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Chapter 9- Islam
Islam
Question | Answer |
---|---|
bedouins | small groups of nomadic people in Arabia |
Muhammad | Prophet of Islam whom Muslims recognize as Allah's messenger to all humankind. His teachings form the basis of Islam. |
hegira | Mohammad's journey from Mecca to Medina |
Islam | a monotheistic religion whose prophet is Muhammad and whose holy book is the Qur'an; the term means "achieving peace through surrender to God" |
Muslims | followers of Islam |
Qur'an | the sacred text of Islam |
Five Pillars of Islam | behaviors and obligations that are common to all Muslims, which include the profession of faith, the performance of five daily prayers, the giving of alms, the requirement to fast, and the journey to Mecca, or Hajj |
mosque | a building for Muslim prayer |
jihad | "struggle of faith"; can be thought of as an individual or communal struggle; as the latter, the term embraces notions of defending the Muslim community and holy war |
Abu Bakr | First Muslim caliph; as a close companion and successor to Muhammad, he unified the restive Bedouin tribes of central Arabia into a strong fighting force that he led into Iraq and Syria. |
caliph | "successor to the Prophet"; title given to the political and religious leader of Muslims |
caliphate | are ruled by a caliph |
Umayyad | first ruling dynasty over the Muslim Caliphate |
Sunnis | "people who follow the Sunna (way of the Prophet)"; the largest branch of Islam; believers accepted the first four caliphs as rightful successors of Muhammad. |
Shia | a branch of Islam whose adherents believe that the caliphate must go to a descendant of Muhammad- particularly a member of the family of Ali |
Sufis | a branch of Islam emphasizing a personal, mystical connection with God |
Abbasid | dynasty that over threw the Umayyad dynasty to rule the Muslim caliphate from 750 to 1253; for 150 years the Abbasids maintained the unity of the caliphate and Islamic culture and civilization flourished |
Harun al-Rashid | Fifth Abbasid caliph (ruled 786 to 809); under his rule, the Abbasid dynasty reached its height and Islamic culture experienced a flowering. |