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How Does Islam Differ from Muslim?

What's the difference between "Muslim" and "Islam"?


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People often have misconception that Islam and Muslim mean the same thing. In one way or another, these two terms are similar since it pertains to the religion and followers of the Prophet Muhammad. But contrary to what most people think, these two words have different meanings. One of them is related to faith, and one is related to believers.

When we say Islam, it refers to the beliefs of the Islamic religion. The term originated from the Arabic verbal noun which is s-l-m, and when given with the proper vowels, it would be read as Islam. Islam means to accept or to surrender to God. Islam can also be a culture or the way people live. Those people, who follow this religion, practice the culture and surrenders to God is called Muslim.

Having the clarifications that were stated above, we now know that Muslim is a believer or follower of Islam while Islam is the faith and religion. However, people still uses it interchangeably. The proper use of these words so that we can address properly if what we are referring to is the religion or the believers. We should say “Muslim people” instead of “Islamic people.” It is also proper to say “Islamic religion” rather than “Muslim religion.”

Oftentimes, Muslim is wrongly used as a description of the religion or a culture. It is wrong to state that one particular person follows the Muslim practices, because he or she is Muslim. The correct way to say it is “That person follows the Islamic ways because he or she is a Muslim.”

Their differences are very understandable and not vague. These two terms deserve to be used correctly. We have to remember that not all those who believe in Islam are Muslims. There are also Christians who believed on the teachings of Islam. Similarly, not all Muslims follow the Islamic teachings.

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