Chapter 14: Economy and Society of the Early Islamic World

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, figures, concepts, and institutions from Chapter 14: Economy and Society of the Early Islamic World.

Islam

A strictly monotheistic religion meaning 'submission,' signifying obedience to the rule and will of Allah.

Muslim

Meaning 'one who has submitted,' an individual who accepts the Islamic faith.

dar al-Islam

An Arabic term meaning 'house of Islam' that refers to lands under Islamic rule.

bedouin

Nomadic desert peoples of the Arabian peninsula who organized into family and clan groups and kept herds of sheep, goats, and camels.

Muhammad

Meccan merchant (ca. 570–632 c.e.) who experienced visions from Allah delivered through the archangel Gabriel, becoming the prophet who founded Islam.

Quran

Meaning 'recitation,' the holy book of Islam compiled in the early 650s containing written versions of Muhammad's revelations.

hadith

Traditions including sayings attributed to Muhammad and accounts of his deeds, used by Islamic intellectuals as guides for interpreting the Quran.

Ka'ba

A cube-shaped building in Mecca housing a large black rock; originally a shrine housing pre-Islamic deities, it was preserved by Muhammad as a symbol of Mecca's greatness and the focal site of the hajj.

hijra

Meaning 'migration,' Muhammad's move from Mecca to Medina in 622 c.e., which marks the starting point of the official Islamic calendar.

Medina

Meaning 'the city' (formerly Yathrib), where Muhammad settled in 622 c.e. and established the first political, legal, and religious Islamic community.

umma

Meaning 'community of the faithful,' the cohesive political, legal, and social community organized by Muhammad in Medina.

Five Pillars of Islam

The foundational obligations of Islam: acknowledging Allah as the only god and Muhammad as his prophet, praying daily facing Mecca, fasting during daylight hours of Ramadan, contributing alms to the poor, and undertaking the hajj.

hajj

The holy pilgrimage to Mecca that every devout Muslim who is physically and financially able is obligated to make at least once.

jihad

Literally meaning 'struggle,' referring to spiritual obligations to combat vice, efforts to spread Islam, or physical war against unbelievers who threaten Islam.

sharia

Islamic holy law formulated by jurists drawing from the Quran and hadith, offering detailed ethical and legal guidance for all aspects of life.

caliph

Meaning 'deputy,' a leader serving as a substitute for Muhammad as head of state, chief judge, religious leader, and military commander of the Islamic community.

Abu Bakr

One of Muhammad's closest friends and devoted disciples who was chosen to serve as the first caliph after the prophet's death.

Shia

The Islamic sect that originated as a party supporting Ali (Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law) and his descendants as the rightful caliphs.

Sunni

Meaning 'traditionalists,' the majority branch of Islam that accepted the legitimacy of the early caliphs.

Umayyad dynasty

Dynasty (661–750 c.e.) founded after Ali's death that ruled a tightly centralized empire from Damascus, showing favor to the Arab military aristocracy.

jizya

A special head tax levied by the Umayyad empire on conquered subject peoples who chose not to convert to Islam.

Abbasid dynasty

Dynasty (750–1258 c.e.) founded by Abu al-Abbas that ruled a cosmopolitan, non-conquering empire from its capital at Baghdad.

ulama

Meaning 'people with religious knowledge,' pious scholars formally educated in the Quran and sharia who set moral standards and established public policy.

qadis

Meaning 'judges,' learned officials who heard legal cases and rendered decisions based on the Quran and sharia.

Harun al-Rashid

Abbasid caliph (reigned 786–809 c.e.) under whose rule Baghdad became a wealthy center of banking, commerce, crafts, and culture.

caravanserai

Inns along trade routes offering lodging, food, water, and care for caravan merchants and their animals.

sakk

Letters of credit established by Abbasid banks that allowed merchants to draw funds in one city and cash them in another.

al-Andalus

Islamic Spain, ruled by Umayyad caliphs in Córdoba, which participated actively in long-distance trade and became a major cultural and economic center.

madrasas

Institutions of higher education that appeared in the Islamic world by the tenth century to train students in Islamic law and theology.

Sufis

Islamic mystics who emphasized devotion, asceticism, and passionate union with Allah over formal doctrine, serving as key missionaries.

al-Ghazali

Persian Sufi theologian (1058–1111 c.e.) who argued that human reason was too frail to understand Allah and that ultimate truth comes only through devotion and the Quran.

Ibn Rushd

Twelfth-century qadi of Seville (1126–1198 c.e.) who relied on Aristotle to articulate a rational understanding of the world, influencing both Islamic philosophy and European scholasticism.