Dar al-Islam (Arabic: دار الإسلام literally house of submission) is a term used to refer to those lands under Muslim government(s). In the conservative tradition of Islam the world is divided into two components: dar al-Islam, the house of submission and dar al-Harb, the house of war.
These words arnt used in Quran & Hadith . Muslim scholars maintain that the labeling of a country or place as dar al-Islam or dar al-harb revolved around the question of religious security. This means that if a Muslim practices Islam freely in his place of abode, then he will be considered as living in a dar al-Islam, even if he happens to live in a secular or non-Islamic country.
During the Ottoman era the term dar al-Ahd, meaning the 'house of treaty', was created to describe the Ottoman Empire's relationship with its Christian tributary states. See dar al-Ahd.
Recently, prominent Western Muslim intellectuals have challenged the dar al-Islam (Dar-Essilm)/dar al-Harb worldview, suggesting additional 'houses' to describe differing situations. See dar al-Amn, dar al-Dawa, dar al-Kufr, dar al-Shahada.
See also: Baghdad, Ibn Battuta, Hezbollah, Dar es-Silm,Dar al-Harb, Dar-al'Ahd, jihad, Christendom
Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, by Tariq Ramadan, was a significant source in the updating of this article.