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Islam

American  
[is-lahm, iz-, is-luhm, iz-] / ɪsˈlɑm, ɪz-, ˈɪs ləm, ˈɪz- /

noun

  1. the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Quran, 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.

Islam British  
/ ˈɪzlɑːm /

noun

  1. the religion of Muslims, having the Koran as its sacred scripture and teaching that there is only one God and that Mohammed is his prophet; Mohammedanism

    1. Muslims collectively and their civilization

    2. the countries where the Muslim religion is predominant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Islam Cultural  

  1. A religion, founded by Muhammad, whose members worship the one God of Jews (see also Jews) and Christians (see also Christian)(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 (see also Mecca), Muhammad's birthplace, at least once in their lives.

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Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims make up the two main branches of Islam.

Islam is the dominant faith in Arab nations, a number of countries of central Asia, and Malaysia and Indonesia.

Other Word Forms

  • Islamic adjective
  • Islamitic adjective
  • non-Islamic adjective
  • non-Islamitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of Islam

First recorded in 1610–20; from Ottoman Turkish islām, from Arabic islām “submission (to God),” from aslama “to surrender, resign oneself, submit oneself (to God's will),” from the Semitic root šlm “to be whole, sound”; akin to Arabic salām and Hebrew shālōm “peace,” from the Semitic noun šalām

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Islam follows a lunar calendar with each month starting at the sighting of the moon.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

It is mistaken to say that violence committed in the name of this insight has nothing to do with Islam, just as it is wrong to think of Islam as an inherently violent religion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Lawmakers from Texas were among the most prolific posters, with Chip Roy writing more than 100 posts referencing Islam this year, the analysis found.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

There were wild swings in the price on Monday, which was described by the BBC's economics editor Faisal Islam as the most volatile day of oil trading in history.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

I sat in his one chair, and I told him how his forcing me out of Harlem had saved my life by turning me in the direction of Islam.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.