A Muslim, sometimes spelled Moslem,[1] is an adherent of Islam. The Qur'an is the holy book of Islam and Muslims believe that it is the verbatim word of God as revealed to the prophet Muhammad. Muslims also follow the teachings and practices of Muhammad as recorded in traditional accounts called hadith.[2] "Muslim" is an Arabic word meaning "one who submits to God".
Muslims believe that God (Allāh) is eternal, transcendent and absolutely one (monotheism). They also believe Allāh is incomparable, self-sustaining and neither begets nor was begotten. The core of Muslim beliefs are to be found in Chapter 112 of the Qur'an, The Purity, in which Allāh instructs the faithful in purity of faith.[3][4] Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that has been revealed before through many prophets including Abraham, Moses and Jesus.[5] Muslims also believe that these previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time[6] and that the Qur'an is the final unaltered revelation from God (The Final Testament).[7] Muslims acknowledge that Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets and the final prophet.
Most Muslims accept as a Muslim anyone who has publicly pronounced the Shahadah (declaration of faith) which states:
I testify that there is no god except for the God, and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
The religious practices of Muslims are enumerated in the Five Pillars of Islam, which, in addition to Shahadah, consist of daily prayers (salat), fasting during Ramadan (sawm), almsgiving (zakat), and the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime.[8][9]
The majority of Muslims are Sunni, being over 75–90% of all Muslims.[10] The second largest sect, Shia, makes up 10–20%.[11] The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims followed by Pakistan (11.0%), Bangladesh (9.2%), and Egypt (4.9%).[12] Sizable minorities are also found in India, China, Russia, Ethiopia, Americas, Australia and parts of Europe. With about 1.6 billion followers, almost a quarter of earth's population,[13][14][15][16] Islam is the second-largest and one of the fastest-growing religions in the world.