Islam Flashcards
How long did Islamic civilization last
From 600-1300 A.D
Where do Arabs live
Arabian peninsula, south of Asia Minor, Saudi Arabia today
What is the 2nd largest ethnic group
Arabs
Where is the Arabian peninsula located
Between the Red Sea, Persian gulf and the Indian sea
What is the Arabian peninsula mostly made up of
Arid plains and deserts
What are oasis’
Green areas fed by underground water
The people were nomadic herders called what
Bedouins, they lived in tents that they could move quickly and had tribes made of families
Who is the leader of the tribes
Sheikhs
The bedouins were very what
Warlike and fought over camels, horses and water
What were the bedouins occupations
Herders at first, then traders that traveled on camels ( caravans )
What is Makkah
Now called Mecca, is a major city, center of worship/religion, crossroads for turf to Asia
Were the people polytheistic, monotheistic, or atheistic
Polytheistic then changed to monotheistic
What is their major shrine
The Ka’aba, a great stone beloved to be “built by Abraham”
What are all Muslims supposed to do at least once in their lifetime
Take a pilgrimage ( a holy journey ) to see the Ka’aba
What started the change of polytheism to monotheism
Traders came in contact with Jews and Christians and started to question their religion
Who were the first to denounce idol worship and start to worship one god
Hanifs ( holy men )
Who is Muhammad
A prophet of Islam ( new religion ) he was called “The prophet” or “The messenger”
Where was Muhammad born and what did his early life look like
In Mecca in A.D 750, he was orphaned at 6 and moved in with his grandpa who later dies, then moves in with his uncle, he becomes a merchant/trader and marries Khadija ( wealthy old widow ) in A.D 595
What was Muhammad’s first revelation
The angel Gabriel came when Muhammad was in a cave and told him there is one true god named “Allah”
What was the 2nd revelation
Gabriel told Muhammad to tell people to stop worshipping idols and that Allah was the one true god and they should worship him
What did Muhammad do after this
He went back to Mecca and told his family and friends of what happened and they became the first converts
Who were most of Muhammad’s early followers
The poor
Why did the wealthy merchants and religious leaders not like Muhammad’s preaching
Because people stopped buying from the merchants and people were taken from the religion
Muhammad’s followers fled where
To Medina, previously known as Yathrib
Muhammad’s night flight called ____ became the first year of what
Hijrah becomes the first year of the calendar
The majority of the city Medina becomes what
Majority of the converts
Medina becomes what
The first Islamic community in a the world
What is Ummah
A community of believers
War breaks out between who, what’s the result
War breaks out between Meccans and Muslims and muslims win
By A.D 630 what happens
Mecca “accepts” Islam as their religion and recognize Muhammad as the one true prophet
Why is Mecca the holiest city of Islam’s
Because it’s the birthplace of Muhammad
What is the second holiest city
Medina, it’s the burial place of Muhammad
What is the 3rd holiest place
Jerusalem, it’s where Muhammad takes his “night journey” to paradise ( heaven ) to visit the prophets
What are the beliefs of Islam’s
The angel Gabriel revealed the revelations to Muhammad over 22 years, the messages become the Qu’ran/Koran
What is the Qu’ran
It means to read and is the final authority of faith and it was written by his followers
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have the same roots, what are they
They claim Abraham is the founder/patriarch, they believe he built the Ka’ba
Who were Abraham’s 2 sons
Ishmael ( father or Arabs ) and Isaac ( father of Jews )
What stories does the Qu’ran have
The creation, Noah/the flood, Jonah and Jesus
Although they believe in him, what do they think Jesus is instead
They believe Jesus is only a prophet, they don’t believe he’s the son of God, they don’t believe in the crucifixtion/resurrection of Jesus and believe Muhammad is the most important prophet
Shari’a Law is what
It governs Muslims public and private lives ( very strict )
What is Sunna
The model of living set by Muhammad and an example of how to live
What are the 5 pillars of Islam ( essential duties )
Shahada=there’s no god but allah and Muhammad is his last prophet
Salat=pray 5 times per day towards Mecca
Zakat=requires fasting during the day during month of Ramadan
Sanna=give alms/charity to the poor
Hajj=must take pilgrimage once during life to Mecca
What does Islam mean
Submission to allah
What is a mosque
A place of worship for Muslims, men and women can’t worship together
What is a Muezzin
A prayer caller, goes in prayer tower and calls out prayers
What is the imam
Leader of the mosque
Does Muhammad have an heir when he dies?
He has no male heir, only a daughter, Fatimid
What is the title of the new leaders
Caliph ( successor )
What is a caliphate
A rule under a Caliph
What were the first 4 caliphs called
The rightly guided caliphs
Who were the first and last of the 4 caliphs
Muhammad’s FIL, Abu Bakr
Muhammad’s SIL, Ali
What did the 4 caliphs do
Spread Islam throughout the Middle East with military conquests
Muslim armies were very what
Successful
What did the Muslim armies believe it was their duty to do
To spread the message of Islam
Who were the biggest rivals for the Muslims
The Byzantine empire
What happened with Islam
There was a power struggle
What happened to Ali
He was murdered by Mu’awiyah
What did Mu’awiyah do
Start the Umayyad dynasty
What happened to Husayn
He tried to get revenge for his father, Ali, but ends up being murdered too
What do the 2 murders result in
They result in the division of the Muslim world
What were the 2 major sects
The Shias ( Shi’ites ) and the Sunni
Who were the Shias
Shias ( shi’ites ) made up 10% of Muslims and believe Caliphs must be a direct descendant of Muhammad
Who were the Sunnis
They made up 85% of Muslims and they don’t believe Caliphs must be a descendant of Muhammad
Where do Shi’ites live and what is interesting about them
They live in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Indonesia ( the largest Muslim country ), most terrorists come from this group
What does ISIS mean
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
Where do the Sunnis mainly live and what are they
Arabia, North Africa, Indonesia, they are peaceful
When the Umayyad dynasty reaches its peak what happens
The capital is moved from Mecca to Damascus ( Syria )
They conquered more lands= North Africa and Spain
They threaten Europe
What does Jihad mean
“Struggle”
Holy wars spread fast throughout Islam’s conquest, what are the 2 choices given to the conquered people
Convert to Islam or die
What was Muslims goal
To convert the infidels ( non-muslims )
Who were exempt from this choice and why
Christians and Jews, because they were “brothers” of Islam
The Umayyad dynasty was the first to what
Unify all Arabian lands
What were the 3 factors that unified the lands
All had common language=Arabic
All had common religion=Islam
All had common law code= Shari’a
What is the 2nd dynasty
The Abbasid dynasty
Who was the first Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty
Abu’l’abbas
What did Abu’l’abbas do
Moved the capital to Baghdad
Created the first what
Multicultural Arab city
Baghdad was what
The center of learning/knowledge/medicine/science
What is the House of Wisdom
An intellectual center that scholars/teachers from all over the world would come to
What was Western Europe going through during Islam’s golden age
The dark ages
The Abbasid dynasty was overthrown by who
Genghis Khan and the Mongols in A.D 1258
Because of Islam’s anit idol worship policy artists could not what
Make images/pictures of living creatures
What is calligraphy
Quranic art, elegant handwriting used to decorate mosques & other buildings
How many famous mosques are there
4
What is the biggest and most famous mosque
The Grand Mosque in Mecca = over 1k acres in size and holds about 3-3 1/2 million people
What is the second most famous mosque
The Green Dome in Medina = burial place of Muhammad
What is the third most famous mosque
The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem = believed to be where Muhammad ascended into paradise on his night journey
What is the fourth most famous mosque and the most expensive mosque
The Endless Mosque in United Arab Emirates
What were Islam’s legacies
Arabic number system Started 2nd largest religion Laid foundations of modern algebra & medicine/surgery 1st hospitals and pharmacies Art form of calligraphy Coffee
