Islam: An Overview

Islam is the second followed religion globally, with an estimated 1.9 billion followers. Islam followers are termed as Muslims. Islam emerged in the 7th century in Hijaz, the western Arabian Peninsula region. It was introduced by Prophet Muhammad, who was the last Prophet after Moses and Jesus in the Islamic faith. In Islam, a prophet means Allah’s (God’s) messenger.

The terms Islam and Muslim come from an Arabic word meaning submission. Therefore, a Muslim is a follower of the Islam religion and means a person who accepts and obeys God’s will. Muslims are found across the world. A worldwide community of Muslims is referred to as Ummah.

Muslims believe in one God and are thus monotheistic. The term used to refer to God in Islam is Allah. Allah is believed to be the creator of everything, and he has 99 names that describe his attributes. In addition, Muslims have an Islamic holy book called the Quran with 114 chapters and more than 6000 verses. The Quran is written in Arabic, and it mainly contains a collection of messages/revelations from God (Allah). These revelations were delivered to Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Apart from the Quran, Muslims have sacred narratives known as Hadith. Hadith are usually short, and they contain information revolving around the life of Prophet Muhammad and his companions.