What is Islam?
Islam is the name of the religion that Muslims follow. People who practice Islam are called Muslims, just like those who practice Christianity are called Christians. The literal and lexical meaning of Islam means submission. Islam comes from the root Arabic letters s-l-m which are the same root letters the word peace (salam) comes from. The term Islam itself does not mean peace, but it implies that one finds peace (salam) through submission (islam). The term Arab is often used interchangeably with Muslim, but this is incorrect. Arab is an ethnicity while Islam is a religion. Not all Arabs are Muslim and most Muslims are actually not Arab. Arabs make up about 13% of the Muslim population.
What do Muslims believe?
Nearly a quarter of the world's population are Muslims with variations in beliefs and practices. The following are five shared core beliefs.
Muslims believe in God the Creator of the universe. The Arabic term for God is Allah. A term many American Muslims use interchangeably with God, it is not unique to Muslims: Arabic speaking Christians use it as well as those in Indonesia and Malayasia.
Muslims believe in angels. Unlike humans, Muslims believe that angels do not have free will and must obey God. Angels have many different responsibilities including assisting people in times of difficulty.
Muslims believe in Prophets and Messengers. Muslims believe in many Prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Joseph, Jesus, and Muhammad and customarily say peace be upon them after their names.
Muslims believe in scriptures from God. Muslims believe the Qurʾān was sent as a the “final testament” and it functions as God’s final message to humankind, but they also believe that Moses was given the Torah, Abraham the scrolls, David the Psalms, and Jesus the Gospels.
Muslims believe in the afterlife. This afterlife is believed to arrive after a day of judgment when God will hold people accountable actions in this world.
Muslims believe in God’s decree. Muslims hold that there are certain things God has decreed beyond human control such as when we are born and die, while also holding that humans have been granted free will to make other decisions.
Adapted from: Why Islam?