Islam is a monotheistic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. It is currently the second-largest religion in the world, with an estimated 1.4 billion adherents called "Muslims".[1] The word Islam means "submission", or the total surrender of one's self to God (Arabic: Allah) and the word Muslim means "one who submits (to God)".
Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad and that Muhammad is God's final prophet. The Qur'an and the Sunnah (the words and deeds of Muhammad) are regarded as the fundamental sources of Islam. Muslims do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. They hold that part of the messages of these prophets became distorted over time either in interpretation, in text, or both. Like Judaism, and Christianity, Islam is an Abrahamic religion.
Islam includes a wide variety of religious practices. All adherents are required to observe the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five simple duties that serve to unite Muslims into a community. Over the centuries, Islamic law (Shariah) has developed a tradition of rulings that touch on virtually all aspects of life and society. In addition to the Five Pillars, this tradition encompasses everything from practical matters like dietary laws to practices like jihad.
Today, Islam is the predominant religion in North Africa, West Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of the Indian subcontinent. Large communities can also be found in China, Western Europe, the Balkan Peninsula, and Russia. Only about 20 percent of Muslims originate from Arab countries.
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