Final Exam Review Guide for Introduction to Islam

Muhammad

Born around 570 CE in Mecca to the Quraysh tribe, raised by his grandfather and uncle as he was an orphan.

Khadija

Muhammad's first wife, a wealthy widow who provided him social stability.

Age of Ignorance

The period in Arabia before Islam characterized by materialism and discontent with the religious culture.

First Revelation

Received Qur'an verses from the Angel Gabriel/Jibril in 610 CE while meditating in a cave.

Medina Period

The time from 622 CE to 632 CE when Muhammad moved to Medina and conflicts broke out.

Death of Muhammad

Muhammad died in 632 CE, by which time most conflicts had ended and Mecca surrendered.

Early Followers

Abu Bak'r, Umar, Uthman, and Ali were notable early followers and future caliphs of Muhammad.

Message of Muhammad

He preached monotheism, moral behavior, and care for the needy, warning of impending doom on the last judgment day.

Sunna

The exemplary function for Muslims based on the life-example of the prophet Muhammad's words and deeds.

Hadith

Narrations of the actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, used to infer decisions and laws.

Qur'an

Literally means recitation; revealed by the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad between 610 - 632 CE.

Compilation of the Qur'an

The process from 650 - 656 CE by Caliph Uthman to collect recitations and preserve the original text.

Structure of the Qur'an

Organized into 114 chapters or suras, with lengths varying dramatically.

Fatiha

The opening chapter of the Qur'an, a ritual prayer repeated by Muslims five times a day.

Themes of the Qur'an

Includes sacred history, stories of past prophets/messengers, and peoples such as Adam, Eve, Moses, and Jesus.

Oral/Aural Text

The Qur'an was initially an oral text, recited by Muhammad to his followers rather than written down.

Qur'anic Arabic Scale

The scale of the Qur'an is smaller compared to other scriptures like the Bible.

Longer Suras

In the Qur'an, longer suras are generally from later times, while shorter suras are from earlier times.

Social Stability

Achieved by Muhammad through his marriage to Khadija, which provided him with support.

Boycott of Muhammad

Wealthy Meccans rejected Muhammad's message, leading to a social boycott of him and his followers.

Virtuous Traits of Muhammad

He was known to be trustworthy, smart, truthful, and fair.

Revelation Process

The Qur'an was revealed as recited verses, emphasizing the importance of sound.

Moral Judgment

Muhammad warned people to be moral and virtuous to be judged well on the last judgment day.

Conflicts in Medina

Conflicts broke out during the Medina period from 622 CE to 632 CE.

God

Descriptions, names, praises, command to believe in Him.

Eschatology

Warning of the end of the world, Judgement Day, resurrection of the dead, reward in heaven and punishment in hell.

Ethical guidelines

Don't oppress, be good to the poor, weak, orphans, etc.

Ritual Guidance

People should pray, fast, pilgrimage, but does not go into detail - tells you to do them but there is no How to.

Legal Points

Rules on marriage, divorce, and inheritance; punishments for a few crimes such as murder, theft, adultery, apostasy.

Hadith

Story of the sunna.

Sunna

Authoritative, exemplary, action, words that lead to behaviors and law.

Chain of transmission

Traditional story of its transmission and compilation, detailing who was present when Muhammad did/said something and who they told.

Hadith qudsi

Quotes from God.

Structure of texts

Includes line of transmission and content/text.

Authoritative compilations

6 canonical collections for Sunnis.

Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari

One of the earliest and most important collectors of Hadith.

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Nisaburi

Another important collector of Hadith, who traveled the world searching for Hadith.

Canonical status

Collections of Hadith achieved canonical status, second only to the Quran.

Quran

The eternal Word of God, meant for humans, has to be understandable but what is trying to be communicated is inexplicable.

Shirk

The sin of associating any other being with God.

Quran recitation

Quran is always recited in Arabic and is viewed as an act of devotion.

Listening to the Quran

Also a form of devotion.

Quran's role in life

Plays a significant role from birth as it is the first sound a baby hears.

Quran and marriage

Used to seal marriage contracts or business deals.

Quran and art

Calligraphy is a central motif in Islamic art.

Ummah

A community united by faith, aimed to be created by the Quran.

Hadith

A hadith is only seen as true if the line of transmission is clear and can be traced back to the prophet.

Elements of a reliable chain of transmission

Evaluate transmitter's agenda, Length of chain, Background; believability, Contradiction, Multiple sources, Historical plausibility, Consensus - multiple witnesses, Character of the transmitter.

Period of oral transmission

700s-800s is when the Hadiths are written down; between that and 632 is the period of oral transmission.

Function of Hadith in Muslim life

A tool to refer to for advice/guidance from Muhammad, like with the Qur'an, and helped create Islamic law.

Five Pillars of Islam

Purity, prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage.

Zakat

Giving of Alms, legal scholars and ulama responsible for figuring Zakat based on Qur'an.

Collector of Zakat

Agent of governor/state/ruler responsible for collecting Zakat.

Political order and taxes

If I think the govt is illegitimate than should I pay my taxes?

Tyrants and wealth

All of the tyrants' wealth is stolen; the tyrant is inherently poor as they own nothing in reality.

Regular worship

Establishing regular prayer, observing Ramadan, participating in Hajj.

Hajj

Hajj ritual with most change; experience changes due to travel, technology, borders, and expansion of religion.

Hajj visas

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sets a number of visas that are just for Hajj; each country gets a number of Hajj visas assigned to them.

Visa to enter Mecca

Only Muslims can go to Mecca.

Malcom X

Most famous American to go on Hajj.

Ka'ba

A very holy site in Mecca; focal point of the annual Hajj.

Ramadan

Ritual fasting observed by Muslims.

Prayer

Salat; in general, a lot of uniformity within rituals.

Ritual Law

Concerns about Zakat, ordering collection of Zakat and process of 'validating' what 'counts' as giving Zakat.

Symbolic importance of ritual

Muslims have been in agreement that these are Islamic practices (Prayer, Fasting, Pilgrimage) with enormous symbolic value for the definition of what it means to be a Muslim.

Attitudes towards non-obligatory ritual

Concerns and varying practices regarding non-obligatory rituals.

Social acceptance of mosque

Acceptance depends on social situation; tolerance of community.

Intention in prayer

Traditional people said out loud; reform/modern people said silent (ie out loud becomes performative).

Shari'a

The framework of divine law that Muslims must live in to achieve inner submission to the will of God.

Qiyas

Analogies used to decide Shari'a when modern examples cannot be directly compared to the Quran or the hadith.

Lawful (halal)

Actions that are obligatory and will bring rewards on the Day of Judgement.

Commendable

Actions that are recommended.

Neutral

Actions that are permitted.

Represensible

Actions that are disliked.

Unlawful (haram)

Actions that are forbidden.

Ijtihad

Using rationalism to interpret the Quran and hadiths.

Muftis

Experts of religious law empowered to issue legal opinions (fatwas).

Fatwas

Legal opinions issued by muftis based on principles of respective legal schools.

Colonial intervention

Forced many Muslim-majority domains to adopt the law systems of their occupying powers in the 19th century.

Hanafi law

Based on teachings of Iraqi jurist Abu Hanifah, accorded state patronage by the Abbasid caliphate and the Ottoman Empire.

Istihan

Principle of rational preference used in Hanafi law to deduce legal opinions.

Maliki law

Developed by Malik b. Anas, emphasizing the sunnah of the prophet and the living tradition of Medina's people.

The Levelled Path

Book by Malik b. Anas that collected hadith and legal traditions.

Qiyas (Maliki)

Deductive analogical reasoning relied upon in Maliki law.

Istihsan

Rational preference principle used in Maliki law.

Maslahah

Principle of the common good used in Maliki law.

Shafi'i law

Work of Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i advocating absolute dependence on the Quran and sunnah.

Qiyas (Shafi'i)

Restricted usage of analogical reasoning in Shafi'i law.

Hanbali law

Founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, conforming to Shafi'i position.

Ottoman Empire

Historical government where Islamic law was prevalent and influential.

Islamic countries

Countries such as Yemen, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan where Shari'a law continues to be a governing force.

Schools of thought

Various interpretations within religious law that offer differing views on Shari'a.

Musnad

The hadith collection arranged by the names of the primary transmitters instead of by subject.

Hanbali legal school

A legal system in central Saudi Arabia that has a smaller following than its rivals but has a disproportionately great influence.

Sources of Law

The Qur'an, hadiths, and past decisions of sharia.

Modernist reform

A movement that addresses criticisms of Islam not being modern enough, catering more to Western views of modernity such as democracy and equality.

Chiragh-Ali

Argues that Islamic law is flexible and able to be reformed, countering the sentiment that Islam is essentially unalterable.

Neo-traditional revival

An emphasis on bringing back traditional values in contemporary times, including introducing women to knowledge of the shari'a.

Islamist agenda

A discourse within Islamic nations to make the state more focused on bringing religion to government, often associated with jihadi groups.

Shi'ism

A branch of Islam that comes from the term 'Party of Ali', consisting of Muslims who believed in Ali's right to rule.