Islam Test

Question 1

Qur’an

Answer 1

Islam’s primary sacred text, regarded by Muslims as the direct words of Allah, revealed to Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel

Question 2

Hijra

Answer 2

The emigration of Muhhamad and his followers from Mecca to Yathrib in AD 622, the founding event of the Muslim community

Question 3

Sunna

Answer 3

The teachings and actions of Muhammad are recorded in writings known as hadith, which provide the model for being Muslim, Islam’s second most important authority

Question 4

Umma

Answer 4

The community of all Muslims

Question 5

Shari’a

Answer 5

The divine law derived from the Qur’an and the Sunna, encompassing all and setting forth in detail how Muslims are to live

Question 6

Five Pillars

Answer 6

Specific religious and ethical requirments for Muslims

Question 7

Shahada

Answer 7

Confession of faith

Question 8

mosque

Answer 8

The Muslim place or building of worship traditionally including a prayer hall and courtyard, with towers called minarets at the corners

Question 9

imam

Answer 9

The leader of the Friday worship service who directs prayers and delivers a sermon

Question 10

Ramadan

Answer 10

ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, a period during which Muslims fast, in accordance with the third of the Five Pillars

Question 11

haji

Answer 11

the journey to Mecca that all Muslims are to make at least once in their lifetime

Question 12

Ka’ba

Answer 12

The stone cubical structure in the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Mecca, believed to have been built by Abraham and is regarded by Muslims as the sacred center of the earth

Question 13

jihad

Answer 13

the general spiritual struggle to be a devout Muslim.

Question 14

caliphs

Answer 14

The military and political leaders of the Muslim community who succeded Muhammad after his death

Question 15

Sunni

Answer 15

the division of Islam practiced by most Muslims, named after Sunna

Question 16

Shi’i

Answer 16

the division of Islam dominant in Iraq and Iran, originating as a result of an early dispute over leadership; distinguishable from Sunni Islam mainly by its figure of the Imam and strong messianic expectations.

Question 17

Sufi

Answer 17

An adherent of Sufism the form of Islam characterized by a mystical approach to Allah, who is experienced inwardly

Question 18

shaykh

Answer 18

a teacher and master in Islam, such as the leader of an order in Sufism

Question 19

al-fana

Answer 19

the extinction of one’s sense of separate existence before achieving union with Allah, the aim of Sufi mystics