Chpt. 6, The Rise of Islam

Question 1

Bedouin

Answer 1

nomadic pastoralists of the Arabian peninsula who had a culture based on camel and goat nomadism; they were early converts to Islam

Question 2

shaykhs

Answer 2

leaders of tribes and clans within bedouin society, they were usually men with large herds, usually had several wives, and many children

Question 3

Mecca

Answer 3

a city located in the mountainous region along the Red Sea in the Arabian peninsula; it was founded by the Umayyad tribe of Quraysh; it was the site of the Ka’ba, and the original home of Muhammad, as well as the location of the chief religious pilgrimage point in Islam

Question 4

Umayyad

Answer 4

the clan of Quraysh that dominated the politics and commercial economy of Mecca; they were the clan established as the ruling dynasty of Islam from 661 to 750

Question 5

Quraysh

Answer 5

a tribe of bedouins that controlled Mecca in the 7th century CE

Question 6

Ka’ba

Answer 6

the most revered religious shrine in pre-Islamic Arabia; located in Mecca; focus of obligatory annual trune among bedouin tribes; later incorporated as an important shrine in Islam

Question 7

Medina

Answer 7

also known as Yathrib; town located northeast of Mecca; grew date palms whose fruit was sold to bedouins; became a refuge for Muhammad following his flight from Mecca (hijrah)

Question 8

Muhammad

Answer 8

prophet of Islam; born c. 570 to Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca; raised by father’s family; received revelations from Allah in 610 CE and thereafter; died in 632

Question 9

Khadijah

Answer 9

the first wife of the prophet Muhammad, who had worked for her as a trader

Question 10

Qur’an

Answer 10

recitations of revelations received by Muhammad; holy book of Islam

Question 11

Ali

Answer 11

the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad; one of the orthodox caliphs; was a focus for Shi’a

Question 12

umma

Answer 12

the community of the faithful within Islam; transcended old tribal boundaries to create a degree of political unity

Question 13

zakat

Answer 13

the tax for charity; obligatory for all Muslims

Question 14

five pillars of faith

Answer 14

the obligatory religious duties of all Muslims:

• confession of faith (“there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet”)
• prayer 5 times a day facing Mecca
• fasting during the month of Ramadan from dawn to sunset
• zakat (a tithe for charity)
• the hajj (a pilgrimage to Mecca performed at least once in a lifetime if means allow)

Question 15

Ramadan

Answer 15

Islamic month of religious observance requiring fasting from dawn to sunset

Question 16

hajj

Answer 16

a Muslim’s pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, to worship Allah at the Ka’ba

Question 17

caliph

Answer 17

the political and religious successor to Muhammad

Question 18

Abu Bakr

Answer 18

one of Muhammad’s earliest converts; succeeded Muhammad as the first caliph of the Islamic community

Question 19

Ridda Wars

Answer 19

wars that followed Muhammad’s death in 632; resulted in the defeat of rival prophets and of some larger clans; restored the unity of Islam

Question 20

jihad

Answer 20

the Islamic concept of a struggle of faith; often used to justify wars in defense of faith (or, especially today, in defense of terrorism)

Question 21

Copts

Answer 21

a Christian sect of Egypt; tended to support Islamic invasion of this area in preference to Byzantine rule (they were persecuted by the Byzantines)

Question 22

Nestorians

Answer 22

a Christian sect found in Egypt; tended to support Islamic invasions of this area in preference to Byzantine rule because they were persecuted by the Byzantines; they were cut off from Europe by Muslim invasions

Question 23

Uthman

Answer 23

the third caliph and member of the Umayyad clan; murdered by mutinous warriors returning from Egypt; his death set off a civil war in Islam between the followers of Ali (part of the later Shi’a) and the Umayyad clan (part of the later Sunni)

Question 24

Battle of Siffin

Answer 24

fought in 657 between the forces of Ali and the Umayyads; settled by negotiation that led to the fragmentation of Ali’s party; Ali lost support by showing mercy when he had victory in battle

Question 25

Mu’awiya

Answer 25

a leader of the Umayyad clan; first Umayyad caliph following the civil war with Ali

Question 26

Sunni

Answer 26

a political and theological division within Islam; supported the Umayyads

Question 27

Shi’a; aka Shi’ites

Answer 27

a political and theological division with Islam; followers of Ali; believed only those who were actually related to Muhammad could rule

Question 28

Karbala

Answer 28

the site of the defeat and death of Husayn, the son of Ali; marked the beginning of Shi’a resistance to the Umayyad caliphate

Question 29

mawali

Answer 29

non-Arab converts to Islam

Question 30

jizya

Answer 30

a head tax paid by all non-believers in Islamic territories

Question 31

dhimmi

Answer 31

literally “people fo the book”; applied as inclusive term to Jews and Christians in Islamic territories; later extended to Zoroastrians and Hindus; eventually came to encompass all conquered people

Question 32

hadiths

Answer 32

traditions of the prophet; Islamic holy book that is important, but that is 2nd to the Qur’an

Question 33

Abbasid

Answer 33

the dynasty that succeeded the Umayyads as caliphs within Islam; came to power in 750 CE

Question 34

Battle of the River Zab

Answer 34

the victory of the Abbasids over the Umayyads; resulted in the conquest of Syria and the capture and the Umayyad capital (Damascus)

Question 35

Baghdad

Answer 35

the capital of the Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near the ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon

Question 36

wazir

Answer 36

a chief administrative official under the Abbasid caliphate; initially recruited from the Persian provinces of the empire

Question 37

dhows

Answer 37

Arab sailing vessels with triangular or lateen sails; strongly influenced European ship design

Question 38

ayan

Answer 38

the wealthy landed elite that emerged in the early decades of Abbasid rule