Islam - The World's Second Largest and Fastest-Growing Major Religion

Islam is the world's second largest and fastest-growing major religion, according to a recent Pew Research Center estimate. The 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide are united by a core set of beliefs and practices, including fasting during Ramadan, obligatory charity called zakat and belief in a day of judgment and life after death.

Muslims believe God's guidance has come to humankind through specially appointed messengers, or prophets, throughout history, starting with Adam. The last prophet was Muhammad, who conveyed God's message to all of mankind. Muslims believe on the Day of Judgment, believers will be rewarded for following God's guidance and unbelievers will be punished for rejecting it.

In addition to believing in the five pillars, all Muslims must pray (salah) every day, wear a head scarf (hijab), not eat pork or drink alcohol, and pay a levy known as zakat on their wealth and possessions. The levy, which is based on an individual's savings and income levels, helps support poor Muslims around the world.

Most Muslims also believe in the Quran, an important holy book that contains some of the same information found in the Judeo-Christian Bible and the Torah, but is considered more sacred because it was revealed directly from God to Muhammad. Other religious texts include the Hadith, which are reports of the sayings and actions of other prophets, and Muslim law, or sharia.