Muslims: Difference between revisions

A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. Literally, the word means someone who has proclaimed submission to the will of God.

Definition

Most Muslims accept anyone who has pronounced the Shahada, a ritual declaration of submission to God and assertion that Muhammad is the last prophet, as a fellow Muslim. Muslims describe many Biblical figures, such as Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus), as Muslims because they submitted completely to Allah, or God.

• For a list of prophets of Islam, see Prophets of Islam.
• For a list of Muslims, see List of Muslims.
• For a list of different Muslim sects and divisions, see Divisions of Islam.

However, the English usage of the word "Muslim" has been expanded to an adjective describing all aspects of the history and culture of Islamic civilizations. When used in this way (for example in the term Muslim architecture) the word no longer has any explicit religious content.

Etymology

The singular form of the word Muslim comes from the Arabic plural form 'Al-Muslimīn, from the tri-consonantal root SLM (سَلَمَ), also found in the words Islam and salām (peace).

A "Muslim" most literally means 'One who is at peace' or 'One who submits [to God]'.

The plural form is instanced in the Qur'an, 22:79, Al-Hajj.

Pronunciation and spelling

Until around the late 1980s, the word was commonly spelled Moslem. The spelling has since fallen into disuse. Muslims do not recommend this spelling because it is often pronounced "mawzlem," which sounds somewhat similar to an Arabic word for "oppressor" (Za'lem in Arabic). The word is pronounced "Mus"-lim in Arabic, but some English dictionaries allow both "Mus"-lim and "Muz"-lim. The word is now most commonly written "Muslim".

Other words for Muslim

Many English-language writers used to call Muslims Mohammedans or Mahometans, meaning "followers of Mohammed," but this terminology is considered incorrect and insulting by Muslims, because Muslims believe it implies that they worship the prophet Muhammad, contrary to the fundamental principles of Islam itself. This terminology is also seen as too similar to Christians as followers and worshippers of Christ. In addition, Muslims believe that the religion of submitting to God (Islām in Arabic) existed long before the birth of Muhammad, making all the prophets before him "Muslims."

English writers of the 19th century and earlier sometimes used the words Mussulman, Musselman, or Mussulmaun. Variant forms of this word are still used by many Indo-European languages. These words are similar to the French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese words for "Muslim."

Arabic terms describing Muslim identity

When discussing whether or not someone is a real Muslim, the following terms may be used by those arguing:

• Mu'min - believer
• Fasiq - shameless sinner
• Munafiq - hypocrite; professes Islam but does not believe in it (one who professes but does not practice is a fasiq)
• Kafir - neither professes nor believes; an infidel

Also, one verse in the Qur'an makes a distiction between a Moh'min and a Muslim:

(Rodwell 49:14) The Arabs of the desert say, "We believe." (tu/minoo) Say thou: Ye believe not; but rather say, "We profess Islam;" (aslamna) for the faith (al-eemanu) hath not yet found its way into your hearts. But if ye obey God and His Apostle, he will not allow you to lose any of your actions: for God is Indulgent, Merciful.

Disagreements

There are some groups that claim to be Muslim, but are not accepted as Muslim by most Muslims. For example, neither Sunni nor Shi'a Muslims accept Ahmedis as fellow Muslims. This is also true of other groups as well. An agnostic of Islamic background may refer to him/herself as a "cultural Muslim", but this is likewise unacceptable to most observant Muslims. Some Sunni regard the Shi'a and the ʕAlawī sects as non-Muslim. There have also been numerous instances in which some Sunni have declared other Sunni to be unbelievers, some Shi'a have declared other Shi'a the same, and so on.

The act of calling another a disbeliever is called takfir.

See also

• Islam
• Qur'an
• Muhammad

• Muslim scholar
• Muslim scientists
• Muslim athletes
• Muslim politicians
• Muslim entertainers
• Muslim artists
• Muslim soldiers
• Muslim jurists
• Muslim businessmen
• Muslim leaders

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The term Musselman was also used by prisoners in the German concentration camps of World War II (see Holocaust) as a slang term for a prisoner who had lost the will to live [1]. Why this particular religious term should have been "annexed" for such a completely different purpose is unclear.