The Religion of Islam

The reli­gion of Islam, found­ed by Prophet Muham­mad in the 7th cen­tu­ry, has grown to be a major world reli­gion. It was ini­tial­ly car­ried by Arabs through­out the Mid­dle East and has since gained fol­low­ers glob­al­ly, notably in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Unit­ed States. Today, the adher­ents of Islam, known as Mus­lims, span across con­ti­nents, cul­tures, and eth­nic groups, cre­at­ing a tru­ly glob­al com­mu­ni­ty.

The Meaning of Islam

The term Islam, in Ara­bic, means a com­mit­ment made to God with­out reser­va­tions. The term car­ries weight­i­er impli­ca­tions than its com­mon trans­la­tions like “sub­mis­sion,” “sur­ren­der,” or “res­ig­na­tion” may sug­gest. Islam sig­ni­fies a deep-root­ed faith, obe­di­ence, and trust in Allah, the one and only God. In the Qur’an, Islam is referred to as “the reli­gion of Abra­ham,” empha­siz­ing the con­ti­nu­ity of monothe­is­tic faith from the patri­arch Abra­ham to the fol­low­ers of Islam today.

The Life of Muhammad and the Beginning of Islam

Muham­mad, born in 570 in Makkah, began receiv­ing divine rev­e­la­tions around 610 that con­vinced him of his role as God’s mes­sen­ger. He preached monothe­ism in poly­the­is­tic Mec­ca, lead­ing to con­flict and even­tu­al emi­gra­tion to Med­i­na in 622, a migra­tion known as the Hijrah, mark­ing the begin­ning of the Islam­ic lunar cal­en­dar.

Muham­mad’s accep­tance as a reli­gious and mil­i­tary leader in Med­i­na led to Islam’s spread through­out the region. By the time of his death in 632, Islam had won the alle­giance of most Arab tribes.

The Expansion of Islam and the Caliphate

After Muham­mad’s death, the caliphate was estab­lished, with the Prophet’s father-in-law, Abu Bakr, as the first Caliph. The expan­sion of the Caliphate under sub­se­quent caliphs, Umar and Uth­man, led to the spread of Islam across the Ara­bi­an penin­su­la, North Africa, and parts of Asia. This peri­od also marked the divi­sion of the Mus­lim com­mu­ni­ty into Sun­ni and Shi­ite sects, a divide that per­sists to this day.

The Continued Spread and Influence of Islam

From the 7th to the 10th cen­turies, Islam spread fur­ther, reach­ing the north­west of Africa, cross­ing the Strait of Gibral­tar into Spain, and reach­ing the east into India, effec­tive­ly bor­der­ing Chi­na. In the 750s, the Abbasids end­ed Umayyad rule and moved the Caliphate’s cap­i­tal to Bagh­dad, ush­er­ing in a Gold­en Age of Islam­ic learn­ing and philo­soph­i­cal thought.

Islam found its way into South­east Asia in the 13th cen­tu­ry, where it grad­u­al­ly spread through­out the Indone­sian arch­i­pel­ago. Today, Indone­sia and Malaysia have the largest pop­u­la­tion of Mus­lims in the world. Sim­i­lar­ly, Islam found roots in West Africa through trade, roy­al courts, and the spread of Sufi orders from the 10th to the 16th cen­turies.

The Five Pillars of Islam: Faith and Practice

The five pil­lars of Islam are the basic duties of a Mus­lim: sha­ha­da (pro­fes­sion of faith), salat (rit­u­al prayer five times a day), zakat (alms­giv­ing), sawm (fast­ing dur­ing Ramadan), and hajj (pil­grim­age to Mec­ca). These pil­lars rep­re­sent the uni­ty of faith and action in Islam, show­ing how indi­vid­ual com­mit­ment to God is com­bined with a sense of com­mu­ni­ty and care for the less for­tu­nate.

The Universality of Islam

Islam is an inclu­sivist reli­gion, acknowl­edg­ing that God has sent mes­sen­gers to all peo­ples and rec­og­niz­ing a spe­cial link between Mus­lims, Jews, and Chris­tians as descen­dants of Abra­ham. The Qur’an men­tions numer­ous “Mus­lims before Muham­mad,” includ­ing Abra­ham, Solomon, and the dis­ci­ples of Jesus, sug­gest­ing that the essence of Islam—submission to the one God—has always been a part of human reli­gious his­to­ry.

Islam Today

As of the ear­ly 21st cen­tu­ry, the world Mus­lim pop­u­la­tion is esti­mat­ed to be between 750 mil­lion and 1.2 bil­lion, mak­ing Islam one of the largest reli­gions in the world. Despite the vari­a­tions in prac­tice and inter­pre­ta­tion across cul­tures and soci­eties, the core prin­ci­ples of faith, obe­di­ence, and trust in Allah remain con­stant.

Today, Islam con­tin­ues to play a sig­nif­i­cant role in many regions of the world, influ­enc­ing social norms, legal sys­tems, and cul­tur­al prac­tices. Its rich his­to­ry and endur­ing tenets con­tin­ue to guide the lives of Mus­lims world­wide.