Read complete books and articles on: Islam

Islam - ĭslämˈ, ĭsˈläm, [Arab.,=submission to God], world religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad. Founded in the 7th cent., Islam is the youngest of the three monotheistic world religions (with Judaism and Christianity). An adherent to Islam is a Muslim [Arab.,=one who submits].

Believers Worldwide

There are more

Believers Worldwide

There are more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide, fewer than one fifth of whom are Arab. Islam is the principal religion of much of Asia, including Indonesia (which has the world's largest Muslim population), Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, the Arabian Peninsula states, and Turkey. India also has one of the world's largest Muslim populations, although Islam is not the principal religion there. In Africa, Islam is the principal religion in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, and Sudan, with sizable populations also in Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania (where the island of Zanzibar is predominantly Muslim), and Nigeria.

In Europe, Albania is predominantly Muslim, and, historically, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Georgia have had Muslim populations. Elsewhere in Europe, immigrant communities of Muslims from N Africa, Turkey, and Asia exist in France, Germany, and Great Britain. In the Americas the Islamic population has substantially increased in recent years, both from conversions and the immigration of adherents from other parts of the world. In the United States, the number of Muslims has been variably estimated at 2–6 million; 20% of the population of Suriname is Muslim.

Islamic Beliefs

At the core of Islam is the Qur'an, believed to be the final revelation by a transcendent Allah [Arab.,=the God] to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam; since the Divine Word was revealed in Arabic, this language is used in Islamic religious practice worldwide. Muslims believe in final reward and punishment, and the unity of the umma, the "nation" of Islam. Muslims submit to Allah through arkan ad-din, the five basic requirements or "pillars": shahadah, the affirmation that "there is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God"; salah, the five daily ritual prayers (see liturgy, Islamic); zakat, the giving of alms, also known as a religious tax; Sawm, the dawn-to-sunset fast during the lunar month of Ramadan; and hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The importance of the hajj can hardly be overestimated: this great annual pilgrimage unites Islam and its believers from around the world.

The ethos of Islam is in its attitude toward Allah: to His will Muslims submit; Him they praise and glorify; and in Him alone they hope. However, in popular or folk forms of Islam, Muslims ask intercession of the saints, prophets, and angels, while preserving the distinction between Creator and creature. Islam views the Message of Muhammad as the continuation and the fulfillment of a lineage of Prophecy that includes figures from the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, notably Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. Islamic law reserves a communal entity status for the ahl al-kitab, People of the Book, i.e., those with revealed religions, including Jews and Christians. Islam also recognizes a number of extra-biblical prophets, such as Hud, Salih, Shuayb, and others of more obscure origin. The chief angels are Gabriel and Michael; devils are the evil jinn.

Other Islamic obligations include the duty to "commend good and reprimand evil," injunctions against usury and gambling, and prohibitions of alcohol and pork. Meat is permitted if the animal was ritually slaughtered; it is then called halal.Jihad, the exertion of efforts for the cause of God, is a duty satisfied at the communal and the individual level. At the individual level, it denotes the personal struggle to be righteous and follow the path ordained by God.

In Islam, religion and social membership are inseparable: the ruler of the community (caliph; see caliphate) has both a religious and a political status. The unitary nature of Islam, as a system governing relations between a person and God, and a person and society, helped the spread of Islam so that, within a century of the Prophet's death, Islam extended from Spain to India.

The evolution of Islamic mysticism into organizational structures in the form of Sufi orders was also, from the 13th cent. onwards, one of the driving forces in the spread of Islam (see Sufism; fakir). Sufi orders were instrumental in expanding the realm of Islam to trans-Saharan Africa, stabilizing its commercial and cultural links with the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and to SE Asia.

Holidays and Honorifics

The original feasts of Islam are id al-fitr, corresponding to the breaking of the fast of Ramadan, and id al-adha, coinciding with the pilgrimage to Mecca. Shiite Islam also celebrates id al-ghadir, the anniversary of Muhammad's declaration of Ali as his successor. Other Islamic holidays include al-mawlid al-nabawwi, Muhammad's birthday, and al-isra wa-l-miraj, the anniversary of his miraculous journey to Jerusalem and ascension to Heaven. Among the Islamic religious honorifics are shaykh, a generic term refering to a religious scholar or a mystic master; qadi, a religious judge (handling particular cases); mufti, a religious authority who issues general legal opinions; and mullah, a synonym of shaykh used in the Persian-speaking world.

Interpretation of the Qur'an

The revealed word of Islam, the Qur'an, in a formal Arabic which became more archaic with time, required explication. A complement to the Qur'an is the Sunna, the spoken and acted example of the Prophet, collected as hadith. The Sunna is almost as important to Islam as the Qur'an, for in it lie the elaborations of Qur'anic teaching essential to the firm establishment of a world religion. There are serious disagreements in the hadith, and interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunna have varied so much as to be contradictory. These situations are resolved by reference to one of the most important of the sayings attributed to the Prophet, "My community will never agree in an error." This leeway also allowed Islam to expand by incorporating social, tribal, and ethnic traditions. For example, with the exception of inheritance and witness laws, Islamic rights and obligations apply equally to men and women. The actual situation of women is more a function of particular social traditions predating Islam than of theoretical positions. For a complete description of Islamic law, see sharia; for discussions of the major branches of Islamic theology, see Shiite, Sunni.

Bibliography

See F. Rahman, Islam (1966); M. Jameelah, Islam and Modernism (1968); P. K. Hitti, History of the Arabs (10th ed. 1970); P. M. Holt, ed., Cambridge History of Islam (2 vol., 1970); M. G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam (3 vol., 1974); C. Glassé, Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (1991); J. L. Esposito, Islam (rev. ed. 1992) and The Oxford Dictionary of Islam (2003); A. Schimmel, Islam (1992); D. Waines, An Introduction to Islam (1995); J. I. Smith, Islam in America (1999).

Show Excerpt Only

16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Islam

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Islam: A Very Short Introduction » Read Now
by Malise Ruthven. 176 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction contains essential insights into issues such as why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as...
Read More

Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction contains essential insights into issues such as why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as the Shi'ites, the Sunnis, and the Wahhabis, and the central importance of the Shar'ia (Islamic law) in Islamic life. It also offers fresh perspectives on contemporary questions: Why is the greatest 'Jihad' (holy war) now against the enemies of Islam, rather than the struggle against evil? Can women find fulfilment in Islamic societies? How must Islam adapt as it confronts the modern world?
Show less
2.

Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society » Read Now
by Akbar S. Ahmed. 252 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

Reissued with a new introduction, Discovering Islam is a classic account of how the history of Islam and its relations with the West have shaped Islamic society today. Islam is often caricatured, especiallynbsp;in the West,nbsp;as aggressive and fanatic. Written by a leading authority on Islam...
Read More

Reissued with a new introduction, Discovering Islam is a classic account of how the history of Islam and its relations with the West have shaped Islamic society today. Islam is often caricatured, especiallynbsp;in the West,nbsp;as aggressive and fanatic. Written by a leading authority on Islam andnbsp;in the tradition of Ibn Khaldun, this readable and wide-ranging book balances that image, uncovers the roots of Islamic discontent and celebrates the sources of its strength. From the four "ideal Caliphs" who succeeded the Prophet to the refugee camps of Peshawar, an objective picture emerges of the main features of Muslim history and the compulsions of Muslim society. nbsp;
Show less
3.

What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam » Read Now
by John L. Esposito. 204 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, there has been an overwhelming demand for information about Islam. As a leading expert, John Esposito has found himself called upon to speak to a wide range of audiences, including members of Congress, the Bush administration, government...
Read More

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, there has been an overwhelming demand for information about Islam. As a leading expert, John Esposito has found himself called upon to speak to a wide range of audiences, including members of Congress, the Bush administration, government agencies, the military, and the media. Out of this experience, he has identified the most pressing questions people consistently ask about Islam. In What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, Esposito presents in question-and-answer format the information that most people want to know. Esposito provides succinct, accessible, sensitive, and even-handed answers to questions that range from the general--"What do Muslims believe?" and "Who was Muhammad?"--to more specific issues like Is Islam compatible with modernization, capitalism and democracy? How do Muslims view Judaism and Christianity? Are women second-class citizens in Islam? What is jihad? Does the Quran condone terrorism? What does Islam say about homosexuality, birth control, abortion, and slavery? The editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Modern Islam and The Oxford History of Islam, and author of Unholy War and many other acclaimed works, John Esposito is one of America's leading authorities on Islam. This brief and readable book is the first place to look for information on the faith, customs, and political beliefs of the more than one billion people who call themselves Muslims.
Show less
4.

Islam » Read Now
by Jamal J. Elias. 128 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library
5.

An Introduction to Classical Islamic Philosophy » Read Now
by Oliver Leaman. 253 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, History, Entire Library

Although Islamic philosophy represents one of the most important philosophical traditions in the world, it has only relatively recently begun to receive attention in the non-Islamic world. This is a new edition of a successful introductory book, expanded and updated to take account of recent...
Read More

Although Islamic philosophy represents one of the most important philosophical traditions in the world, it has only relatively recently begun to receive attention in the non-Islamic world. This is a new edition of a successful introductory book, expanded and updated to take account of recent scholarship. It focuses on what is regarded as Islamic philosophy's golden age, and will appeal to students and to any general reader interested in this philosophical tradition.
Show less
6.

The Vision of Islam » Read Now
by Sachiko Murata, William C. Chittick. 416 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

Covering the four dimensions of Islam as outlined in the Hadith of Gabriel--practice, faith, spirituality, and the Islamic view of history--The Vision of Islam draws on the Koran, the sayings of the Prophet and the great authorities of the tradition. This clearly written book introduces the...
Read More

Covering the four dimensions of Islam as outlined in the Hadith of Gabriel--practice, faith, spirituality, and the Islamic view of history--The Vision of Islam draws on the Koran, the sayings of the Prophet and the great authorities of the tradition. This clearly written book introduces the essentials of each dimension and then shows how each has been embodied in Islamic institutions throughout history.
Show less
7.

The Koran: A Very Short Introduction » Read Now
by Michael A. Cook. 176 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

The Koran has constituted a remarkably resilient core of identity and continuity for a religious tradition that is now in its fifteenth century. In this Very Short Introduction, Michael Cook provides a lucid and direct account of the significance of the Koran both in the modern world and in that of...
Read More

The Koran has constituted a remarkably resilient core of identity and continuity for a religious tradition that is now in its fifteenth century. In this Very Short Introduction, Michael Cook provides a lucid and direct account of the significance of the Koran both in the modern world and in that of traditional Islam. He gives vivid accounts of its role in Muslim civilization, illustrates the diversity of interpretations championed by traditional and modern commentators, discusses the processes by which the book took shape, and compares it to other scriptures and classics of the historic cultures of Eurasia.
Show less
8.

Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, Vol. 2: The Contemporary Period » Read Now
by Andrew Rippin. 178 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...Henderson HINDUISM Kim Knott HISTORY John Arnold ISLAM Malise Ruthven JUDAISM Norman Solomon THE KORAN...scripture, that is to say the scripture of the followers of Islam...
9.

Islam in the World » Read Now
by Malise Ruthven. 512 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

This valuable introductory guide provides a complete and lively summary of Islam, one of the most worldly of the great religions, in which the quest for spiritual fulfillment is inevitably bound up with political aspirations. Malise Ruthven presents a full overview of the religion in its historical...
Read More

This valuable introductory guide provides a complete and lively summary of Islam, one of the most worldly of the great religions, in which the quest for spiritual fulfillment is inevitably bound up with political aspirations. Malise Ruthven presents a full overview of the religion in its historical, geographic, and social settings. For this revised and long-awaited second edition, Ruthven divides his original chapters into more accessible sub-sections and provides new headings. Also included is a new concluding chapter that focuses on women in Islam, the challenges Islam faces in today's climate of globalization, and the key developments in Islamic political history since 1984--an especially fertile period that has seen, among other things, the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and the controversial publication of Rushdie's Satanic Verses. Islam and the World, Second Edition likewise features a new preface, redrawn maps, updated data on population and dispersal, and a new chronology of events with genealogical charts.
Show less
10.

Western Muslims and the Future of Islam » Read Now
by Tariq Ramadan. 272 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

In a Western world suddenly acutely interested in Islam, one question has been repeatedly heard above the din: where are the Muslim reformers? With this ambitious volume, Tariq Ramadan firmly establishes himself as one of Europe's leading thinkers and one of Islam's most innovative and important...
Read More

In a Western world suddenly acutely interested in Islam, one question has been repeatedly heard above the din: where are the Muslim reformers? With this ambitious volume, Tariq Ramadan firmly establishes himself as one of Europe's leading thinkers and one of Islam's most innovative and important voices. As the number of Muslims living in the West grows, the question of what it means to be a Western Muslim becomes increasingly important to the futures of both Islam and the West. While the media are focused on radical Islam, Ramadan claims, a silent revolution is sweeping Islamic communities in the West, as Muslims actively seek ways to live in harmony with their faith within a Western context. French, English, German, and American Muslims--women as well as men--are reshaping their religion into one that is faithful to the principles of Islam, dressed in European and American cultures, and definitively rooted in Western societies. Ramadan's goal is to create an independent Western Islam, anchored not in the traditions of Islamic countries but in the cultural reality of the West. He begins by offering a fresh reading of Islamic sources, interpreting them for a Western context and demonstrating how a new understanding of universal Islamic principles can open the door to integration into Western societies. He then shows how these principles can be put to practical use. Ramadan contends that Muslims can-indeed must-be faithful to their principles while participating fully in the civic life of Western secular societies. Grounded in scholarship and bold in its aims, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam offers a striking vision of a new Muslim Identity, one which rejects once and for all the idea that Islam must be defined in opposition to the West.
Show less
11.

Islam, Europe's Second Religion: The New Social, Cultural, and Political Landscape » Read Now
by Shireen T. Hunter. 295 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

Islam is slowly, but inexorably becoming part of Europe's social, cultural, and, to some degree, political landscape. With at least 15 million people in Western Europe who adhere to the Muslim faith or have close cultural or other affiliations with the Islamic world, Islam has emerged as Europe's...
Read More

Islam is slowly, but inexorably becoming part of Europe's social, cultural, and, to some degree, political landscape. With at least 15 million people in Western Europe who adhere to the Muslim faith or have close cultural or other affiliations with the Islamic world, Islam has emerged as Europe's second religion, after Christianity. This volume provides a country-by-country survey by recognized experts from each of the Western European nations.
Show less
12.

Islam in Australia » Read Now
by Abdullah Saeed. 231 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

"A clear and complete introduction to the world of Islam: the history, beliefs, practices and laws of this ancient religion. With particular focus on the contemporary Muslim world, and on Islam in Australia."
13.

Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam » Read Now
by Reuven Firestone. 208 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

While there exists no evidence to date that the indigenous inhabitants of Arabia knew of holy war prior to Islam, holy war ideas and behaviors appear already among Muslims during the first generation. This book focuses on why and how such a seemingly radical development took place. Basing his...
Read More

While there exists no evidence to date that the indigenous inhabitants of Arabia knew of holy war prior to Islam, holy war ideas and behaviors appear already among Muslims during the first generation. This book focuses on why and how such a seemingly radical development took place. Basing his hypothesis on evidence from the Qur'an and early Islamic literary sources, Firestone locates the origin of Islamic holy war and traces its evolution as a response to the changes affecting the new community of Muslims in its transition from ancient Arabian culture to the religious civilization of Islam.
Show less
14.

Islamic Fundamentalism » Read Now
by Lawrence Davidson, Randall M. Miller. 186 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

Islamic fundamentalism is a growing political factor in world affairs. This work, based on the most recent scholarship, provides both explanatory essays and ready-reference components. An expert on Middle East history, Davidson explains the Islamic fundamentalist worldview and the actions and aims...
Read More

Islamic fundamentalism is a growing political factor in world affairs. This work, based on the most recent scholarship, provides both explanatory essays and ready-reference components. An expert on Middle East history, Davidson explains the Islamic fundamentalist worldview and the actions and aims of those who adhere to it. He also addresses Islamic fundamentalist attitudes toward democracy, violence, and women. Ready-reference components include a timeline of events, biographical profiles of key Islamic fundamentalist leaders, 10 primary documents explaining Islamic fundamentalist views, a glossary of terms, an annotated bibliography, and a selection of photos.
Show less
15.

Islamic Identity and the Struggle for Justice » Read Now
by Nimat Hafez Barazangi, M. Raquibuz Zaman, Omar Afzal. 126 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

This book presents the religious ideals of justice and shows how such percepts are translated into the individual, social, political, and economic lives of people.
16.

Women and the Koran: The Status of Women in Islam » Read Now
by Anwar Hekmat. 292 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

Hekmat explains how Arab society evolved from a polytheistic, pre-Islamic culture featuring female equality to one in which men dominate & women are little more than chattel, some forced into marriage at nine years old! Written by a distinguished former Muslim scholar.