Chapter 2: The Expansive Realm of Islam- Vocab

Question 1

Abbasid Dynasty

Answer 1

Cosmopolitan Arabic dynasty (750–1258) that replaced the Umayyads; founded by Abu al-Abbas and reached its peak under Harun al-Rashid.

Question 2

Abu Bakr

Answer 2

First caliph after the death of Muhammad.

Question 3

al-Andalus

Answer 3

Islamic Spain.

Question 4

Allah

Answer 4

God of the monotheistic religion of Islam.

Question 5

Bedouin

Answer 5

(BEHD-oh-ihnz) Nomadic Arabic tribespeople.

Question 6

Caliph

Answer 6

“Deputy,” Islamic leader after the death of Muhammad.

Question 7

Dar al-Islam

Answer 7

The “house of Islam,” a term for the Islamic world.

Question 8

Five Pillars of Islam

Answer 8

The foundation of Islam: (1) profession of faith, (2) prayer, (3) fasting during Ramadan, (4) almsgiving, and (5) pilgrimage, or hajj.

Question 9

Hadith

Answer 9

A collection of sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and accounts of his deeds.

Question 10

Hajj

Answer 10

Pilgrimage to Mecca.

Question 11

Harun al-Rashid

Answer 11

Powerful ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate who reigned from 789 to 809 C.E.

Question 12

Hijra

Answer 12

Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina in 622, which is the beginning point of the Islamic calendar and is considered to mark the beginning of the Islamic faith.

Question 13

Ibn Rushd

Answer 13

Known as Averroes in the West, he was an important Islamic philosopher whose intellectual contributions were also appreciated by many European scholars. He lived from 1126 to 1198 C.E.

Question 14

Islam

Answer 14

Monotheistic religion announced by the prophet Muhammad (570–632); influenced by Judaism and Christianity, Muhammad was considered the final prophet because the earlier religions had not seen the entire picture; the Quran is the holy book of Islam.

Question 15

Jihad

Answer 15

An Arabic term that literally translates as “struggle,” and which has various meanings to Muslims, each of which refer to the imperative to spread Islam throughout the world.

Question 16

Jizya

Answer 16

Tax in Islamic empires that was imposed on non-Muslims.

Question 17

Ka’ba

Answer 17

Main shrine in Mecca, goal of Muslims embarking on the hajj.

Question 18

Madrasas

Answer 18

Islamic institutions of higher education that originated in the tenth century.

Question 19

Mecca

Answer 19

Important city in modern Saudi Arabia, in which the hajj is conducted annually.

Question 20

Medinah

Answer 20

A city 345 kilometers (214 miles) north of Mecca, to which the Prophet Muhammad and his followers migrated in 622 c.e. Medina means “the city,” as in “the city of the prophet.”

Question 21

Muhammad

Answer 21

Prophet of Islam (570–632).

Question 22

Muslim

Answer 22

A follower of Islam.

Question 23

Qadis

Answer 23

Islamic judge

Question 24

Quran

Answer 24

Islamic holy book that is believed to contain the divine revelations of Allah as presented to Muhammad.

Question 25

Rubaiyat

Answer 25

“Quatrains,” famous poetry of Omar Khayyam that was later translated by Edward Fitzgerald.

Question 26

Sakk

Answer 26

Letters of credit that were common in the medieval Islamic banking world.

Question 27

Sharia

Answer 27

The Islamic holy law, drawn up by theologians from the Quran and accounts of Muhammad’s life.

Question 28

Shia

Answer 28

Islamic minority in opposition to the Sunni majority; their belief is that leadership should reside in the line descended from Ali.

Question 29

Sufi

Answer 29

Islamic mystics who placed more emphasis on emotion and devotion than on strict adherence to rules.

Question 30

Sunni

Answer 30

“Traditionalists,” the most popular branch of Islam; Sunnis believe in the legitimacy of the early caliphs, compared with the Shiite belief that only a descendant of Ali can lead.

Question 31

Ulama

Answer 31

Islamic officials, scholars who shaped public policy in accordance with the Quran and the sharia.

Question 32

Umma

Answer 32

Islamic term for the “community of the faithful.”

Question 33

Umayyad Dynasty

Answer 33

Dynasty from 661-750 CE that solved the problem of succession after Muhammad’s death. They were a successful merchant clan that ruled as Arab military conquerors, and made their capital at Damascus.