A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. Literally, the word means someone who has submitted to the will of God.
Definition
Most Muslims accept as a fellow Muslim anyone who has publicly pronounced the Shahada, a ritual declaration of submission to God and assertion that Muhammad is the last prophet.
Muslims describe many Biblical figures, such as Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus), as Muslims because they submitted completely to God (Allah) and preached his message as prophets.
Etymology
The word Muslim is Arabic and is the agent noun formed from the causative (Form IV) of the tri-consonantal root S-L-M سلم (be at peace), which is أَسْلَمَ meaning "to submit" or "to surrender". "Muslim" thus means "someone who has submitted" (to the will of God). The plural form is "Muslimeen" (مسلمين) in Arabic and "Muslims" in English. The word Islam is the corresponding abstract noun, meaning "submission" (to God.) "Moslem", an old-fashioned transliteration generally avoided at present, approximates the Persian pronunciation of the word; "Musulman" (with various spellings) is based on the corresponding Urdu form.
The Qur'an offers several illustrations of the word's usage, and of the resulting ambiguity in English translation, as exemplified in two translations of Al-Baqara 127-128:
- (Pickthall) And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House, (Abraham prayed): Our Lord! Accept from us (this duty). Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower. Our Lord! And make us submissive unto Thee and of our seed a nation submissive unto Thee, and show us our ways of worship, and relent toward us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Relenting, the Merciful.
- (Yusuf Ali): And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House, (Abraham prayed): "Our Lord! Accept from us (this duty). Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower. Our Lord! make of us Muslims, bowing to Thy (Will), and of our progeny a people Muslim, bowing to Thy (will); and show us our place for the celebration of (due) rites; and turn unto us (in Mercy); for Thou art the Oft-Returning, Most Merciful."
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" /mɒzlɛm/ which sounds somewhat similar to an Arabic word for "oppressor" (Za'lem in Arabic). The word is pronounced /muslem/ in Arabic, but often /mʊzlɪm/ in English. 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 used in discussions of 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 Mu'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 Alawī 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
