Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of existence is to worship God.[1][2] Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through Abraham, Moses and Jesus, whom they consider prophets.[3] Muslims maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time,[4] but consider the Qur'an to be both the unaltered and the final revelation of God.[5] Religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam, which are basic concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and following Islamic law, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, providing guidance on multifarious topics from banking and welfare, to warfare and the environment.[6][7]
Most Muslims belong to one of two denominations; with 80-90% being Sunni and 10-20% being Shia.[8][9][10] About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country,[11] 25% in South Asia,[11] 20% in the Middle East,[12] 2% in Central Asia, 4% in the remaining South East Asian countries, and 15% in Sub-saharan Africa.[13] Sizable communities are also found in China and Russia, and parts of Europe. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world (see Islam by country). With about 1.3-1.57 billion Muslims, comprising about 21-23% of the world's population,[13][14][15] Islam is the second-largest religion and one of the fastest-growing religions in the world.[16][17]
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Etymology and meaning
Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, completion and bonding/joining.[18] In a religious context it means "voluntary submission to God".[19][20] Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive. Believers demonstrate submission to God by worshipping God and following his commands, and rejecting polytheism. The word sometimes has distinct connotations in its various occurrences in the Qur'an. In some verses (ayat), there is stress on the quality of Islam as an internal conviction: "Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam."[21] Other verses connect islām and dīn (usually translated as "religion"): "Today, I have perfected your religion (dīn) for you; I have completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam for your religion."[22] Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith.[23] Another technical meaning in Islamic thought is as one part of a triad of islam, imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence) where it represents acts of worship (`ibādah) and Islamic law (sharia).[24]Articles of faith
God
Main article: God
in Islam
Islam's most fundamental concept is a rigorous monotheism, called tawhīd (Arabic: توحيد). God
is described in chapter 112 of the Qur'an as:[25]
"Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He
begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." (112:1-4)
Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity
and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism,
but accept Jesus as a prophet. In Islam, God is beyond all
comprehension and Muslims are not expected to visualize God. God is
described and referred to by certain names or attributes, the most
common being Al-Rahmān, meaning "The Compassionate" and Al-Rahīm,
meaning "The Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam).[26]Muslims believe that creation of everything in the universe is brought into being by God’s sheer command “‘Be’ and so it is.”[8][27] and that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[2][28] He is viewed as a personal God who responds whenever a person in need or distress calls Him.[8][29] There are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God who states “We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein”[30]
Allāh is the term with no plural or gender used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning the one God, while ʾilāh (Arabic: إله) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[31] Other non-Arab Muslims might use different names as much as Allah, for instance "Tanrı" in Turkish or "Khodā" in Persian.
Angels
Main article: Islamic view of angels
Belief in angels is fundamental to the faith of Islam. The Arabic
word for angel (Arabic: ملاك
malak) means "messenger",
like its counterparts in Hebrew (malakh) and Greek (angelos). According to the Qur'an, angels do
not possess free will, and worship God in total obedience.[32]
Angels' duties include communicating revelations
from God, glorifying God, recording every person's actions, and taking a
person's soul
at the time of death. They are also thought to intercede
on man's behalf. The Qur'an describes angels as "messengers with
wings—two, or three, or four (pairs): He [God] adds to Creation as He
pleases..."[33]Revelations
Main articles: Islamic holy books and Qur'an
See also: History of the Qur'an
The Islamic holy books are the records which most Muslims believe
were dictated by God to various prophets. Muslims believe that parts of
the previously revealed scriptures, the Tawrat
(Torah)
and the Injil (Gospels), had become distorted—either
in interpretation, in text, or both.[4]
The Qur'an (literally, “Reading” or “Recitation”) is
viewed by Muslims as the final revelation and literal Word of God and
is widely regarded as the finest piece of literature work in the Arabic language.[34][35][36]
Muslims believe that the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad
by God through the archangel Gabriel (Jibrīl). On many occasions
between 610 and his death on June 8, 632.[37]
The Qur'an was reportedly written down by Muhammad's companions (sahabah)
while he was alive, although the prime method of transmission was
orally. It was compiled in the time of Abu Bakr,
the first caliph,
and was standardized under
the administration of Uthman, the third caliph.The Qur'an is divided into 114 suras, or chapters, which combined, contain 6,236 āyāt, or verses. The chronologically earlier suras, revealed at Mecca, are primarily concerned with ethical and spiritual topics. The later Medinan suras mostly discuss social and moral issues relevant to the Muslim community.[38] The Qur'an is more concerned with moral guidance than legal instruction, and is considered the "sourcebook of Islamic principles and values".[39] Muslim jurists consult the hadith, or the written record of Prophet Muhammad's life, to both supplement the Qur'an and assist with its interpretation. The science of Qur'anic commentary and exegesis is known as tafsir.[40]
When Muslims speak in the abstract about "the Qur'an", they usually mean the scripture as recited in Arabic rather than the printed work or any translation of it. To Muslims, the Qur'an is perfect only as revealed in the original Arabic; translations are necessarily deficient because of language differences, the fallibility of translators, and the impossibility of preserving the original's inspired style. Translations are therefore regarded only as commentaries on the Qur'an, or "interpretations of its meaning", not as the Qur'an itself.[41]
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