Muhammad and the Believers

Muhammad

Man who was visited by the angel Gabriel at Mt. Hira. He cites his first revelation after meeting this angel

Pre-Islamic Arabia

The post-Roman Middle East

“Arabs”

Fake category, an identity that is constructed in post-Muhammad world. Not just one language, some people speaking Arabic, but not fully yet

Syncretism

Hybrid religious world

Meccan autonomy

Mecca not dominated by Roman or Persian empire, independent

Kingdom Aksum

Christian kingdom

Kingdom of Himyar

Jewish kingdom

Proxy wars

Roman and Persian empires fighting eachother

Arabian towns

Small and dense settlements

Arabian commerce

Trade in a localized manner

Bedouins

People outside of towns who do raiding and such. Seen as the “real Arabs,” living outside of towns and suchQ

Quraysh

Tribe around Mecca

Banu Hashim

Tribe that Muhammad is from

Kin solidarity

Group loyalty in banu

Qur’an

Text associated with Islam. Composite texts cobbled together from discrete pieces not originally together

Arabic religious vocabulary

Borrowed terms and vocab from other culturesS

Surahs

Individual chapters from the Qur’an

Allah

God/main figure of Qur’an

Judeo-Christian borrowing

Jesus and Mary come up in Qur’an, so do Jewish aspects

Believers (mu’minun)

Followers referred to as this, not Muslim. Monotheists, included Christians and Jews early on

Meccan religion

Profound religious area

Meccan trade

Mecca a place of trade

Kaaba

Religious center with images and suchPo

Polytheism

Pre-Muslim is very polytheistic world

Community of Believers

Group of people following Muhammad. Unclear who is actually in itA

Absolute monotheists

People who do not believe in any other nature of God than monotheism

Apocalyptic reform

Urgency in fixing the world/reforming it

“Shirk”

Wrongness of associating things with God/the divine

Hijrah (622)

Migration of Muhammad and followers from Mecca to Medina/Yathrib

Constitution of Medina/Ummah

Writing of rules on community

Hajj

Spiritual pilgrimage back to Mecca

Battle of Badr (624)

Meccan force protecting a caravan gets attacked, win for Muhammad

Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

Conflict between Muhammad and Mecca is resolved, leading to a ten-year treaty between the two

Capture of Mecca (630)

End of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, Muhammad marches on Mecca with a bunch of people (including Bedouin). A lot of people convert, Kaaba are destroyed

Death of Muhammad

Dies in 632, said to have declared his close friend Abu Bakr the leader

Muslim Succession Crises

Precise passage of authority from Muhammad to Abu Bakr is in question

Ghassanids

Christian Arabs who had connections to the Byzantine Empire, often federati

Lakhmids

Arab pagans, connected to Sasanian Empire