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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Is·lam

Audio Help [is-lahm, iz-, is-luh

m, iz-] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah.

2.	the whole body of Muslim believers, their civilization, and the countries in which theirs is the dominant religion.

Also called Muhammadanism.

[Origin: 1605–15; < Ar islām lit., submission (to God)

]

—Related forms

Is·lam·ic

Audio Help [is-lam-ik, -lah-mik, iz-] Pronunciation Key, Is·lam·it·ic

Audio Help [is-luh-mit-ik, iz-] Pronunciation Key, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Islam

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Is·lam Audio Help (ĭs-läm', ĭz-, ĭs'läm', ĭz'-) Pronunciation Key
n.

A monotheistic religion characterized by the acceptance of the doctrine of submission to God and to Muhammad as the chief and last prophet of God.
1. The people or nations that practice Islam; the Muslim world.
2. The civilization developed by the Muslim world.

[Arabic 'islām, submission, from 'aslama, to surrender, resign oneself, from Syriac 'ašlem, to make peace, surrender, derived stem of šlem, to be complete; see šlm in Semitic roots.]

Is·lam'ic adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Islam

"religious system revealed by Muhammad," 1818, from Arabic, lit. "submission" (to the will of God), from root of aslama "he resigned, he surrendered, he submitted," causative conjunction of salima "he was safe," and related to salam "peace." Islamic is attested from 1791. Earlier Eng. names for the faith include Muhammadism (1614) and Ismaelism (1604), which in part is from Ishmaelite, a name formerly given (esp. by Jews) to Arabs, as descendants of Ishmael (q.v.), and in part from Arabic Ismailiy, name of the Shiite sect that after 765 C.E. followed the Imamship through descendants of Ismail (Arabic for Ishmael), eldest son of Jafar, the sixth Imam. The Ismailians were not numerous, but among them were the powerful Fatimid dynasty in Egypt and the Assassins, both of whom loomed large in European imagination.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

islam
noun
1.	the civilization of Muslims collectively which is governed by the Muslim religion; "Islam is predominant in northern Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and Indonesia"
2.	the monotheistic religious system of Muslims founded in Arabia in the 7th century and based on the teachings of Muhammad as laid down in the Koran; "Islam is a complete way of life, not a Sunday religion"; "the term Muhammadanism is offensive to Muslims who believe that Allah, not Muhammad, founded their religion"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Islam [ˈizlaːm] noun

the Muslim religion

Arabic:	إسْلام
Chinese (Simplified):	伊斯兰教
Chinese (Traditional):	伊斯蘭教
Czech:	islám
Danish:	islam
Dutch:	islam
Estonian:	islam
Finnish:	islam
French:	Islam
German:	der Islam
Greek:	ισλαμισμός
Hungarian:	iszlám
Icelandic:	íslam, múhameðstrú
Indonesian:	Islam
Italian:	Islam

Japanese:	イスラム教
Korean:	회교
Latvian:	islams; musulmanisms
Lithuanian:	islamas
Norwegian:	islam
Polish:	islam
Portuguese (Brazil):	Islã
Portuguese (Portugal):	Islão
Romanian:	islam
Russian:	ислам
Slovak:	islam
Slovenian:	islam
Spanish:	Islam
Swedish:	islam
Turkish:	İslâm, Müslümanlık

See also: Islamic

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
Islam

A religion, founded by Muhammad, whose members worship the one God of Jews and Christians (God is called Allah in Arabic) and follow the teachings of the Koran. Islam means “submission to the will of God”; adherents of Islam are called Muslims. The fundamental belief of Islam is “There is only one God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”

Muslims are obliged to pray five times a day, to fast in the daytime during the holy month of Ramadan, to abstain from pork and alcohol, and to make gifts to the poor. All of them are expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, Muhammad's birthplace, at least once in their lives.