Islam means a lot of different things to different groups of people. To some, it is simply a religion practiced by those in the Middle East, and to others, it can be taken to mean a set of principles, values, or doctrines that are followed and respected. Many children are born into Islam in a way that one would be born into a race or culture, so Islam becomes an identity. For those who make the conscious decision to practice Islam, then it is a way of life,which is natural and helps balance between relation with God and His creations simultaneously.
Google brings up two definitions; one of which is very literal: “The religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad (pbuh) as the Prophet of Allah.” This definition certainly sounds correct, but it narrowed to labeling to a religion practiced by a group of people with specific beliefs like in some God or some prophet. The second definition that Google delivers is “The Muslim world”. The Western media has certainly played a role in constricting down to only association with what they dub “the Muslim world”, i.e. the customs, traditions, and practices of targeted nations. However, these definitions delivered by Google are both incomplete and insufficient to explain what Islam means.
To learn more, visit The Message page.
To learn who started it, visit The Messengers page.
For more info, visit the Resources page.