The Rise of Islam

Question 1

who was Muhammad?

ca. 571-632

Answer 1

founder of Islam

Question 2

who was Khadija?

ca. 555-619

Answer 2

• wife of Muhammad
• first person Muhammad told his revelations to
• arranged for others to hear his revelations

Question 3

what are the 5 pillars of Islam?

Answer 3

1. one god
2. prayer
3. charity
4. Ramadan
5. pilgrimage to Mecca

Islam philosophy = nothing is of higher value than the truth

Question 4

what is Hirja?

Answer 4

Muhammads journey from Mecca to Medina (662)

marked the beginning of the Islamic calendar

Question 5

what was expansion under the Caliphs like?

caliphs = male successors of Muhammad

Answer 5

• plunder & Jihad
• ban on killing fellow Muslims
• unification
• toleration of Islam over Christianity

Jihad = fight against the enemies of Islam

Question 6

what was expansion like under the Umayyid Dynasty?

Answer 6

• dynastic struggle
• capital at Damascus → moving away from Mecca
• captured entire North African coast
• won several Mediterranean islands (i.e. Sicily)

Question 7

what did the Battle of Tours do?

732-3

Answer 7

discouraged Islamic expansion into Southeast Europe

Question 8

what is the Quran?

Answer 8

“the word of God” → Allah

Quran verbatim by archangel Gabriel

• believed Christ. & Jews misunderstood God’s word → similar religions
• Quran must be read in Arabic to avoid misinterpretation

Question 9

how are women percieved in the Quran?

Answer 9

• women subordinate but given protections
• women given property & money following divorce

Question 10

what was the treatment of non-Muslims like?

Answer 10

• fairly generous
• conversions common
• People of the Book protected
• Pact of umar

People of the Book = Christians & Jews

Question 11

what was the Pact of Umar?

Answer 11

protects non-Muslims in Muslim states

Question 12

what did cultural transformation look like?

Answer 12

• art mostly non-representational
• education & culture advanced beyond Christian Europe
• credit & banking
• bureaucracy