Islam is the second largest growing religion in the world. Islam literally means “submission” and in context means “submission to the will of God”. Followers of Islam are called Muslims. There are currently around 1.8 billion Muslims in the world and this number is constantly growing. Muslims believe that there is only one God and that Muhammad is his messanger. Allah (swt) sent many messengers to spread his word. A few include Prophet Abraham, Moses, Jesus and finally Muhammad (peace be upon them). 

Muslims believe that the revelation was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) through the angel Gabriel. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the last prophet to spread the religion of Islam to mankind. The Prophet  was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 570 A.D. He spent his life preaching the word of Allah (swt) to mankind and was the chosen recipient to finish spreading Allah (swt)’s message. 

  “After Muhammad’s passing, Islam began to spread rapidly.  A series of leaders, known as caliphs, became successors to Muhammad. This system of leadership, which was run by a Muslim ruler, became known as a caliphate. The first caliph was Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law and close friend. Abu Bakr died about two years after he was elected and was succeeded in 634 by Caliph Umar, another father-in-law of Muhammad”. History.com Editors. “Islam.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 5 Jan. 2018, www.history.com/topics/religion/islam. 

Written by Anan Helwih