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What is Islam, in plain English?
The short answer
About 30 seconds to read
Islam is a faith centred on one God. The Arabic word islam means surrender: turning your whole life toward God. A person who does this is called a Muslim.
Muslims believe God sent many prophets, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and that Muhammad, who lived in Arabia from about 570 to 632 CE, was the last of them. They believe the Qur’an, the scripture revealed to him, is the word of God. Faith is lived through prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage, and honest, kind dealings with other people.
A few words you will meet
You do not need to know Arabic to understand Islam, but a handful of words come up often. Here is what they mean.
- Allah is the Arabic word for God. Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use it too. It is not the name of a separate god.
- Islam means surrender or submission to God. A Muslim is someone who submits to God.
- The Qur’an, meaning “recitation”, is the scripture Muslims believe God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It has 114 chapters, called surahs, made up of verses, called ayat.
- A hadith is a report of something the Prophet Muhammad said or did. Scholars collected and graded these reports for reliability. They are a separate source from the Qur’an.
- The Sunnah is the Prophet’s example, known largely through hadith.
- Peace be upon him is said after the names of prophets, as a sign of respect. On this site we write it in full rather than abbreviating it.
Belief in one God
At the heart of Islam is the oneness of God, called tawhid. God has no partner, no equal and no offspring. Nothing in creation shares in God’s divinity, and worship belongs to God alone. A short chapter of the Qur’an sums this up, and Muslims recite it often:
Say: He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him.
Context: This is the whole of Surah Al-Ikhlas, “Sincerity”, one of the shortest chapters of the Qur’an.
Mercy is central to how the Qur’an speaks of God. Every surah but one opens with the words “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.”
Sources:Qur’an 1:1Britannica, “Qur’an”
And when My servants question thee concerning Me, then surely I am nigh. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he crieth unto Me. …
Context: God addresses the Prophet about people who ask where God is. Muslims pray to God directly, without an intermediary.
Prophets and scripture
Muslims believe God sent many prophets and messengers before Muhammad, and that every one of them called people to worship the one God.
Source:Qur’an 21:25
Say (O Muslims): We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered.
The Qur’an calls Muhammad the “Seal of the Prophets”, meaning the last of them. Muslims honour the Torah and the Gospel as scriptures God originally revealed, and they believe the Qur’an confirms the core of that earlier guidance and is God’s final revelation. Is the Qur’an the word of God? looks at the reasons Muslims give for this belief.
The five pillars
Islamic practice is often summed up in five duties, known as the pillars. They come from a well-known saying of the Prophet Muhammad that lists all five.
- Declaration of faith (shahadah). Bearing witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is God’s messenger. Saying this sincerely is how someone becomes Muslim.
- Prayer (salah). Five prayers a day at set times, from dawn to night. Inside Muslim Prayer explains what happens during them.
- Obligatory charity (zakah). Each year Muslims with savings above a minimum threshold give a set portion, one-fortieth of cash savings, to the poor and others in need.
- Fasting (sawm). During the month of Ramadan, Muslims who are able go without food and drink from dawn until sunset. People who are ill or travelling make up the days later.
- Pilgrimage (hajj). A journey to Mecca, required once in a lifetime of those who are physically and financially able to make it.
Sources:Britannica, “Pillars of Islam”Qur’an 9:60Qur’an 2:184Qur’an 2:187Qur’an 3:97
Faith in everyday life
Islam is not only a set of rituals. The Qur’an ties devotion to God directly to how people treat one another:
It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; …
Context: The verse goes on to name prayer, charity, keeping promises, and patience in hardship. Righteousness means belief put into practice.
The Prophet Muhammad taught that none of his followers truly believes until they wish for their brother what they wish for themselves.
Source:Sahih al-Bukhari 13
Mercy, forgiveness, justice and care for others run through Muslim teaching. Faith expressed through how we live looks at six of these themes, with sources.
Mercy and accountability
Muslims believe that every person will one day stand before God and answer for their life. Nothing is overlooked, not even the smallest good deed. Muslims also believe God’s mercy is greater than His anger, and that no one who turns back to God should despair of forgiveness.
How mercy and justice fit together is one of our common questions.
Sources for this page
Quotations are marked and linked. Summaries are in our own words. How we choose and cite sources.
Reference
“Allah”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Describes Allah as the standard Arabic word for God, used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews as well as Muslims.
Reference
“Qur’an”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sections “Form and content” and “Origin and compilation”
A non-confessional reference article. It notes that whether the Qur’an was divinely revealed is a question of belief that history cannot settle, and that carbon dating of early manuscripts is broadly consistent with the received text existing by about 650 CE.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Ikhlas (112)
Verses 112:1–4
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Fatihah (1)
Verse 1:1
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah (2)
Verse 2:186
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Anbiya (21)
Verse 21:25
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah (2)
Verse 2:136
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Ahzab (33)
Verse 33:40
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Ma’idah (5)
Verse 5:46
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Ma’idah (5)
Verse 5:48
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 8
Sunnah.com reference: bukhari:8
Summarized in our own words. Arabic text and a full English translation are available at the link.
Narrated by Ibn ‘Umar. The Prophet names five things on which Islam is built: the testimony of faith, prayer, zakah, pilgrimage, and the Ramadan fast.
Reference
“Pillars of Islam”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Also notes that Shi‘i Muslims affirm these practices but often teach the essentials of the faith using a different framework.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah At-Tawbah (9)
Verse 9:60
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah (2)
Verse 2:184
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah (2)
Verse 2:187
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Ali ‘Imran (3)
Verse 3:97
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah (2)
Verse 2:177
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 13
Sunnah.com reference: bukhari:13
Summarized in our own words. Arabic text and a full English translation are available at the link.
Narrated by Anas. The Arabic says “his brother”; the English translation on Sunnah.com adds “(Muslim)” in brackets.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Az-Zalzalah (99)
Verses 99:7–8
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 7554
Sunnah.com reference: bukhari:7554
Summarized in our own words. Arabic text and a full English translation are available at the link.
Narrated by Abu Hurairah. The Prophet reports that God wrote, before creation, that His mercy has preceded His anger.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Az-Zumar (39)
Verse 39:53
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Further reading
- “Pillars of Islam”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Also notes that Shi‘i Muslims affirm these practices but often teach the essentials of the faith using a different framework.
- “Qur’an”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
A non-confessional reference article. It notes that whether the Qur’an was divinely revealed is a question of belief that history cannot settle, and that carbon dating of early manuscripts is broadly consistent with the received text existing by about 650 CE.