Books about Islam

Islam is a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the teachings of the Qur’an, a religious book considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God, and the Islamic prophet Muhammad's personally demonstrated examples (collected through narration of his companions in the volumes of Hadith) for implementing them. The word Islam is a homograph, having multiple meanings, and a triliteral of the word salam, which directly translates as peace. Other meanings include submission, or the total surrender of oneself to God. An adherent of Islam is a Muslim, meaning "one who submits (to God)". The word Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive. Muslims regard Islam as the completed and universal version of an original monotheistic faith revealed to peoples before, including to Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. Islamic tradition holds that previous messages have changed and the revelations were distorted.

Religious practices include the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five duties that unite Muslims into a community. Islamic law touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, encompassing everything from dietary laws and banking to warfare and welfare. The vast majority of Muslims belong to one of two major denominations, the Sunni (roughly 85%) and Shi'a (roughly 15%). Islam is the predominant religion in much of Africa, the Middle East, as well as in major parts of Asia. Large communities are also found in China, Russia and the Balkans. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world. With 1.3 billion to 1.8 billion Muslims, Islam is the second-largest religion in the world and the fastest growing religion in the world. More »