View source for Divisions of the world in Islam

In classical Islamic law, the major divisions are dar al-islam (lit. territory of Islam/voluntary submission to God), denoting regions where Islamic law prevails, <ref>Dar al-Islam The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</ref> dar al-sulh (lit. territory of treaty) denoting non-Islamic lands which have concluded an armistice with a Muslim government, <ref>Dar al-Sulh The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</ref> and dar al-harb (lit. territory of war), denoting adjoining non-Islamic lands whose rulers are called upon to accept Islam. <ref>Dar al-Harb The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</ref>

The Arabic singular form dar (دار), translated literally, may mean "house", "abode", "structure", "place", "land", or "country". In Islamic jurisprudence it often refers to a part of the world.

The notions of "houses" or "divisions" of the world in Islam such as Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb does not appear in the Quran or the Hadith. <ref>Abdel-Haleem, Muhammad (8 Sep 2010). Understanding the Qur'ān: Themes and Style. I. B. Tauris & Co Ltd. p. 68. ISBN 978-1845117894.</ref> According to Abou El Fadl, the only dars the Qur'an speaks of are "the abode of the Hereafter and the abode of the earthly life, with the former described as clearly superior to the latter". <ref>Abou El Fadl, Khaled (January 23, 2007). The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists. HarperOne. p. 227. ISBN 978-0061189036.</ref>

Early Islamic jurists devised these terms to denote legal rulings for ongoing Muslim conquests almost a century after Muhammad. The first use of the terms was in Iraq by Abu Hanifa and his disciples Abu Yusuf and Al-Shaybani. Among those in the Levant, Al-Awza'i was leading in this discipline and later Shafi'i.

The concept of dar al-harb has been affected by historical changes such as the political fragmentation of the Muslim world, and has little significance today. <ref>Dar al-Harb The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</ref> The theoretical distinction between dar al-Islam and dar al-harb is widely considered inapplicable, and many contemporary Islamic jurists regard the West as part of the former, since Western Muslims can freely practise and proselytize their faith. <ref>Hendrickson, Jocelyn (2009). "Law. Minority Jurisprudence". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref>