Islam

Origins & essence

Islam is a monotheistic tradition founded in seventh-century Arabia, when the Prophet Muhammad received revelations he understood as the word of God (Allah). These revelations, collected in the Qur'an, affirm earlier prophets including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus while presenting Muhammad as the final messenger in a line of divine guidance. Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina (622 CE, the hijra) marks the start of the Islamic calendar and the formation of a cohesive Muslim community. Within decades of his death in 632, Arab-Muslim armies had expanded across the Middle East and North Africa, bringing Islam into contact with Persian, Byzantine, and Central Asian cultures.

Muslims profess tawhid, the absolute oneness of God, and seek submission (islam) to divine will through faith and practice. The Five Pillars structure religious life: the shahada (declaration of faith), salat (ritual prayer), zakat (almsgiving), sawm (fasting during Ramadan), and hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca for those able). Islamic law (sharia) draws on the Qur'an, the sunna (Muhammad's example recorded in hadith), and centuries of jurisprudential reasoning, producing schools of thought such as Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali. A political succession dispute after Muhammad's death contributed to the Sunni-Shia division, which remains significant though both branches share core beliefs.

Islam is the world's second-largest religion, with diverse expressions from West Africa to Southeast Asia. Sufi mysticism, philosophical theology (kalam), and institutions such as madrasas and waqf endowments have shaped intellectual history. Modern Muslim societies debate reform, gender roles, political Islam, and relations with non-Muslim majorities. Academic study examines Islam as scripture, law, civilization, and lived practice, emphasizing regional variation rather than a single monolithic culture.

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