Islam

[is-lahm, iz-, is-luhm, iz-]

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.

Islam

/ 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

Islam

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.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Islam¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Islam¹

C19: from Arabic: surrender (to God), from aslama to surrender

Example Sentences

Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, said it was in the Jews’ “nature to do evil.”

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"They declared their allegiance to the law of the land and their respect for the judicial process," chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters.

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Rom Braslavski was whipped, beaten and offered food to convert to Islam.

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Shiite Islam may be the official religion in Iran, but entering Tehran's brand-new Maryam Moghaddas metro station, you could be forgiven for feeling as if you're stepping inside a Christian church.

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Ayaan Hirsi Ali, having rejected the Islam of her youth and proclaimed her disbelief in God—she published “Infidel” in 2006—was for a time thought to be the next New Atheist.

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