Etymology
In Arabic, ''Islam'' ( ar, إسلام, lit=submissionArticles of faith
The Islamic creed (''aqidah'') requires belief in Iman (concept)#The six articles of the Islamic faith, six articles: God, angels, revelation, prophets, the Day of Resurrection, and the divine decree.God
The central concept of Islam is ''Tawhid, tawḥīd'' ( ar, توحيد, link=no), the oneness of God. Usually thought of as a ''precise monotheism'', but also panentheism, panentheistic in Islamic mystical teachings. God is seen as incomparable and without partners such as in the Christian Trinity, and associating partners to God or attributing God's attributes to others is seen as idolatory, called Shirk (Islam), ''shirk''. God is seen as transcendent of creation and so is beyond comprehension. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules and do not attribute forms to God. God is instead described and referred to by several Names of God in Islam, names or attributes, the most common being ''Ar-Rahmān'' () meaning "The Entirely Merciful," and ''Ar-Rahīm'' () meaning "The Especially Merciful" which are invoked at the beginning of most chapters of the Quran. Islam teaches that the creation of everything in the universe was brought into being by God's command as expressed by the wording, "Be, and it is,"Q2:117 and that the Purpose of life, purpose of existence is to worship God. He is viewed as a personal god and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Consciousness and awareness of God is referred to as Taqwa. ''Allāh'' is a term with no plural or gender being ascribed to it and is also used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews in reference to God, whereas ' () is a term used for a deity or a god in general. Other non-Arab Muslims might use different names as much as Allah, for instance in Turkish or in Persian.Angels
Angels ( ar, ملك, link=no, ') are beings described in the Quran and hadith. They are described as created to worship God and also to serve other specific duties such as communicating revelations from God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. They are described as being created variously from 'light' (Nūr (Islam), ''nūr'') or 'fire' (''nār''). Islamic angels are often represented in Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic forms combined with supernatural images, such as wings, being of great size or wearing heavenly articles. Common characteristics for angels are their missing needs for bodily desires, such as eating and drinking. Some of them, such as Gabriel and Michael (archangel), Michael, are mentioned by name in the Quran. Angels play a significant role in the literature about the Isra and Mi'raj, Mi'raj, where Muhammad encounters several angels during his journey through the heavens. Further angels have often been featured in Islamic eschatology, Kalam, theology and Islamic philosophy, philosophy.Books
The Islamic holy books are the records that Muslims believe various prophets received from God through revelations, called ''wahy''. Muslims believe that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, such as the ''Tawrat'' (Torah) and the ''Injil'' (Gospel in Islam, Gospel), had become tahrif, distorted—either in interpretation, in text, or both, while the Quran (lit. 'Recitation') is viewed as the final, verbatim and unaltered word of God. Muslims believe that the verses of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad by God, through the archangel Gabriel (''Rūḥ, Jibrīl''), on multiple occasions between 610 CE and 632, the year Muhammad died. While Muhammad was alive, these revelations were written down by his companions, although the prime method of transmission was orally through Hafiz (Quran), memorization. The Quran is divided into 114 chapters (suras) which combined contain 6,236 verses (''ayah, āyāt''). The chronologically earlier chapters, revealed atProphets
Prophets (Arabic: ar, أنبياء, label=none, translit=anbiyāʾ) are believed to have been chosen by God to receive and preach a divine message. Additionally, a prophet delivering a new book to a nation is called a ''rasul'' ( ar, رسول, label=none, translit=rasūl), meaning "messenger". Muslims believe prophets are human and not divine. All of the prophets are said to have preached the same basic message of Islam – submission to the will of God – to various nations in the past and that this accounts for many similarities among religions. The Quran Qisas Al-Anbiya, recounts the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam, including Adam, Noah,Resurrection and judgment
Belief in the "Day of Resurrection" or ''Qiyamah, Yawm al-Qiyāmah'' ( ar, يوم القيامة, link=no), is also crucial for Muslims. It is believed that the time of ''Qiyāmah'' is preordained by God but unknown to man. The Quran and the hadith, as well as in the commentaries of Ulama, scholars, describe the trials and Great Tribulation, tribulations preceding and during the ''Qiyāmah''. The Quran emphasizes universal resurrection, bodily resurrection, a break from the pre-Islamic Arabian understanding of death. On Yawm al-Qiyāmah, Muslims believe all humankind will be judged by their good and bad deeds and consigned to ''Jannah'' (paradise) or ''Jahannam'' (hell). The Quran in Surat al-Zalzalah describes this as: "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." The Quran Islamic views of sin, lists several sins that can condemn a person to hell, such as Kafir, disbelief in God ( ar, كفر, translit=kufr, label=none), and dishonesty. However, the Quran makes it clear that God will forgive the Islamic views on sin, sins of those who repent if he wishes. Good deeds, like charity, prayer, and compassion towards animals, will be rewarded with entry to heaven. Muslims view heaven as a place of joy and blessings, with Quranic references describing its features. Mystical traditions in Islam place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of God. ''Yawm al-Qiyāmah'' is also identified in the Quran as ''Yawm ad-Dīn'' ( "Day of Religion");; ''as-Sāʿah'' ( "the Last Hour");; and ''Al-Qaria, al-Qāriʿah'' ( "The Clatterer");Divine predestination
The concept of Divinity, divine decree and destiny in Islam ( ar, القضاء والقدر, ') means that every matter, good or bad, is believed to have been decreed by God. ''Al-qadar'', meaning "power", derives from a root that means "to measure" or "calculating". Muslims often express this belief in divine destiny with the phrase Inshallah, "Insha-Allah" meaning "if God wills" when speaking on future events. In addition to loss, gain is also seen as a test of believers – whether they would still recognize that the gain originates only from God.Acts of worship
There are five obligatory acts of worship – theTestimony
The Shahada, ''shahadah'', is anPrayer
Prayer in Islam, called salah, as-salah or aṣ-ṣalāt ( ar, الصلاة, link=no), is seen as a personal communication with God and consists of repeating units called rakat that include Ruku, bowing and Sujud, prostrating to God. Performing prayers five times a day is compulsory. The prayers are recited in the Arabic language and consist of verses from the Quran. The prayers are done in direction of the kaaba, Ka'bah. Salah requires ritual purity, which involves ''wudu'' (ritual wash) or occasionally, such as for new converts, ''ghusl'' (full body ritual wash). The means used to signal the prayer time is a vocal call called the ''adhan''. A mosque is a places of worship, place of worship for Muslims, who often refer to it by its Arabic name masjid. Although the primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place of prayer, it is also important to the ummah, Muslim community as a place to meet and study with the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Masjid an-Nabawi ("Prophetic Mosque") in Medina, Saudi Arabia, having also served as a shelter for the poor. Minarets are towers used to call the adhan.Charity
Zakat, Zakāt (Arabic language, Arabic: ar, زكاة, translit=zakāh, label=none) is a means of welfare in a Muslim society, characterized by the giving of a fixed portion (2.5% annually)Ahmed, Medani, and Sebastian Gianci. "Zakat." p. 479 in ''Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy''. of Financial capital, accumulated wealth by those who can afford it to help the poor or needy, such as for freeing captives, those in bonded labour, debt, or for (stranded) travellers, and for those employed to collect zakat. It is considered a religious obligation that the well-off owe to the needy because their wealth is seen as a "trust from God's bounty" and is seen as a "purification" of one's excess wealth. The total annual value contributed due to zakat is 15 times greater then global humanitarian aid donations, using conservative estimates. ''Sadaqah'', as opposed to Zakat, is a much encouraged Supererogation, supererogatory charity. A waqf is a perpetual charitable trust, which financed hospitals and schools in Muslim societies.Fasting
During the month of Ramadan, it is obligatory for Muslims to fast. The Ramadan fast (Arabic language, Arabic: ar, صوم, translit=ṣawm, label=none) precludes food and drink, as well as other forms of consumption, such as smoking, and is performed from dawn to sunset. The fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to God by restraining oneself for God's sake from what is otherwise permissible and to think of the needy. In addition, there are other days when fasting is supererogatory.Pilgrimage
The obligatory Islamic pilgrimage, called the "" ( ar, حج, link=no), is to be done at least once a lifetime by every Muslim with the means to do so during the Islamic calendar, Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Rituals of the Hajj mostly imitate the story of the family ofQuranic recitation and memorization
Muslims recite and memorize the whole or parts of the Quran as acts of virtue. Reciting the Quran with elocution (''tajwid'') has been described as an excellent act of worship. Pious Muslims recite the whole Quran during the month of Ramadan. In Muslim societies, any social program generally begins with the recitation of the Quran. One who has memorized the whole Quran is called a hafiz ("memorizer") who, it is said, will be able to intercede for ten people on the Last Judgment Day. Apart from this, almost every Muslim memorizes some portion of the Quran because they need to recite it during their prayers.Supplication and remembrance
Supplication to God, called in Arabic ''ad-duʿāʾ'' ( ar, الدعاء ) has its own etiquette such as Raising hands in dua, raising hands as if begging or invoking with an extended index finger. Remebrance of God ( ar, ذكر, translit=Dhikr', label=none) refers to phrases repeated referencing God. Commonly, this includes Tahmid, declaring Alhamdulillah, praise be due to God ( ar, الحمد لله, translit=al-Ḥamdu lillāh, label=none) during prayer or when feeling thankful, Tasbih, declaring glory to God during prayer or when in awe of something and saying 'Basmala, in the name of God' (, ) before starting an act such as eating.History
Muhammad (610–632)
Born inCaliphate and civil strife (632–750)
Muhammad died in 632 and the first successors, called Caliphs – Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman ibn al-Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib and sometimes Hasan ibn Ali – are known in Sunni Islam as ''al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn'' ("Rightly Guided Caliphs"). Some tribes left Islam and rebelled under leaders who declared themselves new prophets but were crushed by Abu Bakr in the Ridda wars. Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, persecuted as religious minorities and heretics and taxed heavily, often helped Muslims take over their lands, resulting in rapid expansion of the caliphate into the Sassanid Empire, Persian and Byzantine empires. Uthman election of Uthman, was elected in 644 and his assassination by rebels led to Ali being elected the next Caliph. In the First Fitna, First Civil War, Muhammad's widow, Aisha, raised an army against Ali, asking to avenge the death of Uthman, but was defeated at the Battle of the Camel. Ali attempted to remove the governor of Syria, Mu'awiya, who was seen as corrupt. Mu'awiya then declared war on Ali and was defeated in the Battle of Siffin. Ali's decision to arbitrate angered the Kharijites, an extremist sect, who felt that by not fighting a sinner, Ali became a sinner as well. The Kharijites rebelled and were defeated in the Battle of Nahrawan but a Kharijite assassin later killed Ali. Ali's son, Hasan ibn Ali, was elected Caliph and signed a Hasan–Muawiya treaty, peace treaty to avoid further fighting, abdicating to Muawiyah I, Mu'awiyah in return for Mu'awiyah not appointing a successor. Mu'awiyah began the Umayyad dynasty with the appointment of his son Yazid I as successor, sparking the Second Fitna, Second Civil War. During the Battle of Karbala, Husayn ibn Ali was killed by Yazid's forces; the event has been Ashura, annually commemorated by Shia ever since. Sunnis, led by Ibn al-Zubayr, opposed to a dynastic caliphate were defeated in the Siege of Mecca (692), Siege of Mecca. These disputes over leadership would give rise to the Sunni-Shia schism, with the Shia believing leadership belongs to Muhammad's family through Ali, called the ahl al-bayt. Political quietism in Islam, Quietist forms of Kharijites led to the third largest denomination in Islam, Ibadiyya. Abu Bakr's leadership oversaw the beginning of the compilation of the Qur'an. The Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz set up the committee, The Seven Fuqaha of Medina, and Malik ibn Anas wrote one of the earliest books on Islamic jurisprudence, the ''Muwatta Imam Malik, Muwatta'', as a consensus of the opinion of those jurists. The Kharijites believed there is no compromised middle ground between good and evil, and any Muslim who commits a grave sin becomes an unbeliever. The term is also used to refer to later groups such as Islamic State, Isis. The Murji'ah taught that people's righteousness could be judged by God alone. Therefore, wrongdoers might be considered misguided, but not denounced as unbelievers. This attitude came to prevail into mainstream Islamic beliefs. The Umayyad dynasty conquered the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Gallia Narbonensis, Narbonnese Gaul and Sindh. The Umayyads struggled with a lack of legitimacy and relied on a heavily patronized military. Since the jizya tax was a tax paid by non-Muslims which exempted them from military service, the Umayyads denied recognizing the conversion of non-Arabs as it reduced revenue. While the Rashidun Caliphate emphasized austerity, with Umar even requiring an inventory of each official's possessions, Umayyad luxury bred dissatisfaction among the pious. The Kharijites led the Berber Revolt leading to the first Muslim states independent of the Caliphate. In the Abbasid revolution, non-Arab converts (''mawali''), Arab clans pushed aside by the Umayyad clan, and some Shi'a rallied and overthrew the Umayyads, inaugurating the more cosmopolitan Abbasid dynasty in 750.Classical era (750–1258)
Al-Shafi'i codified a method to determine the reliability of hadith. During the early Abbasid era, scholars such as Muhammad al-Bukhari, Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Muslim compiled the major Six major Hadith collections, Sunni hadith collections while scholars like Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni, Al-Kulayni and Ibn Babawayh compiled major Shia hadith collections. The four Sunni Madh'habs, the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi'i, were established around the teachings of Abū Ḥanīfa, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Malik ibn Anas and al-Shafi'i. In contrast, the teachings of Ja'far al-Sadiq formed the Ja'fari jurisprudence. In the 9th century Al-Tabari completed the first commentary of the Quran, that became one of the most cited commentaries in Sunni Islam, the ''Tafsir al-Tabari''. Some Muslims began questioning the piety of indulgence in worldly life and emphasized poverty, humility, and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Ascetics such as Hasan al-Basri would inspire a movement that would evolve into ''Tasawwuf'' or Sufism. At this time, theological problems, notably on free will, were prominently tackled, with Hasan al Basri holding that although God knows people's actions, good and evil come from abuse of free will and the Iblis, devil. Greek rationalist philosophy influenced a speculative school of thought known as Muʿtazila, first originated by Wasil ibn Ata. Caliphs such as Mamun al Rashid and Al-Mu'tasim made it an official creed and unsuccessfully attempted to force their position on the majority. They carried out inquisitions with the traditionalist Ahmad ibn Hanbal notably refusing to conform to the Mutazila idea of the creation of the Quran and was tortured and kept in an unlit prison cell for nearly thirty months. However, other Schools of Islamic theology, schools of Kalam, speculative theology – Maturidi, Māturīdism founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and Ash'ari founded by Al-Ash'ari – were more successful in being widely adopted. Philosophers such as Al-Farabi, Avicenna and Averroes sought to harmonize Aristotle's metaphysics within Islam, similar to later scholasticism within Christianity in Europe, and Maimonides' work within Judaism, while others like Al-Ghazali argued against such syncretism and ultimately prevailed. This era is sometimes called the "Pre-Modern era (1258–18th century)
Through Muslim trade networks and the activity of Sufi orders, Islam spread into new areas. Under the Ottoman Empire, Islam spread to Southeast Europe. Conversion to Islam, however, was not a sudden abandonment of old religious practices; rather, it was typically a matter of "assimilating Islamic rituals, cosmologies, and literatures into... local religious systems", as illustrated by Muhammad's appearance in Hinduism, Hindu folklore. The Turks probably found similarities between Sufi rituals and Shaman practices. Muslim Turks incorporated elements of Tengrism, Turkish Shamanism beliefs to Islam. Islam during the Ming dynasty, Muslims in China, who were descended from earlier immigrants, were assimilated, sometimes by force, by adopting Chinese names and Chinese culture, culture while Nanjing became an important center of Islamic study. While cultural influence used to radiate outward from Baghdad, after the Mongol invasions and conquests, Mongol destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate, Arab influence decreased. Iran and Central Asia, benefiting from increased cross-cultural access to East Asia under Pax Mongolica, Mongol rule, flourished and developed more distinctively from Arab influence, such as the Timurid Renaissance under the Timurid dynasty. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) proposed the Tusi couple, mathematical model that was later adopted by Copernicus unrevised in his heliocentric model and Jamshīd al-Kāshī's estimate of pi would not be surpassed for 180 years. Many Muslim dynasties in India chose Persian as their court language. The introduction of gunpowder weapons led to the rise of large centralized states and the Muslim Gunpowder empires consolidated much of the previously splintered territories. The Ottoman Caliphate, caliphate was claimed by the Ottoman dynasty of the Ottoman Empire since Murad I's Ottoman conquest of Adrianople, conquest of Edirne in 1362, and its claims were strengthened in 1517 as Selim I became the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, ruler of Mecca and Medina. The Shia Safavid dynasty rose to power in 1501 and later conquered all of Iran. In South Asia, Babur founded the Mughal Empire. The Mughals compiled the Islamic legal text, the Fatwa Alamgiri. The religion of the centralized states of the Gunpowder empires influenced the religious practice of their constituent populations. A symbiosis between list of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rulers and Sufism strongly influenced Islamic reign by the Ottomans from the beginning. The Mevlevi Order and Bektashi Order had a close relation to the sultans, as Sufi-mystical as well as heterodox and syncretic approaches to Islam flourished. The often forceful Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, Safavid conversion of Iran to the Twelver Shia Islam of the Safavid Empire ensured the final dominance of the Twelver, Twelver sect within Shia Islam. Persian migrants to South Asia, as influential bureaucrats and landholders, help spread Shia Islam, forming some of the largest Shia populations outside Iran. Nader Shah, who overthrew the Safavids, attempted to improve relations with Sunnis by propagating the integration of Twelverism into Sunni Islam as a fifth ''madhhab'', called Ja'farism, which failed to gain recognition from the Ottomans.Modern era (18th – 20th centuries)
Earlier in the 14th century, Ibn Taymiyya promoted a puritanical form of Islam,Mary Hawkesworth, Maurice Kogan ''Encyclopedia of Government and Politics: 2-volume set'' Routledge 2013 pp. 270–271 rejecting philosophical approaches in favor of simpler theology and called to open the gates of itjihad rather than blind imitation of scholars. He called for a jihad against those he deemed hereticsRichard Gauvain ''Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God'' Routledge 2013 p. 6 but his writings only played a marginal role during his lifetime. During the 18th century in Arabia, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, influenced by the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim, founded a movement, called Wahhabi with their self-designation as ''Muwahiddun'', to return to what he saw as unadultered Islam.Ga ́bor A ́goston, Bruce Alan Masters ''Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire'' Infobase Publishing 2010 p. 260 He condemned many local Islamic customs, such as visiting the grave of Muhammad or saints, as later bidah, innovations and sinful and destroyed sacred rocks and trees, Sufi shrines, the Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia, tombs of Muhammad and his companions and the tomb of Husayn at Karbala, a major Shia pilgrimage site. He formed an alliance with the House of Saud, Saud family, which, by the 1920s, completed their conquest of the area that would become Saudi Arabia. Ma Wanfu and Ma Debao promoted salafist movements in the nineteenth century such as Sailaifengye in China after returning from Mecca but were eventually persecuted and forced into hiding by Sufi groups. Other groups sought to reform Sufism rather than reject it, with the Senusiyya and Muhammad Ahmad both waging war and establishing states in Libya and Sudan respectively. In India, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi attempted a more conciliatory style against Sufism and influenced the Deobandi movement. In response to the Deobandi movement, the Barelwi movement was founded as a mass movement, defending popular Sufism and reforming its practices. TheContemporary era (20th century–present)
Forerunners of Islamic modernism influenced Islamist political movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and related parties in the Arab world, which performed well in elections following the Arab Spring, Jamaat-e-Islami in South Asia and the Justice and Development Party (Turkey), AK Party, which has democratically been in power in Turkey for decades. In Iran, Iranian Revolution, revolution replaced a secularism, secular monarchy with an Islamic state. Others such as Rashid Rida, Sayyid Rashid Rida broke away from Islamic modernists and pushed against embracing what he saw as Western influence. In opposition to Islamic political movements, in 20th century Turkey, the military carried out 1997 Turkish military memorandum, coups to oust Islamist governments, and headscarves were legally restricted, as also happened in Tunisia. In other places religious power was co-opted, such as in Saudi Arabia, where the state monopolized religious scholarship and are often seen as puppets of the state while Egypt nationalized Al-Azhar University, previously an independent voice checking state power. Salafism was funded for its quietism. Saudi Arabia campaigned against revolutionary Islamist movements in the Middle East, in opposition to Iran, Turkey and Qatar. Muslim minorities of various ethnicities have been persecuted as a religious group. This has been undertaken by communist forces like the Khmer Rouge, who viewed them as their primary enemy to be exterminated since they stood out and worshiped their own god and the Chinese Communist Party in Xinjiang internment camps, Xinjiang and by nationalist forces such as during the Bosnian genocide. The globalization of communication has increased dissemination of religious information. The adoption of the hijab has grown more common and some Muslim intellectuals are increasingly striving to separate scriptural Islamic beliefs from cultural traditions. Among other groups, this access to information has led to the rise of popular "televangelist" preachers, such as Amr Khaled, who compete with the traditional ulema in their reach and have decentralized religious authority. More "individualized" interpretations of Islam notably include Liberal Muslims who attempt to reconcile religious traditions with current secular governance and women's issues. In the 21st century, the rise of Isil in 2013 presented a new breed of triumphalist extremist Islamist group that seized parts of Iraq and Syria and sought to declare a new medieval caliphate. Rejected as terrorists by the mainstream global Muslim community, the group was forced to resort to insurgency-like tactics in the face of Iranian intervention commanded by Qasem Soleimani in 2014 and a US-led military intervention in 2017 that by 2019 saw almost all of its territorial gains reversed.Demographics
About 23.4% of the global population, or about 1.8 billion people, are Muslims.Lipka, Michael, and Conrad Hackett. [2015] 6 April 2017.Schools and branches
Sunni
Sunni Islam or Sunnism is the name for the largest denomination in Islam. The term is a contraction of the phrase "ahl as-sunna wa'l-jamaat", which means "people of the Sunnah, sunna (the traditions of the prophet Muhammad) and the community". Sunnis, or sometimes Sunnites, believe that the first four caliphs were the rightful successors to Muhammad and primarily reference Al-Kutub Al-Sittah, six major hadith works for legal matters, while following one of the four traditional schools of jurisprudence: Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki or Shafi'i. Sunni schools of theology encompass Asharism founded by Al-Ashʿarī (c. 874–936), Maturidi by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (853–944 CE) and Traditionalist theology (Islam), traditionalist theology under the leadership of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855 CE). Traditionalist theology is characterized by its adherence to a literal understanding of the Quran and the Sunnah, the belief in the Quran is uncreated and eternal, and opposition to reason (kalam) in religious and ethical matters. On the other hand, Maturidism asserts, scripture is not needed for basic ethics and that ''good'' and ''evil'' can be understood by reason alone, but people rely on revelation, for matters beyond human's comprehension. Asharism holds that ethics can derive just from divine revelation but not from human reason. However, Asharism accepts reason regarding exegetical matters and combines Muʿtazila approaches with traditionalist ideas. In the 18th century, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab led a Salafi movement, referred by outsiders as Wahhabism, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. A similar movement called Ahl al-Hadith also de-emphasized the centuries' old Sunni legal tradition, preferring to directly follow the Quran and Hadith. The ''Nur movement, Nurcu'' Sunni movement was by Said Nursi (1877–1960);Svante E. Cornell ''Azerbaijan Since Independence'' M.E. Sharpe p. 283 it incorporates elements of Sufism and science, and has given rise to the Gülen movement.Shia
Shia Islam, or Shi'ism, is the second-largest Muslim denomination. Shias, or Shiites, split with Sunnis over Muhammad's Succession to Muhammad, successor as leader, who the Shia believed must be from certain descendants of Muhammad's family known as the Ahl al-Bayt and those leaders, referred to as Imamate in Shia doctrine, Imams, have additional spiritual authority. Some of the first Imams are revered by all Shia groups and Sunnis, such as Ali. Zaidism, Zaidi, the second-oldest branch, reject special powers of Imams and are sometimes considered a 'fifth school' of Sunni Islam rather than a Shia denomination. The Twelvers, the first and the largest Shia branch, believe in twelve Imams, the last of whom went into Occultation (Islam), occultation to return one day. The Ismailism, Ismailis split with the Twelvers over who was the seventh Imam and have split into more groups over the status of successive Imams, with the largest group being the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizaris.Ibadi
Ibadi Islam or Ibadism is practised by 1.45 million Muslims around the world (~ 0.08% of all Muslims), most of them in Oman. Ibadism is often associated with and viewed as a moderate variation of the Khawarij movement, though Ibadis themselves object to this classification. Unlike most Kharijite groups, Ibadism does not regard sinful Muslims as unbelievers. Ibadi hadiths, such as the Jami Sahih collection, uses chains of narrators from early Islamic history they considered trustworthy but most Ibadi hadiths are also found in standard Sunni collections and contemporary Ibadis often approve of the standard Sunni collections.Quranism
The Quranism, Quranists are Muslims who generally believe that Islamic law and guidance should only be based on the Qur'an, rejecting the Sunnah, thus partially or completely doubting the Criticism of hadith, religious authority, reliability or authenticity of the Hadith literature, which they claim are fabricated. There were first critics of the hadith traditions as early as the time of the scholar Al-Shafi'i; however, their arguments did not find much favor among Muslims. From the 19th century onwards, reformist thinkers like Syed Ahmad Khan, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Abdullah Chakralawi, and later Ghulam Ahmed Perwez, Ghulam Ahmad Parwez in India began to systematically question the hadith and the Islamic tradition. At the same time, there was a long-standing discussion on the sole authority of the Quran in Egypt, initiated by an article by Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi named "Islam is the Quran alone" (''al-Islām huwa l-Qurʾān waḥda-hū)'' in the magazine al-Manār. Quranism also took on a political dimension in the 20th century when Muammar Gaddafi, Muammar al-Gaddafi declared the Quran to be the constitution of Libya. In America, Rashad Khalifa, an Egyptian-American biochemist and discoverer of the Quran code (Code 19), which is a hypothetical mathematical code in the Quran, founded the organization "United Submitters International". The rejection of the hadith leads in some cases to differences in the way religion is practiced for example in the ritual prayer. While some Quranists traditionally pray five times a day, others reduce the number to three or even two daily prayers. There are also different views on the details of prayer or other pillars of Islam such as zakāt, fasting, or the Hajj.Other denominations
* Alevism, Bektashi Alevism is a Syncretism, syncretic and Heterodoxy, heterodox local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical (Batin (Islam), bāṭenī) teachings of Ali and Haji Bektash Veli. Alevism incorporates Turkish beliefs present during the 14th century,Jorgen S Nielsen Muslim ''Political Participation in Europe'' Edinburgh University Press 2013 page 255 such as Tengrism, Shamanism and Animism, mixed with Shias and Sufi beliefs, adopted by some Turkish tribes. It has been estimated that there are 10 million to over 20 million (~0.5%–1% of all Muslims) Alevis worldwide. * The Ahmadiyya movement was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in India in 1889. Ahmad claimed to be the "Promised Messiah" or "Imam Mahdi" of prophecy. Today the group has 10 to 20 million practitioners, but is rejected by most Muslims as heretical, and Ahmadis have been subject to religious persecution and discrimination since the movement's inception.Non-denominational Muslims
Non-denominational Muslims is an umbrella term that has been used for and by Muslims who do not belong to or do not self-identify with a specific Islamic denomination. Recent surveys report that large proportions of Muslims in some parts of the world self-identify as "just Muslim", although there is little published analysis available regarding the motivations underlying this response. The Pew Research Center reports that respondents self-identifying as "just Muslim" make up a majority of Muslims in seven countries (and a plurality in three others), with the highest proportion in Kazakhstan at 74%. At least one in five Muslims in at least 22 countries self-identify in this way.Mysticism
Sufism (Arabic: ar, تصوف, translit=tasawwuf, label=none), is a mystical-ascetic approach to Islam that seeks to find a direct Divine presence, personal experience of God. Classical Sufi scholars defined ''Tasawwuf'' as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God", through "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use.Ahmad Zarruq, Zarruq, Ahmed, Zaineb Istrabadi, and Hamza Yusuf, Hamza Yusuf Hanson. 2008. ''The Principles of Sufism''. Amal Press. It is not a sect of Islam and its adherents belong to the various Muslim denominations. Ismaili Shias, whose teachings root in Gnosticism and Neoplatonism, as well as by the Illuminationism, Illuminationist and School of Isfahan, Isfahan schools of Islamic philosophy have developed mystical interpretations of Islam. Hasan al-Basri, the early Sufi ascetic often portrayed as one of the earliest Sufis, emphasized fear of failing God's expectations of obedience. In contrast, later prominent Sufis, such as Mansur Al-Hallaj and Rumi, Jalaluddin Rumi, emphasized religiosity based on love towards God. Such devotion would also have an impact on the arts, with Rumi, still one of the best selling poets in America, writing his Persian poem Masnawi and the works of Hafez (1315–1390) are often considered the pinnacle of Persian poetry. Sufis reject ''materialism'' and ''ego'' and regard everything as if it was sent by god alone, Sufi strongly believes in the oneness of god. Sufis see ''tasawwuf'' as an inseparable part of Islam, just like the ''sharia''. Traditional Sufis, such as Bayazid Bastami, Jalaluddin Rumi, Haji Bektash Veli, Junaid Baghdadi, and Al-Ghazali, argued for Sufism as being based upon the tenets of Islam and the teachings of the prophet. Historian Nile Green argued that Islam in the Medieval period, was more or less ''Sufism''. Popular devotional practices such as the veneration of Sufi saints have been viewed as innovations from the original religion from followers of salafism, who have sometimes physically attacked Sufis, leading to a deterioration in Sufi–Salafi relations. Sufi congregations form orders (''tariqa'') centered around a teacher (''wali'') who traces a spiritual chain back to Muhammad. Sufis played an important role in the formation of Muslim societies through their missionary and educational activities. Sufi influenced Ahle Sunnat movement or Barelvi movement defends Sufi practices and beliefs with over 200 million followers in south Asia. Sufism is prominent in Central Asia, as well as in African countries like Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Chad and Niger.Law and jurisprudence
Sharia is the religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's divine law and is contrasted with ''fiqh'', which refers to its scholarly interpretations.Vikør, Knut S. 2014.Schools of jurisprudence
A school of jurisprudence is referred to as a ''madhhab'' ( ar, مذهب). The four major Sunni schools are the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali madhahs while the three major Shia schools are the Ja'fari, Zaidiyyah, Zaidi and Isma'ilism, Isma'ili madhahib. Each differs in their methodology, called ''Usul al-fiqh'' ("principles of jurisprudence"). The following of decisions by a religious expert without necessarily examining the decision's reasoning is called ''taqlid''. The term ''Salafi movement, ghair muqallid'' literally refers to those who do not use taqlid and, by extension, do not have a madhab. The practice of an individual interpreting law with independent reasoning is called ''ijtihad''.Society
Religious personages
Islam, like Judaism, has no clergy in the sacerdotalism, sacerdotal sense, such as priests who mediate between God and people. ''Imam'' ( ar, إمام, label=none) is the religious title used to refer to an Islamic leadership position, often in the context of conducting an Islamic worship service. Religious interpretation is presided over by the ''‘ulama'' (Arabic: علماء), a term used describe the body of Muslim scholars who have received training in Islamic studies. A scholar of the hadith is called a ''muhaddith'', a scholar of jurisprudence is called a ''faqih'' ( ar, فقيه, label=none), a jurist who is qualified to issue legal opinions or ''fatwas'' is called a mufti, and a ''qadi'' is an Islamic judge. Honorific titles given to scholars include sheikh, mullah and ''Mawlawi (Islamic title), mawlawi''. Some Muslims also venerate Saints in Islam, saints associated with Islamic view of miracles, miracles ( ar, كرامات, translit=karāmāt, label=none). The practice of visiting the tombs of prophets and saints is known as ''ziyarat''. Unlike saints in Christianity, Muslim saints are usually acknowledged informally by the consensus of common people, not by scholars.Governance
Mainstream Islamic law does not distinguish between "matters of church" and "matters of state"; the ulema, scholars function as both jurists and theologians. Various forms of Islamic jurisprudence therefore rule on matters than in other societal context might be considered the preserve of the state. Terms traditionally used to refer to Muslim leaders include Caliph and Sultan, and terms associated with traditionally Muslim states include Caliphate, Emirate, Imamate and Khanate (List of Latin phrases (E), e.g. the United Arab Emirates). In Islamic economic jurisprudence, hoarding of wealth is reviled and thus monopoly, monopolistic behavior is frowned upon. Attempts to comply with shariah has led to the development of Islamic banking. Islam prohibits ''riba'', usually translated as usury, which refers to any unfair gain in trade and is most commonly used to mean interest. Instead, Islamic banks go into partnership with the borrower and both share from the profits and any losses from the venture. Another feature is the avoidance of uncertainty, which is seen as gambling and Islamic banks traditionally avoid derivative instruments such as futures or options which substantially protected them from the 2008 financial crisis. The state used to be involved in distribution of charity from the treasury, known as Bayt al-mal, before it became a largely individual pursuit. The first Caliph, Abu Bakr, distributed zakat as one of the first examples of a guaranteed minimum income, with each man, woman and child getting 10 to 20 dirhams annually. During the reign of the second Caliph Umar, child support was introduced and the old and disabled were entitled to stipends, while the Umayyad Caliph Umar II assigned a servant for each blind person and for every two chronically ill persons. Jihad means "to strive or struggle [in the way of God]" and, in its broadest sense, is "exerting one's utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of wikt:disapprobation, disapprobation". This could refer to one's striving to attain religious and moral perfection with the Shia and Sufis in particular, distinguishing between the "greater jihad", which pertains to spiritual self-improvement, self-perfection, and the "lesser jihad", defined as warfare.. When used without a qualifier, jihad is often understood in its military form. Jihad is the only form of warfare permissible in Islamic law and may be declared against illegal works, terrorists, criminal groups, rebels, Apostasy in Islam, apostates, and leaders or states who oppress Muslims. Most Muslims today interpret Jihad as only a defensive form of warfare. Jihad only becomes an individual duty for those vested with authority. For the rest of the populace, this happens only in the case of a general mobilization. For most Twelver, Twelver Shias, offensive jihad can only be declared by a Imamate in Twelver doctrine, divinely appointed leader of the Muslim community, and as such, is suspended since Muhammad al-Mahdi's occultation (Islam), occultation is 868 CE.Daily and family life
Many daily practices fall in the category of ''adab'', or etiquette and this includes greeting others with "''As-Salamu Alaykum, as-salamu 'alaykum''" ("peace be unto you"), saying ''Basmala, bismillah'' ("in Names of God, the name of God") before meals, and using only the right hand for eating and drinking. Specific prohibited foods include pork products, blood and carrion. Health is viewed as a trust from God and khamr, intoxicants, such as alcoholic drinks, are prohibited. All meat must come from a herbivorous animal slaughtered in the name of God by a Muslim, Jew, or Christian, except for game that one has hunted or fished for themself. Beards are often encouraged among men as something natural and body modifications, such as Religious perspectives on tattooing#Islam, permanent tattoos, are usually forbidden as violating the creation. Gold and silk for men are prohibited and are seen as extravagant. ''Haya (Islam), Haya'', often translated as "shame" or "modesty", is sometimes described as the innate character of Islam and informs much of Muslim daily life. For example, Islamic clothing, clothing in Islam emphasizes a standard of modesty, which has included the hijab for women. Similarly, Islamic hygienical jurisprudence, personal hygiene is encouraged with certain requirements. In Marriage in Islam, Islamic marriage, the groom is required to pay a bridal gift (''mahr''). Most families in the Islamic world are monogamous. However, Muslim men are allowed to practice polygyny and can have up to four wives at the same time. There are also cultural variations in weddings. Polyandry, a practice wherein a woman takes on two or more husbands, is prohibited in Islam. After the birth of a child, the Adhan is pronounced in the right ear. On the seventh day, the ''aqiqah'' ceremony is performed, in which an animal is sacrificed and its meat is distributed among the poor. The child's head is shaved, and an amount of money equaling the weight of its hair is donated to the poor. Khitan (circumcision), Male circumcision is practised. Respecting and obeying one's parents, and taking care of them especially in their old age is a religious obligation. A Islamic view of death, dying Muslim is encouraged to pronounce the ''Arts and culture
The term "Islamic culture" can be used to mean aspects of culture that pertain to the religion, such as festivals and dress code. It is also controversially used to denote the cultural aspects of traditionally Muslim people. Finally, "Islamic civilization" may also refer to the aspects of the synthesized culture of the early Caliphates, including that of non-Muslims, sometimes referred to as "wikt:Islamicate, Islamicate". Islamic art encompasses the visual arts including fields as varied as architecture, calligraphy, painting, and Ceramics (art), ceramics, among others. While the making of images of animate beings has often been frowned upon in connection with Aniconism in Islam, laws against idolatry, this rule has been interpreted in different ways by different scholars and in different historical periods. This stricture has been used to explain the prevalence of Islamic calligraphy, calligraphy, tessellation, and pattern as key aspects of Islamic artistic culture. In Islamic architecture, varying cultures show influence such as North African and Spanish Islamic architecture such as the Great Mosque of Kairouan containing marble and Porphyry (geology), porphyry columns from Roman and Byzantine buildings, while mosques in Indonesia often have multi-tiered roofs from local Javanese styles. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar that begins with the Hegira, Hijra of 622 CE, a date that was reportedly chosen by Caliph Umar as it was an important turning point in Muhammad's fortunes. Islamic Muslim holidays, holy days fall on fixed dates of the lunar calendar, meaning they occur in seasons, different seasons in different years in the Gregorian calendar. The most important Islamic festivals are '' Eid al-Fitr'' ( ar, عيد الف) on the 1st of ''Shawwal'', marking the end of the fasting month ''Ramadan'', and ''Derived religions
Some movements, such as the Druze, Berghouata and Ha-Mim, either emerged from Islam or came to share certain beliefs with Islam, and whether each is a separate religion or a sect of Islam is sometimes controversial. Yazdânism is seen as a blend of local Kurdish beliefs and Islamic Sufi doctrine introduced to Kurdistan by Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir in the 12th century. Bábism stems from Twelver Shia passed through Siyyid 'Ali Muhammad i-Shirazi al-Bab while one of his followers Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri Baha'u'llah founded the Baháʼí Faith. Sikhism, founded by Guru Nanak in late-fifteenth-century Punjab, primarily incorporates aspects of Hinduism, with some Islamic influences.Criticism
Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early criticism came from Christian authors, many of whom viewed Islam as a Medieval Christian views on Muhammad, Christian heresy or a form of idolatry, often explaining it in apocalyptic terms. Later, criticism from the Muslim world itself appeared, as well as from Jewish writers and from Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical Christians. Christian writers criticized Islamic salvation optimism and its carnality. Islam's sensual descriptions of paradise led many Christians to conclude that Islam was not a spiritual religion. Although sensual pleasure was also present in early Christianity, as seen in the writings of Irenaeus, the doctrines of the former Manichaeism, Manichaean, Augustine of Hippo, led to the broad repudiation of bodily pleasure in both life and the afterlife. Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari defended the Quranic description of paradise by asserting that the Bible also implies such ideas, such as drinking wine in the Gospel of Matthew. Defamatory images of medieval Christian views on Muhammad, Muhammad, derived from early 7th century depictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Church,Minou Reeves, Reeves, Minou, and P. J. Stewart. 2003. ''Muhammad in Europe: A Thousand Years of Western Myth-Making''. New York University Press, NYU Press. . p. 93–96. appear in the 14th-century epic poem ''Divine Comedy'' by Dante Alighieri.Stone, G. 2006. ''Dante's Pluralism and the Islamic Philosophy of Religion''. Springer Publishing. . p. 132. Here, Muhammad appears in the eighth circle of hell, along with Ali. Dante does not blame Islam as a whole but accuses Muhammad of schism, by establishing another religion after Christianity. Other criticisms focus on the question of human rights in modern Muslim-majority countries, and the treatment of women in Islamic law and practice. In the wake of the recent multiculturalism trend, Islam's influence on the ability of Muslim immigrants in the West to assimilate has been criticism of multiculturalism, criticized. Both in his public and personal life, others objected to the morality of Muhammad, therefore also the sunnah as a role model.See also
* Glossary of Islam * Index of Islam-related articles * Islamic mythology * Islamic studies * Major religious groups * Outline of IslamReferences
Footnotes
Qur'an and hadith
Citations
Sources
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