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Islam (الإسلام, ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God (Allah) and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the world's second-largest religion and the fastest-growing major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population, known as Muslims. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique; and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the verbatim word of God, and the teachings and normative example (called the sunnah, composed of accounts called hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570–8 June 632 CE). The cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are home to the three holiest sites in Islam.

Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered and final revelation of God. Religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam, which are obligatory acts of worship, and following Islamic law, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, from banking and welfare to women and the environment. Like other Abrahamic religions, Islam also teaches resurrection of the dead, a final tribulation and eternal division of the righteous and wicked. Islamic apocalyptic literature describing Armageddon is often known as fitna, malāḥim (الملاحم, meaning bloody fights, massacres), Al-Malhama Al-Kubra (The Great Massacre), or ghaybah in Shī‘a Islam. The righteous are rewarded with pleasures of Jannah "Paradise", while the unrighteous are punished in Jahannam "Hell". The Mahdi (prophesied redeemer) will be sent and with the help of Jesus, will battle Masih ad-Dajjal (Antichrist in Islam). They will triumph, liberating Islam from cruelty, and this will be followed by a time of serenity with people living true to religious values.

In 610 CE, when Muhammad was about forty years old, he began receiving what Muslims consider to be divine revelations. Muhammad's message won over a handful of followers and was met with increasing opposition from notables of Mecca. In 618, after he lost protection with the death of his influential uncle Abu Talib, Muhammad took flight to the city of Yathrib (subsequently called Medina) where he was joined by his followers. With Muhammad's death in 632, disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community which eventually led to the First Fitna. The dispute intensified greatly after the Battle of Karbala, in which Hussein ibn Ali and his household were killed by the ruling Umayyad Caliph Yazid I, and the outcry for revenge divided the early Islamic community. By the 8th century, the Islamic empire extended from Iberia in the west to the Indus river in the east. Polities such as those ruled by the Umayyads (in the Middle East and later in Iberia), Abbasids, Fatimids, and Mamluks were among the most influential powers in the world. The Delhi Sultanate took over northern parts of Indian subcontinent. Under the Ottoman Empire, Islam spread to Southeast Europe. By the 19th century the British Empire had formally ended the Mughal Empire in India. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated after World War I and the Caliphate was abolished in 1924.

Most Muslims are of one of two denominations: Sunni (75–90%) or Shia (10–20%). Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel,  Central Asia, Indonesia and some other parts of Asia. About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country, 31% in South Asia, the largest population of Muslims in the world, 23% in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA), and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Swahili coast, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world.