Introduction xxiii JRather than beginning with a single, defini-
tive response as to what Islam is, a more fruitful
approach is to begin with the proposition that
Islam is to a large extent what Muslims have made
of it based on their different religious sensibilities,
cultural identities, social statuses, and historical
circumstances. Many of the faithful start with
the Quran, the Islamic holy book, which they
believe to be a collection of revelations from God
(called Allah in Arabic) as delivered in the Arabic
language via the angel Gabriel to Muhammad
(ca. 570–632) over a 23-year period while he was
living in the western Arabian towns of Mecca
and Medina (formerly known as Yathrib). It is
about the length of the Christian New Testament,
consisting of 114 chapters and more than 6,200
verses. About Islam, the Quran itself declares,
Upholding equity, God, his angels and those
with knowledge have witnessed that there is
no god but he, the mighty and wise. Indeed,
religion [din] in God’s eyes is Islam [literally
“submission”]. Those who received the book
disagreed among themselves out of jealousy
only after knowledge had come to them.
Whoever disbelieves in God’s sacred verses,
(let him know that) God is swift in reckon-
ing. (Q 3:18–19).This passage links Islam, the religion, to
belief in one God, in opposition to disbelief
(kufr), which will incur God’s anger. It also states
that the revelation of God’s book brings with it
both knowledge and disagreement among human
beings. The Muslims, therefore, in contrast to
disbelievers, are those who believe in God’s revela-
tions (the sacred verses) and submit to God’s will.
The Arabic word muslim literally means “one who
submits.” The Quran promises Muslims rewards
both in this world and in the hereafter for their
belief and good deeds.
In addition to the Quran, Muslims also look
to the hadith—sacred narratives, usually short in
length, that contain accounts about what Muham-
mad and his followers, known as his Companions,
said and did. The hadith, which number in the
tens of thousands, were systematically collected
by Muslims during the early centuries of Islam.
One of them, known as the Hadith of Gabriel,
provides another, more complex understanding of
Islam. According to this story, the angel Gabriel,
appearing as a man dressed in a pure white gown,
approached Muhammad while he was among his
friends and interrogated him about his religion.
When Gabriel asked Muhammad about Islam, he
replied, “Islam is that you witness that there is no
god but God and that Muhammad is God’s mes-
senger; that you perform prayer; give alms; fast
[the month of] Ramadan; and perform the hajj
to the house [of God in Mecca] if you are able to
do so.”
In this statement, Islam is defined in terms of
its Five Pillars, thus underscoring the importance
of performing sacred actions, or worship, in this
religion. Even the first pillar, known as the sha-
hada (witnessing) is regarded as a sacred action,
because it involves pronouncing the two founda-
tional tenets of Islam: belief both in one god and
in Muhammad as a prophet of God. Recitation
of the shahada in Arabic occurs throughout a
Muslim’s lifetime. Muslims repeat it during their
five daily prayers, and even at the moment of
death, when it should be the last words spoken
by a dying person, or spoken by someone else
on his or her behalf. Islamic tradition regards the
other four of Islam’s pillars—prayer, almsgiving,
fasting, and hajj—as forms of worship required of
all Muslims in order to attain salvation. The fine
points of Muslim worship were elaborated as part
of the Muslim legal tradition, known as sharia,
by qualified religious authorities known as the
ulama (sing. alim, “one who has knowledge”).
The Hadith of Gabriel next takes up the
subject of belief, as Gabriel, acknowledging that
Muhammad has correctly defined Islam, contin-
ues his questioning by asking Muhammad about
iman (faith, believing). According to the story,
Muhammad replies that iman involves belief in