Islam (Arabic: الإسلام‎, al-ʾIslām) is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion based upon the Qur’an, a religious text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim Word of GOD (in Arabic language: ALLAH), and, for the vast majority of adherents, by the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah, composed of accounts called Hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570–8 June 632 CE), considered to be the last prophet of GOD for its times. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim (sometimes spelled “Moslem”) wich means “submitted”[to GOD] as “putting GOD first in any situation”.

Masjid Al Haram Mosque

Muslims believe that GOD (ALLAH) is one and incomparable and that the purpose of existence is to worship GOD. Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a original Faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Although a large majority of Muslims do maintain that the previous messages and revelations have been partially misinterpreted over time, they are nevertheless all obliged, according to the Qur’an, to treat the older scriptures with the utmost respect. As for the Qur’an, Muslims consider it to be both the unaltered and the final revelation of GOD. Religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam, which are basic concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and following Islamic law, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, providing guidance on multifarious topics from banking and welfare, to family life and the environment.

Like other Abrahamic religions, Islam also teaches a final judgment with the righteous rewarded paradise and unrighteous punished in hell. Religious concepts and practices include the Five Pillars of Islam, which are obligatory acts of worship, and following Islamic law (sharia), which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, from banking and welfare to women and the environment. The cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are home to the three holiest sites in Islam.

Islam is historically believed to have originated in the early 7th century CE in Mecca, and by the 8th century the Umayyad Islamic caliphate extended from Iberia in the west to the Indus River in the east. The Islamic Golden Age refers to the period traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th century, during the Abbasid Caliphate, when much of the historically Muslim world was experiencing a scientific, economic and cultural flourishing. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders and conversion to Islam by missionary activities (dawah).

The expansion of the Islamic Empire in the years following Prophet Muhammed’s death led to the creation of caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area and conversion to Islam was boosted by missionary activities. These early caliphates, coupled with Muslim economics and trading and the later expansion of the Ottoman Empire, resulted in Islam’s spread outwards from Mecca towards both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the creation of the Muslim world.

Most Muslims are of two denominations: Sunni (75–90%) or Shia (10–20%). About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country, 25% in South Asia, 20% in the Middle East, and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sizable Muslim communities are also found in Europe, China, Russia, and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world. With about 1.62 billion followers or 23% of the global population, Islam is the second-largest religion by number of adherents and, according to many sources, the fastest-growing major religion in the world.

GOD in arabic

Etymology and meaning
Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of submission (mostly in a religious context it means “voluntary submission to GOD, ALLAH) wholeness, safeness and peace. Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means “submission” or “surrender.” Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the same verb form, and means “one who submits” or “one who surrenders.” Believers demonstrate submission to GOD by serving GOD, following His Commands, and rejecting polytheism. The word sometimes has distinct connotations in its various occurrences in the Qur’an. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of being “submitted” as an internal conviction: “Whomsoever GOD desires to guide, He opens his heart to submission [Islam].”

Other verses connect Islām and dīn (in Arabic: “religion”): “Today, I have perfected your religion (dīn) for you; I have completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam [“being submitted”] for your religion.” Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to GOD (conversion, baptize as in Christian faith) more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that includes imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence), where islām is defined theologically as Tawhid, historically by asserting that Muhammad is Messenger of GOD, and doctrinally by mandating five basic and fundamental pillars of practice.

GOD in Islam
Islam’s most fundamental concept is a rigorous monotheism, called tawḥīd (Arabic: توحيد‎). GOD is described in chapter (called Sura) 112 of the Qur’an as:

“Say: He is GOD, the One and Only; GOD, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”
(Qur’an 112, 1-4)

Muslims and Jews repudiate the Roman Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. In Islam, GOD is beyond all comprehension and Muslims are not expected to visualize GOD. GOD is described and referred to by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahmān, meaning “The Compassionate” and Al-Rahīm, meaning “The Merciful” (Names of GOD in Islam).

Muslims believe that the creation of everything in the universe was brought into being by GOD’s sheer command, “‘Be’ and so it is,” and that the purpose of existence is to worship GOD. He is viewed as a personal god who responds whenever a person in need or distress calls him. There are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact GOD who states, “I am nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.”

Allāh is the term with no plural or gender used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews to reference GOD, while ʾILAH (Arabic: إله‎) is the term used for a deity or a god in general. Other non-Arab Muslims might use different names as much as ALLAH, for instance “Tanrı” in Turkish, “Khodā” in Persian or Ḵẖudā in Urdu.

Angels in Islam
Belief in angels is fundamental to the faith of Islam. The Arabic word for angel (Arabic: ملك‎ malak) means “messenger”, like its counterparts in Hebrew (malʾákh) and Greek (angelos). According to the Qur’an, angels do not possess free will, and therefore worship and obey GOD in total obedience. Angels’ duties include communicating revelations from GOD, glorifying GOD, recording every person’s actions, and taking a person’s soul at the time of death. Muslims believe that angels are made of light. They are described as “messengers with wings—two, or three, or four (pairs): He [GOD] adds to Creation as He pleases…”

The astrophysicist Nidhal Guessoum in his book “Islam’s Quantum Question” has pointed to modern Islamic scholars, like Muhammad Asad and Ghulam Ahmed Parwez who have emphasized a metaphorical reinterpretation of the concept of angels. For example, Asad highlighted the following words in the Quran as evidence that the aid provided by angels in the Battle of Badr was not literal: “and GOD ordained this only as a glad tiding.”

Pictorial depictions of angels are generally avoided in Islamic Art, as the idea of giving form to anything immaterial is not accepted. Muslims believe that angels can not be seen with the naked eye, and prophets such as Muhammad received revelation from them only in a spiritual sense. Since Muslims do not believe in image-representations of celestial beings, they therefore do not share the perceptions of angelic pictorial depictions, such as those found in Western Art.

Revelations
Muslims identify the prophets of Islam (Arabic: أنۢبياء‎ anbiyāʾ ) as those humans chosen by GOD to be his messengers. According to the Qurʼan, the prophets were instructed by GOD to bring the “will of GOD” to the peoples of the nations. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not divine, though some are able to perform miracles to prove their claim. Islamic theology says that all of GOD’s messengers preached the message of Islam—submission to the will of GOD. The Qurʼan mentions the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, among others.

Muslims believe that GOD finally sent Muhammad as the last law bearing prophet (Seal of the Prophets) to convey the divine message to the whole world (to sum up and to finalize the word of GOD). In Islam, the “normative” example of Muhammad’s life is called the Sunnah (literally “trodden path”). This example is preserved in traditions known as hadith, which recount his words, his actions, and his personal characteristics. Hadith Qudsi is a sub-category of hadith, regarded as the words of GOD repeated by Muhammad differing from the Quran in that they are expressed in Muhammad’s words, whereas the Qur’an is understood as the direct Words of GOD. The classical Muslim jurist ash-Shafi’i (d. 820) emphasized the importance of the Sunnah in Islamic law, and Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad’s actions in their daily lives. The Sunnah is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of the Qur’an.

Resurrection and judgment (Qiyama)

Belief in the “Day of Resurrection”, Yawm al-Qiyāmah (Arabic: يوم القيامة‎) is also crucial for Muslims. They believe the time of Qiyāmah is preordained by GOD but unknown to man. The trials and tribulations preceding and during the Qiyāmah are described in the Qur’an and the hadith, and also in the commentaries of scholars. The Qur’an emphasizes bodily resurrection, a break from the pre-Islamic Arabian understanding of death.

On Yawm al-Qiyāmah, Muslims believe all mankind will be judged on their good and bad deeds and consigned to Jannah (paradise) or Jahannam (hell). The Qurʼan in Surat al-Zalzalah describes this as, “So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it (99, 7) and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it (99, 8).” The Qurʼan lists several sins that can condemn a person to hell, such as disbelief in GOD (Arabic: كفر‎ kufr), and dishonesty; however, the Qurʼan makes it clear GOD will forgive the sins of those who repent if he so wills. Good deeds, such as charity, prayer and compassion towards animals, will be rewarded with entry to heaven. Muslims view heaven as a place of joy and bliss, with Qurʼanic references describing its features and the physical pleasures to come. Mystical traditions in Islam place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of GOD.

Yawm al-Qiyāmah is also identified in the Qur’an as Yawm ad-Dīn (Arabic: يوم الدين‎), “Day of Religion”; as-sāʿah (Arabic: الساعة‎), “the Last Hour”; and al-Qāriʿah (Arabic: القارعة‎), “The Clatterer”.

Five pillars

The Pillars of Islam (arkan al-Islam; also arkan ad-din, “pillars of religion”) are five basic acts in Islam, considered obligatory for all believers. The Quran presents them as a framework for worship and a sign of commitment to the faith. They are:
(1) Shahadah: the testimony of Faith
(2) Salat: daily prayers
(3) Zakah: almsgiving
(4) Fasting during Ramadan
(5) Hajj: the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if you are financially and physically able to do it.
Both Shia and Sunni sects agree on the essential details for the performance of these acts.

The Five Pillars of Islam (arkān al-Islām أركان الإسلام; also arkān al-dīn أركان الدين “pillars of the religion”) are five basic acts in Islam, considered mandatory by believers and are the foundation of Muslim life. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel.

Pillars of Sunni Islam

Shahada: Faith

Shahada is a declaration of faith and trust that professes that there is only one GOD (ALLAH) and that Muhammad is GOD’s Messenger. It is a set statement normally recited in Arabic: lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu muḥammadun rasūlu-llāh (لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله) “There is no god but GOD (and) Muhammad is the messenger of GOD.” It is essential to utter it to become a Muslim and to convert to Islam.

Salah: Prayer

Salah (ṣalāh) is the Islamic prayer. Salah consists of five daily prayers according to the Sunna; the names are according to the prayer times: Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (noon), ʿAṣr (afternoon), Maghrib (evening), and ʿIshāʾ (night). The Fajr prayer is performed before sunrise, Dhuhr is performed in the midday after the sun has surpassed its highest point, Asr is the evening prayer before sunset, Maghrib is the evening prayer after sunset and Isha is the night prayer. All of these prayers are recited while facing in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and form an important aspect of the Muslim Ummah (originally they were done in direction of Jerusalem). Muslims must wash before prayer; this washing is called wudu (“purification”). The prayer is accompanied by a series of set positions including; bowing with hands on knees, standing, prostrating and sitting in a special position (not on the heels, nor on the buttocks). A Muslim may perform their prayer anywhere, such as in offices, universities, and fields. However, the mosque is the more preferable place for prayers because the mosque allows for fellowship.

Zakāt: Charity

Zakāt or alms-giving is the practice of charitable giving based on accumulated wealth. The word zakāt can be defined as purification and growth because it allows an individual to achieve balance and encourages new growth. The principle of knowing that all things belong to GOD is essential to purification and growth. Zakāt is obligatory for all Muslims who are able to do so. It is the personal responsibility of each Muslim to ease the economic hardship of others and to strive towards eliminating inequality. Zakāt consists of spending a portion of one’s wealth for the benefit of the poor or needy, like debtors or travelers. A Muslim may also donate more as an act of voluntary charity (sadaqah), rather than to achieve additional divine reward.

There are five principles that should be followed when giving the zakāt:

1. The giver must declare to GOD his intention to give the zakāt.
2. The zakāt must be paid on the day that it is due.
3. After the offering, the payer must not exaggerate on spending his money more than usual means.
4. Payment must be in kind. This means if one is wealthy then he or she needs to pay a portion of their income. If a person does not have much money, then they should compensate for it in different ways, such as good deeds and good behavior toward others.
5. The zakāt must be distributed in the community from which it was taken.

Sawm: Fasting

Three types of fasting (Siyam) are recognized by the Quran: Ritual fasting, fasting as compensation for repentance (both from sura Al-Baqara), and ascetic fasting (from Al-Ahzab).

Ritual fasting is an obligatory act during the month of Ramadan. Muslims must abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk during this month, and are to be especially mindful of other sins. Fasting is necessary for every Muslim that has reached puberty (unless he/she suffers from a medical condition which prevents him/her from doing so).

The fast is meant to allow Muslims to seek nearness and to look for forgiveness from GOD, to express their gratitude to and dependence on him, atone for their past sins, and to remind them of the needy. During Ramadan, Muslims are also expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam by refraining from violence, anger, envy, greed, lust, profane language, gossip and to try to get along with fellow Muslims better. In addition, all obscene and irreligious sights and sounds are to be avoided.

Fasting during Ramadan is obligatory, but is forbidden for several groups for whom it would be very dangerous and excessively problematic. These include pre-pubescent children, those with a medical condition such as diabetes, elderly people, and pregnant or breastfeeding women. Observing fasts is not permitted for menstruating women. Other individuals for whom it is considered acceptable not to fast are those who are ill or traveling. Missing fasts usually must be made up for soon afterward, although the exact requirements vary according to circumstance.

Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca

The Hajj is a pilgrimage that occurs during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah to the holy city of Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life. When the pilgrim is around 10 km (6.2 mi) from Mecca, he/she must dress in Ihram clothing, which, for men, consists of two white sheets. Both men and women are required to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. After a Muslim makes the trip to Mecca, he/she is known as a hajj/hajja (one who made the pilgrimage to Mecca). The main rituals of the Hajj include walking seven times around the Kaaba termed Tawaf, touching the Black Stone termed Istilam, traveling seven times between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah termed Sa’yee, and symbolically stoning the Devil in Mina termed Ramee.

The pilgrim, or the haji, is honoured in the Muslim community. Islamic teachers say that the Hajj should be an expression of devotion to God, not a means to gain social standing. The believer should be self-aware and examine their intentions in performing the pilgrimage. This should lead to constant striving for self-improvement. A pilgrimage made at any time other than the Hajj season is called an Umrah, and while not mandatory is strongly recommended. Also, they make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Jerusalem in their alms-giving feast.

A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims, who often refer to it by its Arabic name, masjid. The word mosque in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated to Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, “collective” mosque (masjid jāmi’). Although the primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place of prayer, it is also important to the Muslim community as a place to meet and study. Al-Masjid al-Nabawi the Prophets Mosque in Madina was also a place of refuge for the poor. Modern mosques have evolved greatly from the early designs of the 7th century, and contain a variety of architectural elements such as minarets.

Etiquette and diet

Many practices fall in the category of adab, or Islamic etiquette. This includes greeting others with “as-salamu `alaykum” (“peace be unto you”), saying bismillah (“in the Name of GOD”) before meals, and using only the right hand for eating and drinking. Islamic hygienic practices mainly fall into the category of personal cleanliness and health. Circumcision of male offspring is also practiced in Islam. Islamic burial rituals include saying the Salat al-Janazah (“funeral prayer”) over the bathed and enshrouded dead body, and burying it in a grave. Muslims are restricted in their diet. Prohibited foods include pork products, blood, carrion, and alcohol. All meat must come from a herbivorous animal slaughtered in the name of GOD by a Muslim, Jew, or Christian, with the exception of game that one has hunted or fished for oneself. Food permissible for Muslims is known as halal food.

Family life

The basic unit of Islamic society is the family, and Islam defines the obligations and legal rights of family members. The father is seen as financially responsible for his family, and is obliged to cater for their well-being. The division of inheritance is specified in the Qur’an, which states that most of it is to pass to the immediate family, while a portion is set aside for the payment of debts and the making of bequests. With some exceptions, the woman’s share of inheritance is generally half of that of a man with the same rights of succession. Marriage in Islam is a civil contract which consists of an offer and acceptance between two qualified parties in the presence of two witnesses. The groom is required to pay a bridal gift (mahr) to the bride, as stipulated in the contract.

The Quran verse 4:3 [Quran 4:3] limits the number of wives to four and only if a man could treat them with fairness and equity. Most families in the Islamic world are monogamous as the rule is a conditional permission not a recommendation.

In case of family disputes, the Quran [Quran 4:34] directs the husband to treat his spouse kindly and not to overlook her positive aspects, and exhort and appeal for reason. If this fails, the husband may express his displeasure by sleeping in a separate bed. As a last retort, the husband may tap or lightly strike her in a manner which causes no pain and leaves no mark on the body. This has been interpreted by early jurists as a symbolic use of the miswak. Even this measure has been discouraged in several hadeeth, and the prophet never retorted to that measure. A minority of Islamic scholars contest this interpretation and state that even tapping or striking is not allowed. UAE’s highest court declared that the man of the house is allowed to beat young children; but not adult children.

Economy

To reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, Islamic economic jurisprudence encourages trade, discourages the hoarding of wealth and outlaws interest-bearing loans (usury; the term is riba in Arabic). Therefore, wealth is taxed through Zakat, but trade is not taxed. Usury, which allows the rich to get richer without sharing in the risk, is forbidden in Islam. Profit sharing and venture capital where the lender is also exposed to risk is acceptable. Hoarding of food for speculation is also discouraged.

Grabbing other people’s land is also prohibited. The prohibition of usury has resulted in the development of Islamic banking. During the time of Muhammad, any money that went to the state, was immediately used to help the poor. Then in 634, Umar formally established the welfare state Bayt al-mal. The Bayt al-mal or the welfare state was for the Muslim and Non-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled. The Bayt al-mal ran for hundreds of years under the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century and continued through the Umayyad period and well into the Abbasid era. Umar also introduced Child Benefit and Pensions for the children and the elderly.

Government

Mainstream Islamic law does not distinguish between “matters of church” and “matters of state”; the scholars function as both jurists and theologians. Currently no government conforms to Islamic economic jurisprudence, but steps have been taken to implement some of its tenets.

Jihad

Jihad means “to strive or struggle” (in the way of GOD). Jihad, in its broadest sense, is “exerting one’s utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of disapprobation”. Depending on the object being a visible enemy, the Devil, and aspects of one’s own self (such as sinful desires), different categories of jihad are defined. Jihad, when used without any qualifier, is understood in its military aspect. Jihad also refers to one’s striving to attain religious and moral perfection. Some Muslim authorities, especially among the Shi’a and Sufis, distinguish between the “greater jihad”, which pertains to spiritual self-perfection, and the “lesser jihad”, defined as warfare.

Within Islamic jurisprudence, jihad is usually taken to mean military exertion against non-believer/non-Muslim/Muslim combatants who insulted Islam. The ultimate purpose of military jihad is debated, both within the Islamic community and without. Jihad is the only form of warfare permissible in Islamic law and may be declared against illegal works, terrorists, criminal groups, rebels, apostates, and leaders or states who oppress Muslims. Most Muslims today interpret Jihad as only a defensive form of warfare. Jihad only becomes an individual duty for those vested with authority. For the rest of the populace, this happens only in the case of a general mobilization. For most Twelver Shias, offensive jihad can only be declared by a divinely appointed leader of the Muslim community, and as such is suspended since Muhammad al-Mahdi’s occultation in 868 AD.

History

The prophet Muhammad (c. 570 – June 8, 632) was declared the seal of the prophets for its times. During the last 22 years of his life, beginning at age 40 in 610 CE, according to the earliest surviving biographies, Muhammad reported revelations that he believed to be from GOD, conveyed to him through the archangel Gabriel (Jibril). Muhammad’s companions memorized and recorded the content of these revelations, known as the Qur’an.

The Prophet Mohammad in Kaba

During this time, Muhammad in Mecca preached to the people, imploring them to abandon polytheism and to worship one GOD. Although some converted to Islam, the leading Meccan authorities persecuted Muhammad and his followers. This resulted in the Migration to Abyssinia of some Muslims (to the Aksumite Empire). Many early converts to Islam were the poor and former slaves like Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi. The Meccan élite felt that Muhammad was destabilising their social order by preaching about one GOD and about racial equality, and that in the process he gave ideas to the poor and to their slaves.

After 12 years of the persecution of Muslims by the Meccans and the Meccan boycott of the Hashemites, Muhammad’s relatives, Muhammad and the Muslims performed the Hijra (“emigration”) to the city of Medina (formerly known as Yathrib) in 622. There, with the Medinan converts (Ansar) and the Meccan migrants (Muhajirun), Muhammad in Medina established his political and religious authority. A state was established in accordance with Islamic economic jurisprudence. The Constitution of Medina was formulated, instituting a number of rights and responsibilities for the Muslim, Jewish, Christian and pagan communities of Medina, bringing them within the fold of one community — the Ummah.

The Constitution established:

• the security of the community
• religious freedoms
• the role of Medina as a sacred place (barring all violence and weapons)
• the security of women
• stable tribal relations within Medina
• a tax system for supporting the community in time of conflict
• parameters for exogenous political alliances
• a system for granting protection of individuals
• a judicial system for resolving disputes where non-Muslims could also use their own laws and have their own judges.

All the tribes signed the agreement to defend Medina from all external threats and to live in harmony amongst themselves. Within a few years, two battles took place against the Meccan forces: first, the Battle of Badr in 624 – a Muslim victory, and then a year later, when the Meccans returned to Medina, the Battle of Uhud, which ended inconclusively.

The Arab tribes in the rest of Arabia then formed a confederation and during the Battle of the Trench (March–April 627) besieged Medina, intent on finishing off Islam. In 628, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was signed between Mecca and the Muslims and was broken by Mecca two years later. After the signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah many more people converted to Islam. At the same time, Meccan trade routes were cut off as Muhammad brought surrounding desert tribes under his control. By 629 Muhammad was victorious in the nearly bloodless conquest of Mecca, and by the time of his death in 632 (at the age of 62) he had united the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity.

Caliphate and civil strife (632–750)

With Muhammad’s death in 632, disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community. Abu Bakr, a companion and close friend of Muhammad, was made the first caliph. Under Abu Bakr the Muslims expanded into Syria after putting down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an episode known as the Ridda wars, or “Wars of Apostasy”. The Quran was compiled into a single volume at this time.

His death in 634 resulted in the succession of Umar ibn al-Khattab as the caliph, followed by Uthman ibn al-Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib and Hasan ibn Ali. The first caliphs are known as al-khulafā’ ar-rāshidūn (“Rightly Guided Caliphs”). Under them, the territory under Muslim rule expanded deeply into the parts of the Persian and Byzantine territories.

When Umar was assassinated by Persians in 644, the election of Uthman as successor was met with increasing opposition. The standard copies of the Quran were also distributed throughout the Islamic State. In 656, Uthman was also killed, and Ali assumed the position of caliph. After the first civil war (the “First Fitna”), Ali was assassinated by Kharijites in 661. Following a peace treaty, Mu’awiyah came to power and began the Umayyad dynasty.

These disputes over religious and political leadership would give rise to schism in the Muslim community. The majority accepted the legitimacy of the three rulers prior to Ali, and became known as Sunnis. A minority disagreed, and believed that only Ali and some of his descendants should rule; they became known as the Shia. After Mu’awiyah’s death in 680, conflict over succession broke out again in a civil war known as the “Second Fitna”.

The Umayyad dynasty conquered the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Narbonnese Gaul and Sindh. Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, persecuted as religious minorities and taxed heavily to finance the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars, often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests. Since the Constitution of Medina, Jews and Christians continued to use their own laws in the Islamic State and had their own judges.

The descendants of Muhammad’s uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib rallied discontented non-Arab converts (mawali), poor Arabs, and some Shi’a against the Umayyads and overthrew them with the help of the general Abu Muslim, inaugurating the Abbasid dynasty in 750.

Classical era (750–1258)

During this time, the Delhi Sultanate took over northern parts of Indian subcontinent. Religious missions converted Volga Bulgaria to Islam. Many Muslims also went to China to trade, virtually dominating the import and export industry of the Song Dynasty.

The major hadith collections were compiled during the early Abbasid era. The Ja’fari jurisprudence was formed from the teachings of Ja’far al-Sadiq while the four Sunni Madh’habs, the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi’i, were established around the teachings of Abū Ḥanīfa, Ahmad bin Hanbal, Malik ibn Anas and al-Shafi’i respectively. Al-Shafi’i also codified a method to establish the reliability of hadith.[166] Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir completed the most commonly cited commentaries on the Quran, the Tafsir al-Tabari in the 9th century and the Tafsir ibn Kathir in the 14th century, respectively. Philosophers Al-Farabi and Avicenna sought to incorporate Greek principles into Islamic theology, while others like Al-Ghazali argued against them and ultimately prevailed.

Caliphs such as Mamun al Rashid and Al-Mu’tasim made the mutazilite philosophy an official creed and imposed it upon Muslims to follow. Mu’tazila was a Greek influenced school of speculative theology called kalam, which refers to dialectic. Many orthodox Muslims rejected mutazilite doctrines and condemned their idea of the creation of the Quran. In inquisitions, Imam Hanbal refused to conform and was tortured and sent to an unlit Baghdad prison cell for nearly thirty months.

The Holy Qur’an testomony of the major Holy Bible events

The other branch of kalam was the Ash’ari school founded by Al-Ash’ari. Some Muslims began to question the piety of indulgence in a worldly life and emphasized poverty, humility and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Ascetics such as Hasan al-Basri would inspire a movement that would evolve into Tasawwuf (Sufism). Beginning in the 13th century, Sufism underwent a transformation, largely because of efforts to legitimize and reorganize the movement by Al-Ghazali, who developed the model of the Sufi order—a community of spiritual teachers and students.

This era is sometimes called the “Islamic Golden Age”. Public hospitals established during this time (called Bimaristan hospitals), are considered “the first hospitals” in the modern sense of the word, and issued the first medical diplomas to license doctors. The Guinness World Records recognizes the University of Al Karaouine, founded in 859, as the world’s oldest degree-granting university. The doctorate is argued to date back to the licenses to teach in Muslim law schools. Standards of experimental and quantification techniques, as well as the tradition of citation, were introduced. An important pioneer in this, Ibn Al-Haytham is regarded as the father of the modern scientific method and often referred to as the “world’s first true scientist”. The government paid scientists the equivalent salary of professional athletes today. It is argued that the data used by Copernicus for his heliocentric conclusions was gathered and that Al-Jahiz proposed a theory of natural selection. Rumi wrote some of the finest Persian poetry and is still one of the best selling poets in America. Legal institutions introduced include the trust and charitable trust (Waqf).

The first Muslims states independent of a unified Muslim state emerged from the Berber Revolt (739/740-743). In 930, the Ismaili group known as the Qarmatians unsuccessfully rebelled against the Abbassids, sacked Mecca and stole the Black Stone, which was eventually retrieved. The Mongol Empire put an end to the Abbassid dynasty in 1258.

Pre-Modern era (1258–20th century)

Islam spread with Muslim trade networks and Sufi orders activity that extended into Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Malay archipelago. The Ottomans challenged European powers on land and sea, and reached deep into Central Europe at the Siege of Vienna (1529). Under the Ottoman Empire, Islam spread to Southeast Europe, Crimea, and the Caucasus The Muslims in China who were descended from earlier immigration began to assimilate by adopting Chinese names and culture while Nanjing became an important center of Islamic study.

The Muslim world was generally in serious political decline starting the 1800s, especially relative to the non-Muslim European powers. This decline was evident culturally; while Taqi al-Din founded an observatory in Istanbul and the Jai Singh Observatory was built in the 18th century, there was not a single Muslim country with a major observatory by the twentieth century. The Reconquista, launched against Muslim principalities in Iberia, succeeded in 1492 and Muslim Sicily was lost to the Normans. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Mughal armies, and won over several Mughal provinces of India. Further, by the 19th century the British Empire had formally ended the last Mughal dynasty in India. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated after World War I and the Caliphate was abolished in 1924.

The majority Shia group at that time, the Zaydis, used the Hanafi jurisprudence, as did most Sunnis. The Shia Safavid dynasty rose to power in 1501 and later conquered all of Iran. The ensuing mandatory conversion of Iran to Twelver Shia Islam for the largely Sunni population also ensured the final dominance of the Twelver sect within Shiism over the Zaidi sect, the largest group amongst the Shia before the Safavid Dynasty, and the Ismaili sect.

A revival movement during this period an 18th-century Salafi movement led by Ibn Abd al-Wahhab in today’s Saudi Arabia. Referred to as Wahhabi, their self designation is Muwahiddun (unitarians). Building upon earlier efforts such as those by Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, the movement allegedly seeks to uphold monotheism and purify Islam of what they see as later innovations. Their zeal against idolatrous shrines led to the desecration of shrines around the world, including that of Muhammad and his companions in Mecca and Medina. In the 19th century, the Deobandi and Barelwi movements were initiated.

Modern times (20th century–present)

Contact with industrialized nations brought Muslim populations to new areas through economic migration. Many Muslims migrated as indentured servants, from mostly India and Indonesia, to the Caribbean, forming the largest Muslim populations by percentage in the Americas. The resulting urbanization and increase in trade in sub-Saharan Africa brought Muslims to settle in new areas and spread their faith, likely doubling its Muslim population between 1869 and 1914. Muslim immigrants, many as guest workers, began arriving, largely from former colonies, into several Western European nations since the 1960s.

New Muslim intellectuals are beginning to arise, and are increasingly separating perennial Islamic beliefs from archaic cultural traditions. Liberal Islam is a movement that attempts to reconcile religious tradition with modern norms of secular governance and human rights. Its supporters say that there are multiple ways to read Islam’s sacred texts, and stress the need to leave room for “independent thought on religious matters”. Women’s issues receive a significant weight in the modern discourse on Islam.

Secular powers such as Chinese Red Guards closed many mosques and destroyed Qurans and Communist Albania became the first country to ban the practice of every religion. About half a million Muslims were killed in Cambodia by communists whom, it is argued, viewed them as their primary enemy and wished to exterminate them since they stood out and worshipped their own god. In Turkey, the military carried out coups to oust Islamist governments and headscarves were, as well as in Tunisia, banned in official buildings.

Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani, along with his acolyte Muhammad Abduh, have been credited as forerunners of the Islamic revival. Abul A’la Maududi helped influence modern political Islam. Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood advocate Islam as a comprehensive political solution, often in spite of being banned. In Iran, revolution replaced a secular regime with an Islamic state. In Turkey, the Islamist AK Party has democratically been in power for about a decade, while Islamist parties did well in elections following the Arab Spring. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of Muslim countries, was established in 1969 after the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Piety appears to be deepening worldwide. In many places, the prevalence of the Islamic veil is growing increasingly common and the percentage of Muslims favoring Sharia laws has increased. With religious guidance increasingly available electronically, Muslims are able to access views that are strict enough for them rather than rely on state clerics who are often seen as stooges. Some organizations began using the media to promote Islam such as the 24-hour TV channel, Peace TV. Perhaps as a result of these efforts, most experts agree that Islam is growing faster than any other faith in East and West Africa