Classical Islam Identification

Jahiliyya

Pre-Islamic Arabia

Ka’ba

House of God built by Ibrahim and Ismail

Quraysh

Arab tribe controlling Mecca

Qur’an

Sacred word of God

Mecca

Site of Muhammad’s first revelations

Medina

City Muslims fled to

Isra

First part of night journey

Miraj

Second part of Night Journey

Night Journey

Muhammad’s ascension at al-Aqsa

Hijra

Journey from Mecca to Medina

Muhajirun

Emigrants, day ones

Ansar

Helpers, Medinese

Munafiqun

Hypocrites with internal disbelief

Sira

Muslim biographies of Muhammad

Ummah

Muslim community

Isnad

Hadith chain of transmission

Matn

Hadith narration

Battle of Badr

First victory over Quraysh

Battle of Uhud

Loss, test of Muslim resolve

Battle of the Trench

Second victory over Quraysh

Abu Bakr

First Caliph

Umar

Second Caliph

Uthman

Third Caliph

Ali

Fourth Caliph

Kharijites

Rebellious supporters of Ali

judgement belongs to God alone

Kharijite motto

Shi’ism

Belief in Ali and Imams as leaders

Aisha

Scholar and wife of Muhammad

Dhimmi

Protected minorities

Amsar

Garrison towns

Mawla/Mawali

non-Arab converts

First Fitna

Conflict between Ali and Mu’awiya

Second Fitna

Revolts in Umayyad Caliphate after Mu’awiya’s death

Battle of Karbala

Conflict between Umayyads and Husayn ibn Ali

Mu’awiya

First Umayyad Caliph

Umayyads

Hereditary caliphate following Rashidun

Abd al-Malik

Major reformer of Umayyad Caliphate

Dome of the Rock

Shrine at site of Miraj built by Abd al-Malik

Abbasids

Caliphate which saw golden age of Islamic intellectualism

Baghdad

Capital of Abbasid Caliphate and center of knowledge

Harun al-Rashid

Ruler who brought zenith of Abbasid power

Fatimids

North African shia caliphate

Ismailism

Mystical, esoteric focused Shi’ism

da’wa

act of invitation to Islam

da’i

one who practices da’wa

Zahir

Exoteric meaning of Qur’an and Islam

Batin

Esoteric meaning of Qur’an and Islam

Imam (Sunni)

Communal religious and prayer leaders

Imam (Shia)

Infallible successors to Prophet

Imamate

Office of Imam or Imam-run state

Ja’far al-Sadiq

Shia imam, founder of Ja’fari school

Sunna

Traditions and practices of Muhammad

Hadith

Divine path and law for Muslims

Faqih

Jurist or legal scholar in Sharia

Sharia

Divine path and law for Muslims

Hanafi school

School of jurisprudence focused on ra’y and ijma’

Maliki school

School of jurisprudence focused on Medinese community

Shafi’i school

School of jurisprudence focused on hadith, against ra’y

Hanbali school

School of jurisprudence focused on hadith and strict traditionalism

Orthopraxy

Spirituality based on action

Orthodoxy

Spirituality based on belief

Salat

Ritual prayer

Zakat

Ritual donation

Fiqh

Islamic jurisprudence

Ra’y

Jurisprudential individual reasoning

Ijtihad

Broader effort to use logic to apply Islamic law

Ijma’

Consensus of scholarly community

Qadi

Judge of Sharia

Qadarites

Theologians rejecting predestination and prior knowledge of God

Jabarites

Theologians embracing predestination

Murji’ites

Believe faith is internal, only God can judge sins

Kalam

Rational study of Islamic theology

Mu’tazilites

Rationalism, free will, Qur’an created, justice of God

Mihna

Inquisition enforcing Mu’tazilite beliefs

al-Ma’mun

Abbasid caliph who promoted Mu’tazilism

Ash’arism

Total omnipotence, divine will over morality, less rationalism

Kasb

Ash’arist idea: actions originated by God, acquired by men

Avicenna

Distinction between essence and existence, logical necessity of God

Rabia al-Adawiyya

Sufi saint emphasizing selfless divine love without fear or desire

Sufism

Mystical path of Islam

Wahi

Communication from God to prophets to guide

Dhikr

Sufi rhythmic repetition of name of God

Fana

Sufi annihilation of the self to realize the divine

Baqa

State of transcendent life with God in Sufism

Sobriety

Return to consciousness after divine ecstasy

Intoxication

Overwhelmed ecstasy from divine love

Hal

Temporary state of closeness to divine in Sufism

Maqam

Spiritual stages in Sufi closeness to God

al-Andalus

Islamic Iberia

Hayy ibn Yaqzan

Philosophical tale about rational thought in relation to the divine