Fact about Islam.

What are the facts of the Muslim religion?

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.

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 (religion statistics)
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

Human nature
Born in a state of purity, imperfect yet capable of seeking God and doing good

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

Symbols
crescent moon and star

Major holidays
Ramadan - month long
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. Fasting during Ramadan (sawm)
4. Alms tax (zakat)
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)

Six Pillars of Iman
1. Belive in Allah
2. Belief in the angels
3. Belief in the revealed books
4. Belief in the commissioned Messengers (peace be upon them)
5. Belief in the resurrection and the events of Qiyamah
6. Belief in the predestination by Allah of all things, both the (seemingly) good and the (seemingly) bad

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