Survey of Islam History EXAM 1 Flashcards
Hadith
a report attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, describing his words and actions and representing the chief source for knowing his authoritative precedent. The prophet’s life as a model for upright behavior. The hadith of Gabriel said that Islam is to testify that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
Shari’a
Body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. Consists of the Sunnah (collection of saying) + the Qur’an. It is a type of literature called the occasions of revelation. It is significant because it outlines how Muslims can bring their actions in line with God’s vision for a just and good life.
Sunna
means “way”, “custom”, or “practice”. Early jurists sought out guidance from Sunna assuming that it is ultimately derived from the example of the prophet. People who sought out the Sunna were called “people of the (prophet’s) Sunna and of the community” and they collected reports or traditions of the prophet’s declarations and behaviors in certain circumstances and urged that Hadith and the Qur’an be the sole standards for legal practice.
Ali
Ali became the fourth caliph after Uthman was assassinated and he did nothing to punish the rebels that murdered Uthman. Most of his supporters were the Medinan’s and the rebels and the Meccan contingent remain discontented. The first civil war started among Muslim as a response to Ali’s caliphate. The nation was divided over the legitimacy of the caliphate of Ali. His assassination marked the end of the period of the four Rashidun caliphs.
Umar
Umar was the second caliph after the prophet; Abu Bakr recommended him to be the next caliph before he died. He continued to be influential and he was described as an unwavering Muslim and a scrupulous caliph. Under his power, the Muslim armies continued their advance into Syria ad Iraq. This turned the Muslim state into an Empire. His rule included taxation, land allocation, and relationships with non-Muslim communities. He was important as he expanded the Islamic empire into Mesopotamia and parts of Persia.
Byzantine empire
by the end of the 6th century, the byzantine empire was the preeminent power of the Mediterranean and the “heir” to alexander and Augustus. It was heavily influenced by Hellenistic culture and was mostly orthodoxy, nestorian and monophysitism. Justinian first promoted expansion from 525-565.
the sasanian empire
the Sassanians were Iranians who seized power in 226 and the only rival to the Byzantine empire. It was diverse; Christian minorities and jews from the Babylonian exile. Decentralized authority as the emperor was known as the “king of kings” (meaning there were other kinds below the emperor that ruled their state).
Quraysh
the Quraysh tribe is the tribe that the prophet Muhammad was a member of. After Muhammad had his revelation, he began to publicly proclaim Islam and denounce the polytheism of the Quraysh which infuriates the elders of the community. The political economy around polytheism with the Quraysh at the leadership is too strong and overpowers Muhammad’s monotheism which drives the Muslim community to Ethiopia.
Hijra
Hijra mean emigration. In the year 622, the Muslim community emigrated from Mecca to Medina. At Medina, a jew community forms with the Meccan emigrants and the Medinan helpers. The feud between the tribes of Medina ends with Muhammad declaring all claims before Islam as void.
Ka’ba
the most important of the sacred shrines scattered Arabia. It was where all clans across Arabia brought their idols to and its sanctuary was the site of an annual festival that mixed worship, sacrifice, and trade. The importance of the Ka’ba stemmed from two things: belief that Abraham built it with his son Ishmael and that it was the ground of a spring named Zamzam, whose water was considered holy and whose history was linked to Abraham. The centrality of the Ka’ba has aspects tied with the direction of worship and the pilgrimage.
Qur’an
A scripture, book, prayers, and is used for liturgical purposes in Muslim prayer. it deals with the matters of belief, god and man, the afterlife, the exemplar stories of the prophets, as well as the life and works of the prophet Muhammad. The revelation of the Qur’an began with the verses Muhammad received when in a prayer retreat in a cave near Mecca. These revelations continued irregularly in the lifetime of the prophet and were combined into a book several years after his death.
The Rashidun caliphs
Rashidun means rightly guided and this era lasted from 632 to 661. the period of the Rashidun caliphs represents a transition from the lifetime of the prophet to the emergence of the first Muslim empire under the Umayyad dynasty (661-750). The caliphs during this period were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. Ali’s assassination represents the end of the era.
the wars of Apostasy
a significant number of tribes withdrew from their allegiance after the death of the prophet. Abu Bakr overcame the challenge by diplomacy and force. The wars were costly and caused social and political upheaval themselves. Muslims began to compile the Qur’an after losing a number of the witnesses of revelation in these wards.
Arab (Muslim) conquests
-conquest of Syria (634): began under Umar’s rule; armies stationed in Mesopotamia were dispatched to the Byzantine frontier and they found the cities with little defense to invade.
-Battle of Yarmouk (636): one of the most consequential battles between Muslims and the Byzantine Empire. This opens up Byzantine Syria to further Muslim conquest.
-Damascus falls (636): Muslim armies take Damascus after a siege
-The fall of Jerusalem (637): Umar was said to have received the keys to the city from the patriarch. Umar allows the Jewish people residing in Jerusalem to keep their communities and to live in safety; however, they did have to pay taxes to the Muslim empire
-Battle of Qadisiya (636/637): muslim armies defeat sassanians
-Ctesiphon falls (637): signifies the end of the sassanian power in mesopotamie
conquest of Egypt begins (639)- first took over Memphis and then Alexandria in 641
-conquest of peria begins (642): defeated the sassanians and threw them into chaos from which it never recovered.
Fitna
the rise of sectarian conflict and the ensuing period of civil wars; conflict between Muslims located in Syria and Iraq. the rebels who murdered Uthman chose Ali as the Caliphs and he did not bring them to justice. Kharijites were a group that started killing people.
