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Synopsis The word 'Islam' means submission or the total surrender of oneself to God (Allah). An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim, meaning "one who submits [to God]". There are between 1 billion and 1.8. billion Muslims, making Islam the second largest religion in the world. Islam includes many religious practices. Adherents are generally required to observe the five pillars of Islam, which are five duties that unite Muslims into a community. In addition to the five pillars, Islamic Law (Sharia) has developed a tradition of rulings that touch on virtually all aspects of life and society. This tradition encompasses everything from practical matters like dietary laws and banking to warfare and welfare. Islam, Islamic culture and its law is an encyclopaedic work about the Islamic world, not an Islamic encyclopaedia. This comprehensive work in ten volumes, is an immense effort to deal with every aspect of Islamic culture, conceived in the widest sense, from its origins down to the present day. It is an authentic source of knowledge, which has been prepared with painstaking efforts. This publication will be a standard reference wok in the field of Islamic studies.