Islam is one of the world’s major religions. It shares with Judaism and Christianity a belief in a single god. The Arabic name for God is Allah. The word Islam means “surrender (to God).” The followers of Islam are called Muslims, which in Arabic means “one who surrenders to God.”
While Islam is mainly associated with the Middle East, its roughly one billion followers are found throughout the world. The largest Islamic communities exist in the nations of Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There are also sizeable communities throughout West Africa, India, and in parts of China.
Central to the beliefs of Islam is the idea of one, omnipotent God who transcends class, race, and national differences. Muslims believe in the word of God contained in the holy book called the Koran (sometimes spelled Qur’an or Kur’an), as revealed to the Prophet Mohammad by the angel Gabriel between 610–623 CE in Arabia. They also follow practices known as the “Five Pillars of Islam.”
One must profess this testimony of faith, summarized in the two testimonies:
One must offer the five daily prayers at their specific times. Through the prayer, a Muslim maintains his relationship with Allah, comes to remember Him often, and avoids falling into sin.
Muslims must fast for a period of one lunar month, which is the month of Ramadan, by refraining from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk. The goal of fasting, as mentioned in the Quran, is to increase one’s piety and God-consciousness.
Those who have stored a certain amount of wealth must allot a specific portion of it annually to designated deserving recipients.
Pilgrimage to the House of God, the Kabah, in Mecca is obligatory for every able Muslim once in a lifetime. The Hajj is a physical and visual proof of the brotherhood of humanity, and their equality in servitude in front of Allah.