Islam, Major world religion founded by Muhammad in Arabia in the early 7th century CE. The Arabic word islam means “surrender”—specifically, surrender to the will of the one God, called Allah in Arabic. Islam is a strictly monotheistic religion, and its adherents, called Muslims, regard the Prophet Muhammad as the last and most perfect of God’s messengers, who include Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and others. The sacred scripture of Islam is the Qurʾān, which contains God’s revelations to Muhammad. The sayings and deeds of the Prophet recounted in the sunna are also an important source of belief and practice in Islam.
The religious obligations of all Muslims are summed up in the Five Pillars of Islam, which include belief in God and his Prophet and obligations of prayer, charity, pilgrimage, and fasting. The fundamental concept of Islam is the Sharīʿāh—its law, which embraces the total way of life commanded by God. Observant Muslims pray five times a day and join in community worship on Fridays at the mosque, where worship is led by an imam. Every believer is required to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city, at least once in a lifetime, barring poverty or physical incapacity. The month of Ramadan is set aside for fasting. Alcohol and pork are always forbidden, as are gambling, usury, fraud, slander, and the making of images. In addition to Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates the breaking of the fast of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Muhammad’s birthday and his ascension into heaven. Eid al-Adha inaugurates the season of pilgrimage to Mecca.
Divisions occurred early in Islam, brought about by disputes over the succession to the Caliphate. The majority of Muslims belong to the Sunni branch. The Shīʿites broke away in the 7th century and later gave rise to other sects, including the Ismāʿīlīs. Another significant element in Islam is the mysticism known as Sufism. From the 19th century the concept of the Islamic community inspired Muslims to cast off Western colonial rule, and in the late 20th century fundamentalist movements threatened or toppled a number of secular Middle Eastern governments. In the early 21st century, there were more than 1.2 billion Muslims in the world.
