Unit 7 Islam Flashcards
Why was Mecca important?
- pilgrims were brought there to worship
- Muhammad was born in Mecca around 570
- Muhammad was met with hostility when he began to preach publicly
- many meccans believed his revolutionary ideas would lead to neglect of traditional Arab gods (polytheism to monotheism)
- in 630, Muhammad and 10,000 followers marched to Mecca and destroyed the polytheistic idols
- meccans pledged loyalty to Muhammad
Bedouin
Arab nomads
- organized into tribes and groups called clans
- these clans provided security and support
- ideals of courage and loyalty to family, and warrior skills became part of Islamic way of life
Who was Muhammad?
- born in 570 in Mecca
- age 40 - angel Gabriel told Muhammad he was a messenger of Allah
- brought 10,000 followers to Mecca and inverted many to Islam
- died at 62
Why was Medina important?
- Muhammad’s people, Arabs, and Jews had agreement and lived as a single community
- accepted Muhammad as a political leader
What are the Five Pillars?
Faith - testify statement of faith, “there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”
Prayer - 5x a day, face towards Mecca
Alms - support less fortunate by giving money through a special religious tax
Fasting - dying Islamic holy month, fast between dawn and sunset
Pilgrimage - pilgrimage known as hajj
What is the ulama?
An Islam scholar class that includes religious teachers who apply the words and deeds of Muhammad to every day life
What is the Qur’an?
The holy book of the Muslims where the prophet’s revelations are collected
-written in Arabic bc it’s the one true word of Allah
What is the Sunna?
Muhammad’s example
-best model for proper living
What is a caliph?
-a successor or deputy
What are the “rightly guided caliphs”?
- Abu-bakr, umar, uthman, and Ali
- their rule was a caliphate
What is jihad?
- means “striving”
- duty to spread their faith
- refers to inner struggle against evil
- also used in qur’an as an armed struggle against unbelievers
- meaning of jihad encouraged and justified expansion of Islam
Why was Islam desirable?
- attraction to message of Islam which offered hope and equality
- economic benefit of Muslims of not having to pay a poll tax
Why was Damascus important?
- newly conquered city in northern Arabian province of Syria
- Umayyads moved Muslim capital to Damascus
- made controlling conquered territories easier
- too far away from their lands
- cultural center of Islamic learning
Who were the Shi’a (Shiite)
Believed the caliph needed to be a descendant of the prophet
-believe that all Muslim rulers should be descended from Muhammad
Who were the Sunni?
- did not outwardly resist the rule of Umayyads
- believe that first four caliphs were “rightly guided”
- believe that Muslim rulers should follow the Sunna (Muhammad’s example)
Who were the Sufi?
- rejected luxurious life of Umayyads
- pursued life of poverty and devotion to a spiritual path
Who were the Abbasids?
- most powerful rebel group who overthrew Umayyads in 750
- lasted from 750-1258
- murdered remaining members of Umayyads family
- moved capital of empire in 762 to Baghdad
- location on trade routes gave calig access to trade goods, gold, and information
- developed a strong bureaucracy
What was Baghdad?
- city Abbasids moved capital to
- extensive planning went into the city’s distinctive circular design
- caliph’s palace of marble and stone sat in innermost circle along with grand mosque
- population approached 1,000,000
Role of women
- Qur’an declares that men and women are equal
- more economic and property rights than European, Indian, and chinese
- Muslim women still expected to submit to men
- responsible for the raising of the children
- participate in public life and gain an educafion
Advances in science
- astronomy
- calculate direction of Mecca
- correct lunar calendar
- study of sky to mark religious periods
Advances in literature
- Bedouin poets
- Qur’an
- literature included “the thousand and one nights”
- study of Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato
Advances in art and architecture
- calligraphy
- woodwork, glass, ceramics, and textiles
Advances medically
- al-Rhazi was greatest physician of themjskjn world
- wrote an encyclopedia called the comprehensive book
- wrote “treatise on smallpox and measles”
Advances in math
- Muslims translated and studied Greek texts
- Muslim scientists preferred to solve problems by conducting experiments
- Muslim scholars believed math was the basis of all knowledge
- book called “optics” revolutionized ideas about vision
What is the House of Wisdom?
- a national library, academy, and translation center
- scholars of different cultures and beliefs worked translating texts from Greece, India, Persia, and etc into Arabic
What was the golden age of Islam?
- 850-950
- prosperity and peace
- education and learning
What is a sheikh?
-chief of bedouins
What are revelations?
- visions the prophet sees
- collected in Qur’an
What does Islam mean?
-the submission to the will of Allah (God)
What is the Hijrah?
- emigration (to leave one country or region to settle in another)
- when Muhammad had to move to the city of yahthrib
What is polygamy?
-having more than one spouse
What is an imam?
-leader in Islam
