Islam

American  

[is-lahm, iz-, is-luhm, iz-] / ɪsˈlɑm, ɪz-, ˈɪs ləm, ˈɪz- /

noun

1. the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Quran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah.

2. the whole body of Muslim believers, their civilization, and the countries in which theirs is the dominant religion.

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Islam British  

/ ˈɪzlɑːm /

noun

1. the religion of Muslims, having the Koran as its sacred scripture and teaching that there is only one God and that Mohammed is his prophet; Mohammedanism

2. 1. Muslims collectively and their civilization

   2. the countries where the Muslim religion is predominant

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Islam Cultural  

1. A religion, founded by Muhammad, whose members worship the one God of Jews (see also Jews) and Christians (see also Christian)(God is called Allah in Arabic) and follow the teachings of the Koran. Islam means “submission to the will of God”; adherents of Islam are called Muslims. The fundamental belief of Islam is “There is only one God, and Muhammad is his prophet.” Muslims are obliged to pray five times a day, to fast in the daytime during the holy month of Ramadan, to abstain from pork and alcohol, and to make gifts to the poor. All of them are expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca (see also Mecca), Muhammad's birthplace, at least once in their lives.

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Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims make up the two main branches of Islam.

Islam is the dominant faith in Arab nations, a number of countries of central Asia, and Malaysia and Indonesia.

Other Word Forms

• Islamic
  adjective
• Islamitic
  adjective
• non-Islamic
  adjective
• non-Islamitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Islam

First recorded in 1610–20; from Ottoman Turkish islām, from Arabic islām “submission (to God),” from aslama “to surrender, resign oneself, submit oneself (to God's will),” from the Semitic root šlm “to be whole, sound”; akin to Arabic salām and Hebrew shālōm “peace,” from the Semitic noun šalām

Compare meaning

How does islam compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Muslim vs. Islam
• Nation of Islam vs. Islam

Example Sentences

The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

He converted to Islam in his late teens, during the 1990s, with several of his siblings and his mother following suit, his sister said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

It used to rely on a more serious narrative drawing from the martyrdom iconography so deeply rooted in Shia Islam and the Soviet-style, anti-American symbolism of the 1979 revolution.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Andrew Tate, a popular influencer is facing rape and trafficking charges in the United Kingdom and Romania, claims to have converted to Islam in 2022.

From Salon • May 4, 2026

With the rise of Islam, Egypt became the world’s great sugar laboratory.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson