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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · World Religions and Traditions

Islam

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/ˈɪzlɑːm/nounCore term

In religious studies & theology, Islam means: A monotheistic religion that began in seventh-century Arabia with the Prophet Muhammad; Muslims regard the Qur'an as God's word and follow practices such as the Five Pillars.

In Turkish: İslam, İslamiyet

How it is used

Followers are Muslims; the adjective for people is Muslim (Muslim scholars), and for things, ideas and civilization it is usually Islamic (Islamic law, Islamic art). Academic writing avoids generalizations like 'Islam says' and prefers 'many Muslim scholars hold' or 'in classical Islamic law'.

Example sentences

  1. Islam spread from Arabia to North Africa, Persia and Central Asia within a century.

  2. The module surveys early Islamic history and the formation of the legal schools.

Common collocations

  • Sunni Islam
  • Shia Islam
  • early Islam
  • convert to Islam
  • the Five Pillars of Islam
  • Qur'anThe central sacred text of Islam, which Muslims believe God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic over about 23 years; it has 114 chapters called suras.
  • SunniBelonging to the largest branch of Islam, followed by most Muslims worldwide, which accepts the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of the Prophet Muhammad.
  • ShiaBelonging to the second-largest branch of Islam, whose followers believe that leadership after the Prophet Muhammad belonged to Ali and his descendants, the Imams.
  • shariaIn Islam, the divine law and guidance for all areas of life, which Muslim jurists interpret through the Qur'an, the sunna and methods of legal reasoning.
  • Abrahamic religionsJudaism, Christianity and Islam considered together as religions that trace their origins or spiritual ancestry to the figure of Abraham.

More terms: World Religions and Traditions

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