Week 9 Flashcards
Literal meaning in Arabic of Jihad
The word literally means striving or exerting oneself with regard to ones religion. Many contemporary Muslin writers maintain that the word means nothing more than striving
Verse of the Sword
Written in the Kitab al-Jihad which documents the evolution of the Muslim conception of warfare during the period of the conquests after Muhammad’s death. According to the verse, the sword wipes away all sin and offenses of the believer, after which he is let into heaven.
Mahdi
It was a Muslim messianic figure which would complete conquests left undone by the early Muslims. He will conquer Constantinople, Rome and Europe, as well as finishing the conquest of Central Asia, India, and Ethiopia. However, according to most accounts, he will not convert the subject populations to Islam. 8th Century.
Scope of the Term Shahid (Martyr)
: It originally comes from Greek, meaning witness (those who bear testimony to the truth). However, in Islam Martyrdom is different as one is called to seek out situations in which martyrdom might be achieved. It the expanded over centuries to include those who die defending their goods.
Al-Ghazali
Theologian and Author of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (died 1111). He presents lust and passion of the soul as an invading army trying to conquer the body and to keep it from following the path of mysticism. He believes you need to exercise the soul
Ibn al-Arabi (the Sufi)
: (died 1240) he was a Spanish Muslim Mystic who developed a number of later Sufi doctrines. He wrote that the belief in pantheistic monism considered to be heretical or at least problematic. He believed that warfare was one of the sum total of good paths that bring one closer to God
Militancy and asceticism
Ascetics were volunteer fighters who would join Muslim armies in order to increase their own spiritual reward (pre 13th Century) The fought in border habitats surrounding the centres of the Muslim empire as there were more enemies to fight. Looking at the biographies of Ascetics there is no separation between militancy and asceticism.
Function of Jizya according to the jurist ibn al’ Arabi:
Jizya was a poll tax imposed on non-Muslims as part of their submission to Muslims. He believed the function of this was to humiliate, as Muslims could sit and non-Muslims had to stand and paid with the admission that Muslims are above them. (late 12th Century)
Ibn Taymiyya’s Innovations
(died 1328) He was a theologian and polemicist, he believed that the disasters and defeats suffered by the Muslim community had to be confronted both militarily and religiously. He wrote with urgency about what had to be done about the suppression of Islam by Christians.
Mahmud of Ghazna
He was a Turkish ruler located in what is now today Afghanistan. From the century prior to the first Crusade, Muslims under him attacked northern India, and by the 13th Century much of this region was under the dominion of the Turkish military. He was said to be an enthusiastic Jihad fighter
