Islam Flashcards
founder
muhammad
titles
prophet; Seal of the prophets
Ged
monotheistic. The Arabic term for God is Allah
Calendar
Year 1: 622 Lunar based, with no adjustment for a solar year
Location
Arabia; within a hundred years of Muhammad’s death, Islam had conquered the area from the Atlantic coast of North Africa to India. Still largely located in that area and in Indonesia
Primary Texts
Quran; Hadith
Main Concepts
God has revealed himself often in the past but the messages have been corrupted by those to whom the message was given. God gave his last and final message (the Quran) to Muhammad, his prophet. Salvation is achieved by submitting to God’s will as revealed
Hierarchy
Originally a caliph stood at the head of the Islamic community, though the Shia substituted that leadership with an imam. The caliphate ended in the early 1900s. No central authority exists
Subgroups
Sunni (85%); Shia (Shiitie)(15%)
Primary Obligations
The five Pillars
name the five pillars
confession of faith, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimage
Primary Festivals
Eid al-Fitr; Eid al-Aldha
fast-breaking feast at end of Ramadan
Eid al-Fitr
feast at end of hajj
Eid al-Adha
Muhammad’s birthday
Mawlid
The pre–Islamic center of trade and religion for Arabs, which Muhammad reformed into a center of monotheism. Muslims who are able are expected to make a pilgrimage there at least once during their lifetime
Mecca
Originally called Yathrib, this settlement was later renamed Medina to honor Muhammad, who established his first Islamic government there (622 CE) The word Medina means simply “city”, but it often appears with the epithet “of light” or “of the prophet.”
Medina
The third-most holy city of Islam. The Dome of the Rock, a shrine built in the late 600s on the site of the Jewish temple, is particularly special. Muslims believe that it was here that Abraham offered Ishmael as a sacrifice and that Muhammad ascended to heaven.
Jerusalem
Revered site for Shia Muslims, where many of Ali’s family, including Ali’s son and successor Hussein and Ali’s grandson and the next in line, were killed by a superior Umayyad army
Karbala
A pre-Islamic, cube-shaped building (roughly forty feet high) in Mecca, rebuilt several times; believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham, and before him,, Adam. The black Stone (possibly a meteorite) is imbedded in it. The center of the Muslim pilgrimage and the place toward which one prays. Metaphorically speaking, it is said to be the “house of God.”
Kaaba
A mosque built in the 1600s in the heart of Istanbul; represents a high point of Ottoman achievement
Blue Mosque
The center of Muslim community and religious life. Its most distinctive architectural feature is the minaret (tower), from which the call to prayer is made
mosque
A mausoleum in Agra, India, reflecting Muslim and Indian architecture. It is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world
Taj Mahal
Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last in a long series of prophets God sent to reveal his will. Claimed to experience a twenty-two year period of mystical encounters, during which the Quran’s content was given.
Muhammad
After the death of Muhammad, the Muslim community was led by four contemporaries of Muhammad (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali). These four had converted to Islam early. In succession they led the community from 632-661, by which time much of the southeast Mediteranean was brought under Muslim control
Rightly Guided Caliphs
Cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad; considered by Shiite Muslims to have been the proper successor to Muhammad
Ali
The first Musslim empire, lasting for ninety years. It arose after the death of the fourth rightly guided caliph. Its capital was Damascus. After defeat by the Abbasids, the Umayyads developed a significant Muslim culture in Spain.
Umayyad
The five hundred year Muslim empire that overthrew the Umayyads. Its capital was Baghdad. Led by descendants of Muhammad’s uncle al-Abbas, the new dynasty provided opportunities for non-Arabs in the Muslim community and came to reflect Persian and other non-Arab influences. Its golden age was in its first hundred years, after which it declined as states broke away and its leaders became the puppets of the palace guard. Initially it had the support of the Shiites.
Abbasid
A Shiite dynasty in Egypt, claiming descent from Muhammad’s daughter Fatima
Fatimid
The largest world empire prior to the Soviet Union. It rapidly expanded in the 1200s, overthrowing most nations from the Pacific to the Danube, including the Abbasid Empire
Mongol
Centered in the regions of modern Iran and beyond; responsible for spreading Shia Islam more widely
Safavid
The Muslim empire in India. Its name is the Persian form of the word Mongol, and the founders were descendants of Mongol and Turkish leaders.
Mughal
The Turkish based empire. It captured Constantinople in 1453. In the 1500s and 1600s it was the world’s leading empire. It held the caliphate from 1515 to the early 1900s
Ottoman
The more traditional form, making up about 85 percent of Islam. Sunnis hold that political leadership of Islam properly fell to loyal companions of Muhammad (the “rightly-guided” caliphs) and their successors, not necessarily to Muhammad’s relatives
Sunni
The largest minority, they maintain that valid religious and political leadership lies in the imam, a direct descendant of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband, Ali. Most groups of Shiites believe in twelve imams and are sometimes called the Twelvers. They are a majority only in Iran and Iraq
Shia/Shiite
Also called Seveners; a Shiite group that disagrees with other Shiites about who should have become the seventh imam. They consider their leader, thee present Aga Khan, to be the forty-ninth imam
Ismaili
Early puritanical supporters of Ali who withdrew their loyalty from Ali. The Kharijites argued that the cliph need not be from the prophet’s family (Shiite position) or the prophet’s tribe (the Sunni position). Any pious muslim could lead.
Kharijite
Mystical movement of Islam. The name comes from the plain woolen garment worn by members, in contrast to silks and expensive materials. One well-known group of Sufis is the Whirling Dervishes
Sufi
A puritanical Sunni reform movement founded in 1746. Members opposed Sufism and Islamic rational theology, and rejected as heresy previously accepted interpretations of Islam. Modern Saudi Arabia reflects their influence.
Wahhabi
A Shiite movement that follows its own fifth imam, Zayd.
Zaidite
The most recognized symbol of Islam in the modern world, though not an official symbol. It was borrowed from Christian Constantinople by the conquering Ottomans.
Crescent and Star
The audible symbol of Islam, pronounced in daily prayers but also on numerous other occasions, from the serious to the mundane.
Allahu akbar
The scarf or head covering worn by many Muslim women
Hijab
Identification of approved products, similar to the kosher labels used by Jews; commonly marked by an M enclosed in a circle with a crescent.
Halal Certification
The tower of a mosque from which the call to prayer is made five times each day. Some mosques have several minarets
Minaret
The face veil worn by a minority of Muslim women, in addition to the hijab.
Niqab
An abbreviation often used by pious Muslim’s immediately after writing the word “Muhammad.” Meaning is “Peace be upon him.”
PBUH
Used by Muslims at prayer. A design is woven into the mat to point the worshiper in the direction of Mecca.
Prayer Mat
In Islam, a string of prayer beads consists of ninety-nine beads divided into three sections. They are used for reciting the ninety-nine names of God.
Prayer Beads/Rosary
The color most often identified with Islam. It was according to some accounts, Muhammad’s favorite color (other accounts say white). Muhammad wore green on different occasions and had a love for natural greenery. It is often the color of flags of Muslim nations. Also, garments to be worn in paradise are said to be green.
The color green
When Islam discouraged pictorial art, handwriting became an art, featuring words from the Quran. Scriptural calligraphy has for centuries served as the iconography of Islam It is the closest one can come to depicting God.
Calligraphy
The first surah of the Quran is used as a common prayer by Muslims, being repeated at least seventeen times a day. Various English translations are available
Al-Fatihah
The Islamic Scripture, consisting of 114 chapters (surahs) of material that Muhammad “recited” during twenty-two years of religious experiences. Muslims understand this Arabic material to be the reliable revelation of God, replacing the corrupted texts that Jews and Christians had received (the Torah and the gospel). The Quran is about onefifth shorter than the Christian New Testament
Quran/Koran
Stories of what Muhammad did or said. These have become the second manual of authority for Muslims. Each story has a chain of tradition attached, identifying the persons who transmitted the story. That chain serves as the basis for a judgment about the reliability of the story, which can range from sound, good, or weak, to fabricated. Various collections of Hadiths appeared. About two centuries after Muhammad’s death, a serious effort was made to determine which stories were trustworthy. Six collections won general approval.
Hadith
A book by Al-Ghazali that helped to renew Islam by emphasizing the necessity of inner virtue and religious experience, in contrast to what the author judged to be a legalism and intellectualism of the religious schools
The Revival of the Religious Sciences
Also known as the Arabian Nights; a vast collection of secular and esoteric tales about life and fantasy in medieval Islam. Best known to English readers from tales of Aladdin and his magic lamp
thousand and one nights
The confession: I bear witness that there is no God but God and Muhammad is the Prophet of God. The sincere repetition of this makes one a Muslim
creed/profession of faith (Shahadah)
Ritual prayer offered at five specific times each day: dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and nightfall. Worshipers pray wherever they are, though Muslims try to attend the mosque for the noon prayer on Friday. Muslims pray facing Mecca. Prayer is preceded by ritual washing and, if circumstance allow, a formal call to prayer
Prayer(Salat)
A tax on possessions, and various levels of taxes on agriculture produce. The tax is used for relief of the poor and religious purposes, such as education and building of mosques.
Alms (Zakat)
For the entire month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. A few exceptions are allowed (young, elderly, the ill, pregnant or nursing mothers, travelers). The fast involves abstinence from food, drink and sexual relations
Fasting (Sawm)
Once in one’s lifetime, Muslims are expected to journey to Mecca, if they are able. The pilgrimage occurs over a six-day period in the last month of the year and involves a complex set of rituals around Mecca, recalling stories of Abraham and Ishmael. After completing the pilgrimage, the pilgrim bears the honorific title of hajji (for males) or hajjah (for women)
Pilgrimage (Hajj)
The main duties of a Muslim
The Five Pillars
The most dangerous offense in Islam is to associate other gods with the one God (polytheism) or to associate divine qualities to things that are not divine
Shirk
Prayer is ritualized in Islam, with five set times of prayers and with prescribed words and physical movements Each cycle of movements is called a rakah, performed in the direction of Mecca. Careful ritual washing is required, as is a prayer mat. One of the Five Pillars
prayers
A daytime fast during the month of Ramadan One of the Five Pillars
Fasting
Practices vary, but male children are circumcised. Although not commanded in the Quran, male circumcision copies the practice of Abraham. Female circumcision is also practiced in some Muslim cultures, though it does not have a strict religious basis, and the practice in these areas predates Islam.
Circumcision
The high point in the life of a Muslim is a pilgrimage to Mecca. The pilgrims clothe themselves in simple dress, visit particular sites associated with Abraham and Ishmael, and circle the Kaaba seven times. One of the Five Pillars
Pilgrimage
The leader of the Islamic community after Muhammad and after the Shiite schism of the Sunni community.
Caliph
The succession of caliphs, leaders of Sunni Islam. The institution was terminated by the Turkish Republic in 1924
Caliphate
The leader of the Shiite community, comparable to the caliph of the Sunnis. In its more specific use, the term is applied to the leader who is a descendent of Ali and who has supernatural powers to interpret law
Imam
The ruler and religious leader who will appear just before the end of the world to restore justice and righteousness associated with the return of Jesus. Mahdi and Jesus together will defeat the antichrist. In the majority tradition of Shia Islam, Mahdi is the hidden twelfth imam.
Mahdi
A recently coined term for a high ranking religious scholar in the Shiite tradition in Iran
Ayatollah
An initiate into the ascetic lifestyle of the Sufi brotherhood. The term is derived from the Persian word darwish, which is a translation of the Arabic fakir.
Dervish
One who formally calls Muslims to prayer five times daily from the minaret
Muezzin
A celebration of the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE It marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar
New Years Day
The celebration of Muhammad’s birthday
Muhammad’s Birthday (Mawlid)
A celebration of Muhammad’s journey to heaven from Jerusalem
Night Journey (Miraj)
The celebration of the beginning of the revelatory experiences of Muhammad that came to compose the Quran
Night of power
A two or three day event marking the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan
Eid al-Fitr
It marks the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims offer a sacrifice on this occasion commemorating Abraham’s sacrifice of Ishmael
Eid al-Adha
Although Muslims do not have a weekly holy day, such as the Jewish Sabbath or the Christian Sunday, many Muslims attend Friday noon prayers in the mosque
Friday Noon Prayer
Those lands in which Islam is dominant and Muslim law prevails.
Dar al-Islam
In Islamic countries, “People of the Book” are permitted to practice their religion as dhimmis, after paying a special tax
Dhimis
A legal opinion by a qualified jurist, clarifying a disputed point of law. In practice, a fatwa is treated as having the force of law
Fatwa
The term for the religion of Muslims
Islam
The personal struggle of a Muslim in the way of piety, or the militant struggle to defend and extend Islam. The latter is commonly called “Holy War”
Jihad
The term for an adherent of Islam
Muslim
The letters of the consonantal root on which the words Islam and Muslim are built. Its primary meaning for Muslims is “surrender”
SLM
The people; the community. Used by Muslims to identify the community of Islam, ideally undivided, although from the earliest days the ummah has been split
Ummah
