Islam chapter 13

Qur’an

The holy text of Muslims; the word of God as revealed to Muhammad.

Islam

Specifically, the religious tradition based on the revealed Qur’an as word of God.

Salat

Prayers

raka

Together, the cycles of prayer and movement are called

Imam

Prayer leader; in Shi‘ism, one of the leaders of the Muslim community following the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

Muhammad

The prophet who received the revelation of the Qur’an from God; the final prophet in a long line of prophets sent by God to humanity.

Allah

The Arabic term for God.

The Angel Gabriel is called what in Islam

Jibril

Khadija

Muhammad’s beloved first wife.

Ali

Son-in-law of Muhammad; one of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.

Fatima

Daughter of Muhammad.

Hafidh or keeper of the Qur’an

A person who knows the Qur’an by heart

Sura

Chapter of the Qur’an; there are 114 suras in the Qur’an.

The most well-known sura?

Al-fatihah

Tafsir

Interpretation of or commentary on the Qur’an. There are several types of tafsir, which aim to explain the meaning of the Qur’an.

Sunna

Specifically refers to example of the life of the Prophet Muhammad; important religious source for Muslims.

Hadith

Literary tradition recording the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad.

Isnad/the chains of commission of the Hadith

Matn the report itself

Aisha

h) A beloved wife of Muhammad who is known for transmitting many hadith

Hadith qudsi

Words of god

Shirk

The sin of idolatry, that is, of worshiping anything other than God, the one unforgivable sin in Islam

Shahada

The declaration of faith: “There is no God but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God”; the first of the five pillars.

Salat

The daily prayers, which are one of the pillars of Islam

Zakat

Regulated almsgiving; one of the five pillars of Islam.

Sawm

The mandatory fast during the month of Ramadan; one of the pillars of Islam.

Ramadan

The month in which Muslims must fast daily from dawn until dusk; the fast is one of the five pillars of Islam; also the month in which the Qur’an is believed to have been revealed to Muhammad.

Hajj

The annual pilgrimage to Mecca

Mira

Muhammad’s Night Journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and from there to heaven, where he met with God

Personal prayers are called

Dua

Wudu

Cleansing the hands, feet, face, and head

Mosque

Place of prayer, from the Arabic term masjid

adhan

The call to prayer.

Muezzin

The person who calls the adhan.

Umma

The worldwide Muslim community.

Mecca

The city in which Muhammad was born; place of pilgrimage for Muslims.

Jahiliyya

The “age of ignorance,” which refers to the time before the revelation of the Qur’an.

Medina

The city to which Muhammad and his early followers migrated to escape persecution in Mecca.

Hijra

Sometimes spelled hegira. The migration of the early Muslim community from Mecca to Medina in 622 ce; the Islamic calendar dates from this year.

Abu Bakr

The first to convert to islam

Sunni

One of the two main branches of Islam. The Sunnis believed that the Muslim community should decide on a successor to lead after the death of Muhammad.

Shi’a

One of the two major branches of Islam. The Shi‘a believed that ‘Ali, the Prophet’s son-in-law, should have succeeded as leader of the Muslim community after the death of Muhammad

Caliph

Leader of the Muslim community after the death of Muhammad.

Umayyad dynasty

Muslim dynasty that ruled from 661 to 750 ce.

Husayn

Grandson of Muhammad who was killed while challenging the Umayyads.

Abbasids

important Muslim empire that ruled from 750 to 1258 ce. Oppsed Umayyads

Sufi

A follower of the mystical tradition of Islam, Sufism, which focuses on the believer’s personal experience of God and goal of union with God.

Imma

The political and religious leader of the community (shi’a) who has special knowledge

Miraj

The center to heaven

Dhikr

Sufi practice in which the believers strive to “recollect” God so completely that they forget themselves

Sufism

The inner way to God

Jihad

The greater jihad is the struggle with one’s self to become a better person; the lesser jihad is associated with military conflict in defense of the faith.

Shari’a

Islamic law

qiyas

reasoning by analogy is known as qiyas

ijma

the consensus of the Muslim community as a source of law

Important

ulama refers to Islamic legal scholars.

legal practitioners known as qadis, court judges who issue rulings on various matters.

A mufti is an expert in Islamic law who is qualified to give nonbinding legal opinions, known as fatwas.

Those who gain expertise in the shari’a and sometimes have a special status in the community are collectively called the ___

ulama

Ashura

he tenth day of the month of Muharram, recognized by the Shi‘a as the anniversary of the martyrdom of Husayn.

The Feast of Sacrifice, or ‘Id (or Eid) al-Adha

The feast east commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son at God’s command.

Id al-Fitr, the Feast of Fast-Breaking

This holiday marks the end of the month of Ramadan. This feast is a time of joy and forgiveness and is celebrated in many different ways around the world.

mahr

the gift a bride will receive from the groom and his family.

perdah

The seclusion of women is called