muslims

IPA/ˈmʊz.lɪm/
KK[mˈʌzləmz]IPA/ˈmɑː.zlem/

muslims — noun

  • muslimssingular
  • muslimsesplural

1. a person whose religion is Islam — the faith based on the belief that there is o

1.nounA2
Definition

a person whose religion is Islam — the faith based on the belief that there is one God, Allah, and that Muhammad was his final prophet

Example

Every Friday afternoon, Muslims gather at the mosque for communal prayers.

Roya met several Muslims from different countries at the conference in Kuala Lumpur.

plural: Muslims + prepositional phrase with 'from'

Common collocations
  • devout Muslim
  • practising Muslim
  • fellow Muslims
  • Muslim community
Synonyms
  • believer

    broader term; a believer can follow any religion, while a Muslim specifically follows Islam

  • follower of Islam

    more formal phrasing; used in academic or careful descriptive writing

Antonyms
  • non-Muslim

    neutral term for anyone who does not follow Islam

Grammar Patterns

Muslim + plural verb

Usage Note

Always capitalised in English — like the names of other religions and their followers (Christian, Buddhist, Hindu).

Common Mistakes

a muslim family
a Muslim family
religious and ethnic group names are capitalised in English.
Islam is a person who follows the religion.
A Muslim is a person who follows the religion of Islam.
Islam is the religion itself; Muslim is the person who follows it.

muslims — adjective

Word family

  • Islam
    nounA2
  • Islamic
    adjectiveB1
  • Islamist
    nounC1
  • Islamophobia
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Muslim is the specific and most common term for a person who follows the religion of Islam. 'Believer' is broader — it can refer to any religious faith, so it only works as a synonym when the religious context is already clear. 'Follower of Islam' is a more formal, descriptive phrase often used in academic writing or introductory explanations. The adjective 'Islamic' is different in kind: it describes the broader civilisation, culture, art, or history associated with Islam, rather than the individual person. For example, you would say 'Islamic architecture' but 'Muslim architect' — the first refers to the style, the second to the person's identity.

Muslim ↗believer ↗follower of IslamIslamic ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • Muslim community
  • Muslim world
  • Muslim faith
  • Muslim country

Etymology

ArabicEnglish

The word Muslim comes from Arabic 'muslim' (مسلم), which means 'one who submits (to God)'. It is the active participle of the Arabic verb 'aslama', meaning 'to surrender, to submit'. The word entered English through various routes in the 16th and 17th centuries, often through Ottoman Turkish or Persian intermediaries, and was sometimes spelled 'Moslem' or 'Mussulman' in older texts.

First known use

1615

1615, in the meaning defined at sense 1