One God
God, Allah in Arabic, is one, without partner or likeness.
The declaration of faith, the shahada, says it plainly: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.”
الإسلام
Islam
Islam means submission, the giving of oneself to God.
Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad in seventh-century Arabia, the last of a line of prophets that runs through Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
Around 2 billion people are Muslim today, a quarter of the world.
At its heart
What Islam holds
The Qur’an
Revealed in Arabic over some twenty-three years, recited aloud and learned by heart, in 114 surahs.
Beside it stands the Sunnah, the example of the Prophet, carried in the hadith.
The pillars
The declaration of faith, the five daily prayers, zakat or giving, the fast of Ramadan, and the Hajj to Mecca once in a life for those able.
Sunni teaching calls these the Five Pillars; Shia teaching counts the same acts among its practices of the faith.
Branches
In ActivePray
Islam’s two great families are Sunni and Shia.
Pew Research Center puts Sunni Muslims at 87 to 90 percent and Shia at 10 to 13; among the Shia, Twelvers are the largest, beside the Ismailis and the Zaydis.
ActivePray keeps two.
- Prayers
- Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha at their five times, worked out from the sun where you are.
- Calendar
- The Hijri year, with Ramadan, the two Eids, the White Days and Mawlid an-Nabi, following the Umm al-Qura calendar.
- Scripture
- The Holy Qur’an, all 114 surahs, duas by theme, a tasbih to count your dhikr, and a guide to the rak‘ahs.
- Before prayer
- Wudu, step by step, and the Qibla toward the Kaaba.
- Your choices
- Standard or Hanafi Asr, and the convention for Fajr and Isha: Muslim World League, ISNA, Egyptian, Umm al-Qura, Karachi or Tehran.
- Prayers
Fajr, then Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha, in three sittings, or each at its own time.
The times follow the Ja’fari reckoning.
- Calendar
- The days of the Ahl al-Bayt: Muharram and Ashura, Eid al-Ghadir, and Milad an-Nabi on the seventeenth of Rabi‘ al-Awwal.
- Scripture
- The Holy Qur’an, all 114 surahs, duas by theme, and the Tasbih al-Zahra.
- Before prayer
- Wudu, step by step, and the Qibla toward the Kaaba.
- Your choices
- Three sittings or five times.
A short history
How it came to be
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c. 570–610
Mecca
Muhammad was born in Mecca around 570.
Around 610, in a cave on Mount Hira, Muslims believe the angel Gabriel brought him the first words of the Qur’an: “Recite, in the name of your Lord.”
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622
The Hijra
He and his followers left Mecca for Medina.
The Hijra, the migration, is year one of the Islamic calendar.
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630–632
Return to Mecca
In 630 he returned to Mecca, and Muslims hold that the Kaaba was restored to the worship of one God.
He died in Medina in 632.
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632 onward
Who would lead
Most Muslims accepted Abu Bakr, then Umar, Uthman and Ali as caliphs: those who hold to that succession are the Sunni.
Others held that the Prophet had named his cousin and son-in-law Ali: the Shia, from shi‘at Ali, the party of Ali.
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680
Karbala
Ali’s son Husayn and his small company were killed at Karbala.
Ashura, the day he died, is remembered every year, above all by Shia Muslims, in mourning.
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Through the centuries
A world of learning
Islam spread from Spain to Southeast Asia, and Baghdad, Cairo, Córdoba and Samarkand became cities of scholarship, science and prayer.
The day and the week
How it is prayed
Salah
Five prayers a day, Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha, at times set by the sun, facing the Kaaba in Mecca, after wudu, the washing.
Many Shia join Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha, praying in three sittings.
Friday
Jumu‘ah, the congregational prayer at midday on Friday, with a sermon, the khutbah, in place of Dhuhr.
Remembrance
Dhikr, remembering God, often counted on prayer beads, and du‘a, supplication, made at any time and in any words.
The year
Its holy days
A lunar year
Twelve months of 29 or 30 days, so the year is about eleven days shorter than the sun’s, and the holy days move slowly through the seasons.
Ramadan
The month the Qur’an was first revealed: fasting from dawn to sunset, iftar shared at nightfall, and nights of prayer.
Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power, is sought in its later nights.
The two Eids
Eid al-Fitr ends Ramadan with prayer, gifts and charity for those in need.
Eid al-Adha, during the Hajj, remembers Abraham’s readiness to give up his son.
Muharram and the Prophet’s birth
The new year, and for Shia Muslims the mourning of Muharram and Ashura.
The Prophet’s birthday, the Mawlid, is kept by many.
See everything the app does“Truly, in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest.”
Qur’an 13:28
Figures: Pew Research Center, 2025, counting 2020; Sunni and Shia shares from Pew’s 2009 estimate.