The meaning of the word

The Arabic word Islam comes from the root s-l-m, meaning submission or surrender — specifically, the willing surrender of oneself to God. The same root gives the Arabic word salam, meaning peace. So at its heart, Islam describes the peace that comes from submitting to the will of the one God.91011

A person who follows Islam is called a Muslim — one who submits to God. Muslims believe that this submission is the natural purpose for which human beings were created:

"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me."

— Quran 51:56 (Saheeh International)2

The Quran teaches that Islam is not presented as a new, separate religion but as the same essential message of submission to the one God brought by all the prophets:

"Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam [submission to Him]."

— Quran 3:19 (Saheeh International)1

The core belief: the oneness of God (Tawhid)

The foundation of everything in Islam is Tawhid — the absolute oneness and uniqueness of God, called Allah in Arabic. God is one, without partner, without offspring, and unlike anything in creation. This is summed up in one of the Quran's shortest and most recited chapters:

"Say, He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent."

— Quran 112:1-4 (Saheeh International)3

The Five Pillars

The practice of Islam rests on five acts of worship known as the Five Pillars. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

"Islam is built upon five [pillars]: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the establishment of prayer, the giving of zakat (obligatory charity), the pilgrimage (Hajj), and fasting in Ramadan."

— Sahih al-Bukhari 87

In brief, the pillars are:

  1. Shahada — bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad ﷺ is His Messenger.
  2. Salah — the five daily prayers.
  3. Zakat — an obligatory share of one's wealth given to those in need.
  4. Sawm — fasting during the month of Ramadan.
  5. Hajj — the pilgrimage to Mecca, required once in a lifetime for those who are able.

The Six Articles of Faith

Where the Five Pillars describe what a Muslim does, the Six Articles of Faith describe what a Muslim believes. In the well-known narration where the angel Jibril (Gabriel) questioned the Prophet ﷺ about faith, he answered:

"That you believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and that you believe in divine decree (qadar), both its good and its evil."

— Sahih Muslim 88

So the six articles are belief in: God, His angels, His revealed Books (including the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran), His prophets and messengers, the Day of Judgment, and divine decree.

Who is Islam for?

Muslims believe Islam's message is universal — addressed to all of humanity, not to one people or place:

"And We have not sent you [O Muhammad] except as a mercy to the worlds."

— Quran 21:107 (Saheeh International)5

"And We have not sent you except comprehensively to all mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner."

— Quran 34:28 (Saheeh International)6

Today Islam is the world's second-largest religion, followed by roughly 1.9 billion people — about a quarter of the world's population — across every region of the globe.12911

The Quran also emphasizes that genuine faith cannot be coerced; it must be a free and sincere choice:

"There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion."

— Quran 2:256 (Saheeh International)4

In short

Islam is the faith of submission to the one God, taught by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as the completion of the message of all the prophets before him. It is built on the belief in God's oneness, expressed through five core practices and six articles of faith, and it understands itself as a universal invitation offered to all people.