Islam Quiz

Islamic Population in the World

Around 2 billion across the world

Islam

Submission to the will of God (Allah) and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad

Muslim

An adherent or follower of the religion of Islam, defined as one who submits to the will of God (Allah)

Allah

Arabic word for God

Caliphate

An Islamic state under the leadership of a caliph

Kaaba

The holiest shrine in Islam, located at the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. “Cube” in Arabic.

Mecca

A city in Saudi Arabia, recognized as the holiest site in Islam and birthplace of Muhammad, serving as the focal point for Muslim pilgrimages (Hajj)

Medina

Islam's second-holiest site and the resting place of the Prophet Muhammad.

Hijaz

A region in western Saudi Arabia bordering the Red Sea, famous for hosting the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina

Jahilliyaah

“Age of ignorance," referring to the pre-Islamic era in Arabia before the Prophet Muhammad's message.

Muruwwah

An ancient Arab code of honor, often translated as "manliness," "chivalry," or "personal integrity"

Khadijah

Khadijah is a feminine Arabic name meaning "premature child" or "early baby," famously borne by the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad.

Hijra

"Migration," "departure," or "exodus," referring primarily to Prophet Muhammad’s 622 CE journey from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution.

Yathrib

The ancient pre-Islamic name for the city of Medina in Saudi Arabia

Covenant of Medina

A 7th-century (c. 622 CE) pact drafted by Prophet Muhammad to regulate relations between Muslim refugees, helpers, and the Jewish/pagan tribes of Medina

Sunni

The largest branch of Islam, representing roughly 90% of Muslims worldwide, is characterized by the belief that Prophet Muhammad did not appoint a specific successor, favoring the selection of Abu Bakr as the first caliph

Shi’ite

A Muslim who belongs to the second-largest branch of Islam, the Shia, which regards Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, as the rightful successor and rejects the first three caliphs

Ummah

"Community" or "nation," primarily used to describe the global collective of Muslims bound by shared faith and religious belief

Sunnah

The teachings, practices, sayings, actions, and silent approvals of the Prophet Muhammad

Qur’an

The central sacred scripture of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the literal, unaltered word of God (Allah), revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic via the angel Gabriel between 610 and 632 CE

Angel Gabriel

Known as the supreme messenger of God

Surah

A chapter or division of the Quran

Ayah

A verse or "sign" in the Quran (Arabic), often used as a girl's name meaning a miracle or sign of God

Shahada

The Islamic declaration of faith, testifying that "There is no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the messenger of God

Salat

The obligatory, ritual prayer performed five times daily by Muslims, serving as the second Pillar of Islam

Zakat

A mandatory, annual religious obligation for Muslims, serving as the third pillar of Islam. It involves donating 2.5% of a person’s surplus wealth (above a threshold called nisab) to specific needy recipients to purify wealth

Ramadan

The ninth and holiest month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a period of fasting, prayer, charity, and reflection

Hajj

The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam

Eid Al-Fitr

Festival of Breaking the Fast, a significant three-day Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan’s dawn-to-dusk fasting.

Shariah

Arabic for "the correct path," is the divine counsel and moral code in Islam derived from the Quran and Hadith

Ulema

The body of educated Muslim religious scholars, theologians, and jurists trained in Islamic sciences, law (fiqh), and doctrine

Sunnah

The teachings, practices, sayings, actions, and silent approvals of the Prophet Muhammad

Hadith

A recorded report, narrative, or tradition detailing the sayings, actions, silent approvals, or physical descriptions of the Prophet Muhammad

Bukhari

A renowned Islamic scholar who compiled Sahih al-Bukhari, considered the most authentic and authoritative collection of hadith

Haram

"forbidden" or "sinful," referring to actions, behaviors, or items prohibited by Allah in the Quran and Sunnah

Halal

"permissible" or "lawful" under Islamic law

Fiqh

Islamic jurisprudence—the deep understanding, interpretation, and application of Islamic law (Sharia) derived from the Quran and Sunnah

Ibn Sina

A Persian polymath of the Islamic Golden Age

Al Ghazali

11th-century Persian scholar, theologian, and philosopher

Ibn Rushd

12th-century Andalusian polymath, philosopher, and jurist, renowned for his extensive commentaries on Aristotle that revived Aristotelian philosophy in Europe

Sufism

The inward, mystical dimension of Islam focused on direct personal experience of God, inner purification, and spiritual love

Dhikr

A fundamental Islamic practice of "remembrance" or "mention" of God

Imam

A Muslim leader who serves as the head of a mosque, leads congregational prayers, and acts as a community guide

Battle of Karbala

A pivotal 10 October 680 CE (10 Muharram 61 AH) conflict in modern-day Iraq, where Yazid I’s Umayyad army massacred a small band led by Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad

Ashura

A significant Islamic holy day occurring on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar

Twelver Shi’ism

The largest branch of Shia Islam

Dhimmi

A historical term for non-Muslims—primarily Jews and Christians—living under Islamic sharia law who were granted security, safety, and religious freedom in exchange for paying a special tax (jizya) and accepting a subordinate, second-class status.

Ahl al-kitab

An Islamic term for adherents of faiths that received revealed scriptures from God before Islam, specifically Jews and Christians

Al Andalus

The medieval Muslim territory and cultural domain occupying Iberia (modern-day Spain and Portugal) between 711 and 1492

Crusades

A series of religious and military campaigns, primarily between 1095 and 1291, launched by Western European Christians to seize control of the Holy Land (Jerusalem and surrounding areas) from Muslim rulers

Wahhabism

An ultra-conservative, fundamentalist Sunni Islamic reform movement founded in the 18th century by Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab in central Arabia

Salafism

A fundamentalist, reform-oriented movement within Sunni Islam that advocates a strict, literalist return to the "pure" practices of the first three generations of Muslims

Ataturk

Turkish field marshal and statesperson who was the founder of the Republic of Turkey and served as its first president from 1923 until he died in 1938. He led sweeping reforms, turning Turkey into a secular, industrialising nation

Iranian Revolution

A popular, populist uprising that overthrew the U.S.-backed monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, replacing it with an Islamic Republic led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini