WH1 Vocab. Unit 2.2 (Islam) Flashcards
Umayyad Caliphate
a caliphate whose caliphs are all descendants of Utahan’s grand father. They held the Middle East for a good period of time but eventually were all but one massacred. He fled to Spain or Al-Andalus and restarted the caliphate there.
Caliph; Caliphate
Caliphate is a noun meaning both a leadership position (like the presidency) and the geographic area that the leader controls. The caliph is the person who rules the caliphate, just as an emperor is the person who rules an empire
Mawali
new-converts to Islam during and after the Umayyad Dynasty. By social hierarchy, the mawali were treated as lower class citizens than even non-Muslim Arabs causing much dispute in the Umayyad and future reigns.
Jizya
“the non-believer tax”
This was a tax paid by people who didn’t believe in Islam or a book religion???.
Abbasid Caliphate
(750 - 1258 CE) This caliphate succeeded the Umayyad since their leaders became too secular and would have “the Golden Age of Islam” due to much flourishing of culture and scholarly intellect. Since the demise of the Umayyad, the Abbasid was formed by non-Arabic and Shi’a muslims causing their name of Abbasid to be chosen from the paternal uncle of Muhammad “al-Abbas”. the Abbasid fell due to over reliance on minorities, treatment of mawali, turk slave(mamluks)/influence, a power change which caused territories to start breaking off
Mamluks
Turk Slaves
House of Wisdom
or Bayt al-Hikma. Abbasid leader al-Mumun decided to spread the idea of Muslims obeying only one leader by creating the House of Wisdom. the House of Wisdom was not jus a symbol of pride and glory, but a university in Bagdad where greek and Indian ideas joined, principle of fylasafa was taught (rational thought); trade networks, Fiqh and Shari’a
Fiqh
the Islamic philosophy of Jurisprudence as taught in the House of Wisdom. How a judge should make decisions in a case.First school was created by Abu Hanifah
Faqih
early legal theorists; studied Qur’an to find guidance. behavior like Muhammad = good behavior.
Sunnah
positive actions in regard to faqih study about good behavior.
Hadith
stories about personal interactions with Muhammad. They were originally individual texts or a “hadith” but later came to be compiled
Isnad
accompanying origin description with each Hadith; helps determine the validity and trustworthiness of each hadith
Qadis
Islamic Judges; had to carry out jurisprudence (how to make decisions in a court)
Shari’a
Islamic law based on the Qurʻan, Hadith, Fiqh, and Legal Scholars
the Four Books
the Shi’a version of the Hadith. The Four Books include the life of Muhammad, the twelve legitimate imams, Fatima (muhammad’s daughter).
Ijtihad
individual judgement based upon reason. These judgements were for questions that aren’t completely answered in the Qur’an or not attended to (eg. birth control/contraception)
Mujatahid
accomplished scholars who had the capacity to make independent judgements on questions no or not fully answered in the Qur’an
Al-Andalus
…or Spain. This is where one of the last Umayyads fled once dethroned. 711, infiltrated by muslims.
Qadi
a chief to oversee the judicial system and administer various charities. One Qadi to a Caliphate.
Kharaj
Andalusian land tax. this “involved surveying the exact property owned by each landholder, assessing how fertile it was and recording what sorts of plants could grow there to determine its exact valu”
Abd al-Rahman III
One of the richest men of the Islamic world. This leader, brought Cordoba of Al-Andalus to its cultural apex.
the Mahdi
the “infalliable” god sent leader of the umma. like the Messiah? Used as a basis for political legitimacy in the eyes of the first Almohad leader.
Reconquista
is a centuries-long period in the Middle Ages in which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in reconquering the Iberian Peninsula from the Islamic kingdoms collectively known as Al-Andalus.
Iqta
a grant of the right to collect taxes on a certain area of land. This was originally given to military leaders with one chieftain to another but became passed to descendants.