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Islamic Art and Visuality > Concepts > Flashcards

Concepts Flashcards

1
Q

Five pillars of Islam

A
  1. Professing of the faith (Shahada)
  2. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hadj)
  3. Five daily prayers (salat)
  4. Fasting during Ramadan (sawm)
  5. Charity to the needy (Zaqat)
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2
Q

Shahada

A

The professing of the faith

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3
Q

Hadj

A

The pilgrimage to Mecca

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4
Q

Zaqat

A

Charity to the needy

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5
Q

Hijra

A

Muhammad’s emigration to Medina in 622

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6
Q

Medina

A

First named “City of the Prophet”, previously Yathrib

Location: Saudi Arabia

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7
Q

Qur’an

A

“Recitation”; literally the word of God in text form

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8
Q

Caliph

A

Successor of Muhammad; new leader of the Muslim community

Not a prophet

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9
Q

Emirate

A

Political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Islamic monarch styled emir.

An emirate is usually within a caliphate.

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10
Q

Caliphate

A

Territory under the leadership of an Islamic steward known as a caliph

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11
Q

Minaret

A

a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer.

Also a symbol of the presence of Islam

Image: Minaret in Samarra

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12
Q

Muezzin

A

person who calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret of a mosque

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13
Q

Qibla

A

The direction (towards the Ka’aba) faced during prayer.

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14
Q

Masjid

A

Pre-Islamic word meaning mosque. Means “the place where one bowns before God”.

Plural masajid.

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15
Q

Imam

A

Leader of prayer

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16
Q

Minbar

A

a short flight of steps used as a platform by a preacher in a mosque for the Friday sermon.

Can also be seen as a symbol of authority

17
Q

Mihrab

A

niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla

Image: Mihrab of the Great Mosque of Córdoba, c. 768

18
Q

Sahn

A
  • Courtyard of the mosque
  • In many mosques, the large prayer hall is adjoined to an open courtyard
  • In the courtyard there’s often a fountain fountain, important for the ablutions (ritual cleansing) before prayer.
19
Q

Umma

A

Islamic community, term appears in 7th century

20
Q

Hypostyle Mosque

A
  • Mosque in which the prayer hall is formed of rows of vertical supports, or columns, that can multiply indefinitely.
  • Large courtyard is surrounded by long rooms supported by columns

Image: Sahn and minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia, c. 836-75

21
Q

Qubba

A

Dome. Most mosques have one or more qubba.

22
Q

Iwan

A

Vaulted space that opens to a courtyard

Developed in pre-Islamic Iran

Image: Iwan in Ctesiphon, Iraq, c. 560

23
Q

Four-iwan mosque

A
  • Mosque in which each wall of the courtyard is punctuated with a vaulted hall (an iwan)
  • Qibla iwan is often the largest and most decorated one
  • Developed in 11th century and became widespread in the 12th century

Image: Plan of the Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran, 11-17th centuries.

24
Q

What does calligraphy in Islamic art state?

A

Qur’anic verses and often the name of the patron and artist.

25
Q

Indicate the relation between patronage and zaqat.

A
  • The commissioning of a mosque would be seen as a pious act on the part of a ruler or other wealthy patron because of the zaqat.
  • But patronage also emphasized the power of the ruler
26
Q

What are the two types of mosque?

A
  1. Common oratory mosque for daily rituals like the salat
  2. Congregational mosque for the Friday prayers (masjid al-Jami)
27
Q

What are the functions of the mosque?

A
  • A meeting place for prayers, ritual ablutions, reading of sacred texts, and discussions on theology and all issues related to the Muslim community life.
  • Originally, the mosque was altogether a council chamber, courtroom, treasury, military quarter and asylum.
28
Q

What are the three main holy sites of Islam?

A
  1. The Ka’aba
  2. Medina, where Muhammad built the first mosque
  3. Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock (on the site of Solomon’s Temple) in Jerusalem, associated with Muhammad’s isra and miraj
29
Q

Which conquests occurred in 633-40?

A

Syria, Palestine (Byzantine territories) and Iraq (Sasanian)

30
Q

642

A

Conquest of Egypt

31
Q

651

A

Conquest of western Iran

32
Q

710

A

Muslim army reaches Indus river

33
Q

711

A

Conquest of (most of) Spain

34
Q

751

A

Muslims reach Tachkent (Uzbekistan)

35
Q

Who were the Berbers?

A

Indigenous people from North Africa who helped the Muslim Arab army with some conquests, like the 711 conquest of Spain (except Galicia and Asturias)

Source: The Met

36
Q

Haram al-Sharif

A

The Temple Mount.

Location of the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque

Islamic Art and Visuality (7 decks)

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