The Meaning and the Future of Islam

1What Islam means for the individual

Sooner or later, every person asks the big questions: Where do I come from? What am I living for? Where am I going? Islam gives an answer that is both clear and comforting. You are not here by chance. Allah created you, He knows you, and your life has a purpose: to know Him, to worship Him and to bring good into the world.

This answer comes alive in daily life. Five times a day, prayer interrupts the rush of things. You set aside what occupies you, turn towards the Kaaba and stand before your Lord. Whoever has experienced this knows that prayer is not a burden but a breathing space for the soul.

Allah says: "Those who believe and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah – truly, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest" 13:28. In a time full of noise, pressure and restlessness, this inner peace is a precious gift.

At the same time, Islam gives a deep sense of accountability. Every deed counts, every word carries weight, and one day every person will stand before Allah. This does not make us fearful but attentive: honest in trade, true to our promises, kind to our parents, just towards everyone. And above everything stands the mercy of Allah, which encompasses all things and whose door is open to everyone who turns back to Him.

2What Islam means for families and society

Islam is not a faith for isolation. It builds bridges between people, beginning with those closest to us.

• The family: again and again, the Quran joins the worship of Allah with kindness to parents. Respect for elders, tenderness towards children and faithfulness in marriage are pillars of life together.
• Mercy: the Prophet ﷺ was sent "as a mercy to the worlds" 21:107. Mercy is the face with which Islam meets people.
• Justice: Allah commands justice, even when it goes against ourselves or our own relatives 4:135.
• Zakat and charity: zakat is one of the pillars of Islam. It binds rich and poor together, and voluntary giving (sadaqah) turns generosity into a habit.
• Care for orphans: the Prophet ﷺ said that he and the one who looks after an orphan will be in Paradise as close as two fingers of one hand (al-Bukhari).
• Neighbours: the Prophet ﷺ said that Jibril kept urging him to treat the neighbour well until he thought he would make him an heir (al-Bukhari, Muslim).

One hadith sums up this attitude beautifully: "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself" (al-Bukhari, Muslim).

Responsibility for creation

Allah says that He is placing a successor on the earth, a khalifah 2:30. The human being is not the owner of the earth but its trustee. From this follows a clear ethic: "Eat and drink, but do not waste" 7:31. Wasting water, food and resources goes against the spirit of Islam. The Prophet ﷺ even said that when a Muslim plants a tree and people or animals eat from it, it counts as charity for him (al-Bukhari, Muslim). For Muslims, caring for the environment is therefore not just a trend but an act of worship.

3A contribution to civilisation

The first word of revelation was: "Read!" 96:1. And the Quran teaches the supplication: "My Lord, increase me in knowledge" 20:114. It is no coincidence, then, that the Muslim world was a centre of learning for centuries.

In Baghdad under the Abbasids, the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikmah) became a place where works from Greek, Persian and Indian were translated, preserved and developed further. In Fez, Fatimah al-Fihri founded al-Qarawiyyin in 859, which remains a place of learning to this day. Some names from this era are still famous around the world:

• Al-Khwarizmi (9th century) wrote a foundational work on algebra; the word "algebra" comes from al-jabr in the title of his book, and the word "algorithm" from his name.
• Ibn al-Haytham (died around 1040) studied light and vision in his "Book of Optics", relying consistently on observation and experiment.
• Ibn Sina (980–1037), known in the West as Avicenna, wrote the "Canon of Medicine", which was taught for centuries at European universities as well.
• Ibn Rushd (1126–1198) of Córdoba, known in the West as Averroes, was a judge, jurist and philosopher whose commentaries on Aristotle left a lasting mark on Europe.

Add to this architecture and art: mosques, gardens, calligraphy and geometric patterns that still leave people of every background in awe. These achievements grew out of a faith that sees reflection on creation as a path to Allah.

4A global faith

Today nearly a quarter of humanity follows Islam. Muslims live on every continent, speak hundreds of languages and bring a great variety of cultures with them. Incidentally, most Muslims do not live in the Arab world but in Asia.

In 2015 the Pew Research Center published a widely noted projection: according to it, the number of Muslims is expected to grow faster than the world population as a whole until 2050 and could nearly equal the number of Christians. This is a forecast based on age structure and birth rates, not a certainty. But it shows that Islam is a young faith with many young people.

Young Muslims and digital learning

This young generation learns differently from its grandparents. It listens to recitations on smartphones, reads translations in its own language and asks questions earlier generations did not ask in quite the same way. That is a great opportunity: never before has it been so easy to hear, understand and learn the Quran – whether you live in Dubai, Berlin, Jakarta or Toronto. Today the Quran speaks to people in practically every language, while its Arabic wording remains preserved unchanged.

5The challenges

An honest look at the future includes the difficulties. Muslims face real challenges:

• Misunderstanding: many people know Islam only from headlines. The best answer is a lived example: honesty, friendliness and good neighbourliness.
• Extremism: Islam firmly rejects extremism. Allah says that whoever kills a soul, unless for murder or for spreading corruption in the land, it is as if he had killed all of mankind, and whoever saves a life, it is as if he had saved all of mankind 5:32. Muslims are a "middle nation" 2:143 – balance and moderation (wasatiyyah) are their hallmark.
• Ignorance: whoever does not know their faith can neither live it nor explain it, and is more easily led astray. Knowledge from trustworthy scholars is the best protection.
• Not losing the youth: young people need answers in their language, role models who take them seriously, and a faith that is warm and close to life – not harsh and distant.

6The Emirati model

Here in the Emirates we see how faith, tolerance and modernity can go together. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may Allah have mercy on him, founded the country on values deeply rooted in Islam: mercy, generosity, respect for every human being and openness to the world. People from some two hundred nations live here together in peace.

In recent years this legacy has produced visible signs:

• A Ministry of Tolerance: since 2016 the Emirates have had a dedicated Ministry of Tolerance, today the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence.
• The Year of Tolerance 2019: an entire year devoted to dialogue and living together.
• The Document on Human Fraternity: in February 2019, Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, signed the "Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together" in Abu Dhabi.
• The Abrahamic Family House: since 2023, a mosque, a church and a synagogue have stood side by side on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi – a place of encounter and learning.

What matters most is this: this tolerance does not come in spite of faith, but from faith. Allah says that He made people into nations and tribes "so that you may know one another" 49:13. Whoever loves their faith can meet others with dignity and hospitality. And respect for parents, for scholars and for those who carry responsibility creates the stability in which people can live, learn and raise families in peace.

7The future is written by those who learn

What will the future of Islam look like? It depends less on numbers than on hearts. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it" (al-Bukhari). And: "Whoever takes a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes easy for him a path to Paradise" (Muslim).

That is exactly why Quran Masterclass exists. Here you can listen verse by verse, understand the meaning and read the tafsir alongside it – free of charge, in 13 languages. Let Shams accompany you, deepen your knowledge in the Academy, and turn good intentions into a daily habit with your personal learning plan.

The future of Islam is written by those who learn and live the Quran. Perhaps part of that future begins today – with you and a single verse.