Muslim
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Sa.vakilian
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[[Image:Dongxiang minority student.jpg|thumb|right|Muslims are found throughout various parts of the world including [[People's Republic of China|China]]]]
{{Islam}}<!-- Before revert 'God' to 'Allah' read through the talk page -->
{{Islam and iman}}
A '''Muslim''' ({{lang-ar|مسلم}}) is an adherent of the [[religion]] of [[Islam]]. The feminine form is '''Muslimah''' ({{lang-ar|مسلمة}}). Literally, the word means "one who submits (to [[God]])". ''Muslim'' is the [[participle]] of the same verb of which ''Islām'' is the [[infinitive]].<ref>Burns & Ralph, ''World Civilizations'', 5th ed., p. 371</ref> Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as ''Allāh''. Muslims believe that Islam existed long before [[Muhammad]] and that the religion had evolved with time from the time of [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]] until the time of Muhammad and was completed with the revelation of verse 3 of Surah al-Maeda:<blockquote>''This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion''.</blockquote>The [[Qur'an]] describes many Biblical [[prophets of Islam|prophets]] and messengers as Muslim: [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]], [[Noah]] (Arabic: ''Nuh''), [[Islamic view of Moses|Moses]] (Arabic: ''Mūsā'') and [[Islamic view of Jesus|Jesus]] (Arabic: ''ˤĪsā'') and his apostles. The Qur'ān states that these men were Muslims because they submitted to God, preached his message and upheld his values. Thus, in Surah 3:52 of the Qur'ān, Jesus’ disciples tell Jesus, "We believe in God; and you be our witness that we submit and obey (''wa ashahadu bil-muslimūna'')."
Most Muslims consider making ritual prayer five times a day a religious duty (''[[fard]]'') (see the section on Ismāˤīlīs below for exceptions); these five prayers are known as ''[[fajr]]'', ''[[dhuhr]]'', ''[[asr|ˤasr]]'', ''[[maghrib]]'' and ''[[isha'a|ˤishā']]''. There is also a special Friday prayer called ''[[Jumu'ah|jumuˤah]]''. Currently, the number of Muslims is estimated to be 1.3 billion.
==Etymology==
{{main|S-L-M}}
Arabic ''muslimun'' is the stem IV [[Arabic_grammar#Participle|participle]]<ref>also known as "infinitive", c.f. Burns & Ralph, ''World Civilizations'', 5th ed., p. 371</ref> of the [[triliteral]] ''[[S-L-M]]'' "to be whole, intact". A literal translation would be "one who wants or seeks wholeness", where "wholeness" translates ''islāmun''. In a religious sense, ''[[Islam|Al-Islām]]'' translates to "faith, piety", and ''Muslim'' to "one who has (religious) faith or piety".
The feminine form of ''muslimun'' is '''muslimatun''' ({{lang-ar|مسلمة}}).
== Other words for Muslim ==
The ordinary word in English is "Muslim", pronounced /'mʊs.lɪm/ or /'mʌz.ləm/. The word is pronounced /'mʊslɪm/ in Arabic. It is sometimes spelt "Moslem", which some regard as offensive.<ref>http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/cohesionreportingdiversity ''Reporting Diversity'' guide for journalists</ref>
Until at least the mid 1960s, many English-language writers used the term ''[[Mohammedan]]s'' or ''Mahometans''.<ref>See for instance the second edition of ''[[Fowler's Modern English Usage|A Dictionary of Modern English Usage]]'' by [[Henry Watson Fowler|H. W. Fowler]], revised by [[Ernest Gowers]] (Oxford, 1965)).</ref> Many Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God.
English writers of the 19th century and earlier sometimes used the words Mussulman, Musselman, or Mussulmaun. Variant forms of this word are still used by many [[Indo-European languages]]. These words are similar to the [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[kurdish language|Kurdish]], [[Persian Language|Persian]], [[French language|French]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Italian language|Italian]],[[Hindi languages|Hindi]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] words for "Muslim".
==Islam==
Most Muslims accept as a Muslim anyone who has publicly pronounced the [[Shahadah]], which states, "There is no god except God and [[Muhammad]] is His Messenger." Currently, there are an estimated 1.4 billion Muslims, making it the second largest religion in the world.<ref>Teece (2003), p.10</ref>
==Muslim and mu'min==
One of the verses in the [[Qur'an]] makes a distinction between a '''[[mu'min]]''', a believer, and a '''Muslim''':
:''The Arabs of the desert say, "We believe." (tu/'''[[Moh'min|min]]'''u) Say thou: Ye believe not; but rather say, "We profess Islam;" (a'''[[Islam|slam]]'''na) for the faith ([[Iman (concept)|al-'''iman'''u]]) hath not yet found its way into your hearts. But if ye obey [God] <!-- Left bracketed because I have not found the original yet --> and His Apostle, he will not allow you to lose any of your actions: for [God] is Indulgent, Merciful ([[The Koran (Rodwell)|'The Koran]] 49:14, [[John Medows Rodwell|Rodwell]]).
According to the academician [[Carl Ernst]], contemporary usage of the terms "Islam" and "Muslim" for the faith and its adherents is a modern innovation. As shown in the [[Quran]]ic passage cited above, early Muslims distinguished between the Muslim, who has "submitted" and does the bare minimum required to be considered a part of the community, and the mu'min, the believer, who has given himself or herself to the faith heart and soul. Ernst writes:
: "The Arabic term ''Islam'' itself was of relatively minor importance in classical theologies based on the Qur'an. If one looks at the works of theologians such as the famous [[al-Ghazali]] (d. 1111), the key term of religious identity is not ''Islam'' but ''[[Iman (concept)|iman]]''(faith), and the one who possesses it is the ''[[mu'min]]'' (believer). Faith is one of the major topics of the Qur'an; it is mentioned hundreds of times in the sacred text. In comparison, ''Islam'' is a relatively less common term of secondary importance; it only occurs eight times in the Qur'an. Since, however, the term ''Islam'' had a derivative meaning relating to the community of those who have submitted to [[God]], it has taken on a new political significance, especially in recent history."<ref>Ernst, Carl, ''Following [[Muhammad]]'', University of North Carolina Press, 2003, p. 63</ref>
For another term in Islam for a non-Muslim who is a [[monotheist]] believer (usually applied historically in a pre-Islamic context), see [[hanif]].
== See also ==
* [[Allah]]
* [[List of Muslims]]
* [[Hadith]]
* [[Islam]]
* [[Islam by country]]
* [[Muhammad]]
* [[Muslim World]]
* [[Mussulman]]
* [[Qur'an]]
* [[Ramadan]]
* [[Sahih Muslim]]
==References==
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==External links==
* [http://www.islamicfinder.org Islamic directory for Muslims] Find Muslim Owned businesses, Masjids (Mosques) and Islamic Centers all over the world.
* [http://www.searchtruth.com/alldownloads.php Variety of Islamic Softwares for Muslims] Quran, Hadith and Athan (Azan) with Prayer times on Ms Windows and Mobile Phones.
* [http://www.asoon.org/a-stats.htm Muslim Population in Countries with different Alphabets]
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