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Islam is an abrahamic monotheist religion. Adherents of Islam are called muslims, or less commonly, Mohammedans.
Islam was created by a man named Muhammad, who lived in the city of Mecca, in what is now Saudi Arabia, in the 600s CE, though according to the Islamic narrative, Islam was not founded by Muhammad, but was sent to perfect it, and that Islam started with Adam.
The primary text of Islam is called the Koran, also spelled Qur'an. There are also secondary texts in Islam, which are called the hadith. The text of the Quran was recited by Muhammad, and recorded by his companions. When reciting the Quran, Muhammad spoke as if he were speaking as an angel, and he said that the angel Gabriel (from the jewish Book of Daniel) was speaking through him. The hadith consists of other statements that Muhammad made- statements that Muhammad did not claim had come from an angel.
Islam has 1.3 to 1.9 billion adherents, which makes it the second-most populous religion in the world, after Christianity.
Basic Teachings
Islam is a religion that believes in 124,000 prophets of Allah who have essentially brought the same message of monotheism or tauheed to mankind in different times in an evolutionary manner. Adam was the first prophet and Muhammad is the last prophet. Among other prophets that are mentioned with great reverence are Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
Sects
There are two main sects of Islam, which are the sunnis and shi'as. Sufis are sometimes falsely considered to be a sect of Islam, but in truth, they are just islamic mystics who belong to any sect. The sunnis and the shi'as are each further divided into sub-sects.
The Successors of Muhammad
The Shia Muslims believe Imam Ali to be the spiritual successor of Muhammad. They believe in Imamate instead of Khilafat. They believe in the supremacy of the Ahle bayayat, who were the family of Muhammad. They included Muhammad's daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and their children Hasan and Husain. Along with Muhammad, these five personalities constitute the Holy Five or the Panjetan Pak
Imams (12) are:
- ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (600–661), also known as Amīru l-Mu'minīn "Commander of the Faithful" in Arabic and in Persian as Shāh-e Mardan "King of the People"
- Ḥasan ibn ‘Alī (625–669), also known as Al-Hasan al-Mujtaba
- Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī (626–680), also known as Al-Husayn ash-Shaheed
- ‘Alī ibn Ḥusayn (658–713), also known as Ali Zayn-ul-'Abideen
- Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī (676–743), also known as Muhammad al-Bāqir
- Ja‘far ibn Muḥammad (703–765), also known as Ja'far aṣ-Ṣādiq
- Mūsá ibn Ja‘far (745–799), also known as Mūsá al-Kāżim
- ‘Alī ibn Mūsá (765–818), also known as Ali ar-Riża
- Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī (810–835), also known as Muḥammad al-Jawad and Muḥammad at-Taqi
- ‘Alī ibn Muḥammad (827–868), also known as ‘Alī al-Ḥādī and ‘Alī an-Naqī
- Ḥasan ibn ‘Alī (846–874), also known as Hasan al Askari
- Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan (868–?), also known as al-Hujjat ibn al-Ḥasan, Mahdī, Imāmu l-Aṣr
The Sunni Muslims believe in a system of Khilafat. The first four caliphs were called the "Khalifa-e-Rashida", which means "rightly-guided caliphs".
- Abu Bakr
- Umar
- Uthman
- Ali