Fast Facts on Islam

This section provides "just the facts" on Islam in a quick, at-a-glance format. Here you can get a general sense of the Muslim faith before exploring it in greater depth, get the basics in order to compare Islam to other religions, study for a test on Islam, or just learn something new. For the basics in paragraph form, see Overview of Islam.

Important note: Muslim beliefs differ between sects and individual believers. Those listed below are believed by the majority of Muslims, but not all.

date founded

622 CE

place founded

Mecca, Saudi Arabia

founder

Muhammad (born c.570), a trade merchant from Arabia

adherents

1.3 billion {Adherents.com}

size rank

second largest in the world

main location

Middle East and North Africa

major sects and denominations

Sunni and Shiite
     Twelvers - Majority Shi'ite denomination that reveres the Twelve Imams
     Seveners - Shi'ite denomination holding that the legitimate line of imams ended with the seventh
Sufi is a mystical branch

sacred text

Qur'an (Koran)

original language

Arabic

religious professionals

sheikh; imam (Shi'ite)

house of worship

mosque

ultimate reality

God (Allah in Arabic); the same God revealed (imperfectly) in the Jewish and Christian Bibles

type of theism

strict monotheism (see Islamic Beliefs About God)

human nature

Born in a state of purity, imperfect yet capable of seeking God and doing good (see Islamic Beliefs about Human Nature)

purpose of life

Submit to the will of Allah and attain paradise after death (see Purpose of Life and Salvation in Islam)

how to live

Follow the Qur'an, Hadith and Five Pillars of Islam

afterlife

Resurrection of body and soul followed by eternal paradise or hell (see Muslim Beliefs about the Afterlife)

symbol

crescent moon and star (see Islamic Symbols)

major holidays

Ramadan - month long, begins Oct. 16, 2004
Eid al-Fitr - Festival of Breaking the Fast
Hijra - week long; begins 1 Muharram
Eid al-Adha - Festival of Sacrifice

Five Pillars

1. Confession of faith (shahada)
2. Daily prayer (salat)
3. Alms tax (zakat)
4. Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)
5. Fasting during Ramadan (sawm)

Twelve Imams

1. Ali
2. Al-Hasan
3. al-Husain
4. Ali Zayn al-Abidin
5. Muhammad al-Baqir
6. Ja'far al-Sadiq
7. Musa al-Kazim
8. Ali al-Rida
9. Muhammad al-Taqi
10. Ali al-Naqi
11. al-Hasan al-Askari
12. Muhammad al-Mahdi

books of the Qur'an

The Opening The Heifer Al-'Imran The Women The Table Spread The Cattle The Heights The Spoils of War Repentance Yunus Hud Yusuf The Thunder Ibrahim The Rocky Tract The Bee The Israelites The Cave Maryam Ta Ha The Prophets The Pilgrimage The Believers The Light The Criterion The Poets The Ants The Narration The Spider

The Roman Empire The Wise Adoration The Confederates The City of Saba The Originator of Creation Yasin The Rangers Suad The Companions The Believer Ha Mim The Counsel Ornaments of Gold The Smoke The Kneeling The Sandhills Muhammad The Victory The Chambers Qaf The Scatterers The Mountain The Star The Moon The Beneficent The Event The Iron She Who Pleaded

The Banishment The Examined One The Ranks The Congregation The Hypocrites The Mutual Deceit The Divorce The Prohibition The Kingdom The Pen The Inevitable The Ways of Ascent Noah The Jinn The Wrapped Up The Covered One The Resurrection Time The Sent Forth The Great Event The Draggers He Frowned The Folded Up The Cleaving The Deceivers in Measuring The Rending Asunder The Celestial Stations The Nightly Visitant The Most High The Overwhelming Calamity

The Daybreak The City The Sun The Night The Brightness The Expansion The Fig The Clot The Grandeur The Clear Evidence The Quaking The Chargers The Calamity Vying in Abundance The Age The Slanderer The Elephant The Qureaish Alms The Abundance of Good The Disbelievers The Help The Flame The Unity The Dawn The People