Arabic/Islam history Flashcards
Arabia
Arabia, peninsular region, together with offshore islands, located in the extreme southwestern corner of Asia. The Arabian Peninsula is bounded by the Red Sea on the west and southwest, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south and southeast, and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf (also called the Arabian Gulf) on the east.
Mecca
Mecca is a city in western Saudi Arabia, in the Sirat Mountains, 70 km (43 mi) inland from the Red Sea. It is the holiest city in Islam, as it is the site of the Kaaba, the direction of Muslims’ daily prayers, and the destination of the hajj pilgrimage. Mecca is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, and has a well called Zamzam that is believed to be 4,000 years old. Mecca was never the capital of any Islamic empire, but Muslim rulers contributed to its maintenance.
Muhammad
Muhammad, the founder of Islam and the proclaimer of the Quran. Muhammad is traditionally said to have been born in 570 in Mecca and to have died in 632 in Medina, where he had been forced to emigrate to with his adherents in 622.
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad, the religion’s founder. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number approximately 1.9 billion worldwide and are the world’s second-largest religious population after Christians.
The Quran
The Quran is the holy book of Islam. It was written in the 7th century C.E. and contains the wisdom of Allah as received and preached by Muhammad. The Quran is divided into chapters (called surah) and verses (ayat) of differing length and topics. It is also divided into sections (juz) as a 30-day reading schedule for Ramadan. The Quran has been translated into 103 languages. Abu Bakr, the first caliph, thought to compile the Quran after the death of Prophet Mohammad.
