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A follower of Islam is called a '''Muslim''' or ''Moslem''', a term which means "one who submits (to god)". The older term '''Mohammedan''' or '''Muhammedan''' ("follower of Muhammad"), is offensive and has fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for muslims was limited to the crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from mispellings.</ref>

A follower of Islam is called a '''Muslim''' or ''Moslem''', a term which means "one who submits (to god)". The older term '''Mohammedan''' or '''Muhammedan''' ("follower of Muhammad"), is offensive and has fallen out of use.<ref> Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for muslims was limited to the crusade era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the biblical connection of Hagar the mother of Ishmael who is reported as the patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from mispellings.</ref>

==Theology==

==Theology==

There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers who have their followings.  All Muslims follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be [[god]]'s ("Allah", '''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the Quran, the Hadith, and the Sunnah.The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the prophet", which all muslims are called on to replicate.The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Poclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Quran.

There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers who have their followings.  All Muslims follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be [[Allah]]'s '''الله''' in [[Arabic]]) last and greatest [[prophet]]. The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the Quran, the Hadith, and the Sunnah.The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the prophet", which all muslims are called on to replicate.The faith teaches that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Poclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Quran.

 

Muslims believe that god revealed the '''[[Qur'an]]''' (or '''Koran''') to Muhammad who was illiterate and uneducated. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Quran is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref>. The Quran was not written down in a systemised fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recenscion.The Qur'an is considered to be the pure and "holy" word of god, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic theology the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Quran, only the delivering ot the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.

==Origins==

==Origins==

Like [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], Islam originated in the [[Middle East]].  Islam traces its roots back to [[Abraham]]. Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.

Like [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], Islam originated in the [[Middle East]].  Islam traces its roots back to [[Abraham]]. Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.