Muslim - The follower of Islam

Muslim, the term is used to denote the followers of Islam which is the second largest religion in the world. Islam literally means “submission to God” and therefore the meaning of Muslim is "one who submits to God".

For Muslims, Shahada is a key ritualistic ceremony wherein it is asserted that Mohammed (pbuh) is the messenger of God and that God is one. This ritual is observed during the childhood and then the baby is being accepted as a Muslim by adult Muslims.

Going by a popular Muslim belief, Islam had existed long before Mohammed (pbuh) The followers of Islam refer to many Biblical characters like Adam, Moses (Musa) and Jesus (Isa) as a Muslim because they are said to have submitted to God and preached his message as prophets.

The word Muslim which is an English word is referred differently in different languages. Its plural form in Arabic is 'Muslimeen'. In old Persian style, it was also dubbed as "Moslem" and its corresponding Urdu form is "Musalman."

The two largest subgroups of the Muslim community are the Sunni and the Shi'a. Sunni Muslims make up the largest percentage of the Muslim world, although large majorities of Shi'a Muslims are found in Middle Eastern countries such as Iran and Iraq. However, in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, Sunni Muslim comprise the majority.

There are some groups that claim to be Muslim, but are not accepted as Muslim by the majority of the Muslim community. For example, neither a Sunni nor Shi'a Muslim accepts an Ahmedi as a fellow Muslim.