Islam in Arabic means submission to, or having peace with, God.   Islam is the religion of which MUHAMMAD was the prophet. An adherent of Islam is a Muslim. The youngest of the three great monotheistic world religions (the others being Judaism and Christianity), Islam is the dominant religion throughout large portions of Asia and Africa, especially North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia (the world's largest Muslim country). In 1990 there were some 935 million Muslims worldwide, less than one fifth of whom were Arab; there are an estimated 6 million Muslims in the U.S.

Its salient feature is its devotion to the Koran, or Qur'an, a book believed to be the revelation of God to Muhammad. Since the Koran is in Arabic, this language is used in Islam all over the world; hence the custom of referring to God as Allah, His name in Arabic. The ethos of Islam is its attitude toward God: to Him Muslims submit; Him they praise and glorify; and in Him alone they hope. He is awesome, transcendent, almighty, just, loving, merciful, and good. No creature may be compared to Him, and to Him alone do Muslims pray.

Muhammad is the last and greatest of God's prophets, who also include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. According to the Muslim eschatology, there will be a judgment at the end of the world; heaven awaits the believers and hell the nonbelievers. The ordinary pious Muslim does not distinguish faith from works; both are indispensable and mutually supplementary. There are five essential duties in Islam. (1) A Muslim must affirm that There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God. (2) Five times daily he must pray facing Mecca: at dawn, at noon, in midafternoon, at dusk, and after dark. (3) A Muslim must give alms generously. (4) A Muslim must keep the fast of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Muslim year. (5) Once in his life a Muslim must, if he can, make the pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca.

There are also a prohibition of alcohol and pork and injunctions against gambling, usury, fraud, slander, and the making of images. The Sunna, the way or example of the Prophet, supplements the Koran. It consists of the collected sayings and anecdotes of Muhammad. The Ijma, or the agreement of Islam, is expressed in Muhammad's saying My community will never agree in an error and is the principle that has enabled Islam to resolve apparent contradictions and maintain both a flexibility and its unity with the past.

The Koran, the Sunna, and the Ijma are the three foundations of Islam. Islam does not recognize a priestly class, but religious and legal officers have acquired an authority similar to that of the clergy in Christian and Jewish communities. The fundamental division of Islam into Sunni and Shiites dates from disputes over the succession to the Caliphate in the first centuries of the Muslim era. The Wahhabis are the only important modern separatist Sunni sect.

The Shiites, by contrast, have fathered countless sects, including the Assassins, Druze, Fatimids, Ismailis, and Karmathians. However, there is a remarkable community of feeling in Islam even today, when Muslims are divided politically into many groups. Historically, Muslim thought shows three major tendencies: legalism, rationalism, and mysticism; philosophy has never been distinct from theology. The greatest period of Muslim thought and culture was the 9th to 11th cent. In recent years Islam has seen a resurgence of Fundamentalism among both Sunni and Shiites, most notably in Iran, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, and Eygpt.

Muslim Links

www.al-islam.org - Good Factual site where you can learn about islam.

About Islam and Muslims - About Islam and Muslims

Al Hajj (TM):The Hajj & Umrah Comprehensive Information Portal (TM) - Comprehensive Hajj & Umrah related,religious,travel agents list, Islamic, info for non Muslims and Muslims.News about the fifth pillar (pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia).Linked from CNN, BBC, Britannica, USA Today. Multimedia enabled.

Al Islaam Home Page - Islam is a complete code of life which demands practice on its commandments. Many Topics explained from all perspectives including rich content on Sufism.

Albalagh - Many articles on Islam and contemporary issues. Includes articles by Mufti Taqi Usmani.

Alharamain Islamic Foundation - Alharamain Foundation is a private,charitable and educational organization tasked with conveying the true Islamic teachings throughout the world.

Al-Islam Information Website - Belief's regarding god,how Muslims pray.

The DEED-IRR -Deed Islamic Resources Repository Homepage - A site of the International Islamic University of Malaysia with links to many useful Islamic sites. Highly efficient.

Discover Islam

Discover Islam.. - A Convert's view on Islam

Doorway To Islam - Information on Islam to help non-Muslims get aquainted with several aspects of this religion, Islamic links, prayer times, bookstores ...

Free Muslim Resources - Qur'an,Hadith,Da'wah and Islamic information for non-muslims.