasury, known as [[Bayt al-mal]], before it became a largely individual pursuit around the year 720. The first [[Caliph]], [[Abu Bakr]], distributed zakat as one of the first examples of a [[guaranteed minimum income]], with each citizen getting 10 to 20 [[dirhams]] annually.<ref>{{cite web |last=Merchant, Brian |date=14 November 2013 |title=Guaranteeing a Minimum Income Has Been a Utopian Dream for Centuries |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/guaranteeing-a-minimum-income-has-been-a-utopian-dream-for-centuries/ |access-date=3 June 2019 |website=[[Vice Media|VICE]]}}</ref> During the reign of the second Caliph Umar, [[child support]] was introduced and the old and disabled were entitled to stipends,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Al-Buraey |first=Muhammad |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=lT8OAAAAQAAJ|page=}} |title=Administrative Development: An Islamic Perspective |publisher=KPI |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-7103-0059-1 |pages=252–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Akgündüz |first1=Ahmed |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=EnT_zhqEe5cC|page=539}} |title=Ottoman History: Misperceptions and Truths |last2=Öztürk |first2=Said |publisher=IUR Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-90-90-26108-9 |pages=539– |access-date=7 October 2014}}</ref> while the Umayyad Caliph [[Umar II]] assigned a servant for each blind person and for every two chronically ill persons.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Al-Jawzi|first1=Ibn |url=|title=The Biography and Virtues of Omar Bin Abd al-Aziz – The Ascetic Caliph |publisher=IUR Press |year=2001 |isbn= |page=130 }}</ref>
 
[[Jihad]] means "to strive or struggle [in the way of God]" and, in its broadest sense, is "exerting one's utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of [[wikt:disapprobation|disapprobation]]".{{sfnp|Firestone|1999|pp=17–18}} Shias in particular emphasize the "greater jihad" of striving to attain spiritual [[self-improvement|self-perfection]]<ref name="Afsaruddin">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Afsaruddin |first=Asma |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/jihad |title=Jihad |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 September 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Brockopp|2003|pp=99–100}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2003|p=93}}</ref> while the "lesser jihad" is defined as warfare.{{sfnp|Firestone|1999|p=17}}<ref name="EI2">{{harvc|last=Tyan, E. |year=2012 |c=D̲j̲ihād |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.)}}. {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0189}}</ref> When used without a qualifier, jihad is often understood in its military form.{{sfnp|Firestone|1999|pp=17–18}}<ref name="Afsaruddin" /> Jihad is the only form of warfare permissible in Islamic law and may be declared against illegal works, terrorists, criminal groups, rebels, [[Apostasy in Islam|apostates]], and leaders or states who oppress Muslims.{{sfnp|Firestone|1999|p=17}}<ref name="EI2" /> Most Muslims today interpret Jihad as only a defensive form of warfare.<ref>Habeck, Mary R. ''Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror''. [[Yale University Press]]. pp. 108–109, 118.</ref> Jihad only becomes an individual duty for those vested with authority. For the rest of the populace, this happens only in the case of a [[general mobilization]].<ref name="EI2" /> For most [[Twelver|Twelver Shias]], [[offensive jihad]] can only be declared by a [[Imamate in Twelver doctrine|divinely appointed leader]] of the Muslim community, and as such, is suspended since [[Muhammad al-Mahdi]]'s [[occultation (Islam)|occultation]] in 868&nbsp;CE.{{sfnp|Sachedina|1998|pp=105–106}}{{sfnp|Nasr|2003|p=72}}
Nonetheless, the later empires of the [[Abbasid]] caliphs and the [[Seljuk]] [[Turk]] were among the largest and most powerful in the world. After the disastrous defeat of the Byzantines at the [[Battle of Manzikert]] in [[1071]], Christian Europe launched a series of [[Crusades]] and for a time captured Jerusalem. [[Saladin]] however restored unity and defeated the [[Shiite]] [[Fatimid]]s.
 
=== Daily and family life ===
In the 18th century there were three great Muslim empires: the [[Ottoman empire|Ottoman]] in Turkey, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean; the [[Safavid]] in Iran; and the [[Mogul]] in India. By the [[19th century]], these realms had fallen under the sway of European political and economic power. Following [[WWI]], the remnants of the Ottoman empire were parcelled out as European [[protectorate]]s or [[sphere of influence|spheres of influence]]. Islam and Islamic political power have revived in the [[20th century]]. However, the relationship between the West and the Islamic world remains uneasy.
{{See also|Adab (Islam)|Islamic dietary laws|Islam and children|Marriage in Islam|Women in Islam|Polygyny in Islam}}
[[File:Salat Eid al-Fitr, Tehran (113344343).jpg|thumb|A woman wearing an [[Hijab|Islamic veil]]]]
Many daily practices fall in the category of ''adab'', or etiquette. Specific prohibited foods include pork products, blood and [[carrion]]. Health is viewed as a trust from God and [[khamr|intoxicants]], such as [[alcoholic drink]]s, are prohibited.<ref>{{cite book|author=Fahd Salem Bahammam|title=Food and Dress in Islam: An explanation of matters relating to food and drink and dress in Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRojJ7lnb18C&pg=PP1|publisher=Modern Guide|isbn=978-1-909322-99-8|page=1}}</ref> All meat must come from a [[herbivorous]] animal slaughtered in the name of God by a Muslim, Jew, or Christian, except for game that one has hunted or fished for oneself.<ref>{{harvp|Curtis|2005|p=164}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2002b|p=111}}</ref><ref>{{harvc |c=Slaughter |first=Ersilia |last=Francesca |year=n.d. |in=McAuliffe}}</ref> Beards are often encouraged among men as something natural<ref>{{Cite news |last=De Sondy |first=Amanullah |date=28 January 2016|title=The relationship between Muslim men and their beards is a tangled one|work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/28/muslim-men-beards-facial-hair-islam |access-date=7 March 2022}}</ref> and body modifications, such as [[Religious perspectives on tattooing#Islam|permanent tattoos]], are usually forbidden as violating the creation.{{efn|Some Muslims in dynastic era China resisted [[footbinding]] of girls for the same reason.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/religionsofchina00legg|quote=mohammedan.|title=The religions of China: Confucianism and Tâoism described and compared with Christianity|first=James|last=Legge|year=1880|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|___location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/religionsofchina00legg/page/111 111]|access-date=28 June 2010}}(Original from Harvard University)</ref> }}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.learnreligions.com/tattoos-in-islam-2004393|title=Are Muslims Allowed to Get Tattoos? |website=|access-date=7 March 2022 }}</ref> Silk and gold are prohibited for men in Islam to maintain a state of sobriety.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glassé |first1=Cyril |title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam |publisher=AltaMira Press |page=158 |language=en|year=2001}}</ref> ''[[Haya (Islam)|Haya]]'', often translated as "shame" or "modesty", is sometimes described as the innate character of Islam<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zine |first1=Jasmin |last2=Babana-Hampton |first2=Safoi |last3=Mazid |first3=Nergis |last4=Bullock |first4=Katherine |last5=Chishti |first5=Maliha |title=American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 19:4 |publisher=International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) |page=59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0JM4DwAAQBAJ&q=haya+islam&pg=PA59 |access-date=4 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref> and informs much of Muslim daily life. For example, [[Islamic clothing|clothing in Islam]] emphasizes a standard of modesty, which has included the ''[[hijab]]'' for women. Similarly, [[Islamic hygienical jurisprudence|personal hygiene]] is encouraged with certain requirements.<ref>{{cite web |last=Esposito |first=John |title=Oxford Islamic Studies Online |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t243/e4 |access-date=3 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114153249/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t243/e4 |archive-date=14 November 2016}}</ref>
 
[[File:Muslim Couple (cropped).jpg|thumb|A Muslim couple]]
=== Contemporary Islam ===
In [[Marriage in Islam|Islamic marriage]], the groom is required to pay a bridal gift (''[[mahr]]'').<ref>{{harvp|Waines|2003|pp=93–96}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2003|p=339}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Esposito|1998|p=79}}</ref>
[[Image:Islam by country.png|thumb|right|280px|Countries with Muslim populations in excess of 10% (after the [[CIA]] [[World Factbook]], 2004.]]
Most families in the Islamic world are monogamous.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newby |first=Gordon D. |url=https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope00newb |title=A concise encyclopedia of Islam |publisher=[[Oneworld Publications|Oneworld]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-85168-295-9 |___location=Oxford |page=[https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope00newb/page/141 141]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed Hossein |url=https://archive.org/details/islamreligionhis00nasr_0/page/68 |title=Islam : religion, history, and civilization |publisher=[[HarperOne]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-06-050714-5 |___location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/islamreligionhis00nasr_0/page/68 68]}}</ref> Muslim men are allowed to practice [[polygyny]] and can have up to four wives simultaneously. Islamic teachings strongly advise that if a man cannot ensure equal financial and emotional support for each of his wives, it is recommended that he marry just one woman. One reason cited for polygyny is that it allows a man to give financial protection to multiple women, who might otherwise not have any support (e.g. widows). However, the first wife can set a condition in the [[Marriage in Islam|marriage contract]] that the husband cannot marry another woman during their marriage.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ratno Lukito|title=Legal Pluralism in Indonesia: Bridging the Unbridgeable|page=81|publisher=[[Routledge]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/fatwa/ShowFatwa.php?lang=A&Id=18444&Option=FatwaId |title=IslamWeb |publisher=IslamWeb |date=7 February 2002 |access-date=13 September 2011}}</ref> There are also cultural variations in weddings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eaton |first=Gai |url=https://archive.org/details/rememberinggodre0000eato |title=Remembering God: Reflections on Islam |publisher=The [[Islamic Texts Society]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-946621-84-2 |___location=Cambridge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/rememberinggodre0000eato/page/92 92–93]}}</ref> [[Polyandry]], a practice wherein a woman takes on two or more husbands, is prohibited in Islam.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why Can't a Woman have 2 Husbands? |url=http://www.14publications.com/question-and-answer/why-cant-a-woman-have-2-husbands/ |access-date=27 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223012707/http://www.14publications.com/question-and-answer/why-cant-a-woman-have-2-husbands/ |archive-date=23 December 2015 |website=14 Publications}}</ref>
 
[[File:عکس های مراسم ترتیل خوانی یا جزء خوانی یا قرائت قرآن در ایام ماه رمضان در حرم فاطمه معصومه در شهر قم 20.jpg|thumb|[[Muslim]] girls studying the [[Quran]] placed atop folding [[lectern]]s ([[Rehal (book rest)|''rehal'']]) during [[Ramadan]] in [[Qom]], [[Iran]]]]
Although the most visible movement in Islam in recent times has been [[fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] [[Islamism]], there are a number of [[liberal movements within Islam]] which seek alternative ways to reconcile the Islamic faith with the modern world.
After the birth of a child, the ''[[adhan]]'' is pronounced in the right ear.{{sfnp|Campo|2009|p=106}} On the seventh day, the ''[[aqiqah]]'' ceremony is performed, in which an animal is sacrificed and its meat is distributed among the poor.{{sfnp|Nigosian|2004|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=my7hnALd_NkC|page=120}} 120]}} The child's head is shaved, and an amount of money equaling the weight of its hair is donated to the poor.{{sfnp|Nigosian|2004|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=my7hnALd_NkC|page=120}} 120]}} Male [[circumcision]], called ''[[Khitan (circumcision)|khitan]]'',<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2014 |title=Khitān |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/khitan-Islam |access-date=27 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127165754/https://www.britannica.com/topic/khitan-Islam |archive-date=27 January 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> is often practised in the Muslim world.<ref>{{cite journal |date=January 2017 |title=Reported Male Circumcision Practices in a Muslim-Majority Setting |journal=[[BioMed Research International]] |publisher=[[Hindawi Publishing Corporation]] |volume=2017 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.1155/2017/4957348 |pmc=5282422 |pmid=28194416 |doi-access=free |author1-last=Anwer |author1-first=Abdul Wahid |author2-last=Samad |author2-first=Lubna |author3-last=Baig-Ansari |author3-first=Naila |author4-last=Iftikhar |author4-first=Sundus}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=13 August 2009 |title=Islam: Circumcision of boys |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/malecircumcision.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112170938/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/malecircumcision.shtml |archive-date=12 November 2012 |access-date=27 May 2020 |work=Religion & ethics—Islam |publisher=[[Bbc.co.uk]]}}</ref> Respecting and obeying one's parents, and taking care of them especially in their old age is a religious obligation.{{sfnp|Campo|2009|p=136}}
 
A [[Islamic view of death|dying Muslim]] is encouraged to pronounce the ''Shahada'' as their last words.<ref>{{Cite book| isbn = 9783643900678| title =Changing European Death Ways| ___location = Austria| year = 2013| last1=Mathijssen| first1=Brenda|last2=Venhorst|first2=Claudia|last3=Venbrux|first3=Eric|last4=Quartier|first4=Thomas| url =| page = 265 |publisher=Lit }}</ref> Paying respects to the dead and attending funerals in the community are considered among the virtuous acts. In [[Islamic funeral|Islamic burial rituals]], burial is encouraged as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours. The body is washed, except for martyrs, by members of the same gender and enshrouded in a garment that must not be elaborate called ''kafan''.{{sfnp|Stefon|2010|p=[https://archive.org/details/islamicbeliefspr0000stef/page/83 83]}} A "funeral prayer" called ''[[Salat al-Janazah]]'' is performed. Wailing, or loud, mournful outcrying, is discouraged. Coffins are often not preferred and graves are often unmarked, even for kings.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rahman|first=Rema |date=25 October 2011|title=Who, What, Why: What are the burial customs in Islam?|work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-15444275|access-date=28 January 2022}}</ref>
Early [[shariah]] had a much more flexible character than is currently associated with [[Islamic jurisprudence]], and many modern Muslim scholars believe that it should be renewed, and the classical jurists should lose their special status. This would require formulating a new [[fiqh]] suitable for the modern world, e.g. as proposed by advocates of the [[Islamization of knowledge]], and would deal with the modern context. One vehicle proposed for such a change has been the revival of the principle of [[ijtihad]], or independent reasoning by a qualified Islamic scholar, which has lain dormant for centuries.
 
=== Arts and culture ===
This movement does not aim to challenge the fundamentals of Islam; rather, it seeks to clear away misinterpretations and to free the way for the renewal of the previous status of the Islamic world as a center of modern thought and freedom. See [[Modern Islamic philosophy]] for more on this subject.
{{Main|Islamic culture}}
{{See also|Islamic art|Islamic architecture|Islamic literature|Islam in association football|Cultural Muslims}}
The term "[[Islamic culture]]" can be used to mean aspects of culture that pertain to the religion, such as [[festivals]] and [[Islamic clothing|dress code]]. It is also controversially used to denote the cultural aspects of traditionally Muslim people.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Melikian |first=Souren |author-link=Souren Melikian |date=4 November 2011 |title='Islamic' Culture: A Groundless Myth |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/05/arts/05iht-rartmelikian05.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref> Finally, "Islamic civilization" may also refer to the aspects of the synthesized culture of the early Caliphates, including that of non-Muslims,{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=56}} sometimes referred to as "[[wikt:Islamicate|Islamicate]]".<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Wiley| isbn = 9781405155144| title =Islamicate Cosmopolitan Spirit | ___location = United Kingdom| year = 2021| last=Lawrence| first=Bruce| url =| page = xii| quote = }}</ref>
 
[[Islamic art]] encompasses the [[visual arts]] including fields as varied as [[Islamic architecture|architecture]], [[Islamic calligraphy|calligraphy]], painting, and [[Islamic ceramics|ceramics]], among others.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ettinghausen |first1=Richard |first2=Oleg |last2=Grabar |first3=Marilyn |last3=Jenkins-Madina |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300088670/page/3 |title=Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=0-300-08869-8 |edition=2nd |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300088670/page/3 3]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Suarez|first=Michael F.|title=The Oxford companion to the book|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780198606536|___location=Oxford and New York|pages=331ff|chapter=38 The History of the Book in the Muslim World|oclc=50238944}}</ref> While the making of images of animate beings has often been frowned upon in connection with [[Aniconism in Islam|laws against idolatry]], this rule has been interpreted in different ways by different scholars and in different historical periods. This stricture has been used to explain the prevalence of [[Islamic calligraphy|calligraphy]], [[tessellation]], and pattern as key aspects of Islamic artistic culture.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Salim Ayduz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=or-6BwAAQBAJ&q=islamic+art+idolatry+geometry&pg=PA263 |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam |last2=Ibrahim Kalin |last3=Caner Dagli |date=2014 |page=263|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-981257-8 |quote=Figural representation is virtually unused in Islamic art because of Islam's strong antagonism of idolatry. It was important for Muslim scholars and artists to find a style of art that represented the Islamic ideals of unity (''tawhid'') and order without figural representation. Geometric patterns perfectly suited this goal.}}</ref> Additionally, the [[Depictions of Muhammad|depiction of Muhammad]] is a contentious issue among Muslims.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=860736| title = An Indian Picture of Muhammad and His Companions
The claim that only "liberalisation" of the Islamic Shariah law can lead to distinguishing between [[tradition]] and true Islam is countered by many Muslims with the argument that any meaningful "fundamentalism&quot; will, by definition, reject non-Islamic cultural inventions -- by, for instance, acknowledging and implementing Muhammad's insistence that women have God-given rights that no human being may legally infringe upon. Proponents of modern Islamic philosophy sometimes respond to this by arguing that, as a practical matter, "fundamentalism" in popular discourse about Islam may actually refer, not to core precepts of the faith, but to various systems of cultural traditionalism.
| author = T. W. Arnold| journal = The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs
| author-link = T. W. Arnold| date = June 1919| volume = 34| issue = 195
| publisher = The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 34, No. 195.
| pages = 249–252}}</ref> In [[Islamic architecture]], varying cultures show influence such as North African and Spanish Islamic architecture such as the [[Great Mosque of Kairouan]] containing [[marble]] and [[Porphyry (geology)|porphyry]] columns from Roman and Byzantine buildings,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Isichei |first=Elizabeth Allo |url={{Google books|LgnhYDozENgC|page=PA175|keywords=mosque%20kairouan%20roman columns|text=mosque+kairouan+roman+columns|plainurl=yes}} |title=A history of African societies to 1870 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-521-45599-2 |___location=Cambridge |pages=175 |access-date=6 August 2010}}</ref> while [[mosques in Indonesia]] often have multi-tiered roofs from local [[Java]]nese styles.<ref>{{cite book |first=Gunawan |last=Tjahjono |title=Indonesian Heritage-Architecture |url=https://archive.org/details/architecture00indo/page/88 |year=1998 |publisher=Archipelago Press |___location=Singapore |isbn=981-3018-30-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/architecture00indo/page/88 88–89] }}</ref>
 
The [[Islamic calendar]] is a [[lunar calendar]] that begins with the [[Hegira|Hijra]] of 622&nbsp;CE, a date that was reportedly chosen by Caliph Umar as it was an important turning point in Muhammad's fortunes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Muslim-calendar|title=Islamic calendar|website=www.britannica.com|date=|access-date=8 August 2022}}</ref> Islamic [[Muslim holidays|holy days]] fall on fixed dates of the lunar calendar, meaning they occur in [[seasons|different seasons]] in different years in the [[Gregorian calendar]]. The most important Islamic festivals are ''[[Eid al-Fitr]]'' ({{langx|ar|عيد الفطر}}) on the 1st of ''[[Shawwal]]'', marking the end of the fasting month ''Ramadan'', and ''[[Eid al-Adha]]'' ({{lang|ar|عيد الأضحى}}) on the 10th of ''Dhu al-Hijjah'', coinciding with the end of the [[Hajj]] (pilgrimage).<ref>{{Cite book| publisher =Oxford University Press| isbn =9780195165203| title =The Islamic World: Past and Present| year = 2004| last=Esposito| first=John| pages = 75–76 |ref=none}}</ref><ref name="www.britannica.com-2023" />
=== The demographics of Islam today ===
{{mainarticle|Islam by country}}
 
[[Cultural Muslims]] are religiously non-practicing individuals who still identify with Islam due to family backgrounds, personal experiences, or the social and cultural environment in which they grew up.<ref>{{cite book|first1= Cara|last1= Aitchison|author1-link= Cara Aitchison|first2= Peter E.|last2= Hopkins|author3-link= Mei-Po Kwan|author3= Mei-Po Kwan|title= Geographies of Muslim Identities: Diaspora, Gender and Belonging|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DRnthQxB8lYC&pg=PA147|access-date= 30 June 2013|year= 2007|publisher= Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn= 978-1-4094-8747-0|pages=147}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Islamic Counselling: An Introduction to theory and practice|first=G. Hussein|last= Rassool|year= 2015| isbn=9781317441250| page =10|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o_QsCgAAQBAJ&dq=Muslims+who+are+religiously+unobservant,+secular+or+irreligious+individuals+who+still+identify+with+the+Muslim&pg=PA10|quote=The label 'Cultural Muslim' is used in the literature to describe those Muslims who are religiously unobservant, secular or irreligious individuals who still identify with the Muslim culture due to family background, personal experiences, or the social and cultural environment in which they grew up... For Cultural Muslim the declaration of faith is superficial and has no effect of their religious practices.}}</ref>
Based on the percentages published in the [[2005]] [[CIA World Factbook]] ([http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/xx.html "World"]), Islam is the second largest religion in the world. According to the [http://www.wnrf.org/news/trends.html World Network of Religious Futurists], the [http://www.religioustolerance.org/growth_isl_chr.htm U.S. Center for World Mission], and the controversial [[Samuel P. Huntington|Samuel Huntington]], Islam is growing faster numerically than any of the other [[major world religions]]. [http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_numb.htm Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance] estimate that it is growing at about 2.9% annually, as opposed to 2.3% per year global population growth. Non-Muslim observers attribute this growth to the higher birth rates in many Islamic countries (six out of the top-ten countries in the world with the highest birth rates are majority Muslim[http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/peo_bir_rat&int=10]). A recent demographic study, however, has determined that some the birth rates of some Muslim countries are plummeting to the levels of western countries [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/GH23Aa01.html]. Muslim observers say that the growth of Islam is due in large part to conversion.
 
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Commonly cited estimates of the Muslim population today range between 900 million and 1.4 billion people (cf. [http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html Adherents.com]); estimates of [[Islam by country]] based on US State Department figures yield a total of 1.48 billion, 22.82% of the world's population (see [[Islam by country]].) Only 18% of [[Muslim|Muslims]] live in the [[Arab]] world; a fifth is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, about 30% in the [[Indian subcontinent]]al region of [[Pakistan]], [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]], and the world's largest single Muslim community (within the bounds of one nation) is in [[Indonesia]]. There are also significant Muslim populations in [[China]], [[Europe]], [[Central Asia]], and [[Russia]]. The number of Muslims in [[North America]] is variously estimated as anywhere from 1.8 to 7 million, depending on which source is used.
File:Sixty Dome Mosque,Bagerhat.jpg|14th century [[Sixty Dome Mosque]], in [[Khalifatabad]], [[Bangladesh]]
File:Djenne great mud mosque.jpg|[[Great Mosque of Djenné]], in the [[west Africa]]n country of [[Mali]]
File:Closeup of Mir-i-Arab Madrasa.jpg|Dome in [[Po-i-Kalyan]], [[Bukhara]], [[Uzbekistan]]
File:1 great mosque xian 2011.JPG|14th century [[Great Mosque of Xi'an]] in China
File:Masjid Menara Kudus.jpg|16th century [[Menara Kudus Mosque]] in Indonesia showing Indian influence
File:Basmalah-1wm.svg|The phrase ''[[Basmala|Bismillah]]'' in an 18th-century Islamic calligraphy from the [[Ottoman empire|Ottoman]] region
File:Roof hafez tomb.jpg|Geometric arabesque tiling on the underside of the dome of Hafiz Shirazi's tomb in [[Shiraz]], [[Iran]]
</gallery>
 
== SymbolsInfluences ofon Islamother religions ==
{{See also|Islam and Druze}}
Whether movements such as the [[Druze]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=De McLaurin |first=Ronald |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalroleofm0000unse |title=The Political Role of Minority Groups in the Middle East |publisher=Michigan University Press |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-03-052596-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/politicalroleofm0000unse/page/114 114] |quote=Theologically, one would have to conclude that the Druze are not Muslims. They do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In place of these principles, the Druze have instituted the seven precepts noted above...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hunter |first=Shireen |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsofislami0000unse |title=The Politics of Islamic Revivalism: Diversity and Unity: Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown University. Center for Strategic and International Studies |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-253-34549-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/politicsofislami0000unse/page/33 33] |quote=Druze – An offshoot of Shi'ism; its members are not considered Muslims by orthodox Muslims.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=R. Williams |first=Victoria |title=Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival [4 volumes] |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-4408-6118-5 |page=318 |quote=As Druze is a nonritualistic religion without requirements to pray, fast, make pilgrimages, or observe days of rest, the Druze are not considered an Islamic people by Sunni Muslims.}}</ref> [[Berghouata]] and [[Ha-Mim]], either emerged from Islam or came to share certain beliefs with Islam, and whether each is a separate religion or a sect of Islam are controversial viewpoints.<ref>{{Cite book |last=D. Grafton |first=David |title=Piety, Politics, and Power: Lutherans Encountering Islam in the Middle East |publisher=[[Wipf and Stock Publishers]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-63087-718-7 |page=14 |quote=In addition, there are several quasi-Muslim sects, in that, although they follow many of the beliefs and practices of orthodox Islam, the majority of Sunnis consider them heretical. These would be the Ahmadiyya, Druze, Ibadi, and the Yazidis.}}</ref> The [[Druze]] faith further split from [[Isma'ilism]] as it developed its own unique doctrines, and finally separated from both Ismāʿīlīsm and Islam altogether; these include the belief that the Imam [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|Al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh]] was [[Incarnation|God incarnate]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Poonawala |first=Ismail K. |date=July–September 1999 |title=Review: ''The Fatimids and Their Traditions of Learning'' by Heinz Halm |journal=[[Journal of the American Oriental Society]] |publisher=[[American Oriental Society]] |volume=119 |issue=3 |page=542 |doi=10.2307/605981 |issn=0003-0279 |jstor=605981 |lccn=12032032 |oclc=47785421}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Bryer | first = David R. W. | title = The Origins of the Druze Religion (Fortsetzung) | journal = [[Der Islam]] | year = 1975 | volume = 52 | issue = 2 | pages = 239–262 | doi = 10.1515/islm.1975.52.2.239 | s2cid = 162363556 | url = https://doi.org/10.1515/islm.1975.52.2.239 | issn = 1613-0928 | ref = {{harvid|Bryer|1975b}} | url-access = subscription }}</ref> [[Yazdânism]] is seen as a blend of local Kurdish beliefs and Islamic Sufi doctrine introduced to [[Kurdistan]] by [[Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir]] in the 12th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foltz |first=Richard |title=Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present |date=7 November 2013 |isbn=978-1-78074-307-3 |page=219 |chapter=Two Kurdish Sects: The Yezidis and the Yaresan |publisher=Oneworld Publications |chapter-url= |chapter-url-access=}}</ref> [[Bábism]] stems from Twelver Shia passed through [[Siyyid 'Ali Muhammad i-Shirazi al-Bab]] while one of his followers Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri [[Baha'u'llah]] founded the [[Baháʼí Faith]].<ref>{{cite web |last=House of Justice |first=Universal |title=One Common Faith |url=http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/bic/OCF/ocf-8.html |access-date=1 April 2017 |website=reference.bahai.org}}</ref> [[Yarsanism]],<ref name="Z. Mir-Hosseini 1994, p.267"/> [[Din-i Ilahi]],{{sfnp|Roychoudhury|1941|page=306}} and [[Ali-Illahism]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Layard |first=Austen Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SQe_sNtIaMC&q=ali%2520illahism&pg=PA216 |title=Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon: With Travels in Armenia, Kurdistan and the Desert: Being the Result of a Second Expedition Undertaken for the Trustees of the British Museum |date=2010-08-31 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108016773 |page=216 |language=en}}</ref> are considered separations from Islam. [[Sikhism]], founded by [[Guru Nanak]] in late 15th century [[Punjab]], primarily incorporates aspects of Islam and [[Hinduism]].<ref>Elsberg, Constance (2003), ''Graceful Women.'' [[University of Tennessee Press]]. {{ISBN|978-1-57233-214-0}}. pp. 27–28.</ref>
 
== Criticism ==
Green is commonly used when representing Islam. It is much used in decorating mosques, tombs, and various religious objects. Some say this is because green was the favorite color of Muhammad and that he wore a green cloak and turban. Others say that it symbolizes vegetation. After Muhammad, only the caliphs were allowed to wear green turbans. In the Qur'an, 18:31, it is said that the inhabitants of paradise will wear green garments of fine silk.
{{Main|Criticism of Islam}}
{{see also|Criticism of Muhammad|Criticism of the Quran}}
[[File:John Damascus (arabic icon).gif|right|thumb|upright|[[John of Damascus]], under the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], viewed Islamic doctrines as a hodgepodge from the [[Bible]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/stjohn_islam.aspx |title=Writings by St John of Damascus |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |year=1958 |series=The Fathers of the Church |volume=37 |___location=Washington, DC |pages=153–160 |chapter=St. John of Damascus's Critique of Islam |access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref>]]
 
Criticism of Islam has existed since its formative stages. Early criticism came from Jewish authors, such as [[Ibn Kammuna]], and Christian authors, many of whom viewed Islam as a [[Medieval Christian views on Muhammad|Christian heresy]] or a form of [[idolatry]], often explaining it in apocalyptic terms.{{sfnp|Fahlbusch et al|2001|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=yaecVMhMWaEC|page=759}} 759]}}
The reference to the Qur'an is verifiable; it is not clear if the other traditions are reliable or mere folklore. However, the association between Islam and the color green is firmly established now, whatever its origins may have been.
 
Christian writers criticized Islam's sensual descriptions of paradise. [[Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari]] defended the Quranic description of paradise by asserting that the Bible also implies such ideas, such as drinking wine in heaven in the [[Gospel of Matthew]]. Catholic theologian [[Augustine of Hippo]]'s doctrines led to the broad repudiation of bodily pleasure in both life and the afterlife.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Christian Lange |title=Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-521-50637-3 |pages=18–20}}</ref>
* The absence of green from medieval European coats of arms is explained by the [[Crusades]], when use of heraldic insignia became important: the crusaders did not use green because that was the colour used by their Islamic opponents.
 
Defamatory images of [[medieval Christian views on Muhammad|Muhammad]], derived from early 7th-century depictions of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire|Byzantine Church]],<ref>[[Minou Reeves|Reeves, Minou]], and P. J. Stewart. 2003. ''Muhammad in Europe: A Thousand Years of Western Myth-Making''. [[New York University Press|NYU Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-8147-7564-6}}. p. 93–96.</ref> appear in the 14th-century epic poem ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' by [[Dante Alighieri]].<ref name="Stone">Stone, G. 2006. ''Dante's Pluralism and the Islamic Philosophy of Religion''. [[Springer Publishing]]. {{ISBN|978-1-4039-8309-1}}. p. 53–54.</ref> Here, Muhammad is depicted in the eighth circle of hell, along with Ali. Dante does not blame Islam as a whole but accuses Muhammad of [[schism]], by establishing another religion after Christianity.<ref name="Stone" />
* In the palace of [[Topkapi]], in [[Istanbul]], there is a room with relics of Muhammad. One of the relics, kept locked in a chest, is said to have been Muhammad's banner, under which he went to war. Some say that this banner is green with golden embroidery; some say that it is black. Others wager that there is in fact no banner in the chest to begin with.
 
Other criticisms centre on the [[Human rights in Muslim-majority countries|treatment of individuals within modern Muslim-majority countries]], including issues related to human rights, particularly in relation to the application of Islamic law.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Yohanan|last1=Friedmann|year=2003|title=Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition|url=https://archive.org/details/tolerancecoercio00frie|url-access=limited|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/tolerancecoercio00frie/page/n31 18], 35|isbn=978-0-521-02699-4}}</ref> Furthermore, in the wake of the recent [[multiculturalism]] trend, Islam's influence on the ability of [[Muslim diaspora|Muslim immigrants]] in the West to assimilate has been [[criticism of multiculturalism|criticized]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Modood |first=Tariq |url=https://archive.org/details/multiculturalism00modo |title=Multiculturalism, Muslims and Citizenship: A European Approach |date=6 April 2006 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-35515-5 |edition=1st |page=[https://archive.org/details/multiculturalism00modo/page/n43 29] |url-access=registration}}</ref>
In early accounts of Muslim warfare, there are references to flags or battle standards of various colors: black, white, red, and greenish-black. Later Islamic dynasties adopted flags of different colors:
 
== See also ==
* The [[Ummayad]]s fought under white banners
* [[Glossary of Islam]]
* The [[Abbasid]]s chose black
* [[Index of Islam-related articles]]
* The [[Fatimid]]s used green
* [[Islamic mythology]]
* Various countries on the [[Persian Gulf]] have chosen red flags
* [[Islamic studies]]
* [[List of scientists in medieval Islamic world]]
* [[Major religious groups]]
* [[Outline of Islam]]
 
==References==
These four colors, white, black, green and red, dominate the flags of Arab states. See [http://www.fotw.net/flags/islam.html] and [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197802/flags.of.the.arab.world.htm].
===Footnotes===
{{notelist}}
 
===Quran and hadith===
The crescent and star are often said to be Islamic symbols, but flag historians say that they were the insignia of the [[Ottoman empire]], not of Islam as a whole.
{{Reflist|group=lower-roman}}
 
== See also =Citations===
{{reflist}}
 
===Sources===
:''[[List of Islamic and Muslim related topics]]''
{{Refbegin|30em}}
{|
* {{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Imad-ad-Dean |title=Signs in the heavens |volume=2 |publisher=Amana Publications |year=2006 |isbn=1-59008-040-8}}
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
* {{cite book |last=Arnold|first=Thomas |title=The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith.|volume= |publisher= |year=1896 |isbn=}}
|
* {{Cite book |last=Bennett |first=Clinton |title=Interpreting the Qur'an: a guide for the uninitiated |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8264-9944-8 |page=101 |author-link=Clinton Bennett}}
* [[Adhan]] (also called azan or aazan)
* {{cite book |last=Blankinship |first=K. |year=2008 |chapter=The early creed |editor=T. Winter |title=The Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology |series=Cambridge Companions to Religion |pages=33–54 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/CCOL9780521780582.003|isbn=978-0-521-78058-2 }}
* [[Apostasy in Islam]]
* {{Cite book |last=Brockopp |first=Jonathan E. |title=Islamic Ethics of Life: abortion, war and euthanasia |publisher=[[University of South Carolina Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-57003-471-8}}
* [[Christo-Islamic]]
*{{Cite book|last=Bulliet|first=Richard| publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]]| isbn = 0-618-42770-8| title = The Earth and Its Peoples
* [[Dawah]]
| ___location = Boston| year = 2005| url = | page = | quote = }}
* [[Islamic economics]]
* {{Cite book |last=Burge|first=Stephen|year=2015|title=Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik |place=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-50473-0}}
* [[Islamic feminism]]
* {{cite book |last=Çakmak |first=Cenap |title=Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia |series=4 volumes |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-61069-217-5}}
* [[Islamophobia]]
* {{Cite book |last=Campo |first=Juan E. |title=Encyclopedia of Islam |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8160-5454-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZbyz_Hr-eIC}}
* [[Islamism]]
* {{Cite book |last=Chittick |first=William C |title=Sufism: A Beginner's Guide |year=2008 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-78074-052-2 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=LI0kjBlXS5UC}} |access-date=17 January 2015}}
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* {{Cite book |last=Cohen-Mor |first=Dalya |title=A Matter of Fate: The Concept of Fate in the Arab World as Reflected in Modern Arabic Literature |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-513398-1}}
* [[Jihad]]
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* [[Opposition to Islam]]
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Esposito |editor-first=John |title=The Oxford History of Islam |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-510799-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofi00john |editor-mask=1}}
* [[Slavery#Slavery under Islam|Slavery under Islam]]
* {{Cite book |last=Esposito |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/unholywarterrori0000espo |title=Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2002a |isbn=978-0-19-516886-0 |author-mask=1}}
* [[Sex segregation#Segregation of the Sexes in Islam|Segregation of the Sexes in Islam]]
* {{Cite book |last=Esposito |first=John |title=What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2002b |isbn=978-0-19-515713-0 |author-mask=1}}
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|}
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* {{Cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyed Muhammad |url=https://archive.org/details/ourreligions00shar |title=Our Religions: The Seven World Religions Introduced by Preeminent Scholars from Each Tradition (Chapter 7) |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-06-067700-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nigosian |first=Solomon Alexander |title=Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-253-21627-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/islamitshistoryt0000nigo |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Peacock|first=A.C.S.|title=Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia|date=2019 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume= |page=|doi= 10.1017/9781108582124|isbn=978-1-108-58212-4|s2cid=211657444}}
* {{Cite book |last=Peters |first=F. E. |url=https://archive.org/details/islamguideforjew00fepe |title=Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-691-11553-5}}
* {{Cite report |date=October 2009 |title=Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]] |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2009/10/Muslimpopulation.pdf |access-date=25 May 2020 |ref={{sfnref|Pew Forum for Religion & Public Life|2009}} }} [https://www.pewforum.org/2009/10/07/mapping-the-global-muslim-population/ Overview].
* {{Cite book |last=Rippin |first=Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/muslimstheirreli0000ripp |title=Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-21781-1 |edition=2nd |author-link=Andrew Rippin}}
* {{cite book |last=Roychoudhury |first=Makhanlal |year=1941 |title=The Din-i Ilahi, or, The Religion of Akbar |publisher=University of Calcutta |oclc=3312929 |url=https://archive.org/details/diniilahiorthere031361mbp |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{cite journal |last=Serjeant |first=R.B. |date=1978 |title=Sunnah Jami'ah, pacts with the Yathrib Jews, and the Tahrim of Yathrib |journal=[[Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies]] |volume=41 |pages=1–42 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00057761 |s2cid=161485671 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Sachedina |first=Abdulaziz |title=The Just Ruler in Shi'ite Islam: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] US |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-511915-2 |author-link=Abdulaziz Sachedina}}
* {{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Jane I. |author-link=Jane Idleman Smith |title=The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-515649-2}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Stefon |editor-first=Matt |title=Islamic Beliefs and Practices |publisher=[[Britannica Educational Publishing]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-61530-060-0 |___location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/islamicbeliefspr0000stef |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Ṭabāṭabāʼī |first1=Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn |title=Shi'ite Islam |translator-last=Nasr |translator-first=Seyyed Hossein |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-87395-272-9 |author-link=Allameh Tabatabaei}}
* {{Cite book |last=Teece |first=Geoff |url=https://archive.org/details/islam0000teec_a5d6 |title=Religion in Focus: Islam |publisher=[[Grolier|Franklin Watts Ltd]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7496-4796-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Trimingham |first=John Spencer |title=The Sufi Orders in Islam |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-512058-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Colin |title=Islam: the Basics |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-34106-6 |___location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Bryan S. |title=Weber and Islam |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-415-17458-9 |___location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Waines |first=David |title=An Introduction to Islam |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-521-53906-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Watt |first=W. Montgomery |title=The Formative Period of Islamic Thought |publisher=University Press Edinburgh |year=1973 |isbn=978-0-85224-245-2 |author-link=William Montgomery Watt}}
* {{Cite book |last=Watt |first=W. Montgomery |url=https://archive.org/details/muhammadprophets00watt |title=Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-19-881078-0 |edition=New |author-mask=1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Weiss |first=Bernard G. |title=Studies in Islamic Legal Theory |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill Academic publishers]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-90-04-12066-2 |___location=Boston |author-link=Bernard G. Weiss}}
{{Refend}}
 
=== Encyclopedias and dictionaries ===
== Notes ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
#Shi'a muslims do not believe in absolute predestination ([[Qadar]]), since they consider it incompatible with Divine Justice. Neither do they believe in absolute free will since that contradicts God's Omniscience and Omnipotence. Rather they believe in "a way between the two ways" (amr bayn al&#8209;'amrayn) believing in free will, but within the boundaries set for it by God and exercised with His permission.
* {{harvc |last1=Gardet|first1=L.|last2=Jomier|first2=J.|year=2012|c=Islām |in=Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.)}} {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0387}}
#The Egyptian Islamic Jihad group claims, as did a few long-extinct early medieval Kharijite sects, that Jihad is the "sixth pillar of Islam." Some Ismaili groups consider "Allegiance to the Imam" to be the so-called sixth pillar of Islam. For more information, see the article entitled [[Sixth pillar of Islam]].
* {{Cite encyclopedia |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]]}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |ref={{harvid|Fahlbusch et al|2001}} |editor-last=Fahlbusch |editor-first=Erwin |display-editors=etal |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=yaecVMhMWaEC}} |title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-90-04-11695-5 |volume=2}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=1913–1936 |title=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |editor1-last=Houtsma |editor1-first=M.T. |editor1-link=Martijn Theodoor Houtsma |editor2-first=T.W. |editor2-last=Arnold |editor2-link=Thomas Walker Arnold |editor3-first=R. |editor3-last=Basset |editor4-first=R. |editor4-last=Hartmann |edition=1st |place=Leiden |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-08265-6 |ref={{harvid|Encyclopaedia of Islam (1st ed.)|1913–1936}}}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2012 |title=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P.J. |issn=1573-3912 |editor1-link=Peri Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C.E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor3-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W.P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |edition=2nd |place=Leiden |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4 |ref={{harvid|Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.)|2012}}}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]] |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P.J. |issn=1573-3912 |editor1-link=Peri Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C.E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor3-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W.P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |ref={{harvid|Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|n.d.}} |year=n.d. |url=https://brill.com/view/package/eio?language=en |url-access=subscription}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |year=2004 |title=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World |series=[[Macmillan Reference Books]] |publisher=[[Thomson-Gale]] |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofis0001unse |editor-last=Martin |editor-first=Richard C. |isbn=978-0-02-865603-8}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |title=[[Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an|Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an Online]] |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]] |year=n.d.|editor-first=Jane Dammen|editor-last=McAuliffe|editor-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=[[Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān]] |volume=2 |editor-first=Jane Dammen |editor-last=McAuliffe |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]] |year=2002}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=[[Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān]] |volume=3 |editor-first=Jane Dammen |editor-last=McAuliffe |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]] |year=2003}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |title=Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals |publisher=[[Routledge]] |editor-last=Salamone |editor-first=Frank |edition=1st |isbn=978-0-415-94180-8 |series=Routledge Encyclopedias of Religion and Society |volume=6 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofre00sala |jstor=j.ctt1jd94wq |year=2004 <!-- no bot -->}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |year=2003 |title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam |publisher=[[AltaMira Press]] |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000glas |editor-last=Glassé |editor-first=Cyril |series=Revised Edition of the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam |isbn=978-0-7591-0190-6 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Esposito |editor-first=John |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-512558-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary00bada |url-access=registration}} {{doi|10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001}} – via Oxford Reference.
* {{Cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Esposito |editor-first=John |year=2004 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |place=Oxford |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-975726-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E324pQEEQQcC}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |year=2006 |title=The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Routledge]] |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=isDgI0-0Ip4C|page=}} |editor-last=Leaman |editor-first=Oliver |isbn=978-0-415-32639-1}}
{{Refend}}
 
== ReferencesFurther reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
* [[Encyclopedia of Islam]]
* Abdul-Haqq, Abdiyah Akbar (1980). ''Sharing Your Faith with a Muslim''. Minneapolis: [[Bethany House Publishers]]. ''N.B''. Presents the genuine doctrines and concepts of Islam and of the Holy Qur'an, and this religion's affinities with Christianity and its Sacred Scriptures, in order to "dialogue" on the basis of what both faiths really teach. {{ISBN|0-87123-553-6}}
* The Koran Interpreted: a translation by A. J. Arberry, ISBN 0684825074
* {{Cite encyclopedia |year=2008 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing|SAGE]]; [[Cato Institute]] |___location=Thousand Oaks, CA |last=Ahmad |first=Imad-ad-Dean |title=Islam |author-link=Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad |editor-last=Hamowy |editor-first=Ronald |editor-link=Ronald Hamowy |pages=256–258 |doi=10.4135/9781412965811.n155 |isbn=978-1-4129-6580-4 |lccn=2008009151 |oclc=750831024 |url={{Google books|yxNgXs3TkJYC|plainurl=yes}} }}
* Islam, by Fazlur Rahman, University of Chicago Press; 2nd edition (1979). ISBN 0226702812
* {{Cite book |last=Akyol |first=Mustafa |url=https://archive.org/details/islamwithoutextr0000akyo |title=Islam Without Extremes |publisher=[[W.W. Norton & Company]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-393-07086-6 |edition=1st |author-link=Mustafa Akyol }}
* The Islamism Debate, Martin Kramer, University Press, 1997
* {{Cite book |last=Arberry |first=A.J. |url=https://archive.org/details/koraninterpreted00ajar |title=The Koran Interpreted: A Translation |publisher=Touchstone |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-684-82507-6 |edition=1st |author-link=A. J. Arberry }}
* Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook, Charles Kurzman, Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0195116224
* Cragg, Kenneth (1975). ''The House of Islam'', in ''The Religious Life of Man Series''. Second ed. Belmont, CA: [[Wadsworth Publishing Company]] 1975. xiii, 145 p. {{ISBN|0-8221-0139-4}}.
* Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender and Pluralism Omid Safi, Oneworld Publications, Oxford, 2003. ISBN 1-85168-316-X
* {{Cite book |last=Hafez |first=Sherine |title=An Islam of Her Own: Reconsidering Religion and Secularism in Women's Islamic Movements |year=2011 |publisher=[[New York University Press]] |isbn=9780814773055 |url=https://opensquare.nyupress.org/books/9780814790724/}}
* The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the New World Disorder, Bassam Tibi, Univ. of California Press, 1998
* {{Cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Muhammad Muhsin |title=Noble Quran |last2=Al-Hilali Khan |last3=Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din |publisher=[[Dar-us-Salam Publications]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-9960-740-79-9 |edition=1st |author-link=Muhammad Muhsin Khan}}
* Khanbaghi, A, (2006). ''The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early Modern Iran''. [[I. B. Tauris]].
* Khavari, Farid A. (1990). ''Oil and Islam: the Ticking Bomb''. First ed. Malibu, Calif.: Roundtable Publications. viii, 277 p., ill. with maps and charts. {{ISBN|0-915677-55-5}}.
* {{Cite book |title=The Jewish Discovery of Islam: Studies in Honor of Bernard Lewis |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-965-224-040-8 |editor-last=Kramer |editor-first=Martin |editor-link=Martin Kramer}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kuban |first=Dogan |title=Muslim Religious Architecture |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]] |year=1974 |isbn=978-90-04-03813-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Bernard |url=https://archive.org/details/islamwest00lewi_0 |title=Islam and the West |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-19-509061-1 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Bernard |url=https://archive.org/details/culturesinconfli0000lewi |title=Cultures in Conflict: Christians, Muslims, and Jews in the Age of Discovery |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-510283-3 |url-access=registration }}
* {{Cite book |last=Mubarkpuri |first=Saifur-Rahman |title=The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Prophet |publisher=[[Dar-us-Salam Publications]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-59144-071-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Najeebabadi |first=Akbar Shah |title=History of Islam |publisher=[[Dar-us-Salam Publications]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-59144-034-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sayilgan |first=Salih |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/god-evil-and-suffering-in-islam/C4C89591ADAAF25F104D517C4F4634B3 |title=God, Evil, and Suffering in Islam |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2023 |isbn=9781009377294}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schimmel |first=Annemarie |url=https://www.giffordlectures.org/books/deciphering-signs-god-phenomenological-approach-islam |title=Deciphering the Signs of God: A Phenomenological Approach to Islam |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-7914-1982-3 |author-link=Annemarie Schimmel |access-date=31 January 2019 |archive-date=22 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422154518/https://www.giffordlectures.org/books/deciphering-signs-god-phenomenological-approach-islam |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite book |last=Schuon |first=Frithjof |title=Understanding Islam |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |year=1963 |isbn=978-0941532242 |edition=3rd |author-link=Frithjof Schuon}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stoddard |first=Lothrop |title=The New World of Islam |publisher=[[Chapman & Hall]] |year=1922 |url=https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/24107}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tausch |first=Arno |title=What 1.3&nbsp;Billion Muslims Really Think: An Answer to a Recent Gallup Study, Based on the "World Values Survey". Foreword Mansoor Moaddel, Eastern Michigan University |publisher=[[Nova Science Publishers]], New York |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60692-731-1 |edition=1st }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Tausch |first1=Arno |title=The political algebra of global value change. General models and implications for the Muslim world |first2=Almas |last2=Heshmati |first3=Hichem |last3=Karoui |publisher=[[Nova Science Publishers]] |place=New York |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-62948-899-8 |edition=1st }} Prepublication text available at: {{cite web |last1=Tausch |first1=Arno |last2=Heshmati |first2=Almas |last3=Karoui |first3=Hichem |date=January 2014 |title=The political algebra of global value change. General models and implications for the Muslim world |website=ResearchGate |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290349218 }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Tausch |first1=Arno |title=Political Islam and Religiously Motivated Political Extremism |series=SpringerBriefs in Political Science |publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |place=Cham |year=2023 |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-24854-2 |isbn=978-3-031-24853-5 |s2cid=256852082 |edition=1st |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-24854-2 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Benjamin |title=Foundations of Islam: The Making of a World Faith |publisher=[[Peter Owen Publishers]] |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-7206-1038-3 |author-link=Benjamin Walker (author)}}
{{Refend}}
 
== External links ==
{{Library resources box}}
=== Online academic sources ===
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islam "Islam"]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
*[http://www.encislam.demo.brill.nl/ ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (Brill) Online Demo Page]
* [httphttps://philtarwww.ucsmbbc.acco.uk/encyclopediareligion/religions/islam/index.shtml EncyclopediaReligion of& Ethics – Islam] (OverviewA number of Worldintroductory Religions)]articles on Christianity from the BBC
*[http://www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/home.html Resources for Studying Islam] (Department of Islamic Studies, University of Georgia)
 
=== Directories ===
*Islam in [http://omnibus.uni-freiburg.de/~riexinge/euroislam.html Western Europe], [http://omnibus.uni-freiburg.de/~riexinge/UKIslam.html the United Kingdom], and [http://omnibus.uni-freiburg.de/~riexinge/sasislam.html South Asia] (Martin Riexinger, University of Freiburg)
*[http://dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Islam/ Dmoz.org Open Directory Project: Islam] (a list of links with information about Islam)
*[http://dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Opposing_Views/Islam/ Dmoz.org Open Directory Project: Contra Islam] (a list of links critical of Islam)
 
===Islam and the arts, sciences & philosophy ===
*[http://users.telerama.com/~jdehullu/islam/frames.htm Islamic Architecture]
*[http://www.lacma.org/islamic_art/intro.htm Islamic Art] (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
*[http://www.muslimheritage.com/ Muslim Heritage] (Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation, UK)
*[http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/ Islamic Architecture (IAORG)] illustrated descriptions and reviews of a large number of mosques, palaces, and monuments.
*[http://www.muslimmuseum.org/ The International Museum of Muslim Cultures], Jackson, MS. Features exhibits on Islamic Moorish Spain and the Timbuktu Manuscripts.
*[http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ Islamic Philosophy] (Journal of Islamic Philosophy, University of Michigan)
 
{{Islam topics}}
{{Religion topics}}
{{Subject bar|Islam|Religion
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|n = Category:Islam
|q = Islam
|s = Portal:Islam
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|wikt = Islam}}
{{Authority control}}
 
[[Category:Islam| ]]
[[Category:610 establishments]]
 
[[afCategory:7th-century Islam]]
[[Category:Abrahamic religions]]
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[[Category:Monotheistic religions]]
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[[Category:Organizations established in the 7th century]]
[[bg:Ислям]]
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[[la:Religio Islamica]]
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[[th:ศาสนาอิสลาม]]
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