Muhammad

Words used here

Plain meanings for words on this page.

• prophet

  In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic settings, a prophet is a figure who speaks for God—or who bears a message that interrupts ordinary political and religious assumptions. Prophecy can include vision, poetry, warning, law, and hope.

  A little deeper

  “Prophet” in academic reading can also name a literary role within scripture. Not every strange vision should be read as literal history, and not every strange vision should be read as modern science fiction.

• Islam

  A monotheistic religion that began in seventh-century Arabia with the preaching of Muhammad. The Arabic word islam is often translated as surrender or submission: aligning one’s life with the one God. It is not one identical culture, and Muslims disagree about law, theology, and practice.

• Qur’an

  The sacred scripture of Islam. In Muslim belief it is God’s speech revealed in Arabic through Muhammad—not Muhammad’s personal philosophy. Historians study how the text was recited, written, and compiled in the seventh century and after.

• revelation

  Knowledge described as arriving from beyond ordinary consciousness: divine speech, scripture, vision, or inner illumination. Traditions disagree about what counts as revelation and how it should be read.

  A little deeper

  Revelation is not the same as reason, experiment, or tradition alone—though religious communities often combine all of these. A vision in Ezekiel, a mathematical proof, and a laboratory result are not interchangeable simply because each is called “knowing.”