Origins and history
Islamic tradition says the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over about twenty years, starting around 610 CE near Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia. Muhammad faced opposition in Mecca. In 622 CE, he and his early followers moved to Medina. This event is called the Hijra. It marks the start of the Islamic calendar. Muhammad died in 632 CE. Within a few decades, Islam had spread quickly across the Arabian Peninsula and beyond. It became one of the world's major religions across the Middle East, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and further. This spread came through trade, migration, and, at times in history, conquest.
After Muhammad's death, an important early split happened over who should lead next. This led to the Sunni and Shia traditions, described below. This split has shaped much of Islamic history. It still defines the two largest branches of the faith today.
Core beliefs
Central to Islamic belief is tawhid — the oneness of God (Allah). Muslims believe in a line of prophets sent by God to different peoples through history. This includes figures also honored in Judaism and Christianity, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Muslims see Muhammad as the final prophet, closing this line. Other core beliefs include angels, earlier holy books (with the Quran seen as God's final and complete message), the Day of Judgment, and God's will.
The Five Pillars
Islamic practice is usually organized around five basic duties, called the Five Pillars: shahada, saying the declaration of faith in God's oneness and Muhammad's prophethood; salah, five daily prayers said at set times, facing Mecca; zakat, giving to charity for those in need; sawm, fasting during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan; and hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca, required once in a lifetime for those who are able. Friday prayer at a mosque (masjid) is also an important weekly practice for many Muslim communities.
Scripture
The Quran is Islam's central holy book. Muslims see it as the literal word of God, given to Muhammad. It is traditionally read and studied in its original Arabic. Alongside the Quran, the hadith are also important. These are recorded sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, gathered by later scholars. They guide belief and daily life, especially in matters of religious law (sharia).
Major branches
Most Muslims in the world, and most Muslims in Nepal, follow the Sunni tradition. This tradition follows the agreement of the early Muslim community about who should lead after Muhammad. The Shia tradition believes leadership should have passed to Muhammad's own family, starting with his cousin and son-in-law, Ali. Since then, Shia Islam has built its own scholarly and devotional traditions. Smaller communities, including Ahmadi Muslims, also live in parts of Nepal. Sufism is a mystical and devotional side of Islamic practice and thought. It is found within both Sunni and Shia communities, not as a separate branch. It has also shaped South Asian history and culture more broadly.
Symbols and visual culture
Islam does not have one official symbol the way some other religions do. The crescent moon and star are widely linked to Islam around the world, and appear on the flags of several Muslim-majority countries. But this symbol comes from before Islam and from the Ottoman era — it does not come from Islamic scripture itself.
More central to Islamic art and culture is a general habit, especially in religious settings, of avoiding pictures of God, the prophets, and often living beings. This is called aniconism. Views and practice on this differ between communities and time periods. Because of this, Islamic art and buildings have often used calligraphy — especially of Quran verses and the names of God — and detailed geometric and plant-based (arabesque) patterns. Both are common in mosque design, including in Nepal.
Ethics and moral life
Islamic ethics (akhlaq) comes from the Quran, the example (sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad, and the wider body of Islamic law. Common values include honesty, justice, humility, care for the poor and vulnerable, keeping promises and contracts, and modest speech and behavior.
Islamic teaching also names certain foods, drinks, and actions as forbidden (haram) or allowed (halal). The best-known example internationally is Islamic dietary law, which forbids pork and alcohol, and requires a specific way of slaughtering animals for meat to be considered halal. Other ethical rules include avoiding interest on loans (riba), dishonesty in trade, and gossip.
Festivals
The two most widely observed Islamic festivals are Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, which honors the Prophet Ibrahim's (Abraham's) readiness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God. Eid al-Adha happens at the same time as the yearly Hajj pilgrimage. Both festivals include group prayer, family gatherings, and giving to charity.
Mawlid honors the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, and is widely observed. But some schools of Islamic thought see it as a later addition, not an original practice. Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, matters greatly to Shia communities. They observe Ashura to honor the martyrdom of Imam Husayn.
Islam in Nepal
Islam's presence in Nepal goes back several centuries. It is usually first linked to Kashmiri traders who settled in the Kathmandu Valley from the late 1400s, during the rule of King Ratna Malla. Over the following centuries, other Muslim communities joined them, including groups who settled across the Terai plains near India. Today, Nepal's Muslim community includes several groups with different histories. These are often described as Kashmiri-descended, Hindustani, Tibetan-descended, and Madheshi (Terai-origin) Muslim communities. The largest numbers live in the Terai region, with a smaller, older community in the Kathmandu Valley.
Historic sites linked to this history include the Kashmiri Mosque (Jame Masjid) in Kathmandu's Bagbazar area, one of the oldest mosques in the valley. This article will grow with more detail on specific communities and institutions, once we have checked facts to add.